Questions & Answers about Ich ziehe den weichen Schal an.
Why do we use den instead of der for the scarf?
Schal is a masculine noun (der Schal), but here it is the direct object of the sentence because it is the thing receiving the action of being put on. Direct objects use the accusative case, which changes the masculine article der to den.
Why does the adjective weich end in -en here?
This is the rule for adjective endings after a definite article. Because we are using the masculine accusative article den, any adjective that comes right between the article and the noun must take an -en ending. Therefore, weich becomes weichen.
Why is the word an sitting all the way at the end of the sentence?
The full verb for to put on is anziehen, which is a separable verb. In a standard sentence, the core part of the verb (ziehe) takes the second position, and the prefix (an) gets kicked to the very end of the clause.
Doesn't ziehen usually mean to pull?
Yes, on its own, ziehen means to pull. However, German frequently attaches prefixes to verbs to change their meaning. Adding an creates the new verb anziehen (to put on). It helps to imagine that you are literally pulling on a piece of clothing!