Breakdown of Er ist seit Wochen in sie verliebt.
sein
to be
in
in
seit
since, for (time)
die Woche
the week
verliebt
in love
Questions & Answers about Er ist seit Wochen in sie verliebt.
Why does the German sentence use the present tense (ist) when the English translation says 'has been'?
In German, when an action or state started in the past and is still continuing today, you use the present tense with seit (since/for). English uses the present perfect ('has been'). So, Er ist seit Wochen... translates perfectly to 'He has been... for weeks.'
Why is it in sie instead of mit ihr? Doesn't the English translation say 'in love with her'?
Prepositions rarely map perfectly between languages. While English says 'in love with', German uses the preposition in for the phrase verliebt sein (to be in love). You must always say verliebt in.
in is a two-way preposition. Why does it take the accusative (sie) here instead of the dative (ihr)?
When in is used figuratively with adjectives and verbs (like verliebt sein or sich verlieben), it almost always forces the accusative case. The dative is generally reserved for actual physical locations answering the question 'where?'.
Could I say Er hat sich seit Wochen in sie verliebt to mean the same thing?
No, because sich verlieben describes the momentary action of falling in love, which doesn't stretch out over weeks in this context. To express the ongoing state of being in love over a period of time, you must use the adjective verliebt with the verb sein (Er ist... verliebt).
Learn Er ist seit Wochen in sie verliebt and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free