Breakdown of Verständlicherweise waren wir beide glücklich darüber.
sein
to be
wir
we
glücklich
happy
darüber
about it, over it
beide
both
verständlicherweise
understandably
Questions & Answers about Verständlicherweise waren wir beide glücklich darüber.
Where does the -er- in verständlicherweise come from?
When we turn an adjective like verständlich into an attitude adverb using -weise, we usually have to insert an -er- in between. So verständlich becomes verständlicherweise. This -er- is just a connecting sound, not a comparative ending.
Could I leave off the -weise and just use Verständlich at the beginning?
No, you need the -weise suffix here. Adding -weise transforms the word into a sentence adverb that expresses your attitude about the whole situation, meaning 'It is understandable that...'. Without it, it sounds like you are describing the exact physical manner in which you were happy, which doesn't make much sense.
Why is the verb waren placed before the subject wir?
Because Verständlicherweise takes up the first position in the sentence. In standard German statements, the conjugated verb must always be in the second position. This pushes the subject wir to the third position, right after the verb.
Why do we use the word darüber here to mean 'about it'?
In German, the phrase for being happy about something is glücklich über. When 'it' refers to a general situation or an inanimate object, German combines da with the preposition. Since über starts with a vowel, we add an -r- in the middle, creating the da-compound darüber.
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