Breakdown of Anna schminkt sich vor dem Spiegel.
Anna
Anna
vor
in front of
der Spiegel
the mirror
sich schminken
to put on makeup
Questions & Answers about Anna schminkt sich vor dem Spiegel.
Why do we need the word sich in this sentence?
In German, the verb schminken (to put on makeup) is used reflexively when you are putting makeup on yourself. Literally, the sentence translates to 'Anna puts makeup on herself'. Because Anna is a 'she' (third person), the reflexive pronoun is sich.
Is sich in the accusative or dative case here?
It is in the accusative case. Anna is performing the action (the subject) and also receiving the action directly (the direct object). For the third person (he, she, it, they), the accusative reflexive pronoun is always sich.
Can I use schminken without a reflexive pronoun?
Yes, but only if you are putting makeup on someone else! For example, if Anna is a makeup artist working on a model, you would say Anna schminkt das Model. But since she is applying it to herself here, you must include sich.
Why is it vor dem Spiegel instead of vor den Spiegel?
The preposition vor (in front of) is a 'two-way' preposition. It takes the dative case when describing a fixed location, and the accusative case when describing movement towards a destination. Since Anna is already standing in a fixed location in front of the mirror, we use the dative case for the masculine noun der Spiegel, which changes to dem Spiegel.