Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

The person in charge remains calm even in an emergency.

Breakdown of Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

• auch: also
• bleiben: to remain
• ruhig: calm
• im: in the; (masculine or neuter)
• der Notfall: the emergency
• der Verantwortliche: the person responsible

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.

Is Der Verantwortliche always a man?

Not necessarily, but it depends on context and on how inclusive you want to be.

Grammatically:

• der Verantwortliche is grammatically masculine.
• die Verantwortliche (singular) would be a grammatically feminine form.
• die Verantwortlichen (plural) can refer to responsible people of any gender.

In traditional usage, der Verantwortliche can be:

• specifically male, or
• a generic masculine, meant to include any gender (like the responsible person without specifying gender).

Modern, gender-sensitive German often avoids the generic masculine and might instead say:

• die verantwortliche Person (gender-neutral: the responsible person)
• or explicitly use feminine / plural or gender-inclusive forms.

What is the difference between verantwortlich and (der) Verantwortliche?

• verantwortlich (lowercase) is an adjective or sometimes an adverb:

  • Er ist verantwortlich. – He is responsible.
  • Sie ist für das Projekt verantwortlich. – She is responsible for the project.

• (der) Verantwortliche (capitalized) is that adjective used as a noun, referring to a person:

  • Der Verantwortliche bleibt ruhig. – The person in charge remains calm.
  • Die Verantwortlichen wurden informiert. – The responsible people were informed.

So:

• verantwortlich → quality (responsible)
• Verantwortliche → person with that quality (responsible person)

Why is it bleibt and not ist (why not Der Verantwortliche ist auch im Notfall ruhig)?

Both are grammatically correct, but the nuance differs:

• bleibt ruhig = remains / stays calm

  • Emphasizes that his calmness continues even in an emergency.
  • Suggests a contrast: situations get worse, but his calmness does not change.

• ist ruhig = is calm

  • Simply states a fact about his state in that situation.
  • Less focus on continuity or staying calm, more a neutral description.

In an emergency context, bleibt is natural because it highlights that under pressure, his calmness does not break.

What tense and person is bleibt?

bleibt is:

• verb: bleiben (to stay, to remain)
• tense: present tense
• person/number: 3rd person singular (he/she/it remains)

So Der Verantwortliche bleibt… = The (responsible) person remains… (right now / in general).

German present tense can describe:

• a current action: He is remaining calm right now.
• a general tendency or fact: He (always) remains calm, even in emergencies.

This sentence likely expresses a general characteristic.

What does im Notfall mean exactly, and what case is used?

im Notfall means in an emergency.

Grammatically:

• im = in dem (contracted form)
• Notfall = emergency (literally: emergency case)
• Fall is masculine, so dem Notfall is dative singular masculine.

The preposition in here answers “where?” / “in what situation?”, which takes the dative:

• in dem Notfall → contracted → im Notfall.

Could you also say in einem Notfall or in Notfällen instead of im Notfall?

Yes, but the nuance changes slightly:

• im Notfall

  • Literally: in the emergency
  • Idiomatically: in an emergency / in case of emergency (general, typical emergency situation).

• in einem Notfall

  • More literally in an emergency (one emergency)
  • Sounds a bit more concrete or like one specific instance: in a(ny) given emergency.

• in Notfällen

  • Plural: in emergencies / in emergency situations
  • Stresses multiple possible emergencies.

All are correct; im Notfall is a very common fixed phrase meaning in an emergency in a general, typical sense.

What does auch do in this sentence, and could it be placed somewhere else?

In Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig, auch means roughly even / also and modifies im Notfall:

• Sense: He remains calm even in an emergency (not just in normal situations).

Position:

• Standard: Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.
• You can front the phrase: Auch im Notfall bleibt der Verantwortliche ruhig.
  That puts extra emphasis on even in an emergency.

You would not normally put auch far away from what it modifies, so versions like Der Verantwortliche auch bleibt im Notfall ruhig are incorrect.

Why is ruhig at the end, and why doesn’t it have an ending?

ruhig here is a predicate adjective describing the subject after a linking verb (bleiben).

• In German, predicate adjectives:
  • Stand typically at the end of the clause:
    
    • Er bleibt ruhig.
    • Der Raum ist sauber.
  • Have no adjective ending and are not capitalized:
    • ruhig, müde, sauber, etc.

So:

• Der Verantwortliche (subject)
• bleibt (verb)
• auch im Notfall (adverbial phrase)
• ruhig (predicate adjective at the end)

No extra ending like ruhge is used here.

Can the word order be changed, for example Auch im Notfall bleibt der Verantwortliche ruhig?

Yes, and it is perfectly correct:

• Der Verantwortliche bleibt auch im Notfall ruhig.

  • Neutral word order, subject first.

• Auch im Notfall bleibt der Verantwortliche ruhig.

  • The adverbial phrase Auch im Notfall is moved to the front.
  • Emphasizes even in an emergency a bit more.

German allows quite flexible word order for emphasis, as long as:

• The conjugated verb (bleibt) stays in second position in a main clause.
• Other elements (subject, adverbials) can be moved before or after it for focus.