An der Pinnwand hängen unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel, die ich mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht habe.

Questions & Answers about An der Pinnwand hängen unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel, die ich mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht habe.

Why does the sentence start with An der Pinnwand instead of the subject?

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

That means:

  • the element in first position can be the subject, a time expression, a place expression, etc.
  • the finite verb must come in second position

Here, An der Pinnwand takes first position, so hängen has to come next:

  • An der Pinnwand | hängen | unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel

A more neutral subject-first version would be:

  • Unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel hängen an der Pinnwand.

Starting with An der Pinnwand puts a bit more focus on the location.

Why is it an der Pinnwand and not an die Pinnwand?

Because an is a two-way preposition. It can take:

Here the sentence describes where the items already are, so German uses the dative:

  • an der Pinnwand = at/on the bulletin board

Compare:

  • Die Zettel hängen an der Pinnwand. = location
  • Ich hänge die Zettel an die Pinnwand. = movement toward the board

So der Pinnwand is dative because this is a static location.

Why does German use an der Pinnwand instead of auf der Pinnwand?

German usually uses an for things attached to or hanging on a vertical surface.

So:

  • an der Wand
  • an der Tür
  • an der Pinnwand

By contrast, auf is more typical for something resting on top of a surface, especially a horizontal one:

  • auf dem Tisch
  • auf dem Boden

Since a bulletin board is treated as a vertical surface that things are attached to, an der Pinnwand is the natural choice.

Why is the verb hängen plural?

Because the subject is plural overall:

  • unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel

When two noun phrases are joined by und, they form a compound subject, and the verb is normally plural.

So:

  • Der Stundenplan hängt ... = singular
  • Der Stundenplan und zwei Zettel hängen ... = plural

That is why the sentence has hängen, not hängt.

Why is it unser Stundenplan and not unseren Stundenplan?

Because Stundenplan is part of the subject, so it is in the nominative case.

unser works like a determiner, and its ending depends on case, gender, and number.

Here:

  • Stundenplan is masculine singular
  • it is nominative
  • so the correct form is unser Stundenplan

Compare:

  • unser Stundenplan = nominative masculine
  • unseren Stundenplan = accusative masculine
  • unserem Stundenplan = dative masculine

So unseren would be wrong here because the noun is not a direct object.

Why use hängen here instead of just sein?

German often uses specific position/location verbs where English might simply use to be.

Common ones are:

  • stehen for things standing upright
  • liegen for things lying flat
  • hängen for things hanging or being attached

So German prefers:

  • Die Zettel hängen an der Pinnwand.

rather than the less specific:

  • Die Zettel sind an der Pinnwand.

Using hängen gives a clearer picture of how the objects are positioned.

What is die doing in die ich ... festgemacht habe?

Here die is a relative pronoun. It introduces a relative clause, which adds extra information about the noun phrase before it.

So the structure is:

  • unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel = the thing being talked about
  • die ich mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht habe = extra information about it

In English, this is like that or which.

A useful detail:

  • the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in number and gender
  • its case depends on its role inside the relative clause

Here, die is plural because the thing it refers to is plural. Inside the clause, it functions as the object of festgemacht habe.

Does die refer only to zwei Zettel, or to unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel together?

Grammatically, die can refer to the whole plural phrase:

  • unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel

because that whole phrase is plural.

So strictly speaking, the relative clause attaches to the entire noun phrase before it.

That said, in real life, listeners may interpret it according to context. If the speaker really wants to make it crystal clear that only the notes were fastened, German would often rephrase the sentence.

So the short answer is:

  • grammatically: it refers to the whole plural phrase
  • contextually: it may feel like the speaker especially means the papers/notes
Why is there a comma before die?

Because in German, relative clauses are separated by commas.

So whenever you have a clause like:

  • ..., die ich ...
  • ..., der wir ...
  • ..., das er ...

you normally need a comma before it.

That comma is not optional here.

Why is it mit einer Heftklammer?

Because mit always takes the dative case.

The noun Heftklammer is feminine:

  • die Heftklammer

Its indefinite article changes in the dative singular:

So:

  • mit einer Heftklammer = with a paper clip / staple

The key point is simply:

  • mit + dative
Why do festgemacht and habe come at the end?

Because this part of the sentence is a relative clause, and German subordinate clauses send the finite verb to the end.

The basic main-clause order would be:

  • Ich habe sie mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht.

But inside the relative clause, the verb material moves to the end:

  • ..., die ich mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht habe.

Also, festmachen is a separable verb:

So in the perfect tense, the verb phrase is:

  • festgemacht habe

That is why the end of the clause looks the way it does.

What kind of verb is festmachen?

festmachen is a separable verb made of:

  • fest- = firm, secure, fixed
  • machen = to make/do

Together, festmachen means something like:

  • to fasten
  • to attach
  • to secure

Because it is separable:

So festgemacht is the past participle of festmachen.

AI Language TutorTry it ↗
How do German cases work?
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning German

Master German — from An der Pinnwand hängen unser Stundenplan und zwei Zettel, die ich mit einer Heftklammer festgemacht habe to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • AI tutor to answer your grammar questions