Breakdown of Der Techniker hat den Test mehrfach wiederholt, währenddessen habe ich ihn dokumentiert.
ich
I
haben
to have
ihn
him
der Techniker
the technician
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
wiederholen
to repeat
dokumentieren
to document
währenddessen
in the meantime
der Test
the test
mehrfach
multiple
Questions & Answers about Der Techniker hat den Test mehrfach wiederholt, währenddessen habe ich ihn dokumentiert.
Could I use mehrmals instead of mehrfach here?
Yes, absolutely. As adverbs, mehrfach and mehrmals are often used interchangeably to mean 'multiple times.' If we want to be very precise, words ending in -mals purely describe frequency (how many times), while words ending in -fach (manifold/multiple) can sometimes imply doing something in multiple ways or layers. In this sentence, though, the practical meaning is exactly the same.
Is mehrfach acting as an adjective or an adverb in this sentence?
Here, it acts as an adverb modifying the verb wiederholt (how was the test repeated? Multiple times). Because it is an adverb, it does not take an adjective ending. You can also use it as a normal adjective directly before a noun, where it would take standard endings, as in ein mehrfacher Versuch (a multiple attempt).
Why does the verb habe come immediately after währenddessen?
Währenddessen (meanwhile) is an adverb, not a subordinating conjunction. In the second clause, it occupies the first position, so the conjugated verb habe must take the second position. If you had used the conjunction während (while), the verb would be pushed to the very end of that clause: ... während ich ihn dokumentiert habe.
Why does 'it' translate to ihn instead of es?
The pronoun ihn refers back to den Test (the test). Because Test is a masculine noun and is the direct object (accusative case) being documented, you must use the masculine accusative pronoun ihn, even though in English we simply say 'it'.
Why is the past participle wiederholt and not wiedergeholt?
When wiederholen means 'to repeat,' the prefix wieder- is inseparable, so it does not get a -ge- added in the perfect tense. If you used wiedergeholt, you would be using the separable verb wieder holen, which means 'to fetch again' (for example, fetching a tool you forgot).
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