Breakdown of Das Kind niest auf das Abendessen, ohne dass die Eltern etwas sagen.
das Kind
the child
etwas
something
sagen
to say
die Eltern
the parents
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
das Abendessen
the dinner
ohne dass
without (+ subordinate clause)
niesen
to sneeze
Questions & Answers about Das Kind niest auf das Abendessen, ohne dass die Eltern etwas sagen.
Why is it ohne dass die Eltern etwas sagen instead of using ohne ... zu?
We use ohne dass because the two clauses have different subjects. The child (das Kind) is sneezing, but the parents (die Eltern) are the ones not saying anything. If the child was the one not saying anything, we would use an infinitive clause with ohne ... zu (for example: Das Kind niest, ohne etwas zu sagen).
Why does the verb sagen come at the very end of the sentence?
ohne dass is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which forces the conjugated verb (sagen) to move to the very end of its clause.
Why is it auf das Abendessen (accusative) and not auf dem Abendessen (dative)?
The preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Here, it takes the accusative case (das Abendessen) because the sneeze is an action directed onto the dinner, answering the question 'where to?' (wohin?). If the child were sitting on top of the dinner while sneezing, it would take the dative (auf dem Abendessen), answering 'where?' (wo?).
Why does etwas translate to 'anything' here instead of 'something'?
In German, etwas can mean 'something' or 'anything' depending on the context. Because ohne dass already establishes a negative context ('without'), the phrase etwas sagen naturally translates to 'saying anything' in English.
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