Breakdown of An der Einlasskontrolle zeigen wir die Eintrittskarte.
wir
we
zeigen
to show
an
on
die Eintrittskarte
the admission ticket
Questions & Answers about An der Einlasskontrolle zeigen wir die Eintrittskarte.
Why does the sentence start with An der Einlasskontrolle instead of Wir?
German is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means the finite verb has to come in the second position.
So if you put An der Einlasskontrolle first, the verb must come next:
- An der Einlasskontrolle | zeigen | wir | die Eintrittskarte
If you started with Wir, that would also be correct:
- Wir zeigen die Eintrittskarte an der Einlasskontrolle.
Both are grammatical, but starting with An der Einlasskontrolle puts more focus on the place.
Why is it zeigen wir and not wir zeigen?
For the same reason: the first element in the sentence is An der Einlasskontrolle, so the verb has to stay in second position.
German sentence pattern here is:
- first element: An der Einlasskontrolle
- second position: zeigen
- then subject: wir
This often feels unusual to English speakers, because English usually keeps the subject before the verb.
What does an der Einlasskontrolle mean exactly?