Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.

Without a note I easily forget appointments.

Breakdown of Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.

• ich: I
• vergessen: to forget
• ohne: without
• leicht: easily
• der Termin: the appointment
• der Notizzettel: the note

Questions & Answers about Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.

Why is there no article before Notizzettel? Why not ohne einen Notizzettel?

Both are possible, but they feel a bit different:

• Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.
  = Without (any) note slips / without notes, I easily forget appointments.
  This is a general statement: whenever you don’t use written notes, you tend to forget.

• Ohne einen Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.
  Sounds more like one specific note slip in a concrete situation:
  Without a (single) note, I easily forget appointments.

German often drops the article after ohne, mit, etc. when talking about things in a general, habitual way:

• Ohne Brille sehe ich schlecht. – I see badly without glasses.
• Mit Auto fahre ich schneller. – I’m faster by car.

So in your sentence, leaving out the article makes it sound like a general habit, which matches the English “without notes” / “without a note” said in a general way.

Is Notizzettel singular or plural here?

Formally, it can be either. The noun is:

• Singular: der Notizzettel
• Plural: die Notizzettel

Since there’s no article, the form Notizzettel looks the same in singular and plural.

In meaning, it’s easiest to understand the sentence as generic:

• without any note slips / without reminder notes

So you don’t really need to decide “singular or plural” in English; it just means without written note reminders.

Which case does ohne take, and what case is Notizzettel here?

Ohne always takes the accusative case.

Examples with pronouns show this clearly:

• ohne mich, ohne dich, ohne ihn, ohne uns, ohne sie

With Notizzettel, the accusative singular and nominative singular look the same:

• Nominative: der Notizzettel
• Accusative: den Notizzettel

But because ohne demands the accusative, we know the phrase is grammatically:

• ohne (den) Notizzettel → accusative

If you add an article, you can see it:

• ohne einen Notizzettel (accusative masculine)

Why does the verb vergesse come right after Ohne Notizzettel? Could it be somewhere else?

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

• The finite verb (here: vergesse) must be in second position.
• The first position can be many things: the subject, a time expression, a prepositional phrase, etc.

In your sentence:

1. Ohne Notizzettel – first element (a prepositional phrase)
2. vergesse – finite verb (must be in 2nd position)
3. ich Termine leicht – the rest of the clause

A more “neutral” order with the subject first would be:

• Ich vergesse Termine leicht ohne Notizzettel.

Here, Ich is first, vergesse is still second, and the rest follows. Both orders are correct; putting Ohne Notizzettel first just emphasizes the condition “without notes”.

Can I also say Ich vergesse Termine leicht ohne Notizzettel? Does it mean the same?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct and has essentially the same meaning:

• Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich Termine leicht.
  Fronts the condition Ohne Notizzettel for emphasis.

• Ich vergesse Termine leicht ohne Notizzettel.
  Sounds a bit more neutral; you start with Ich vergesse…

Both describe the same habit. The difference is mainly information structure / emphasis, not grammar or basic meaning.

Why is leicht at the end? Could I also say Ich vergesse leicht Termine?

Both orders are possible, but they feel different.

Your sentence:

• …vergesse ich Termine leicht.

Typical word order in the “middle field” of a German sentence is roughly:

1. Subject
2. Verb
3. Objects
4. Adverbs (manner, time, etc.)

So Termine (direct object) + leicht (adverb of manner) is very natural.

If you say:

• Ich vergesse leicht Termine.

this is still correct, but it sounds a bit more marked. It tends to put more focus on Termine (as the thing you forget) and more stress on the word Termine when spoken.

For everyday purposes, Ich vergesse Termine leicht is the most neutral and idiomatic version with leicht.

I thought leicht means “light” (not heavy). Why does it mean “easily” here? Is it different from einfach?

Leicht has related meanings:

1. light (not heavy)

   • Der Koffer ist leicht. – The suitcase is light.

2. easy / easily

   • Ich vergesse Termine leicht. – I easily forget appointments.

In your sentence, leicht is an adverb of manner, so “easily” fits best.

Compared to einfach:

• Ich vergesse Termine leicht.
  → It doesn’t take much for me to forget them; it happens easily.

• Ich vergesse Termine einfach.
  → More like I just forget appointments / I simply forget them.
  This comments on the fact itself, not on how difficult it is.

So:

• Use leicht when you mean “with little difficulty = easily.”
• Use einfach more like “simply / just / straightforward(ly).”

How is vergesse conjugated? Is vergessen an irregular verb?

Yes, vergessen is irregular in the present tense. Its main forms:

Present (Präsens)

• ich vergesse
• du vergisst
• er/sie/es vergisst
• wir vergessen
• ihr vergesst
• sie/Sie vergessen

Note the vowel change e → i in du and er/sie/es: vergisst.

Simple past (Präteritum)

• ich vergaß
• du vergaßest
• er/sie/es vergaß
• wir vergaßen
• ihr vergaßt
• sie/Sie vergaßen

Past participle (Partizip II)

• vergessen
  
  • Ich habe den Termin vergessen. – I forgot the appointment.

Also, ver- is an inseparable prefix, so you never split it off:

• Ich vergesse den Termin. ✔️
• Ich gesse den Termin ver. ✖️ (wrong)

Why is Termine plural? Could it also be einen Termin?

Yes, you could also say:

• Ohne Notizzettel vergesse ich einen Termin leicht.
  = Without notes I easily forget an appointment.

But the plural Termine is more natural here because you are talking about a general habit:

• Ich vergesse Termine leicht.
  → In general, when it comes to appointments, I forget them easily.

Singular einen Termin would usually refer to one specific appointment in a particular situation. The plural fits better with the idea of an overall tendency.

What exactly is a Notizzettel? Is it a notebook, a note, or something else?

A Notizzettel is:

• a slip / piece of paper with a short note on it,
• often used as a reminder (like a sticky note or a small scrap of paper).

Related words:

• die Notiz – a note (the content of what you write down)
• der Zettel – a slip of paper / piece of paper
• der Notizzettel – a note slip = a little piece of paper on which you’ve written a reminder
• das Notizbuch – a notebook

So in this sentence, think of a written reminder on a small piece of paper, not a whole notebook.