Grammatik - Questions on rules for composing clauses.
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0answers
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Using “-lein” and “-chen” [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Are there any rules how to build the diminutive?
I was reading this article on Duden's webpage and began wondering about the diminutive forms of "-lein" and "-chen". ...
8
votes
2answers
146 views
“bis der Tod euch scheide” or “bis der Tod euch scheidet”?
In one of Rammstein's most famous songs, "Du hast", the lyrics go like this:
Willst du bis der Tod euch scheide
Treu ihr sein für alle Tage?
Nein!
Now, I am a bit puzzled why there is ...
4
votes
1answer
241 views
Contraction of prepositions and definite articles in German
I could not find a table of the contractions of prepositions and definite articles in German, so I made one by my own:
Is this an exhausting table of all the contraction there are?
6
votes
1answer
128 views
Is the title of the “Vincent will Meer” grammatically correct?
I just watched the film Vincent will Meer and enjoyed it. The only thing bothering me is the title that does not seem to be grammatically correct in the absence of an article before meer. Is it some ...
5
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2answers
111 views
Welche Präposition nutzt man, um “das Bild gehört ihr” zu sagen?
Gibt es eine Präposition, die Zugehörigkeit vermittelt? "Das Bild von ihr" bedeutet, dass man sie im Bild sehen kann, oder?
Wie sagt man, dass das Bild ihr gehört?
Ist "von" richtig in folgendem ...
3
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3answers
353 views
“umgekehrt als bei” oder “umgekehrt wie bei”?
In folgendem Satz:
Bei X ist das anders als bei Y.
muss das Wort "als" verwendet werden, sagt mir mein Sprachgefühl. Ich hadere aber etwas bei:
Bei X ist das umgekehrt als bei Y.
Ich würde sagen ...
4
votes
2answers
285 views
About an “unusual” sentence structure?
In German, most sentences have a simple structure: subject, verb, object.
Ich liebe dich.
But there are some verbs such as gefallen or gelingen, where this structure doesn't apply. Instead, the ...
4
votes
3answers
245 views
When do we use “Hose” like a plurale tantum?
Unlike "trousers" in English we use "Hose" in both, singular and plural forms. This also includes situations where we use it like a plurale tantum (even though it is none in German). Sometimes we can ...
6
votes
3answers
298 views
How does one say “Five cubic metres”?
I found myself on the telephone today attempting to explain the volume that a bunch of furniture would perhaps occupy in a truck, and I used
Fuenf cubisch Metern
But it was fairly clear to me ...
4
votes
2answers
277 views
German verbs vs English verbs
Why do all English verbs have to start with "to" and German verbs don't? In English we say "to play" but in German we would just say "spielen". why don't we say "zu spielen"? Why don't we do this in ...
6
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3answers
151 views
Is “Für jeden ein Gewinn” grammatically correct?
Saw this on a flyer from a retailer advertising a contest.
"Für jeden ein Gewinn"
Question
Is that grammatically correct? Shouldn't it be
"Für jeden einen Gewinn"?
Analysis
Let's take it ...
-2
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4answers
209 views
Ist 'humanitäre Katastrophe' eine sprachliche Katastrophe?
Seit Jahrzehnten regt mich der Begriff "humanitäre Katastrophe" auf, so als sei die Katastrophe humanitär.
Ist der Ausdruck sprachlich legal, oder so arm wie er mir vorkommt?
Muss es nicht eine ...
4
votes
2answers
608 views
Sentence structure tips: verb placement
I'm having some trouble getting used to placing the second verb in a phrase at the end.
Sie kann sehr gut deutsch sprechen
Taking the above sentence as an example, I find it hard to read ...
6
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4answers
235 views
What's this structure called?
I don't understand the structure used in this exercise:
What's it called?
4
votes
2answers
251 views
Accusative vs. nominative case ambiguity?
First, let me say that I'm new to German.
I see that the article of a feminine noun isn't inflected when the case is changed from nominative to accusative, i.e. in both cases the definite article is ...
3
votes
2answers
357 views
Asking “Which [something]”
If someone is talking about something, saying:
I don't like the [list]
I'd like to ask "which list" in German. It's "die Liste", so I should ask:
Welch-e [Liste]?
Am I right?
In general, ...
6
votes
3answers
2k views
Singular/Plural bei Aufzählungen
Man betrachte folgende zwei Sätze:
Demnach muss nun das Ziel und der Zweck der Regelung ermittelt werden.
oder
Demnach müssen nun das Ziel und der Zweck der Regelung ermittelt werden.
...
4
votes
2answers
105 views
When to use the future tense?
One of the things I've been struggling with as a relative newcomer to German is when to use the future tense. It appears that, as in Russian, there isn't a lot of circumstances in which one would use ...
3
votes
1answer
225 views
Books helping with most common mistakes of German learners?
Is there anything one could recommend to get rid of the most common mistakes the non-native German speakers make?
I love the "Is That What You Mean?" series by Pinguin which features very nice ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
How do I build subordinative clauses relating to genderless nouns?
In German there are few nouns that have no article and thus seemingly no gender:
Examples
Google
Nahost
Nord
Allerheiligen
In the example "Nord" we could overcome this by using "der ...
5
votes
3answers
458 views
When is 'to' translated with “um zu”, when with “zu”
The infinitve marker "to" can not simply be translated with "zu". Apparently in most instances it translates with "um zu", wheras in other instances "zu" alone is used.
1 "Del" is the key to ...
1
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0answers
48 views
Origin of the “dem Mann sein Hut” construct [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
In welchen Regionen ist die dem-sein Form gebräuchlich?
Does anyone know the origin of the street slang construct in the form of "dem Mann sein Hut" in place of the ...
6
votes
1answer
135 views
When do we omit the trailing “-e” in 1st person singular?
When I hear Germans speak - but sometimes in writing too - I observe that the trailing "-e" from verbs in 1st singular person is often omitted:
"Ich geh mal schnell zur Tanke."
"Ich krieg noch ...
7
votes
1answer
175 views
Comma in infinitive construction
In "Lehr- und Übungsbuch der deutschen Grammatik", I found some sentences:
Ich fürchte, dass ich bald entlassen werde.
Ich fürchte, bald entlassen zu werden.
Sie hofft, dass sie vom Bahnhof ...
1
vote
2answers
433 views
Englische Worte in deutscher Grammatik - aber wie?
Tagtäglich benutzt man Worte aus dem Englischen im Deutschen, gerade im IT-Umfeld, aus dem ich stamme, sind sie allgegenwärtig.
Bei Nomen ist der Begriff selbst unverändert, hier stellt sich nur die ...
5
votes
2answers
194 views
Why do you say “in diesem Sinne” if “Sinne” is a feminine noun?
The LEO page for "Sinne" shows that the noun Sinne is a feminine noun, yet is used in the phrase "in diesem Sinne".
Shouldn't that be "in dieser Sinne"?
6
votes
2answers
230 views
Why is it “mir ist übel” and not “ich bin übel”?
To express we feel nauseous we may say
Mir ist übel. Mir ist schlecht. Mir ist schwindlig.
What are the grammatical rules behind this? Why don't we say "Ich bin übel" when we say
Ich bin ...
3
votes
3answers
267 views
Are the subjunctives of “brauchen” and “verbrauchen” different?
There seems to be a difference when building subjunctives from the verb "brauchen" when used alone, or in the composite verb "verbrauchen".
Hätten wir überall Energiesparlampen, verbrauchten wir ...
4
votes
1answer
140 views
Explaining case and usage of “Richtung”
Just curious. How would you explain to someone the proper use and appropriate case of Richtung as a directional indicator, in simple terms? whether showing movement or simple location or direction ...
5
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1answer
183 views
Articles for compound words
I was wondering, in compound words or "complex" ones, let's say, do the article matches with its last word?
For example, "Kontrollakt". It's made of Kontrolle + Akt, the former being "die", and the ...
15
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3answers
273 views
What gender has a “Virus”?
In German there is some confusion on the gender of "Virus" where both masculine and neuter are used:
Das Influenzavirus ändert jährlich seine Oberflächenstruktur.
Ich habe mir den Virus im ...
4
votes
2answers
257 views
Der Nacht oder die Nacht?
Rammstein sings "Sie kommen zu euch in der Nacht" in "Mein herz brennt" song, but to my knowledge "Nacht" is of female gender and it's supposed to be "die Nacht". So what am I missing?
And also ...
4
votes
2answers
304 views
Do all nouns from verbs nominalized by the suffix “-ung” have a female gender?
By suffixing verbs with "-ung" we can build nouns, e.g.:
prüfen - Prüfung
meinen - Meinung
richten - Richtung
All those nouns seem to have a female gender. Is that always true or do we have ...
4
votes
3answers
204 views
How do I say something is the superlative of a group in German?
What is the correct German way for the English construction involving identifying the superlative in a group? For instance
Lake Michigan is the largest of the Great Lakes?
or
It was the ...
11
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1answer
4k views
Der, die oder das Email?
Is there an official rule on whether it's die Email or das Email? I've heard people use both, although more commonly the female form.
5
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2answers
283 views
gegen etwas austauschen or durch etwas austauschen
I'm not sure which form is correct in the following sentence.
Ich beschloss, in das Geschäft zurückzugehen und das Tuch gegen ein schöneres auszutauschen.
Is the gegen correct or should it be ...
13
votes
10answers
473 views
In welchen Regionen ist die dem-sein Form gebräuchlich?
Als Alternative zur Form des Genitivs gibt es das dem-sein Konstrukt. (Keine Ahnung, wie man es sonst nennen sollte):
Der Frau ihre Handtasche. Dem Fritz sein Schwager.
Wo ist diese Form ...
5
votes
1answer
447 views
“ich hätte früher dort gewesen sein müssen” zeit
In dem Beispielsatz oben kommen vier Verben zum Einsatz. Hat diese Form einen eigenen Namen, oder ist das eine Kombination aus verschiedenen Formen (z. B. Perfekt und Konjunktiv II)?
...
6
votes
2answers
71 views
Gebrauch von “-wert” gegenüber “-würdig”
Gibt's einen deutlichen Unterschied zwischen den Wortendungen "-wert" und "-würdig"?
Wie z.B.: "bemerkenswert" oder "merkwürdig"
Ich spüre also dazwischen einen feinen Nuanceunterschied im ...
3
votes
1answer
229 views
“Could” phrases
As far as I know the word could is the subjunctive of "can/to be able to" which translates to "können". However I'm not sure about the subjunctive of "können", and how it affects German sentence ...
1
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0answers
129 views
Why is “Mädchen” grammatically neutral? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Neuter gender for nouns referring to children
My former German professor mentioned das Mädchen as a prime example of why the gender of German words can be ...
2
votes
1answer
101 views
What is the correct preposition for “Name” in following contexts
How would I say have a reservation under the name XXX in german ?
Ich habe eine Reservation unter dem Namen XXX.
or
Ich habe eine Reservation auf dem Namen XXX.
5
votes
5answers
427 views
How is the equivalent of the English “Let's …” formed?
I read this part in a book:
I wonder if this is correct because I always form such sentence like the English "Let's ..." with "lassen" ("lass uns ..."), for example:
Lass uns gehen
Lass uns ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Books like “English Grammar in use” for the German language
"English Grammar in Use" - Cambridge University Press
is amazing. Is there any similar books for the German language?
[Update]:
"English Grammar in Use" is amazing because each unit spans ...
7
votes
3answers
130 views
“ist gefegt” vs. “hat gefegt”
I'm assuming "Sie fegte über die Bühne" could reasonably be translated as "She swept across the stage" and "Sie fegte die Bühne" as "She swept the stage".
The conjugation in an online resource gives ...
4
votes
3answers
202 views
If “Brotaufstrich” is something they smear on bread, why “Fruchtaufstrich” is not smeared on fruit?
Another question here made me ask this question: if "Brotaufstrich" is something one usually smears on bread during breakfast, shouldn't "Fruchtaufstrich" mean something they smear on fruits? :)
I am ...
6
votes
2answers
255 views
Warum nicht Dativ in“Er bricht den Stab über ihn”?
Laut Duden soll bei dieser Redewendung der Akkusativ genommen werden:
er brach den Stab über ihn (nicht ihm);
Bei Google finden sich aber beide Varianten. Warum wird nun Akkusativ empfohlen?
9
votes
3answers
339 views
Tense and Aspect
Most linguists recognize two tenses in English, present and past, although other verb forms are often mistakenly described as tenses. I walk is present tense and I walked is past tense. A form such as ...
10
votes
1answer
318 views
Woher kommt der Dativ in “Wie dem auch sei”?
Ich verstehe nicht, was der Dativ in diesen bekannten Konstrukten zu suchen hat:
Wie dem auch sei ...
Dem ist nicht so.
"Wie es auch sein mag" und "Dies ist nicht so" ergäben für mich Sinn. ...
6
votes
4answers
229 views
“Kommt ein Mann in eine Kneipe…” - Wieso haben Witze diesen besonderen Satzbau?
Wenn jemand einen Satz in der Form
"Kommt ein Mann in eine Kneipe..."
beginnt, kann der Zuhörer ziemlich sicher sein, dass gerade ein Witz erzählt wird.
Aber wieso gibt es im Deutschen diese ...
