Breakdown of Er merkt sich jeden Fehler.
er
he
der Fehler
the mistake
jeder
everyone / each
sich merken
to memorize / to remember (commit to memory)
Questions & Answers about Er merkt sich jeden Fehler.
Why do we need the word 'sich' here? Wouldn't 'Er merkt jeden Fehler' mean the same thing?
Not quite! The verb merken on its own means 'to notice' or 'to realize' (e.g., Er merkt den Fehler = He notices the mistake). When you add the reflexive pronoun to make it sich etwas merken, the meaning changes to 'to remember' or 'to make a mental note of' something.
Is the 'sich' in this sentence in the accusative or dative case?
It is in the dative case. When a reflexive verb has a direct object (the thing being acted upon), the reflexive pronoun gets pushed into the dative case. Here, the direct object is jeden Fehler (every mistake). For 'he' (er), the dative reflexive pronoun is sich (which happens to look exactly like the accusative sich). If the sentence was 'I remember every mistake', the dative would be obvious: Ich merke mir jeden Fehler.
Why is the ending on 'jeden' an '-en'?
The word Fehler (mistake) is a masculine noun (der Fehler). Because it is the direct object of the sentence (the thing he is committing to memory), it must be in the accusative case. For masculine nouns in the accusative, the ending for words like jeder (every) changes to -en, giving us jeden Fehler.
What is the difference between 'sich merken' and 'sich erinnern' for remembering?
Sich etwas merken means to commit something to memory, like memorizing a password, learning a fact, or making a mental note of a mistake so you don't repeat it. Sich an etwas erinnern means to recall a past memory, like remembering your childhood or what you ate for breakfast. In this sentence, he is actively making a mental note of the mistakes.
Learn Er merkt sich jeden Fehler and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free