Breakdown of Das Gehirn lernt effektiv, indem es kleine Pausen macht.
es
it
klein
small
lernen
to learn
machen
to make, to do
die Pause
the break
indem
by doing
das Gehirn
the brain
effektiv
effective
Questions & Answers about Das Gehirn lernt effektiv, indem es kleine Pausen macht.
How does the word indem affect the sentence structure here?
The word indem is a subordinating conjunction, meaning it creates a dependent clause and kicks the conjugated verb (macht) to the very end. It translates to "by doing" something, so indem es kleine Pausen macht translates to "by taking small breaks".
Why does the German sentence say the brain macht (makes) breaks instead of taking them?
In German, the set phrase for "to take a break" is eine Pause machen (literally: to make a break). Using a direct translation of "take" like nehmen would sound wrong to a German speaker here.
What does the pronoun es refer to in the second half of the sentence?
It refers back to das Gehirn (the brain). In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since Gehirn is neuter, the sentence uses the neuter pronoun es.
Why is the adjective ending on kleine just an -e?
The noun Pausen is plural and acts as the direct object, putting it in the accusative case. Because there is no article like die or keine in front of it, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting to show the case. For plural accusative nouns with no article, that strong ending is -e.
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