Breakdown of Ich kaufe den Senf, damit du alles essen kannst.
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
kaufen
to buy
essen
to eat
können
can / to be able to
alles
everything
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
damit
so that
der Senf
the mustard
Questions & Answers about Ich kaufe den Senf, damit du alles essen kannst.
Why do we use damit here instead of um ... zu?
Both express purpose, but you must use damit when the two clauses have different subjects. Here, the person buying the mustard is ich (I), but the person eating is du (you). You can only use the infinitive construction um ... zu if the subject is the exact same in both halves.
Why is the word order essen kannst rather than kannst essen?
damit is a subordinating conjunction, which kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause. When you have an infinitive (essen) and a conjugated modal verb (kannst), the infinitive goes second-to-last, and the conjugated modal goes at the absolute end.
Why does the sentence use alles instead of alle?
alles is an indefinite pronoun meaning 'everything' in a general, uncountable sense. alle usually means 'everyone' (when standing alone) or 'all of them' (referring to specific, countable items). Since the speaker means 'eat everything on your plate', alles is the right fit.
Learn Ich kaufe den Senf, damit du alles essen kannst 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