Breakdown of Ehe du den Extrakt testest, mischen wir dreierlei Sandelholz.
du
you (informal singular)
wir
we
mischen
to shuffle / to mix
testen
to test (try out)
Questions & Answers about Ehe du den Extrakt testest, mischen wir dreierlei Sandelholz.
Why doesn't dreierlei have an adjective ending to match the neuter noun Sandelholz?
Words ending in the suffix -erlei are invariant adjectives. This means they never change their form or take declension endings, regardless of the case, gender, or number of the noun they describe. You simply place dreierlei (three kinds of) directly in front of the noun.
Could I use bevor instead of ehe at the beginning of this sentence?
Yes, absolutely. Both ehe and bevor are subordinating conjunctions that mean "before" and send the conjugated verb to the end of the clause. Ehe can sound a bit more formal or literary, but they are completely interchangeable here.
Why does the main clause start with the verb mischen rather than the subject wir?
Because the entire subordinate clause (Ehe du den Extrakt testest) occupies position one in the overall sentence structure. To satisfy German's strict verb-second (V2) rule, the main verb (mischen) must come right after the comma, pushing the subject (wir) into position three.
Wait, I thought Extrakt was a neuter noun, but the sentence says den Extrakt. Which is it?