Breakdown of Ich höre die Nadel im Tattoostudio surren.
ich
I
hören
to hear / to listen
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Tattoostudio
the tattoo parlor
die Nadel
the needle
surren
to buzz
Questions & Answers about Ich höre die Nadel im Tattoostudio surren.
Why is surren at the end without a zu?
The verb hören is a verb of perception. Just like modal verbs, perception verbs take a bare infinitive at the end of the clause. You do not need zu before surren, and the infinitive is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
The English translation says "buzzing". Why does German use the basic infinitive surren?
German does not have an exact equivalent to the English "-ing" form for ongoing actions. When you hear or see an action happening, German uses the basic infinitive form. So, "I hear it buzzing" is simply structured as "I hear it buzz" (Ich höre es surren).
Why does im Tattoostudio come before surren?
The conjugated verb höre takes the second position, and the infinitive surren must go to the very end. This creates a sentence bracket. All other details, like the location im Tattoostudio, are sandwiched inside this bracket before the final infinitive.
Why is it im Tattoostudio instead of just in Tattoostudio?
Im is a contraction of in dem. In is a two-way preposition, and because the action is happening at a fixed location without movement toward a new destination, it takes the dative case. The word Tattoostudio is neuter, so its dative article is dem.
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