Breakdown of Das Training ist anstrengend, wenn man Muskeln aufbaut.
sein
to be
man
one / you (impersonal)
das Training
the training/practice
anstrengend
exhausting
wenn
if / when (conditional, not a question word)
der Muskel
the muscle
aufbauen
to build up
Questions & Answers about Das Training ist anstrengend, wenn man Muskeln aufbaut.
Why is it aufbaut as one word at the end, instead of baut ... auf?
The verb here is the separable verb aufbauen (to build up). In a normal main clause, the prefix auf would split off and go to the end. But because this part of the sentence starts with the subordinating conjunction wenn (when/if), the conjugated verb is pushed to the very end. When the conjugated part (baut) meets its prefix (auf) at the end of the clause, they reconnect into a single word: aufbaut.
Could I use wann instead of wenn to say "when"?
No, you can only use wann for actual questions about time, like "When does the class start?". When you mean "if" or "whenever" (a condition), you must use wenn. Since this sentence describes a general condition, wenn is the right choice.
Why do we use man instead of du for "you"?
man is an impersonal pronoun used to talk about people in general. In English, we often say "you" or "one" to mean the same thing. Notice that man always takes the third-person singular verb ending, which is why the verb is aufbaut (like er/sie/es) rather than the du form (aufbaust).
What kind of word is anstrengend?
Here, anstrengend is an adjective meaning "exhausting" or "strenuous". It is built from the verb sich anstrengen (to make an effort) by adding a -d to the end, which turns it into a describing word. This is very similar to how adding "-ing" turns a verb into a describing word in English.
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