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 Language Learning Forum : Questions About Your Target Languages |  | |
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5398 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes  | Message 57 of 126 27 August 2014 at 10:43pm | IP Logged | ||
In German, there are two kinds of passive voice: Zustandspassiv and Vorganspassiv. The first focuses on the state or condition of something or something, the second on the process: Der Brief wird geschrieben: The letter is (being) written just now, somebody writes the letter this moment Der Brief ist geschrieben: The letter is written and now finished, somebody has written it. English does not differenciate these two properly. Der Tisch ist bestellt means, someone has ordered the table and it isn't any more available for other guests. Der Tisch wird bestellt on the other hand means, someone is ordering it, it is being ordered just now. Edited by Cabaire on 27 August 2014 at 10:50pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5398 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 58 of 126 27 August 2014 at 11:09pm | IP Logged | ||
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I suppose, your Global Positioning System has used the dative plural:
Nach hundert Metern biegen Sie bitte rechts ab. (Please turn left after 100 meters) The nominative has no plural ending: ein Meter, zwei Meter, mehrer Meter 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5398 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 59 of 126 28 August 2014 at 10:32pm | IP Logged | ||
You can use the present continuous in English for future arrangements and plans: I am leaving on Sunday. (I have decided to leave on Sunday, it is my plan.) Maybe the context was not that someone was showing these things just at that moment, but had arranged and planed it, so a German translation with the auxilary verb "wollen" seemed adequate. Edited by Cabaire on 28 August 2014 at 10:33pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cabaire Senior Member Germany Joined 5398 days ago 725 posts - 1352 votes | Message 60 of 126 28 August 2014 at 10:45pm | IP Logged | ||
The use of prepositions is a highly idiomatic topic. There are many fixed usages. "Sie wohnt bei ihren Eltern" implies, that it is the house or appartment of her parents and she is an adjunct. Compare: Ich wohne bei meinem Freund. (His flat) Mein Freund wohnt bei mir. (My flat) Ich und mein Freund wohnen zusammen (neutral) After the phrase with "mit" I expect a location or the word "zusammen": Sie wohnt mit ihren Eltern zusammen. Sie wohnt mit ihren Eltern in einem Wohnwagen / in Leipzig / in einem kleinen Haus. 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 3881 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 61 of 126 02 September 2014 at 4:04pm | IP Logged | ||
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Many thanks Cabaire!!!!!
I found it crazy that we werent told about the second kind of passiv at the end of A2- WTF. One more question, this time from Assimil. I am trying to parse the last clause of the following sentence: ...bis auf alten Mann, der eingeschlafen zu sein scheint. On its own, I guess we can write it as: Der Mann scheint eingeschlafen zu sein. This seems to be a strange word order. I guess it is using the zu construct, so it is sein as the infinitive, but the order of eingeschlafen and sein is switched. Hmm, maybe that is the rule. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Josquin Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 4643 days ago 2266 posts - 3992 votes Speaks: German*, English, French, Latin, Italian, Russian, Swedish Studies: Japanese, Irish, Portuguese, Persian | Message 62 of 126 02 September 2014 at 5:57pm | IP Logged | ||
What do you mean by "the word order is switched"? It's exactly the same in both sentences ("eingeschlafen zu sein")! The only actual change in word order is the position of the conjugated verb "scheint", which goes at the end of the relative clause just as usual. Or do you mean the word order is switched in comparison to English? Well, yes, that is the rule. Unfortunately, German isn't English grammar with German words, but it has a grammar of its own. Edited by Josquin on 02 September 2014 at 6:04pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Doitsujin Diglot Senior Member Germany Joined 5119 days ago 1256 posts - 2363 votes Speaks: German*, English | Message 63 of 126 02 September 2014 at 9:48pm | IP Logged | ||
It might more sense to you, if you parsed "eingeschlafen" as an adjective, because you'll often find an adjective in this type of sentence. Ein alter Mann, der eingeschlafen zu sein scheint. = An old man, who appears to be asleep. Or, if you rephrase it: Der Mann scheint eingeschlafen zu sein. = The man appears to be asleep. You could replace "eingeschlafen" with pretty much any adjective and the sentence would still make sense. For example: Der Mann scheint müde zu sein. = The man appears to be tired. Der Mann scheint gut bekannt zu sein. = The man appears to be well-known. Edited by Doitsujin on 02 September 2014 at 9:58pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 3881 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 64 of 126 03 September 2014 at 2:26am | IP Logged | ||
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^^Yes, precisely the eingeschlafen verb was confusing me, I had not seen
verb.....verb zu verb construct before, I had only encountered verb...zu verb To clarify, in the original sentence, we have two verbs around zu (eingeschlafen zu sein) only because of the past tense? In the present tense it would be: Der Mann scheint einzuschlafen. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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