Ich ändere das Passwort regelmäßig und speichere es sicher.

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Breakdown of Ich ändere das Passwort regelmäßig und speichere es sicher.

• ich: I
• es: it
• regelmäßig: regularly
• speichern: to save
• das Passwort: the password
• ändern: to change
• sicher: safely

Questions & Answers about Ich ändere das Passwort regelmäßig und speichere es sicher.

What does ändern mean in this context, and how is it different from wechseln?

ändern means “to change” in the sense of modifying or updating something (e.g. updating your password). wechseln also means “to change” or “to switch,” but it usually implies replacing one thing with another (like switching trains or clothes). With Passwort, Passwort ändern (“update your password”) is more idiomatic than Passwort wechseln.

Is ändern a separable verb or a regular/irregular verb?

ändern is a non-separable (untrennbar) weak (regular) verb that shows a stem-vowel change in the present tense:
• ich ändere
• du änderst
• er/sie/es ändert
It adds the normal endings of a regular verb, but the “a” changes to “ä” in the singular.

Why is das used before Passwort?

Passwort is a neuter noun in German, so it takes the definite article das. In this sentence it’s the direct object of ändere, so it’s in the accusative case—and neuter accusative is das as well.

What part of speech is regelmäßig, and why doesn’t it have an ending?

regelmäßig is an adverb here, meaning “regularly” or “on a regular basis.” Adverbs in German do not get adjective endings, so regelmäßig remains unchanged regardless of gender, number or case.

Why is the finite verb in second position after und in “und speichere es sicher”?

und is a coordinating conjunction, which does not alter the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses. Each clause still puts the verb in the second position:
1) Ich ändere das Passwort regelmäßig.
2) und speichere es sicher.

What does es refer to in “speichere es sicher”?

es is the accusative pronoun replacing das Passwort. Since Passwort is neuter, its direct-object pronoun is es.

What part of speech is sicher, and how does it function here?

sicher is an adjective used adverbially to mean “in a secure way” or “safely.” German allows many adjectives to function as adverbs without modification, especially after verbs like speichern.

How do I pronounce the ä in ändere?

The ä in ändern is pronounced [ɛː], similar to the “e” in the English word “bed” but held a bit longer. So ändere sounds like [ˈɛːndəʁə].