Breakdown of Legt den Schlüssel sofort in die Schublade!
in
in
der Schlüssel
the key
sofort
immediately
legen
to lay / to put (flat)
die Schublade
the drawer
Questions & Answers about Legt den Schlüssel sofort in die Schublade!
Why is the verb form Legt used here instead of Leg or Legen Sie?
Legt is the informal plural command (imperative) for ihr (you all). You would use this when telling two or more people you know well, like friends or children, to put the key away. For one friend, it would be Leg, and for formal situations, Legen Sie.
Why do we use legen here instead of stellen or setzen?
legen is used when placing something into a flat, horizontal position. Since a key naturally lies flat when you put it in a drawer, we use legen. If you were standing an object upright, like a bottle, you would use stellen.
Why is it in die Schublade and not in der Schublade?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the verb legen describes a movement towards a destination (putting the key into the drawer), we must use the accusative case. Schublade is feminine, so it stays die. If the key were already resting inside the drawer, you would use the dative case for location: in der Schublade.
Why does the sentence use den Schlüssel instead of der Schlüssel?
Schlüssel is a masculine noun. Here, it is the direct object (the thing being placed in the drawer), so it must take the accusative case. For masculine nouns, der changes to den in the accusative case.
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