Ich lege einen Teppich auf den Boden, um das Zimmer wärmer zu machen.

I put a carpet on the floor in order to make the room warmer.

Breakdown of Ich lege einen Teppich auf den Boden, um das Zimmer wärmer zu machen.

• ich: I
• machen: to make
• den: the
• warm: warm
• auf: on
• legen: to put
• der Teppich: the carpet
• der Boden: the floor
• um ... zu: in order to
• das Zimmer: the room

Questions & Answers about Ich lege einen Teppich auf den Boden, um das Zimmer wärmer zu machen.

Why is it einen Teppich and not ein Teppich here?

Teppich is a masculine noun in German (der Teppich). When used in the accusative case (after the verb legen, which implies motion or placement), the article changes to den definite or einen indefinite. Hence, “Ich lege einen Teppich …” is the correct form in the accusative.

Why do we say auf den Boden instead of auf dem Boden?

The preposition auf can take either accusative or dative. It takes the accusative when indicating a change of position/direction (placing or moving something onto the floor) and the dative when indicating a location (already on the floor). Since in the sentence you’re actively placing the carpet there, you use auf den Boden in the accusative.

What does um ... zu express in this sentence?

Um ... zu expresses purpose in German. It’s like saying “in order to” in English. By using um das Zimmer wärmer zu machen, you explain the reason or goal for placing the carpet on the floor.

Why do we use das Zimmer wärmer machen instead of a direct translation like “to make the room warmer”?

In German, the construction etwas + Adjektiv + machen is commonly used to mean “make something + adjective.” For instance, das Zimmer wärmer machen literally means “make the room warmer.” It’s a natural German phrase to show causing a state/change: wärmer is the comparative of warm, and machen is the verb indicating the action of causing that change.