Ich drücke den Lichtschalter, aber das Licht bleibt aus.

I press the light switch, but the light stays off.

Breakdown of Ich drücke den Lichtschalter, aber das Licht bleibt aus.

• ich: I
• aber: but
• das Licht: the light
• drücken: to press
• der Lichtschalter: the light switch

Questions & Answers about Ich drücke den Lichtschalter, aber das Licht bleibt aus.

Why is den Lichtschalter in the accusative case?

Because drücken is a transitive verb that takes a direct object. The switch is what you “press,” so it’s the object. Lichtschalter is masculine (der Lichtschalter), and in accusative singular the article becomes den.

Why is there a comma before aber?

aber is an adversative coordinating conjunction (“but”) connecting two independent clauses. In German grammar you place a comma before adversative conjunctions linking main clauses, so you separate “…den Lichtschalter” and “das Licht bleibt aus.”

Why is bleibt aus split, with aus at the end?

ausbleiben is a separable verb. In a main clause, the finite verb bleibt occupies the second position and its separable prefix aus moves to the sentence-final slot:

1. Ich – [bleibt] – aus.
   Hence bleibt aus.

What nuance does bleibt aus carry compared to ist aus?

• bleibt aus means “remains off” or “fails to turn on,” emphasizing that an expected action didn’t happen after pressing the switch.
• ist aus simply states the current state: “is off.” It doesn’t underline the failed activation.

Why use Lichtschalter instead of just Schalter?

German builds compound nouns for precision. Schalter alone means “switch” in general. Lichtschalter specifies “light switch.” The gender comes from the last element (Schalter is masculine), so Lichtschalter is masculine too.

Why is Licht capitalized?

In German, all nouns—common and proper—are capitalized. Licht is a noun, so it always appears with an initial capital letter.

Could I also say das Licht bleibt ausgeschaltet?

Yes. ausgeschaltet is the past participle of ausschalten used adjectivally:

• “Das Licht bleibt ausgeschaltet” = “The light stays switched off.”
  It’s a bit more formal/descriptive than the idiomatic bleibt aus.

Is there a difference between drücken and schalten here?

• drücken means “to press” (physically push), which fits a push-button or toggle switch.
• schalten means “to switch” in a broader sense (to switch on/off). You could say Ich schalte das Licht ein/aus, but when you physically press down a lever or button, drücken is more natural.