Der Angeklagte bestreitet die Anklage.

Because Angeklagte is being used as a noun here, not just as an adjective.

German often turns adjectives or participles into nouns. This is called nominalization. When that happens, the word is capitalized.

• angeklagt = accused
• der Angeklagte = the accused person / the defendant

So in this sentence, Angeklagte means the defendant.

German usually needs an article with a noun in a sentence like this.

• der Angeklagte = the defendant
• ein Angeklagter = a defendant

The article also shows important grammar information such as gender, number, and case.

Here, der Angeklagte is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

Because it is a nominalized adjective/participle after the definite article der.

In der Angeklagte, the article der already shows that the word is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative

So the nominalized adjective takes the weak ending -e.

Compare:

• der Angeklagte = the defendant
• den Angeklagten = the defendant (accusative)
• dem Angeklagten = to the defendant
• des Angeklagten = of the defendant

So the ending changes depending on the case.

Because the two nouns have different grammatical roles and genders.

• der Angeklagte is masculine singular nominative → the subject
• die Anklage is feminine singular accusative → the direct object

In this sentence:

• Der Angeklagte = who is doing the action
• bestreitet = denies/disputes
• die Anklage = what is being denied/disputed

Since Anklage is a feminine noun, its singular nominative and accusative article is die.

The case markings tell you.

• der Angeklagte is in the nominative, so it is the subject
• die Anklage is in the accusative, so it is the direct object

English depends heavily on word order, but German often gives you extra help through the articles and endings.

In this sentence, the word order is also straightforward:

• subject: Der Angeklagte
• verb: bestreitet
• object: die Anklage

Here, bestreiten means to deny, to dispute, or to contest.

So Der Angeklagte bestreitet die Anklage means that the defendant says the accusation is not true.

A useful point: bestreiten usually takes a direct object.

• eine Behauptung bestreiten = to deny a claim
• die Vorwürfe bestreiten = to deny the accusations
• die Anklage bestreiten = to deny/contest the charge

It is a fairly formal word, and it fits legal language well.

Yes. bestreitet is the 3rd person singular present tense form of bestreiten.

The subject is der Angeklagte = he/the defendant, so German uses:

• ich bestreite
• du bestreitest
• er/sie/es bestreitet

So bestreitet means denies or disputes.

No. bestreiten is not separable.

That means it stays together:

• Er bestreitet die Anklage.

It does not split like a separable verb would.

This matters because some German verbs with prefixes do split in main clauses, but bestreiten does not.

Because German main clauses normally follow the verb-second rule.

In a normal statement, the finite verb comes in position 2:

• Der Angeklagte | bestreitet | die Anklage

Even if you move something else to the front, the verb still stays second:

• Die Anklage bestreitet der Angeklagte.

That second version is less neutral, but it is grammatically correct. The key idea is that the finite verb bestreitet stays in second position.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In legal contexts, Anklage often means:

• the charge
• the prosecution
• the indictment
• the accusation

In this sentence, since the subject is the defendant, the most natural English translation is often the charge or the accusation.

So the sentence can be understood as:

• the defendant denies the charge
• the defendant denies the accusation

Yes, English might sometimes say the charges, but the German sentence here uses the singular noun die Anklage.

That means the sentence is talking about:

• one charge, or
• the accusation as a single legal matter

If German wanted to say the charges in the plural, it would be:

• die Anklagen

So:

• Der Angeklagte bestreitet die Anklage. = The defendant denies the charge / accusation.
• Der Angeklagte bestreitet die Anklagen. = The defendant denies the charges.

As a noun referring to a male defendant, the dictionary form is usually:

• der Angeklagte

For a female defendant, it is:

• die Angeklagte

This is another important feature of nominalized adjectives in German: the form changes with gender and case.

For example:

• der Angeklagte = the male defendant
• die Angeklagte = the female defendant
• die Angeklagten = the defendants

So when learning vocabulary, it is best to memorize the full form with the article.