Question 1

Why do we use sondern here instead of aber, since both mean "but"?

Accepted Answer

We use sondern because it directly contradicts a negative statement. The structure nicht [A], sondern [B] translates to "not [A], but rather [B]". You must use sondern when the first part contains a negation (like nicht or kein) and the second part offers the mutually exclusive alternative.

Question 2

Why is nicht placed right before die Recherche rather than at the end of the first clause?

Accepted Answer

In German, nicht goes directly in front of the specific element you are negating. Because we are setting up a contrast ("not X, but rather Y"), the negation specifically targets the object die Recherche to prepare for the alternative action (schläft) introduced by sondern.

Question 3

Is it grammatically correct to leave out the pronoun er after sondern?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Because sondern is a coordinating conjunction (just like und or oder), it connects two main clauses without changing the word order. Since the subject (er) is exactly the same for both verbs (macht and schläft), you can safely drop it in the second half of the sentence.

Question 4

I usually see "research" translated as die Forschung. Why use die Recherche here?

Accepted Answer

Die Forschung refers to formal scientific or academic research. Die Recherche (a French loanword) is used for everyday information gathering, investigative journalism, or looking things up on the internet. It pairs very naturally with the verb machen or betreiben in this context.

Er macht nicht die Recherche, sondern schläft.

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