Breakdown of Kannst du den Toast bitte umdrehen, bevor er zu dunkel wird?
du
you
können
can
werden
to become
dunkel
dark
Questions & Answers about Kannst du den Toast bitte umdrehen, bevor er zu dunkel wird?
Why is it den Toast and not der Toast?
Because Toast is the direct object of the verb umdrehen here, so it takes the accusative case.
- der Toast = nominative
- den Toast = accusative
You can think of it like this:
- Der Toast wird zu dunkel. = The toast is getting too dark.
- Kannst du den Toast umdrehen? = Can you turn the toast over?
So the article changes from der to den because the toast is being acted on.
Why is umdrehen at the end of the sentence?
Because the sentence uses the modal verb kannst.
In German, with a modal verb such as können, müssen, wollen, etc., the second verb stays in the infinitive and usually goes to the end of the clause.
So:
- Kannst du den Toast bitte umdrehen?
Structure:
- Kannst = finite/modal verb in second position
- du = subject
- den Toast = object
- bitte = polite particle
- umdrehen = infinitive at the end
Without a modal, the separable verb would split:
- Dreh den Toast bitte um.