Word
Die Maschine zerkleinert alles völlig.
Meaning
The machine completely shreds everything.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Die Maschine zerkleinert alles völlig.
alles
everything
die Maschine
the machine (mechanical)
völlig
completely
zerkleinern
to shred
Questions & Answers about Die Maschine zerkleinert alles völlig.
How does the prefix in zerkleinert affect the meaning of the word?
The inseparable prefix zer- usually adds a sense of destruction or breaking apart. Combined with klein (small), the verb zerkleinern literally means to forcefully make something small, which perfectly translates to shredding, crushing, or mincing.
Why is alles used here instead of alle?
alles is a singular pronoun that means everything in a general sense, usually referring to objects or concepts. alle is plural and means everyone or all of a specific group of countable things. Since the machine shreds things in general, alles is the right word.
Why does the adverb völlig come after the object alles at the end of the sentence?
In German word order, accusative pronouns like alles (everything) almost always come before adverbs. If the object were a regular noun phrase, like das Papier (the paper), the adverb völlig would typically come before it.
Are there other ways to say completely instead of völlig?
Yes, you could also use komplett or ganz. However, völlig is a great choice here because it is often used with verbs of destruction or completion to strongly emphasize that absolutely nothing is left.