Breakdown of Der Arzt verbindet meinen Daumen, und mein Ellbogen fühlt sich schon besser an.
und
and
sich
itself
schon
already
mein
my; (masculine or neuter, nominative)
Questions & Answers about Der Arzt verbindet meinen Daumen, und mein Ellbogen fühlt sich schon besser an.
Why does verbindet mean bandages here? I thought verbinden meant to connect.
That is a very common question. Verbinden has more than one meaning.
Here it means to bandage or to dress a wound. In a medical context, ein Körperteil verbinden means to wrap or bandage that body part.
So:
- Der Arzt verbindet meinen Daumen = The doctor is bandaging my thumb
In other contexts, verbinden can also mean:
- to connect
- to join
- to link
German often uses the same verb for several related ideas, and the context tells you which meaning is intended.
Why is it meinen Daumen and not mein Daumen?
Because meinen Daumen is in the accusative case.
In the first clause, Der Arzt is the subject, and meinen Daumen is the direct object — it is the thing the doctor is treating.
The masculine possessive adjective mein changes in the accusative:
- nominative masculine: mein Daumen
- accusative masculine: meinen Daumen
So:
- mein Daumen = my thumb as the subject
- meinen Daumen = my thumb as the direct object
That is why the ending becomes -en.
Why is it mein Ellbogen and not meinen Ellbogen?