Breakdown of Das Lächeln ist mir vertraut, obwohl der Mann mir fremd ist.
sein
to be
der Mann
the man
mir
me / to me (dative)
obwohl
although
fremd
strange
das Lächeln
the smile
vertraut
familiar
Questions & Answers about Das Lächeln ist mir vertraut, obwohl der Mann mir fremd ist.
Why do we use mir instead of mich with vertraut and fremd?
Both vertraut (familiar) and fremd (strange or unfamiliar) are adjectives that naturally describe a relationship to a person. In German, the person experiencing this relationship is put in the dative case. That is why we use the dative pronoun mir (to me) rather than the accusative mich.
Why is fremd translated as a noun in English (a stranger) but used as an adjective here?
In German, fremd is an adjective meaning foreign or unfamiliar. While English naturally uses the noun phrase 'a stranger to me', German expresses this same idea by describing the man's state with the dative adjective phrase mir fremd (literally: unfamiliar to me).
In the second half of the sentence, why does mir come before fremd?
Adjectives that take a dative object usually place the dative pronoun right before the adjective. In addition, pronoun objects like mir tend to snuggle up close to the subject (der Mann). So the natural word order in this clause is the subject, then the dative pronoun, then the adjective.
Why is the verb ist at the very end of the second clause?
The word obwohl (although) is a subordinating conjunction. As a quick refresher, this means it introduces a dependent clause and forces the conjugated verb, which is ist here, to the very end of that clause.
Learn Das Lächeln ist mir vertraut, obwohl der Mann mir fremd ist and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free