Breakdown of Der Gegner bleibt nach dem Spiel freundlich.
Questions & Answers about Der Gegner bleibt nach dem Spiel freundlich.
Der Gegner is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case.
- der = nominative masculine singular (the opponent)
- den = accusative masculine singular (used for a direct object)
The verb bleiben (“to stay / remain”) works like sein (“to be”) in this kind of sentence: it links the subject to a description (freundlich), it does not take a direct object. So the noun in front of bleibt is the subject and must be nominative: der Gegner.
Gegner means opponent, adversary, or rival. It’s masculine:
- Singular: der Gegner – the opponent
- Plural: die Gegner – the opponents
The plural form is spelled the same as the singular, but the article changes from der to die and the meaning is plural from context.
The preposition nach takes the dative case when it means “after (in time).”
Spiel is a neuter noun:
- Nominative / accusative: das Spiel
- Dative: dem Spiel
Because nach requires dative, you must say nach dem Spiel, not nach das Spiel.
Yes, Der Gegner ist nach dem Spiel freundlich is grammatically correct, but there is a nuance:
- ist = simply describes a state: after the game, the opponent is friendly.
- bleibt = emphasizes continuity: the opponent stays / remains friendly (for example, even though the game was intense, he doesn’t become rude).
So bleibt suggests that his friendliness continues instead of changing.
In German, adjectives are normally not capitalized.
- freundlich is an adjective meaning “friendly.”
- Nouns are capitalized: der Freund, die Freundlichkeit, etc.
- Adjectives are lowercase: freundlich, freundliche Leute, ein freundlicher Spieler.
Here, freundlich describes how the opponent is, so it stays lowercase.
Because freundlich here is a predicate adjective, used after a verb like sein, werden, or bleiben:
- Der Gegner bleibt freundlich. – The opponent remains friendly.
Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings:
- Die Spieler sind müde. (not müden)
- Das Essen ist gut. (not gutes)
Adjectives only take endings when they stand directly before a noun:
- der freundliche Gegner – the friendly opponent
- ein freundlicher Gegner – a friendly opponent
After bleibt, you always use the basic form: freundlich.
Yes. Both are correct:
- Der Gegner bleibt nach dem Spiel freundlich.
- Nach dem Spiel bleibt der Gegner freundlich.
German main clauses require the finite verb in second position (Verb-zweite-Regel). If you move nach dem Spiel to the front, the verb (bleibt) still stays in second position, and the subject (der Gegner) follows it. This is completely natural German and is often used to emphasize the time frame (“After the game, …”).
Der Gegner bleibt freundlich nach dem Spiel is grammatically possible, but less natural. Native speakers would usually prefer:
- Der Gegner bleibt nach dem Spiel freundlich.
- Nach dem Spiel bleibt der Gegner freundlich.
Time expressions like nach dem Spiel are often placed relatively early in the sentence (after the verb or in the first position), especially before a predicate adjective like freundlich. Putting nach dem Spiel at the very end sounds a bit marked and less idiomatic in this case.
bleibt is in the present tense (Präsens). To talk about the past, you have two common options:
Präteritum (simple past):
- Der Gegner blieb nach dem Spiel freundlich.
– “The opponent remained friendly after the game.”
- Der Gegner blieb nach dem Spiel freundlich.
Perfekt (spoken past):
- Der Gegner ist nach dem Spiel freundlich geblieben.
– literally: “The opponent has remained friendly after the game.”
- Der Gegner ist nach dem Spiel freundlich geblieben.
Both past forms are correct; in everyday spoken German, the Perfekt is more common.
In German, countable singular nouns normally need an article (or another determiner) unless there is a special reason not to use one.
Spiel is a normal countable noun (“a game, the game”), so you usually say:
- nach dem Spiel – after the game
- nach einem Spiel – after a game
Leaving the article out (nach Spiel) would sound wrong in normal standard German. Article-less singulars are mostly limited to certain fixed expressions and mass/abstract nouns.
All can relate to time, but they are used differently:
nach dem Spiel = after the game
- a noun phrase.
- nach must be followed by a noun in the dative: nach dem Spiel, nach der Pause, nach dem Training.
danach = after that / afterwards (an adverb, replaces the whole phrase):
- Der Gegner bleibt danach freundlich. – “The opponent remains friendly afterwards.”
später = later:
- Der Gegner bleibt später freundlich. – “The opponent remains friendly later (on).”
This is more vague; it doesn’t connect specifically to “the game” unless context makes that clear.
- Der Gegner bleibt später freundlich. – “The opponent remains friendly later (on).”
In your sentence, nach dem Spiel is the most precise, because it directly ties the time to “the game.”
No. Gegner is more general and can mean:
- a sports opponent: der Gegner im Fußballspiel – the opponent in the football match
- a political opponent: ein politischer Gegner
- an opponent in a debate or lawsuit: der Gegner vor Gericht
Context tells you which type of opponent is meant. In your sentence, Spiel suggests a game or match, so a sports opponent is the most natural reading, but the word itself is broader.
Gegner is pronounced approximately like “GAYG-ner” in English.
In IPA: [ˈɡeːɡnɐ]
- Ge-: long e sound, like “gay” but without a strong diphthong.
- -gn-: you actually pronounce both consonants: g
- n.
- Final -er: in many accents pronounced like “-a” or a weak -uh sound: [ɐ], not like a strong English “er”.
So roughly: GEHG-nah (with a long e in the first syllable).