Breakdown of Wir müssen der Richtlinie gemäß arbeiten, anstatt schnell zu handeln.
schnell
fast, quickly
arbeiten
to work
wir
we
müssen
to have to, must
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
anstatt
instead of
gemäß
according to / in accordance with (rules, standards)
handeln
to act
die Richtlinie
the guideline
Questions & Answers about Wir müssen der Richtlinie gemäß arbeiten, anstatt schnell zu handeln.
Why is gemäß placed after der Richtlinie instead of before it?
The preposition gemäß is flexible: it can be placed either before or after the noun it refers to. Both gemäß der Richtlinie and der Richtlinie gemäß are completely correct and mean "according to the guideline." Placing it after the noun is quite common, especially in written or formal German.
Since Richtlinie (guideline) is a feminine noun, why does it use the article der here?
The preposition gemäß always requires the dative case, regardless of whether it comes before or after the noun. In the dative case, the article for feminine nouns like die Richtlinie changes to der.
How does the grammar in anstatt schnell zu handeln work?
This is an infinitive clause using anstatt ... zu (instead of). While English uses an "-ing" verb ("instead of acting"), German frames it with anstatt at the start of the clause, puts adverbs or objects like schnell (fast) in the middle, and places zu right before the infinitive verb (handeln) at the very end.
Why is there a comma before anstatt?
In German, extended infinitive clauses introduced by signal words like anstatt (instead of), um (in order to), and ohne (without) must be separated from the main clause by a comma.
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