Breakdown of Der Stecker, mit dem du das Kabel anschließt, ist alt.
sein
to be
du
you (informal singular)
alt
old
mit
with
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
anschließen
to connect
das Kabel
the cable
der Stecker
the plug
Questions & Answers about Der Stecker, mit dem du das Kabel anschließt, ist alt.
Why do we use mit dem here to mean 'with'?
The phrase mit dem translates to 'with which'. The preposition mit always requires the dative case. Because it refers back to der Stecker, which is masculine, we use the masculine dative relative pronoun dem. In English, we often end the sentence with the preposition ('the plug you connect the cable with'), but German always keeps the preposition and its relative pronoun together at the start of the clause.
Isn't anschließen a separable verb? Why is it written as one word (anschließt) here?
Yes, anschließen (to connect) is a separable verb, so in a normal main clause you would say Du schließt das Kabel an. However, this is a relative clause, which pushes the conjugated verb to the very end. When a separable verb is forced to the end of a clause like this, its prefix and main verb reattach into a single word: anschließt.
Why is the relative clause surrounded by commas?
In German, relative clauses must always be separated from the main clause by commas. The main sentence here is Der Stecker ist alt. Because the descriptive clause mit dem du das Kabel anschließt is inserted right into the middle of that main sentence, it must be framed by commas on both sides.
Why does the English translation skip the word for dem?
In English, we can often drop the relative pronoun, saying 'The plug you connect...' instead of 'The plug with which you connect...'. German grammar never allows you to drop the relative pronoun. You must always explicitly connect the clauses, which is why dem is absolutely required here.
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