Breakdown of Morgens wache ich ohne Wecker auf, weil der Duft von Reis und Karotten aus der Küche kommt.
und
and
kommen
to come
ich
I
die Küche
the kitchen
weil
because
aus
from
ohne
without
morgens
in the morning
der Reis
the rice
die Karotte
the carrot
der Wecker
the alarm clock
aufwachen
to wake up
der Duft
the smell
von
of
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Morgens wache ich ohne Wecker auf, weil der Duft von Reis und Karotten aus der Küche kommt.
Why is Morgens used instead of am Morgen?
Morgens is a temporal adverb formed from der Morgen by adding -s to express a habitual action (“in the mornings”). It’s equivalent to “in the mornings” in English. You could also say Am Morgen wache ich…, but that sounds more like you’re talking about one specific morning or the concept of “the morning” rather than a routine.
Why does auf appear at the end of the main clause (“wache ich … auf”)?
The verb aufwachen is a separable-prefix verb. In a main clause, the finite part (wache) stays in second position and the prefix (auf) goes to the very end. So you get Morgens wache ich auf.
Why is there no article before Wecker (“ohne Wecker”)? Shouldn’t it be ohne einen Wecker?
After ohne (an accusative preposition), you can either use ohne einen Wecker (emphasizing “without an alarm clock”) or drop the article in general statements: ohne Wecker simply means “without any alarm clock” in a general sense. Omitting the article makes it sound more natural when you speak of something abstract or habitual.
Why does ohne take the accusative case?
Ohne is one of the four purely accusative prepositions in German (along with durch, für, and gegen). That’s why anything following ohne must appear in the accusative.
Why is there a comma before weil, and why does the verb move to the end in the clause?
Weil is a subordinating conjunction introducing a dependent clause. German requires a comma before every subordinate clause. In such clauses, the finite verb goes to the very end, so kommt appears after all other elements.
Why is it von Reis und Karotten rather than using the genitive (e.g. des Reises und der Karotten)?
German often replaces cumbersome genitive constructions with von + dative to sound more natural, especially in spoken language. von Reis und Karotten literally means “of rice and carrots.” You could form a strict genitive (der Duft des Reises und der Karotten), but it’s formal and bulky.
Could you use denn instead of weil in this sentence?
Yes. Denn is a coordinating conjunction (“for/because”) that does not change word order and doesn’t require a comma before it. Example: Morgens wache ich ohne Wecker auf, denn der Duft von Reis und Karotten kommt aus der Küche. But weil is more common for causal explanations and has the verb‑final rule.
Why is aus der Küche used instead of von der Küche to express “from the kitchen”?
Aus expresses movement or origin from the inside of something closed or bounded (the inside of a kitchen). Von could also work (“der Duft kommt von der Küche”), but aus der Küche emphasizes that the smell is coming out of the interior of the kitchen. Both are grammatically correct, but aus is often preferred in this context.