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Morgen früh gehe ich zur Apotheke, um neue Medikamente zu kaufen.

Morgen früh gehe ich zur Apotheke, um neue Medikamente zu kaufen.
Tomorrow morning I go to the pharmacy to buy new medication.
FromLesson 37inHardcore German
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Questions & Answers about Morgen früh gehe ich zur Apotheke, um neue Medikamente zu kaufen.

Why is the verb gehe placed before the subject ich in this sentence?

German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule. Whenever you start a sentence with anything other than the subject—here Morgen früh—the verb still has to occupy the second slot. The subject moves to third position.
1st position: Morgen früh (time)
2nd position: gehe (verb)
3rd position: ich (subject)
If you began with the subject, you’d say: Ich gehe morgen früh zur Apotheke.

Why is Morgen früh capitalized here, and is it always capitalized?

At the very beginning of any sentence, the first word is capitalized regardless of its part of speech. If you move morgen früh into the middle, it becomes lowercase because both are common words:
– morgen (adverb “tomorrow”)
– früh (adverb/adjective “early”)
Example: Ich gehe morgen früh zur Apotheke.
Note: der Morgen (noun “the morning”) is always capitalized, but that’s a different word.

What does zur stand for in zur Apotheke?

zur is a contraction of zu + der. You use it because Apotheke is feminine and in the dative case (preposition zu always takes dative).
– zu der Apotheke = zur Apotheke

Why does zu require the dative case here?
German prepositions govern specific cases. zu is one of the dative prepositions, so the noun (and any articles or adjectives) following it must be in the dative case.
Why is there a comma before um?
In German, you separate the main clause from an infinitive clause with a comma. An um … zu clause (purpose clause = “in order to …”) counts as an infinitive clause and therefore needs a comma before um.
What is the function of the um … zu kaufen construction?
um … zu + infinitive expresses purpose (“in order to …”). You use um at the start of the clause, place the infinitive verb at the very end with zu attached, and insert a comma before um.
Why is it neue Medikamente and not neuen Medikamente or neues Medikamente?

Here Medikamente is a plural direct object (accusative plural). With no article before the adjective, German uses the strong declension pattern. For strong declension in the plural (both nominative and accusative) the ending is -e. Thus:
– neue Medikamente

Why is Medikamente in the plural? In English we say “medication” as an uncountable noun.
In German, Medikament is a countable noun referring to individual medicines or prescriptions. If you mean “new medication” in general, Germans usually still speak of multiple items: neue Medikamente. You could use Medizin or Arznei for an uncountable sense, but in everyday speech about prescriptions or pills, the plural is more common.

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