| Grammar Notes: Eine Kuh ruht auf einer Wiese. In der Ferne ist ein See zu sehen. ### Word-by-word explanation Eine – indefinite article, feminine nominative singular: “a/an”. It agrees with Kuh. Kuh – feminine noun, nominative singular: “cow”. It is the subject of the sentence. ruht – verb, 3rd person singular present tense; infinitive ruhen (“to rest”). The subject *eine Kuh* is singular, so the verb ends in *-t*. auf – preposition: “on”. It takes the dative here because it describes a location – where the cow is resting. einer – indefinite article, feminine dative singular: “a/an”. It marks Wiese as the object of the preposition auf. Wiese – feminine noun, dative singular: “meadow, pasture”. In – preposition: “in”. It takes the dative here because it describes a fixed place/position. der – definite article, feminine dative singular: “the”. This is the dative form of die, not the masculine *der*. Ferne – feminine noun, dative singular: “distance”. In der Ferne = “in the distance”. ist – verb, 3rd person singular present tense; infinitive sein (“to be”). ein – indefinite article, masculine nominative singular: “a/an”. It agrees with See. See – masculine noun, nominative singular: “lake”. It is the subject of the second sentence. zu – infinitive marker with sehen. sehen – infinitive verb: “to see”. Ist … zu sehen = “is to be seen”, “is visible”, “can be seen”. ### Grammar tip In and auf are two-way prepositions. With the dative, they show location: *auf einer Wiese* (“on a meadow”), *in der Ferne* (“in the distance”). With the accusative, they show direction: *auf eine Wiese* (“onto a meadow”), *in die Ferne* (“into the distance”). Also note the word order in the second sentence: when in der Ferne moves to the front, the finite verb ist stays in second position, and the subject ein See moves after it. ### Related words - *der See* – lake; *die See* – sea - *die Wiese* – meadow; *das Feld* – field - *ruhen* – to rest; *die Ruhe* – quiet/rest; *ruhig* – quiet - *sehen* – to see; *die Sicht* – view/sight; *sichtbar* – visible - *die Ferne* – distance; *fern* – far; *in der Nähe* – nearby (opposite of *in der Ferne*) |
