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Questions & Answers about Die Maus bewegt sich schnell.
Why is the article die used for Maus?
Because Maus is a feminine noun in German. In the singular nominative case (as the subject of the sentence), feminine nouns take the definite article die.
What case is die Maus in, and how do we know?
Die Maus is in the nominative case. You can tell because it is the subject performing the action (it’s the thing doing the moving). In German, subjects are in the nominative.
Why is the verb bewegt and not bewege, bewegtet, etc.?
The base verb is bewegen. For third person singular (er/sie/es), you conjugate it to bewegt. Here die Maus corresponds to “sie” (third person singular), so you use bewegt.
What is the role of sich, and is bewegen always reflexive?
In this sentence, sich is the reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject (die Maus). Sich bewegen means “to move oneself” (i.e., “to move”). Bewegen can be used transitively (e.g., Ich bewege den Stuhl – “I move the chair”) or reflexively (Ich bewege mich – “I move myself”).