Breakdown of Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist er nervös.
Questions & Answers about Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist er nervös.
Äußerlich and innerlich are originally adjectives formed with -lich, but in this sentence they are used adverbially.
When used before a noun, they behave like normal adjectives and take endings:
- ein äußerlicher Schaden – an external/superficial damage
- eine innere Unruhe – an inner restlessness
In your sentence they do not come before a noun. They describe how your brother is, from the outside vs. on the inside. In this function, they work more like adverbs (sentence adverbials), and German adverbs do not take endings:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig … – From the outside, my brother is calm …
- … aber innerlich ist er nervös. – … but on the inside, he is nervous.
So: lexically they are adjectives, but syntactically here they act as adverbs, which is why there is no extra ending.
German main clauses generally follow the verb‑second rule (V2):
- One element comes first (the Vorfeld / “first position”).
- The conjugated verb comes second.
- The rest of the sentence follows.
In your sentence:
- Äußerlich = first element (an adverbial)
- ist = conjugated verb (must be second)
- mein Bruder ruhig = the rest (subject + predicate adjective)
So Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig is correct V2 order.
Äußerlich mein Bruder ist ruhig breaks this rule, because the verb is in third position, so it’s ungrammatical in standard German.
Yes, that is a very natural alternative:
- Mein Bruder ist äußerlich ruhig, aber innerlich nervös.
Differences:
Original:
Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist er nervös.
– Fronts äußerlich and innerlich for extra emphasis/contrast (“On the outside… on the inside…”).Alternative:
Mein Bruder ist äußerlich ruhig, aber innerlich nervös.
– Keeps the subject mein Bruder first; feels a bit more neutral and compact.
– The second ist and er are usually dropped because they’re understood.
Both are correct. The original version sounds slightly more contrastive and stylistic because of the parallel Äußerlich …, aber innerlich … structure.
In German, aber is a coordinating conjunction that links two main clauses:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig,
- aber innerlich ist er nervös.
Because each side has its own finite verb (ist … ist), they are two separate clauses, and German spelling rules require a comma between two main clauses joined by aber.
If aber only connects parts of a clause (e.g. two adjectives), there is normally no comma:
- Mein Bruder ist ruhig, aber nervös. – still two predicates, so comma stays.
- Er ist nicht dumm, aber fleißig. – also takes a comma, because in writing this is treated as two clause parts with an omitted verb.
In your full sentence, the comma is definitely required.
Mein Bruder is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.
Pattern:
- Der Bruder ist ruhig. – der Bruder is nominative (subject).
- With a possessive:
- mein Bruder ist ruhig. – mein is the possessive in nominative masculine singular.
Meinen Bruder would be accusative masculine singular, usually used for a direct object:
- Ich sehe meinen Bruder. – I see my brother. (object)
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig. – My brother is calm. (subject)
So subject → nominative → mein Bruder.
Here ruhig and nervös are predicate adjectives after the verb sein:
- ist … ruhig
- ist … nervös
In German:
Attributive adjectives (before a noun) take endings:
- ein ruhiger Bruder
- ein nervöser Mann
Predicate adjectives (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.) do not take endings:
- Mein Bruder ist ruhig.
- Er ist nervös.
So ruhig and nervös stay in their basic form here.
There are two points:
Verb position:
As in the first clause, German main clauses need the finite verb in second position:- innerlich (first element)
- ist (verb, second position)
- er nervös (rest)
So innerlich ist er nervös is correct; innerlich er ist nervös is wrong (verb is third).
A full clause needs a finite verb and a subject:
Standard German requires a finite verb in each clause. You can’t normally have just:- ✗ … aber innerlich nervös.
That’s only acceptable as a very informal, elliptical style (e.g. in speech or headlines). In normal sentences you say:
- … aber innerlich ist er nervös.
- or in the shorter version: … aber innerlich nervös. only if the verb is clearly understood from context and you’re going for stylistic effect.
German, like English, avoids repeating long noun phrases if it’s clear who we’re talking about. So:
- First mention: mein Bruder (full noun phrase)
- Second mention: er (pronoun referring back to mein Bruder)
You could say:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist mein Bruder nervös.
but it sounds heavy and repetitive. Using er is normal and more natural:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist er nervös.
Both are grammatically correct, but the focus differs slightly.
Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig …
- Puts äußerlich in first position → stronger emphasis on “from the outside”.
- Feels a bit more contrastive and “structured”, especially together with aber innerlich ….
Mein Bruder ist äußerlich ruhig …
- Starts with mein Bruder → more neutral, subject-first order.
- Still emphasizes äußerlich, but slightly less than when it’s in first position.
So the basic meaning is the same, but the original has a clear rhetorical contrast:
- Äußerlich … aber innerlich …
They are related but not always interchangeable.
äußerlich / innerlich
- More abstract/figurative: outwardly vs. inwardly (emotionally, psychologically, in appearance vs. in reality).
- Common with people’s character or feelings:
- Äußerlich ist sie freundlich, aber innerlich sehr einsam.
von außen / von innen
- More literal/local: from the outside / from the inside (physical perspective).
- Used with places, objects, surfaces:
- Das Haus sieht von außen klein aus.
- Die Tür lässt sich nur von innen öffnen.
In your sentence, you’re talking about appearance vs. inner state, so äußerlich / innerlich is the natural choice.
Approximate pronunciation in IPA and with English hints:
äußerlich – [ˈɔʏsɐlɪç]
- äu = [ɔʏ], similar to English “oy” in boy, but with rounded lips.
- ß = like ss.
- Stress on the first syllable: Äu‑ßer‑lich.
ruhig – usually [ˈʁuːɪç] or [ˈʁuːx], depending on region.
- r = German uvular r at the back of the throat.
- uh = long u [uː], like in English food.
- Final -ig is typically pronounced -ich ([ɪç]) in standard German, but many speakers say something closer to -ich or -ig as [ɪk]/[ɪç].
- Stress on ruh: RUH‑ig.
So roughly: ÄU‑ser‑lich and ROO‑ich (with a German r).
In this sentence, aber introduces a contrast:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, aber innerlich ist er nervös.
→ On the one hand/outwardly calm, on the other hand/inwardly nervous.
Comparison:
aber
- General adversative: but / however.
- Fits perfectly here to show contrast between outside and inside.
sondern
- Used after a negation, like “but rather / but instead”:
- Er ist nicht ruhig, sondern nervös.
- Your sentence does not contain a negation, so sondern is wrong here.
- Used after a negation, like “but rather / but instead”:
doch
- Has several uses; as a conjunction it can also mean “but/however”, often with a nuance of “despite that”:
- Äußerlich ist mein Bruder ruhig, doch innerlich ist er nervös.
- That is possible, but feels a bit more formal/literary.
- Aber is the more neutral and common choice in everyday language.
- Has several uses; as a conjunction it can also mean “but/however”, often with a nuance of “despite that”: