Breakdown of Ich hoffe, dass du es mir nicht übel nimmst.
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
es
it
nicht
not
nehmen
to take
hoffen
to hope
dass
that
übel
amiss
Questions & Answers about Ich hoffe, dass du es mir nicht übel nimmst.
What role does es play in this sentence?
It acts as a dummy object in the fixed phrase es jemandem übel nehmen (to hold something against someone / to take offense). Just like in es eilig haben, the es doesn't point to a specific physical object, but rather represents the general situation or action that might cause offense.
Why do we use the dative pronoun mir here instead of mich?
The phrase requires the structure jemandem (dative) etwas (accusative) übel nehmen. In German, the person who is affected by the action—in this case, the person you are not holding a grudge against—takes the dative case. The dummy es is already occupying the accusative slot.
Why is the pronoun order du es mir? Can I say du mir es?
You must say du es mir. When you have two pronoun objects in a German sentence, the accusative pronoun (es) must always come before the dative pronoun (mir). English speakers often instinctively want to put the dative person first, so this strict rule is a very common trap!
How would the phrase übel nimmst change if this were a normal main clause instead of a dass clause?
If you remove the dass clause, the phrase acts like a separable verb. The conjugated verb nimmst moves to the second position, and übel gets kicked to the very end of the sentence: Du nimmst es mir nicht übel.
Learn Ich hoffe, dass du es mir nicht übel nimmst and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free