Breakdown of Nach dem Lesen gebe ich den Roman zurück und lege ihn vorsichtig ins Regal.
und
and
in
in
ich
I
nach
after
den
the; (masculine, accusative)
das
the; (neuter, accusative)
vorsichtig
carefully
ihn
it
legen
to place
das Regal
the shelf
der Roman
the novel
zurückgeben
to return
das Lesen
the reading
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Questions & Answers about Nach dem Lesen gebe ich den Roman zurück und lege ihn vorsichtig ins Regal.
Why is Nach dem Lesen in the dative case?
Because nach is a preposition that always takes the dative when used with nouns (especially in time expressions). Here Lesen is a nominalized infinitive, so it becomes dem Lesen.
Why is Lesen capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized. A nominalized verb (infinitive used as a noun) like Lesen is treated as a noun, so it must be capitalized.
Why is gebe … zurück split rather than written as zurückgeben?
Zurückgeben is a separable-prefix verb. In main clauses the prefix zurück detaches and moves to the end, giving gebe ich den Roman zurück.
Why does ich come after the verb gebe in the first clause?
German is a V2 (verb‐second) language. By fronting Nach dem Lesen to the first position, the finite verb gebe must be second, so the subject ich follows.
What’s the difference between ins Regal and im Regal?
Ins is a contraction of in das (accusative) used for movement into something. Im is in dem (dative) used to indicate location (being inside). Here you’re placing the book into the shelf (motion), so you use ins Regal.
Why is den Roman in the accusative case and why do we use ihn afterward?
Both geben and legen take a direct object in the accusative. Roman is masculine (der Roman), so its accusative form is den Roman and the corresponding pronoun is ihn.
Why is vorsichtig placed where it is in the second clause?
Adverbs of manner (like vorsichtig) typically follow the direct object (here ihn) but come before any final prepositional phrase (here ins Regal) in a German main clause.
What’s the difference between legen and stellen when placing something on a shelf?
Legen implies placing something horizontally (lying flat), whereas stellen implies standing something upright. Since a book often lies flat, legen is used.
Is there any nuance between zurückgeben and zurückbringen?
Yes. Zurückgeben focuses on handing something back to its owner, while zurückbringen emphasizes bringing it back to a location.