Breakdown of Als Betreuer entscheiden wir, je nachdem, wie müde die Kinder sind.
sein
to be
das Kind
the child
wir
we
müde
tired
wie
how
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
entscheiden
to decide
als
as (in the role of)
je nachdem
depending on
der Betreuer
the counselor
Questions & Answers about Als Betreuer entscheiden wir, je nachdem, wie müde die Kinder sind.
How does je nachdem connect to the rest of the sentence?
je nachdem means depending on. It introduces an indirect question that explains what the decision depends on. The indirect question that follows (wie müde die Kinder sind) acts as a subordinate clause.
Why is there a comma after je nachdem?
je nachdem belongs to the main clause (Als Betreuer entscheiden wir, je nachdem). The comma separates this main clause from the subordinate clause (wie müde die Kinder sind) that follows it.
Why is the verb order entscheiden wir and not wir entscheiden?
The phrase Als Betreuer takes up the first position in the sentence. Because the verb must be in the second position in a main clause, entscheiden comes next, pushing the subject wir into the third position.
Why does the verb sind go at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase wie müde die Kinder sind is an indirect question. Indirect questions are subordinate clauses, and the main rule for subordinate clauses is that the conjugated verb (sind) gets kicked to the very end.
Why do wie and müde stay together? Can I say wie die Kinder müde sind?
No, they have to stay together. Just like in English (how tired), the question word wie directly modifies the adjective müde. They form a single unit that introduces the indirect question.
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