Breakdown of Wer ist für das Projekt verantwortlich?
sein
to be
wer
who
für
for
das Projekt
the project
verantwortlich
responsible
Questions & Answers about Wer ist für das Projekt verantwortlich?
Why does this sentence use für?
The adjective verantwortlich (responsible) has a fixed prepositional partner: für. Just like in English, you have to learn these pairs together as a set. When you want to say you are responsible for something in German, you will always use verantwortlich für.
Why is verantwortlich all the way at the end of the sentence?
In German, when you have a main conjugated verb like ist and a descriptive adjective like verantwortlich, the adjective typically goes to the very end of the clause. The prepositional object (für das Projekt) gets placed right before the adjective it describes.
Why is it das Projekt and not dem Projekt?
The preposition für is a strict accusative preposition. Even though it is part of a fixed phrase with verantwortlich, it still follows its own grammar rule: any noun following für must always be in the accusative case. Because Projekt is a neuter noun, the accusative form is simply das Projekt.
Could I say Wer ist für das Projekt zuständig? instead?
Yes! Both verantwortlich für and zuständig für can translate to responsible for or in charge of. Zuständig usually means it is someone's assigned job or administrative duty to handle the project. Verantwortlich carries a deeper sense of accountability, meaning that person will take the blame or get the praise for the project's final outcome.
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