Questions tagged [pronoun]
Pronomen - Questions on words that substitutes for nouns.
310
questions
6
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5
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Why "Ihre" and not "Ihrer"?
Why "Ihre" and not the genitive "Ihrer" in the following sentence? I thought that we have to use the genitive case to show possession?
Ihre Katze war krank.
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votes
1
answer
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Can I use "einer" in the sentence below instead of "eine"
Durch die teilweise automatisch abgewickelte Bestellung müssen immer weniger Mitarbeiter in den Firmen beschäftigt werden und durch die Unterstützung in Form von Computern kann eine noch höhere Anzahl ...
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1
vote
1
answer
83
views
Using "es" to link a clause with infinitive
There are some German sentences with an infinitive clause that are used without a linking word. And there are other cases where a pronoun is used to link the infinitive clause to the main clause, e.g. ...
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4
votes
1
answer
119
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What does "es" mean here?
The following is from Kafka's Der Proceß:
Ich gehe über meinen Auftrag hinaus, wenn ich Ihnen so freundschaftlich zurede. Aber ich hoffe, es hört es niemand sonst als Franz, und der ist selbst gegen ...
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1
vote
2
answers
142
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Diese Leiche und seine Umstände
I am reading "Der nasse Fisch" in German on my Kindle, (making much use of the German-English dictionary). This particular paragraph in the book confuses me:
"Diese Leiche ist perfekt! ...
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3
votes
2
answers
421
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Why "sich sich"?
From Grammatik Aktiv B1+ published by Cornelesen, chapter 1 exercise 3:
Sie schreibt, dass sie sich sich in einer schwierigen Situation befindet, und bittet mich um Hilfe.
As I understand "she ...
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3
votes
4
answers
146
views
"Es" als Pronomen
Warum haben wir "können" anstatt " kann" auf dem folgenden Satz? Ist es möglich, "es" durch "sie" zu ersetzen?
Die Dauer der Reise bestimmt ihr selbst. Es ...
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-4
votes
1
answer
133
views
What does lozärner mean?
There's a word that's spelled as "Lüzerner", but what is lozärner supposed to mean and how is it different?
How is their pronunciation different?
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1
vote
1
answer
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Is it strange that genug is not plural?
That would occur long before enough could go wrong.
Das würde passieren, lange bevor genug schiefgehen könnte.
That would occur long before enough things could go wrong.
Das würde passieren, lange ...
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3
votes
4
answers
146
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Weshalb oder deshalb
I have learnt that weshalb is a question and deshalb a statement but watching a video from a usually reliable German teacher on YouTube I came across this example in a B2 level "Brief schreiben&...
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0
votes
1
answer
104
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Quasi-persönliche Anrede in Vorträgen ("einige von ihnen")
Beim hören vieler Vorträge auf deutsch ist mir aufgefallen, dass der Redner solche Sprachkonstrukte verwendet als ob er nicht viele Personen anspricht, sondern eine.
Zum Beispiel, "wie Sie gerade ...
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1
vote
3
answers
147
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When, and why then, is "es" required with vergessen?
In conversation with 2 native German speakers I said,
Gloria: »Ich erzählte Robbie Aschenputtel und ich habe vergessen, dass es Essenszeit war.«
Gloria's Mother: »Nun, das ist aber schade, dass ...
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6
votes
3
answers
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When is niemanden/jemanden used in the dative?
Related: Niemand oder Niemanden?
According to Wiktionary and one or two other sources I looked at, niemand and jemand are either uninflected or take an -em ending in the dative case. I was checking ...
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4
votes
3
answers
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When a "von" substitution for the Genitive is obligatory, optional, and colloquial
I was reading the usage notes for von on
this Wiktionary page,
where it talks about situations where using von instead of the genitive is obligatory, optional, and colloquial.
For the most part, I ...
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0
votes
1
answer
142
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What are the family names on Swiss houses called?
In rural areas of Switzerland, owners of houses put their surname on the front of the house.
What is this wooden name-sign called in English and German, and what is this custom and the act of doing it ...
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1
vote
2
answers
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Engelmacher means someone who helps with abortions?
Does the German word of "Angelmaker" mean someone who helps with abortions? How did that come about historically.
If so, how would this word classify, specifically. Double entendre, idiom, ...
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5
votes
1
answer
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Dictionary indicates 'zu jds. Gunsten' and gives the example 'zu meinen/Ihren Gunsten'; generally can 'jds' be substituted by meinen/deinen/seinen/…?
I was trying to figure out why "Der Krieg verläuft zu unseren Gunsten" had 'unser' declined in that way, but the form dict.cc gave me was 'zu jds. Gunsten' (https://www.dict.cc/?s=gunsten) ...
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1
vote
1
answer
124
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Relative pronouns "which" and "that" vs. "welches" and "das"
(Related: are "das", "was" and "welch-" interchangeable relative pronouns?) In English the "rule" is that "that" is used in restrictive clauses while &...
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votes
0
answers
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That and the demonstrative pronouns [duplicate]
I'm missing something, perhaps is the understanding of demonstrative pronouns. In (from youtube) That is Peter. or
Das ist Peter.
Das is being used as a demonstrative pronoun, right? But the case, is ...
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2
votes
2
answers
507
views
"She buys it." in German
The English it might translate to er/sie/es, right? So the translation of
She buys it.
might be
Sie kauft ihn/sie/es.
How can we choose the correct ihn/sie/es if we don't know what she is buying?
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0
votes
1
answer
137
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Demonstrative pronouns or definitive articles?
Reading »Der Corona Schock« Hans-Werner Sinn, page 57:
Vom Gipfel von Madrid im Jahr 1995, als die Zeitschiene für die Einführung des Euro verbindlich beschlossen wurde, bis hin zur Lehman-Krise im ...
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1
vote
1
answer
390
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Why do the Swiss pronounce Schweiz "Schweez"?
Die Schweiz means Switzerland. "Ei" is pronounced "eye" in German, which means Schweiz should be pronounced "Schw-eye-z". However, the Swiss pronounce their country "...
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0
votes
0
answers
56
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What is the German translation of the singular "they/them"? [duplicate]
With the actual translation of "them/they" being "sie/ihr" which is exactly the same as the singular female pronoun "sie/ihr", is there a generally accepted alternative ...
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0
votes
1
answer
569
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Does "Geht los!" mean the same as "Los geht's"? And is "Geht's los!" a wrong use of "'s", i.e. "es"? Why so?
I understand that Los geht's! means "It's on!" "Here we go!" (https://qr.ae/pGcQL4).
Does Geht los! mean the same as Los geht's!?
Is it incorrect to say Geht's los!? (i.e. 's is ...
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3
votes
1
answer
419
views
Can I exchange relative pronouns and articles in this way?
Wenn Sie Fragen haben, lassen Sie es mich wissen.
Why do we use es here? As Fragen is plural, why don't we use sie?
Whenever I don't want to repeat the noun, I either use its gender article as per ...
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0
votes
1
answer
156
views
Funktion von "nichts"
"Ich hole Geld" vs. "Ich hole nichts".
Warum schreibt man "nichts" nicht groß. Ich könnte jetzt meine Gedanken dazu aufschreiben, aber das spare ich mir lieber.
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2
votes
1
answer
123
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Position of Indirect object in German questions
In the sentence, "Woher hat sie die Schuhe?" which means "Where does she have the shoes from?", shouldn't the pronoun sie take the dative case? As Die Schuhe is the direct object, ...
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1
vote
2
answers
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What is the rationale behind the movement trying to eliminate gendered articles for names? [closed]
I recently heard a conversation among Austrians arguing that the use of definite articles before proper names (der Thomas, die Julia), a practice particular to Austria, should be eliminated in the ...
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0
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1
answer
61
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construct with im Gegensatz dazu, im Gegensatz zu dem, was
I have a doubt regarding "im Gegensatz zu dem, was":
Er hat böswillig gehandelt, im Gegensatz zu dem, was der Richter frei erfunden hat, es handelt sich um keinen Fall von Notwehr.
Would ...
- 645
0
votes
2
answers
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Weit von sich weisen - reflexive pronoun sich
I am using the verbal expression etwas weit von sich weisen and I am not sure about the form or declination of sich in this case, I would say for instance
Er hat die Regel des Abstands weit von sich ...
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0
votes
2
answers
130
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Meaning of "Der Pförtner passt auf sie auf"?
Google Translate translates this as "The gatekeeper looks after them" but I don't understand how it got translated to that. What do the two "auf" mean in this sentence? Thanks.
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2
votes
2
answers
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"Vor wem scheuten sich die Kinder" or "Vor wen scheuten sich die Kinder"?
The answer key in my textbook says that the correct answer is the sentence with the dative wem but I don't understand why. Isn't scheuten (shied away) a movement requiring the accusative wen?
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1
vote
1
answer
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andere Verwendungen von "eines" außer im Genitiv
Normalerweise wird es in Deutschkursen erklärt, dass "eines" nur für den Genitiv benutzt wird. Heute aber habe ich folgenden Satz gelesen:
"Nur eines scheint sich hier abzuzeichnen...&...
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2
votes
1
answer
104
views
Meaning of "der" in a sentence
What does the second der mean in the following sentence?
Einzig der Fluss Kabul, so heißt übrigens auch die Hauptstadt von Afghanistan, fließt in den Indus und der mündet am Schluss in den Indischen ...
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votes
1
answer
80
views
Position von Reflexivpronomen
Warum ist die Position vom Reflexivpronomen in den Beispielen 1 und 2 verschieden (ein Lehrbuchbeispiel)? Ist 3 auch richtig oder ist es nicht so richtig wie 1? Kann das jemand erklären?
1. Hat sich ...
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0
votes
2
answers
162
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Overview of nominative, accusative and dative for all pronouns
I am "new" in German learning. I found this table (bellow). According to the table the accusative of "mein" for the third person singular neutral (es) is: meines? However, in this ...
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votes
1
answer
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accusative and dative [closed]
I am bit confused with the german translation of the English sentence "He gives her a pen". In german language it is "Er gibt ihr einen Stift". Now, we have "einen" ...
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0
answers
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Should we say "die ist sehr groß" or "sie ist sehr groß" when referring to a feminine object? [duplicate]
I am new to German and I came across this sentence in a practice book. In reference to a couple's kitchen, a character says "die ist sehr groß". But from what I know, the sentence should ...
10
votes
1
answer
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Construction I need help clarifying in Otfried Preußler's "Krabat"
I was reading the novel "Krabat" and came across the following sentences:
»Ja«, sagte Lobosch, »heuer zum letzten Mal. Denn nun bin ich hier Lehrjunge auf der Mühle.« Das sagte er voller ...
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0
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1
answer
136
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Capitalization of pronouns in emails [duplicate]
One can capitalize pronouns in mails/letters.
For example:
Ich schreibe dir.
or
Ich schreibe Dir.
When should it be capitalized?
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3
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Does a pronoun make a phrase accusative?
I am having trouble understanding why the two sentences below end in accusative:
Meine Mutter findet, dass sie eine gute Ärztin hat.
Der Mann sagt, dass er den Kaffee nicht mag.
Something I have ...
1
vote
1
answer
257
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What pronouns are used in German for a transgender person? [duplicate]
In English, it is common in some circles to encounter the 3rd person plural pronoun, they, in a first person singular context when the person is transgender.
For example: I see [name] walking down ...
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0
votes
3
answers
104
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Job title of an owner of income-generating real estate properties?
If an individual (in no way incorporated nor employing other staff) owns several properties in a city in their own name, and lives off collecting rent from residential as well as commercial tenants in ...
- 636
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4
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"es" ("it") for a woman
As "user unknown" stated in the comments of another question, there should exist German dialects, where "es" is a common pronoun (instead or beneath "sie") for a woman. (&...
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1
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"deren" vs. "ihres" to mark ownership
Under the usage of der/die/das as a demonstrative pronoun, leo.org lists the usage of dessen/deren to mark ownership clearly. As an example, the site gives -
Herr Müller geht mit Anton und seiner ...
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votes
1
answer
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Ist der Satz "Ein Haus, dass die Zeiten überdauert" aus dieser Anzeige grammatikalisch korrekt? Falls ja, warum?
In einer Anzeige in der taz steht:
Ein Mensch, der uns ähnelt,
Ein Haus, dass die Zeiten überdauert.
Ist die Orthographie dass (mit Doppel-s) hier korrekt? Ich dachte, dass das nur mit einem s ...
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votes
2
answers
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Zwischen dir und mir oder du und ich
Ich habe überhaupt nicht verstanden, was richtig ist. Im Buch steht, dass „zwischen" eine Präposition ist, und dass es die Regel gibt, dass man bei Bewegung Akkusativ verwendet und sonst Dativ.
...
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votes
1
answer
70
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Das, war vs es, war
Which should I use and when:
das, was
or
es, was
I've seen both being used as 'what', e.g
Das, was ich habe, war schön.
What I saw was beautiful.
Which should you use?
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1
answer
653
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When to use "deiner" [closed]
Hello just trying to figure out in the sentence "und das Rathaus in deiner Stadt?" doe the "deiner" have an "er" on the end to refer to the your is a man, as the article ...
- 1
9
votes
5
answers
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'Jemand hat seinen' or 'jemand hat ihren'?
Which is right? Or both?
Gestern war ich in der Schlange. Jemand hat mir ihren Platz gegeben.
Gestern war ich in der Schlange. Jemand hat mir seinen Platz gegeben.
Is jemand masculine or feminine or ...
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