Der Sternenhimmel über dem See ist wunderschön.

The starry sky over the lake is wonderfully beautiful.

Breakdown of Der Sternenhimmel über dem See ist wunderschön.

• sein: to be
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• über: over
• der See: the lake

Questions & Answers about Der Sternenhimmel über dem See ist wunderschön.

What does Der refer to, and why is it der and not den or dem?

Der is the definite article (the) for a masculine noun in the nominative case.

• Sternenhimmel is masculine: der Sternenhimmel.
• In this sentence, Der Sternenhimmel is the subject (the thing that is beautiful).
• Subjects in German normally take the nominative case, so you use der, not den (accusative) or dem (dative).

So: Der Sternenhimmel = The starry sky (subject).

What is Sternenhimmel exactly? Is it a compound noun?

Yes, Sternenhimmel is a compound noun:

• der Stern = star
• der Himmel = sky / heaven

Put together: der Sternenhimmel = literally star-sky, usually translated as starry sky or starlit sky.

Because it’s a noun, it is capitalized in German.
Its plural is rare, but would be die Sternenhimmel.

Why is it über dem See and not über den See?