Ich warf altes Zeug weg, um endlich mehr Platz im Keller zu haben.

I threw away old stuff to finally have more space in the basement.

Breakdown of Ich warf altes Zeug weg, um endlich mehr Platz im Keller zu haben.

• ich: I
• alt: old
• haben: to have
• mehr: more

Questions & Answers about Ich warf altes Zeug weg, um endlich mehr Platz im Keller zu haben.

Why is the verb werfen in the past tense warf here?

German uses the simple past (Präteritum) for narrative or written style. Werfen is a strong verb, so its simple-past singular form is warf. The past participle would be geworfen, but in this sentence the speaker chose Präteritum (ich warf) rather than Perfekt.

Why is the particle weg placed at the end of the clause instead of next to the verb?

Wegwerfen is a separable verb. In main clauses its prefix weg detaches and moves to the end:
• Present: ich werfe … weg
• Simple past: ich warf … weg

What does altes Zeug mean and why is altes spelled with an “–es” ending?

Zeug means “stuff” or “things” in a general, uncountable sense. Zeug is a neuter noun, and in the accusative without an article, the adjective takes the weak ending –es. Hence altes Zeug = “old stuff.”

Why is there no article before altes Zeug?

Because Zeug is used as a mass noun here (you can’t count individual pieces), and German often omits the article with mass nouns when speaking generally: “old stuff” rather than “the old stuff.”