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Writer's pictureSarah

How to use the prepositions "in" and "an"


When do we use the German prepositions: "in" and "an"?

The prepositions "in" and "an" are two-way prepositions and we can use them in the accusative and in the dative case. So I have to ask “wo?” or “wohin?” but with the question “when?” I always have to ask for a temporal position, that means "in" and "an" are here temporally always in the dative.


The assignment of the correct preposition is semantic:


"In": seasons

In + article dem - im Frühling (im Frühling, im Sommer, im Herbst und im Winter)


- In + article dem - im "im Frühling", " im Sommer", etc.


"In":Months

- In + article dem - im "im Januar", "im Februar", etc.(Januar, Februar, März, April, Mai, etc.)


"An": days of the week

- am “am Montag", “am Dienstag", etc. (Montag, Dienstag, etc.)


“An” - Times of day (am Morgen, am Vormittag, am Abend… ).


An + article dem: am Morgen "in the morning", “in the evening", etc.


BUT


In der Nacht because the noun night is feminine.



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