Question 1

Why is the object ihn and not the reflexive sich?

Accepted Answer

In German erinnern can be used two ways:  
1) Reflexively (sich erinnern an + Akk) meaning “to remember something.”  
2) Transitively (jemanden erinnern an + Akk) meaning “to remind someone of something.”  
Here Seine Stimme (his voice) is doing the reminding, so it “reminds him” (non‑reflexive), hence ihn (accusative pronoun), not sich.

Question 2

Why is the preposition an followed by das instead of dem?

Accepted Answer

With erinnern an the thing you’re reminded of is a prepositional object in the accusative. Although an can govern accusative (movement/toward) or dative (location), in the fixed phrase jemanden an etwas erinnern, it always takes accusative. So you need an das wichtigste Wort, not an dem wichtigste….

Question 3

Could you contract an das to ans here?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Colloquially and in writing you often see ans (= an + das) before a neuter noun:  
Seine Stimme erinnert ihn ans wichtigste Wort der Stunde.  
The meaning is identical; it’s simply a contraction.

Question 4

Why is it das wichtigste Wort and not das wichtigsten Wort or das wichtigstes Wort?

Accepted Answer

This is an attributive superlative. After a definite article you use the weak adjective ending:  
– Nominative neuter singular = -e  
Thus das wichtigste Wort.  
If you dropped the article entirely (e.g. “an wichtigstes Wort”), you would need a strong ending (-es), but omitting the article here is unusual.

Question 5

Why is der Stunde in the genitive and why der for “hour”?

Accepted Answer

Wort der Stunde literally means “word of the hour.” German uses the genitive to show “of something.”  
– Stunde is feminine.  
– Feminine singular genitive article = der.  
Hence Wort der Stunde = “the word of the hour.”

Question 6

Could you say das Wichtigste by itself instead of das wichtigste Wort?

Accepted Answer

Yes, das Wichtigste (with a capital W as a noun) means “the most important thing.” But if you specifically want “the most important word,” you need das wichtigste Wort. You can’t mix them: das Wichtigste Wort would be understood, but it’s stylistically odd because Wichtigste alone already functions as a noun.

Question 7

Can you front the adverbial phrase an das wichtigste Wort der Stunde for emphasis?

Accepted Answer

Yes, German allows you to move the prepositional object to the front:  
An das wichtigste Wort der Stunde erinnert ihn seine Stimme.  
That places focus on an das wichtigste Wort der Stunde, but the verb‑second rule still holds: the verb erinnert stays in second position.

Seine Stimme erinnert ihn an das wichtigste Wort der Stunde.

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