Word
Wir ermutigen einander, die Melodie noch einmal zu proben.
Meaning
We encourage each other to rehearse the melody one more time.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Wir ermutigen einander, die Melodie noch einmal zu proben.
wir
we
zu
to (infinitive marker)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
proben
to rehearse
Questions & Answers about Wir ermutigen einander, die Melodie noch einmal zu proben.
Who is the implied subject of the infinitive clause die Melodie noch einmal zu proben, and why does that allow us to use zu?
The implied subject is einander (each other). You can reduce a dass clause to an infinitive with zu when the subject of the dependent clause matches either the subject or the object of the main clause. Here, the accusative object of the main clause (einander) is identical to the people who will be doing the rehearsing.
Why does this sentence use einander instead of the pronoun uns?
You actually could use uns here, since plural reflexive pronouns like uns often double as reciprocal pronouns ("each other") in German. However, using einander completely removes any ambiguity, making it strictly reciprocal ("each other") rather than reflexive ("ourselves").
What grammatical case does ermutigen take for the person being encouraged?
It takes the accusative case. While it is invisible on the word einander, if you were encouraging a specific person, you would use an accusative pronoun or noun. For example: Wir ermutigen ihn (We encourage him).
Could I use wieder instead of noch einmal to mean "again" here?
You could, but it changes the nuance. wieder means "again" in a general, recurring sense. noch einmal specifically means "one more time" or "once more," which sounds much more natural when doing another take or repetition during a rehearsal.