Learn Hardcore German: Die Lehrerin bedankt sich für unsere Mithilfe, weil ohne gute Absprache das Projekt gescheitert wäre. - The teacher thanks us for our assistance because, without good coordination, the project would have failed.

danken + Dative (no reflexive)
- Die Lehrerin dankt uns für unsere Mithilfe.
- Literally: The teacher thanks us for our assistance.
sich bedanken + bei + Dative / für + Accusative (reflexive)
- Die Lehrerin bedankt sich für unsere Mithilfe.
- Literally: The teacher thanks herself (i.e. expresses thanks) for our assistance.

sich bedanken is a reflexive verb meaning “to express thanks / to give thanks”.
It is very common and slightly more formal or explicit than plain danken.

Both versions are correct here; the sentence just chooses the reflexive version.

Why is there sich after bedankt? What does it refer to?

In sich bedanken, sich is a reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject:

Subject: die Lehrerin (she)
Reflexive pronoun: sich (herself)

Conjugation example in the present tense:

ich bedanke mich
du bedankst dich
er/sie/es bedankt sich
wir bedanken uns
ihr bedankt euch
sie/Sie bedanken sich

The reflexive pronoun is part of the verb’s normal structure; it doesn’t add extra meaning like “herself” does in English. You normally just learn sich bedanken as a fixed verb phrase: sich für etwas bedanken = “to thank for something”.

Why is it für unsere Mithilfe and not für unserer Mithilfe?

Because the preposition für always takes the accusative case.

Mithilfe is feminine: die Mithilfe
Feminine accusative singular requires ending -e on unsere:
- nominative: unsere Mithilfe
- accusative: unsere Mithilfe (same form)
- dative: unserer Mithilfe
- genitive: unserer Mithilfe

So with für (accusative), you need unsere, not unserer:

✅ für unsere Mithilfe
❌ für unserer Mithilfe

What exactly is Mithilfe? How is it different from Hilfe?

Both relate to help, but they have slightly different nuances:

Hilfe = help, aid (very general)
- Danke für deine Hilfe. – Thanks for your help.
Mithilfe = help in the sense of collaboration / cooperation, literally “co-help”
- Often used when several people work together on something.
- Danke für eure Mithilfe beim Projekt. – Thanks for your cooperation on the project.

In this sentence, unsere Mithilfe suggests our active contribution / cooperation in the project, not just a one‑off favor.

Why is it ohne gute Absprache and not ohne eine gute Absprache?

After ohne, you can either:

Use a bare noun phrase:
- ohne gute Absprache – without good coordination
Or add an indefinite article:
- ohne eine gute Absprache – without a good arrangement/coordination

Both are grammatically correct. The version without eine is more general and sounds a bit more abstract: without good coordination in general.
With eine, it may sound a bit more like one specific arrangement or agreement.

Why is it gute Absprache and not guten Absprache?

Because of gender + case + article type:

Absprache is feminine: die Absprache
After ohne, you use the accusative case
Feminine accusative singular with no article uses the ending -e:

Adjective endings (no article, feminine accusative):

gute Absprache
(contrast: with die in accusative: die gute Absprache – same -e ending)

So:

✅ ohne gute Absprache
❌ ohne guten Absprache

Why does ohne take the accusative case?

In German, each preposition dictates a specific case.
ohne is one of the always-accusative prepositions:

ohne (without) – accusative
für (for) – accusative
durch (through) – accusative
etc.

So ohne gute Absprache must be in the accusative: (die) gute Absprache → gute Absprache (feminine accusative singular).

Why is the verb at the end in … weil ohne gute Absprache das Projekt gescheitert wäre?

Because weil introduces a subordinate clause in German.

In subordinate clauses:

The finite verb (here: wäre) goes to the very end of the clause.
Other elements (time, manner, place, subject, objects) come before.

Structure here:

weil – subordinating conjunction
ohne gute Absprache – prepositional phrase
das Projekt – subject
gescheitert – past participle
wäre – finite verb (Konjunktiv II) → goes last

So: … weil ohne gute Absprache das Projekt gescheitert wäre.

Why is it gescheitert wäre and not wäre gescheitert?

In subordinate clauses, the finite verb must be in final position.

Finite verb: wäre (Konjunktiv II of sein)
Participle: gescheitert

Possible orders:

Main clause:
Das Projekt wäre gescheitert. (finite verb in position 2)
Subordinate clause with weil:
- Standard: …, weil das Projekt gescheitert wäre. (finite verb last)

So inside the weil-clause, wäre has to be the last element; therefore gescheitert must come before it: gescheitert wäre.

What tense/mood is gescheitert wäre, and what does it express?

gescheitert wäre is Konjunktiv II Perfekt (past conditional):

Auxiliary in Konjunktiv II: wäre (from sein)
Past participle: gescheitert

It expresses a hypothetical / unreal situation in the past, like English:

“… because without good coordination the project would have failed.”

So the sentence is a third conditional idea:

Reality: There was good coordination → the project did not fail.
Hypothetical: Without it, it would have failed → gescheitert wäre.

Why does scheitern use sein (wäre) and not haben as an auxiliary?

Certain intransitive verbs in German use sein in compound tenses, mainly verbs of:

Movement (gehen, kommen, fahren, etc.)
Change of state (sterben, wachsen, einschlafen, etc.)

scheitern (to fail, to fall through) is a change of state, so it uses sein:

Perfekt:
Das Projekt ist gescheitert. – The project has failed.
Konjunktiv II Perfekt:
Das Projekt wäre gescheitert. – The project would have failed.

So wäre gescheitert / gescheitert wäre is correct, not hätte gescheitert.