Breakdown of Vor der Therapie hatte ich große Angst davor, dass ich in der Höhe stehen muss.
ich
I
groß
big / tall
in
in
müssen
to have to, must
stehen
to stand
vor
before (in time)
Angst haben
to be afraid
dass
that
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
davor
of it (e.g. afraid) / before it
die Höhe
the height
die Therapie
the therapy
Questions & Answers about Vor der Therapie hatte ich große Angst davor, dass ich in der Höhe stehen muss.
Why do we need davor before the dass-clause?
In German, the phrase for being afraid of something is Angst haben vor. Because the thing you are afraid of here is an entire action described in a dass-clause (having to stand at a height), you cannot just put the preposition vor right next to dass. Instead, you use the anticipatory compound davor in the main clause as a placeholder, pointing ahead to the explanation in the dass-clause.
Why is the word order hatte ich instead of ich hatte?
German main clauses follow the V2 rule, meaning the conjugated verb must always be the second element. Since the sentence starts with the time phrase Vor der Therapie (which counts as a single block in Position 1), the verb hatte must take Position 2. This pushes the subject ich right after the verb into Position 3.
Why does the sentence use große Angst instead of a German word for "very"?
In English, you say you are "very" afraid, using an adverb to describe a feeling. In German, Angst is a noun meaning fear, and you say that you "have" it. To intensify a noun, you must use an adjective. Therefore, German speakers say they have große Angst (big or great fear) to mean they are very afraid.
The main clause is in the past tense (hatte). Why is the final verb in the present tense (muss)?
While English usually matches tenses across the whole sentence (I was afraid I had to), German is often more flexible in subordinate clauses. The fear itself occurred in the past (hatte), but the thing being feared (the general rule or condition of standing at heights) can be expressed in the present tense (muss). Using the past tense stehen musste would also be perfectly correct here.
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