Word
Wir erhielten gestern endlich die Erlaubnis, unser Projekt zu erweitern, und das Team feierte.
Meaning
We finally received permission yesterday to expand our project, and the team celebrated.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
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Questions & Answers about Wir erhielten gestern endlich die Erlaubnis, unser Projekt zu erweitern, und das Team feierte.
Why is erhielten used here instead of the perfect tense haben erhalten?
German often uses the simple past (Präteritum) in written narratives or formal reports.
- erhielten is the Präteritum form of erhalten.
- In conversation you might hear haben erhalten (Perfekt), but in writing or storytelling it’s common to stick with Präteritum for consistency.
What is the function of gestern and endlich, and why is gestern placed before endlich?
Both words are adverbials, but they serve different roles:
- gestern is a time-adverb (when?).
- endlich is a modal particle/adverb of mood, expressing relief (“at last”).
Word-order rule for adverbs in German main clauses:- Time (gestern)
- Manner or modal particles (endlich)
- Place
Hence gestern precedes endlich.
Why are there commas around the infinitive phrase unser Projekt zu erweitern, including the one before und?