Der Abschied macht mich traurig.

to make

Breakdown of Der Abschied macht mich traurig.

• traurig: sad
• mich: me
• der Abschied: the farewell

Questions & Answers about Der Abschied macht mich traurig.

What does Der Abschied literally mean, and why is it capitalized?

Abschied is a noun meaning farewell, parting, or saying goodbye.
Der is the definite article the for masculine nouns in the nominative case.

In German, all nouns are capitalized, so Abschied must start with a capital letter. The phrase Der Abschied literally means “the farewell / the parting.”

Why is it Der Abschied and not Den Abschied?

Because Abschied is the subject of the sentence, so it has to be in the nominative case.

• Nominative masculine singular: der Abschied (subject)
• Accusative masculine singular: den Abschied (direct object)

In Der Abschied macht mich traurig, the farewell is doing the action (it “makes” someone sad), so it must be der, not den.

Why is it mich and not mir?

Mich is the accusative form of ich (I), and mir is the dative form.

The verb pattern here is:

• etwas macht jemanden traurig
  (something makes someone sad)

The “someone” is a direct object, so it must be in the accusative:

• ich → mich (accusative)
• ich → mir (dative, used with verbs that require dative like helfen, danken, etc.)

Because the farewell directly affects me, we use mich, not mir.

What grammatical role does mich have in this sentence?

Mich is the direct object (accusative object) of macht.

Structure:

• Der Abschied = subject (nominative)
• macht = verb
• mich = direct object (accusative)
• traurig = predicative adjective describing mich

So the structure is:
[Subject] makes [direct object] [adjective].
Der Abschied macht mich traurig.
The farewell makes me sad.

What is traurig grammatically, and why doesn’t it have an ending?

Traurig is an adjective meaning sad.

Here it is used predicatively (after the verb, describing the state of mich), not directly in front of a noun. Predicative adjectives in German do not take endings:

• Ich bin traurig.
• Der Abschied macht mich traurig.

Adjective endings appear when the adjective stands before a noun:

• ein trauriger Abschied (a sad farewell)
• der traurige Abschied (the sad farewell)

So: no ending after macht mich, but an ending before Abschied.

Could I also say Ich bin traurig über den Abschied, and what is the difference?

Yes, Ich bin traurig über den Abschied is correct and natural. The difference is one of focus and structure:

• Der Abschied macht mich traurig.
  Focus: the farewell causes my sadness.
  Structure: [Cause] makes [person] sad.

• Ich bin traurig über den Abschied.
  Focus: my emotional state; then you add the reason with über.
  Structure: I am sad about [something].

Both mean almost the same thing, but the first highlights the cause as the active element, while the second highlights you and your feeling.

Why can’t I say something like Der Abschied macht mich Traurigkeit?

Because macht mich traurig needs an adjective, not a noun.

• traurig = adjective (sad) → correct: macht mich traurig
• Traurigkeit = noun (sadness) → doesn’t fit this pattern

The pattern is:

• etwas macht jemanden + Adjektiv
  e.g. macht mich glücklich / nervös / wütend / müde

If you want to use the noun Traurigkeit, you need a different construction, e.g.:

• Der Abschied erfüllt mich mit Traurigkeit.
  (The farewell fills me with sadness.)

Can I change the word order, like Mich macht der Abschied traurig or Der Abschied macht traurig?

Yes, but the nuance changes.

1. Mich macht der Abschied traurig.

   • Grammatically correct.
   • Puts mich (me) in the emphatic first position:
     “It’s me that the farewell makes sad” (implying maybe others aren’t as sad).

2. Der Abschied macht traurig.

   • Also correct.
   • Leaves out mich, so the meaning is more general:
     “Farewell / parting is something that makes (people) sad.”
     It’s like a general statement about farewells.

The original Der Abschied macht mich traurig is the neutral, most straightforward version.

Is macht mich traurig a fixed phrase, and can I use it with other emotions?

It’s not a fixed idiom, but a very common and productive pattern:

• etwas macht mich glücklich (makes me happy)
• etwas macht mich wütend (makes me angry)
• etwas macht mich nervös (makes me nervous)
• etwas macht mich müde (makes me tired)
• etwas macht mich stolz (makes me proud)

You can replace mich with any person:

• Das macht ihn traurig.
• Die Nachricht macht sie nervös.
• So etwas macht uns wütend.

What exactly does Abschied cover? Is it only for saying goodbye in person?

Abschied is fairly broad. It can refer to:

• Saying goodbye in person:
  • Der Abschied am Bahnhof war schwer.
• A more abstract parting or separation:
  • Der Abschied von der Kindheit (the farewell to childhood)
• Leaving a job, role, or phase of life:
  • Sein Abschied aus dem Berufsleben (his retirement/departure from working life)

For a breakup in a romantic relationship, Trennung (separation) is often more direct, but Abschied can still be used if you emphasize the act of saying goodbye.