Breakdown of Dieser Film inspiriert einen und gibt einem Mut.
und
and
geben
to give
der Film
the movie / the film
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
man
one / you (impersonal)
der Mut
the courage
inspirieren
to inspire
Questions & Answers about Dieser Film inspiriert einen und gibt einem Mut.
Why do we use einen in the first half but einem in the second half?
Both are forms of the impersonal pronoun man which translates to a general you or one. The verb inspirieren takes a direct object in the accusative case, so we need einen. The verb geben takes an indirect receiver in the dative case (giving something to someone), so we switch to einem.
The English translation says you, so why aren't we using dich and dir?
In English, we frequently use you to talk about people in general, rather than the specific person we are talking to. German strictly separates these. For general statements applying to anyone, you must use man in the nominative, einen in the accusative, and einem in the dative.
Why is there no article before Mut?
Mut means courage, which is an abstract, uncountable concept. Just like in English where we say gives you courage instead of gives you a courage, German drops the article here. It acts as the accusative direct object of the verb geben.
Why is the subject missing in the second half of the sentence before gibt?
The word und connects two parts of the sentence that share the exact same subject, Dieser Film. When the subject stays the same, you do not need to repeat it or use a pronoun like er after the und.
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