Breakdown of Er räumt die Küche nicht auf.
er
he
nicht
not
die Küche
the kitchen
aufräumen
to clean up / to tidy
Questions & Answers about Er räumt die Küche nicht auf.
Why is auf at the very end of the sentence?
The verb here is aufräumen (to tidy up), which is a "separable verb." In a regular main clause, you split the verb: the conjugated core part (räumt) goes in the second position, and the prefix (auf) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
Why does nicht go right before auf?
In German sentences with separable verbs, the prefix (auf) always claims the absolute last spot in the sentence. Because of this strict rule, the negation word nicht must be placed right before the prefix when you want to negate the whole action.
Why is the verb conjugated as räumt instead of räumen?
Even though separable verbs split apart, you still conjugate their core part to match the subject. Here, the subject is er (he), so we take the stem räum and add the standard -t ending for "he/she/it", making it er räumt.
Can I use aufräumen if he is scrubbing the kitchen floor?
Not really! Aufräumen specifically means to "tidy up," organize, or put things back in their proper place. If he were actually scrubbing, wiping, or washing things, you would use a verb like putzen (to clean).