Breakdown of Diese plötzliche Klarheit überrascht einen sehr.
sehr
very
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
plötzlich
suddenly
man
one / you (impersonal)
Questions & Answers about Diese plötzliche Klarheit überrascht einen sehr.
Why does the sentence use einen instead of man?
Man is only used as the subject of a sentence. In this sentence, the clarity is the subject doing the surprising. The person being surprised is the direct object. Since the verb überraschen takes an Accusative object, the impersonal pronoun changes from the Nominative man to the Accusative einen.
Could I use dich instead of einen here?
Yes, if you meant a specific person you were talking to. However, einen is used here because the sentence is making a general statement about how anyone would feel. English often uses "you" for this general meaning, which is why the translation says "surprises you" instead of "surprises one".
Why does the adjective plötzliche end in just an -e?
Klarheit is a feminine noun in the Nominative case here. Because the word Diese already clearly shows the feminine gender, the adjective plötzlich takes the weak ending -e.
How can I easily remember the gender of Klarheit?
Any German noun that ends in the suffix -heit is always feminine. This is a very reliable rule, meaning you will always use feminine articles with words like Klarheit, Freiheit, and Wahrheit.