Breakdown of Sie belästigen mich unaufgefordert mit Fragen.
die Frage
the question
sie
they
mich
me
mit
with
belästigen
to bother
unaufgefordert
unsolicited
Questions & Answers about Sie belästigen mich unaufgefordert mit Fragen.
What is the anatomy of the word unaufgefordert?
It is built from the prefix un- (un-) and the past participle of the verb auffordern (to request / to prompt). At the B2 level, you will see this often in professional contexts meaning unsolicited or without being asked.
How does belästigen compare to similar verbs like stören or nerven?
belästigen is stronger and slightly more formal. While stören just means to disturb and nerven means to annoy (informal), belästigen implies actively pestering or harassing someone.
Is there a specific grammatical reason we use mit for 'with questions'?
Yes, this is a fixed verb-preposition combination. The phrase is always jemanden mit etwas belästigen (to bother or harass someone with something). Since it uses the preposition mit, the noun that follows must be in the dative case.
Because Sie is at the start of the sentence, could this also mean formal 'You'?
Absolutely. Because the verb belästigen takes the same ending for both they (sie) and formal you (Sie), the only way to know the intended meaning here is from the surrounding context.
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