Die Verzögerung macht mich nervös.

The delay makes me nervous.

Breakdown of Die Verzögerung macht mich nervös.

• machen: to make
• nervös: nervous
• mich: me
• die Verzögerung: the delay

Questions & Answers about Die Verzögerung macht mich nervös.

Why is Verzögerung capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized. Verzögerung is a noun (derived from the verb verzögern), so it always begins with a capital letter.

What gender and case is die Verzögerung in, and why?

Verzögerung is a feminine noun. In this sentence it’s the subject, so it’s in the nominative case and takes the article die.

Why do we use mich instead of mir?

The verb machen requires a direct (accusative) object, so you use mich (accusative “me”) rather than mir (dative “to me”).

Why doesn’t nervös have any ending or ending-change?

Here nervös is a predicative adjective (it describes the object after the verb). Predicative adjectives in German do not take declension endings, unlike attributive adjectives that appear before a noun.

Why is the verb macht in second position?

German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be the second element. Here the first element is the subject Die Verzögerung, so macht comes second.

Could we use Verspätung instead of Verzögerung?

They’re similar but not identical. Verspätung usually means “being late” (e.g. a train or a person), while Verzögerung is a more general “delay” or “postponement” of an action or process.

Can I say Die Verzögerung macht mir nervös?

No. Because machen takes an accusative object, you must use mich. Mir would be dative and is not correct with machen in this sense.

What other ways can I express “makes me nervous” in German?

There are several alternatives, for example:

• Die Verzögerung beunruhigt mich. (beunruhigen also takes accusative)
• Ich werde durch die Verzögerung nervös. (using werden
  • predicative adjective)
• Die Verzögerung stresst mich. (stressen takes accusative)

What’s the difference between nervös machen and nervös werden?

• nervös machen (with machen) means “to cause someone else to become nervous.”
• nervös werden (with werden) means “to become nervous oneself.”
  In your sentence, Die Verzögerung macht mich nervös, the delay is the cause, and ich am the one becoming nervous.

How do you pronounce the ö in Verzögerung and nervös?

The German ö is like the vowel in English hurt or bird, but more rounded.

• Lips form a small “O” shape.
• Tongue is in a mid-front position.
  Practice with nervös [nɛrˈøːs] and Verzögerung [fɛɐ̯ˈt͡søːɡəʁʊŋ].