Breakdown of Wir freuen uns darauf. Allerdings knüpfen wir heute keine Kontakte.
kein
no, not any
wir
we
heute
today
sich freuen auf
to look forward to (with auf)
darauf
on it
der Kontakt
the contact
allerdings
however / admittedly (mind you)
knüpfen
to establish
Questions & Answers about Wir freuen uns darauf. Allerdings knüpfen wir heute keine Kontakte.
Why is the word order Allerdings knüpfen wir and not Allerdings wir knüpfen?
Allerdings (however) is an adverbial connector, not a coordinating conjunction like aber. Because it occupies the first position in the sentence, the verb knüpfen must immediately follow in the second position (the V2 rule). This pushes the subject wir into the third position.
What does Kontakte knüpfen mean literally?
The verb knüpfen literally means to "tie" or "knot". While in English we "make" contacts, German uses the fixed expression Kontakte knüpfen (to tie contacts) when talking about networking or establishing connections.
Why does the first sentence use darauf instead of just auf es for "forward to it"?
The reflexive verb sich freuen is followed by the preposition auf when looking forward to something. When the object of the preposition is a thing or abstract concept (like "it"), German doesn't use auf es. Instead, it combines da + r (inserted for pronunciation) + auf to form the single word darauf.
Why use keine here? Could I say nicht Kontakte instead?
No, you must use keine. In German, when you want to negate a noun that has no article (like the plural Kontakte here) or an indefinite article (ein), you always use a form of kein. You would use nicht if you were negating a specific noun with a definite article (die Kontakte).
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