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Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.

Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.
The tutor explains the exercise to me slowly.

Breakdown of Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.

langsam
slowly
mir
me
erklären
to explain
die Aufgabe
the exercise
die Nachhilfelehrerin
the tutor (female)
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Questions & Answers about Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.

Why is it mir and not mich?

Mir is the dative form of “ich” (I), and mich is the accusative form.

Many German verbs, including erklären, often take two objects:

  • Dative = the person who receives something (indirect object)
  • Accusative = the thing that is given / explained / shown (direct object)

The pattern with erklären is:

  • jemandem (DAT) etwas (AKK) erklären
    = to explain something to someone

So here:

  • mir = to me (dative, the person receiving the explanation)
  • die Aufgabe = the exercise/task (accusative, the thing being explained)

If you used mich, it would incorrectly treat “me” as the direct object:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mich die Aufgabe ❌ (ungrammatical)
Why is it die Aufgabe and not der Aufgabe?

Aufgabe is a feminine noun in German:

  • Nominative singular: die Aufgabe
  • Accusative singular: die Aufgabe
  • Dative singular: der Aufgabe
  • Genitive singular: der Aufgabe

In this sentence, “die Aufgabe” is what is being explained (the direct object), so it is in the accusative case.

For feminine singular nouns, nominative and accusative look the same: both use die.

  • Subject (nom.): Die Aufgabe ist schwer.
  • Direct object (acc.): Ich verstehe die Aufgabe.

Here: Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe.
→ “die Aufgabe” is accusative, so die is correct.
Der Aufgabe would be dative or genitive and would not fit this structure.

What does Nachhilfelehrerin literally mean, and how is it formed?

Nachhilfelehrerin is a compound noun made from several parts:

  • Nachhilfe = private tutoring / remedial help (often outside regular school)
    • nach = after
    • Hilfe = help
      → “extra help afterwards” → tutoring
  • Lehrer = teacher
  • -in = feminine ending (female person)

So:

  • Nachhilfe + Lehrer + in → Nachhilfelehrerin
    = a female tutor or female private teacher (usually for school subjects)

The male form would be:

  • Nachhilfelehrer (without -in)
    → article: der Nachhilfelehrer
    → female: die Nachhilfelehrerin
Why is the verb erklärt in the second position?

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

  • The finite verb (here: erklärt) must be in second position in the sentence’s structure.

In this sentence:

  1. Die Nachhilfelehrerin = first position (subject / topic)
  2. erklärt = second position (finite verb)
  3. mir die Aufgabe langsam = the rest (objects and adverb)

So the structure is:

  • [Subject] – [finite verb] – [everything else]
  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin – erklärt – mir die Aufgabe langsam.

Even if you move something else to the front, the verb stays second:

  • Mir erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin die Aufgabe langsam.
  • Langsam erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin mir die Aufgabe.

In all cases, the conjugated verb remains in position 2.

Why is it just mir and not zu mir, even though English says “to me”?

English often marks the indirect object with “to” (explain something *to me), but German usually marks this with the *dative case, without a preposition.

The pattern is:

  • jemandem (DAT) etwas (AKK) erklären
    = to explain something to someone

So:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe.
    = The tutor explains the exercise to me.

If you said zu mir, it would suggest direction / movement towards me, like:

  • Komm zu mir. = Come to me.
  • Er schickt das Paket zu mir. = He sends the package to my place.

With erklären, the recipient is simply dative, so mir is correct and natural.
zu mir here would be wrong.

Where can langsam go in the sentence? Is “Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam” the only option?

Langsam is an adverb of manner (“slowly”). In German, such adverbs usually appear in the middle field (between the finite verb and the sentence-final part) or towards the end.

Your sentence:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam. ✅
    (Very natural, neutral word order.)

You can also say:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir langsam die Aufgabe. ✅
    (Also correct, slightly more focus on the process being slow.)

Putting langsam right at the front is possible for emphasis:

  • Langsam erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin mir die Aufgabe.
    → Emphasizes slowly (contrast: not quickly, but slowly).

What you would usually avoid is splitting mir and die Aufgabe in a strange way like:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt langsam mir die Aufgabe. ❌ (sounds awkward)

The two most natural neutral versions are:

  • … erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.
  • … erklärt mir langsam die Aufgabe.
Why is it die Nachhilfelehrerin, but der Nachhilfelehrer for a man?

German marks grammatical gender not only in the noun ending but also in the article.

  • Lehrer = male teacher → der Lehrer
  • Lehrerin = female teacher → die Lehrerin

With the compound word:

  • Nachhilfelehrer = male tutor → der Nachhilfelehrer
  • Nachhilfelehrerin = female tutor → die Nachhilfelehrerin

So:

  • die Nachhilfelehrerin (feminine, singular, nominative)
  • der Nachhilfelehrer (masculine, singular, nominative)

The article changes with the grammatical gender of the noun.

Why is Aufgabe capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.

  • die Nachhilfelehrerin (noun → capitalized)
  • die Aufgabe (noun → capitalized)
  • mir, erklärt, langsam (pronoun, verb, adverb → not capitalized)

So capitalization is part of spelling and helps you recognize nouns quickly.
This is a consistent rule: every common noun and proper noun starts with a capital letter.

Does erklärt mean “explains” or “is explaining”? Which English tense is it?

German has only one present tense form, which corresponds to two English present tenses:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe.
    can mean:
    • The tutor explains the exercise to me. (simple present, general / repeated)
    • The tutor is explaining the exercise to me. (present progressive, right now)

Which one is meant depends on the context, not on the verb form itself.
So erklärt can translate as “explains” or “is explaining”.

Why is it die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe, and not erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin mir die Aufgabe?

The version “erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin mir die Aufgabe” is possible, but it is not a normal statement word order. It is used in questions or inverted clauses.

  • Statement (normal):
    Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe.
    → Subject first, verb second.

  • Yes/no question:
    Erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin dir die Aufgabe?
    → Verb first, subject second.

So:

  • If you want a statement, you put the subject first:
    Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam. ✅
  • If you want a question, you invert:
    Erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin dir die Aufgabe langsam? ✅
Why is the order mir die Aufgabe and not die Aufgabe mir? Can I swap them?

Both orders are possible, but there is a default preference.

General rule for two noun objects:

  • Dative usually comes before accusative.

So the default is:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe. ✅
    (DAT “mir” before ACC “die Aufgabe”)

You can say:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt die Aufgabe mir. ✅ (grammatically correct)

But:

  • It sounds a bit marked or emphasizes “mir” more strongly, almost like:
    • “She explains the exercise to me (and not to someone else).”

So:

  • Neutral, typical order: mir die Aufgabe
  • Alternative with a slight emphasis: die Aufgabe mir
How would I replace die Aufgabe with a pronoun? What happens to the word order then?

If you replace die Aufgabe (feminine, singular, accusative) with a pronoun, you get sie (her/it).

The basic pattern with pronouns:

  • If you have dative and accusative pronouns, the accusative pronoun usually comes before the dative pronoun.
  • If only one of them is a pronoun and the other is still a full noun, the pronoun tends to come first.

Starting sentence:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.

Replace die Aufgabe with a pronoun:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt sie mir langsam. ✅
    (ACC pronoun sie before DAT mir)

If you also replace mir with a pronoun in another person, you keep the order:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt sie dir langsam. ✅
  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt sie ihm langsam. ✅
Can I drop langsam? Does the sentence change much?

Yes, you can drop langsam without any grammatical problem:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe. ✅
    = The tutor explains the exercise to me.

Langsam adds the idea “slowly / at a slow pace”, often implying:

  • She wants to be especially clear.
  • She is adapting to your level.
  • She is not rushing.

Without langsam, the sentence is more neutral; it just says that she explains the exercise, without information about how she does it.

What is the difference between erklären, sagen, and zeigen in a sentence like this?

All three can appear in similar-looking structures but mean different things:

  • erklären = to explain (make something understandable)

    • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe.
      → She makes the exercise understandable to me.

  • sagen = to say / tell (utter words)

    • Die Nachhilfelehrerin sagt mir die Lösung.
      → She tells me the solution (just states it).

  • zeigen = to show (visually demonstrate)

    • Die Nachhilfelehrerin zeigt mir die Lösung.
      → She shows me the solution (e.g., on the paper).

So erklären always has the idea of making the content clear, not just telling or showing it.

How would I turn this sentence into a yes/no question?

For a yes/no question, German puts the finite verb first and inverts it with the subject.

Statement:

  • Die Nachhilfelehrerin erklärt mir die Aufgabe langsam.

Yes/no question:

  • Erklärt die Nachhilfelehrerin dir die Aufgabe langsam?
    = Does the tutor explain the exercise to you slowly?

(Here, mir usually changes to dir if you are asking someone else.)

Word order pattern:

  • [Verb] – [Subject] – [Objects/Adverbs …]
  • Erklärt – die Nachhilfelehrerin – dir die Aufgabe langsam?