Breakdown of Ich habe mich bei dieser Firma beworben.
ich
I
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
bei
at, near, with
die Firma
the company
sich bewerben
to apply
Questions & Answers about Ich habe mich bei dieser Firma beworben.
Why is there a mich in this sentence?
The verb for "to apply" (for a job) is sich bewerben in German. It is a reflexive verb, meaning you literally apply yourself. Because the subject is Ich, you must use the accusative reflexive pronoun mich.
Why do we use bei here to mean "at" or "to"?
When you state the company you are applying to, German uses the preposition bei. If you instead wanted to state the specific role you are applying for, you would use the preposition für, like in Ich habe mich für die Stelle beworben (I applied for the position).
Why does the sentence use dieser Firma instead of "diese Firma"?
The preposition bei always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. Because Firma is a feminine noun, its demonstrative article changes to the dative feminine form, which is dieser.
Why doesn't the past participle beworben start with "ge-"?
Verbs that start with an inseparable prefix, like be-, do not take the ge- prefix when forming the past participle. Additionally, bewerben is an irregular (strong) verb, which is why the stem vowel changes from an "e" to an "o" to make beworben.
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