"Die Frau trinkt am Tisch."

Translation: The woman drinks at the table.

[Rearaniva]

They did say am was "on the" so why is the woman drinks on the table wrong?

[Menschenkind]

It's only "on the" in some special cases, namely dates. On monday = am Monday, on the first of july = am ersten Juli, on the third day = am dritten Tag. In all other cases, on the = auf dem; am = at.

[colondee]

how would you say "the woman drinks on the table" then?

die Frau trinkt auf dem Tisch? (just guessing here, I have no idea)

[Elleasar]

If the woman drank too much, probably she would drink on the table. :P It is "Die Frau trinkt auf dem Tisch", correct.

[tjk]

and where have you been hanging around, lol!

[DETERMINATION.]

because part of the reason is on the table sounds like she is on the table

[Dung.13.1]

Is there any difference between "auf dem Tisch" and "am Tisch"?

[Bartuzi]

yes! am = an dem = at the. "Auf dem" cannot be shortened and it means "on the"

[ioanapetko1]

And how could one know if smth can or can't be shortened? Some rule or just remebering?

[DETERMINATION.]

danke

[britt825]

That's why I was confused. Isn't Tisch dative here? So wouldn't it be dem Tisch and so the sentence would be 'Die Frau trinkt an dem Tisch' ?

[requin230]

You are right it is dative and it is also "an dem" it just gets contracted to "am"

[Simon421138]

Can bei be used as well?

[_novice]

am I the only one having trouble making the German "R" sound?

[tylerthehun]

I find it helps to start with a g sound, then pull the point where your tongue touches the roof of your mouth as far back as you can. It's a very throaty sound as opposed to the english r which is tongue-centric.

[silviavmr]

Do a vibrating g

[joangb2013]

no , you aren't :S
for instance in the word "Lehrer"
i cannot pronounce ir properly
sounds odd to me

[Kim.lernt.gern]

Would it be possible to say here "Die Frau trinkt beim Tisch."?

[lydiaholl]

It is possible, but the meaning is different. It would mean the woman is drinking over by the table, rather than at the table.

[Kim.lernt.gern]

Thank you, I understand :)

[AdamSmithyGirl]

The previous exercise accepted "on the table" for "Der Mann isst am Tisch." Why is it different here?

[CapnDoug]

Because the one you cite is an error and should not have been accepted and this one is correct.