Breakdown of Der Passant, der alles sah, war sehr verblüfft.
sein
to be
sehr
very
sehen
to see
alles
everything
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Passant
the passerby
verblüfft
amazed
Questions & Answers about Der Passant, der alles sah, war sehr verblüfft.
What is the nuance of verblüfft compared to a basic word like überrascht?
verblüfft carries a stronger sense of being dumbfounded, baffled, or flabbergasted compared to the more neutral überrascht (surprised). It implies the passerby was so caught off guard that they didn't quite know how to react.
In this sentence we have der Passant in the nominative case. Does this noun change endings in other cases?
Yes, it belongs to a group of masculine nouns known as weak nouns (or n-declension nouns). While it is der Passant here as the subject, it takes an -en ending in all other cases. For example, if you saw the passerby (accusative), it would be Ich sah den Passanten.
English doesn't use commas around 'who saw everything' because it's a restrictive relative clause. Why does German add them?
Unlike English, German grammar strictly requires commas around all relative clauses, regardless of whether they are restrictive (essential to identifying the person) or non-restrictive (just adding extra background info). The commas separating der alles sah from the main clause are mandatory.
How could we expand this sentence using the current lesson's conjunction, nur dass?
You could use it to add a limitation to the passerby's reaction. For example: Der Passant, der alles sah, war sehr verblüfft, nur dass er niemandem davon erzählte. (The passerby who saw everything was very amazed, except that he didn't tell anyone about it.) Notice that nur dass is a subordinating conjunction, so it kicks the conjugated verb to the end of the new clause.
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