Breakdown of Meiner Meinung nach ist der Algorithmus dem Menschen ähnlich.
sein
to be
der Mensch
the human, person
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
meiner Meinung nach
in my opinion
ähnlich
similar
der Algorithmus
the algorithm
Questions & Answers about Meiner Meinung nach ist der Algorithmus dem Menschen ähnlich.
Why does the verb ist come right after nach?
The phrase meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion) acts as a single block occupying the first position in the sentence. Because of the German V2 rule, the verb must come exactly second in a main clause. So, ist goes immediately after the phrase, followed by the subject der Algorithmus.
Why is it dem Menschen (dative) instead of an accusative object?
The adjective ähnlich (similar) requires the dative case for the person or thing being resembled. In German, you don't use a preposition like "to" here; instead, the dative article dem does that job.
Why does Menschen have an -n at the end if it refers to a singular human here?
Mensch belongs to a group of masculine nouns called "weak nouns" (also known as n-declension). These nouns add an -n or -en ending in all cases except the nominative singular. Since it is in the dative case here, Mensch becomes Menschen.
Why is ähnlich at the very end of the sentence?
When an adjective takes an object (like the dative object dem Menschen), the object usually comes before the adjective in German. So the sentence structure literally reads "to the human similar".
Can I put meiner Meinung nach somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes! You can put the subject first: Der Algorithmus ist meiner Meinung nach dem Menschen ähnlich. The phrase is very flexible, but notice how the verb ist always stays fixed in the second position.
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