Breakdown of Der Doppelgänger ist meinem Bruder sehr ähnlich.
sein
to be
sehr
very
mein
my
der Bruder
the brother
der Doppelgänger
the doppelganger
ähnlich
similar
Questions & Answers about Der Doppelgänger ist meinem Bruder sehr ähnlich.
Why is meinem Bruder in the dative case here?
The adjective ähnlich (similar) is one of a special group of adjectives that directly require the dative case. Instead of using a preposition (like the English word 'to'), German simply puts the person or thing being resembled into the dative case (meinem Bruder).
Why is the word order meinem Bruder sehr ähnlich instead of the other way around?
In German, when an adjective takes an object (like the dative object meinem Bruder), the adjective almost always comes after that object. The phrasing literally translates to 'The doppelganger is my brother very similar.'
Is Doppelgänger originally a German word?
Yes, English borrowed this word directly from German! It is made of Doppel (double) and Gänger (walker or goer). Just remember that because it is a German noun, Doppelgänger must be capitalized and includes an umlaut.
How would this sentence change if the doppelganger was similar to my sister?
Because ähnlich forces the noun into the dative case, you would need the dative feminine form for 'my', which is meiner. The sentence would become: Der Doppelgänger ist meiner Schwester sehr ähnlich.
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