Breakdown of Der Bibliothekar erinnert mich höflich daran, das Buch morgen zurückzugeben.
das Buch
the book
morgen
tomorrow
mich
me
erinnern an
to remind
zurückgeben
to return
der Bibliothekar
the librarian
höflich
politely
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Questions & Answers about Der Bibliothekar erinnert mich höflich daran, das Buch morgen zurückzugeben.
Why is Der Bibliothekar in the nominative case?
Der Bibliothekar is the one performing the action (“reminds”), so he’s the subject. In German, the subject always takes the nominative case. Here Der is the masculine nominative article matching Bibliothekar.
Why is mich used instead of mir?
The verb erinnern (in the sense of “to remind someone”) takes a direct object in the accusative case. So the person being reminded is in accusative. Thus we use mich, not mir.
What is the function of daran?
Daran is a pronominal adverb formed from da(r) + an. It refers forward to the upcoming infinitive clause (das Buch morgen zurückzugeben) and connects it to erinnern an. Without daran, the verb–preposition combination erinnern an wouldn’t be properly linked to the action.
What kind of clause is …, das Buch morgen zurückzugeben?
It’s a zu-infinitive clause (an infinitive with zu) functioning as the object/complement of erinnern. It tells us what the librarian is reminding you to do.
Why is there a comma before das Buch?
German punctuation rules require a comma before an infinitive clause when it’s introduced by a demonstrative element like daran. That comma cannot be dropped here.
Why is zurückzugeben written as one word and placed at the end?
Zurückgeben is a separable-prefix verb. In its infinitive form, the prefix zurück attaches to the verb. And in German infinitive clauses, the (entire) verb goes to the very end.
Why does the time adverb morgen come before zurückzugeben?
German follows the order: objects – time – manner – place – verb. Inside the infinitive clause, das Buch (object) comes first, then morgen (time), and finally the verb zurückzugeben.
Could I rephrase this using a dass-clause?
Yes. You keep daran and use dass to introduce a subordinate clause. For example:
• Der Bibliothekar erinnert mich höflich daran, dass ich das Buch morgen zurückgeben soll.
What case is das Buch, and how do I know?
It’s in the accusative case as the direct object of zurückgeben. For neuter nouns, the article das looks the same in nominative and accusative, but its position after the verb and its role as the thing being returned signals accusative use.