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Am Ende des Satzes setze ich einen Punkt.

Am Ende des Satzes setze ich einen Punkt.
At the end of the sentence I put a period.
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Questions & Answers about Am Ende des Satzes setze ich einen Punkt.

Why is it Am Ende and not just Ende or something like im Ende?

Am is a contraction of an dem:

  • an = at/on
  • dem = the (dative, masculine/neuter singular)

So an dem Ende → am Ende.

We use an + dative here because we are talking about a location (where something is), not movement (where something goes).
Im Ende (in dem Ende) would literally be in the end (inside it) and is not idiomatic for “at the end (of something)” in this sense. For positions on a timeline or the edge/limit of something, am Ende is the standard phrase.

Why is it des Satzes and not den Satz or dem Satz?

Des Satzes is in the genitive case. It answers the question “of what?”:

  • Ende (end) – of what? → des Satzes (of the sentence)

So the structure is:

  • Am Ende – at the end (dative, fixed phrase)
  • des Satzes – of the sentence (genitive)

German often uses the genitive for possession or belonging. English uses of instead:

  • am Ende des Satzes = at the end of the sentence.
Why does Satz become Satzes in des Satzes?

Satz is a masculine noun. In the genitive singular, many masculine (and neuter) nouns add -s or -es.

For Satz, the genitive form is des Satzes (with -es), not des Satzs, because the -es ending is easier to pronounce after a final consonant cluster.

Pattern (masculine, singular):

  • der Satz (nominative)
  • des Satzes (genitive)
Could you also say von dem Satz instead of des Satzes?

Grammatically, yes, you could say am Ende von dem Satz, and in everyday speech you will hear am Ende vom Satz.

However:

  • des Satzes is more standard, concise, and stylistically a bit more formal/elegant.
  • von dem Satz / vom Satz is more colloquial and less compact.

For a learner, it’s good to recognize both, but am Ende des Satzes is the “textbook” version.

Why is the verb setze in second position and ich after it? In English we say “I put …”, with the subject first.

German main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule: the conjugated verb is always in the second position in the sentence. The first position can be the subject, or any other element that’s being emphasized or put in front.

Here, the first element is the prepositional phrase Am Ende des Satzes, so the verb must come next:

  1. Am Ende des Satzes – first position
  2. setze – second position (the conjugated verb)
  3. ich einen Punkt – the rest of the clause (subject + object)

If you start with the subject, you get:

  • Ich setze am Ende des Satzes einen Punkt.
    Both word orders are correct; they just emphasize different parts slightly.
Why is it setze ich einen Punkt and not ich setze einen Punkt in this sentence?

Both orders are correct:

  • Ich setze am Ende des Satzes einen Punkt. (neutral, subject-first)
  • Am Ende des Satzes setze ich einen Punkt. (focus on where you put it)

By moving Am Ende des Satzes to the front, the speaker puts emphasis on the location (the end of the sentence). German word order is flexible in this way, as long as the V2 rule (verb in second position) is respected.

Why is it setze ich einen Punkt and not setz ich einen Punkt?

The infinitive is setzen. For ich (1st person singular, present tense), the correct form is ich setze:

  • ich setze
  • du setzt
  • er/sie/es setzt
  • wir setzen
  • ihr setzt
  • sie/Sie setzen

Dropping the final -e (ich setz) does occur in very informal spoken German, but in standard written German you should use ich setze.

Why is it einen Punkt and not ein Punkt or dem Punkt?

Punkt is masculine: der Punkt. It is the direct object of the verb setzen (“to put/place”), so it must be in the accusative case.

Masculine indefinite article (singular):

  • Nominative: ein Punkt (a point/period is …)
  • Accusative: einen Punkt (I set/put a point/period)

Because we are saying what we put (direct object), we need accusative → einen Punkt.

Why do we use setzen with Punkt? Could you use schreiben instead?

In German, certain verbs are preferred with certain objects (collocations). For punctuation marks, the common verb is setzen:

  • einen Punkt setzen – to put a period/full stop
  • ein Komma setzen – to put a comma
  • ein Fragezeichen setzen – to put a question mark

You can say einen Punkt schreiben, and people will understand you, but einen Punkt setzen sounds more natural and is the standard expression when talking about punctuation.

Does Punkt here mean the same as English “point” or “dot”?

Punkt is a very flexible word in German. It can mean:

  • period / full stop in writing: einen Punkt setzen
  • dot in e.g. web addresses: punkt in “punkt de” (.de)
  • point(s) in scores: drei Punkte (three points)
  • point in an argument: Das ist ein guter Punkt. (That’s a good point.)

In this sentence, Punkt specifically means a period / full stop (.) at the end of a sentence.

Why are Ende, Satzes, and Punkt capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence.

  • Ende – noun (“end”)
  • Satzes – noun (“sentence” in genitive)
  • Punkt – noun (“point/period”)

Words like am, des, setze, ich, einen are not nouns, so they are not capitalized.

Could you say Am Satzende setze ich einen Punkt instead? Is that the same?

Yes, that’s also correct and very natural:

  • Am Ende des Satzes setze ich einen Punkt.
  • Am Satzende setze ich einen Punkt.

Both mean essentially the same thing. Am Satzende is a more compact, slightly more formal or “textbook-like” noun compound (Satzende = “sentence-end”). Am Ende des Satzes sounds very normal and maybe a bit more conversational.