Breakdown of Wir kämmen den Hund im Garten.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
der Hund
the dog
wir
we
der Garten
the garden
kämmen
to comb
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Questions & Answers about Wir kämmen den Hund im Garten.
Why is den Hund used instead of dem Hund?
Because den Hund is the direct object of the verb kämmen, so it must appear in the accusative case. The masculine article der changes to den in the accusative. dem Hund would be dative, which you would use if the dog were an indirect object or after certain prepositions.
Why is im Garten used instead of in den Garten?
im is a contraction of in dem and expresses location (answering “Wo?”). In that sense, in takes the dative case, so in dem Garten → im Garten. By contrast, in den Garten would indicate movement into the garden (answering “Wohin?”) and therefore requires the accusative.
Why is the conjugated verb in second position (Wir kämmen)?
German main clauses follow the “V2” rule: the finite (conjugated) verb must occupy the second slot. Here Wir (subject) is first, so kämmen comes in the second position.
Is kämmen a separable verb or does it have a prefix?
kämmen is neither separable nor does it have a prefix—it’s a simple, inseparable verb. You just conjugate it normally: ich kämme, du kämmst, er/sie kämmt, wir kämmen, etc.
Can I front the phrase and say Im Garten kämmen wir den Hund?
Yes. You can place the adverbial (im Garten) in the first slot. You still apply the V2 rule, so the verb kämmen remains second, and the subject wir follows the verb.
How do you pronounce kämmen?
The ä is pronounced like the “e” in get (/ɛ/). The double m tells you the preceding vowel is short. So it’s /ˈkɛmən/, roughly “KEM-men.”
Can we replace den Hund with a pronoun?
Yes. You can say Wir kämmen ihn im Garten. Here ihn is the accusative masculine pronoun replacing den Hund.
Why is Hund capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized—regardless of where they appear in the sentence. Therefore Hund always starts with a capital letter.