Breakdown of Sie sind sich der Tat bewusst, aber sie fühlen sich nicht schuldig.
sein
to be
aber
but
sie
they
nicht
not
sich
oneself / himself / herself / themselves (reflexive pronoun)
sich fühlen
to feel (a certain way)
die Tat
the deed, the act
bewusst
aware
schuldig
guilty
Questions & Answers about Sie sind sich der Tat bewusst, aber sie fühlen sich nicht schuldig.
Why is der Tat in the genitive case here?
The adjective bewusst (aware) requires its object to be in the genitive case. The fixed phrase is sich einer Sache bewusst sein (to be aware of a thing), so the feminine noun die Tat becomes der Tat in the genitive.
Both halves of the sentence use sich. Are they in the same case?
No, they are actually in different cases! In the first half, sich is dative. If you used ich, it would be ich bin mir der Tat bewusst. In the second half, the verb sich fühlen (to feel) takes an accusative reflexive pronoun, so it would be ich fühle mich nicht schuldig. For sie (they), both the dative and accusative forms are sich, so they happen to look exactly the same here.
Why is the conjugated verb fühlen in the normal second position after aber?
The word aber is a coordinating conjunction. It occupies 'position zero' in the clause, meaning it does not count as the first position and does not push the verb to the end of the sentence. The subject sie is in position one, followed by the verb fühlen in position two.
Does die Tat just mean any general action?
While die Tat technically translates to 'the deed' or 'the act', in this context it strongly implies a crime or wrongdoing. This is why it is paired with schuldig (guilty). You will also often see this root in German police and news vocabulary, such as der Täter (the perpetrator) or der Tatort (the crime scene).
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