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### Twins and Opposites

You can use words like **völlig** (completely) and **verschieden** (different) to describe polar opposites.

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### On the Other Hand: dagegen

To draw a strong contrast between two things or people, use the adverb **dagegen** (on the other hand / by contrast).

Because it is an adverb rather than a conjunction, it can sit comfortably in the middle of a clause. A common placement is right after the conjugated verb.

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### Emphasizing the Subject

For a stronger contrast, you can attach **dagegen** directly after the subject of the second clause. 

When you do this, the subject and **dagegen** group together to form a single unit occupying the first position. To maintain the verb-second (V2) rule, the conjugated verb immediately follows them.

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### The Complete Opposite

To state that two things are entirely backwards from one another, use the noun **das Gegenteil** (the opposite).

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You can also use **dagegen** to contrast lifestyles (**der Lebensstil**).

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Connectors of contrast (dagegen)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the twin	der Zwilling
completely	völlig
different	verschieden
Peter and Tom are twins, but they are completely different.	Peter und Tom sind Zwillinge, aber sie sind völlig verschieden.
diligent	fleißig
extremely	extrem
lazy	faul
Peter is very diligent, Tom on the other hand is extremely lazy.	Peter ist sehr fleißig, Tom ist dagegen extrem faul.
chaotic	chaotisch
untidy	unordentlich
The room of a chaotic twin is extremely untidy.	Das Zimmer eines chaotischen Zwillings ist extrem unordentlich.
Peter wants to work every day, Tom on the other hand sleeps until noon.	Peter will jeden Tag arbeiten, Tom dagegen schläft bis Mittag.
The life of a diligent twin is extremely exhausting.	Das Leben eines fleißigen Zwillings ist extrem anstrengend.
The lazy twin is extremely untidy, Peter on the other hand is very tidy.	Der faule Zwilling ist extrem unordentlich, Peter dagegen ist sehr ordentlich.
the lifestyle	der Lebensstil
The twins live together, but the lifestyles are completely different.	Die Zwillinge wohnen zusammen, aber die Lebensstile sind völlig verschieden.
the opposite	das Gegenteil
Peter learns a lot, Tom on the other hand is the complete opposite.	Peter lernt viel, Tom ist dagegen das völlige Gegenteil.
The chaotic twin wants to play, the diligent brother on the other hand wants to work.	Der chaotische Zwilling will spielen, der fleißige Bruder will dagegen arbeiten.
He lives in an extremely untidy house, the brother on the other hand loves order.	Er lebt in einem extrem unordentlichen Haus, der Bruder dagegen liebt die Ordnung.
Peter's lifestyle is healthy, Tom's lifestyle on the other hand is completely chaotic.	Peters Lebensstil ist gesund, Toms Lebensstil ist dagegen völlig chaotisch.
The lazy twin sleeps long, but the diligent brother works.	Der faule Zwilling schläft lange, aber der fleißige Bruder arbeitet.
My twin is extremely chaotic, I on the other hand am the opposite.	Mein Zwilling ist extrem chaotisch, ich bin dagegen das Gegenteil.
the difference	der Unterschied
There is a big difference between the two apartments.	Zwischen den beiden Wohnungen gibt es einen großen Unterschied.
That is an important difference.	Das ist ein wichtiger Unterschied.

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