Breakdown of Allerdings habe ich nie bei einem Gewinnspiel mitgemacht.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
haben
to have
nie
never
bei
at, near, with
mitmachen
to join in / to participate
allerdings
however / admittedly (mind you)
das Gewinnspiel
the sweepstakes
Questions & Answers about Allerdings habe ich nie bei einem Gewinnspiel mitgemacht.
Why is the verb habe placed immediately after Allerdings?
Allerdings (however / admittedly) is an adverb, not a coordinating conjunction like aber or und. When it sits at the beginning of a sentence, it takes up Position 1. This means the conjugated verb habe must immediately follow it in Position 2 to satisfy German's standard word order rules, shifting the subject ich to Position 3.
Could I just use Aber instead of Allerdings here?
Yes, but the word order would change. Aber is a coordinating conjunction that sits in "Position 0" (it doesn't count towards the sentence's position count). If you used it, the sentence would be: Aber ich habe nie bei einem Gewinnspiel mitgemacht. Using Allerdings sounds a bit more advanced and carries a slight tone of "mind you" or "admittedly" rather than a simple "but".
Why do we use the preposition bei with mitgemacht?
The separable verb mitmachen (to participate / to join in) requires the preposition bei followed by the dative case when you state what you are participating in. It is similar to how English uses "participate in", but German specifically pairs bei with this verb. Notice that another common verb for participating, teilnehmen, pairs with an + dative instead.
Why is it einem Gewinnspiel and not ein Gewinnspiel?
Because the preposition bei always triggers the dative case. Gewinnspiel is a neuter compound noun made of der Gewinn (the prize/win) and das Spiel (the game). In the dative case, the neuter indefinite article ein changes to einem.
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