Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.

We have to tidy up the room today.

Breakdown of Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.

• wir: we
• heute: today
• das Zimmer: the room
• müssen: have to
• aufräumen: to clean up

Questions & Answers about Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.

Why is aufräumen at the end of the sentence?

In German main clauses, the conjugated verb (here: müssen) goes in second position, and any infinitive (here: aufräumen) goes to the end of the clause.

• müssen is the modal verb and is conjugated: wir müssen
• aufräumen is the main action (the infinitive), so it is placed at the end.

Basic pattern:

• Subject – conjugated verb – (other stuff) – infinitive
• Wir – müssen – heute das Zimmer – aufräumen.

Is aufräumen one word or two? Why don’t we say auf räumen here?

Aufräumen is one verb: a separable prefix verb made of auf- + räumen.

• The dictionary form is one word: aufräumen.
• When it is the only verb and it is conjugated, it splits:
  • Ich räume das Zimmer auf. (räume … auf)
• When it appears with a modal verb (müssen, können, wollen, etc.), it stays together as an infinitive at the end:
  • Wir müssen das Zimmer aufräumen. (not auf räumen)

Why is there no zu before aufräumen, like zu aufräumen?

With modal verbs (müssen, können, sollen, dürfen, wollen, mögen), German normally uses a bare infinitive, without zu.

• Correct: Wir müssen das Zimmer aufräumen.
• Incorrect: Wir müssen das Zimmer aufzuräumen.

You do use zu with ordinary verbs:

• Wir versuchen, das Zimmer aufzuräumen. (“We’re trying to clean up the room.”)

Could I also say Heute müssen wir das Zimmer aufräumen? Is that different?

Yes, that is correct, and the meaning is essentially the same.

• Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.
• Heute müssen wir das Zimmer aufräumen.

Both follow the rule that the conjugated verb is in second position:

• In the first version, wir is in first position, so müssen is second.
• In the second version, heute is in first position, so müssen is still second, and wir moves after it.

Putting heute first gives it a bit more emphasis (“Today, we have to clean the room.”), but the basic meaning is the same.

Why is it das Zimmer and not something like dem Zimmer or die Zimmer?

Zimmer is a neuter noun in German:

• Nominative singular: das Zimmer
• Accusative singular: das Zimmer
• Dative singular: dem Zimmer
• Plural: die Zimmer (same form for all cases; only the article changes)

In the sentence Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen, das Zimmer is the direct object of the verb aufräumen, so it has to be in the accusative case.

For neuter nouns, nominative and accusative look the same: das.
So das Zimmer is correct here.

What does müssen express exactly? Is it like English “must” or “have to”?

Müssen usually corresponds to “have to” or strong “must” in English: it expresses a necessity or obligation.

• Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.
  “We have to clean the room today.” / “We must clean the room today.”

Compare with other modal verbs:

• sollen – should, supposed to
  Wir sollen heute das Zimmer aufräumen. (“We’re supposed to clean the room today.”)
• dürfen – may, allowed to
  Wir dürfen heute das Zimmer aufräumen. (“We are allowed to clean the room today.” – odd, but grammatically fine.)

So müssen is the normal word for a real obligation or necessity.

How is müssen conjugated? Why not wir muss or wir müsst?

Müssen is an irregular modal verb. Its present tense conjugation is:

• ich muss
• du musst
• er/sie/es muss
• wir müssen
• ihr müsst
• sie/Sie müssen

For wir and sie/Sie, the verb usually ends in -en, so wir müssen is the correct form.
For ich/er/sie/es, the stem vowel changes and there is no umlaut: muss, not müss.

Why is the verb in second position? What exactly counts as “first” in this sentence?

German main clauses follow the Verb-Second rule (V2): the conjugated verb must appear in second position.

“Position” here means slot, not word.

In Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen:

1. Wir = first position (subject)
2. müssen = second position (conjugated verb)
3. heute das Zimmer aufräumen = the rest of the sentence

If you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

• Heute müssen wir das Zimmer aufräumen.
• Das Zimmer müssen wir heute aufräumen.

Whatever you put first (one element) takes position 1, and the conjugated verb must follow immediately in position 2.

Where can I put heute in this sentence? Does the position change the meaning?

Typical options:

• Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen.
• Wir müssen das Zimmer heute aufräumen.
• Heute müssen wir das Zimmer aufräumen.

All three are grammatically correct and have basically the same meaning: the room has to be cleaned today.

Differences:

• Put heute earlier (especially at the very beginning) to emphasize time:
  • Heute müssen wir das Zimmer aufräumen. (= Today, as opposed to some other day.)
• Put heute just before aufräumen to sound a bit more neutral or to focus on the action happening today:
  • Wir müssen das Zimmer heute aufräumen.

In everyday speech, all three are very common; the difference is nuance and emphasis, not grammar.

How would I make this sentence a question in German?

You mainly change the word order by putting the conjugated verb first:

• Müssen wir heute das Zimmer aufräumen?
  “Do we have to clean the room today?”

Variations with slightly different emphasis:

• Müssen wir das Zimmer heute aufräumen?
• Müssen wir heute das Zimmer aufräumen oder morgen?

But the key rule is: in yes/no questions, the conjugated verb comes first.

How do I say we don’t have to clean the room today?

You negate müssen with nicht:

• Wir müssen das Zimmer heute nicht aufräumen.

Word order with nicht can slightly change the focus:

• Wir müssen das Zimmer heute nicht aufräumen.
  → We don’t have to clean the room today (maybe another day).
• Wir müssen heute das Zimmer nicht aufräumen.
  → Very similar; still the idea “not today”.
• Wir müssen heute nicht das Zimmer aufräumen.
  → Emphasizes that it’s not the room in particular we have to clean (maybe we have to clean something else).

In most everyday situations, people would use Wir müssen das Zimmer heute nicht aufräumen for “We don’t have to clean the room today.”

How would I say this in the past tense?

You have two common options:

1. Präteritum (simple past) – especially common in writing:

   • Wir mussten heute das Zimmer aufräumen.
     “We had to clean the room today.”

2. Perfekt (spoken past) – very common in conversation:

   • Wir haben heute das Zimmer aufräumen müssen.

Note the word order in the Perfekt:

• haben is the finite verb in second position.
• At the end you get a “double infinitive”: aufräumen müssen (no ge- form for modal + infinitive).

What’s the difference between das Zimmer aufräumen, das Zimmer sauber machen, and das Zimmer putzen?

All can involve cleaning, but the nuance is slightly different:

• das Zimmer aufräumen
  = “tidy up the room”, “straighten up”
  Focus: putting things in order (pick up clothes, put books away).

• das Zimmer sauber machen
  = “make the room clean”
  General cleaning; could include both tidying and actual cleaning (vacuuming, wiping surfaces).

• das Zimmer putzen
  = “clean the room (thoroughly)”
  Focus: actual cleaning work (scrubbing, wiping, vacuuming), more about dirt and hygiene than about mess.

In Wir müssen heute das Zimmer aufräumen, the focus is on tidying up rather than deep cleaning.