Breakdown of Der Therapeut wartet darauf, dass die Panik verschwindet.
dass
that
warten auf
to wait for
darauf
on it
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
verschwinden
to disappear
die Panik
the panic
der Therapeut
the therapist
Questions & Answers about Der Therapeut wartet darauf, dass die Panik verschwindet.
Why do we need darauf before the dass clause?
In German, you often need a placeholder in the main sentence to point forward to an upcoming dass clause. Since the verb warten requires a preposition to connect to an object, we use a "da-compound" (darauf) to stand in for the whole upcoming idea. It translates literally to: "The therapist waits for it, that the panic disappears."
Why does darauf use auf instead of für, since we are waiting for something?
Prepositions rarely translate word-for-word between English and German. While we "wait for" something in English, the German verb warten always pairs with the preposition auf (literally "to wait on"). Because the underlying phrase is warten auf, the anticipatory placeholder must be darauf, never dafür.
Where does the r in darauf come from?
Da-compounds are formed by combining da with a preposition. When the preposition starts with a vowel (like auf), an -r- is added in the middle to make it flow better and easier to pronounce. So, da + auf becomes darauf.
Why does verschwindet go at the very end of the sentence?
The second half of the sentence is a subordinate clause introduced by dass (that). Subordinating conjunctions always kick the conjugated verb—in this case, verschwindet—all the way to the end of their clause.
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