Breakdown of Sie dürfen nicht auf den Link klicken, sonst bekommen Sie einen Virus.
ein
a, an (eine)
Sie
you (formal)
nicht
not
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
bekommen
to receive / to get (be given)
sonst
otherwise, or else
klicken
to click
der Link
the link
der Virus
the virus
Questions & Answers about Sie dürfen nicht auf den Link klicken, sonst bekommen Sie einen Virus.
Why is the verb bekommen right after sonst? Shouldn't it be "sonst Sie bekommen"?
sonst (otherwise) is an adverbial connector, which means it occupies the first position in its clause. In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must always come in the second position. Because sonst takes position 1, the verb bekommen takes position 2, and the subject Sie is pushed to position 3.
Does sonst always have to be at the very beginning of the second clause?
No. While putting it at the beginning (position 1) is very common and emphasizes the consequence, sonst is an adverb and can move to the middle of the clause. You could also say: ..., Sie bekommen sonst einen Virus. In that case, Sie is in position 1, the verb bekommen is in position 2, and sonst acts like a normal adverb later in the sentence.
Why is Sie dürfen nicht translated as "You must not"? Doesn't dürfen mean "to be allowed to"?
Yes, dürfen means "to be allowed to". When you add nicht, it literally means "you are not allowed to". In English, we express this strict prohibition as "must not". Watch out: if you want to say "you don't have to", you should use nicht müssen or nicht brauchen instead!
Why do we use the accusative case in auf den Link?
The verb klicken (to click) is usually paired with the preposition auf when you are clicking on something. Here, auf is a two-way preposition. Because the action of clicking is directed at the link (acting as a destination or target), it takes the accusative case. Since Link is a masculine noun (der Link), it becomes den Link.
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