Ich lade das Telefon an der Steckdose auf.

I charge the phone at the socket.

Breakdown of Ich lade das Telefon an der Steckdose auf.

• ich: I
• das Telefon: the phone
• aufladen: to charge
• an: at
• die Steckdose: the socket

Questions & Answers about Ich lade das Telefon an der Steckdose auf.

What is the structure and function of the separable verb aufladen, and why does the prefix auf move to the end in this sentence?

aufladen is a separable verb made up of the verb laden and the prefix auf. In main clauses, the prefix detaches and goes to the final position. Together they mean “to charge” (a battery).

Why is das Telefon in the accusative case?

Because das Telefon is the direct object of aufladen. In German, direct objects take the accusative case.

Why is an der Steckdose in the dative case, and how do we decide dative vs. accusative with an?

an is a two-way preposition. It takes

• accusative when indicating movement toward a place (wohin?)
• dative when indicating location (wo?)
  Here you’re saying where you charge the phone (static location), so you use dative: an der Steckdose (die Steckdose → der Steckdose in dative).

How do we know to use an instead of in or auf “the socket”?

an conveys contact at a point (like plugging into a wall outlet).
in would imply “inside” something, and auf “on top of” something—neither matches the idea of plugging into the socket.

Can I just use laden without auf to say “charge”?

No. laden by itself means “to load” (e.g., cargo). To express “charging” a battery in German you need the separable verb aufladen.

How would I include the charger (Ladegerät) in the sentence?

Add mit dem Ladegerät as an instrument (mit always takes dative):
Ich lade das Telefon mit dem Ladegerät an der Steckdose auf.

How do you form the past tense of this sentence?

In conversation you’d typically use the perfect:
Ich habe das Telefon an der Steckdose aufgeladen.
Alternatively, the simple past is:
Ich lud das Telefon an der Steckdose auf. Note that the separable prefix auf still goes to the end in both tenses.