Word
Hast du dir das System selber beigebracht?
Meaning
Did you teach yourself the system?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hast du dir das System selber beigebracht?
du
you (informal singular)
haben
to have
dir
you / to you [informal singular, dative]
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
Questions & Answers about Hast du dir das System selber beigebracht?
Why is selber used here instead of selbst?
selber and selbst mean the exact same thing here (emphasizing that you did it on your own). selber is simply the colloquial, spoken version of selbst. In written or formal German, you would usually read: Hast du dir das System selbst beigebracht?
Why is the reflexive pronoun dir in the dative case instead of the accusative dich?
The verb beibringen (to teach) takes two objects: the thing being taught (accusative) and the person it is taught to (dative). Because das System is the direct object in the accusative case, the reflexive pronoun must be in the dative case (dir). You are teaching the system to yourself.
What is the difference between beibringen and verbs like lernen or lehren?
lernen means to learn. lehren means to teach, but it is highly formal and mostly used in academic contexts. beibringen is the standard, everyday verb for teaching someone a skill, subject, or fact.
Could I put selber somewhere else in this sentence?
Yes, you could place it right after the reflexive pronoun: Hast du dir selber das System beigebracht? Placing it right before the past participle beigebracht puts slightly more emphasis on the action of teaching yourself, but both positions are common and perfectly correct.