Breakdown of Das Team hat in diesem Jahr viel geleistet.
in
in
haben
to have
viel
much / a lot
das Jahr
the year
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
leisten
to achieve; to afford
Questions & Answers about Das Team hat in diesem Jahr viel geleistet.
Wait, doesn't leisten mean to afford?
Only when it is used reflexively with a dative pronoun! The phrase sich (Dativ) etwas leisten means to afford something financially or metaphorically. For example: Ich kann mir das Auto leisten (I can afford the car). In our sentence, there is no reflexive pronoun, so leisten simply means to accomplish, to achieve, or to perform.
How is geleistet different from other words for achieved, like erreicht or geschafft?
leisten focuses on the actual effort, performance, or output of work. erreichen focuses on reaching a specific goal or milestone. schaffen is about successfully managing or finishing a difficult task. Saying viel geleistet highlights the team's hard work and high productivity.
Could I drop the in and just say dieses Jahr?
Yes, absolutely! dieses Jahr uses the accusative case to express a specific time without needing a preposition. in diesem Jahr uses the preposition in plus the dative case. Both mean this year and are interchangeable, though dieses Jahr is a bit more common in casual, spoken German.
How would I say 'The team was capable of achieving a lot this year' using the formal alternatives from this lesson?
You would use the phrase imstande sein (to be capable) along with a zu + infinitive clause. The sentence becomes: Das Team war imstande, in diesem Jahr viel zu leisten. This is a more formal alternative to using the modal verb können in the past tense (Das Team konnte in diesem Jahr viel leisten).
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