Word
Der Barkeeper bereitet den Cocktail schlechthin zu.
Meaning
The bartender is preparing the cocktail par excellence.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Barkeeper bereitet den Cocktail schlechthin zu.
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
zubereiten
to prepare (food)
der Barkeeper
the bartender
der Cocktail
the cocktail
Questions & Answers about Der Barkeeper bereitet den Cocktail schlechthin zu.
How does the placement of schlechthin work here?
The particle schlechthin must be placed immediately after the noun it emphasizes—in this case, den Cocktail. It acts as a marker to say this is the ultimate or quintessential version of that noun. You never decline or change it; you just drop it right after the noun phrase.
Could I put schlechthin at the very end of the sentence, after zu?
No, because schlechthin is tightly bound to the noun it modifies. If you placed it after zu, it would be separated from den Cocktail and the sentence would sound highly unnatural. The separable prefix zu must remain the final element in this main clause.
Why is zu hanging out by itself at the end of the sentence?
The verb here is zubereiten (to prepare, usually referring to food or drinks). Because it is a separable verb used in a main clause, the conjugated core (bereitet) takes the second position, while the prefix (zu) gets kicked to the very end of the sentence, wrapping around the object and its particle.
Why is it den Cocktail instead of der Cocktail?
Cocktail is a masculine noun (der Cocktail). In this sentence, the cocktail is the direct object receiving the action of being prepared, so it must take the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the article der changes to den in the accusative.