Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

also

Breakdown of Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

• bleiben: to remain
• ruhig: calm
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter)

Questions & Answers about Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

What exactly does Der Verantwortliche mean, and why does it have der and a capital letter?

Der Verantwortliche literally means the person who is responsible / the one in charge.

• verantwortlich is originally an adjective: responsible.
• German often turns adjectives into nouns to refer to people with that quality.
• When an adjective is used as a noun, it is capitalized: der Verantwortliche, die Verantwortliche, ein Verantwortlicher, etc.
• der is the definite article the, here: the (male or grammatically masculine) responsible person / person in charge.

So Der Verantwortliche is a nominalized adjective (an adjective used as a noun) meaning the responsible person / the person in charge.

Why is it Verantwortliche and not Verantwortlicher after der?

This is about adjective endings when the adjective is used as a noun.

• With the definite article der, the pattern is:
  • der Verantwortliche (nominative singular masculine)
  • den Verantwortlichen (accusative)
  • dem Verantwortlichen (dative)
• The -e ending in Verantwortliche matches der in the nominative masculine.

Compare with an indefinite article:

• ein Verantwortlicher bleibt ruhig – here you get -er because with ein the adjective carries more of the case/number information.

So:

• der Verantwortliche (with -e)
• ein Verantwortlicher (with -er)

Both are correct in their own structures; the article determines the ending.