Breakdown of Ich schüttle den Automaten, bis er das Wechselgeld ausspuckt.
ich
I
er
he
bis
until / to (as far as)
der Automat
the vending machine
Questions & Answers about Ich schüttle den Automaten, bis er das Wechselgeld ausspuckt.
Wait, why is it den Automaten? Is the vending machine plural?
No, it's just one vending machine! Automat is a masculine noun that follows the "n-declension" (or weak noun) rule. This means it gets an extra -en ending in every case except the nominative (subject) case. Since you are shaking the machine, it is the direct object (accusative), so it becomes den Automaten.
Why does the second part use er if the English translation says "until it spits out the change"?
In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since "vending machine" is masculine (der Automat), you must use the masculine pronoun er to refer back to it, even though we use "it" for machines in English.
I thought separable verbs like ausspucken split up. Why is it all one word at the end here?
You are right that ausspucken (to spit out) is a separable verb! Normally, it would split (e.g., Er spuckt das Geld aus). However, bis (until) is a subordinating conjunction that pushes the conjugated verb to the very end of the clause. When a separable verb is pushed to the end like this, the prefix reattaches to the main verb.
How could I use this lesson's grammar to add "which is annoying" to the end of this sentence?