Breakdown of Er behauptet viel und tut so, als ob er ein Genie wäre.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
er
he
und
and
viel
much / a lot
tun
to do
so
so, such (intensifier)
als ob
as if
behaupten
to claim
das Genie
the genius
Questions & Answers about Er behauptet viel und tut so, als ob er ein Genie wäre.
Why do we use wäre instead of ist in the second half of this sentence?
We use wäre, the Konjunktiv II form of sein (to be), because he isn't actually a genius. The phrase als ob (as if) sets up an irreal or hypothetical comparison. Just like in English ("as if he were"), German uses this special verb form to show that the statement is only imaginary and contrary to reality.
Why is the verb wäre pushed all the way to the end of the sentence?
The phrase als ob acts as a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and follows the standard rule of forcing the conjugated verb (wäre) to the very end of that clause.
What exactly does tut so mean, and why is the so there?
tut so comes from the phrase so tun, which literally means "to do so" but is the standard German way to say "to pretend" or "to act like". When paired with als ob, the whole structure so tun, als ob translates to "to act as if". The word so acts as a pointer to the comparison that follows.
Could I write this sentence using just als instead of als ob?
Yes, but it changes the word order! If you drop the ob and just use als, the conjugated verb moves to the position immediately after als. The second half of the sentence would become als wäre er ein Genie. Both versions mean the exact same thing and are very common.
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