Breakdown of Sie trennt sich nach dem Streit von ihm.
sie
she
ihm
him / it / to him / to it (dative)
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
nach
after (in time)
Questions & Answers about Sie trennt sich nach dem Streit von ihm.
Why does this sentence use von ihm if the translation says she is breaking up "with" him?
Verbs in German often use different prepositions than their English equivalents. The verb for "to break up" is sich trennen, which literally means "to separate oneself". Just like in English you separate from someone, German uses the preposition von. Since von always takes the dative case, "him" becomes ihm.
How would I ask "Who is she breaking up with?" using this verb?
You would ask: Von wem trennt sie sich? Because the verb requires von, the question must also start with von. And since we are asking about a person (who) in the dative case, we use wem. You can't use a "wo-word" like wovon here, because those are only used when asking about things, not people.
Why does sich come right after the verb instead of later in the sentence?
Sich trennen is a reflexive verb, so it needs the reflexive pronoun sich. In standard German sentence structure, pronouns like sich like to sit as close to the conjugated verb (trennt) as possible. That is why it appears before the time phrase (nach dem Streit).
Why is it nach dem Streit instead of nach den Streit?