Word
Die Notbremse nur im Notfall ziehen!
Meaning
Only pull the emergency brake in an emergency!
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Die Notbremse nur im Notfall ziehen!
in
in
nur
only
ziehen
to draw / to pull
der Notfall
the emergency
Questions & Answers about Die Notbremse nur im Notfall ziehen!
Why is the infinitive ziehen used here instead of a normal imperative like ziehen Sie?
This is an impersonal command. Using the infinitive is the standard way to give instructions to the general public in German, so you will see this constantly on public signs, in instruction manuals, and in recipes. It tells anyone reading it what to do without addressing a specific person.
Does the verb always go at the very end in these infinitive commands?
Yes! When you use an infinitive to give a command, it must be placed at the very end of the sentence. The object being acted upon, like Die Notbremse, usually goes at the beginning so the reader immediately knows what the sign or instruction is about.
Why is it im Notfall and not just in Notfall?
You need the definite article here. im is a contraction of in dem. The preposition in takes the dative case when describing a static situation or time condition, like being in an emergency. Because Notfall is a masculine noun (der Notfall), the dative article is dem.
Both Notbremse and Notfall start with Not. What does that mean?
The noun die Not means distress, misery, or emergency. It is frequently glued to the front of other words to create emergency-related vocabulary, such as der Notausgang (emergency exit) and der Notarzt (emergency doctor).