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Questions & Answers about Mein Profil bleibt privat.
Why use bleibt instead of ist?
Bleibt means remains/stays and emphasizes continuity or the fact that something will not change. Mein Profil bleibt privat suggests that the privacy status is and will continue to be private (e.g., after a change elsewhere). Mein Profil ist privat is a simple statement of the current state, without the nuance of persistence.
Can German present tense express the future here?
Yes. German often uses the present to talk about the near future when the context makes it clear. Mein Profil bleibt privat can mean will remain private. If you want to be explicit, you can say Mein Profil wird privat bleiben.
Why is it mein and not meine?
Because Profil is neuter (das Profil) and here it’s the nominative subject. Possessive determiners pattern like the ein-words:
- Nominative: masculine mein, neuter mein, feminine meine, plural meine. So: mein Profil (not meine Profil).
What case is Mein Profil in, and why?
Nominative. It’s the subject of the sentence. With copular verbs like sein, werden, and bleiben, the subject stays in the nominative and the adjective is predicative.
Why is privat lowercase and without an ending?
- Adjectives are lowercase in German unless turned into nouns (e.g., das Private).
- Predicative adjectives (after sein/werden/bleiben) take no endings: ist/bleibt privat. Attributive adjectives, placed before a noun, do take endings: mein privates Profil, das private Profil.
How would I say “My profile is set to private”?
Natural options:
- Mein Profil ist auf privat gestellt.
- Mein Profil ist privat eingestellt. In UI contexts, you’ll also see simply Mein Profil ist privat as the setting’s result.
How do you pronounce the sentence?
[maɪ̯n pʁoˈfiːl blaɪ̯pt pʁiˈvaːt] Tips:
- r is the German uvular [ʁ].
- Profil has a long i: [fiːl].
- bleibt has the diphthong [aɪ̯].
- Stress: pro-FIL, pri-VAT.
Can I change the word order for emphasis?
Yes. Fronting for emphasis is fine:
- Privat bleibt mein Profil. (Emphasizes the privacy status) You can also add focus words: Mein Profil bleibt weiterhin privat.
How do I make it a yes/no question?
Invert subject and verb:
- Bleibt mein Profil privat? Possible answers: Ja, es bleibt privat. / Nein, es wird öffentlich.
What are the past forms with bleiben?
- Simple past: Mein Profil blieb privat.
- Present perfect: Mein Profil ist privat geblieben. Note that bleiben uses sein as the auxiliary: ist geblieben.
What is the gender and plural of Profil?
- Gender: neuter — das Profil
- Plural: die Profile Related forms you might see: genitive singular des Profils, dative plural den Profilen.
What’s the nuance difference between privat, geheim, vertraulich, and nicht öffentlich?
- privat: intended for personal use/visibility; not for the public.
- geheim: secret; deliberately hidden and not to be disclosed.
- vertraulich: confidential; shared with limited, trusted parties.
- nicht öffentlich: not public; more formal/technical than privat. Opposite of privat is öffentlich.
If the noun were feminine or plural, how would the possessive change?
- Feminine: Meine Seite bleibt privat.
- Plural: Meine Bilder bleiben privat. Note that privat still has no ending here because it’s predicative.
Can I say Mein Profil bleibt private with an -e?
No. In predicative position, adjectives don’t take endings: bleibt privat is correct. The -e appears in attributive position before nouns, e.g., eine private Seite, mein privates Profil.
Do I always capitalize Profil? What about Privat?
- Profil is a noun, so it’s capitalized: Profil.
- privat is an adjective, so it’s lowercase. Capitalize only when used as a noun: das Private (the private sphere/aspect).
Are there natural alternatives to express the same idea?
Yes:
- Mein Profil ist weiterhin privat.
- Mein Profil bleibt weiterhin privat.
- Mein Profil wird nicht öffentlich. (emphasizes that it won’t become public)