I am just starting my journey to German language, so please excuse me for my trivial question.
What is the difference between "sagt man" and "man sagt". How would I understand where to use right one?
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1Do you have a specific context in mind? Can you give an example sentence?– Wrzlprmft ♦Aug 19, 2014 at 9:38
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The other question is with "es gibt" ... just replace "es" with "man" and "gibt" with "sagt"– EmanuelAug 19, 2014 at 10:56
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Thank you! I didn't know this rule yet. I am learning by myself. Danke!– WorkerAug 19, 2014 at 13:23
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2 Answers
Overly simplified:
Sagt man "X"?
is the word order used to create a question.
Man sagt "X".
Is a statement.
The first word order is also used in constructions with subordinate clauses
Wenn man jemanden begrüßen möchte, sagt man "Guten Tag".
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Clarification: VS order always used when the vorfeld is already taken - it doesn't have to be taken by a subclause: "In Schottland gibt es Seeungeheuer, sagt man." Aug 19, 2014 at 15:22
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True - also see Emanuels answer in the question he proposed as a duplicate, which has more examples– HulkAug 19, 2014 at 15:25
construction "sagt man" is used when form question with or without "W-Frage".
Example:
Sagt man etwas?
or
Wie sagt man?
