Breakdown of Du musst Geld sparen!
du
you (informal singular)
das Geld
the money
müssen
to have to, must
sparen
to save
Questions & Answers about Du musst Geld sparen!
Why is the verb sparen at the very end of the sentence?
When you use a modal verb like müssen (must / to have to) in the second position, the main action verb (sparen) gets pushed to the very end of the sentence in its dictionary form (infinitive).
Why does musst not have an umlaut (ü), even though the dictionary form is müssen?
Most German modal verbs change their vowel in the singular forms (ich, du, er/sie/es). So müssen becomes ich muss and du musst. The plural forms keep the umlaut, for example: wir müssen and ihr müsst.
Can I use sparen to say I saved someone from danger?
No, sparen is only used for saving resources, like money (Geld sparen) or time (Zeit sparen). If you want to talk about saving a person's life or rescuing them, you use the verb retten.
How would the word order change if I made this a reason using weil (because)?
As you are learning in this lesson, weil pushes the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. If you want to say because you must save money, it becomes: weil du Geld sparen musst. The conjugated verb (musst) moves to the absolute end, right after the infinitive (sparen).
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