Breakdown of Er hat gestern gestritten mit der ganzen Verwandtschaft.
er
he
haben
to have
mit
with
gestern
yesterday
Questions & Answers about Er hat gestern gestritten mit der ganzen Verwandtschaft.
Why is mit der ganzen Verwandtschaft placed after the past participle gestritten?
In standard German word order, the past participle gestritten belongs at the very end. However, this sentence uses the Nachfeld (the after-field). Speakers often move long or heavy prepositional phrases after the final verb to make the sentence flow better, especially in conversational German.
Would it be wrong to use the standard word order: Er hat gestern mit der ganzen Verwandtschaft gestritten?
Not at all! That is the standard, most grammatically strict word order and is highly preferred in written German. Placing the phrase in the Nachfeld is mostly a stylistic choice used in speech to emphasize the group he argued with, treating it almost like a dramatic afterthought.
Why use the singular noun Verwandtschaft instead of the plural Verwandten (relatives)?
Die Verwandtschaft is a collective noun meaning the entire extended family or kinship. Saying mit der ganzen Verwandtschaft paints a picture of a single massive block of relatives he alienated. You could say mit allen Verwandten (with all relatives), but the collective noun sounds more sweeping and dramatic here.
Does the verb streiten always take the preposition mit?