Breakdown of Ich schneide die Tomaten und lege sie auf den Teller.
Questions & Answers about Ich schneide die Tomaten und lege sie auf den Teller.
schneiden is a regular verb. You drop the infinitive ending -en and add -e for the first person singular:
• ich schneide
• du schneidest
• er/sie/es schneidet
The preposition auf can govern either dative (location) or accusative (direction).
• auf dem Teller (dative) means “on the plate” (where something already is).
• auf den Teller (accusative) means “onto the plate” (movement or placement onto). Here you’re placing the tomatoes onto the plate, so you use accusative.
Coordinating conjunctions like und don’t count toward the “verb-second” (V2) rule in German. Each main clause must have the finite verb in second position. So the second clause is effectively:
- [und]
- lege (verb)
- sie (object) …
The choice of verb depends on the orientation of the object:
• legen = to lay something flat (ideal for tomato slices)
• stellen = to place something upright
• setzen = to set or seat
Because tomato slices lie flat on a plate, legen is the correct choice; stellen would suggest standing them on end.