Word
Mein Großvater stützt sich auf seinen Spazierstock, wenn er durch den Garten geht.
Meaning
My grandfather leans on his walking stick when he walks through the garden.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Mein Großvater stützt sich auf seinen Spazierstock, wenn er durch den Garten geht.
gehen
to go
er
he
der Garten
the garden
sein
his
mein
my
durch
through
wenn
when
sich
himself
der Großvater
the grandfather
stützen auf
to lean on
der Spazierstock
the walking stick
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Questions & Answers about Mein Großvater stützt sich auf seinen Spazierstock, wenn er durch den Garten geht.
Why is sich used with stützt (i.e. stützt sich auf)?
Because stützen in this context is a reflexive verb: sich auf etwas stützen literally means “to lean on something” or “to support oneself on something.” The sich shows that the action refers back to the subject (he is supporting himself).
Why is it auf seinen Spazierstock and not auf seinem Spazierstock?
Here auf is part of the fixed verb-preposition combination sich auf etwas stützen, which requires the accusative case (not dative). Spazierstock is masculine, so the possessive pronoun sein must be in masculine accusative form, seinen. Because seinen is itself a determiner, no extra article is needed.
Why does the verb geht appear at the end of the clause wenn er durch den Garten geht?
In German, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like wenn send the finite verb to the very end. That’s why geht follows durch den Garten rather than staying in second position.
Why do we use wenn here instead of als?
wenn is used for repeated or habitual actions (every time he goes through the garden). als is used for a single event in the past. Since this sentence describes a general/habitual situation, wenn is correct.
What does the ß in Großvater stand for?
The character ß is called Eszett (or “sharp S”) and represents a double-s sound. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein it’s often replaced by ss (“Grossvater”), but in Germany and Austria you’ll see ß in words like Großvater.
What’s the difference between durch den Garten and im Garten?
durch den Garten means “through the garden,” indicating movement across it (hence durch + accusative). im Garten (short for in dem Garten) means “in the garden,” denoting a static location (hence in + dative).
Could I use an seinen Spazierstock lehnen instead of stützt sich auf?
Yes. You could say sich an seinen Spazierstock lehnen (“to lean against one’s walking stick”). Note that lehnen often pairs with an + dative for static leaning, whereas stützen pairs with auf + accusative to emphasize actively supporting one’s weight.
Why is Großvater capitalized?
All German nouns—no matter where they appear in a sentence—are always capitalized. That’s why Großvater (grandfather) starts with a capital letter.