Question 1

What tense is flackerte, and why is it used instead of a perfect tense like hat geflackert?

Accepted Answer

flackerte is the simple past (Präteritum) form of the weak verb flackern. In German, the simple past is very common in written narratives and formal contexts. A learner could also say:  
- Gestern hat die Anzeige geflackert, bis der Techniker kam.  
using the present perfect (Perfekt), which is more frequent in spoken German. Both are correct; the choice often depends on style and region.

Question 2

Why does Gestern come at the very beginning of the sentence?

Accepted Answer

German typically follows a Time-Verb-Subject-Other (TVSO) order when a time expression leads:  
1. Time: Gestern  
2. Verb: flackerte  
3. Subject: die Anzeige  
This fronting of Gestern emphasizes when the action happened. The finite verb must occupy the second position in a main clause (V2 rule).

Question 3

Why is die Anzeige in the nominative case?

Accepted Answer

Anzeige is the subject of the intransitive verb flackern (it flickers, but doesn’t take a direct object), so it must appear in the nominative case. The article die marks feminine nominative singular here.

Question 4

What role does bis play in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

bis is a subordinating temporal conjunction meaning until. It introduces a clause that specifies the endpoint of the flickering: the flickering continued until the technician came.

Question 5

Why is there a comma before bis?

Accepted Answer

In German, a comma is required whenever a main clause is followed by a subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction (like bis, weil, dass, etc.). So you write:  
…flackerte die Anzeige, bis der Techniker kam.

Question 6

Why does the verb kam appear at the end of the bis-clause?

Accepted Answer

Because bis is a subordinating conjunction, it pushes the finite verb to the end of its clause (verb-final word order). Hence:  
bis + subject (der Techniker) + kam (verb)

Question 7

Could we use bis der Techniker angekommen ist instead of bis der Techniker kam?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can. A few notes:  
- angekommen ist is the present perfect of ankommen, which explicitly means “to arrive.”  
- In spoken German, learners often choose the present perfect in the subordinate clause:  
  Gestern flackerte die Anzeige, bis der Techniker angekommen ist.  
- In written narrative, you might also see:  
  Gestern flackerte die Anzeige, bis der Techniker ankam.  
- Using kam (simple past of kommen) is also acceptable; context usually makes it clear you mean “arrived.”

Question 8

What’s the difference between kommen and ankommen in this context?

Accepted Answer

- kommen can mean “come” in a broad sense and is often used colloquially to mean “arrive.”  
- ankommen specifically means “to arrive.”  
In formal or precise contexts, ankommen is preferred. In everyday speech or informal writing, simply kommen is very common.

Gestern flackerte die Anzeige, bis der Techniker kam.

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