Ich finde weder mein Portemonnaie noch die Quittung, also suche ich unter der Couch.

I find neither my wallet nor the receipt, so I look under the couch.

Breakdown of Ich finde weder mein Portemonnaie noch die Quittung, also suche ich unter der Couch.

• ich: I
• finden: to find
• mein: my
• unter: under
• also: so
• das Portemonnaie: the wallet
• die Couch: the couch
• die Quittung: the receipt
• weder: neither
• noch: nor
• suchen: to search

Questions & Answers about Ich finde weder mein Portemonnaie noch die Quittung, also suche ich unter der Couch.

What does Portemonnaie mean in English?

Portemonnaie is the German word for wallet (sometimes called purse in British English or billfold in American English). It’s actually borrowed from French.

Why is mein Portemonnaie but die Quittung? Which case is die Quittung, and why not meine Quittung?

• Portemonnaie is a neuter noun (das Portemonnaie), so you use mein in nominative/accusative singular.
• Quittung is feminine (die Quittung). In the accusative case (direct object of finden), feminine nouns still take die, so it looks the same as nominative.
• The speaker chose the definite article die because they mean “the receipt” (a specific one). If you wanted to emphasize ownership, you could say meine Quittung (“my receipt”).

What does weder ... noch mean, and how do I use it?

weder ... noch is a correlative negation meaning “neither ... nor.”
Usage rules:

1. Place weder before the first item.
2. Place noch before the second item.
   Example: Ich finde weder Portemonnaie noch Quittung. = “I find neither my wallet nor my receipt.”
   For more than two items, you can continue with noch (though it can get heavy): weder A noch B noch C.

Why is it unter der Couch and not unter die Couch (or unter dem Couch)?

The preposition unter can govern either dative or accusative:
• Dative expresses a static location (“where?”).
• Accusative expresses movement toward a place (“whither?”).
Here, you’re searching under a fixed object (location), so you use the dative:
• die Couch (feminine nominative) → der Couch (feminine dative).
If you were placing something under the couch (movement), you’d say unter die Couch.

What is the role of also in this sentence, and does it change word order?

• also in German means “so,” “therefore,” or “thus.”
• It’s a coordinating conjunction linking two main clauses.
• Unlike subordinating conjunctions, also does not send the verb to the end. You still follow the V2 (verb-second) rule:
  → also suche ich (not also ich suche or also suche ich at the end).