Word
Ich mache mir oft Sorgen.
Meaning
I often worry.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ich mache mir oft Sorgen.
ich
I
machen
to make, to do
oft
often
sich
oneself / himself / herself / themselves (reflexive pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Ich mache mir oft Sorgen.
Why is it mir (dative) and not mich (accusative) here?
In this sentence, the direct object (the thing being made) is Sorgen (worries). Because the accusative case is already taken by Sorgen, the reflexive pronoun 'myself' gets pushed into the dative case, becoming mir. Literally, you are saying 'I make worries for myself.'
Why does oft come after mir?
In German, pronouns almost always want to be as close to the conjugated verb as possible. Therefore, the reflexive pronoun mir directly follows the verb mache, pushing the adverb oft (often) later in the sentence.
Is Sorgen machen the standard way to say 'to worry' in German?
Yes, sich Sorgen machen is the most common way to express worrying. It is a set phrase using the verb machen (to make) and the plural noun Sorgen (worries). You literally say that you 'make worries' for yourself.
How would I say I am worrying about someone or something?
To add what you are worrying about, use the preposition um followed by the accusative case. For example: Ich mache mir oft Sorgen um dich (I often worry about you).