Breakdown of Dieser Nachbar, der ist rücksichtslos und nervt total.
sein
to be
und
and
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
der Nachbar
the neighbor (male)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
total
totally, completely
rücksichtslos
inconsiderate
nerven
to annoy
Questions & Answers about Dieser Nachbar, der ist rücksichtslos und nervt total.
Why do we use the pronoun der instead of er in the second part of the sentence?
In spoken German, when a noun is moved to the very front for emphasis (a structure called left dislocation), it is usually picked back up in the main clause by a demonstrative pronoun like der, die, or das, rather than a personal pronoun like er, sie, or es. Since Nachbar is masculine, we use der.
Is the comma required, or could I just say Dieser Nachbar ist rücksichtslos?
You could absolutely just say Dieser Nachbar ist rücksichtslos, which is standard, grammatically perfect German. Adding the comma and repeating the subject with der is a stylistic choice used in casual speech to put a strong spotlight on the topic before commenting on it.
Why is the verb nerven used without an object here?
While you often see nerven with a direct object (like Er nervt mich meaning "He annoys me"), in colloquial German it can be used on its own as an intransitive verb to describe a general state. So nervt total simply means "is totally annoying" without needing to specify who exactly is being annoyed.
Does the word total work exactly like "totally" in English here?
Yes! In everyday spoken German, total is a very common adverbial intensifier used exactly like "totally" or "absolutely" in English to strengthen an adjective or a verb.
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