Breakdown of Egal, was ich tue, ich verliere in diesem endlosen Gang die Orientierung.
ich
I
in
in
was
what
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
tun
to do
verlieren
to lose
egal
all the same, not mattering
der Gang
the corridor
endlos
endless
die Orientierung
the orientation
Questions & Answers about Egal, was ich tue, ich verliere in diesem endlosen Gang die Orientierung.
How does the phrase egal, was work here?
The word egal (which literally means "equal" or "doesn't matter") combines with a question word like was (what), wer (who), or wo (where) to mean "no matter [question word]". It sets up a subordinate clause, which is why the conjugated verb tue is pushed to the very end of that section.
Why is it ich verliere and not verliere ich right after the comma? Doesn't the verb have to be in position 2?
Normally, yes! If a sentence starts with a subordinate clause, the main clause right after the comma usually starts with the verb to keep it in the second position overall. However, clauses starting with egal are often treated as "free" phrases that sit outside the main sentence structure. Because of this, the main clause starts fresh with its subject ich in position 1, followed by the verb verliere in position 2.
Why does the adjective endlos get an -en ending here (endlosen)?
This is a great refresher on the dative case. The preposition in answers a static "where" question here (where are you losing orientation?), which triggers the dative. The noun Gang (corridor) is masculine, so the demonstrative pronoun becomes diesem. Once diesem takes the strong dative ending, any following adjectives take the weak ending -en.
Is die Orientierung verlieren the standard way to say you are lost?
It is a very common and natural way, translating closely to "losing one's bearings." You could also use the reflexive verb sich verirren (to get lost), but die Orientierung verlieren perfectly describes the feeling of being turned around and confused about which way to go in a physical space like an endless corridor.
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