Breakdown of Ich bekomme den Fleck nicht weg.
ich
I
nicht
not
den
the; (masculine, accusative)
der Fleck
the stain
Questions & Answers about Ich bekomme den Fleck nicht weg.
Why is it den Fleck and not der Fleck?
Because Fleck is the direct object of the sentence, so it takes the accusative case.
- der Fleck = nominative, used for the subject
- den Fleck = accusative, used for the thing being affected
In Ich bekomme den Fleck nicht weg, I am the subject, and the stain is the thing I’m trying to remove, so German uses den Fleck.
What does bekommen mean here? I thought it meant to get or to receive.
It does usually mean to get or to receive, but in this expression it combines with weg to mean something like:
- to get rid of
- to remove
- to get off/out
So den Fleck wegbekommen means to get the stain off / out / removed.
This is a very common feature of German: a familiar verb can take on a more specific meaning when combined with a particle like weg.
Is wegbekommen a separable verb?