Breakdown of Der Tierpfleger hat den Käfig jeden Tag zu reinigen.
haben
to have
jeder
everyone / each
der Tag
the day
der Käfig
the cage
reinigen
to clean (formally, thoroughly)
der Tierpfleger
the zookeeper
Questions & Answers about Der Tierpfleger hat den Käfig jeden Tag zu reinigen.
Why use hat ... zu reinigen instead of just using the modal verb muss?
Using haben + zu + infinitive is an alternative way to express obligation, very similar to using müssen (must or have to). It often sounds a bit more formal, official, or like a strict instruction. It is the exact equivalent of the English structure 'has to clean'.
How does the word order work with this haben + zu construction?
It works just like a modal verb sentence. The conjugated verb hat takes the second position, and the zu + infinitive part (zu reinigen) gets pushed all the way to the very end of the clause, forming a sentence bracket around the object and the time phrase.
Why are both den Käfig and jeden Tag in the accusative case?
den Käfig (the cage) is the direct object receiving the action of being cleaned, so it must be accusative. jeden Tag (every day) is a definite time expression answering 'how often?'. In German, time expressions without a preposition always take the accusative case.
Why is den Käfig placed before jeden Tag here? I thought time usually comes before objects.
It is true that time expressions often come before noun objects. However, German word order is flexible. Placing the direct object den Käfig before the time jeden Tag is perfectly fine grammatically and simply shifts a little extra emphasis onto the cage rather than the frequency.
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