Word
Ich kann mich nicht daran gewöhnen, dass ich in der Dunkelheit arbeiten muss.
Meaning
I cannot get used to having to work in the dark.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ich kann mich nicht daran gewöhnen, dass ich in der Dunkelheit arbeiten muss.
ich
I
arbeiten
to work
in
in
nicht
not
Questions & Answers about Ich kann mich nicht daran gewöhnen, dass ich in der Dunkelheit arbeiten muss.
Why do we need daran in this sentence? Can't we just say mich gewöhnen, dass?
In German, the verb sich gewöhnen (to get used to) is always paired with the preposition an. When you are getting used to an action described in a dass-clause, you cannot just drop the an. Instead, you combine it with da- to form the placeholder daran. This points forward to the dass-clause, acting as a bridge: literally, I cannot get used to IT, that I have to work in the dark.
Why is mich used here?
The verb for to get used to is reflexive in German: sich an etwas gewöhnen. Since the subject is Ich, you must use the accusative reflexive pronoun mich. You are literally accustoming yourself to the situation.
The English translation says having to work, but the German sentence uses dass ich ... muss. Why?
English often uses -ing words (gerunds) after prepositions, like getting used to having to work. German grammar does not do this. Instead, German spells out the entire action using a full subordinate clause with a subject and a conjugated verb: dass ich arbeiten muss (that I must work).
Why are there two verbs at the very end of the sentence (arbeiten muss)?