Breakdown of Für mich ergibt dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
Questions & Answers about Für mich ergibt dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
In German, the idiomatic expression for to make sense is Sinn ergeben.
- Sinn = sense / meaning
- ergeben (here) = to result in / to yield
So Sinn ergeben literally means to yield sense or to result in sense, which is why Dieser Vorschlag ergibt Sinn corresponds to This proposal makes sense.
Other combinations like Sinn haben or Sinn sein are not used in this meaning. You might hear:
- keinen Sinn haben in some fixed expressions, but for to make sense, the idiomatic choice is Sinn ergeben (or colloquially Sinn machen, see below).
Both are widely understood and used, but there is a nuance:
Sinn ergeben
- Traditionally considered the standard and more idiomatic expression.
- Common in both spoken and written German.
- Slightly more neutral or careful in style.
Sinn machen
- Became popular later, strongly influenced by English to make sense.
- Very common in everyday spoken German.
- Some style guides and older speakers still criticize it as an anglicism, but many native speakers use it without hesitation.
In your sentence, you could also hear:
- Für mich macht dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
Grammatically it’s fine; style-conscious writers might prefer ergibt in formal texts.
Ergeben on its own usually means to yield, to result in, to produce:
- 2 und 2 ergeben 4. – 2 and 2 make / equal 4.
- Die Untersuchung ergab nichts. – The investigation yielded nothing.
In the fixed phrase Sinn ergeben, it keeps that core meaning:
- Dieser Vorschlag ergibt Sinn.
→ This proposal yields sense / makes sense.
Grammar-wise in your sentence:
- dieser Vorschlag = subject (nominative, masculine singular)
- ergibt = 3rd person singular of ergeben
- Sinn = direct object (accusative)
So the structure is literally subject + yields + sense.
Both orders are possible; the difference is emphasis.
German main clauses require:
- the finite verb in the second position,
- and one major element in the first position (the “Vorfeld”).
Your sentence:
- Für mich → first position (emphasized: for me personally)
- ergibt → verb in second position
- dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn → rest of the clause
Neutral/default order, without special emphasis, could be:
- Dieser Vorschlag ergibt für mich endlich Sinn.
(First position: Dieser Vorschlag = the subject)
By putting Für mich first, the speaker highlights their personal perspective: maybe it didn’t make sense to them before, or it might still not make sense to others, but for them, it finally does.
Mich is accusative.
- Nominative: ich
- Accusative: mich
The preposition für always takes the accusative case:
- für mich
- für dich
- für ihn / sie / es
- für uns
- für euch
- für sie / Sie
So Für mich = For me (with me as an object, not as a subject), which is why the accusative form is used.
Both are grammatically correct, but they differ in nuance:
- der Vorschlag = the proposal (neutral definite article)
- dieser Vorschlag = this proposal (demonstrative: pointing to a specific one, often with contrast)
Dieser Vorschlag implies:
- this particular proposal (as opposed to other proposals),
- or something being referred to in the conversation or context.
Grammar details:
- dieser is the masculine nominative singular form of the demonstrative dieser / diese / dieses.
- It matches Vorschlag (masculine noun, nominative, singular) as the subject of the sentence.
In the idiom Sinn ergeben, Sinn is used without an article when you mean to make sense (in general):
- Dieser Vorschlag ergibt Sinn. – This proposal makes sense.
- Das ergibt keinen Sinn. – That doesn’t make sense.
(Here you add keinen to negate it, but still no article like einen.)
If you say einen Sinn, it sounds more like a specific sense / a particular purpose:
- Das ergibt einen Sinn, den ich noch nicht ganz verstehe.
→ That yields a sense/meaning which I don’t fully understand yet.
In everyday to make sense / not make sense statements, German almost always uses Sinn without an article, or with keinen when negated.
Several positions are possible and all are grammatically correct, but emphasis shifts slightly:
Für mich ergibt dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
– Neutral, common order; endlich emphasizes that now, at last it makes sense.Für mich ergibt endlich dieser Vorschlag Sinn.
– Stronger emphasis on dieser Vorschlag as the one that finally makes sense (maybe after many others didn’t).Dieser Vorschlag ergibt für mich endlich Sinn.
– First position on Dieser Vorschlag, more neutral subject-first order.Dieser Vorschlag ergibt endlich für mich Sinn.
– Grammatically possible, but sounds less natural; für mich is a bit awkwardly far from ergibt.
The most natural everyday choices would usually be:
- Für mich ergibt dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
- Dieser Vorschlag ergibt für mich endlich Sinn.
You can hear jemandem Sinn ergeben with a dative pronoun, but für mich is:
- more common,
- more straightforward for learners,
- and often preferred stylistically in this exact meaning.
Compare:
Dieser Vorschlag ergibt mir endlich Sinn.
– Understandable, somewhat more “indirectly personal,” feels a bit more formal or abstract.Dieser Vorschlag ergibt für mich endlich Sinn.
– Very natural in everyday language and clearly “to me, personally, this now makes sense.”
As a learner, für mich (accusative after für) is the safer and more frequent pattern in this context.
Yes:
- Dieser Vorschlag ergibt endlich Sinn.
Now it means This proposal finally makes sense in general, without explicitly tying it to one person’s viewpoint.
With für mich:
- Für mich ergibt dieser Vorschlag endlich Sinn.
→ It now makes sense to me (maybe it still doesn’t make sense to others, or it hadn’t made sense to you before).
So für mich adds the idea of personal perspective or subjective understanding.