Breakdown of Meiner Meinung nach hat niemand den Automaten repariert.
haben
to have
reparieren
to repair
niemand
no one
meiner Meinung nach
in my opinion
der Automat
the vending machine
Questions & Answers about Meiner Meinung nach hat niemand den Automaten repariert.
Why is it Meiner Meinung nach and what case is used here?
The phrase means 'in my opinion'. The preposition nach requires the dative case. Because Meinung is feminine (die Meinung), the possessive pronoun meine changes to meiner in the dative. Notice that nach comes after the noun phrase, which is a fixed pattern for this specific expression.
Why does the verb hat come right after nach instead of the subject?
The entire phrase Meiner Meinung nach takes up the first position in the sentence. In German main clauses, the conjugated verb (here, hat) must always be in the second position. That pushes the subject, niemand, into the third position.
Why is there an '-en' at the end of Automaten? Is it plural?
It is singular here! Der Automat (the vending machine) belongs to a special group of masculine nouns known as n-declension or 'weak' nouns. These nouns take an -n or -en ending in all cases except the nominative singular. Since it is the direct object (accusative case), it becomes den Automaten.
Does niemand always take a singular verb?
Yes, niemand (nobody or no one) is treated as a singular third-person subject, just like 'he', 'she', or 'it'. That is why we use hat instead of the plural haben.
How could I add 'which surprises me' to the end of this sentence using was?
You would add a comma and say , was mich überrascht. Whenever a relative pronoun refers back to a complete thought or entire clause (like the whole fact that nobody fixed the machine) rather than just a single noun, you must use was.
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