Breakdown of Er ahnt wohl die Überraschung, also verstecken wir den Luftballon und stoßen nicht an.
er
he
und
and
wir
we
nicht
not
die Überraschung
the surprise
also
so, therefore
verstecken
to hide
wohl
probably, I suppose
der Luftballon
the balloon
ahnen
to suspect (to sense / have a hunch)
anstoßen
to toast
Questions & Answers about Er ahnt wohl die Überraschung, also verstecken wir den Luftballon und stoßen nicht an.
What does wohl do in this sentence, and why not just use wahrscheinlich?
Here, wohl acts as a modal particle to express a strong assumption or high probability, translating roughly to "probably" or "I bet." While you could use wahrscheinlich (probably), modal particles like wohl make the sentence sound much more natural and conversational in spoken German. It adds a flavor of personal deduction rather than just stating a statistical probability.
Wait, does also mean "also" here?
No, also is a classic false friend! In German, it means "so," "therefore," or "thus." The English word "also" translates to auch in German. Here, it connects the cause (he suspects it) to the effect (so we hide the balloon).
Why is the word order ...also verstecken wir... instead of ...also wir verstecken...?
The word also acts as a conjunctive adverb taking up the first position in that clause. Because German strictly requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position in main clauses, the verb verstecken must come immediately after also, pushing the subject wir to the third position.
Why is the word at the very end an?
The word at the end is the prefix of the separable verb anstoßen, which means "to toast" or "to clink glasses." Because it is conjugated in a main clause, the prefix an separates from the stem (stoßen) and gets kicked all the way to the end of the sentence.
There is no subject after und. Is that allowed?
Yes! Because both actions (verstecken and anstoßen) share the exact same subject (wir), you do not need to repeat it after und. The pronoun wir applies to both verbs.
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