Du siehst oft fern, weil es so interessant ist.

to be

Breakdown of Du siehst oft fern, weil es so interessant ist.

• du: you
• oft: often
• interessant: interesting
• fernsehen: to watch TV
• weil: because
• es: it
• so: so

Questions & Answers about Du siehst oft fern, weil es so interessant ist.

Why does the verb fernsehen split into siehst and fern in this sentence?

In German, fernsehen is a separable-prefix verb. The main verb is sehen (“to see”), and fern is the prefix. When you use it in a main clause, the prefix moves to the end of the sentence. That’s why you see Du siehst … fern rather than something like Du fernsiehst.

Does the word order change because of the conjunction weil?

Yes. Weil is a subordinating conjunction, which sends the conjugated verb to the end of the subordinate clause. After weil, you need to place ist at the end, so you get weil es so interessant ist instead of weil es ist so interessant.

Why do we say es here and not das?

You can think of es as a placeholder that refers back to the entire activity or idea of watching TV. In everyday conversation, es often serves this function to refer to a previously mentioned situation or action (watching TV), making the sentence flow naturally.

Where should I place the adverb oft?

In German, adverbs often appear after the verb or near it and before other complements. In Du siehst oft fern, oft nicely indicates the frequency of the action between the verb siehst and the separable prefix fern.

Why is interessant placed before ist?

In subordinate clauses introduced by weil, the conjugated verb goes to the end. So, before the verb ist, you have the rest of the information, namely so interessant. That’s why you see … weil es so interessant ist.