All Questions
23
questions
7
votes
2
answers
156
views
Wie habe ich das nur gemacht?
So the question is in the title.
Because my German is still very basic, and I only know that "nur" means "only", I was wondering if in this phrasing it acts something like a modal ...
- 83
0
votes
3
answers
147
views
Translation: "Vorzügliches" in English
I would like to translate the following sentence into English, taken from a handwritten document produced in 1804 in Prague:
"Welche Beweise sind für den Satz über das Gleichgewicht am Hebel ...
- 1
5
votes
1
answer
189
views
What does *her* add to the meaning of this sentence?
(NB: If this question starts out looking very familiar to you, this is because it is in fact my second question about the same snippet of text. The first one is this one: "andern" vs "...
- 3,525
2
votes
1
answer
93
views
Split a sentence into elements
I try to decompose this sentence in elements and I am not sure how to do it:
Was ist denn das für eine Geschichte?
This may translate as "What kind of story is this?" (not sure).
Could you ...
- 123
1
vote
3
answers
204
views
Expressing "keep/bring in line" in German"
I am having troubles expressing "bringing/keeping someone in line" in German. This is synonymous with, "to keep somebody in control", or in German, closely related to "...
- 2,751
4
votes
1
answer
201
views
To "give something a boost" in German
I was wondering if you could help me properly express "to give something a boost" in German, where this generally means to "improve" or "re-energize". I was always under ...
- 2,751
2
votes
4
answers
199
views
To play with resilience/persistence
I was wondering if somebody could help me out here. I've done numerous google searches, but can't seem to find anything concrete. In English, we would say, "A team played with resilience" or ...
- 2,751
0
votes
1
answer
548
views
To "have something in mind", in German
Recently I was having a conversation which made me question how one expresses, "to have something in mind", as in, "to think something would be a good suggestion". I was always under the assumption ...
- 2,751
1
vote
2
answers
172
views
Correctly expressing "provisions" in German
I have a question as to how to appropriately express the word "provisions" in German. By provisions, I mean the following definition in English:
Provision: a measure taken beforehand to deal with a ...
- 2,751
5
votes
8
answers
4k
views
To "hit home" in German
I was wondering what the correct way of expressing "to hit home" with somebody in German is. To hit home in English means: Suppose you have had a bad experience in the past, maybe a family member died ...
- 2,751
2
votes
1
answer
113
views
Expressing "feed off of" in German
Quick question: I am looking for the best way to express "feed off of" in a figurative sense in German. Here are some examples:
The soldiers feed off of the courage of the general.
The band feeds off ...
- 2,751
5
votes
6
answers
260
views
Expressing "To give something an X spin/bias" in German
I am looking for a good way to express sentences such as,
This newspaper gives the news a conservative spin/bias.
We need to put a positive spin on the bad news.
I see in some dictionaries an almost ...
- 2,751
5
votes
1
answer
110
views
prallen aufeinander, or X prallt auf Y?
I had a quick question about "aufeinander prallen". I know we can say things like,
Diese Ideen prallen aufeinander.
Die zwei Kulturen prallten aufeinander.
In both instances, this reflects things "...
- 2,751
9
votes
2
answers
297
views
What is the difference between "härten", "verhärten", and "abhärten"?
I am looking for the difference between these three verbs. All dictionaries I’ve looked at suggest “harden”, and the boundaries between them are hard to distinguish. From what I gather:
Somebody “...
- 141
4
votes
2
answers
293
views
I've messed up the heads of many people with my German, but how can I express this?
I am wondering how one properly expresses, "to mess up somebody's head", in German. Let me give you two examples:
The constant propaganda took its toll and messed up his head.
Drugs really ...
- 2,751