Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.

That the trash bin smells so bad annoys the neighbors every summer.

Breakdown of Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.

• so: so
• dass: that
• der Nachbar: the neighbor
• die Mülltonne: the trash bin
• stinken: to stink
• nerven: to annoy
• jeden Sommer: every summer

Questions & Answers about Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.

What is the grammatical subject of this sentence?

The grammatical subject is the whole clause:

Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt

This “dass-clause” functions as a subject. It is the thing that “annoys the neighbours every summer.”

So structurally the sentence is:

• Subject: Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt
• Verb: nervt
• Object (accusative): die Nachbarn
• Adverbial of time: jeden Sommer

Why is the verb nervt in the singular, even though die Nachbarn is plural?

The verb must agree with the subject, not with the nearest noun.

• Subject: Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt → this is grammatically singular (one clause).
• Therefore the verb is singular: nervt.

Die Nachbarn is not the subject here, but the direct object (accusative), so it does not control the verb form. That’s why it’s not nerven.

Why does the verb stinkt go to the end of Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt?

Because dass introduces a subordinate clause.

In most subordinate clauses in German, the conjugated verb goes to the very end of the clause:

• Main clause: Die Mülltonne stinkt so. (verb in second position)
• Subordinate clause with dass: …, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt. (verb at the end)

So the pattern is:

dass + [subject] + [everything else] + [finite verb]

Could the sentence also be “Es nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt”? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is also correct:

Es nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.

Difference:

• Original:
  Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.
  Here the dass-clause is fronted and clearly shown as the subject.

• Alternative with es:
  Es nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.
  Here es is a kind of placeholder subject, and the dass‑clause is moved to the end (this is called extraposition).

Both mean the same thing; the second version sounds a bit more natural in everyday spoken German.

Why is die Nachbarn in the accusative if it looks exactly like the nominative?

For plural nouns with definite article, nominative and accusative forms are identical:

• Nominative plural: die Nachbarn
• Accusative plural: die Nachbarn

So you can’t see the case from the form itself; you see it from the function in the sentence:

• Subject (nominative):
  Die Nachbarn nerven sich gegenseitig.
  “The neighbours annoy each other.”

• Object (accusative):
  Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn.
  “It annoys the neighbours that the bin stinks so much.”

With a singular noun, the difference is visible:

• Nominative: der Nachbar nervt …
• Accusative: das nervt den Nachbarn …

What exactly does nerven mean here? How is it different from ärgern or stören?

nerven literally comes from “nerves” and means something like “to get on someone’s nerves” / “to annoy”.

• nerven: ongoing irritation, getting on someone’s nerves.

  • Die laute Musik nervt mich. – “The loud music annoys me.”

• ärgern: to anger, to make someone feel angry.

  • Es ärgert mich, dass er nie hilft. – “It makes me angry that he never helps.”

• stören: to disturb, to interfere with what someone is doing.

  • Das Licht stört mich beim Schlafen. – “The light bothers me when I’m trying to sleep.”

In this bin sentence, nervt fits because the smell is a constant, irritating problem every summer.

Why is it stinkt and not just riecht?

Both riechen and stinken are about smell, but:

• riechen is neutral: “to smell” (can be good or bad).

  • Die Blumen riechen gut. – “The flowers smell good.”
  • Der Käse riecht stark. – “The cheese smells strong.”

• stinken is strongly negative: “to stink” / “to reek”, i.e., to smell very bad.

  • Die Mülltonne stinkt. – “The bin stinks.”

Using stinkt makes it clear that it’s a really unpleasant smell, not just a noticeable one.

What does so do in so stinkt? Why not sehr stinkt?

In so stinkt, so is an intensifier similar to English “so” in “so smelly” / “so stinky”:

• Die Mülltonne stinkt. – “The bin stinks.”
• Die Mülltonne stinkt so. – “The bin stinks so (much).”

so can:

• Emphasize degree in a vague way (often emotional):
  Es stinkt so! – “It stinks so much!”
• Often invite a follow‑up or consequence:
  Die Mülltonne stinkt so, dass niemand daneben stehen will.
  “The bin stinks so much that nobody wants to stand next to it.”

sehr is also possible, but sounds a bit more neutral:

• Die Mülltonne stinkt sehr. – “The bin smells very bad.”

In spoken German, so is more colloquial and emotional than sehr.

Where can jeden Sommer go in the sentence? Is its position fixed?

No, its position is flexible. jeden Sommer is an adverbial of time (“every summer”), and in German such elements can move around as long as you respect the main word‑order rules.

All of these are correct, with slightly different emphasis:

1. Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.
   – Neutral; time at the end.

2. Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt jeden Sommer die Nachbarn.
   – Slight emphasis on every summer affecting the neighbours.

3. Jeden Sommer nervt die Nachbarn, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.
   – Stronger emphasis on every summer (put in the first position).

4. Die Nachbarn nervt jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.
   – First position = die Nachbarn, strong focus on them.

Main rule to keep: in the main clause, the finite verb must stay in second position (counting the whole first chunk as “position 1”).

Why is there a comma after stinkt / after the dass‑clause?

In German, a comma is mandatory between a main clause and a subordinate clause.

Here:

• Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt → subordinate clause (introduced by dass)
• nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer → main clause

So you must write:

Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.

You cannot omit that comma in correct written German.

Why is Dass capitalised? And why is it written with ss and not das?

Two separate points:

1. Capital letter:
   All first words of a sentence are capitalised in German, even if they’re normally written with a lowercase letter.

   • Middle of a sentence: …, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, …
   • Start of a sentence: Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt …

2. dass vs. das:

   • dass (with ss) = subordinating conjunction “that”:
     • Ich weiß, dass er kommt. – “I know that he is coming.”
   • das (with single s) = article (“the”) or pronoun (“that/which/it”):
     • Das Auto ist neu. – “The car is new.”
     • Das ist schön. – “That is nice.”

In this sentence, dass introduces a subordinate clause, so it must be dass with ss.

What gender is Mülltonne, and what’s its plural?

Mülltonne is feminine:

• Singular:
  • die Mülltonne – “the (wheelie) bin / garbage can”
• Plural:
  • die Mülltonnen – “the bins”

Forms in the sentence:

• die Mülltonne → nominative singular (subject of the subordinate clause).

Vocabulary note:

• die Mülltonne usually suggests a large outdoor bin, like the ones used for household waste collection.
• der Mülleimer often suggests a smaller indoor rubbish bin.

Can I start with Die Nachbarn instead? For example: Die Nachbarn nervt, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt jeden Sommer?

You can start with Die Nachbarn, but you have to be careful with verb agreement and position.

Correct version with Die Nachbarn first:

Die Nachbarn nervt jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.

Explanation:

• The subject is still the dass-clause (“that the bin stinks so much”), which is singular.
• Die Nachbarn is an object moved to the first position (focus).
• The verb still agrees with the subject, so it remains nervt (singular), not nerven.
• The dass‑clause is moved to the end (extraposition).

Your draft

Die Nachbarn nervt, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt jeden Sommer

has two problems:

• word order sounds odd (the time phrase “jeden Sommer” is awkwardly stuck at the very end of the subordinate clause area),
• missing comma after the main clause: it should be Die Nachbarn nervt jeden Sommer, dass …

A clearer version is:

Die Nachbarn nervt es jeden Sommer, dass die Mülltonne so stinkt.
(adds es as a placeholder, very natural in speech)

Could we also say “Die Mülltonne stinkt so, dass sie die Nachbarn jeden Sommer nervt”? Does it mean the same?

Yes, that is also grammatical, but it uses a different structure:

Die Mülltonne stinkt so, dass sie die Nachbarn jeden Sommer nervt.

Here you have:

• Main clause: Die Mülltonne stinkt so.
• Consequence clause with so … dass: dass sie die Nachbarn jeden Sommer nervt.

Meaning nuance:

• Original:
  Dass die Mülltonne so stinkt, nervt die Nachbarn jeden Sommer.
  → Focus is on the fact that the bin stinks; that fact annoys the neighbours.

• New version:
  Die Mülltonne stinkt so, dass sie die Nachbarn jeden Sommer nervt.
  → Focus is on the degree of the smell: it stinks so much that it annoys them.

Content is very similar, but the second one explicitly highlights cause and consequence (“so … that …”).