58
votes
Accepted
Isn't it demanding to ask for something with "Ich möchte"?
"Ich möchte" doesn't really correspond to "I want", but more to something like "I would like...". "I want" would be more something like "ich will", ...
- 20.4k
35
votes
Accepted
stressing of "umfahren" in German dialects
This is not a matter of regional variations of pronunciation. This is pronounced everywhere the same.
But we are talking here about two distinct verbs, one of them is separable, the other not, which ...
- 126k
32
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between "downloaden", "runterladen" and "herunterladen"?
There is no difference in meaning.
"downloaden" is obviously borrowed from English ... however it's a proper loan word, i.e. it takes on forms that are allowed for a verb in German but that ...
- 2,373
19
votes
Accepted
Why is there a final “ein” in “Ich schlaf mit einem Messer ein”?
German has a feature, that only a very small number of languages have (English doesn't have it): Separable verbs. »Einschlafen« (to fall asleep) is such a separable verb. It is derived from »schlafen« ...
- 126k
19
votes
Accepted
When to use 'angeboten' and when to use 'bot'?
The verb is, in its infinitive form (the form you need to look it up in a dictionary):
to offer = anbieten
Like in
I want to offer you a drink.
Ich möchte dir ein Getränk anbieten.
The form for ...
- 126k
19
votes
Accepted
“Da endlich sieht sie der Kapitän.” – Why “sieht” instead of “sehen”?
Because the conjugation of the finite verb agrees to the subject.
Da endlich sieht sie der Kapitän.
To understand a German sentence correctly, you have to pick up all the clues given. The verb ...
- 64.6k
16
votes
Having trouble with "wird" and "ist"
The sentence is in passive voice. In English, passive voice is constructed with “to be” and a past participle, in German it is constructed with “werden” and a past participle.
- 21.1k
15
votes
How do I translate "he/she/it has been [doing something]" into German, referring to something that is still going on?
German has a much simpler tense system than English.
"die er bewacht" is fine. Native speakers of German understand from context that the guarding probably started at some point in the past, ...
- 3,180
13
votes
stressing of "umfahren" in German dialects
The two forms of umfahren differ not only in stressing, but also in the much more differentiating aspect of separability. One is a separable verb, the other isn't (so we actually have two different ...
- 66.4k
13
votes
Accepted
What is the verb in this sentence?
"Sich die Ehre geben" is an idiom. It means something in the lines of "to take pride in gracing an event with an appearance" or is used as a fancy way to say "to be there"...
- 28.2k
12
votes
What is the difference between "downloaden", "runterladen" and "herunterladen"?
"Herunterladen" is the actual German translation for "download".
"Runterladen" is just colloquial speech, where "runter" is a lazy reduction of "herunter&...
- 10.3k
12
votes
Isn't it demanding to ask for something with "Ich möchte"?
"Ich möchte" is perceived as a more polite form of "ich will", so translating both to "I want" will lose important nuance and arguably be wrong.
Grammatically, "ich ...
- 21.1k
12
votes
sich verstecken
It's an ellipsis.
… nicht genau wissen, wo Kämpfer versteckt (sind), wo die Waffendepots sind, …
It's not a good ellipsis as otherwise you had understood it.
- 64.6k
11
votes
Accepted
Unterschied zwischen "etwas ziehen" und "an etwas ziehen"
Ok, I‘ll try to explain:
Etwas ziehen is usually used when you pull something in order to move it in a specific direction: the intention of ziehen here is to move it.
An etwas ziehen is used when you ...
- 9,751
11
votes
What is the verb placement after a prepositional phrase at the beginning of a sentence?
As usual, the verb is in second position. There is no comma, so it should read
[In meinem Haus] [muss] [ich] ...
Where the brackets show the inseperable parts of the sentence.
- 18.6k
11
votes
How is the verb "sollen" normally conjugated
First of all: German tenses are very different from English tenses. German has only 6 tenses, English has 16. And German tenses are used very different. Gegenwart, a German tense similar to English ...
- 126k
10
votes
What is the difference between fragen and nachfragen?
Fragen is a very open act and would be the closest translation to the word "to ask". It can be used almost always as the translation, but sometimes it wouldn't be a good form.
Nachfragen on the ...
- 2,353
10
votes
Verb in third position not followed by adverb
First, the address ach Gott is not part of the sentence. This can easily be seen from the following examples, where an address has been prepended to the major sentence types of German.
Hans, hast ...
- 27.3k
10
votes
Accepted
lernen as a modal verb
The verb "lernen" is not a modal verb. German has 6 modal verbs, and they are:
dürfen
Ich darf schwimmen. - I may swim.
können
Ich kann schwimmen. - I can swim.
mögen
Ich mag ...
- 126k
10
votes
Accepted
Why is it »aus führen« and not »ausführen«?
The verb used is führen, not ausführen
In your sentence, aus belongs to von zu Hause aus, describing the place: from home.
A rough translation might be
She would lead the affairs of state from home.
...
- 1,314
10
votes
Accepted
Cancelled abgesägt abgesagt or storniert
Yes, the correct translation for to cancel highly depends on context and speech register.
A good start in the right direction is to reverse-translate the German translations for cancel.
absagen
-einen ...
- 18.6k
10
votes
Isn't it demanding to ask for something with "Ich möchte"?
"Ich möchte" does not translate as "I want". It means that you have a wish, not a demand. To a waiter you would typically say "Ich möchte bitte das Steak" which is a bit ...
- 11k
9
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between ‘anschauen’ and ‘ansehen’?
There is almost no difference in meaning.
According to Duden Online, anschauen is used mostly in the southern part of Germany (Bavarian, Alemannic) and in Austria, Switzerland, or in literature, with ...
- 116
9
votes
“Da endlich sieht sie der Kapitän.” – Why “sieht” instead of “sehen”?
Rearranging the sentence yields
Da sieht der Kapitän sie endlich.
or even
Der Kapitän sieht sie endlich.
which make the meaning and the structural parts clearer. (See here for another example ...
- 269
9
votes
Accepted
Can I use the verb "schaffen" in a sentence "They accomplish their goals"?
The sentence is exactly what someone could say in that context. Nevertheless is „etwas schaffen“ used like that more colloquial. In written newspaper articles you might rather find „Sie erreichen ihre ...
- 9,751
9
votes
Accepted
What is the difference in the usage of the verbs "lernen" and "studieren"?
It's more complicated.
Anke studiert Mathe.
Anke is enrolled in the Mathematics program of a university.
Anke lernt Mathe.
Anke took her math book out, she reads it, and does some exercises. ...
- 64.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Use of "lassen" change intransitive verbs to transitive verbs
"lassen" is the most common way in German to form a causative and corresponds to English "make" and "let". To cite the Wikipedia article:
A language may have one or more ...
- 4,505
8
votes
Accepted
"Mach ich" vs "Ich werde es machen"
Your friend used a colloquial form of expressing that he will do it. Note that the second sentence also misses a subject, which is not normally possible in German.
Regarding the word order, you can ...
- 21.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Wie soll man eingedeutschte Verben richtig konjugieren?
Ich habe mal mit Arbeitskollegen über den korrekten Plural von "Status" diskutiert und nachdem wir mit "Statüsse" nicht zufrieden waren, haben wir uns auf "Zustände" geeinigt. Manchmal gibt es eine ...
- 2,075
8
votes
Accepted
Difference between "sich ärgern über", "wütend sein auf", and "genervt sein von"?
"Be angry about" is only a very, very rough translation of these three German terms. The English language has its own ways to express the subtleties. A good dictionary should give you valuable ...
- 31.2k
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