Learn Hardcore German: Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse, die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt. - My father-in-law bakes cookies for it, which the baby later secretly takes from the table.

Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse, die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt.

My father-in-law bakes cookies for it, which the baby later secretly takes from the table.

Breakdown of Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse, die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt.

from the; (masculine, dative)

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Questions & Answers about Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse, die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt.

What exactly does dazu mean here, and what is it referring to?

Dazu literally means “to that / for that / with that”, but in natural English it’s usually:

“for that”
“to go with it”
“for the occasion”, depending on context.

In this sentence, dazu must refer to something mentioned in the previous sentence or context (for example, a meal, a visit, a coffee, a party).

So backt dazu Kekse = “(he) bakes cookies to go with that / for that (occasion / meal / event / coffee, etc.)”.

On its own, dazu is a bit vague; the exact English translation depends on what “that” is in the broader context.

Why is it backt and not bäckt or just backen?

The infinitive is backen (“to bake”).

In the present tense, er/sie/es can be conjugated in two standard ways:

er backt
er bäckt

Both are correct in modern standard German. Some speakers prefer bäckt in everyday language; backt is also fully accepted.

You only use backen in this sentence if it’s an infinitive, for example:

Er will Kekse backen. – He wants to bake cookies.

Why is it Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse and not something like Mein Schwiegervater Kekse backt?

German main clauses normally follow the verb-second (V2) rule:

One element in first position (here: Mein Schwiegervater)
The conjugated verb in second position (here: backt)
Everything else after that.

So the basic frame is:

Mein Schwiegervater – first position
backt – second position (finite verb)
dazu Kekse – rest

You can change the order of the elements after the verb for emphasis:

Mein Schwiegervater backt Kekse dazu. (focus shifts slightly to Kekse)

But you cannot move the conjugated verb away from second position in a normal main clause:

✗ Mein Schwiegervater dazu Kekse backt. → ungrammatical as a main clause.

How is the word Schwiegervater formed, and what gender does it have?

Schwiegervater is a compound noun:

Schwieger- (in-law)
Vater (father)

So Schwiegervater = father-in-law.

Its grammatical gender is masculine, like Vater:

der Schwiegervater – nominative singular
mein Schwiegervater – mein replaces der, still nominative masculine

In the sentence, Mein Schwiegervater is the subject, so it’s in the nominative case.

Why is there no article before Kekse? Could it also be die Kekse?

Kekse is plural of Keks (cookie / biscuit).

German often omits the article when talking about something in a general or indefinite way, especially with plural nouns:

Er backt Kekse. – He bakes cookies (some cookies).

Comparing:

Er backt Kekse. – Some unspecified cookies.
Er backt die Kekse. – He bakes the cookies (specific cookies that we both know about).
Er backt seine Kekse. – He bakes his cookies.

In this sentence, Kekse without an article means some cookies in a general, non-specific sense, which fits the story-like context.

Why is the relative pronoun die used after Kekse, and not sie or something else?

Kekse is plural. The relative pronoun must agree in gender and number with its antecedent (Kekse) but its case depends on its role in the relative clause.

Antecedent: Kekse – plural
Relative pronoun: die – plural (for all genders in nominative and accusative)

In the relative clause:

die = the object of the verb nimmt
das Baby = subject
nimmt = verb

So die is accusative plural, matching Kekse.

You cannot use sie here. Sie/sie is a personal pronoun (“she/they/her/them”), not a relative pronoun introducing a relative clause. You specifically need the relative pronoun die:

Kekse, die das Baby ... nimmt – cookies which/that the baby takes ...

Why is the verb nimmt at the end in die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt?

This is a relative clause (introduced by die). In German subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the clause:

Main clause: Das Baby nimmt die Kekse. (verb in 2nd position)
Relative clause: … die das Baby nimmt. (verb at the end)

So:

die – relative pronoun
das Baby – subject
später heimlich vom Tisch – adverbials (time, manner, place)
nimmt – conjugated verb, final position

This end-position of the verb applies to relative clauses, dass-clauses, weil-clauses, etc.

What is the typical order of später, heimlich, and vom Tisch in the relative clause? Could the order be different?

In die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt, the order is:

später – time (when?)
heimlich – manner (how?)
vom Tisch – place (from where?)

That actually matches the usual guideline: time – manner – place.

Other word orders are possible, but they change the rhythm or slightly the emphasis:

… die das Baby heimlich später vom Tisch nimmt. – unusual; sounds a bit awkward.
… die das Baby heimlich vom Tisch später nimmt. – also odd; native speakers wouldn’t usually say this.
… die das Baby vom Tisch später heimlich nimmt. – sounds wrong to most speakers.

The given sentence is natural: später heimlich vom Tisch.

What nuance does heimlich have here? Is it like “secret” or “secretly”?

Heimlich as an adverb means “secretly / on the sly / without others noticing”.

So heimlich vom Tisch nimmt = “takes (them) from the table secretly / when nobody is watching”.

It does not mean “secret” as an adjective in the sense of “a secret plan”. For that, Germans would usually use geheim (adjective):

ein geheimer Plan – a secret plan
heimlich essen – to eat in secret / secretly

In this sentence, heimlich describes how the baby takes the cookies.

What does vom mean, and why is it used instead of von dem Tisch?

Vom is a contraction of von dem:

von – from
dem – dative singular masculine (the table → der Tisch, dative: dem Tisch)
von dem Tisch → vom Tisch

Using this contraction is very common and natural in spoken and written German.

So vom Tisch nehmen = “to take (something) from the table”. The noun Tisch is in dative case after the preposition von.

Why is it das Baby? I thought Baby might be feminine because English has “she / he” for babies.

In German, the grammatical gender is based on the noun, not on the actual person’s sex (especially for young children):

das Baby – neuter
das Kind – child, also neuter
der Junge – boy (masculine)
das Mädchen – girl, but neuter (because of the -chen diminutive ending)

So das Baby is neuter and takes das. In the relative clause, das Baby is the subject (nominative):

das Baby nimmt die Kekse – the baby takes the cookies

Even if you know the baby is a girl or a boy, grammatically Baby stays neuter.

The English translation would use “will take” (future), but German uses present tense nimmt. Is that normal?

Yes. German often uses the present tense (Präsens) together with a time adverb to express future actions:

Das Baby nimmt die Kekse später heimlich vom Tisch.
→ literally: The baby takes the cookies later secretly from the table.
→ natural English: The baby will secretly take the cookies from the table later.

So:

später clearly indicates the future
Using wird nehmen (future tense) is possible but not necessary:
- … die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nehmen wird. – correct, but heavier style

In everyday German, Präsens + time word is the most common way to talk about future events.

What is the function of the relative clause die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt in the sentence?

The relative clause die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt:

describes / specifies which cookies we are talking about
gives additional information about Kekse

So the structure is:

Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse,
die das Baby später heimlich vom Tisch nimmt.

It’s equivalent to:

Mein Schwiegervater backt dazu Kekse. Das Baby wird diese Kekse später heimlich vom Tisch nehmen.

Relative clauses like this are a key way German adds detail and keeps the sentence flowing without starting a new sentence.