Breakdown of Auf dieser Plattform schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar, weil mir der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist.
Questions & Answers about Auf dieser Plattform schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar, weil mir der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist.
No, it’s not required. German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule, but almost anything can be put in the first position (the Vorfeld).
- Auf dieser Plattform schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar...
→ Prepositional phrase in first position; verb schreibe stays second. - Ich schreibe auf dieser Plattform selten einen Kommentar...
→ Subject ich in first position; verb schreibe still second.
Both are correct. Starting with Auf dieser Plattform just puts more emphasis on where this is true, as a kind of topic: “On this platform, I rarely write a comment …”
Because auf can take either accusative or dative, depending on the meaning:
- Accusative = movement towards a place:
Ich gehe auf diese Plattform. – I’m going onto this platform. - Dative = location (no movement):
Ich bin auf dieser Plattform. – I am on this platform.
In your sentence, it’s about where the person writes comments (location, not movement), so auf + dative is used:
- Feminine noun die Plattform → dative singular der Plattform
- diese in dative feminine becomes dieser
→ auf dieser Plattform
Einen Kommentar is accusative singular masculine.
- Noun: der Kommentar (masculine)
- Indefinite article in accusative masculine: einen
You use the accusative because Kommentar is the direct object of schreibe (what do I write? → a comment).
Other forms with the same noun:
- Nominative: ein Kommentar (rare; more often ein Kommentar ist …)
- Accusative: einen Kommentar schreiben
- Dative: mit einem Kommentar
- Genitive: eines Kommentars
Yes, that’s possible, but there is a nuance.
- Ich schreibe selten einen Kommentar
→ Focus on a single comment each time (I rarely post even one comment). - Ich schreibe selten Kommentare
→ Plural, focuses more on the general activity of commenting.
Both are grammatically fine. The original sentence highlights the idea that even one comment is unusual for the speaker on that platform.
In the main clause Auf dieser Plattform schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar:
- The “normal” middle field order is: subject – midfield elements – verb complements.
Selten is an adverb of frequency and fits naturally before the direct object:
- Ich schreibe selten einen Kommentar. (very natural)
- Ich schreibe einen Kommentar selten. (possible, but sounds marked/unusual here)
You can also move selten for emphasis:
- Selten schreibe ich auf dieser Plattform einen Kommentar.
→ Very strong emphasis on rarely.
But the original placement is the most neutral and common.
Because German often uses a dative experiencer where English uses a direct object with “me”.
- mir = dative ich (“to me / for me”)
- The structure is literally:
Der Ton ist mir zu aggressiv.
= “The tone is too aggressive for me.”
So:
- Der Ton ist mir unangenehm. – The tone is unpleasant to me.
- Das ist mir zu teuer. – That is too expensive for me.
Using mich would be wrong here. Mich (accusative) would be used as a direct object with certain verbs, e.g. Das ärgert mich (That annoys me), but not with this “ist mir zu …” pattern.
Der Ton can mean:
- the literal sound (tone, pitch), but
- very often: the way people speak or write, i.e. their tone / style / manner in communication.
In your sentence, it’s clearly the second meaning:
- der Ton = the manner of communication, how people talk to each other, their style, level of politeness or aggressiveness.
So der Ton ist zu aggressiv means “the tone (of the discussions / comments) is too aggressive.”
Because weil introduces a subordinate clause, and in subordinate clauses the finite verb goes to the very end of the clause.
- Main clause (V2):
Der Ton ist oft zu aggressiv. - Subordinate clause with weil (verb-final):
..., weil der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist.
So the pattern is:
- weil
- [subject] + [other elements] + [verb at the end]
This is a core rule of standard German word order in subordinate clauses.
Dort means “there” in the sense of that place (more specific, often a bit more formal or written).
Da is more general, often like “there” or “around there”, and is very common in spoken German.
In this sentence:
- weil mir der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist
→ “because the tone there is often too aggressive for me.”
You could say:
- weil mir der Ton da oft zu aggressiv ist.
That would sound more colloquial and is perfectly acceptable in everyday speech. Dort just sounds a bit more precise or neutral/written.
Zu in this context means “too” (excessively), not “very”.
- sehr aggressiv = very aggressive
- zu aggressiv = too aggressive (more than acceptable or desirable)
So zu aggressiv implies a negative judgment: the aggressiveness exceeds the speaker’s limit or comfort level.
The comma is required because weil introduces a subordinate clause.
Current structure:
- Main clause: Auf dieser Plattform schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar,
- Subordinate clause: weil mir der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist.
If you start with weil, the subordinate clause comes first, and the main clause verb must still be second:
- Weil mir der Ton dort oft zu aggressiv ist, schreibe ich auf dieser Plattform selten einen Kommentar.
Note:
- Subordinate clause: verb at the end (ist).
- Main clause after the comma: verb-second (schreibe).
All of these are used, with slightly different flavors:
- einen Kommentar schreiben – to write a comment (focus on the act of writing; neutral, common).
- einen Kommentar hinterlassen – to leave a comment (common in web contexts, slightly more “platform language”).
- einen Kommentar posten – to post a comment (more informal/Internet-y, often used online).
In your sentence, schreibe ich selten einen Kommentar is fully natural and idiomatic. You could also say ich hinterlasse selten einen Kommentar or ich poste selten einen Kommentar, depending on the style you want.