Breakdown of Ärgert ihr euch über den Fehler?
ihr
you (informal plural)
der Fehler
the mistake
über
about (a topic)
sich ärgern
to be annoyed / to be angry
Questions & Answers about Ärgert ihr euch über den Fehler?
Why is the word euch in this sentence?
The verb here is sich ärgern (to be annoyed). Because the subject is ihr (you plural, informal), the reflexive pronoun must match it. The accusative reflexive pronoun for ihr is euch.
English says 'Are you annoyed', which isn't reflexive. Why does German use a reflexive verb?
In German, you don't usually say you are annoyed using the verb 'to be'. Instead, you use the action verb sich ärgern, which literally translates to 'to anger oneself' or 'to annoy oneself'. So the sentence is structured like: 'Do you annoy yourselves about the mistake?'
Doesn't über usually mean 'over' or 'above'? Why is it translated as 'about'?
While über often means 'over' or 'above' when talking about physical location, many German verbs pair with specific prepositions. The fixed phrase sich ärgern über always means 'to be annoyed about' or 'to be angry about'.
Why is it den Fehler instead of der Fehler?
The preposition über requires the accusative case when it is used in the phrase sich ärgern über. Because Fehler (mistake) is a masculine noun, der changes to den in the accusative.
Why does euch come right after ihr instead of at the end of the sentence?
In a yes/no question, the conjugated verb (Ärgert) comes first, followed immediately by the subject (ihr). The reflexive pronoun (euch) needs to stay as close to the subject as possible, so it comes right after it.
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