Breakdown of Du sollst die Körpersprache genau beobachten.
du
you (informal singular)
genau
exactly / precise, exact
sollen
should / ought to
beobachten
to observe, to watch
die Körpersprache
the body language
Questions & Answers about Du sollst die Körpersprache genau beobachten.
Körpersprache is a long word. How do I know its gender?
It is a compound noun made of der Körper (the body) and die Sprache (the language). In German, the last word in a compound noun always determines the gender, so it is die Körpersprache.
Why is beobachten at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the modal verb sollen (here conjugated as sollst). Modal verbs take the second position in a standard main clause and push the main action verb (beobachten) in its infinitive form all the way to the end of the sentence.
The verb beobachten has the prefix be-. Does it follow the same rules as the miss- prefix we are learning?
Yes! Both be- and miss- are inseparable prefixes. This means they never detach from the verb. Also, when you form the past participle (the perfect tense form), you do not add a ge-. For example, "I observed" is "Ich habe beobachtet" (no ge-), just as "I misunderstood" is "Ich habe missverstanden".
If I wanted to warn someone not to misinterpret body language, how would I use a miss- verb here?
You could use the verb missdeuten (to misinterpret) or missverstehen (to misunderstand). You would just swap the verbs and add a negation: Du sollst die Körpersprache nicht missdeuten. Because the prefix is inseparable, miss- stays firmly attached to the verb at the end of the sentence.
Does genau mean "exactly" or "closely" here?
While genau very often means "exactly", when it is paired with verbs of perception like beobachten (to observe), zuhören (to listen), or hinsehen (to look), it is best translated as "closely" or "carefully".
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