Breakdown of Der Familie zufolge hilft ihnen die aufrichtige Anteilnahme in der Trauer.
in
in
sie
they
die Familie
the family
helfen
to help
aufrichtig
sincere
zufolge
according to (often follows the noun)
die Trauer
the grief
die Anteilnahme
the sympathy
Questions & Answers about Der Familie zufolge hilft ihnen die aufrichtige Anteilnahme in der Trauer.
Why is zufolge placed after Der Familie, and what case is used here?
The word zufolge (meaning 'according to') is usually used as a postposition, meaning it comes right after the noun it refers to. When placed after the noun, it always requires the dative case. This is why we see the dative feminine article der in Der Familie. If it were placed before the noun, it would require the genitive case, but the postposition format is much more common in German.
How could we rewrite this sentence to use the formal verb vermögen from this lesson?
To formally express that the sympathy 'is able to' help them, you can use vermögen as the conjugated main verb in position 2 and push helfen to the end of the clause as a zu-infinitive. The sentence would become: Der Familie zufolge vermag ihnen die aufrichtige Anteilnahme in der Trauer zu helfen.
Why is the verb hilft considered to be in the second position when it is the fourth word in the sentence?
The German V2 (verb-second) rule counts grammatical blocks, not individual words. The entire phrase Der Familie zufolge functions as a single adverbial unit that occupies Position 1. Therefore, the conjugated verb hilft correctly sits in Position 2 immediately after it.
Why does the object pronoun ihnen appear before the subject die aufrichtige Anteilnahme?
Because Position 1 is filled by Der Familie zufolge, the subject is inverted and must go after the verb. In German word order, when a pronoun object and a full-noun subject both appear after the verb, the pronoun almost always comes first. This makes the sentence flow much more naturally.
Given its root, does Anteilnahme simply mean 'participation'?
While it comes from the verb teilnehmen (to participate), the noun Anteilnahme takes on a specific meaning in the context of grief (in der Trauer). Here, it translates to 'sympathy' or 'condolences,' carrying the literal nuance of 'taking a share' of someone else's pain or sorrow.
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