Breakdown of Man sitzt auf dem Eis. Trotzdem friert man nicht.
nicht
not
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
sitzen
to sit
man
one / you (impersonal)
trotzdem
nevertheless
das Eis
the ice
frieren
to freeze
Questions & Answers about Man sitzt auf dem Eis. Trotzdem friert man nicht.
Why is the word order Trotzdem friert man and not Trotzdem man friert?
Trotzdem is an adverb, not a coordinating conjunction like und or aber. When you put an adverb in the very first position of a sentence (Position 1), the verb must immediately follow it in Position 2. The subject (man) is then pushed to the other side of the verb.
Does man literally mean 'man' here?
No, man with a single 'n' is an impersonal pronoun. It translates to 'one', 'you' (in a general sense), or 'people'. If you wanted to say 'The man sits on the ice', you would use the capitalized noun der Mann.
Why is it auf dem Eis instead of auf das Eis?
auf is a two-way preposition. Because you are already sitting in a fixed location on the ice (answering the question 'where?'), it takes the dative case (dem). If you were moving onto the ice (answering 'where to?'), you would use the accusative case (das).
Why does nicht come at the very end of the second sentence?
In German main clauses, when you negate the entire action of the sentence, nicht usually goes to the very end. Here, it negates the verb friert (freezes), so it is placed after the subject.
Learn Man sitzt auf dem Eis. Trotzdem friert man nicht and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free