Breakdown of Sobald wir das Spielzeug reparieren, ist es wieder brauchbar.
sein
to be
es
it
wir
we
reparieren
to repair
wieder
again
das Spielzeug
the toy
sobald
as soon as
brauchbar
usable
Questions & Answers about Sobald wir das Spielzeug reparieren, ist es wieder brauchbar.
How does the suffix -bar work in the word brauchbar?
The suffix -bar is added to a verb stem to show that something can have that action done to it, very similar to '-able' in English. It turns an action into a passive possibility. Here, it creates brauchbar, meaning 'usable' or 'able to be used'.
I learned that brauchen means 'to need'. Why does brauchbar mean 'usable' instead of 'needable'?
While brauchen mostly translates to 'to need' in modern everyday German, it historically meant 'to use' (and is closely related to the verb gebrauchen, which still means 'to use'). The adjective brauchbar kept this older meaning, so it translates to 'usable' or 'useful'.
Why does the second part of the sentence say ist es instead of es ist?
This is a great example of the verb-second rule. The entire first clause (Sobald wir das Spielzeug reparieren) counts as the first block of information. To keep the main verb in the second position of the overall sentence, the main clause must start immediately with the verb (ist), followed by the subject (es).
Why is the verb reparieren pushed to the end of the first clause?
The word sobald (as soon as) is a subordinating conjunction. Words like this introduce a dependent clause and always push the conjugated verb to the very end of that clause, right before the comma.
Learn Sobald wir das Spielzeug reparieren, ist es wieder brauchbar and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free