Breakdown of Der Chef ärgert sich, denn niemand arbeitet.
arbeiten
to work
der Chef
the boss (male)
denn
because
niemand
no one
sich ärgern
to be annoyed / to be angry
Questions & Answers about Der Chef ärgert sich, denn niemand arbeitet.
Why is there a sich in this sentence when the English translation is just "is annoyed"?
In German, the verb sich ärgern is reflexive. While we don't say "the boss annoys himself" in English, German requires the reflexive pronoun sich to show that he is the one experiencing the emotion, rather than annoying someone else.
Is the reflexive pronoun sich in the accusative or dative case here?
It is in the accusative case! The verb sich ärgern always requires an accusative reflexive pronoun. For the third person (der Chef), the pronoun is sich in both cases, which can be tricky. But if the subject were "I", you would clearly see the accusative: Ich ärgere mich (not the dative mir).
Doesn't the word for "because" usually push the verb to the end of the sentence? Why is arbeitet in the normal position?
You are likely thinking of weil, which also means "because" and does push the verb to the very end. However, this sentence uses denn. The word denn is a coordinating conjunction (occupying "position zero"), so it does not change the standard verb-second word order of the clause that follows it.
Does the word niemand count as singular or plural for the verb?
niemand (nobody or no one) is always treated as a third-person singular subject in German, exactly like "he", "she", or "it". That is why the verb takes the standard singular ending to become arbeitet.
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