Breakdown of Der Techniker repariert den Geschirrspüler.
der Techniker
the technician
reparieren
to repair
der Geschirrspüler
the dishwasher
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Questions & Answers about Der Techniker repariert den Geschirrspüler.
Why are Der, Techniker, and Geschirrspüler capitalized in this German sentence?
In German, the first word of a sentence is always capitalized, so Der has an uppercase D. Additionally, Techniker and Geschirrspüler are nouns, and German orthography requires that all nouns begin with a capital letter.
What is the grammatical role of Der Techniker, and which case does it represent?
Der Techniker is the subject of the sentence (the one doing the action). Subjects in German are in the nominative case. The article Der signals masculine singular nominative for Techniker.
What is the grammatical role of den Geschirrspüler, and why is it in the accusative case?
den Geschirrspüler is the direct object (the thing being repaired). Direct objects in German take the accusative case. The article den is the masculine singular accusative form.
Why is the article den used instead of dem or die for Geschirrspüler?
- die is used for feminine nouns or for all plurals; Geschirrspüler is masculine singular.
- dem is the dative case form (used with indirect objects or certain prepositions).
Since Geschirrspüler here is a masculine direct object, you use the accusative article den.
How do I know that Geschirrspüler is a masculine noun?
In German compound nouns, the gender is determined by the final element (the head noun). Here Spüler (washer) is masculine (der Spüler), so der Geschirrspüler (dishwasher) is also masculine.
How is the verb reparieren conjugated to repariert in this sentence?
reparieren is a regular (weak) verb. To form the 3rd person singular present tense, remove -en and add -t:
reparieren → repariert.
Why is Geschirrspüler written as a single word, and how do German compounds work?
German frequently combines nouns into one word to form compounds. The elements are simply joined, with the main noun (the head) at the end. Here Geschirr (dishes) + Spüler (washer) gives Geschirrspüler (dishwasher).
How can I turn this sentence into questions in German, both yes/no and wh-questions?
- Yes/no question (invert verb and subject):
Repariert der Techniker den Geschirrspüler? - Wh-question for the object (whom?):
Wen repariert der Techniker? - Wh-question for the subject (who?):
Wer repariert den Geschirrspüler?