“That this though”
***
All lessons, tools and premium features (and there’s a LOT of them :).
Already a member?
This article belongs to the following series:
Audio SpeedAdjust the playback speed for audio examples -- still sounds fine down to about 70%.
Dark Mode Switch between light and dark mode -- your choice is remembered for future visits.
Still a work in progress, so let me know if you spot a glitch.
The full power of my site for 72 hours.
All lessons and all tools, no credit card needed because I'm not a shark.
I just read this article about dies und das. Loved it. I learned a few things, even though I’m a native German. Gut gemacht, Emanuel — danke!
Ach nee, das wusste ich garnicht :D
Oh yea.. at the beginning when I read “ So how do we say that then in German?”.. I also asked myself that and was like “Wait.. I can’t think of it. Is my German that bad that I don’t even know what “That” is in German?”
Then I kept reading and I couldn’t agree more… Who needs it?
By the way, “[…] can you feel those abs… […] “What do you mean ‘those’. I only have one pair.”.” got me really laughing there! Thanks for the article :)
nice points
This was the best explanation of the German equivalent of “this and that” that I have ever read! What a great nugget, which was much more than a nugget. I am guilty of using “jene,” not knowing of its vibe. I needed to know how to say “this one and that one.” I feel I should have already known all that, but I did not. I have wondered so much about the use of “dies” as a pronoun. Thanks for such an informative Advent note,
Hi Emanuel, I read your blog since 1 year and my favorite absolutes Blog Entrys are the ones like today: you explaining something, that wouldn´t be said in text books nad only a Muttersprachler would “sense”/”ein Sprachgefühl haben”. Because I DID learn und USED a lot “dies” for “that” and know I felt I learned somethings that I would´t in my german lessons :) Thank you a lot for making that possible !!
Good. And super easy to understand
Are you okay, Emanuel?
There was no calendar post today (day 15), so I got a little concerned. I hope everything is well.
I’m travelling. Post is up but I am not updating the front page as regularly. Email newsletter is where it’s at.
I hate newsletters so I only check the site.
Glad to know all is well.
Great! Das war super
Ich habe gerade erst meine German Prefix Karte bekommen! Woo Hoo. Die Rückadresse kommt aus “Gerry Yasfbara” in California – for what its worth. Was für ein schönes Weihnachtsgeschenk von mir zu mir!
“Die Rückadresse kommt aus “Gerry Yasfbara” in California”
Uhm… please elaborate! Is that written on the package??
Sorry for my German. That was the return address that was printed on the package. From one of your earlier emails, I was expecting the cards to come from China but instead the return address shows that it came from California by that Gerry guy.
Might be their warehouse solution then. Maybe they ship in bulk to the west coast and then deliver out from there. Thanks for letting know, though!!
Now that we’ve been given permission not to try to translate every “that” or “this” as “jene” or “dies”, can you also free is from trying to turn every progressive tense (doing, making, etc-ing), into some weird “sein tun” or “sein am machen” construct?
Henceforth, you shall just use the normal present or past. And it shall be perfect. Go now, and speak.
You’ve mentioned yonder, but not yon. It’s a bit regional and rural. Yon cow needs a visit from the vet (or to be even more regional and rural, yon cow wants a visit from the vet).
I actually didn’t know about “yon” but from your example it seems it’s the exact brother of “jene-“
Sehr cool! 50 years ago we were taught to use “jene” but I have to admit that the only place I encountered it was in “Der Lindenbaum.”
This clears up quite a few questions I had on this subject. Thanks, Emanuel
Regarding the fitness thing — it seems a bit over the top to me also. It feels like this is how drill sergeants would drill, which I guess someone in charge of a large class might wish to sound. Someone loud. I could imagine a fire chief directing his firefighters in this manner, or a construction boss.
Right – spot on. So the ‘tighten those glutes’ aren’t directed to just one person’s glutes, but a platoon or yoga class’s worth of glutes. Good call!
Well, but they do say “squeeze that biceps” and not “those bicepses”, so I think those Youtubers, in their mind, address one person directly. The origin can of course be the military or whatever, but I think it has come into its own.
Das hier ist eine gute Diskussion und klärt einige meiner Verwirrungen bei der Übersetzung auf.
Das hier ist super. Das was du da geschrieben hast ist super. Die Idee da ist ganz einfach. Wie das Lied da, kenst du dieses, das die Fantastische Vier singt: Ist das die da? Oder die da? Nein Freitags ist sie nie da! Die da, die da, die da…
Hahaha, super gemacht.
“kenst du dieses”
Das sollte auch “das” sein.
Hallo!
Only one typo:
“A the vibe is a bit like yonder, maybe” (The vibe is a bit like yonder, maybe)
Thanks, this was a very informative article, basic as the theme may sound, it’s explained a lot, sometimes we learners fail to understand these little things :))
Bis morgen!
Very useful. I’ve definitely seen ‘das’ used a lot in these kinds of situations. So my takeaway is try to use articles rather than ‘dies.’
And thinking about the fitness video thing, German seems to use ‘the’ articles a lot more than English? Like in English “I am combing my hair” but in German “Ich kamme mir die Haare.” Which of course still has sort of a possessive due to mir, but to my American ear sounds different. Maybe there’s a parallel or maybe just in my funny brain.
I told you not to use that there tractor: she’s broke. Use tother one yonder.
Tractor is a “she”? That’s so cute :).
There’s gold in them thar hills!
Also just also wanted to mention you see “dies” used online on reddit etc like the english “this” as a single word response to someone’s comment. And it seems as annoying in german as it does in english.
OMG, I hate that soooo much. I see it on Twitter all the time, from people of all ages, and I find it sooooo stupid. Either use “das” or “das hier”, which is how you talk, or just use “This” if that’s what you’re going for.
I fear it might catch on though.
lowkey dies :)
LOL!