Breakdown of Berühr bloß nichts, weil manche Pilze tödlich sind!
sein
to be
nichts
nothing
manche
some
weil
because (subordinating)
der Pilz
the mushroom
berühren
to touch
bloß
just (merely) / absolutely
tödlich
deadly
Questions & Answers about Berühr bloß nichts, weil manche Pilze tödlich sind!
How does the word bloß change the meaning of this sentence?
Here, bloß acts as a modal particle that adds urgency to a warning. While Berühr nichts! simply means "Don't touch anything!", adding bloß turns it into a strong warning, similar to "Don't you dare touch anything!" or "Just don't touch anything!" in English.
Why is the verb form Berühr instead of Berührst or Berühren?
Berühr is the informal singular command (imperative) form of berühren (to touch). When you give an order to someone you call du, you take the du form (berührst) and drop the -st ending.
Why does the German use nichts when the English translation says "anything"?
In English, we often use a negative helper verb plus "anything" (like "don't touch anything"). German simply uses the negative pronoun nichts (nothing) to do the same job. A literal translation would be "Touch just nothing!"
Why is the verb sind placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word weil (because) is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a dependent clause, which means the conjugated verb for that specific part of the sentence (sind) gets pushed all the way to the end.
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