Latest / Learn German with Fexingo / German Prepositions: At, In, On with Dativ
Transcript
- Lucas: Welcome back to Learn German with Fexingo. I am Lucas. Luna: And I am Luna. It is so good to be here again with you all. Lucas: Today we are looking at where things are in a room. Luna: Oh, like prepositions? The ones that drive everyone crazy? Lucas: Exactly. But we will take it slow. Very slow. Luna: I love slow. It gives me time to breathe. Lucas: Let us start with one word. The word for inside. Luna: Is it 'in'? Lucas: Yes. 'In'. But when we talk about being inside something, we often combine it. Luna: Combine it? Like a contraction? Lucas: Think of it as a package deal. 'In' plus 'dem' becomes 'im'. Luna: Ah. So 'im'. Let me try that. Lucas: Say 'im'. Just the sound first. Luna: Im. Lucas: Good. Now let us put it in a sentence. 'Im Wohnzimmer'. Luna: Im Wohnzimmer. Lucas: Perfect. That means 'in the living room'. Luna: Im Wohnzimmer. Lucas: Now add what you are doing there. Sitting. Luna: Sitting? Is that 'sitzen'? Lucas: Yes. But we say 'I sit'. 'Ich sitze'. Luna: Okay. Im Wohnzimmer sitze ich. Lucas: There it is. In the living room, I sit. Luna: Im Wohnzimmer sitze ich. That feels right. Lucas: It does. Because we are using the dative case. The 'dem' becomes 'im'. Luna: So 'im' always means 'in the'? Lucas: Mostly. For neuter nouns like 'das Zimmer'. Let us try another one. Luna: What about outside the room? Or on a surface? Lucas: Good question. Let us look at 'an'. 'An' usually means 'at' or 'on'. Luna: Like at the wall? Lucas: Yes. 'An der Wand'. But we also combine them. Luna: Does 'an' plus 'dem' become 'am'? Lucas: You are catching on fast. Yes. 'Am'. Luna: Am. Okay. Am Tisch. Lucas: At the table. Now what is at the table? Luna: A lamp? 'Eine Lampe'? Lucas: Yes. And the verb for standing? 'Stehen'. Luna: So 'Am Tisch steht eine Lampe'? Lucas: Spot on. At the table stands a lamp. Luna: Am Tisch steht eine Lampe. It sounds very poetic. Lucas: It is. German word order loves this structure. Location first. Luna: So I can describe my whole house now. Lucas: You can. Let us try one more preposition. 'Auf'. Luna: On? Like on top of something? Lucas: Yes. 'Auf dem' becomes 'auf dem'. It stays longer. Luna: It does not contract like the others? Lucas: Not really. We just keep both words together clearly. Luna: Auf dem. Okay. Auf dem Sofa. Lucas: On the sofa. What is on the sofa? Luna: A pillow? 'Ein Kissen'? Lucas: Yes. And the verb for lying? 'Liegen'. Luna: So 'Auf dem Sofa liegt ein Kissen'? Lucas: Perfect. On the sofa lies a pillow. Luna: Auf dem Sofa liegt ein Kissen. I feel like I am painting a picture. Lucas: That is exactly what you are doing. You are placing objects in space. Luna: This is much easier than I thought. Lucas: It is because we broke it down. Im. Am. Auf dem. Luna: Three little tools for three different places. Lucas: Exactly. Inside. At. On top. Luna: I want to ask a question though. Lucas: Go ahead. Ask away. Luna: How do I ask where something is? Lucas: Simple. 'Wo ist...?' Where is... Luna: Okay. Wo ist die Katze? Lucas: Where is the cat? Good. Luna: Wo ist die Katze? Now how do I answer? Lucas: Use one of our new phrases. 'Sie ist...' She is... Luna: Sie ist im Haus. Lucas: She is in the house. Or you could say 'Sie ist auf dem Sofa'. Luna: Ah! Sie ist auf dem Sofa. That makes sense. Lucas: You can mix and match. It is all about the dative case. Luna: The dative case is my friend now. Lucas: We hope so. It opens up so many descriptions. Luna: I am going to go describe my apartment right now. Lucas: Do that. Use your new eyes to see the rooms. Luna: Im Wohnzimmer sitze ich. Am Tisch steht eine Lampe. Auf dem Sofa liegt ein Kissen. Lucas: Beautiful. You are speaking German naturally. Luna: It feels real. Like I am actually there. Lucas: That is the power of context. You are building a world. Luna: And I am doing it with Fexingo. Lucas: Yes. And if Fexingo has been helping you make actual progress with this language... Luna: Then you might know that we run on listener support. Lucas: We have no ads. Just you and us. Luna: A small group keeps this going every month. Lucas: If you want to join them, you can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: It really helps us keep making these episodes for you. Lucas: Thank you for listening. Now let us recap those key phrases. Luna: Recap? I love recaps. They stick in my brain. Lucas: First one. Im Wohnzimmer sitze ich. Luna: Im Wohnzimmer sitze ich. In the living room I sit. Lucas: Second. Am Tisch steht eine Lampe. Luna: Am Tisch steht eine Lampe. At the table stands a lamp. Lucas: Third. Auf dem Sofa liegt ein Kissen. Luna: Auf dem Sofa liegt ein Kissen. On the sofa lies a pillow. Lucas: Fourth. Wo ist die Katze? Luna: Wo ist die Katze? Where is the cat? Lucas: And the answer. Sie ist im Haus. Luna: Sie ist im Haus. She is in the house. Lucas: Great work today, Luna. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. I feel so accomplished. Lucas: You should. You learned five powerful phrases. Luna: I am going to go practice describing my bedroom now. Lucas: Do that. Say them out loud. Make them yours. Luna: Im Schlafzimmer liege ich. Am Bett steht ein Schrank. Lucas: Listen to you. You are already creating sentences. Luna: It is fun. Really fun. Lucas: Glad to hear it. See you next time for more German. Luna: Bye for now! Keep practicing!