Breakdown of Ich glaube, dass der Motor deines Autos kaputt ist.
ich
I
sein
to be
das Auto
the car
dein
your (informal)
glauben
to believe
kaputt
broken
dass
that
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Motor
the engine
Questions & Answers about Ich glaube, dass der Motor deines Autos kaputt ist.
Why does the phrase for 'your car' change to deines Autos?
This uses the genitive case, which shows ownership, just like saying 'the engine of your car'. Because Auto is a neuter noun (das Auto), the possessive word dein gets an -es ending to become deines. Additionally, neuter and masculine nouns in the genitive case usually add an -s or -es to the end of the noun itself, which is why it becomes Autos.
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the sentence?
The word dass (that) connects two parts of a sentence and creates a subordinate clause. A major rule in German is that connector words like dass, weil (because), and wenn (if) push the conjugated verb to the very end of their clause.
Is the word order strictly der Motor deines Autos?
Yes! In German, the genitive phrase (the owner) almost always comes directly after the thing being owned. So 'the engine of your car' translates directly to der Motor deines Autos. You cannot put other words between them.
How do I know when to use dass instead of das?
dass with a double 's' is a connector word meaning 'that' (as in 'I believe that...'). das with a single 's' is the article 'the' for neuter nouns like das Auto, or a pointing word like 'that is nice'. If you are linking a main clause to a subordinate clause, you always need the connector dass.
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