Questions & Answers about Wir putzen uns jetzt die Zähne.
Why do we say uns and die Zähne instead of "unsere Zähne"?
When doing something to your own body, German doesn't usually use possessive words like "our". Instead, you use a reflexive pronoun to show who is affected (uns, meaning "to ourselves") and a simple "the" for the body part (die Zähne). Literally, you are saying "We brush to ourselves the teeth."
Is the reflexive pronoun uns in the accusative or dative case here?
It is in the dative case! The direct object receiving the brushing action is die Zähne (the teeth), so that takes the accusative case. Because the accusative spot is taken, the reflexive pronoun gets bumped to the dative case. The word uns looks the same in both cases, but if the subject were "I", you would see the dative clearly: Ich putze mir die Zähne.
Why is the word jetzt placed between uns and die Zähne?
In German word order, pronouns like uns are very important and want to be right next to the verb. So, the reflexive pronoun goes first, followed by the time word jetzt (now), and finally the direct object die Zähne at the end of the sentence.
Is Zähne always plural? What is the singular form?