Breakdown of Meiner Meinung nach ersetzen Maschinen viele Arbeitsplätze.
viel
much / a lot
die Maschine
the machine (mechanical)
meiner Meinung nach
in my opinion
ersetzen
to replace
Questions & Answers about Meiner Meinung nach ersetzen Maschinen viele Arbeitsplätze.
Why does the verb ersetzen come right after nach, before the subject Maschinen?
The phrase meiner Meinung nach acts as a single block that occupies the entire first position in the sentence. Because German strictly requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position, ersetzen must come immediately after it. This pushes the subject Maschinen into the third position.
Why is it meiner Meinung and not meine Meinung?
The preposition nach always requires the dative case. Because Meinung is a feminine noun (die Meinung), the possessive pronoun meine must change to its dative form, which is meiner.
Is nach always placed at the end of this phrase? Could I say nach meiner Meinung instead?
You can actually use both! nach meiner Meinung is grammatically correct and means the exact same thing. However, putting nach at the end of the phrase (meiner Meinung nach) is a fixed expression that is much more common and sounds more natural to native German speakers.
The word Arbeitsplätze translates to 'jobs' here, but doesn't it literally mean 'work places'?