Breakdown of Ich trage die Lederkette fast jeden Tag, weil sie leicht und schlicht ist.
Questions & Answers about Ich trage die Lederkette fast jeden Tag, weil sie leicht und schlicht ist.
The verb tragen (to wear, to carry) is irregular, but in the present tense it’s conjugated like this:
- ich trage – I wear
- du trägst – you wear (informal singular)
- er/sie/es trägt – he/she/it wears
- wir tragen – we wear
- ihr tragt – you wear (informal plural)
- sie tragen / Sie tragen – they wear / you wear (formal)
So with ich you always use the -e ending: ich trage.
Trägt only appears with du and er/sie/es, never with ich.
German doesn’t have a separate continuous form like English.
The present tense (ich trage) can mean:
- I wear the leather necklace almost every day. (habit)
- I am wearing the leather necklace (right now). (current action)
Context decides which English version is best, but in German the form is the same: ich trage.
The gender comes from the main noun Kette (chain, necklace), which is feminine:
- die Kette – the chain / necklace
Lederkette is a compound noun: Leder (leather) + Kette (chain/necklace).
In German, the last part of a compound decides the gender, number, and case.
So:
- die Lederkette – the leather necklace (singular)
- die Lederketten – the leather necklaces (plural)
It can never be der Lederkette or das Lederkette in the nominative singular.
German usually writes compound nouns as one long word:
- Leder
- Kette → Lederkette
- Haustür (Haus + Tür) – front door
- Handtasche (Hand + Tasche) – handbag
All nouns in German are capitalized, including compound nouns.
So it must be die Lederkette, not die leder kette or die Leder Kette.
Both are grammatically possible, but they sound a bit different:
- fast jeden Tag – the normal, neutral phrase: almost every day
- jeden Tag fast – possible, but sounds more marked/unusual; it can put a bit more emphasis on jeden Tag, like every day – well, almost.
In everyday speech and writing, Germans almost always say fast jeden Tag.
Tag is masculine: der Tag.
The phrase jeden Tag is in the accusative case, because time expressions like every day, this year, last week are typically accusative when they act as adverbials of time:
- jeder Tag – nominative (subject): Jeder Tag ist anders. – Every day is different.
- jeden Tag – accusative (time expression): Ich lerne jeden Tag Deutsch. – I study German every day.
So in Ich trage die Lederkette fast jeden Tag, we need jeden (accusative masculine), not jeder.
No. German fast means almost / nearly, not quickly.
- fast jeden Tag – almost every day
- fast fertig – almost finished
For quickly / fast (in the speed sense), German uses schnell:
- Er läuft schnell. – He runs fast.
So don’t confuse fast (almost) with schnell (fast/quick).
Weil is a subordinating conjunction (like because). In German, after subordinating conjunctions, the finite verb moves to the end of the clause:
- ..., weil sie leicht und schlicht ist. – ..., because it is light and simple.
- ..., weil ich müde bin. – ..., because I am tired.
- ..., weil es regnet. – ..., because it is raining.
In main clauses, the verb usually comes in second position:
- Ich trage die Lederkette. – I wear the leather necklace.
But in the weil-clause, it must be ... weil sie leicht und schlicht ist, not weil sie ist leicht und schlicht.
Yes, but the word order changes, and the nuance is slightly different:
..., weil sie leicht und schlicht ist.
– Subordinate clause, verb at the end.
– Common in spoken and written German...., denn sie ist leicht und schlicht.
– Denn does not send the verb to the end; the clause keeps normal main-clause word order.
– Sounds a bit more written / formal or explanatory.
Both mean because. In everyday speech, weil is more frequent. In writing, especially more formal writing, denn is also quite common.
Sie here is the feminine singular pronoun referring back to die Lederkette.
In German, pronouns agree with the grammatical gender of the noun:
- die Lederkette → sie (she/it)
- der Ring → er (he/it)
- das Armband → es (it)
Even though a necklace is an object, not a person, we still say sie, because Kette is grammatically feminine.
There are two different situations for adjectives in German:
Attributive adjectives (before a noun)
These take endings:- eine leichte Kette – a light necklace
- eine schlichte Kette – a simple/plain necklace
Predicate adjectives (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.)
These do not take endings:- Die Kette ist leicht. – The necklace is light.
- Die Kette ist schlicht. – The necklace is simple.
In weil sie leicht und schlicht ist, leicht and schlicht are predicate adjectives after ist, so they appear in the basic form, without endings.
Leicht can mean both in German; context decides.
Here, with Lederkette (leather necklace), leicht almost certainly means:
- light (not heavy) – it doesn’t weigh much, comfortable to wear.
Examples:
- Die Tasche ist leicht. – The bag is light.
- Diese Übung ist leicht. – This exercise is easy.
So leicht = light (weight) or easy (difficulty), depending on context.
Schlicht usually means:
- plain, simple, modest, not decorated, not flashy
For a necklace:
- eine schlichte Kette – a plain/simple necklace (no big stones, not very eye-catching)
Einfach can also mean simple, but its main meanings are:
- simple / not complicated
- easy
Some contrasts:
- ein schlichter Stil – a plain, minimalistic style
- ein einfacher Text – a simple/easy text (not difficult)
So in leicht und schlicht about a necklace:
- leicht – light in weight
- schlicht – plain / not flashy in design