Das Amtsgericht vertagt die Verhandlung.

the local court

Breakdown of Das Amtsgericht vertagt die Verhandlung.

• die Verhandlung: the court hearing; the trial
• vertagen: to adjourn

Questions & Answers about Das Amtsgericht vertagt die Verhandlung.

Why is it das Amtsgericht but die Verhandlung?

Because German nouns have grammatical gender, and the article has to match the gender of the noun.

• das Amtsgericht → Amtsgericht is neuter
• die Verhandlung → Verhandlung is feminine

In this sentence, both nouns are in the nominative/accusative singular form with their normal definite articles:

• das = the for a neuter noun
• die = the for a feminine noun

You largely have to learn the gender together with each noun.

How do I know which noun is the subject and which is the object?

The subject is das Amtsgericht, and the object is die Verhandlung.

A few clues help:

• Word order: in a normal German main clause, the subject often comes before the verb.
• Meaning: a court can postpone a hearing; a hearing does not postpone a court.
• Articles and case: here, the forms do not strongly distinguish subject and object by themselves, because:
  • das can be nominative or accusative
  • die can also be nominative or accusative

So in this sentence, you mainly rely on word order and meaning.

Why is the verb vertagt and not something like ?