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Breakdown of Wir bringen den Abfall abends raus.
wir
we
abends
in the evening
rausbringen
to take out
der Abfall
the trash
Questions & Answers about Wir bringen den Abfall abends raus.
Why is it den Abfall and not der Abfall?
Because bringen takes a direct object in the accusative case. Abfall is masculine (der Abfall), and masculine nouns change to den in the accusative. So: Wir (nominative subject) bringen (verb) den Abfall (accusative object).
Is Abfall the same as Müll?
They overlap, but there’s nuance:
- Müll = everyday household trash (most common in Germany).
- Abfall = more general/official term for waste; very common in Switzerland; in Germany it can sound a bit more formal or administrative. In everyday German (Germany), you’ll most often hear den Müll (rausbringen); den Abfall is also correct.
Why is raus at the end?
Because rausbringen is a separable verb. In main clauses, the finite verb (bringen) must be in position 2, and the separable particle (raus) goes to the end: Wir bringen … raus. In a subordinate clause, the parts reunite: …, dass wir den Abfall abends rausbringen.
Can I keep rausbringen together in a main clause?
No. In main clauses you must separate:
- Correct: Wir bringen den Abfall abends raus.
- Wrong: Wir rausbringen den Abfall abends. Together only in non-finite forms or at the end of subordinate clauses: … rausbringen, rausgebracht, rauszubringen.
Where can abends go in the sentence?
Common options (all natural, with slight differences in emphasis):
- Abends bringen wir den Abfall raus. (focus on the time)
- Wir bringen abends den Abfall raus.
- Wir bringen den Abfall abends raus. Avoid: Wir bringen den Abfall raus abends (feels tacked on/unnatural).
What’s the difference between abends, am Abend, and jeden Abend?
- abends = in the evenings (habitual/generic).
- am Abend = in the evening (often one specific evening or a time frame on a given day).
- jeden Abend = every evening (explicitly every day). Note: abends is lowercase (adverb). It’s capitalized only if it starts the sentence: Abends …
Is raus the same as hinaus or heraus?
- raus = colloquial umbrella form (everyday German).
- hinaus = “out” away from the speaker.
- heraus = “out” toward the speaker. For taking out trash, rausbringen is the most idiomatic. hinausbringen is fine and a bit more formal. herausbringen is less common for trash and can also mean “to bring out/publish” (e.g., a book).
Can I say Wir bringen den Abfall hinaus?
Yes, it’s correct but sounds more formal or written. Everyday speech prefers … den Abfall raus (rausbringen). As a separable verb: Wir bringen den Abfall abends hinaus. As one word: hinausbringen.
How do I say this in the past?
Use the perfect in speech:
- Wir haben den Abfall abends rausgebracht. Note the participle: bringen → gebracht, so rausgebracht (particle + gebracht). Preterite is possible but less common in conversation: Wir brachten den Abfall abends raus.
How do I negate it?
Default negation of the verb phrase:
- Wir bringen den Abfall abends nicht raus. If you want to negate the time specifically:
- Wir bringen den Abfall nicht abends raus, sondern morgens. Or use nie (never): Wir bringen den Abfall abends nie raus.
How would I replace den Abfall with a pronoun?
Use masculine accusative ihn:
- Wir bringen ihn abends raus. With a yes/no question:
- Bringt ihr ihn abends raus? In subordinate clauses, it’s still ihn: …, dass wir ihn abends rausbringen.
Can I use nehmen like in English “take out the trash”?
Usually no. German uses bringen or tragen for carrying something somewhere:
- den Müll/Abfall rausbringen/raustragen = take the trash out.
- wegbringen = take it away (to another place).
- runterbringen = take it downstairs (if the bins are downstairs). nehmen is “to take (hold)” and doesn’t express carrying something to a destination by itself.
What’s the difference between raus and aus?
- raus = directional “out(wards)” (answers “Wohin?”).
- aus = preposition “out of/from inside” + object (answers “Woraus/Woher?”), e.g., aus dem Haus. You can say: Wir bringen den Abfall aus dem Haus. or Wir bringen den Abfall raus. Colloquial raus aus dem Haus occurs, but it’s a bit redundant.
Any quick pronunciation tips?
- Abfall: stress the first syllable; the b is devoiced, so it sounds like “Apf-” at the start: roughly “AP-fall.”
- abends: long a; final -ds sounds like “-ts”: roughly “AH-bents.”
- raus: like English “house” but with a German r at the start.
Does the usual German “time–manner–place” word order matter here?
Yes for placement of adjuncts, but the separable particle raus must stay at the end of the clause. A natural neutral order here is:
- Wir (subject) bringen (V2) den Abfall (object) abends (time) raus (particle). Moving abends to the front for emphasis is also very common: Abends bringen wir den Abfall raus.
How does it look with a modal verb or in a subordinate clause?
- With a modal, the infinitive with the particle stays together at the end: Wir müssen den Abfall abends rausbringen.
- In a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb goes to the end and the parts reunite: …, dass wir den Abfall abends rausbringen.
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