Breakdown of Wir reinigen das Besteck, indem wir es polieren.
es
it
wir
we
reinigen
to clean (formally, thoroughly)
indem
by doing
das Besteck
the cutlery
polieren
to polish
Questions & Answers about Wir reinigen das Besteck, indem wir es polieren.
Why does the German sentence use indem wir es polieren instead of a literal translation for "by polishing it"?
English often uses "by" plus an "-ing" verb to show how something is done. German doesn't use an "-ing" equivalent here. Instead, it uses the conjunction indem, which requires a full subordinate clause with a subject and a conjugated verb at the end. It literally translates to "in that we it polish."
Could I use durch instead of indem to say "by polishing"?
Yes, but you would need to change the grammar. While indem introduces a subordinate clause, durch is a preposition that must be followed by a noun. You would have to turn the verb into a capitalized noun (a process called nominalization): Wir reinigen das Besteck durch Polieren.
Why is the pronoun es used for "it"? Does that mean cutlery is singular in German?
Exactly! das Besteck is a neuter singular noun in German. Even though it refers to a collection of multiple forks, knives, and spoons, grammatically it acts as a single neuter item. Therefore, you must use the neuter pronoun es to refer back to it.
How would I change this sentence to say "The cutlery needs to be polished" using the gehören passive alternative from this lesson?
You would say: Das Besteck gehört poliert. This structure (gehören + past participle) is a snappy alternative to the standard passive with a modal verb (Das Besteck muss poliert werden) and is heavily used in spoken German to express that something urgently needs to be done.
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