Breakdown of Er übernimmt die Verantwortung keines großen Unternehmens.
er
he
groß
big / tall
kein
no, not any
übernehmen
to take over
das Unternehmen
the company (enterprise)
die Verantwortung
the responsibility
Questions & Answers about Er übernimmt die Verantwortung keines großen Unternehmens.
Why does the adjective großen end in -en here?
In this sentence, keines großen Unternehmens is in the genitive case. Because the negative article keines already shows the strong genitive ending (-es for a neuter noun), the adjective following it takes the weak ending, which is -en.
Why is an -s added to the end of Unternehmen?
In the genitive case, masculine and neuter nouns take an extra -s or -es at the end. Since das Unternehmen (the company) is neuter, it becomes Unternehmens.
Why use keines here instead of nicht to mean "isn't"?
In German, when you negate a noun that lacks a definite article, you use forms of kein. The English translation says "isn't taking... of any large company," which German expresses as taking the responsibility of no large company (keines großen Unternehmens).
Why doesn't the prefix über- move to the end of the sentence?
The verb übernehmen (to take over) is an inseparable verb. While über- can be a separable prefix in some other German verbs, it stays firmly attached here, giving us er übernimmt.
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