Breakdown of Mit großer Motivation kann man sich alles selbst beibringen.
groß
big / tall
können
can / to be able to
mit
with
man
one / you (impersonal)
alles
everything
sich
oneself / himself / herself / themselves (reflexive pronoun)
selbst
oneself, myself (emphatic); even
beibringen
to teach
die Motivation
the motivation
Questions & Answers about Mit großer Motivation kann man sich alles selbst beibringen.
Why do we need selbst here if the sentence already has sich?
The pronoun sich just makes the verb reflexive, showing that the action is directed at the subject (teaching to yourself). Adding the intensifier selbst emphasizes that you are doing it entirely on your own, without a teacher or outside help.
Could I use selber instead of selbst in this sentence?
Yes, you could say ... kann man sich alles selber beibringen. Both words mean exactly the same thing here. selber is just a more casual, conversational version used mostly in spoken German, while selbst is standard in both speaking and writing.
Why is the reflexive pronoun sich in the dative case here?
The verb structure is jemandem etwas beibringen (to teach someone something). The person being taught is the indirect object (dative), and the thing being taught (alles) is the direct object (accusative). Because the subject is the impersonal man, its dative reflexive pronoun is sich.
Why does the adjective in mit großer Motivation end in -er?
The preposition mit always forces the dative case, and the noun Motivation is feminine. Because there is no article (like der or einer) in front of the adjective to show the case, the adjective groß has to take the strong dative feminine ending, which is -er.
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