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Questions & Answers about Dein Witz gestern brachte alle zum Lachen.
Why is it Dein Witz and not Deine Witz?
Noun gender: Witz is masculine (der Witz), so its nominative singular possessive form is dein, not deine (which would be for feminine nouns like deine Geschichte).
Why is gestern placed after Dein Witz, and can I move it?
Gestern is an adverb of time. German main clauses follow a “verb-second” rule, but time-manner-place ordering for adverbs is common. Here you have:
- Subject: Dein Witz
- Time adverb: gestern
- Verb: brachte
You can also front gestern for emphasis:
Gestern brachte dein Witz alle zum Lachen.
What case is alle in, and why not allen?
Here alle (“everyone”) is the direct object of brachte, so it’s in the accusative plural. The accusative plural of alle stays alle. Allen would be dative.
What does zum Lachen literally mean, and why use zu + noun instead of an infinitive?
Zum is the contraction of zu dem, and Lachen is a nominalized infinitive (das Lachen = “the laughter”). The construction bringen + accusative + zu + noun (often a nominalized infinitive) is the standard idiom for “cause someone to do something.” So zum Lachen bringen literally means “bring to the laughter,” i.e. “make someone laugh.”
Why is brachte used instead of hat gebracht?
Brachte is the Präteritum (simple past) of bringen, typically used in writing or formal narration. In spoken or informal German you’d normally use the Perfekt:
Dein Witz gestern hat alle zum Lachen gebracht.
Why is Lachen capitalized here? Is it a noun?
Yes. In German, infinitives can be nominalized (turned into nouns) and must be capitalized. Lachen here is a noun (das Lachen), not the verb lachen.
Can I use another verb instead of bringen to say “make someone laugh”?
No, the fixed idiom is jemanden zum Lachen bringen. You wouldn’t say jemanden zum Lachen machen. If you wanted a similar nuance you could switch to a synonym for Lachen, e.g.:
Dein Witz gestern brachte alle zum Kichern.