Breakdown of Ein junger Mann lässt die Jacke in der Reinigung reinigen.
ein
a, an (eine)
der Mann
the man
in
in
die Jacke
the jacket
Questions & Answers about Ein junger Mann lässt die Jacke in der Reinigung reinigen.
Why does the sentence use the infinitive reinigen instead of a past participle like gereinigt?
When using lassen to mean 'to have something done', German pairs it with an infinitive. While English says 'is having the jacket cleaned' (past participle), the German structure is literally 'lets the jacket clean' (infinitive).
Where exactly does the infinitive reinigen go in this sentence structure?
Just like with modal verbs, lassen creates a verb bracket. The conjugated verb lässt takes the second position in the sentence, and it pushes the infinitive reinigen to the very end.
Why is it junger Mann with an -er at the end of the adjective?
Mann is the subject here, making it nominative. Because the indefinite article ein doesn't have an ending to show it is masculine, the adjective has to step in and take the strong masculine ending -er.
The word for dry cleaner is die Reinigung. Why does the sentence say in der Reinigung?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the action happens at a fixed location (answering the question 'where?'), it triggers the dative case. The dative form of the feminine article die changes to der.