Learn Hardcore German: Sogar der Nachbar sagt, es sei deine Pflicht, den Müll heute rauszubringen. - Even the neighbor says it is your duty to take out the trash today.

sogar means “even” and highlights that the fact is surprising or noteworthy: Sogar der Nachbar … = “Even the neighbor …”
auch = “also/too,” which lacks the “even” emphasis, so it’s not a good substitute here.
selbst can also mean “even” (more formal/literary). Selbst der Nachbar … works, but sogar is the most neutral, idiomatic choice.

Why is it es sei and not es ist?

es sei is the subjunctive I (Konjunktiv I) of sein and is standard in reported/indirect speech to show you are reporting someone else’s words: Er sagt, es sei … This distances the speaker from the claim. Using ist would sound more like direct assertion/quotation.

Could I use dass instead, like … dass es deine Pflicht ist/sei …?

Yes. Both are fine:

Everyday style: …, dass es deine Pflicht ist, …
Neutral reported style (esp. news): …, dass es deine Pflicht sei, …
Without dass, German often uses Konjunktiv I: …, es sei …

Can I use wäre instead of sei?

You can, but it changes the nuance. wäre (Konjunktiv II) normally marks hypothetical/irrealis. It’s also used in reported speech when the Konjunktiv I form looks identical to the indicative; here, though, sei is distinct and preferred. …, es wäre deine Pflicht, … may sound more hypothetical or colloquial.

Why is the verb sei in second position here instead of at the end?

In indirect speech without dass, German uses a V2 (verb-second) reported clause: Er sagt, er sei … Compare:

V2 reported speech: …, er sei krank.
With dass (subordinate): …, dass er krank ist/sei. (verb-final)

What is the role of es in es sei deine Pflicht?

It’s a placeholder subject (a correlative “es”) that anticipates the following infinitive clause (…, den Müll heute rauszubringen). English also uses a dummy “it” in “It is your duty to …”. You could rephrase as Deine Pflicht ist, den Müll …, dropping the “es.”

Is the comma before den Müll heute rauszubringen necessary?

Yes here, because the infinitive group depends on a correlative es: Es …, den Müll … rauszubringen. With such a correlative, the comma is obligatory. If you restructure to Deine Pflicht ist(,) den Müll … rauszubringen, the comma is optional but recommended.

Why is it deine Pflicht and not deiner Pflicht (or dein Pflicht)?

After sein, the complement is a predicate nominative, so Pflicht stays in the nominative. Pflicht is feminine, so the possessive is deine (not dein). Hence: es sei deine Pflicht.

Why den Müll and not der Müll?

Because rausbringen is transitive: you bring something out. That something is the direct object in the accusative. Müll is masculine; accusative singular is den Müll.

How is rauszubringen formed with zu?

For separable verbs, zu goes between the prefix and the verb stem:

Base: raus|bringen
With zu (infinitive): rauszu…bringen → rauszubringen Compare: Ich bringe den Müll raus. → … den Müll rauszubringen.

Is raus the same as hinaus/heraus? What about ausbringen?

raus is a common colloquial contraction of hinaus/heraus and is fully acceptable in everyday German.
hinaus = movement to the outside, away from the speaker; heraus = movement to the outside, toward the speaker.
With bringen (taking something away), hinausbringen is the precise “toward-away” form; herausbringen can be used in other contexts. In practice, rausbringen is the idiomatic everyday choice for trash.
ausbringen exists but means something else (e.g., to plant/spread). Don’t use it for taking out the trash.

Where should heute go, and what does it modify here?

Placed inside the infinitive clause, heute modifies the action of taking out the trash: …, den Müll heute rauszubringen. If you move heute earlier—e.g., Heute sagt der Nachbar, …—it means the neighbor is saying it today (not that the trash must go out today). Inside the infinitive clause, both den Müll heute rauszubringen and heute den Müll rauszubringen are acceptable; putting heute at the very end (… rauszubringen heute) sounds odd.

Could I say Der Nachbar meint instead of sagt?

Yes:

sagt = says/states (neutral report)
meint = thinks/opines (adds an opinion nuance)
behauptet = claims (can imply doubt) Choose based on the nuance you want.

Why der Nachbar here and not den Nachbarn? What are the forms?

It’s the subject (nominative), so der Nachbar. Note that Nachbar is a weak masculine (n-noun):

Nominative singular: der Nachbar
Accusative/Dative/Genitive singular: den/dem/des Nachbarn
Plural (all cases): die/den/der Nachbarn

Could I rewrite this as direct speech?

Yes: Sogar der Nachbar sagt: Es ist deine Pflicht, den Müll heute rauszubringen. That’s a direct quote; the original uses indirect speech (es sei) to report it.

Are there other idiomatic ways to express es sei deine Pflicht?

Yes:

Du bist verpflichtet, den Müll heute rauszubringen.
Du hast die Pflicht, den Müll heute rauszubringen.
More direct/colloquial: Du musst den Müll heute rausbringen. (modal verb; expresses obligation without the noun “Pflicht”)