Die Schwarze ist schon wieder voll, also bringe ich den Restmüll raus.

Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning German now

Questions & Answers about Die Schwarze ist schon wieder voll, also bringe ich den Restmüll raus.

Why is Schwarze capitalized in Die Schwarze?
Because it’s an adjective being used as a noun (a “nominalized adjective”). In German, nouns (and words functioning as nouns) are capitalized. So die Schwarze means something like the black one (feminine), with the actual noun understood from context (often die Tonne = the bin).
What exactly does Die Schwarze refer to here?
In everyday German (especially in contexts like recycling/garbage), people often refer to bins by color: die Schwarze (the black bin), die Blaue (the blue one), die Gelbe (the yellow one), etc. The full phrase could be die schwarze Tonne, but speakers commonly shorten it to die Schwarze when it’s clear what they mean.
Why is it die (feminine)? Why not der/das Schwarze?
The article depends on the implied noun. If the implied noun is die Tonne (feminine), you get die Schwarze. If someone implied a different noun, the gender could change (e.g., der Schwarze could theoretically refer to der Eimer “bucket,” though that’s not the typical phrasing for trash bins).
Why does Schwarze end in -e?

That’s adjective declension. With a definite article (die) in nominative feminine singular, the adjective takes the weak ending -e:

  • die schwarze Tonne → shortened to die Schwarze.
What does schon wieder mean here, and where does it go in the sentence?

schon wieder means again / already again and expresses annoyance or repetition. It typically goes in the “middle field” before the predicate adjective here:

  • Die Schwarze ist schon wieder voll = “The black bin is full again.”
What does also mean here? Is it the same as English also?

No. German also usually means so / therefore / in that case (drawing a conclusion). English also is usually auch in German.
So: ..., also bringe ich ... = “..., so I ...”

Why is the word order also bringe ich... and not also ich bringe...?

Because German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule. If also is placed first, the conjugated verb must come second, and the subject follows it:

  • Also bringe ich den Restmüll raus.
    You can also say: Ich bringe also den Restmüll raus. (still V2, just with ich in position 1)
Why is there a comma before also?

Because there are two independent main clauses connected with a concluding connector:

  • Die Schwarze ist schon wieder voll, also bringe ich ...
    In German, a comma is commonly used here to separate the clauses.
Why is it den Restmüll (with den)?

Because Restmüll is masculine (der Restmüll) and it’s the direct object of rausbringen (“to take out”), so it’s in the accusative case:

  • nominative: der Restmüll
  • accusative: den Restmüll
What does raus do in bringe ... raus?

raus means out and combines with bringen to form the separable verb rausbringen (“to take out / to bring out”). In a main clause, the verb prefix goes to the end:

  • Ich bringe den Restmüll raus.
    In the infinitive, it’s together: den Restmüll rausbringen.
Why is the present tense used (bringe) if it sounds like a future action?
German often uses the present tense for near-future intentions when the context makes the timing clear. Here it naturally means “I’m going to take out the trash (now/next).” You could use werde ... rausbringen, but it’s less common and often sounds more deliberate or formal.