Breakdown of Die Augen zusammengekniffen, saß er schweigend da.
er
he
sitzen
to sit
da
there
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Auge
the eye
schweigen
to be silent
zusammenkneifen
to squint / to narrow
Questions & Answers about Die Augen zusammengekniffen, saß er schweigend da.
Why does the sentence start with Die Augen instead of Mit den Augen?
This is the Absolute Accusative (Absoluter Akkusativ) that you are currently learning. Instead of using a preposition like mit (which would require the dative case), German can use an accusative noun (Die Augen) paired with a participle (zusammengekniffen) to describe an accompanying physical posture or circumstance.
What verb does zusammengekniffen come from?
It is the past participle of the separable strong verb zusammenkneifen (to pinch together or to narrow). Because it is a strong verb, the vowel changes (ei becomes i) and it ends in -en. The -ge- goes between the prefix and the root: zusammengekniffen.
Does the phrase Die Augen zusammengekniffen take up the first position in the sentence?
Exactly! The entire Absolute Accusative phrase occupies position 1. That is why the conjugated verb saß immediately follows it in position 2. The comma is used here to set off the extended phrase for readability, but the standard verb-second rule still applies to the main clause.
How is the word schweigend formed and used here?
It is the present participle (Partizip I) of the verb schweigen (to be silent). You form it simply by adding -d to the infinitive. Here, it is used as an adverb to describe exactly how the subject was sitting (silently).
Why is the word da sitting alone at the end of the sentence?
It is the separable prefix of the verb dasitzen (to sit there). Because this is a main clause in the simple past (Präteritum), the conjugated stem saß takes the second position, and the prefix da gets sent to the very end of the sentence.
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