Erkläre, warum du abspringst.

Erkläre is the imperative form of erklären, so it is giving a command or instruction: Explain ...

In this sentence, it is the informal singular imperative, used when speaking to one person whom you address as du.

• infinitive: erklären = to explain
• imperative to one person: Erkläre! / Erklär! = Explain!

Good question. In German, the du-imperative often appears without the final -e, especially in everyday speech:

• Erklär! = very common
• Erkläre! = also correct

The version with -e can sound a bit more careful, clear, or slightly more formal/literary, but it is completely normal German.

So both are possible:

• Erklär, warum du abspringst.
• Erkläre, warum du abspringst.

Because warum du abspringst is a subordinate clause introduced by warum.

German normally puts a comma before subordinate clauses:

• Erkläre, warum du abspringst.

This is one of the big differences from English, where commas are often used less strictly.

Because warum introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses send the conjugated verb to the end.

So:

• main clause: Du springst ab.
• subordinate clause: ..., warum du abspringst.

That is why du comes before the verb, and abspringst goes to the end.

Yes. It comes from abspringen, which is a separable verb.

In a normal main clause, separable verbs split:

• Du springst ab.

But in a subordinate clause, they stay together:

• ..., warum du abspringst.

So this sentence is a very useful example of how separable verbs behave differently depending on clause type.

Abspringen can have both literal and figurative meanings.

Common meanings include:

• to jump off
• to back out
• to pull out
• to drop out
• to bail on something

So depending on context, the sentence could mean something like:

• Explain why you’re jumping off
• Explain why you’re backing out
• Explain why you’re dropping out

In many real situations, the figurative meaning is the more likely one.

Because in German imperatives, the subject is usually left out.

So instead of saying:

• Du erkläre ... ❌

German simply uses the command form:

• Erkläre ... ✅

The du is understood automatically because of the imperative form.

Yes. That is very natural and probably more common in everyday spoken German.

So these are both correct:

• Erklär, warum du abspringst.
• Erkläre, warum du abspringst.

The shorter form is often more conversational.

Because Erkläre is the du-imperative, which is for one person informally.

Compare:

• Erkläre ... = explain ... (one person, informal)
• Erklärt ... = explain ... (more than one person, informal)
• Erklären Sie ... = explain ... (formal)

So this sentence is specifically directed at one person addressed as du.

Because the sentence is asking for a reason, not just a statement of fact.

• Erkläre, warum du abspringst. = Explain why you are backing out.
• Erkläre, dass du abspringst. = Explain that you are backing out.

With warum, the speaker wants the cause or reason.
With dass, the speaker wants the content of what is being explained.

Yes, it can. An imperative is a command, so Erkläre, warum du abspringst. can sound direct, insistent, or even confrontational, depending on tone and context.

If you wanted a softer version, German might use:

• Kannst du erklären, warum du abspringst? = Can you explain why you’re backing out?
• Erklär bitte, warum du abspringst. = Please explain why you’re backing out.

So the original sentence is grammatically neutral, but pragmatically it can sound quite direct.