Word
Gemeinsam lösen wir das Problem, bevor der Chef nervös wird.
Meaning
Together we solve the problem before the boss gets nervous.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Gemeinsam lösen wir das Problem, bevor der Chef nervös wird.
wir
we
gemeinsam
together (jointly)
nervös
nervous
bevor
before
Questions & Answers about Gemeinsam lösen wir das Problem, bevor der Chef nervös wird.
Why does the sentence start with Gemeinsam instead of Wir?
German often puts something other than the subject in position 1 for emphasis or flow. When Gemeinsam (an adverb meaning together) is in position 1, the finite verb must still stay in position 2, so lösen comes next, and the subject wir moves after it:
- Gemeinsam (1) lösen (2) wir (then the rest)
You could also say Wir lösen das Problem gemeinsam, ... with a more neutral subject-first order.
Why is it lösen wir and not wir lösen?
Because Gemeinsam is occupying the first slot. In a normal main clause, German uses V2 word order (the conjugated verb is second). If the first element is not the subject, you get inversion (verb before subject):
- Gemeinsam lösen wir ...
- Heute gehen wir ...
- Dann hat er ...
What part of speech is Gemeinsam here—adjective or adverb?