Breakdown of Mein Chef legt Wert auf gute Arbeit.
gut
good / well
die Arbeit
the work
der Chef
the boss (male)
mein
my
Wert legen auf
to attach importance to
Questions & Answers about Mein Chef legt Wert auf gute Arbeit.
Does Chef mean "cook" or "chef" here?
No, Chef is a classic false friend. In German, der Chef (or die Chefin) means "boss" or "manager." If you want to talk about a cook in a restaurant, you would use der Koch (or die Köchin).
What is the literal meaning of legt Wert auf?
The phrase Wert legen auf literally means "to lay value on." It is a very common fixed expression used to express that someone values something, cares about it deeply, or attaches importance to it.
What case follows the preposition auf in this expression?
It takes the accusative case. While auf is a two-way preposition that can take the dative when describing a physical location, in abstract fixed phrases like Wert legen auf, it always forces the accusative case.
Why does the adjective in gute Arbeit end in -e?
Because there is no article (like die or eine) before Arbeit, the adjective itself has to show the grammatical gender and case. Arbeit is a feminine noun, and it is in the accusative case here. The ending for feminine accusative without an article is -e, giving us gute.
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