Breakdown of Der Wachmann sitzt im Büro und beobachtet die Bildschirme.
und
and
das Büro
the office
sitzen
to sit
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
beobachten
to observe, to watch
der Bildschirm
the screen
der Wachmann
the security guard
Questions & Answers about Der Wachmann sitzt im Büro und beobachtet die Bildschirme.
Since the current lesson is about scheinen + zu, how would I rewrite this to say 'The security guard seems to sit in the office and observe the screens'?
You make scheint the conjugated verb in position 2, and move both action verbs to the end in their infinitive forms, preceded by zu. The sentence becomes: Der Wachmann scheint im Büro zu sitzen und die Bildschirme zu beobachten. Note that you must put zu before both infinitives when they are separated by und.
Why do we use im Büro (dative) here instead of ins Büro (accusative)?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. We use the dative case (im is short for in dem) because the guard is statically located inside the office, answering the question 'where?'. If he were actively walking into the office (answering 'to where?'), we would use the accusative ins Büro (in das).
How is the vocabulary word Bildschirme formed?
It is a compound noun made from das Bild (picture) and der Schirm (umbrella, shield, or screen). Literally a 'picture-screen', it is the standard German word for a computer monitor or display. Because Schirm is masculine, the plural simply adds an -e.
Why isn't there a pronoun like er (he) after und?
Just like in English, when you connect two main clauses with und (and) that share the exact same subject, you can drop the subject in the second clause. The subject der Wachmann carries over, so it is perfectly natural to just say und beobachtet.
Why use beobachtet instead of a simpler word like sieht (sees)?
beobachten specifically means 'to observe', 'to monitor', or 'to watch closely'. It implies a continuous, deliberate focus, which is exactly what a security guard does. sehen just means 'to see' (the passive physical ability), which wouldn't capture the guard's active concentration.
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