Learn Hardcore German: Der Fehler war peinlich, aber wir haben ihn schnell korrigiert. - The mistake was embarrassing, but we corrected it quickly.

Aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but.” It connects two main clauses and does not change the verb-second (V2) word order of the following clause. So after aber, the finite verb still comes in second position: aber wir haben …. In German, a comma is required before aber when it links two independent clauses. There is no comma after aber.

Why is it Der Fehler and not something else?

Fehler is a masculine noun in German, so in the nominative singular you use der. It is the subject of the first clause. If you wanted to introduce an indefinite error, you’d say ein Fehler. Plural is die Fehler (same noun form, different article).

Why is it war peinlich and not ist peinlich or ist peinlich gewesen?

war peinlich = simple past; states that the mistake was embarrassing at that time (neutral, very common for sein).
ist peinlich = present; suggests it is embarrassing right now.
ist peinlich gewesen = present perfect; also refers to the past, but in everyday German, people typically use the simple past of sein (war) instead.

Why haben … korrigiert and not sind … korrigiert?

German uses haben as the auxiliary for most transitive verbs (verbs that take a direct object). korrigieren is transitive, so it takes haben. sein is reserved mainly for intransitive verbs of motion or change of state (e.g., gehen, kommen, sterben).

Why does the participle korrigiert have no ge- prefix?

Verbs ending in -ieren form their past participle without ge- and with -iert:

studieren → studiert
telefonieren → telefoniert
korrigieren → korrigiert

Why is the pronoun ihn used, not es or ihm?

Because Fehler is masculine. The correct masculine pronoun in the accusative (direct object) is ihn.

Nominative: er (the subject)
Accusative: ihn (direct object)
Dative: ihm (indirect object)

es would be for neuter nouns; ihm would be wrong here because korrigieren takes a direct object (accusative), not a dative.

Why is ihn placed before schnell?

In the middle field of a German clause, short object pronouns typically come before adverbs. Hence wir haben ihn schnell korrigiert sounds natural. Wir haben schnell ihn korrigiert is grammatical but sounds awkward and is rarely used.

Can I move schnell elsewhere?

Yes, but with nuances:

Neutral: Wir haben ihn schnell korrigiert.
Fronted for emphasis: Schnell haben wir ihn korrigiert. (stylistic/emphatic) Avoid putting a lone schnell after the participle: Wir haben ihn korrigiert schnell sounds odd.

Could I use the simple past for korrigieren instead of the present perfect?

Yes: … aber wir korrigierten ihn schnell. This is common in formal writing. In everyday speech, Germans often prefer the present perfect (haben … korrigiert), but using simple past is fine, especially in writing.

What’s the role of peinlich here? Does it need an ending?

Peinlich is a predicate adjective after sein (war). Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings: Der Fehler war peinlich. If you use it attributively before the noun, it takes an ending: ein peinlicher Fehler, der peinliche Fehler.

Could I use sondern, doch, or jedoch instead of aber?

aber: neutral “but,” general contrast (fits here).
sondern: “but rather,” used only after a negation to correct/replace something (not appropriate here).
jedoch: “however,” more formal; it usually appears mid-clause and can affect emphasis/flow.
doch: can act like “but/however” in writing; it also has many particle uses. Here doch as a conjunction is possible but more stylistic.

Is the comma before aber obligatory?

Yes. When aber connects two independent clauses, German requires a comma before it: …, aber …. There is no comma after aber.

Could I recast the second clause in the passive?

Yes: …, aber er wurde schnell korrigiert. Here er refers back to der Fehler as the grammatical subject of a passive clause. This shifts focus to the action/result rather than who did it. Another passive option is the present perfect passive: …, aber er ist schnell korrigiert worden.

Are there near-synonyms for korrigieren, and do they change the grammar?

berichtigen (to rectify) and verbessern (to improve/correct) can often substitute for korrigieren depending on context. All are transitive and take an accusative object, so the grammar (including ihn) stays the same.
Example: …, aber wir haben ihn schnell berichtigt/verbessert.

What’s the typical element order around the verb here?

Main clause V2 with a verbal bracket:

Clause 1: Der Fehler (field 1) — war (finite verb) — peinlich (rest).
Clause 2 after aber: wir (field 1) — haben (finite verb) — ihn schnell (middle field: pronoun before adverb) — korrigiert (non-finite verb at the end).