Breakdown of Die Mannschaft kann ohne deine Hilfe nicht gewinnen.
nicht
not
dein
your (informal)
können
can / to be able to
die Mannschaft
the team
ohne
without
die Hilfe
the help
gewinnen
to win
Questions & Answers about Die Mannschaft kann ohne deine Hilfe nicht gewinnen.
Why is it deine Hilfe after ohne?
The preposition ohne (without) is a strict accusative preposition. This means it always forces the noun that follows it into the accusative case. Because die Hilfe (the help) is a feminine noun, the possessive word for "your" becomes deine. Luckily, for feminine nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the basic nominative form!
Why does gewinnen (to win) go at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses a modal verb, können (can / to be able to). In German, when you use a modal verb, the conjugated modal takes the second position in the sentence (here as kann), and it pushes the main action verb (gewinnen) to the very end of the sentence in its original dictionary form.
Why is nicht placed right before gewinnen instead of earlier?
When you use a modal verb and negate the overall action, nicht generally goes as far to the end of the sentence as possible, landing right before the final verb. It sits right in front of gewinnen because it is negating the act of winning.
Is die Mannschaft singular or plural here? A team has multiple people.
Die Mannschaft is a singular feminine noun, just like the word "team" is singular in English. That is why the verb is conjugated as kann (like he/she/it can) rather than the plural form können (they can).
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