Breakdown of Wer auch immer mitkommt, wir ziehen früh los.
auch
also, too
wir
we
immer
always
wer
who
mitkommen
to come along
früh
early
losziehen
to set out
Questions & Answers about Wer auch immer mitkommt, wir ziehen früh los.
How does wer auch immer function in this sentence?
It translates to "whoever." The word wer is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the verb mitkommt. Adding auch immer to question words like wer, was, or wo gives them the generalized meaning of "-ever" (whoever, whatever, wherever).
Why is it wir ziehen and not ziehen wir after the comma? Doesn't the first clause push the verb to position 2?
Great catch! Normally, a subordinate clause in the first position forces the main clause to start with its verb (e.g., Wenn er mitkommt, ziehen wir los). However, auch immer clauses often act like independent thoughts standing just outside the main sentence. Because of this, the main clause (wir ziehen früh los) gets to keep its standard Subject-Verb order. Note that ziehen wir is also grammatically correct here, but keeping the normal word order is very common.
Does the phrase auch immer change if I need to use a different case?
No, auch immer is completely fixed and never changes. Only the pronoun at the front changes case to fit its role in the sentence. For example, if you needed a direct object (accusative), you would change it to Wen auch immer (whomever), and for a dative object, Wem auch immer.
What is the infinitive of ziehen ... los, and what does it mean?
The infinitive is losziehen, a separable verb that means to set out, head off, or get going. Because it is the main conjugated verb in an independent clause, the prefix los separates and gets kicked to the very end of the sentence.
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