Word
Der Mann rasiert sich morgens.
Meaning
The man shaves in the morning.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Mann rasiert sich morgens.
der Mann
the man
morgens
in the morning
sich rasieren
to shave
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Questions & Answers about Der Mann rasiert sich morgens.
Why do we need sich here if the English translation is just 'shaves'?
In German, the verb rasieren (to shave) is reflexive when you are shaving yourself. You literally say 'The man shaves himself.' Since Der Mann is third-person singular (he), the correct reflexive pronoun in the accusative case is sich.
How do I know sich is in the accusative case here?
The man is doing the action directly to himself. In German, the direct object takes the accusative case. Since he is his own direct object, we use the accusative reflexive pronoun sich.
Why does morgens end in an 's' and start with a lowercase letter?
By adding an 's' and making it lowercase, the noun Morgen (morning) becomes an adverb of time. morgens translates to 'in the morning' or 'every morning'.
Could I change the word order and say 'Der Mann rasiert morgens sich'?
No, it sounds unnatural. In German, a reflexive pronoun like sich normally stays as close to the conjugated verb as possible. It needs to come right after rasiert and before the time word morgens.