Breakdown of Nach dem Kampf war er völlig erschöpft.
sein
to be
nach
after (in time)
erschöpft
exhausted
völlig
completely
der Kampf
the fight, the struggle
Questions & Answers about Nach dem Kampf war er völlig erschöpft.
Why is the word order war er instead of er war?
In German, the conjugated verb must take the second position in a main clause. Since the prepositional phrase Nach dem Kampf occupies the entire first position, the verb war comes next, pushing the subject er after the verb.
erschöpft is a past participle. How does it work as an adjective here?
Like in English, German past participles can often be used as normal adjectives to describe a state. erschöpft means exhausted. If you wanted to describe the fight itself as exhausting, you would use the present participle erschöpfend.
Why does the sentence use dem Kampf instead of der Kampf or den Kampf?
The preposition nach is a strict dative preposition, meaning it always forces the following noun into the dative case. Because Kampf is a masculine noun (der Kampf), the article changes to dem.
Could I use ganz instead of völlig to mean completely exhausted?
Yes, in this sentence they are practically interchangeable. However, völlig often carries a slightly stronger, more absolute tone than ganz, emphasizing just how completely drained of energy he was.
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