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Questions & Answers about Gestern habe ich den Schrank repariert.
Why is Gestern placed at the beginning of the sentence instead of next to the verb?
In German you can front-load time adverbials (like Gestern). When you put an element other than the subject in the first position, you trigger a subject–verb inversion. That’s why habe follows immediately after Gestern, and ich comes third.
Why is habe in the second position and repariert at the end?
This sentence is in the Perfekt (present perfect). In German main clauses the finite verb (here habe) must occupy the second position, while the past participle (repariert) goes to the clause‑final slot.
How exactly is the German perfect tense formed in this example?
You combine an auxiliary verb (haben or sein) in the present tense with a past participle. Here:
- haben → habe (for “ich”)
- past participle of reparieren → repariert
So you get habe … repariert.
Why is den Schrank in the accusative case?
Reparieren is a transitive verb; it takes a direct object. Schrank is masculine (der Schrank). In the accusative case “der” changes to den, giving den Schrank.
Why is haben used as the auxiliary here instead of sein?
Verbs that are transitive (take a direct object), reflexive, or many intransitive (no change of state/location) usually form the Perfekt with haben. Only a small class of motion/change‑of‑state verbs use sein.
Why doesn’t the past participle repariert have the prefix ge‑ like many other German verbs?
Verbs ending in ‑ieren form their past participle with ‑iert and drop the ge‑ prefix. That’s a regular rule: reparieren → repariert, not gerepariert.
Could you also say Ich habe gestern den Schrank repariert? Would it mean the same?
Yes. Placing ich in first position and Gestern in third still gives a correct, natural sentence: Ich habe gestern den Schrank repariert. The emphasis shifts slightly: starting with Gestern highlights the time, while starting with Ich highlights the subject.
Could you use the simple past instead—Gestern reparierte ich den Schrank? What’s the difference?
Grammatically, yes: Gestern reparierte ich den Schrank uses Präteritum. In writing (narratives, reports) it’s common. In spoken German the Perfekt (with habe repariert) is preferred. There’s no change in core meaning, only a stylistic/register difference.