Breakdown of Bitte gehen Sie kurz auf den zweiten Punkt ein.
bitte
please
kurz
shortly / short
zweite
second
der Punkt
the point
eingehen auf
to go into, to respond to
Questions & Answers about Bitte gehen Sie kurz auf den zweiten Punkt ein.
Why is auf used here with the accusative case (den zweiten Punkt) instead of the dative?
The verb eingehen (to address or to go into) requires the fixed preposition auf. When auf is part of a fixed verb-preposition combination like this, it almost always takes the accusative case. Since Punkt is masculine, the article and noun become den zweiten Punkt.
What is the exact meaning of eingehen auf here? Does it literally mean walking into something?
No, it is used figuratively to mean to address, to deal with, or to respond to a topic or argument. It is a very common verb for formal discussions and meetings, which matches the polite Sie form used in this sentence.
Why does the adjective zweiten end in -en?
This is an example of weak adjective declension. The noun Punkt is masculine and in the accusative case, so its definite article is den. After a definite article like den, the following adjective takes the weak ending -en.
Why is ein at the very end of the sentence?
The verb eingehen is a separable verb. In this formal command structure (Bitte gehen Sie), the conjugated part of the verb (gehen) comes at the beginning, and the separable prefix (ein) is pushed to the very end of the clause.
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