Breakdown of Nachdem der Kollege die Datei gespeichert hatte, schaltete er den Computer aus.
er
he
haben
to have
der Computer
the computer
der Kollege
the colleague
Questions & Answers about Nachdem der Kollege die Datei gespeichert hatte, schaltete er den Computer aus.
Why do we use hatte gespeichert in the first half, but schaltete in the second?
This is the rule for tense sequencing with nachdem (after). The action of saving the file happened before turning off the computer. Since the main action is in the simple past (schaltete), the earlier action must be in the past perfect, or Plusquamperfekt (hatte gespeichert).
Why is hatte at the very end of the first clause?
Nachdem is a subordinating conjunction, which means it kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause. In a compound tense like the past perfect, the conjugated helping verb (hatte) goes last, right after the past participle (gespeichert).
Why does the second clause start with the verb schaltete instead of the subject er?
In a German main clause, the conjugated verb must be in position two. The entire nachdem clause acts as position one. Therefore, the main clause verb (schaltete) must immediately follow the comma to take the second position, pushing the subject (er) right behind it.
What is aus doing at the end of the sentence?
It is the prefix of the separable verb ausschalten (to turn off). Because the second half of the sentence is a main clause, the conjugated verb (schaltete) takes position two, and the separable prefix (aus) is kicked to the very end of the sentence.