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Questions & Answers about Das Wetter verändert sich oft.
Why is sich used after verändert?
Because sich verändern is a reflexive verb. In this construction the subject (“the weather”) is performing the action on itself (“changes itself”), so German requires the reflexive pronoun sich in the accusative for third person.
What case is sich here and why?
It’s the accusative case. When a verb is reflexive and no other direct object is present, German uses the accusative reflexive pronoun. For third person that pronoun is always sich in both masculine, feminine and neuter.
Is verändert in the past tense? How do I know it’s present?
It’s present tense. You can tell because the verb stem verändern takes -t for third person singular present (verändert). In simple past it would be veränderte, and in the conversational perfect you’d say hat sich verändert.
Why does verändert come in second position even though sich follows it?
German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Here “Das Wetter” is element one, so verändert goes second. The reflexive pronoun sich comes after the conjugated verb.
Can I use ändern instead of verändern here?
Yes. sich ändern and sich verändern both mean “to change” intransitively. So Das Wetter ändert sich oft is just as correct.
Where else could I put oft in the sentence?
You can move the adverb to the front for emphasis:
Oft verändert sich das Wetter.
Regardless, the finite verb stays in position two and the subject shifts accordingly.
Why is the article das used with Wetter?
Because Wetter is a neuter noun in German. All singular neuter nouns take das as their definite article.
Why does sich come before oft?
Short noun phrases and pronouns (like reflexive sich) generally precede adverbials (like oft) in German word order. So you say verändert sich oft, not verändert oft sich.