Questions & Answers about Gibt er die Quittung zurück?
Why is zurück at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses the separable verb zurückgeben (to give back). In a main clause or a question, the conjugated part of the verb (gibt) stays near the beginning, and the separable prefix (zurück) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
The infinitive is geben, so why is it spelled gibt here?
The verb geben (to give) has a stem-vowel change. For the er, sie, es, and du forms, the e changes to an i. So, "he gives" is er gibt.
Is die Quittung in the nominative or accusative case here?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object (the thing being given back). The article for feminine nouns like die Quittung is die in both the nominative and accusative cases, so it doesn't change its spelling here.
How would I add a person to ask "Is he giving the receipt back to me?"
You would say Gibt er mir die Quittung zurück? When you have a dative pronoun (mir) and an accusative noun (die Quittung), the dative pronoun comes before the accusative noun.
What if I replace the noun with a pronoun to ask "Is he giving it back to me?"
You would say Gibt er sie mir zurück? This is exactly what you are learning in this lesson! When both objects are pronouns, the accusative pronoun (sie, standing in for the feminine die Quittung) must come before the dative pronoun (mir).
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