Learn Hardcore German: Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen. - Fortunately, my neighbor still has her old washing machine in the basement in case we don’t get ours repaired in time.

Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

Fortunately, my neighbor still has her old washing machine in the basement in case we don’t get ours repaired in time.

Breakdown of Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

in the; (masculine or neuter, dative)

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Questions & Answers about Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

What exactly does „Zum Glück“ mean here, and how is it different from „Glücklicherweise“?

„Zum Glück“ literally means “to (the) luck”, but idiomatically it means “fortunately / luckily”.

Grammatically:

zu + dem → zum (dative)
Glück = “luck”

It’s a very common, conversational way to introduce something positive:

Zum Glück hat sie noch eine Waschmaschine.
= Fortunately, she still has a washing machine.

You could also say:

Glücklicherweise hat sie noch eine Waschmaschine.

Differences:

Zum Glück is more colloquial and more common in spoken German.
Glücklicherweise sounds a bit more formal or written.

Both are correct; in everyday speech „Zum Glück“ is what you’ll hear most often.

Why is it „meine Nachbarin“ and not „meiner Nachbarin“?

„meine Nachbarin“ is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence:

Wer hat …? → meine Nachbarin
(Who has …? → my neighbour)

Declension of the possessive mein- with feminine singular Nachbarin:

Nominative: meine Nachbarin (subject)
Accusative: meine Nachbarin (direct object – same form)
Dative: meiner Nachbarin
Genitive: meiner Nachbarin

Examples:

Meine Nachbarin hat eine Waschmaschine. (subject → nominative)
Ich helfe meiner Nachbarin. (indirect object → dative)

So „meiner Nachbarin“ would be used if she were in the dative case, e.g.:

Ich spreche mit meiner Nachbarin.

Why is it „ihre alte Waschmaschine“ and not something like „ihren alten Waschmaschine“?

„ihre alte Waschmaschine“ is a feminine accusative singular noun phrase functioning as the direct object.

The noun Waschmaschine is feminine.
In the accusative singular, a feminine noun with a possessive and an adjective takes:
- Possessive: ihre
- Adjective ending: alte

Pattern for feminine singular (ein‑words) in nominative & accusative:

ihre alte Waschmaschine (nominative: subject)
ihre alte Waschmaschine (accusative: direct object)

So here:

Was hat sie noch im Keller? → ihre alte Waschmaschine
(What does she still have in the basement? → her old washing machine)

Forms like „ihren alten Waschmaschine“ are wrong here because:

ihren
- -en would fit masculine accusative (e.g. ihren alten Wagen) or dative plural, not feminine accusative.

What does „noch“ do in „ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller“?

„noch“ here means “still” (as in “she still has it”) and adds the idea that the situation has continued up to now and could have been different.

Nuance:

Sie hat ihre alte Waschmaschine im Keller.
= She has her old washing machine in the basement. (neutral)
Sie hat ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller.
= She still has her old washing machine in the basement (she hasn’t sold it, thrown it away, etc.).

So „noch“ suggests:

The machine is still there, although one might expect it not to be there anymore.
That’s what makes it good luck (Zum Glück).

Why is it „im Keller“ and not „in den Keller“ or „in dem Keller“?

„im Keller“ is a contraction of „in dem Keller“:

in + dem → im (dative)

You use dative (in dem/im Keller) with location (where something is), and accusative (in den Keller) with movement towards a place.

Compare:

Location (dative):
- Die Waschmaschine steht im Keller.
  = The washing machine is in the basement.
- Sie hat ihre alte Waschmaschine im Keller.
  = She has her old washing machine in the basement.
Direction (accusative):
- Sie trägt die Waschmaschine in den Keller.
  = She is carrying the washing machine down into the basement.

So here we’re talking about where the washing machine is (not where it’s being moved), so dative → im Keller is correct.

Why is there a comma before „falls“, and why does the verb go to the end in „falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen“?

„falls“ is a subordinating conjunction (like „weil“, „dass“, „wenn“). In German:

A subordinate clause is normally set off by a comma.
In a subordinate clause with a finite verb, the conjugated verb goes to the end.

So:

Hauptsatz (main clause):
Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller,
Nebensatz (subordinate clause):
falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

In the subordinate clause:

Subject: wir
Object (elliptical): unsere (Waschmaschine)
Other elements: nicht rechtzeitig repariert
Finite verb (kriegen) goes to the final position:
… falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

Without „falls“, as a main clause, it would be:

Wir kriegen unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert.
(Verb in second position.)

With „falls“, it becomes a subordinate clause:

… falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.
(Conjugated verb at the end.)

What does „unsere“ refer to here, and why is the noun missing?

„unsere“ stands for „unsere Waschmaschine“. German often drops the noun if it is obvious from context, and leaves only the possessive determiner.

Context:

Main clause mentions „ihre alte Waschmaschine“ – her washing machine.
In the subordinate clause, „unsere“ clearly means „our washing machine“ as a contrast.

Grammatically:

Understood noun: Waschmaschine (feminine)
Case: accusative (direct object of repariert kriegen)
Feminine accusative form of unsere is unsere (same as nominative).

So the full, explicit version would be:

… falls wir unsere Waschmaschine nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

Leaving out „Waschmaschine“ avoids repetition and is natural when context is clear.

What does the construction „repariert kriegen“ mean, and how does it work grammatically?

„etwas repariert kriegen“ is a very common colloquial construction meaning:

“to manage to get something repaired”
“to have something repaired (by someone)”

It combines:

a past participle (repariert) and
the verb kriegen (“to get”)

Structure:

Subjekt + Objekt + Partizip II + kriegen
Wir (subject)
unsere (Waschmaschine) (object)
repariert (participle)
kriegen (finite verb)

So:

Wir kriegen unsere Waschmaschine repariert.
≈ We (manage to) get our washing machine repaired.

The meaning is close to a causative or “have something done” construction in English:

Wir lassen die Waschmaschine reparieren.
= We’re having the washing machine repaired.
Wir kriegen die Waschmaschine repariert.
= We (manage to) get the washing machine repaired.

In the sentence:

… falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.
= in case we don’t manage to get ours repaired in time.

So the focus is not on who repairs it, but on whether we succeed in getting it repaired.

Why use „kriegen“ here and not „bekommen“ or another verb? Is „kriegen“ informal?

Yes, „kriegen“ is colloquial / informal and very common in everyday spoken German.

Meanings:

basic meaning: “to get / to receive”
in constructions like „etwas repariert kriegen“: “to manage to get something done / have something done”

You could also say:

… falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert bekommen.
(same structure, but more neutral)
Or more formal:
… falls wir unsere Waschmaschine nicht rechtzeitig reparieren lassen können.

kriegen → very common in conversation, slightly informal.
bekommen → more neutral, fine in both spoken and written German.
In formal written German, some people avoid kriegen and prefer bekommen or other verbs.

So the sentence, as given, sounds natural and conversational.

Why is „nicht“ placed before „rechtzeitig repariert kriegen“ and what exactly is being negated?

In „falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen“, „nicht“ mainly negates the idea of “in time” (rechtzeitig), and thus the whole idea of successfully getting it repaired on time.

Word order:

nicht rechtzeitig → “not in time”
repariert kriegen → “get repaired”

So:

nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen ≈ “not manage to get (it) repaired in time”

Nuance:

Wir kriegen unsere Waschmaschine nicht repariert.
= We don’t manage to get our washing machine repaired (at all).
Wir kriegen unsere Waschmaschine nicht rechtzeitig repariert.
= We don’t manage to get our washing machine repaired in time.

Placing „nicht“ before the adverb „rechtzeitig“ is the normal way to express “not in time”:

rechtzeitig = on time / in time
nicht rechtzeitig = not in time

If you removed „rechtzeitig“:

Wir kriegen unsere nicht repariert.
= We don’t get ours repaired (period).

So the sentence as written specifies the time aspect: maybe it will be repaired eventually, but not by the time we need it.

Could you also say „wenn“ instead of „falls“ here, and would that change the meaning?

Yes, you could say „wenn“ instead of „falls“, and both are grammatically correct:

Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, wenn wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.
Zum Glück hat meine Nachbarin ihre alte Waschmaschine noch im Keller, falls wir unsere nicht rechtzeitig repariert kriegen.

The difference is in nuance:

falls ≈ “in case”, more explicitly hypothetical / precautionary.
→ It suggests you don’t really expect it to happen, but you’re prepared if it does.
wenn ≈ “if / whenever / when”, more neutral.
→ It can sound either hypothetical or like a general condition, depending on context.

In this context:

„falls“ fits very well, because the speaker is talking about a backup plan in case their own machine isn’t fixed in time.
„wenn“ would still be understandable, but sounds slightly more neutral and a bit less like a precautionary “just in case”.