Learn Hardcore German: Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen. - Every fan cheers on their own team but also respects the performance of the others.

Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

Every fan cheers on their own team but also respects the performance of the others.

Breakdown of Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

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Questions & Answers about Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

Why is it Jeder Fan with a singular verb feuert, instead of a plural like Alle Fans feuern?

In German, jeder means every and is grammatically singular, just like in English:

Jeder Fan feuert … an. – Every fan cheers … on. (singular)
Alle Fans feuern … an. – All (the) fans cheer … on. (plural)

Because jeder Fan is singular, the verb must also be singular: feuert, respektiert.

Both versions are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:

Jeder Fan … focuses on each individual fan.
Alle Fans … focuses on the group as a whole.

What is going on with feuert … an? Why is an at the end?

Anfeuern is a separable verb in German:

infinitive: anfeuern
stem: feuern
separable prefix: an

In a main clause in the present tense, the prefix moves to the end of the clause:

Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an.
Ich feuere die Mannschaft an.
Feuerst du deine Mannschaft an?

If you use a structure where the verb goes to the end (e.g. with zu, or in a subordinating clause), the verb is not split:

… weil jeder Fan seine Mannschaft anfeuert.
Er versucht, seine Mannschaft anzufeuern.

What exactly does anfeuern mean? It looks like to fire at someone.

Literally, anfeuern comes from Feuer (fire), but in modern German the verb anfeuern means:

to cheer on,
to support vocally,
to encourage enthusiastically, especially in sports.

So die Mannschaft anfeuern is to cheer (on) the team, not to fire at them. It’s an idiomatic sports expression, not a literal reference to fire.

Why is it die eigene Mannschaft and not seine Mannschaft or ihre Mannschaft?

Eigene means own, so die eigene Mannschaft is one’s own team.

With jeder Fan, we don’t want to choose a gendered pronoun (seine = his, ihre = her/their) for each fan. Eigene lets us stay neutral and generic:

Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an.
– Every fan cheers on their own team.

You could also say:

Jeder Fan feuert seine Mannschaft an. (traditionally generic masculine)
Jeder Fan feuert seine eigene Mannschaft an.

But die eigene Mannschaft sounds inclusive and avoids picking seine vs ihre.

Why is it die eigene Mannschaft and not die eigenen Mannschaft?

Mannschaft is feminine singular, so the article–adjective ending must match:

nominative feminine singular: die eigene Mannschaft
accusative feminine singular: die eigene Mannschaft

Here die eigene Mannschaft is the direct object (accusative), but nominative and accusative have the same form for feminine singular.

Die eigenen Mannschaft would be wrong, because -en is the typical ending for plural or oblique cases, and Mannschaft is singular here.

Why does the second clause start with aber respektiert and not aber er respektiert?

In German, if two clauses share the same subject, you can omit the subject pronoun in the second clause, especially in written style:

Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber (er) respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

The subject Jeder Fan is still logically the subject of respektiert.

You could also say:

Jeder Fan feuert die eigene Mannschaft an, aber er respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

That is also correct; it’s just slightly more explicit. The comma before aber is required because aber is a coordinating conjunction linking two main clauses.

Why is auch placed before die Leistung der anderen and not somewhere else?

Auch (also/too/as well) usually sits in the midfield of the sentence, close to what it is modifying.

Here:

… aber respektiert auch die Leistung der anderen.

This placement suggests:
He/She not only cheers on their own team, but also respects the performance of the others.

Other positions are possible, but they change the emphasis:

… aber er respektiert die Leistung der anderen auch.
– Slightly more neutral, auch has sentence-wide scope.
… aber auch er respektiert die Leistung der anderen.
– Emphasis on he too (in contrast to someone else).

In the original, auch naturally links to die Leistung der anderen: that is what is also being respected, in addition to cheering their own team.

What does Leistung mean here? Is it just performance?

Yes, Leistung often translates as performance, but it can carry nuances like:

effort,
achievement,
what someone has accomplished or delivered.

In a sports context, die Leistung der anderen means the quality of play, effort, or achievement of the other team/other side. So the idea is: a true fan not only cheers their own team, but also acknowledges and respects how well the others played.

Why is it der anderen and not die anderen or den anderen?

Der anderen here is:

genitive plural: of the others.

Breakdown:

die Leistung – the performance (nominative/accusative, feminine singular)
der anderen – of the others (genitive plural)

So:

die Leistung der anderen = the performance of the others.

Forms:

nominative plural: die anderen – the others
dative plural: den anderen – to/for the others
genitive plural: der anderen – of the others

Because we want of the others, German uses genitive plural: der anderen.

Who are die anderen here – other fans or the other team?

Grammatically, der anderen on its own just means of the others. In context, it is understood to mean:

die Leistung der anderen (Mannschaft)
– the performance of the other team

German often omits a repeated noun when it is clear from context:

die Leistung der anderen = die Leistung der anderen Mannschaft

Depending on the broader context, it could also mean the other athletes, the opponents, etc., but in a sports-fan sentence, the natural reading is the opposing team’s performance.