Breakdown of Wir schütteln den Automaten, was leider nichts bringt.
wir
we
leider
unfortunately
bringen
to bring
nichts
nothing
Questions & Answers about Wir schütteln den Automaten, was leider nichts bringt.
Why is was used here instead of a normal relative pronoun like der or das?
In German, when a relative pronoun refers back to an entire idea or action rather than a specific noun, you must use was. Here, was doesn't refer to the vending machine (der Automat); it refers to the whole action of shaking it. If it referred to the machine itself, it would be der leider nichts bringt (which would mean the machine itself is useless, rather than the shaking being useless).
Why is it den Automaten? Is Automat plural here?
No, we are only shaking one vending machine! Automat is a masculine noun that belongs to a special group called weak nouns (often called n-declension). These nouns add an -n or -en in every case except the nominative singular. Since the machine is the direct object here (accusative case), der Automat becomes den Automaten.
Does nichts bringt literally mean 'brings nothing'?
Literally yes, but it is a very common German expression meaning 'achieves nothing', 'does no good', or 'is of no use'. So was leider nichts bringt translates smoothly to 'which unfortunately doesn't do any good' or 'which unfortunately doesn't help'.
Why is the verb bringt at the very end of the sentence?