Path: ...!news.mixmin.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Ruud Harmsen Newsgroups: sci.lang Subject: Re: Official German spelling update Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2024 20:56:10 +0200 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 55 Message-ID: References: <87o77158s5.fsf@parhasard.net> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Injection-Date: Sun, 14 Jul 2024 20:56:11 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="587410828c31c9b4ba5b807244a6a08e"; logging-data="299102"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX19eHoCrAI9pkRVUVgQzLHmz" Cancel-Lock: sha1:slKsKte49mXY3OYx0Ak7kU8c0O4= X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American) Bytes: 2869 14 Jul 2024 11:20:54 GMT: ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) scribeva: >Antonio Marques wrote or quoted: >>Could you break down _Vielen Dank_ grammatically for us? > > Certainly! I'd be happy to break down the German phrase "Vielen > Dank" grammatically for you. Let's analyze each component: > > "Vielen" > > - Part of speech: Adjective > - Case: Accusative > - Number: Plural Wrong. It's singular here. > - Gender: Not specified (as it's plural) > - Meaning: "Many" or "Much" > > "Vielen" is the declined form of the adjective "viel" (meaning > "much" or "many"). It's in the accusative case and plural form. > > "Dank" > > - Part of speech: Noun > - Case: Accusative > - Number: Singular > - Gender: Masculine > - Meaning: "Thanks" or "Gratitude" > > "Dank" is a masculine noun meaning "thanks" or "gratitude." > It's in the accusative case. > > The phrase "Vielen Dank" is a shortened version of a complete > sentence. In its full form, it would be: > > "Ich sage Ihnen vielen Dank." (I give you many thanks.) > > In this complete sentence: > - "Vielen" modifies "Dank" > - "Dank" is the direct object of the verb "sagen" (to say), > which is why it's in the accusative case > > However, in everyday usage, Germans often omit the subject > and verb, leaving just the object phrase "Vielen Dank" > as a common expression of gratitude. > > This phrase is used as a polite and somewhat formal way of > saying "Thank you very much" in German. It's more emphatic > than the simple "Danke" (thanks) and is appropriate in > many social and professional situations. -- Ruud Harmsen, https://rudhar.com