Breakdown of Er wollte den dicken Schal kaufen.
er
he
kaufen
to buy
wollen
to want
dick
thick / fat
der Schal
the scarf
Questions & Answers about Er wollte den dicken Schal kaufen.
Why is the adjective ending -en on dicken?
Because it is describing a masculine noun (der Schal) in the accusative case. The sentence uses the definite article den. When an adjective comes after a definite article in the masculine accusative case, it always takes the -en ending.
Why does kaufen go at the very end of the sentence?
This sentence uses a modal verb, wollte (wanted). In German, the conjugated modal verb takes the normal second position in the sentence, and it pushes the main action verb (kaufen) all the way to the end in its dictionary form (infinitive).
Is wollte in the past tense here?
Yes! wollte is the simple past tense of wollen (to want). Even though spoken German usually prefers the conversational past (Perfekt) for most verbs, modal verbs like wollen are an exception and are almost always used in their simple past form.
How can I figure out the gender of Schal just by looking at this sentence?
The clue is the article den. In the accusative case (which we use for direct objects, like the scarf being bought), only masculine nouns change their article. Since it says den instead of das or die, you know it has to be a masculine noun (der Schal).
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