Breakdown of Wer hat diesen Bericht in Auftrag gegeben?
haben
to have
wer
who
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
der Bericht
the report
in Auftrag geben
to commission
Questions & Answers about Wer hat diesen Bericht in Auftrag gegeben?
What is the Noun-Verb Support Construction in this sentence, and what regular verb could replace it?
The construction is etwas in Auftrag geben (to commission something). In formal or professional German, these Noun-Verb Support Constructions are often used to sound more official or objective. A single-verb alternative would be beauftragen, but in Auftrag geben puts more emphasis on the creation of the order itself.
Why do we use in Auftrag instead of im Auftrag?
The preposition in takes the accusative case here because it describes an abstract action moving into a new state (putting the report into a state of commission). In these fixed phrases, the article is dropped. If you used the dative im Auftrag, it would mean doing something on behalf of someone, which changes the meaning completely!
Why is the accusative object diesen Bericht placed before the prepositional phrase?
In these support constructions, the noun-preposition pair (in Auftrag) is treated as being tightly glued to the base verb (geben), almost like a separable prefix. Because they form a single conceptual unit that belongs at the end of the clause, standard direct objects like diesen Bericht must be placed before them.
Could I use a simpler verb like bestellen instead of in Auftrag geben?
You could, but it changes the tone. Bestellen means to order and is mostly used for ready-made goods like a book or a meal. In Auftrag geben is specifically used for custom services, complex projects, or professional tasks where someone must actively create or research something, which perfectly fits a report (Bericht).
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