Breakdown of Ich lerne Deutsch, indem ich jeden Tag ein Buch benutze.
ich
I
das Buch
the book
lernen
to learn
Deutsch
German
jeden Tag
every day
indem
by doing
benutzen
to use
Questions & Answers about Ich lerne Deutsch, indem ich jeden Tag ein Buch benutze.
Why does the English translation use 'by using', but the German sentence has ich and benutze?
In English, we often say 'by doing something' using an '-ing' word. German doesn't have an exact equivalent to this '-ing' form. Instead, it uses the conjunction indem (by doing) to start a new clause. Because it's a new clause, it needs a subject (ich) and a conjugated verb (benutze). Literally, it translates closer to 'by which I use'.
Why is benutze at the very end of the sentence?
The word indem is a subordinating conjunction. In German, subordinating conjunctions always 'kick' the conjugated verb to the very end of their clause. That's why benutze comes after everything else in the second half of the sentence.
Why is jeden Tag placed before ein Buch?
This follows a common German word order rule where expressions of time usually come before noun objects. jeden Tag tells us when, and ein Buch is the direct object (the what). So the time expression naturally steps in front of the object.
Could I use dadurch, dass instead of indem here?
Yes! You could say Ich lerne Deutsch, dadurch, dass ich jeden Tag ein Buch benutze. Both indem and dadurch, dass express a method or means (how you achieve something). indem is just a bit shorter and very common in everyday speech for this kind of sentence.
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