Ich lege den Merkzettel neben das Wörterbuch, damit ich ihn nicht vergesse.

I put the note next to the dictionary so that I do not forget it.

Breakdown of Ich lege den Merkzettel neben das Wörterbuch, damit ich ihn nicht vergesse.

• ich: I
• nicht: not
• legen: to put
• vergessen: to forget

Questions & Answers about Ich lege den Merkzettel neben das Wörterbuch, damit ich ihn nicht vergesse.

Why is it den Merkzettel but das Wörterbuch?

Because both nouns are neuter or masculine/feminine with different genders and cases:

• der Merkzettel = masculine
• das Wörterbuch = neuter

In this sentence, both are in the accusative:

• den Merkzettel: accusative of der Merkzettel
• das Wörterbuch: accusative of das Wörterbuch
  (for neuter, nominative and accusative look the same)

So den shows masculine accusative, while das is neuter and stays das.

Why does neben use das here instead of dem?

Neben is a two-way preposition. That means it can take:

• accusative for movement toward a position
• dative for location in a position

Here, the sentence describes putting the note next to the dictionary, so there is movement/change of position:

• neben das Wörterbuch = next to the dictionary (placing it there)

If the note were already there and you were just describing its location, you would use dative:

• Der Merkzettel liegt neben dem Wörterbuch.
  = The note is lying next to the dictionary.

Why is the verb lege used here?