Fossilised expression 'eines Tages' (one day)
Fossilierte Wendung 'eines Tages'
'eines Tages' (one day) is a fixed time phrase.
Structure
eines Tages (erstarrter Genitiv) - Zeit
eines Tages (frozen genitive) - time
Details
- Part of Speech
- Expression
- Word Type
- Fossilised genitive idiom
- Register
- Standard
Explanation
eines Tages means one day / some day and is a fossilised of time. It refers vaguely to an unspecified day, either in the past (one day, something happened) or in the future (some day it will happen). The is frozen.
It often opens the sentence, triggering -second inversion.
- Eines Tages wirst du es verstehen. - One day you will understand it.
- Eines Tages stand er einfach vor der Tür. - One day he simply stood at the door.
- Vielleicht sehen wir uns eines Tages wieder. - Maybe we will meet again some day.
The pattern extends to other time nouns: eines Abends, eines Nachts (note the irregular -s even though Nacht is feminine), eines Morgens.
Common mistakes: It is the masculine/neuter eines Tages, not einen Tag (which means for one day, a duration). Keep the -s. For feminine Nacht the idiom irregularly keeps eines Nachts by analogy - do not "correct" it to einer Nacht.
About Fossilised expression 'eines Tages' (one day)
'eines Tages' (one day) is a fixed time phrase.
Fixed time phrase 'one day'; the form is frozen.
'eines Tages' ist eine erstarrte Genitivwendung (Zeit).
Caution
Frozen genitive 'one day' (past or future): 'Eines Tages wirst du es verstehen'. Also 'eines Abends/Nachts'.