Questions & Answers about Jedoch schläft die Wache.
Why is the verb schläft before the subject die Wache?
Because jedoch (however) takes up position 1. In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must be in position 2, which pushes the subject die Wache to position 3. Unlike aber (but), which usually sits in "position 0" and doesn't affect word order, jedoch is acting as an adverb here and triggers this inversion.
Why is the guard feminine (die Wache) even if the guard might be a man?
Die Wache originally refers to the concept or institution of "the watch" or "guard duty". It is often used to describe the person standing guard (a sentry) regardless of their actual gender. If you specifically want to talk about a male guard, you can use the masculine noun der Wächter.
Why does schläft have an umlaut (ä)?
Schlafen (to sleep) is a strong verb that changes its stem vowel from a to ä for the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. Since die Wache is a singular noun, it takes the er/sie/es conjugation: schläft.
How would I use Wache with the particle als to say "He works as a guard"?
You would say Er arbeitet als Wache. When als is used to state someone's role, function, or profession, we generally drop the article (no eine). The noun after als matches the case of the person or thing it refers to. Since it refers to the subject er here, Wache is in the nominative case.
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