Breakdown of Schließlich schminken sie sich für die Party.
sie
they
die Party
the party
für
for
schließlich
finally
sich schminken
to put on makeup
Questions & Answers about Schließlich schminken sie sich für die Party.
Why do we need "sich" here? English just says "they put on makeup".
In German, the verb schminken (to put on makeup) is reflexive. You have to specify who is receiving the makeup! Since they are putting it on themselves, you use the reflexive pronoun sich (themselves) in the accusative case to match the subject sie (they).
Why is the word order schminken sie instead of sie schminken?
The sentence starts with the adverb Schließlich (Finally). In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must always take the second position. Because Schließlich is in position one, the subject sie has to slide into position three, right after the verb schminken.
Could sie ... sich in this sentence also mean "she ... herself"?
Why does Party use die here? Doesn't the preposition für change the case?
It does! The preposition für always requires the accusative case. However, Party is a feminine noun, and the feminine word for "the" is die in both the nominative and accusative cases, so it doesn't look any different here.
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