Breakdown of Ich gebe es dir morgen zurück.
ich
I
es
it
morgen
tomorrow
dir
you / to you [informal singular, dative]
zurückgeben
to give back
Questions & Answers about Ich gebe es dir morgen zurück.
Why does es come before dir? Shouldn't the person come before the thing?
Usually, a dative noun (the person receiving the action) comes before an accusative noun (the thing). However, the rule changes when we use pronouns! When both objects are pronouns, the accusative pronoun (es) must always come first. That is why it has to be es dir.
Why is zurück at the very end of the sentence?
The verb used here is zurückgeben (to give back). This is a separable verb. In a standard main clause, the conjugated part (gebe) takes the second position, and the separable prefix (zurück) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.
The English translation says "I'll give" (future tense). Why does the German sentence use the present tense gebe?
In German, it is incredibly common to use the present tense to talk about the future. As long as there is a word indicating that the action happens later, like morgen (tomorrow), you do not need to use a complicated future tense.
Could I move morgen to a different part of the sentence?
Yes, you can put it at the very beginning to emphasize the timing: Morgen gebe ich es dir zurück. But you cannot put it at the very end of the sentence, because the separable prefix zurück always claims that final spot!
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