Was den Kurs angeht, bin ich zufrieden.

to be

Breakdown of Was den Kurs angeht, bin ich zufrieden.

• ich: I
• der Kurs: the course
• zufrieden: satisfied

Questions & Answers about Was den Kurs angeht, bin ich zufrieden.

What does Was den Kurs angeht actually mean, and how is it used?

Was den Kurs angeht is a very common way to introduce a topic. It corresponds to English expressions like:

• As far as the course is concerned
• Regarding the course
• As for the course

So the whole sentence Was den Kurs angeht, bin ich zufrieden. means roughly:

• As far as the course is concerned, I’m satisfied.

You often use Was … angeht to contrast different aspects:

• Was den Kurs angeht, bin ich zufrieden, aber was die Organisation angeht, gibt es Probleme.
  As for the course, I’m satisfied, but as for the organization, there are problems.

Why is it den Kurs and not der Kurs?

Because den Kurs is in the accusative case, and the verb angehen takes an accusative object.

The basic pattern of angehen (in this meaning) is:

• etwas geht jemanden an – something concerns someone

Example:

• Das geht dich nichts an. – That’s none of your business.
  (dich is accusative.)

In Was den Kurs angeht:

• angeht is the verb.
• den Kurs (masculine singular) is accusative → den, not der.

So the form is driven by the verb’s requirement: the thing/person that is “concerned” appears in the accusative.