Word
Wir zerlegen das Auto, bevor es in den Schredder rutscht.
Meaning
We dismantle the car before it slides into the shredder.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Wir zerlegen das Auto, bevor es in den Schredder rutscht.
Is zerlegen a separable verb?
No. The prefix zer- is always inseparable, so it never moves to the end of the sentence. As a helpful tip, verbs starting with zer- usually involve taking something apart, breaking, or destroying it (like zerstören for to destroy).
Why does the verb rutscht go at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word bevor (before). It is a subordinating conjunction, which is a type of connecting word that always kicks the conjugated verb (rutscht) to the very end of its clause.
Why do we say in den Schredder instead of in dem Schredder?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Because the car is actively moving into the shredder (showing direction or a change of location), it takes the accusative case (den). If the car were already just sitting stationary inside the shredder, it would take the dative case (in dem or im).
Why does the second clause use the pronoun es?
es refers back to the car. In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since it is das Auto (neuter), we use es. If the sentence had used the masculine word for car (der Wagen), this pronoun would have to be er, even though it is an inanimate object.