Learn Hardcore German: Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss. - We vote on the best proposal and then look for a compromise.

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.

We vote on the best proposal and then look for a compromise.

Breakdown of Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.

the; (masculine, accusative)

suchen

to look for

einen

a; (masculine, accusative)

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning German now

Questions & Answers about Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.

Why is the verb split into stimmen … ab instead of just abstimmen together?

Abstimmen is a separable-prefix verb (trennbares Verb): ab- + stimmen.

In a main clause (normal statement), the conjugated part goes in second position, and the prefix goes to the end of the clause:

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab.
(finite verb stimmen in 2nd position, prefix ab at the end)

When the verb is not in second position (infinitive, after a modal, in a subordinate clause, etc.), the parts stay together:

Wir wollen über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen.
…, dass wir über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen.

So:

main clause: stimmen … ab
other forms: abstimmen

Why do we use über after stimmen/abstimmen here, and what case does it take?

With voting, German commonly uses the pattern:

(ab)stimmen über + accusative

meaning “to vote on/about something”.

So:

über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen
= to vote on the best proposal

The preposition über here takes the accusative case, not dative:

über den Plan abstimmen (masc. acc.)
über die Regeln abstimmen (fem. acc.)
über das Budget abstimmen (neut. acc.)

Contrast with slightly different patterns:

für / gegen etwas stimmen
= to vote for / against something
(also with accusative: für den Vorschlag, gegen den Vorschlag)

So:

über etwas abstimmen = vote on something (the topic)
für/gegen etwas stimmen = vote for/against something (take a side)

Why is it den besten Vorschlag and not dem besten Vorschlag?

Because of the case required by über in this context.

über
- accusative → den (not dem) for masculine nouns.

Vorschlag is masculine:

nominative: der Vorschlag
accusative: den Vorschlag
dative: dem Vorschlag

Here we have über + accusative, so:

über den besten Vorschlag ✅
über dem besten Vorschlag ❌ (would be dative, wrong after über here)

So den is simply masculine accusative after über.

How does the adjective ending in den besten Vorschlag work?

The phrase is:

den besten Vorschlag

Breakdown:

den – definite article, masculine accusative singular
besten – adjective best- with weak ending -en
Vorschlag – masculine noun

After a definite article (der, die, das, den, dem, etc.), adjectives normally get -en in all oblique cases (accusative, dative, genitive) and in plural.

So:

nominative: der gute Vorschlag
accusative: den guten Vorschlag
dative: dem guten Vorschlag

With superlative (best-), same pattern:

nominative: der beste Vorschlag
accusative: den besten Vorschlag
dative: dem besten Vorschlag

So besten is just the expected weak declension after den in the accusative.

What exactly does Vorschlag mean here? How is it different from Idee or Angebot?

Vorschlag = proposal / suggestion
You propose something to be considered or decided on.

eine Idee = an idea (more general, maybe not concrete or formal)
ein Vorschlag = a suggestion/proposal (more directed: “Let’s do X”)
ein Angebot = an offer (often economic: price, service, contract, but also “offer of help”)

In über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen, they are choosing between concrete proposals.
Using Vorschlag fits because it implies specific options formally put forward to be decided on.

What does danach do in this sentence? Could I also say dann or nachher?

Danach literally means “after that” and refers back to the previous action.

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.
= We vote on the best proposal, and after that, we look for a compromise.

Possible alternatives and nuances:

dann = then / next (just indicates sequence, not specifically “after”)
- Wir stimmen … ab und dann suchen wir einen Kompromiss.
  → more neutral “and then…”
nachher = later / afterwards (more like “later on”; often more colloquial)
- Wir stimmen … ab und suchen nachher einen Kompromiss.

Danach emphasizes the temporal order: first vote, after that look for a compromise.
All three can be used here in everyday speech, but danach fits especially well because it explicitly means “after that event”.

Why is it einen Kompromiss suchen (“look for a compromise”) and not einen Kompromiss finden (“find a compromise”)?

Both exist, but they focus on different stages:

einen Kompromiss suchen
= to look for / try to reach a compromise
→ emphasizes the process of negotiating
einen Kompromiss finden
= to find / arrive at a compromise
→ emphasizes the result, that you have one

In the sentence:

… und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.
They are describing what they will try to do next: look for / work towards a compromise.
It doesn’t promise that they will actually find one, just that they will attempt it.

You could say … und finden danach einen Kompromiss, but that would sound like you’re confident or asserting that a compromise will indeed be found.

Can I change the word order and say: Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und danach suchen wir einen Kompromiss?

Yes, that is correct and natural:

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und danach suchen wir einen Kompromiss.

Differences:

Original:
Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.
→ one subject (wir) and two verbs; the wir is understood in the second part.
Alternative:
… und danach suchen wir einen Kompromiss.
→ explicit wir again, and danach moved in front of the verb.

Both obey the rule that in a main clause, the finite verb is in second position:

danach (1st element) + suchen (2nd element) + wir … (rest)

So you can place danach before the verb or after it, as in the original. The meaning is the same; it’s stylistic emphasis.

How would this sentence look inside a subordinate clause with dass?

In a dass-clause, verbs go to the end, and separable verbs are written together:

Main clause:
Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.
With dass:
…, dass wir über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen und danach einen Kompromiss suchen.

Note:

abstimmen is no longer split (stimmen … ab); it appears as abstimmen at the end.
Both verbs (abstimmen, suchen) are at the end of their clause part, after all objects and adverbials.

Why is the present tense used here? Is this about now or the future?

German often uses the present tense (Präsens) to talk about:

Things happening right now, or
Future plans/schedules, especially when the context makes the time clear.

In this sentence, it’s most naturally understood as a plan for the future (like the schedule of a meeting):

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab und suchen danach einen Kompromiss.
≈ We will vote on the best proposal and then (after that) look for a compromise.

You could also use Futur I:

Wir werden über den besten Vorschlag abstimmen und danach einen Kompromiss suchen.

But in everyday German the plain present is usually preferred when the future meaning is clear from context.

Is there a difference between (ab)stimmen and wählen?

Yes, they’re related to voting but used differently.

(ab)stimmen:

über etwas abstimmen = to vote on/about something (a proposal, plan, rule)
- Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab.
- Sie stimmen über die neuen Regeln ab.

Often used for decision-making on issues.

wählen:

jemanden wählen = to elect someone, to choose someone (or sometimes something)
- Wir wählen den neuen Präsidenten.
- Sie wählt den roten Mantel.

Used more for electing people (elections) or picking from options in a broader sense.

So:

Wir stimmen über den besten Vorschlag ab
→ they are deciding which proposal should win, by vote.
Wir wählen den Vorsitzenden
→ they are electing a person to a position.