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Questions & Answers about Der Drucker funktioniert nicht.
What gender is Drucker and why is the article der used here?
Drucker is a masculine noun. In German the nominative singular masculine article is der. A useful pattern is that many nouns ending in -er (especially agent nouns) are masculine, so you get der Drucker (“the printer”).
Why is the verb funktioniert in second position?
German main clauses follow the V2 (verb‑second) rule: the finite verb always occupies the second slot. Here Der Drucker takes slot 1, so funktioniert comes directly after it.
Why does nicht appear at the end of the sentence?
Nicht negates the verb (or the entire clause) and in simple statements without a direct object it typically follows the verb—often ending up at the clause’s end: Der Drucker funktioniert nicht.
Can you use kein instead of nicht here?
No. Kein negates nouns (e.g. kein Auto, keine Zeit). Since you’re negating the action “to function” (funktionieren), you need nicht.
How would you say “The printers are not working” (plural)?
Use the plural article die and plural verb form funktionieren:
Die Drucker funktionieren nicht.
What’s the difference between Der Drucker funktioniert nicht and Der Drucker druckt nicht?
- funktionieren = “to work/function.” It means the device isn’t working at all.
- drucken = “to print.” It means it’s on but not producing prints.
How do you form the past tense of funktionieren?
As an -ieren verb, its past participle has no ge‑ prefix: funktioniert.
Perfect tense: Der Drucker hat nicht funktioniert.
Simple past: Der Drucker funktionierte nicht.
Are there more colloquial ways to say “The printer isn’t working”?
Yes. Common informal options:
- Der Drucker geht nicht (“the printer doesn’t go/turn on”).
- Der Drucker spinnt (“the printer is acting up/being weird”).
But funktionieren is the neutral, go‑to verb.
More from this lesson
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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