Breakdown of Diese Frage beschäftigt mich seit Wochen.
die Frage
the question
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
seit
since, for (time)
die Woche
the week
beschäftigen
to employ; to occupy
Questions & Answers about Diese Frage beschäftigt mich seit Wochen.
How does the be- prefix function in the verb beschäftigen?
The be- prefix frequently makes verbs transitive, allowing them to take a direct accusative object. It can also turn nouns into verbs. Here, beschäftigen relates to the noun das Geschäft (business or work). The prefix turns this into a transitive verb meaning 'to put to work' or 'to occupy'. This allows the question to act directly upon you, taking mich as its accusative object.
Why is the German verb beschäftigt in the present tense, while the English translation uses the present perfect ('has occupied')?
When an action started in the past and is still ongoing, German uses the present tense along with the preposition seit (since/for). English requires the present perfect. So, seit Wochen literally means 'since weeks ago' and forces the present tense in German to show that the question is still occupying your mind right now.
Could I also say Ich beschäftige mich mit dieser Frage?
Yes! Sich mit etwas beschäftigen (to occupy oneself with something) is very common. The difference is the focus: Ich beschäftige mich mit dieser Frage puts you in the active role of choosing to think about it. The sentence above makes the question the subject, implying it is keeping your mind busy on its own, perhaps even if you do not want it to.
Why does the word Woche change to Wochen after seit?
The preposition seit always requires the dative case. Because we are talking about multiple weeks ('for weeks'), it uses the dative plural. The standard plural of die Woche is die Wochen. In the dative plural, nouns get an extra -n at the end unless they already have one; since Wochen already ends in -n, it stays exactly the same as the standard plural.
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