Breakdown of Als ich in den Kartons wühlte, fand ich irgendein altes Buch.
ich
I
das Buch
the book
in
in
finden
to find
alt
old
als
when (past single event)
irgendein
some / any (singular)
der Karton
the cardboard box
wühlen
to rummage
Questions & Answers about Als ich in den Kartons wühlte, fand ich irgendein altes Buch.
Why is the word irgendein used here without an ending?
In this sentence, Buch is a neuter noun in the accusative case (it is the direct object being found). Just like the basic article ein, irgendein takes no extra ending in the neuter nominative and accusative cases.
Since irgendein has no ending, why does the adjective altes end in -es?
The determiner irgendein triggers the exact same adjective endings as the regular article ein (mixed declension). Because irgendein doesn't show the neuter gender itself here, the following adjective has to step up and show it by taking the strong ending -es.
Why is it in den Kartons (dative) instead of in die Kartons (accusative)?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. Since rummaging (wühlen) describes an action happening within a location rather than a movement into a new destination, it answers the question "where?" and therefore takes the dative case.
Could I use Wenn instead of Als to mean "When I rummaged"?
No, you must use Als. German uses als for a single, specific event or block of time in the past. Wenn is used for present or future events, or to mean "whenever" for repeated events in the past.
Learn Als ich in den Kartons wühlte, fand ich irgendein altes Buch and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free