Breakdown of Der Friseur hätte der Schönen die Wimpern verlängert.
schön
beautiful
haben
to have
der Friseur
the hairdresser
verlängern
to extend, to renew
die Wimper
the eyelash
Questions & Answers about Der Friseur hätte der Schönen die Wimpern verlängert.
How is the verb verlängern formed, and why doesn't its past participle verlängert have a ge-?
It is a causative verb made from the adjective lang (long). Following the lesson's pattern, we add the prefix ver-, apply an umlaut to the vowel, and add an ending. With this specific word, German uses the comparative stem länger, creating verlängern (to make longer). Since ver- is an inseparable prefix, the past participle verlängert drops the usual ge-.
Why is it der Schönen if the word refers to a feminine woman?
The word Schönen is a nominalized adjective (an adjective acting as a noun to mean 'the beautiful woman'). It still follows normal adjective declension rules. Because it is in the dative case here, the feminine definite article becomes der and the adjective takes the dative ending -en.
Why doesn't the sentence use a possessive word like ihre Wimpern (her eyelashes)?
In German, when an action is performed on someone's body parts or hair, you typically do not use a possessive adjective. Instead, you use the dative case for the person affected (der Schönen) and a simple definite article for the body part (die Wimpern). It translates literally as 'lengthened the eyelashes to the beautiful woman.'
What grammatical structure is hätte ... verlängert?
This is the past subjunctive (Konjunktiv II der Vergangenheit), used for hypothetical or unreal situations in the past. It translates to 'would have lengthened.' You form it with the Konjunktiv II of the auxiliary verb (here, hätte from haben) in the second position, and the past participle (verlängert) at the very end of the clause.
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