Word
Nachdem ich das Haus verlassen hatte, beeilte ich mich, um den Bus zu bekommen.
Meaning
After I had left the house, I hurried to catch the bus.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Nachdem ich das Haus verlassen hatte, beeilte ich mich, um den Bus zu bekommen.
ich
I
das Haus
the house
haben
to have
der Bus
the bus
Questions & Answers about Nachdem ich das Haus verlassen hatte, beeilte ich mich, um den Bus zu bekommen.
Why do we use verlassen hatte in the first part and beeilte in the second?
This shows the strict tense sequencing required by nachdem. Because the main action of hurrying happened in the past (beeilte), the action that was completed before it must be in the Past Perfect or Plusquamperfekt (verlassen hatte).
Why are the verbs hatte and beeilte right next to each other separated by a comma?
Nachdem is a subordinating conjunction, so it kicks the conjugated verb (hatte) to the very end of its clause. Since this entire nachdem clause takes up the first position of the sentence, the main clause must immediately start with its own verb (beeilte) to keep that verb in the second position.
Why is the word mich needed in beeilte ich mich?
The verb for 'to hurry' in German is sich beeilen, which is a reflexive verb. You always have to include the reflexive pronoun, even in the past tense, so here we need mich to match the subject ich.
What is the purpose of um ... zu in the last part of the sentence?
The structure um ... zu translates to 'in order to'. Here, um den Bus zu bekommen explains the specific goal of hurrying: 'in order to catch the bus'. The zu always goes directly in front of the infinitive verb at the very end of the clause.