Breakdown of Er erklärt den Trick, ohne die Illusion zu zeigen.
er
he
zeigen
to show
erklären
to explain
ohne
without
Questions & Answers about Er erklärt den Trick, ohne die Illusion zu zeigen.
How does the word order work in the ohne ... zu part of the sentence?
In an infinitive clause like this, ohne (without) starts the clause, and zu plus the infinitive verb (zeigen) goes at the very end. Any objects or extra information, like die Illusion, get sandwiched in the middle.
Where is the subject in the second part of the sentence? Who is not showing the illusion?
Clauses using ohne ... zu (without doing) or anstatt ... zu (instead of doing) do not have their own subject. They automatically share the subject of the main clause. Since Er (He) is explaining the trick, it is understood that he is also the one not showing the illusion.
Why is it den Trick and not der Trick?
Trick is a masculine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object receiving the action of the verb erklären (to explain), so it takes the accusative case. This changes the masculine "the" from der to den.
Is the comma before ohne mandatory?
Yes. In German, you must use a comma to separate the main sentence (Er erklärt den Trick) from an extended infinitive clause that starts with words like ohne, anstatt, or um.