Breakdown of Wir katalogisieren die Sammlung, wie wir besprochen haben.
haben
to have
wir
we
wie
how
die Sammlung
the collection
katalogisieren
to catalogue
besprechen
to discuss (talk over)
Questions & Answers about Wir katalogisieren die Sammlung, wie wir besprochen haben.
Why does wie mean "as" here instead of "how"?
While wie is often a question word meaning "how", it is also used as a subordinating conjunction to mean "as" when referring to shared knowledge, agreements, or previous statements. Here, it connects the action to an agreement: "as we discussed".
Why is haben at the very end of the sentence?
Because wie acts as a subordinating conjunction, it sends the conjugated verb to the end of its clause. In the perfect tense phrase besprochen haben, the conjugated helping verb haben must go last, after the past participle besprochen.
In English we might say "as we discussed it". Why is there no "it" (es) in the German sentence?
In German, when using wie to refer back to a previous statement or agreement, you usually leave out the direct object. The clause wie wir besprochen haben acts as a complete phrase meaning "as we discussed". Adding es would sound unnatural here.
What is the difference between sprechen and besprechen?
sprechen simply means "to speak" or "to talk". Adding the inseparable prefix be- turns it into besprechen, which means "to discuss" a specific topic or plan. You use besprechen when talking over the details of something, like how to catalogue a collection.
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