Breakdown of Meine Bücher reichen für den Kurs nicht aus.
nicht
not
das Buch
the book
für
for
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
Questions & Answers about Meine Bücher reichen für den Kurs nicht aus.
Why is the verb ausreichen split so that we see reichen in the second position and aus at the end?
In German main clauses, separable-prefix verbs like ausreichen break apart. The finite part (reichen) occupies the V2 position (right after the subject), and the prefix (aus) moves to the end of the clause. Hence: Meine Bücher reichen … aus.
Why is nicht placed directly before aus, rather than before für den Kurs or at the very beginning?
Nicht negates the entire verb phrase ausreichen, so it must appear just before the separable prefix aus. Placing nicht elsewhere (e.g. before für den Kurs) would shift the negation to that prepositional phrase instead.
Why do we use für + den Kurs here, and why is den Kurs in the accusative?
The preposition für always governs the accusative case. Since Kurs is masculine (der Kurs in the nominative), it becomes den Kurs in the accusative: für den Kurs.
How do we get meine Bücher from mein Buch? In other words, how does the possessive pronoun mein decline for the plural?