Ich bringe den Abfall in die Mülltonne.

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Breakdown of Ich bringe den Abfall in die Mülltonne.

• in: into
• bringen: to bring
• der Abfall: the trash

Questions & Answers about Ich bringe den Abfall in die Mülltonne.

Why is it den Abfall and not der Abfall or dem Abfall?

Der Abfall is a masculine noun. In German, the article changes depending on the case:

• Nominative (subject): der Abfall
• Accusative (direct object): den Abfall
• Dative (indirect object): dem Abfall

In the sentence Ich bringe den Abfall in die Mülltonne, den Abfall is what you are bringing; it is the direct object, so it must be in the accusative case → den.

Why is it in die Mülltonne and not in der Mülltonne?

The preposition in is a two-way preposition; it can take accusative or dative:

• Accusative: movement into something (direction, change of location)
  
  • Ich bringe den Abfall in die Mülltonne. (I move the trash into the bin.)
• Dative: location in something (no movement, just position)
  
  • Der Abfall ist in der Mülltonne. (The trash is in the bin.)

Here, there is movement into the bin, so in + die (accusative feminine) is correct: in die Mülltonne.

Why die Mülltonne and not der Mülltonne or das Mülltonne?