Morgen streiche ich die Wand im Zimmer.

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Breakdown of Morgen streiche ich die Wand im Zimmer.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• ich: I
• morgen: tomorrow
• das Zimmer: the room
• die Wand: the wall
• streichen: to paint

Questions & Answers about Morgen streiche ich die Wand im Zimmer.

Why is Morgen at the beginning of the sentence instead of later?

German is a verb-second (V2) language. If you place an adverbial like morgen (tomorrow) in position 1, the finite verb streiche must come in position 2. The subject ich then moves after the verb. You could also say Ich streiche morgen die Wand, but fronting morgen simply shifts the word order.

Why is morgen not capitalized here?

When morgen means “tomorrow,” it is an adverb and is written lowercase. Only nouns (e.g. der Morgen for “the morning”) are capitalized in German.

Why is the verb streiche used instead of a future tense form?

German often uses the present tense plus a time adverb to express future actions. Because morgen makes the time clear, streiche (present tense) suffices. You could also use the future: Ich werde morgen die Wand streichen, but it’s not required.

Why is die Wand in the accusative case?

Streichen (to paint) is a transitive verb that takes a direct object. The direct object must be in the accusative. Wand is feminine, so its accusative article is die.

What is im and why is it used before Zimmer?

Im is the contraction of in dem. Here in expresses location (“inside”), which requires the dative case. Zimmer is neuter, so dem + in → im.

Why don’t we see a separate article like das before Zimmer?

There is an article—it’s hidden in im (in dem). Because in plus the dative article dem contracts to im, you don’t add a separate das.

Do I have to include ich, or can it be dropped?

Unlike some pro-drop languages, standard German generally requires the subject pronoun in declarative sentences. You need ich here to show who is doing the painting. (In the imperative mood you can drop the subject for second person, but that doesn’t apply.)

How do I know streichen here means “to paint” and not “to strike out” or “to cancel”?

Context tells you which sense of streichen is meant. When you talk about a Wand (wall), it obviously refers to applying paint. If you talk about text, you might interpret streichen as crossing out.

Is there a difference between streichen and anstreichen?

Both can mean “to paint.” Anstreichen often emphasizes the act of painting something for the first time or giving it a new coat, while streichen is more general. In everyday German they are largely interchangeable when painting walls.