Breakdown of Unsere Erinnerung an die Reise bleibt klar, weil wir jeden Schritt im Reiseführer markiert haben.
in
in
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
wir
we
haben
to have
weil
because
bleiben
to remain
unsere
our
die Reise
the trip
klar
clear
der Reiseführer
the guidebook
die Erinnerung
the memory
markieren
to mark
jeden
every
der Schritt
the step
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Questions & Answers about Unsere Erinnerung an die Reise bleibt klar, weil wir jeden Schritt im Reiseführer markiert haben.
What does Unsere Erinnerung an die Reise mean, and what's the subject of the sentence?
Unsere Erinnerung an die Reise means “our memory of the trip.” The noun Erinnerung (feminine singular) is the subject of the main clause.
Why does the possessive unsere take an -e ending before Erinnerung?
Possessive pronouns in German are declined like articles. Since Erinnerung is feminine singular and in the nominative case, unser- takes an -e ending, resulting in unsere Erinnerung.
Why is bleibt klar used instead of simply ist klar for “remains clear”?
bleibt klar literally means “remains clear,” emphasizing that the memory continues to be clear over time. Using ist klar would only express a static state (“is clear”) without that sense of ongoing clarity.
What part of speech is klar here, and why doesn't it get an ending (e.g., klare)?
After copular or linking verbs like bleiben, adjectives are used predicatively and are not declined. So klar is a predicative adjective describing Erinnerung, and it remains in its base form.
Why is an die Reise in the accusative case, even though there's no movement?
Phrases like Erinnerung an etwas take the accusative because an here is part of a fixed prepositional complement (“Erinnerung an …”). It marks the object of remembrance, not physical motion.
Why is jeden Schritt in the accusative case, and why is it jeden rather than jeder?
Jeden Schritt is the direct object of markieren. Schritt is a masculine noun; in the accusative singular, jeder is inflected to jeden to agree with the case.
Why does the phrase im Reiseführer use im (i.e., in dem) and the dative case instead of accusative?
Im is a contraction of in dem. When in expresses a static location (“inside the guidebook”), it takes the dative. Since you’re marking entries already inside the guide, there’s no movement, so dative is correct.
Why is the verb haben placed at the very end of the subordinate clause after weil?
In German, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like weil send the finite verb (here haben) to the end. In perfect tense, you’ll see the past participle (markiert) immediately before it.
What tense is markiert haben, and why is this present perfect form used instead of simple past markierten?
Markiert haben is the Perfekt (present perfect), formed with the auxiliary haben plus the past participle markiert. In spoken and informal written German, the Perfekt is commonly used for past events, whereas the Präteritum (simple past) like markierten appears more in formal writing or with certain common verbs.
Does Reiseführer refer to a person or a book in this sentence?
Here Reiseführer means a guidebook (the printed or paper guide), because you can physically mark steps in it. If it referred to a person, you wouldn’t use im Reiseführer to say you marked steps.