Der Junge niest, ohne dass er das Taschentuch nimmt.
The boy sneezes without taking the handkerchief.
Breakdown of Der Junge niest, ohne dass er das Taschentuch nimmt.
er
he
der Junge
the boy
nehmen
to take
ohne dass
without (+ subordinate clause)
Questions & Answers about Der Junge niest, ohne dass er das Taschentuch nimmt.
Why does the verb nimmt go at the very end of the sentence?
Because ohne dass (without) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause, which forces the conjugated verb (nimmt) to the very end of that clause.
The English translation says "without taking". Could I use an infinitive here like ohne ... zu nehmen?
Yes! Because the subject in both parts of the sentence is exactly the same (the boy / he), you could also say Der Junge niest, ohne das Taschentuch zu nehmen. Both are correct, though German speakers often prefer the ohne ... zu structure when the subjects match.
Why do we need the pronoun er in the second part of the sentence?
When you use the conjunction ohne dass, you are building a full clause that requires its own subject and conjugated verb. Even though we already know it is the boy who isn't taking the handkerchief, the grammar of ohne dass requires you to explicitly state the subject again with er.
Since the handkerchief is the direct object being taken, why is it das Taschentuch and not den Taschentuch?
Taschentuch is a neuter noun (like all nouns ending in -tuch). In the accusative case (for direct objects), neuter nouns keep the article das. Only masculine nouns change their article to den.