Breakdown of Ich trage heute ein neues T-Shirt.
neu
new
ich
I
heute
today
tragen
to wear
das T-Shirt
the T-shirt
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ich trage heute ein neues T-Shirt.
What does tragen mean here? Does it mean “to carry” or “to wear”?
In this context tragen means “to wear” when you talk about clothes. It can also mean “to carry” for objects you hold or move (e.g. Ich trage den Koffer = “I’m carrying the suitcase”). German relies on context to tell you which meaning is intended.
Why is there an -es ending on neues?
T-Shirt is a neuter noun. When you use an indefinite article (ein) with a neuter noun in the accusative case, adjectives take the strong ending -es. Hence: ein neues T-Shirt.
Why is the direct object preceded by ein and not einen?
Because T-Shirt is neuter. The indefinite article for neuter in both nominative and accusative is ein. If it were masculine (e.g. Hut), the accusative would be einen.
Why is heute placed between the verb and the object? Can I move it?
German follows the “verb-second” rule: the finite verb stays in position 2. Temporal adverbs like heute go into the midfield (after the verb). You can move heute to the first position for emphasis:
Heute trage ich ein neues T-Shirt.
Why is T-Shirt capitalized and hyphenated?
In German all nouns (even English loanwords) are capitalized. The hyphen keeps the English compound as one word and is a common practice with borrowed terms like T-Shirt or Ice-Tea.
Could I use a different verb instead of tragen to say “to wear”?
Yes. A common colloquial alternative is the separable verb anhaben:
Ich habe heute ein neues T-Shirt an.
Both sentences mean “I’m wearing a new T-shirt today,” but anhaben is used specifically for clothing and feels more casual.
Does ein neues T-Shirt imply it’s brand new?
Not necessarily “brand new” in the sense of still with tags. Neu here just means “new to you” or “you haven’t worn it before.” For “brand new” Germans often use nagelneu (literally “nail-new”).