The sentence-structure tag has no wiki summary.
1
vote
2answers
114 views
Alternate sentence construction using “lassen”
The sentence: "Er hat Reim in seinem Gedicht benutzt."
My instructor has suggested that I rewrite the sentence using "a more sophisticated construction, such as one with 'lassen'." How would I do ...
2
votes
2answers
206 views
Can it be correct to use “sei” instead of “ist” in this sentence?
Could someone please tell me if this sentence is correct?
"Es sagt, daß das verboten sei."
3
votes
3answers
139 views
Can I say “Montags und donnerstags gehe ich zur Uni um halb elf.” Is this the correct word order?
Would I say "Montags und donnerstags gehe ich zur Uni um halb elf" or should I be writing "Montags und donnerstags um halb elf gehe ich zur Uni." I feel like the first one sounds better....but I'm ...
3
votes
1answer
73 views
Can I write “Jeden Tag stehe ich halb zehn auf.”
I'm trying to say that each day I get up at ten thirty in response to the question "Wann stehen Sie auf?" I'm having some trouble putting the words in the correct order though. Is "Jeden Tag stehe ich ...
3
votes
2answers
113 views
Is “Weiß ich nicht” a correct usage?
I recall hearing
"Weiß ich nicht"
from the friends around when I stayed in Germany. Recently I started to take a German course to learn the language well. The lecturer told that there is a ...
5
votes
3answers
151 views
The translation of the abbreviated sentence “He does”/“He doesn't” in German
Example:
A: There is this huge dinosaur outside our window looking for its child.
B: Why is it peering at us?
A: Maybe it wants to gobble us alive and then digest the bones too.
B: ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
Wann verwendet man „zu“ mit dem Infinitiv?
Wie kann man wissen, ob man den Infinitiv mit oder ohne „zu“ schreibt?
Das darf ich nicht probieren.
Das wage ich nicht zu probieren.
Ich gehe spazieren.
Ich mag es zu spazieren.
Bonusfrage: Was ...
2
votes
1answer
137 views
Forming compound sentence using 'and' and 'because'
I have started my A2 class today and for the homework we are supposed to convert text about a person (Alice) to first person format. I have not learned formulating compound sentences in A1 fully (only ...
5
votes
1answer
151 views
Usage of “let me know” in Letter writing
For my A1 exam, we have a letter writing part and there is a requirement that we should write a minimum of 30 words in the body of the letter. In some contexts, the usage of please let me know is ...
2
votes
2answers
105 views
Manner-adverb placement [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the proper position of “gern”?
I find sentences with adverbs a bit confusing, as I don't know if the placement of a certain adverb is right or wrong. Consider ...
11
votes
5answers
687 views
Difference between “weil” and “denn”
Both mean because.
I know that denn does not change the sentence structure of the subordinate clause, but weil does, i.e. pushing the verb to the end.
Other than that, is there a difference between ...
6
votes
1answer
118 views
Position of “nicht” in following contexts
I went through the article The Position of Nicht and the question Where is exactly the position of “nicht” in the sentence?. I would like to know if
I am correct in the following sentences and
if ...
6
votes
2answers
190 views
Wie nennt man kurze Sätze, die nur im Zusammenhang mit einem vorher stehenden Satz Sinn ergeben?
Gibt es einen Begriff für jene Satztypen, die für sich selbst keinen Sinn machen, sondern nur im Zusammenhang mit einem Satz, auf den sie sich beziehen?
Beispiel: "Sie gab ihm eine Ohrfeige. Mit ...
5
votes
4answers
788 views
Sentence construction
I've been taking A1 level classes at Goethe Instuit for about 5 weeks now. Only 2 weeks are left in the course but I still have problems with sentence construction.
I can do the problems in the books ...
3
votes
4answers
508 views
Wann benutzt man “ob” und wann benutzt man “wenn”?
Ich habe drei Jahre Deutsch studiert. Ich habe natürlich "wenn" benutzt, aber ich habe nie "ob" benutzt. Ich weiß, dass beide auf Englisch "if" bedeuten. Ich habe "wenn" sehr oft gehört, "ob" jedoch ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views
What's the grammatical difference between “trotz” und “trotzdem”?
"Trotz" is usually used as "despite", and "trotzdem" is "nevertheless", but:
What is the grammatical difference?
Where does the verb go for "trotz" and where does it go for
"trotzdem"?
Do Germans ...
1
vote
0answers
171 views
When to use “lassen” [closed]
When would it be proper to use lassen? When is it most commonly used? How would you use lassen in the perfect tense and how would you use it in the past tense?
4
votes
2answers
384 views
What does this German sentence mean?
While perusing this question, I generally was at least able to understand what all of the playful examples of word repetition meant. There was one, however, that left me completely baffled.
Selbst ...
6
votes
1answer
151 views
How should I say “an empty file” in German?
I want to tell someone the file which is being sent is "empty",
Maybe the proper translation of empty is "leer" and I found:
Leerdatei : dummy file
Is it the correct usage? While dummy is not ...
9
votes
5answers
478 views
How to give this kind of sentence more of a German sentence structure?
I often find myself writing sentences like this (a real example) which obviously make sense to my German readers but are obviously written by someone who thinks in an English sentence structure:
...
4
votes
1answer
111 views
deleted subordinating conjunction - “dass”
In English, it's written:
He says (that) he'll come immediately.
In German it changes the sentence structure:
Er sagt, dass er sofort kommt.
The problem is, if I delete "dass" from my ...
15
votes
2answers
179 views
Meaning of “Lars kam sich unendlich verlassen vor”
I'm reading Kleiner Eisbär, wohin fährst du? von Hans de Beer but I'm puzzled by this sentence:
Lars kam sich unendlich verlassen vor.
If verlassen is a reflexive verb as the word sich suggests, ...
8
votes
2answers
311 views
Can you invert sentence structure without sounding like Yoda?
I've heard that you can invert the sentence structure, as shown in the following examples, in order to emphasize an adverb, prepositional phrase et.c.
-- Wie ist er?
-- Wunderschön ist er.
...
