Breakdown of Vergessen Sie diese Warnung nicht, sonst gewinnt der Hacker.
Sie
you (formal)
nicht
not
vergessen
to forget
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
Questions & Answers about Vergessen Sie diese Warnung nicht, sonst gewinnt der Hacker.
Why is the verb gewinnt placed before the subject der Hacker?
This is because of the word sonst (otherwise). sonst is an adverbial connector, which means it counts as the first element (Position 1) in its clause. In German, the verb must take Position 2, so gewinnt comes immediately after sonst, pushing the subject der Hacker to Position 3.
Why does nicht come at the very end of the first clause?
When negating an entire action (in this case, forgetting the warning) the word nicht typically gets pushed to the end of the clause. It comes after the specific direct object diese Warnung.
Why is the pronoun Sie included in the command Vergessen Sie?
While English drops the pronoun in commands, German formal commands always keep the formal pronoun Sie. It directly follows the verb. If this were an informal command to a friend, you would drop the pronoun and just say Vergiss diese Warnung nicht.
Does sonst always mean "otherwise"?
Not always. In a warning or conditional sentence like this one, it means "otherwise" or "or else". However, in other everyday contexts it can mean "usually" or "normally" (like in wie sonst meaning "as usual") or "besides that".