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In the following sentence

Behalte den Überblick über deine Lebensmittel.

I'm not sure if it should stay like this or if it should be

Behalte den Überblick auf deinen Lebensmitteln.

I'm almost sure the first one is correct, but would like it to be confirmed and I'd like to understand the difference.

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3 Answers 3

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Your first sentence is correct!

In German it is always

den Überblick behalten über etw.

Second one is just grammatically wrong …

You could also say

Behalte deine Lebensmittel im Auge.

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2
  • Yeah, sounded also correct to me :) I just googled and found also the "Überblick auf" and because unsure. Thanks!
    – User
    Commented Jun 6, 2016 at 14:54
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    Another very similar expression would be "Habe einen Blick auf deine Lebensmittel", which means you should pay attention to your food (so nobody steals or contaminates it), much like this answer's second example.
    – Raketenolli
    Commented Jun 7, 2016 at 13:39
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"Überblick auf" kann man nicht benutzen.

Überblick hat etwas geistiges (in mint) Überblick = alle Zusammenhänge kennen = wissen wo was ist

auf( to ) = physically

Ich schaue auf die Straße. = Ich sehe auf die Straße (see the traffic)

Überblick über die Strasse. = Ich weiss wer da wohnt / was dort passiert

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0

In your example, "Überblick über" is correct.

You would use "Überblick auf" in different contexts, for example "den Überblick auf der Straße behalten". This focuses on the location and the surroundings, where your example focuses on a specific part.

You could also see "den Überblick in einer Situation behalten", where the focus again is on the context and the whole situation, as opposed to a particular part.

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  • Could the downvoters explain what they don't like?
    – Robert
    Commented Jun 8, 2016 at 16:21
  • I am not the downvoter, however, I think "den Überblick auf" is wrong in any context! Your sentence should be "Den Blick auf der Strasse behalten".
    – Patrick Brielmayer
    Commented Jun 9, 2016 at 20:21
  • @PatrickBrielmayer Den Überblick behalten, wenn man auf der Straße unterwegs ist. That is what the answerer meant here. That is why I am upvoting this again. So that "auf der Straße" is not linked to the Überblick" at all. And that would be right. Your sentence is also not wrong. That would then mean that someone should not look at his mobile phone while driving a car but watch the street.
    – ETathome
    Commented Mar 15 at 19:57

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