Nach dem Essen falten wir die Picknickdecke zusammen und packen sie in den Rucksack.

After eating we fold up the picnic blanket and pack it into the backpack.

Breakdown of Nach dem Essen falten wir die Picknickdecke zusammen und packen sie in den Rucksack.

• und: and
• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• wir: we
• in: into
• das Essen: the meal
• nach: after
• den: the; (masculine, accusative)
• packen: to pack
• der Rucksack: the backpack
• sie: it
• die: the; (feminine, accusative)
• zusammenfalten: to fold up
• die Picknickdecke: the picnic blanket

Questions & Answers about Nach dem Essen falten wir die Picknickdecke zusammen und packen sie in den Rucksack.

Why is it Nach dem Essen and not Nach das Essen?

Because the preposition nach (meaning after) always takes the dative case.
Essen is neuter (das Essen in the nominative/accusative), so in the dative it becomes dem Essen.

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Is Essen here a verb (to eat) or a noun (the meal)?

Here it’s a noun meaning the meal / eating. German often uses the infinitive form as a noun:

• essen = to eat (verb)
• das Essen = the meal / eating (noun)

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Why is the verb falten in second position even though the sentence starts with a time phrase?

German follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb goes in position 2.
So if you put Nach dem Essen first, then falten must come next:

1. Nach dem Essen (position 1: one “chunk”)
2. falten (position 2: finite verb)
3. wir (subject comes after the verb in this case)

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What exactly does zusammen do in falten ... zusammen?

zusammen is a separable verb particle. The verb is effectively zusammenfalten (= to fold up), but in a main clause it splits:

• wir falten ... zusammen
  The particle goes to the end of the clause.

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Could I also say Wir falten die Picknickdecke zusammen ...? Is that more normal?

Yes. That’s the more neutral word order if you’re not emphasizing time. Both are correct:

• Nach dem Essen falten wir ... (emphasizes “after the meal”)
• Wir falten nach dem Essen ... (more neutral)

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What case is die Picknickdecke and how do I know?

It’s accusative, because it’s the direct object of falten (what you’re folding).
Also, Picknickdecke is feminine (die Decke), and feminine die looks the same in nominative and accusative—so you identify it mainly by function (direct object) and word order.

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Why is the pronoun sie used, and what does it refer to?

sie refers to die Picknickdecke. Since Decke is feminine, the pronoun is sie.
Here sie is also accusative, because it’s the direct object of packen (what you pack).

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Why is it in den Rucksack and not im Rucksack?

Because in + accusative is used for movement/direction (putting something into something):

• in den Rucksack = into the backpack (accusative)

in + dative is used for location (already inside):

• im Rucksack (= in dem Rucksack) = in the backpack (dative)

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Why is it den Rucksack (not der or dem)?

Because Rucksack is masculine (der Rucksack), and after in with movement you need accusative, so:

• nominative: der Rucksack
• accusative: den Rucksack
• dative: dem Rucksack

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Is packen the best verb here, or could you say einpacken?

Both are common, but they’re slightly different:

• packen = to pack / to put (something) into a bag (general)
• einpacken = to pack up / to wrap up / to pack (often emphasizes “packing up” after finishing)

In this sentence, packen is perfectly natural.

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What does the compound noun Picknickdecke mean and how do I parse it?

German compounds combine nouns into one word:

• Picknick = picnic
• Decke = blanket
  So Picknickdecke = picnic blanket. The last noun (Decke) determines the grammatical gender: die Picknickdecke.

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Should there be a comma before und?

No comma is needed here because und is simply linking two verbs with the same subject (wir) in one main clause:

• (wir) falten ... und (wir) packen ...

A comma would be unusual unless you were separating full independent clauses in a special way or adding extra inserted information.