Breakdown of Der Mechaniker kommt morgen früh, um mein Auto zu reparieren.
kommen
to come
das Auto
the car
morgen
tomorrow
früh
early
mein
my
um...zu
in order to
reparieren
to repair
der Mechaniker
the mechanic
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Questions & Answers about Der Mechaniker kommt morgen früh, um mein Auto zu reparieren.
Why is Der Mechaniker in the nominative case instead of den Mechaniker?
Because Der Mechaniker is the subject of the sentence, and subjects take the nominative case in German. If he were the direct object, you would use den Mechaniker (accusative).
Why is it mein Auto and not meinem Auto?
Mein Auto is the direct object, so it’s in the accusative case. Since Auto is a neuter noun, the accusative form of mein is the same as the nominative: mein Auto.
Why does the sentence use the present tense kommt to talk about tomorrow?
In German, the present tense can express a planned future event when you include a time adverbial like morgen früh. It’s similar to English using the present for future arrangements (e.g. I’m meeting him tomorrow).
What is the function of um mein Auto zu reparieren?
The um … zu + infinitive construction expresses purpose: in order to repair my car. You introduce it with um, place zu before the infinitive reparieren, and put the whole clause at the end.
Why is there a comma before um?
In German, infinitive clauses introduced by um … zu are considered dependent clauses and must be separated by a comma from the main clause.
Why does reparieren appear at the very end of the sentence?
In German subordinate clauses—including um … zu clauses—the verb (or infinitive) goes to the final position. That’s why you get zu reparieren at the end.
What exactly does morgen früh mean, and why isn’t morgen capitalized?
morgen früh literally means tomorrow morning. Here morgen is an adverb (“tomorrow”), so it’s lowercase. If you use the noun Morgen (for example in am Morgen), you must capitalize it.
Can I start the sentence with Morgen früh instead of Der Mechaniker?
Yes. You can front the time expression:
Morgen früh kommt der Mechaniker, um mein Auto zu reparieren.
The finite verb kommt stays in the second position, and the subject der Mechaniker follows.
When should I use um … zu versus a damit clause for expressing purpose?
Use um … zu + infinitive when the subject of both clauses is the same and you want a concise purpose clause. Use damit + finite verb when the subjects differ or you need a full subordinate clause. In our sentence, the subject remains der Mechaniker in both parts, so um mein Auto zu reparieren is the natural choice.