Breakdown of Dort ist der Bildschirm, auf den ich immer schaue.
ich
I
sein
to be
immer
always
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
Questions & Answers about Dort ist der Bildschirm, auf den ich immer schaue.
Why is it auf den instead of just den?
In English, you can leave the preposition at the end of the sentence: "the screen I look at." In German, the preposition and the relative pronoun must always stay together at the beginning of the relative clause: auf den (literally: "at which"). You can never leave auf dangling at the end of the sentence.
Why do we use the accusative den instead of the dative dem after auf?
The phrase auf etwas schauen (to look at something) uses the preposition auf. Because you are directing your gaze toward a target, this is treated as a movement or direction. Therefore, the two-way preposition auf takes the accusative case, making the masculine pronoun den.
Can I drop the relative pronoun like we do in English?
No. In English, it is completely normal to say "the screen I always look at" without saying "that" or "which". In German, you can never drop the relative pronoun. You must explicitly say "the screen, at which I look" (der Bildschirm, auf den...).
Why does the verb schaue come at the very end?
The section auf den ich immer schaue is a relative clause. Relative clauses are dependent clauses, meaning they follow subordinate word order. In German, this pushes the conjugated verb (schaue) to the very end of that clause.