Ich muss heute meine Aufgabe erfüllen.

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Breakdown of Ich muss heute meine Aufgabe erfüllen.

• heute: today
• müssen: must
• meine: my; (feminine or plural, nominative or accusative)

Questions & Answers about Ich muss heute meine Aufgabe erfüllen.

What does muss mean in this sentence?

muss is the first-person singular of the modal verb müssen, meaning “must” or “have to.” It expresses that you are obliged or required to do something.

Why is muss placed directly after Ich?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the conjugated verb must occupy the second position. Since Ich is the subject in position one, muss comes immediately after.

Why do we place heute between muss and meine Aufgabe?

Time adverbials (like heute) typically appear right after the finite verb and before objects. The order here is:

1. Subject (Ich)
2. Verb (muss)
3. Time adverbial (heute)
4. Object (meine Aufgabe)
5. Infinitive at the end (erfüllen)

Why is meine Aufgabe in the accusative case?

The verb erfüllen takes a direct object, and direct objects in German take the accusative. Because Aufgabe is feminine, the possessive mein becomes meine in the accusative.

Is erfüllen a separable verb? How can I tell?