Breakdown of Ich muss meine Rolle üben, bevor ich schlafen darf.
ich
I
schlafen
to sleep
mein
my
müssen
to have to, must
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
üben
to practice
bevor
before
die Rolle
the role
Questions & Answers about Ich muss meine Rolle üben, bevor ich schlafen darf.
Why are there two verbs at the very end (schlafen darf)?
bevor is a subordinating conjunction, which means it sends the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. Here, darf is the conjugated verb. Because there is also an infinitive verb (schlafen), the conjugated verb gets pushed all the way behind it. That is why darf comes after schlafen.
Why use darf here instead of kann?
The verb dürfen means to have permission to do something. In English we might casually say before I can sleep, but German distinguishes strictly between ability (können) and permission (dürfen). Using darf here implies that the speaker is not permitted to sleep until the practice is done.
Why is üben placed right before the comma?
The first half of the sentence is a main clause with the modal verb muss. In German, a conjugated modal verb stays in the second position and pushes the main action verb in its infinitive form (üben) to the very end of its clause. The comma marks where this main clause ends.
Why is it meine Rolle instead of mein Rolle?
Rolle is a feminine noun (die Rolle). In this sentence, it is the direct object being practiced, so it is in the accusative case. The possessive word for a feminine noun in the accusative case must take an -e ending, making it meine.
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