Der Automat nimmt Münzen an.

Because Automat is a masculine noun in German, so its nominative singular article is der.

In this sentence, der Automat is the subject: it is the thing doing the action.

• der Automat = the machine
• masculine noun
• nominative case here

So the sentence starts with Der Automat because that is the subject.

Because the subject is der Automat, which is third person singular (he/it form), and German verbs change according to the subject.

The infinitive is nehmen = to take / to accept.

Its present-tense forms include:

• ich nehme
• du nimmst
• er/sie/es nimmt
• wir nehmen
• ihr nehmt
• sie/Sie nehmen

Since der Automat is equivalent to er or es, the correct form is nimmt.

Also note that nehmen is a strong verb, so the vowel changes from e to i in some forms:

• nehmen → nimmt

Because the full verb is annehmen, which is a separable verb.

In a normal main clause, separable verbs split apart:

• the conjugated part goes to the usual verb position
• the prefix goes to the end of the clause

So:

• infinitive: annehmen
• main clause: Der Automat nimmt Münzen an.

This is a very common pattern in German.

Compare:

• Ich rufe dich an. = I call you.
• Er steht früh auf. = He gets up early.

But when the verb is not split, for example in the infinitive or in a subordinate clause, it stays together:

• Der Automat kann Münzen annehmen.
• ..., weil der Automat Münzen annimmt.

Münzen is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb.

The machine is accepting what? → Münzen

So:

• Der Automat = subject, nominative
• Münzen = direct object, accusative

In this sentence, Münzen is plural, and for many plural nouns the nominative and accusative forms look the same, so there is no visible change here.

Because German often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general sense.

So Der Automat nimmt Münzen an means something like:

• the machine accepts coins
• the machine takes coins

It is talking about coins generally, not a specific set of coins.

If you wanted to be more specific, you could add an article or determiner:

• Der Automat nimmt die Münzen an. = The machine accepts the coins.
• Der Automat nimmt nur Münzen an. = The machine only accepts coins.
• Der Automat nimmt keine Münzen an. = The machine does not accept coins.

It is plural.

• singular: die Münze = the coin
• plural: die Münzen = the coins

So Münzen means coins.

The sentence uses the plural because machines usually accept coins in general, not just one coin as a category.

Because in a German main clause, the conjugated verb normally comes in second position.

So the pattern here is:

1. Der Automat = first element
2. nimmt = conjugated verb in second position
3. Münzen = object
4. an = separable prefix at the end

This is a standard German sentence pattern.

You could also move another element to the first position, but then the verb still stays second:

• Münzen nimmt der Automat an.

That version is possible, but it sounds more marked or contrastive. The neutral version is:

• Der Automat nimmt Münzen an.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

• Der Automat akzeptiert Münzen.

That also means the machine accepts coins.

The difference is mainly stylistic:

• Münzen annehmen is a very normal German expression.
• akzeptieren is also common and may sound a bit more direct or formal in some contexts.

In everyday German, both are understandable. On signs and instructions, you may often see either one.

In a subordinate clause, the separable verb is usually not split. It stays together as annimmt.

Example:

• Ich weiß, dass der Automat Münzen annimmt.
• Weil der Automat Münzen annimmt, kann man hier bezahlen.

This is an important contrast:

• main clause: Der Automat nimmt Münzen an.
• subordinate clause: ..., dass der Automat Münzen annimmt.

With a modal verb, the main verb goes to the end in the infinitive, so it stays together as annehmen.

Example:

• Der Automat kann Münzen annehmen. = The machine can accept coins.

This is another place where the separable verb is not split:

• not: kann ... nimmt ... an
• correct: kann ... annehmen

So learners often remember:

• main clause with normal tense: split
• infinitive: not split
• subordinate clause: not split

Not always. Automat can refer to different kinds of machines depending on context, such as:

• a vending machine
• a ticket machine
• an automatic machine of some kind

In this sentence, because it accepts coins, it sounds like some kind of machine you put coins into, such as a vending machine or ticket machine.

So the exact English translation depends on context, but grammatically the sentence works the same way.