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Am Ende klebe ich die Briefmarke sorgfältig auf die letzte Postkarte.

Am Ende klebe ich die Briefmarke sorgfältig auf die letzte Postkarte.
At the end I carefully stick the stamp onto the last postcard.
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Questions & Answers about Am Ende klebe ich die Briefmarke sorgfältig auf die letzte Postkarte.

Why is Am Ende placed at the beginning of the sentence, and what effect does that have on the word order?
  • In German main clauses the finite verb must appear in the second position (the “V2” rule).
  • By fronting Am Ende (first position), the verb klebe moves into second position and the subject ich follows it.
  • You could also say Ich klebe am Ende …, but Am Ende klebe ich … shifts the emphasis onto when you do it.
Why is the verb split into klebe … auf? How do separable prefixes work?
  • The base verb here is aufkleben (“to stick onto”), a separable-prefix verb.
  • In main clauses, the prefix auf- detaches and travels to the end of the clause: klebe ich … auf.
  • In infinitive or perfect forms you’ll see it re-attached: aufzukleben, habe aufgeklebt.
Why is die Briefmarke in the accusative case?
  • die Briefmarke is the direct object of kleben (it’s what you are sticking).
  • In German, the direct object takes the accusative case, so you use the accusative form die for a feminine noun.
Why does the prepositional phrase auf die letzte Postkarte also use the accusative?
  • auf is a Wechselpräposition (“two-way preposition”).
  • With movement or direction (“onto” something), it takes the accusative.
  • Since you are sticking the stamp onto the postcard (motion toward), you say auf die (feminine accusative).
  • If it expressed location (“on the last postcard” without motion), it would take dative: auf der letzten Postkarte.
Why is am used instead of an dem in Am Ende?
  • German commonly contracts an dem into am.
  • Other examples include in dem → im and bei dem → beim.
  • So am Ende literally stands for an dem Ende (“at the end”).
Why does the adjective letzte end in -e in die letzte Postkarte?
  • After a definite article (die), adjectives follow the weak declension pattern.
  • For a feminine noun in singular accusative, the weak ending is -e.
  • Hence die letzte Postkarte.
Why is the adverb sorgfältig placed between the object and the prepositional phrase?

German word-order for these elements typically follows:

  1. Time (Wann?) → Am Ende
  2. Verb → klebe
  3. Subject → ich
  4. Object (Was?) → die Briefmarke
  5. Manner (Wie?) → sorgfältig
  6. Place/Direction (Wohin?) → auf die letzte Postkarte
    • Thus sorgfältig (manner) naturally comes after the direct object and before the directional phrase.
What’s the difference between Am Ende, Zum Schluss and Schließlich?
  • Am Ende = “at the end,” a neutral temporal adverbial.
  • Zum Schluss = “to finish; at the end,” often used like “finally” in a list or speech.
  • Schließlich = “finally; after all,” an adverb that can introduce a conclusion or a sequence’s final point.
    Example:
    • Am Ende des Tages bin ich müde.
    • Zum Schluss möchte ich noch sagen …
    • Schließlich haben wir es geschafft.
Why are Briefmarke and Postkarte capitalized?
  • In German every noun is capitalized, regardless of its position in the sentence.
  • This rule helps learners and readers identify nouns more easily.