Breakdown of Die Verwechslung war ihm egal, aber ich war ihm dankbar.
ich
I
sein
to be
aber
but
ihm
him / it / to him / to it (dative)
Questions & Answers about Die Verwechslung war ihm egal, aber ich war ihm dankbar.
Why do we use ihm twice in this sentence instead of ihn?
Both egal (indifferent) and dankbar (grateful) are adjectives that require a Dative object to show who is affected. Since a male person is experiencing the indifference and receiving the gratitude, the pronoun er changes to its Dative form, ihm.
How exactly does war ihm egal translate to "didn't matter to him"?
In German, you don't use a verb for "mattering." Instead, you use the phrase etwas ist jemandem egal (something is indifferent to someone). Since this sentence is in the past tense, it literally means "the mix-up was to him indifferent."
Why does the Dative pronoun ihm come before the adjectives egal and dankbar?
In German, objects and pronouns usually come before the adjective they relate to. While in English we say "grateful to him," German places the core adjective at the end of the phrase: ihm dankbar (to him grateful).
How is the noun Verwechslung formed?
It comes from the verb verwechseln, which means to confuse or mix up two things. Adding the suffix -ung turns the verb into a feminine noun, creating die Verwechslung (the mix-up).