English Translation
I couldn’t scrub the stain out.
Shouldn’t here the Akkusativ case be used? die Flecke if plural or den Fleck if singular.
I agree, the use of “Flecken” is unusual in this sentence.
It’s like you say, except that in case of plural, you would need to append a letter “n” (“die Flecken”, not “die Flecke”).
Although unusual, you can say “der Flecken” rather than “der Fleck” in case of singular. Example:
- ein schöner Flecken Erde
- a beautiful spot on Earth
I myself would nonetheless say:
“Ich konnte den Fleck nicht wegschrubben.”
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A few things I want to mention.
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“der Flecken” is a valid alternative form of “der Fleck”, according to wiktionary, duden, and dwds.
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The official plural of “der Fleck”, according to duden, is “die Flecke”, and that of “der Flecken” is “die Flecken”.
Dwds and Wiktionary list both as valid plural for “Fleck”, and wiktionary says:
Flecken is originally the plural of another singular (der) Flecken, but it is now commonly used as a plural of Fleck and is even predominant at least in some regions.
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The original meaning of “Flecken” is (quoting wiktionary): a village or small town, (especially historical) a place with limited town privileges, such as market rights
So maybe that’s why your example “ein schöner Flecken Erde” sounds ok. -
In compound words with -fleck, it’s always “der Schandfleck”, “der Knutschfleck”, etc. never “der Schandflecken” or “der Knutschflecken”.
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