Breakdown of Den leeren Becher wirfst du bitte in den Mülleimer, nicht auf den Tisch.
Questions & Answers about Den leeren Becher wirfst du bitte in den Mülleimer, nicht auf den Tisch.
German often moves something other than the subject to the first position for emphasis or contrast.
So:
- Den leeren Becher = the empty cup
- wirfst du bitte ... = are you throwing / throw please ...
Starting with Den leeren Becher puts focus on that object, almost like:
- The empty cup — please throw that in the trash, not on the table.
This is very natural in German. The verb still stays in the second position, which is why wirfst comes right after Den leeren Becher.
A more neutral version would be:
- Du wirfst den leeren Becher bitte in den Mülleimer, nicht auf den Tisch.
Both are grammatical, but the original emphasizes what should be thrown away.