Breakdown of Ich kann mich nicht daran gewöhnen, dass ich in der Dunkelheit arbeiten muss.
ich
I
arbeiten
to work
in
in
nicht
not
können
can / to be able to
müssen
to have to, must
daran
about it / of it
dass
that
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
die Dunkelheit
the darkness
sich gewöhnen an
to get used to
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)?
The word dass (that) is a subordinating conjunction, which means it kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause. Here, the modal verb muss is the conjugated verb, so it goes to the absolute end, landing right after the infinitive verb arbeiten.
Why is it in der Dunkelheit and not in die Dunkelheit?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the action of working happens in a fixed location (answering the question where?) rather than being a physical movement into a new destination, it triggers the dative case. Dunkelheit is a feminine noun, so its dative article is der.
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