Breakdown of Ich ziehe mich aus, bevor ich ins Bett gehe.
ich
I
gehen
to go
das Bett
the bed
bevor
before
mich
myself
ausziehen
to undress
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ich ziehe mich aus, bevor ich ins Bett gehe.
What role does the mich play in the sentence?
The reflexive pronoun mich shows that the subject of the sentence is performing the action on itself. In this case, ich (I) undresses, so mich indicates that the undressing is a self-directed action. This use is typical for verbs like ausziehen when they refer to personal actions such as undressing.
Why is the prefix aus separated from ziehen in the main clause?
In German, many verbs are separable, meaning that the prefix (here, aus) splits off and is placed at the end of the clause in a main clause. Thus, ausziehen becomes Ich ziehe mich aus. This separation emphasizes the verb’s structure and is a common feature of German sentence construction.
Why is the finite verb gehe positioned at the end of the subordinate clause bevor ich ins Bett gehe?
When a subordinate clause is introduced by a subordinating conjunction like bevor (meaning "before"), German grammar requires that the finite verb be placed at the end of the clause. This rule helps clearly distinguish the subordinate clause from the main clause.
What does the contraction ins in ins Bett gehen signify?
The contraction ins is short for in das. In this sentence, it means "into" or, contextually, "to" as part of the phrase ins Bett gehen ("to go to bed"). Such contractions are standard in German and contribute to smoother and more natural speech.
What is the function of the subordinating conjunction bevor in this sentence?
Bevor means "before" and it introduces the subordinate clause that specifies the timing of the actions. It indicates that the action of undressing in the main clause happens before the action of going to bed in the subordinate clause.
How is the overall sentence structured in terms of its clauses and word order?
The sentence is composed of a main clause and a subordinate clause. The main clause is Ich ziehe mich aus, where the separable verb ausziehen splits into ziehe and aus. The subordinate clause is bevor ich ins Bett gehe, introduced by bevor, which forces the verb gehe to appear at the end. This structure illustrates key German rules concerning separable verbs and verb placement in subordinate clauses.
Is it acceptable to omit the reflexive pronoun mich in this sentence?
No, omitting mich would make the sentence grammatically incorrect. When using ausziehen to mean "to undress," the verb is reflexive, so the pronoun mich is required to indicate that the action is performed by the subject on itself.