Breakdown of Er handelt der Richtlinie gemäß.
er
he
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
gemäß
according to / in accordance with (rules, standards)
handeln
to act
die Richtlinie
the guideline
Questions & Answers about Er handelt der Richtlinie gemäß.
Why is gemäß placed at the very end of the sentence?
The word gemäß is a special preposition that can be placed either before or after the noun it refers to. In this sentence, it comes after der Richtlinie. You could also say Er handelt gemäß der Richtlinie—both are completely correct and mean exactly the same thing.
Why does the sentence use der for Richtlinie? Isn't it a feminine noun?
Yes, die Richtlinie is a feminine noun. However, the preposition gemäß always requires the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
I usually see handeln translated as "to trade". Why does it mean "to act" here?
The verb handeln has a few different meanings depending on the context. While it means "to trade" in a business setting, it also means "to act" or "to take action". Here, because he is following a guideline, "acts" is the natural translation.
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