Ich lese den Text langsam.

I read the text slowly.

Breakdown of Ich lese den Text langsam.

• ich: I
• lesen: to read
• langsam: slowly
• der Text: the text

Questions & Answers about Ich lese den Text langsam.

Why is den Text in the accusative case rather than der Text?

In German, the direct object of a verb takes the accusative case. Text is masculine (der Text in the nominative), so its accusative form is den Text. The structure is:

• Ich (subject, nominative)
• lese (verb)
• den Text (direct object, accusative)

How can I tell that Text is masculine?

noun gender in German often has to be memorized, but there are some clues:

• Many nouns ending in -t derived from Latin or English (like das Datum, der Moment, der Text) are masculine.
• Dictionaries always list the article (der/die/das).
• Over time you’ll build an instinct for common patterns, but initially you’ll need to learn each noun’s gender.

Why is langsam not inflected (no ending like langsame)?

Here langsam is an adverb of manner (describing how you read), not an adjective modifying a noun. Adverbs remain uninflected in German, so you simply use langsam. If you were to describe a noun you’d need an adjective ending (e.g. der langsame Leser).

Could I place langsam somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. German allows flexibility for adverbs:

• Ich lese langsam den Text. (neutral)
• Langsam lese ich den Text. (emphasis on “slowly”)
  However, the finite verb (lese) must remain in second position in main clauses.

Why is lese in the second position of the sentence?

German main clauses follow the Verb‐Second (V2) rule: the finite verb occupies the second position, no matter what comes first (subject, adverb, object, etc.). Here:

1. Ich (first position)
2. lese (verb)
3. den Text langsam (rest of the clause)

Why is it lese and not liest?

The verb lesen conjugates irregularly in the present tense. For the pronoun ich (I), the correct form is lese. liest would be the form for er/sie/es (he/she/it reads).

Can I omit the article and say Ich lese Text langsam?

No. With singular, countable nouns you generally need an article or determiner in German. Omitting it would sound ungrammatical. You can, however, drop the article in the plural: “Ich lese Texte langsam.”

How can I emphasize that I’m reading very slowly?

You have several options:

• Move langsam to the front: Langsam lese ich den Text.
• Add an intensifier: Ich lese den Text sehr langsam.
• Use a stronger adverb: Ich lese den Text äußerst langsam.