Breakdown of Lass uns leise durch die Savanne fahren, sonst erschrecken wir die Tiere.
wir
we
uns
us
fahren
to drive, to travel
das Tier
the animal
leise
quiet / quietly
lassen
to let, to leave (something)
durch
through
sonst
otherwise, or else
erschrecken
to startle
die Savanne
the savanna
Questions & Answers about Lass uns leise durch die Savanne fahren, sonst erschrecken wir die Tiere.
Why is the word order sonst erschrecken wir instead of sonst wir erschrecken?
sonst (otherwise) is an adverb connecting the two ideas. Because it occupies the first position in the second clause, the verb erschrecken must take the second position, pushing the subject wir into the third position. This is called subject-verb inversion.
I learned that erschrecken is an irregular (strong) verb, but I've also seen it used as a regular verb. Which is it here?
It is a regular (weak) verb here! erschrecken has two forms depending on its meaning. When it means "to frighten someone else" (taking a direct object like die Tiere), it is regular (erschreckt, erschreckte, hat erschreckt). When it means "to get frightened" yourself (no direct object), it is irregular (erschrickt, erschrak, ist erschrocken).
How does the phrasing Lass uns ... fahren work to mean "Let's drive"?
To say "Let's do something" in German, you use the imperative form of lassen (to let) plus uns (us) and put the main verb in its infinitive form at the end of the clause. Because the speaker is addressing one person informally, they use the singular imperative Lass.
Why is it durch die Savanne rather than using the dative case (durch der Savanne)?
The preposition durch (through) is one of the fixed prepositions that always requires the accusative case, regardless of whether there is movement or not. Since Savanne is a feminine noun, the accusative article is die.
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