Question 1

How does indem affect the sentence structure here?

Accepted Answer

indem is a subordinating conjunction used to describe the method or means of doing something (answering the question "how?"). Like all subordinating conjunctions in German, it kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause. That is why fragt is the last word in the sentence.

Question 2

Why does the second part of the sentence say man den Lehrer fragt instead of just translating "by asking the teacher" directly?

Accepted Answer

In English, you can drop the subject after "by" and just use an "-ing" verb ("by asking"). German doesn't do this with indem. Because indem introduces a full subordinate clause, that clause must have its own subject and conjugated verb. Since the main clause is about a general "you" or "one" (man), we repeat man as the subject in the second clause.

Question 3

Why is it den Lehrer and not der Lehrer?

Accepted Answer

The teacher is the person being asked, making him the direct object of the verb fragen (to ask). Direct objects take the accusative case. Since Lehrer is a masculine noun, its "the" article changes from der to den in the accusative.

Question 4

The English translation says "You solve", but shouldn't "you" be du?

Accepted Answer

You could use du if you were giving advice to a specific person (e.g., Du löst das Problem, indem du...). However, the German pronoun man is used to make general statements that apply to anyone. It translates literally to "one" (as in "One solves the problem"), but in everyday English, we usually just say "you" to express this general meaning.

Man löst das Problem, indem man den Lehrer fragt.

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