Meine Freundin schwärmt von dem Konzert.

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Questions & Answers about Meine Freundin schwärmt von dem Konzert.

What does schwärmt von mean here compared to just “likes” or “loves”?

Schwärmen von etwas means to rave about something, to enthuse about it, to go on and on excitedly about it.

It’s stronger and more expressive than:

  • mögento like
  • liebento love

So:

  • Sie mag das Konzert. – She likes the concert.
  • Sie liebt das Konzert. – She loves the concert.
  • Sie schwärmt von dem Konzert. – She’s raving about the concert / She can’t stop talking about how amazing it was.

The verb focuses on the way she talks about it (enthusiastically), not just on her inner feeling.


Why is it von dem Konzert and not über das Konzert? Do both mean “about the concert”?

With this meaning of schwärmen, German normally uses von, not über. It’s more or less a fixed combination:

  • von etwas schwärmen = to rave about something, enthuse about something

Über would sound unusual or wrong in this sense:

  • Meine Freundin schwärmt über das Konzert. – Not idiomatic.

So for “raving about something”, you should learn the chunk:

von + Dativevon dem Konzert, von dem Film, von ihrem Urlaub, etc.

(If you simply wanted to say “talk about the concert” neutrally, you could say über das Konzert sprechen/reden, but not schwärmen über.)


Why is it dem Konzert and not das Konzert?

Because the preposition von always takes the dative case.

The noun Konzert is:

  • Gender: neuter (das Konzert)
  • Dative singular neuter: dem Konzert

So the pattern is:

  • Nominative: das Konzert
  • Accusative: das Konzert
  • Dative: dem Konzert

Since von → dative, you must say: von dem Konzert, not von das Konzert.


Can I say Meine Freundin schwärmt vom Konzert instead of von dem Konzert?

Yes – and that’s actually more natural.

In everyday German, von dem is almost always contracted to vom:

  • von dem Konzertvom Konzert
  • von dem Filmvom Film

So:

  • Meine Freundin schwärmt vom Konzert. – This is what you’d usually hear.

Von dem Konzert is grammatically correct but sounds a bit more formal or emphatic; in normal speech and writing, vom is preferred.


Why is it Meine Freundin and not Mein Freundin?

Because Freundin is feminine, and the possessive pronoun mein- has to agree with the noun.

For feminine nominative singular:

  • die Freundinmeine Freundin

Rough pattern (nominative):

  • masculine: mein Freund (like ein Freund)
  • neuter: mein Kind (like ein Kind)
  • feminine: meine Freundin (like eine Freundin)
  • plural: meine Freunde / meine Freundinnen

So Mein Freundin is incorrect; it must be Meine Freundin.


Does meine Freundin mean “my girlfriend” or “my (female) friend”?

Out of context, meine Freundin is usually understood as my girlfriend, especially when adults say it.

However, it can also mean “my (female) friend”. To be clearer, people might say:

  • eine Freundin von mir – a (female) friend of mine
  • meine feste Freundin – my steady girlfriend
  • meine beste Freundin – my best (female) friend (could be platonic or romantic, depending on context)

In your sentence, Meine Freundin schwärmt von dem Konzert, most listeners would probably think “my girlfriend” unless the wider context suggests otherwise.


Can I change the word order and say Von dem Konzert schwärmt meine Freundin?

Yes, that’s correct German.

German main clauses have the verb in second position (V2). You can move different elements to the first position for emphasis:

  • Meine Freundin schwärmt von dem Konzert.
  • Von dem Konzert schwärmt meine Freundin.

Both are grammatical. The second version puts special emphasis on von dem Konzert (contrasting it with other things she might talk about).

The verb schwärmt must remain in the second slot, but what counts as “first” can be a whole phrase.


Is schwärmen a regular verb? How is it conjugated?

Yes, schwärmen is a regular (weak) verb in this meaning.

Present tense (Präsens):

  • ich schwärme
  • du schwärmst
  • er/sie/es schwärmt
  • wir schwärmen
  • ihr schwärmt
  • sie/Sie schwärmen

Simple past (Präteritum):

  • ich schwärmte
  • du schwärmtest
  • er/sie/es schwärmte
  • wir schwärmten
  • ihr schwärmtet
  • sie/Sie schwärmten

Past participle:

  • geschwärmt

Example:

  • Meine Freundin hat den ganzen Abend von dem Konzert geschwärmt.
    – My girlfriend raved about the concert all evening.

Can schwärmen be used without von? I’ve seen für as well.

With this “enthuse / rave” meaning, schwärmen is usually used with a preposition, and the preposition changes the nuance:

  1. von + Dative – to rave about something (talk enthusiastically about it)

    • Er schwärmt von seinem Urlaub. – He’s raving about his vacation.
  2. für + Accusative – to be crazy about someone/something (often romantic or fan-like admiration)

    • Sie schwärmt für ihren Lehrer. – She has a huge crush on her teacher.

There is also another meaning of schwärmen = “to swarm” (like bees), which can appear with different prepositions (aus, in, über etc.), but that’s a different sense of the verb.


Is the present tense schwärmt only “is raving”, or can it also refer to something that happened in the past?

German Präsens is flexible. Sie schwärmt von dem Konzert can mean:

  1. She is currently raving about it (similar to English present continuous).
  2. She keeps on raving about a concert that took place in the past.

Even if the concert was last week, you can still say:

  • Seit letzter Woche schwärmt sie von dem Konzert.
    – Since last week, she’s been raving about the concert.

If you want to put the speaking clearly in the past, you’d use the perfect:

  • Sie hat von dem Konzert geschwärmt. – She raved about the concert.

Is schwärmen formal or informal? How strong is it?

Schwärmen (von) is neutral in register – fine in both spoken and written German – but stylistically it’s a bit expressive.

Strength-wise, it’s stronger than simply:

  • Sie fand das Konzert gut. – She thought the concert was good.

It suggests clear enthusiasm:

  • Sie schwärmt von dem Konzert. – She thinks it was fantastic and talks about it in a very positive, excited way.

Synonyms with a similar tone:

  • Sie ist begeistert von dem Konzert.
  • Sie ist hin und weg von dem Konzert. (more colloquial)

How would the sentence change if I’m talking about several (female) friends?

You change both the noun and the verb to plural:

  • Singular: Meine Freundin schwärmt von dem Konzert.
  • Plural: Meine Freundinnen schwärmen von dem Konzert.

Changes:

  • FreundinFreundinnen (plural feminine)
  • meine stays meine in the nominative plural
  • Verb schwärmt (3rd person singular) → schwärmen (3rd person plural)

The rest (von dem Konzert / vom Konzert) stays the same.