Breakdown of Ich öffne den Kalender und mache eine Notiz.
und
and
ich
I
machen
to make
öffnen
to open
der Kalender
the calendar
die Notiz
the note
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Questions & Answers about Ich öffne den Kalender und mache eine Notiz.
Why is den Kalender used instead of der Kalender?
Because den Kalender is the masculine singular direct object of the verb öffnen, which requires the accusative case. In German, the definite article for masculine nouns changes from der (nominative) to den (accusative).
Why is eine Notiz used instead of einen Notiz or ein Notiz?
The noun Notiz is feminine in German. The indefinite article for feminine nouns in both nominative and accusative is eine. Einen would be for masculine accusative, and ein for neuter.
Why is the subject ich omitted in the second clause und mache eine Notiz?
When two main clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction like und, and both share the same subject, you can omit the repeated subject in the second clause. The verb still occupies the second position: und + mache + eine Notiz.
Why does machen eine Notiz mean “to make a note”? Can I use schreiben instead?
Yes, eine Notiz machen literally means “to make a note,” i.e. jot something down. You could also say eine Notiz schreiben, notieren or aufschreiben to emphasize the act of writing it down.
Is öffnen a separable verb? Why doesn’t it split in this sentence?
Öffnen is an inseparable verb (it has no prefix that detaches). Therefore, it stays together as öffnen. A separable verb like aufmachen would split into mache … auf in main clauses, but öffnen never splits.
Why does machen come immediately after und rather than at the end of the clause?
In main clauses connected by und, each clause follows normal V‑S‑O word order (verb-second). The verb appears directly after the conjunction (position 1), so und (pos.1) + mache (pos.2) + eine Notiz (pos.3).
How would you say this if you were talking about multiple calendars and notes?
For plural you use die Kalender (no change in accusative plural) and Notizen. Example: Ich öffne die Kalender und mache Notizen.