Breakdown of Wir müssen die falschen Gerüchte endgültig widerlegen.
falsch
wrong
wir
we
müssen
to have to, must
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Gerücht
the rumor
widerlegen
to refute
endgültig
definitive
Questions & Answers about Wir müssen die falschen Gerüchte endgültig widerlegen.
How does the prefix wider- work in widerlegen, and is it separable?
The prefix wider- means "against" or "contrary to." While legen means "to lay," widerlegen figuratively means "to lay against" or "to refute." It is an inseparable prefix, meaning it doesn't split off from the verb in a main clause, and its past participle doesn't use ge- (it is simply widerlegt).
Is wider- the same as the word wieder?
They sound identical, but they have completely different meanings. Wieder (with an "ie") means "again" (as in wiedersehen). Wider (with just "i") means "against" or "contrary to" (as in widerlegen or widersprechen).
Could I use endlich instead of endgültig here?
It would change the nuance of the sentence. Endlich means "finally" in the sense of "at last" (implying you have been waiting a long time). Endgültig means "definitively" or "once and for all." Here, the goal is to put an end to the rumors permanently, not just to finally get around to doing it.
Why does the adjective take the -en ending in die falschen Gerüchte?
This phrase is in the accusative plural and uses the definite article die. After a plural definite article, adjectives always take the weak ending -en. If there were no article, it would take the strong ending -e (falsche Gerüchte).
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