Er erklärt die Absicht.

It follows the very common German pattern:

subject + finite verb + object

• Er = the subject
• erklärt = the finite verb
• die Absicht = the direct object

So grammatically, it is a straightforward main clause.

Erklärt is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb erklären.

The subject is er, so the verb must match it:

• ich erkläre
• du erklärst
• er/sie/es erklärt
• wir erklären
• ihr erklärt
• sie/Sie erklären

So er erklärt means he explains.

No. The ä is already part of the basic verb erklären.

So this is different from verbs like fahren → er fährt, where the vowel changes during conjugation. Here, the stem stays the same:

• infinitive: erklären
• stem: erklär-
• 3rd person singular ending: -t

That gives er erklärt.

Here, die Absicht is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of erklärt.

He is explaining what?
→ die Absicht

Since Absicht is a feminine noun, its article is:

• nominative singular: die
• accusative singular: die

So in this sentence, the form happens to stay die.

You learn the noun together with its article:

• die Absicht

That tells you the grammatical gender is feminine.

In German, gender is not always predictable from meaning, so it is best to memorize nouns with the article from the start.

In general, die can be:

• feminine singular
• plural

But here it is clearly singular, because the noun is Absicht, not a plural form.

• singular: die Absicht
• plural: die Absichten

So die Absicht means one intention, not several.

Because all nouns are capitalized in German.

So:

• Er is capitalized because it starts the sentence
• Absicht is capitalized because it is a noun

This is a standard rule in German spelling.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Er ≈ like air, but shorter and less emphasized
• erklärt ≈ air-KLEHRT
• die ≈ dee
• Absicht ≈ AHP-zikht

A few useful notes:

• ä in erklärt is pronounced somewhat like the vowel in English care, depending on accent
• ch in Absicht is the softer German ich sound, not a hard k
• the stress is mainly on klärt in erklärt

Yes, it is grammatically correct and can be natural in the right context.

But in many real situations, German might more often use a possessive word if the intention belongs to him:

• Er erklärt seine Absicht. = He explains his intention.

Without seine, die Absicht sounds like the intention, meaning a specific intention already known from context.

So the sentence is fine, but it depends on what has already been mentioned.

Yes, but in a normal main clause, the finite verb still has to stay in second position.

For example:

• Er erklärt die Absicht.
• Heute erklärt er die Absicht.

In both sentences, the finite verb erklärt is in position 2.

If you make a yes/no question, the verb comes first:

• Erklärt er die Absicht?

So word order can change, but German follows clear verb-position rules.