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Questions & Answers about Die Tür öffnet sich langsam und schließt sich schnell.
Why does the sentence use sich?
In German, sich here is a reflexive pronoun that indicates the door is acting on itself. It suggests the door opens on its own (i.e., no explicit external agent opening it). You’ll see this reflexive form with verbs like öffnen and schließen when something undergoes the action by itself.
What does langsam and schnell mean in this sentence?
They are adverbs describing how the door performs the actions. Langsam means slowly, while schnell means quickly. In German, unlike English, the same form langsam can be used both as an adjective (e.g., ein langsamer Prozess) and as an adverb (die Tür öffnet sich langsam).
Could I say Die Tür öffnet langsam without sich?
You can say Die Tür öffnet langsam, but it has a slightly different nuance. Without sich, it often implies someone or something is opening the door. With sich, the focus is on the door opening by itself. Most commonly, you’ll see reflexive usage when the subject is doing the action to itself or when the action happens spontaneously.
Why is die used in front of Tür?
Die is the definite article for all feminine nouns in the nominative case, and Tür (meaning door) is a feminine noun. In the nominative singular case, feminine nouns always take die, regardless of context.
Is the word order important in Die Tür öffnet sich langsam und schließt sich schnell?
Yes. In German, the verb typically comes in the second position of a main clause. The sentence starts with Die Tür (subject), then öffnet, followed by sich and the adverb langsam. You could slightly reorder the adverb (e.g., Die Tür öffnet sich schnell), but it must remain after the conjugated verb, and sich should stay tied to the verb. The conjunction und connects the second clause, which follows a similar structure.