Breakdown of Meine Schwester kocht Haferbrei, wenn sie früh zur Arbeit muss.
zu
to
früh
early
kochen
to cook
die Arbeit
the work
Questions & Answers about Meine Schwester kocht Haferbrei, wenn sie früh zur Arbeit muss.
Why is it meine Schwester and not meiner Schwester?
Meine Schwester is the subject of the main clause, so it is in the nominative case.
- meine Schwester = nominative, feminine singular
- meiner Schwester would be dative or genitive, depending on context
Here, the sister is the person doing the cooking, so nominative is required.
Why is kocht in the second position?
In a normal German main clause, the finite verb must be in second position. This is the famous verb-second rule.
So in:
Meine Schwester kocht Haferbrei
- position 1: Meine Schwester
- position 2: kocht
Everything else comes after that.
Why is there no article before Haferbrei?
German often leaves out the article with mass nouns or food items when speaking generally.
So Haferbrei here means oatmeal or porridge in a general sense, not a specific previously mentioned bowl of it.
Compare:
- Meine Schwester kocht Haferbrei = she cooks oatmeal
- Meine Schwester kocht den Haferbrei = she cooks the oatmeal, meaning a specific one
Why is there a comma before wenn?