Word
Am Ende klebe ich die Briefmarke sorgfältig auf die letzte Postkarte.
Meaning
At the end I carefully stick the stamp onto the last postcard.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Am Ende klebe ich die Briefmarke sorgfältig auf die letzte Postkarte.
dem
the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
ich
I
an
at
letzte
last
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?