Breakdown of Er nimmt eine Münze statt eines Schraubenziehers.
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
nehmen
to take
die Münze
the coin
statt
instead of
der Schraubenzieher
the screwdriver
Questions & Answers about Er nimmt eine Münze statt eines Schraubenziehers.
Why is it eines Schraubenziehers here instead of einen Schraubenzieher?
The preposition statt (instead of) requires the genitive case. Because Schraubenzieher is a masculine noun, the indefinite article changes to eines and we add an -s to the end of the noun.
Can I use anstatt instead of statt in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. Statt and anstatt mean the exact same thing and both trigger the genitive case. Statt is just a slightly shorter, very common alternative.
Why does the verb nehmen change to nimmt here?
Nehmen (to take) is an irregular verb. In the present tense for er, sie, and es, the stem vowel changes from e to i, and the h is replaced by a double m.
I struggle to remember the word Schraubenzieher. Does it break down into smaller words?
Yes! It is a compound noun made from die Schraube (the screw) and a noun based on the verb ziehen (to pull). So a screwdriver in German is literally a screw-puller.
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