Breakdown of Sobald er aufwacht, macht er die Kühlschranktür auf und holt eine kalte Flasche Wasser heraus.
und
and
das Wasser
the water
er
he
kalt
cold
sobald
as soon as
die Flasche
the bottle
aufwachen
to wake up
aufmachen
to open
die Kühlschranktür
the fridge door
herausholen
to pull out
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Questions & Answers about Sobald er aufwacht, macht er die Kühlschranktür auf und holt eine kalte Flasche Wasser heraus.
Why does aufwachen stay together in the subordinate clause as aufwacht, instead of splitting into wacht auf?
aufwachen is a separable‑prefix verb. In a main clause you split off the prefix auf and put it at the end (er wacht auf). But in a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction like sobald, the entire verb (prefix + stem) moves to the end together, giving Sobald er aufwacht.
Why do we need a comma after aufwacht?
German always separates a subordinate clause from the main clause with a comma. Here Sobald er aufwacht is a subordinate clause, so you place a comma before the main clause macht er ….
Why does the main clause start with macht followed by er, instead of er macht?
In German main clauses you use the V2 (verb‑second) word order. Since the subordinate clause counts as the first position, the conjugated verb macht comes next, and the subject er follows.
Why is aufmachen split so that auf appears after the object in macht er die Kühlschranktür auf?
Because aufmachen is a separable‑prefix verb. In main clauses the prefix auf detaches and goes to the very end of the clause, after all objects and adverbials.
Why is it die Kühlschranktür instead of die Tür des Kühlschranks?
German often forms compound nouns instead of genitive phrases. Kühlschranktür (der Kühlschrank + die Tür) is more concise. The gender and case come from the final noun (die Tür).
Why do we say eine kalte Flasche Wasser and not use a genitive or an article before Wasser?
Flasche Wasser is a partitive construction (“a bottle of water”). It isn’t possession, so no genitive is needed, and Wasser acts like a mass noun, so it appears without an article in this measure phrase.
How come kalte ends in -e in eine kalte Flasche?
After an indefinite article in the feminine accusative, adjectives take the weak ending -e. So you get eine + kalte + Flasche.
Why is heraus placed at the very end in holt eine kalte Flasche Wasser heraus?
herausholen is also a separable‑prefix verb. In main clauses the prefix heraus detaches and moves to the clause‑final position, after the direct object.
Could we also use the perfect tense in the subordinate clause, like Sobald er aufgewacht ist?
Yes. Both are correct. German often uses the present tense for “as soon as” events, but you can also say Sobald er aufgewacht ist, macht er … to emphasize the action is completed.