Breakdown of Meiner Meinung nach müssen wir jedes fremde Kennzeichen notieren.
wir
we
müssen
to have to, must
jeder
everyone / each
meiner Meinung nach
in my opinion
fremd
strange
das Kennzeichen
the license plate
notieren
to note down
Questions & Answers about Meiner Meinung nach müssen wir jedes fremde Kennzeichen notieren.
Why is nach placed after Meiner Meinung, and why does the verb müssen come right after it?
In the expression meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion), nach acts as a postposition, meaning it follows the noun rather than preceding it. The entire phrase acts as a single block occupying position 1 in the sentence. Therefore, the conjugated verb müssen must take position 2 directly after it. Note that nach still requires the noun to be in the dative case (meiner Meinung).
Why does fremde end in -e instead of -es to match the neuter noun Kennzeichen?
The word jedes acts like a definite article (a so-called 'der-word'). Since jedes already clearly shows the case and gender with its strong neuter accusative ending (-es), the following adjective fremde only takes the weak ending -e. If there were no article-like word before it, it would take the strong ending: fremdes Kennzeichen.
Does fremde strictly mean 'foreign' here, as in from another country?
It can, but in everyday contexts like a neighborhood watch or a private parking lot, it simply means 'unfamiliar' or 'unknown'. Fremd is a versatile word in German used for anything or anyone you do not personally recognize, not just things from abroad.
I learned Nummernschild for license plate. Is Kennzeichen more common?
Both are very common. Kennzeichen (short for Autokennzeichen) is the official term you will see on forms, police reports, and signs. Nummernschild is slightly more colloquial but perfectly fine and frequently used in everyday spoken German.
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