Breakdown of Der Schlafwandler ist unruhig, wohingegen der Hund hellwach auf dem Bett liegt.
sein
to be
der Hund
the dog
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
das Bett
the bed
liegen
to lie
der Schlafwandler
the sleepwalker
wohingegen
whereas
unruhig
restless
hellwach
wide awake
Questions & Answers about Der Schlafwandler ist unruhig, wohingegen der Hund hellwach auf dem Bett liegt.
Why does the verb liegt go at the very end of the sentence?
Because wohingegen is a subordinating conjunction. Just like dass or weil, it kicks the conjugated verb to the end of its clause.
Could I use während instead of wohingegen in this sentence?
Yes, you could. Both can translate to "whereas" or "while". However, wohingegen is exclusively used for stark contrasts, making the opposition between the restless sleepwalker and the wide-awake dog much more emphatic. während can sometimes be slightly ambiguous since its primary meaning is temporal ("during the time that").
What does hell- mean in the word hellwach?
On its own, hell means "bright" or "light". Here it acts as an intensifier, very similar to how we use "wide" in English. Put together, hellwach translates perfectly to "wide awake".
As a quick refresher, why is it auf dem Bett (dative) rather than auf das Bett (accusative)?
auf is a two-way preposition. Because the dog is already positioned on the bed and not moving onto it (indicated by the static verb liegen), we use the dative case to answer the question "where?". If the dog were jumping onto the bed, we would use the accusative auf das Bett to answer "to where?".
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