37
votes
Accepted
Are “Kinder” still their parents’ “Kinder” when they grow up?
Absolutely; an adult is still someone’s Kind in exactly the same way as in English. Just two examples I quickly found via a web search:
Vor allem diese sonderbare Hilflosigkeit, wenn die eigenen ...
- 19.7k
32
votes
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Is the genitive used at all in everyday German?
In my opinion:
Yes, you should learn about the genitive.
While it's use apparently is on the decline and there are many "substitutions", you should not expect it to disappear totally in the next ...
- 24k
28
votes
What is the best way to say “gentle reminder” in German?
You can use "Freundliche Erinnerung". Anonther possibility often used is "Höfliche Erinnerung" (polite reminder).
And I would suggest to use the verb: "Wir möchten Sie höflich erinnern,...".
- 11.5k
27
votes
Can I use ‘fahren’ when the mode of transport is not decided?
Yes. A common small-talk topic is “Wohin fahrt ihr dieses Jahr in den Urlaub?” and it is perfectly ok to answer “Wir fahren nach Island” even if you have your flight tickets booked already.
Same ...
- 459
23
votes
Accepted
Wie nennt man einen weiblichen Nazi?
Ganz allgemein gesprochen ist in diesem Kontext, also wenn es um Prädikative geht, Movierung nicht nötig. Viele Sprecher nehmen keinen Anstoß an Sätzen wie den folgenden, wo das Geschlecht (Sexus) ...
- 25.5k
20
votes
Accepted
Difference between responding to "danke" with "bitte" versus "gerne"
"Bitte" is the "standard" answer to "Danke".
"Gerne" is short for "Gern geschehen!".
According to the Duden, "gern" means
mit freudiger Bereitwilligkeit, Vergnügen
It therefore implies that the ...
- 381
20
votes
Accepted
"Wir ziehen aus der Wohnung aus." What is the function of the first "aus" in this sentence?
The latter "aus" is, as you correctly recognized, part of the verb "ausziehen". The former "aus" is a preposition that denotes what the speakers are moving out of. Let's ...
- 18.3k
20
votes
When should I use the different types of why and because in German?
Maybe you'll get other answers, but for me, I would straight up deny that there is any difference in meaning.
Sure, you can look at their literal meaning (wie-so, wes-wegen) or their etymology and ...
- 25.7k
19
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning and use of "zu sollen"?
Um zu and its subjects
The main problem with your translation is that in German you can't change the subject (subject as a part of speech) in an "um zu" clause.
You can say
Ich habe ihn ...
- 25.7k
15
votes
Is there a word for “hey” or “oi”?
The usual word for that is he (often with a lengthened e and then spelt hee, heee, heeeeee or similar):
He, kannst du mir sagen, wie spät es ist?
Heee, was machen Sie denn da?
There are also ...
- 19.7k
15
votes
Accepted
The definition of "so was von"
In fact this is an idiomatic phrase; it may communicate an elative, intensifying meaning, but usually, it simply expresses the speaker's firm opinion of a certain circumstance. It's commonly used, ...
- 13.6k
15
votes
"Ich habe Hunger" or "Ich bin hungrig"?
Ich habe Hunger is perfectly acceptable on all levels of conversation and used without afterthought as a viable alternative to Ich bin hungrig. The former is neither outdated, nor inappropriate in any ...
- 3,603
15
votes
Accepted
Fälschen oder verfälschen?
beide Sätze haben eine komplett unterschiedliche Bedeutung.
Er hat meine Unterschrift gefälscht
bedeutet: Er hat selbst die Unterschrift geschrieben / mit einem Kopierer kopiert / reproduziert.
...
- 9,438
14
votes
Accepted
Why do people say "Ich gehe auf die Toilette" instead of "Ich gehe in die Toilette"?
Because Toilette means in everyday language toilet and not bathroom, so in die Toilette gehen means to step into the toilet bowl.
Auf die Toilette gehen comes from auf die Toilette setzen (to sit on ...
- 8,527
14
votes
What if someone says "Ich bin" as a self-introduction?
The difference is in the level of formality vs casualness here.
Ich heiße Fritz Müller
would be a formal, almost stiff way of introducing yourself. Someone presenting himself to a conference ...
- 31.1k
14
votes
Accepted
Adjektiv für Mehrzahl ("liebe Erika und Richard" vs "liebe Erika und lieber Richard")
Liebe Erika und Richard ist weniger ein Grammatik- denn ein Stilproblem
Das Stilempfinden deutscher Prägung leidet unter der fehlenden Adjektivkongruenz. Da das Problem nicht lösbar ist, weicht man ...
- 31.1k
14
votes
Accepted
Using "um...zu" with past participle
They are both technically correct. Your answer, however, is the one that makes more sense in the context. The infinitive clause is final, i.e. it describes a purpose. Did you go to Paris in order to ...
- 25.5k
14
votes
Accepted
Should I use "selbst" or "sogar"?
There is no difference in what both variants express.
But the correct order of words is
Selbst/Sogar die besten Schwimmer können ertrinken.
- 2,137
13
votes
Can I use ‘fahren’ when the mode of transport is not decided?
Yes, but.
Fahren is a generic verb that can work for more or less any mode of transport: ‘Ich fahre mit dem Bus/der Bahn/der Fähre/dem Auto’. However, it is not used as often when you are actually ...
- 38.6k
13
votes
Accepted
What is difference between "mir gegenüber" and "gegen mich"?
No, they mean different things.
gegenüber mir (I would prefer the reverse order mir gegenüber as in your example) means towards me (e.g. in the sense “They are well-disposed towards me”, in German: „...
- 1,197
13
votes
When and why to use a double negative by negating an adjective with ‘un-’
This is not exactly the ‘double negative’ one mainly refers to when using that word. Grammatically, it is a single negative that merely applies to an adjective whose meaning was reversed by a prefix.
...
- 38.6k
13
votes
Accepted
Options for saying, "my number is"
Meine Nummer ist is indeed used quite often in German and not an "English" term at all.
So if you would like to stick with your relative clause construct, it would be
Meine Nummer, an die Sie die ...
- 9,438
12
votes
Is the genitive used at all in everyday German?
The genitive is still being used, especially in more formal contexts. So if you want to learn German beyond a basic level, it is not possible to avoid it.
That being said, if you started to learn ...
- 424
12
votes
Is the genitive used at all in everyday German?
One should distinguish at least between adnominal, prepositional and adverbal Genitive here.
Genitive case as an indicator of possession is very common. This is a usage you know from English. For ...
- 869
12
votes
Accepted
Martha zieht ihre zweijährige Tochter um. Korrekt?
Natürlich ist der Satz richtig. umziehen darf man sehr wohl transitiv verwenden. Von den drei Beispielen, die der Duden für umziehen im Sinne von "Kleidung wechseln" angibt, lautet eines:
Ein Kind ...
- 62.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Why do we still use "Sie" even if the context is disrespectful?
As Burki mentioned in his comment:
The Sie is not only used to show respect, but also to indicate distance. Apart from that it is a language convention, and as such it is a bit hard to get rid of.
...
- 9,274
11
votes
“Ich werde” vs “ich bin”
Your conjecture is correct.
Future tense is used rather rarely in German. Most of the time, present
tense is used to express future actions (not just intended future
actions), in particular if there ...
- 10.4k
11
votes
When can you use 'meines Lebens'?
The phrase »meines Lebens« is just the genitive case of »mein Leben« (my life). You use it whenever you talk about »my life« and when the grammatical construction of your sentence requires genitive ...
- 122k
11
votes
What is the best way to say “gentle reminder” in German?
In the context of a business relation with a customer you'd usually ask if they require additional information before they can reply. That way you don't pressure them, but really remind them gently, ...
- 510
11
votes
This/last/next year/month/week in German
in diesem Jahr
in letztem Jahr im letzten Jahr
in nächstem Jahr im nächsten Jahr
But yes, these are fully interchangeable with dieses Jahr resp. letztes Jahr resp. nächstes Jahr in everyday speech ...
- 57.4k
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