Der Mann bewegt sich langsam im Haus.

the man

Breakdown of Der Mann bewegt sich langsam im Haus.

• in: in
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• das Haus: the house

Questions & Answers about Der Mann bewegt sich langsam im Haus.

Why is sich used after bewegt?

Because sich bewegen is a reflexive verb. Sich is the reflexive pronoun (here in the accusative) referring back to der Mann, showing he “moves himself.” Without sich, bewegen would be transitive (“to move something”).

Why does bewegt end in ‑t?

Bewegt is the 3rd person singular present tense of the regular verb bewegen. In German, verbs in the er/sie/es form typically take an ‑t ending.

Why is der Mann in the nominative case?

Because der Mann is the subject of the sentence—the one doing the moving. In German, the subject always appears in the nominative case.

Why isn’t langsam inflected like an adjective (for example, langsamer)?

Here langsam is an adverb modifying the verb bewegt (“moves slowly”), not an adjective modifying a noun. Adverbs in German are not inflected.

Where does the adverb langsam go, and could it go somewhere else?