Bitte fülle den Fragebogen im Büro aus.

Please fill out the questionnaire in the office.

Breakdown of Bitte fülle den Fragebogen im Büro aus.

• in: in
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• bitte: please
• das Büro: the office
• den: the; (masculine, accusative)
• ausfüllen: to fill out
• der Fragebogen: the questionnaire

Questions & Answers about Bitte fülle den Fragebogen im Büro aus.

Why is the separable verb ausfüllen split, placing aus at the end?

In German main clauses, verbs with separable prefixes (like aus in ausfüllen) split: the finite part (fülle) goes into the second position, and the prefix (aus) moves to the very end of the clause. Hence Bitte fülle … aus.

Why is den Fragebogen in the accusative case?

Fragebogen is the direct object of the verb ausfüllen. Direct objects are in the accusative case. Since Fragebogen is masculine singular, der becomes den, giving den Fragebogen.

What case is used with in in im Büro, and why do we say im instead of in dem?

Here in indicates location (“in the office”), which in German takes the dative case. Büro is neuter, so in + dem Büro is required. In everyday speech in dem contracts to im, so you get im Büro.

Why is Bitte placed at the beginning of the sentence?

Bitte makes the instruction more polite. It’s an optional politeness particle that can appear before the verb, at the very beginning, or even at the end of the sentence without changing the basic meaning:
– Bitte fülle … aus.
– Fülle … bitte aus.
– Fülle … aus, bitte.

How do you form the du-imperative of ausfüllen?

For the du-imperative in German you drop the -st ending from the present-tense form. From du füllst you get füll. You can optionally keep the final -e, giving fülle. The separable prefix still moves to the end:
– Füll den Fragebogen aus!
– Fülle den Fragebogen aus!

What does Fragebogen mean, and why is it masculine?

Fragebogen means questionnaire. It’s a compound noun: Frage (“question”, feminine) + Bogen (“sheet”, masculine). In German compounds, the gender is determined by the last element (Bogen), so Fragebogen is masculine.

Can the word order be changed, and if so, how?

Yes. You must keep the finite verb in second position and the separable prefix at the end, but you can reorder the objects and adverbials:
– Bitte fülle im Büro den Fragebogen aus.
– Fülle den Fragebogen bitte im Büro aus.
– Fülle im Büro den Fragebogen aus, bitte.