Breakdown of Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt und schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter.
Questions & Answers about Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt und schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter.
Erschöpfte here is being used as a noun, not just as an adjective.
- erschöpft = exhausted (adjective or participle)
- der Erschöpfte = the exhausted (person) → literally: the exhausted one
In German, when an adjective (or participle) is used as a noun like this, it is:
- Capitalized: Erschöpfte
- Given an article that shows gender, case, and number: der here is nominative, singular, masculine.
So der Erschöpfte means the exhausted man/person without naming the specific noun like Mann or Wanderer.
The -e ending comes from adjective declension after a definite article.
Pattern for a normal adjective before a masculine noun in nominative:
- der erschöpfte Mann
- der = nominative masculine definite article
- erschöpfte = adjective with -e ending
When you drop the noun Mann, the adjective keeps its ending and becomes a noun itself:
- der Erschöpfte (literally: the exhausted [one])
So der erschöpfte Mann → der Erschöpfte
The ending -e is required because of the grammar pattern, not optional.
It’s shown by the article:
- der Erschöpfte = masculine (the exhausted man/person)
- die Erschöpfte = feminine (the exhausted woman/person)
- das Erschöpfte = neuter (rare; context-dependent, could be something exhausted)
So in this sentence, der clearly marks it as masculine singular nominative. Contextually, it’s “the (male) exhausted person.”
German often uses the present tense for near future actions, especially when a time expression is present:
- Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt.
= The exhausted one is staying in the tent today / will stay in the tent today.
Because heute (today) and nach dem Frühstück (after breakfast) make the time clear, German doesn’t need werden:
- You could say: Der Erschöpfte wird heute im Zelt bleiben.
but it sounds more formal or emphasised. - The present tense here is the most natural choice.
weiter in this context means “further / on / continue”.
- schlafen = to sleep
- weiter schlafen (usually written weiterschlafen) = to continue sleeping / keep sleeping
Because of German word order, the verb parts split:
- Infinitive: weiterschlafen
- Conjugated: schläft … weiter
So schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter = continues sleeping after breakfast / sleeps on after breakfast.
The preferred and most natural order in this sentence is:
- schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter
Reason:
- The finite verb (schläft) goes in position 2.
- The separable prefix or adverb-like part (weiter) usually goes to the end of the clause.
- Time expressions (nach dem Frühstück) typically go in the middle field, before the final verb part.
You can say schläft weiter nach dem Frühstück, and it is still understandable, but it sounds less neutral and more marked. Germans will almost always say schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter.
The preposition nach in this temporal meaning (“after”) always takes the dative case.
- Dative of das Frühstück is dem Frühstück.
So:
- nach + dem Frühstück → nach dem Frühstück (after breakfast)
Using nach das Frühstück would be grammatically incorrect, because nach does not take the accusative in this sense.
im = in dem (in the)
ins = in das (into the)
Difference:
- im Zelt: location, static → in the tent (where he is staying)
- ins Zelt: movement to the inside → into the tent (where he is going)
The sentence talks about staying somewhere, not moving there:
- Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt.
= The exhausted one stays in the tent today.
If we talked about him going into the tent, we’d say:
- Der Erschöpfte geht heute ins Zelt.
= The exhausted one goes into the tent today.
Both are grammatically possible, but they differ in naturalness and emphasis.
Default neutral order in German main clauses often follows (time) – (manner) – (place):
- bleibt heute im Zelt (today – in the tent) is very natural.
bleibt im Zelt heute is understandable but sounds a bit less neutral; it can put slight emphasis on heute as an afterthought, like “in the tent, today (specifically).” In everyday speech, heute would usually come earlier, as in the original sentence.
In German, when two clauses share the same subject and are joined by und, the subject is usually not repeated in the second clause (unless for emphasis or clarity).
So both clauses share der Erschöpfte:
- Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt
- (Der Erschöpfte) schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter
Joined:
- Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt und schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter.
You can say … und er schläft …, but in this short, clear sentence, most native speakers would leave out er.
Yes, grammatically that’s fine:
- Der Erschöpfte wird nach dem Frühstück weiterschlafen.
Differences:
- wird … schlafen = future tense, a bit more formal or explicit about the future.
- schläft … weiter with a time expression (nach dem Frühstück) is the most natural everyday form for a planned or expected action in the (near) future.
In many contexts, German prefers normal present tense + time adverbial over werden + infinitive.
Both relate to being tired, but the nuance is different:
- müde = tired, usually from lack of sleep or normal fatigue; quite neutral and common.
- erschöpft = exhausted, worn out, strongly tired, often after physical or mental strain; stronger than müde.
So:
- Der Müde bleibt heute im Zelt.
= The tired one stays in the tent today. (sounds milder) - Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt.
= The exhausted one stays in the tent today. (sounds like he really needs rest)
Yes, that is fully correct and very natural:
- Der erschöpfte Mann = the exhausted man
- Der Erschöpfte = the exhausted (man/person)
Difference:
- Der erschöpfte Mann says explicitly that it’s a man.
- Der Erschöpfte is a shorter, more compact form, often used when the person has already been mentioned or is clear from context.
Meaning-wise, they are almost the same here; the original just omits the explicit noun.
The sentence actually has two time references:
- heute (today) mainly connects to bleibt im Zelt → all day today.
- nach dem Frühstück (after breakfast) connects more closely to schläft weiter → that’s when he continues sleeping.
So:
- Der Erschöpfte bleibt heute im Zelt (all day today)
- und schläft nach dem Frühstück weiter (continues sleeping after breakfast)
If you said only Nach dem Frühstück schläft er weiter, you’d only be talking about the time of sleeping, and you’d lose the information that he stays in the tent today.