Breakdown of Er vertritt seit Jahren dieselbe Meinung.
das Jahr
the year
seit
since, for (time)
derselbe
the same (m)
eine Meinung vertreten
to hold (and defend) an opinion
Questions & Answers about Er vertritt seit Jahren dieselbe Meinung.
Why does the sentence use the present tense vertritt when the English translation says "has held"?
In German, when an action started in the past and is still happening right now, you use the present tense combined with the preposition seit (for/since). Because he started holding this opinion years ago and still holds it today, German literally says "He holds for years the same opinion." English prefers the present perfect tense for this.
I thought vertreten meant "to represent". Why is it translated as "held" here?
You are right that vertreten often means "to represent" (like representing a client or country) or "to substitute". However, when used with Meinung (opinion) or Standpunkt (point of view), the set phrase eine Meinung vertreten means "to hold an opinion". You can think of it as him "representing a viewpoint."
Is there a difference between dieselbe and die gleiche?
dieselbe means the exact same one (identity), whereas die gleiche means an identical copy (equality). For example, if two people wear das gleiche Kleid, they are wearing two identical dresses. If they share one physical dress, they wear dasselbe Kleid! With abstract things like a Meinung, native speakers often use them interchangeably, but dieselbe is used here to emphasize that his specific stance hasn't shifted at all.
How does this fit with the lesson's focus on "meiner Meinung nach"?
This lesson focuses on expressing your own view using the adverbial phrase meiner Meinung nach (in my opinion). This sentence expands your vocabulary by showing how to describe opinions as objects using Meinung with the verb vertreten. But remember the V2 rule from this lesson: if you wanted to combine them and say "In my opinion, he has held...", the verb must come immediately after the phrase: Meiner Meinung nach vertritt er seit Jahren dieselbe Meinung.
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