Learn Hardcore German: Am Ende gab die Chefin einen letzten Rat: verschiebt niemals wichtige Aufgaben ohne guten Grund. - In the end the boss gave one last piece of advice: never postpone important tasks without a good reason.

Am Ende is a temporal adverbial (“in the end,” “finally”). In German you can front-load an adverbial for emphasis. When you put something other than the subject first, the finite verb (gab) must come directly after it, causing the subject (die Chefin) to follow the verb.

Why is it einen letzten Rat and not der letzte Rat?

Rat is a masculine noun. Here it’s the direct object, so it takes the accusative case. The indefinite article in accusative masculine is einen. After an article, adjectives use the mixed declension and take -en, hence letzten.

What does the colon (:) do in this sentence?

In German a colon can introduce direct speech, a quotation or—in this case—the precise content of the advice. It signals that what follows is exactly the letzter Rat.

Why is verschiebt the form of the verb here?

This is an imperative addressed to ihr (the informal plural “you all”). For regular -en verbs, the ihr–imperative is identical to the present-tense ihr form (“ihr verschiebt”). The subject pronoun ihr is simply omitted.

Why is niemals used instead of nicht?

Nicht negates a statement generally (“do not do it [now]”). Nie/niemals specifically means “never.” In negative imperatives niemals is common to forbid an action at any time.

What case is wichtige Aufgaben, and why is there no article?

Wichtige Aufgaben is the direct object in accusative plural. When you place an adjective directly before a noun without an article, you use the strong declension ending -e on the adjective: wichtige. Omitting the article makes the instruction more general (“important tasks” in general).

How does ohne guten Grund work grammatically?

The preposition ohne always takes the accusative. Grund is masculine, so in accusative singular you get guten Grund (adjective ending -en in the accusative after no article).

Could you say ohne einen guten Grund instead of ohne guten Grund?

Yes. Ohne einen guten Grund is perfectly correct. Adding einen (“a good reason”) makes it slightly more concrete, whereas omitting the article makes the phrase more idiomatic and general.

Why is die Chefin used rather than der Chef?

Chefin is simply the feminine form of Chef (“boss”). Since the leader in this context is female, German uses die Chefin.

Is Rat the same as Ratschlag?

They are synonyms meaning “advice.” Rat is shorter and a bit more formal or idiomatic in fixed phrases (e.g. letzter Rat), while Ratschlag literally means “piece of advice” and is slightly more conversational or verbose.