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- Topic: German >
- "Alles gute Fragen."
8 Comments
Could that be incorrect? Was the collocation 'alle gute Frage' actually meant?
Well, I have a question. I tried to figure it out with dictionaries etc...but to no avail. Why is it "alles"? My assumptions were that the word would have a strong declension and be "alle" (plural) as "alles" would be neuter in nominative or accusative. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
This is one of the points where - when studying a foreign language - I usually stop trying to understand the 'why' and switch to just accepting the 'what' and getting accustomed to it. ;-)
I feel that way about my native language (English) for some reason, but I am trying ever so hard to wrap my brain around German. I've all but convinced myself to go back to school (for the 4th time) and take German studies. Unfortunately I don't think my wallet or my wife (not connected, just coincidence) will allow me to just yet.
Unfortunately, this is not a straightforward question to answer. Allow me to refer you to this excerpt from "Issues in Germanic Syntax": http://goo.gl/5Iau6 In case the page doesn't show: http://imgur.com/3X0Z2vY
I have a hunch that is this not very comprehensible to non-linguists, but you might want to give it a read anyway. Note that an asterisk (*) signifies ungrammaticality.
"not very comprehensible to non-linguists"... You can say that again. I've read it 4 times now. I think I have a general feel for it, or at least I've fooled myself into thinking I understand it, but I'll have to re-read it another 4 times when I get home. Thanks for the answer, despite it being a bit beyond me (at the moment). Also, thanks for all the "volunteer" work you do around here. It is certainly appreciated by us aspiring linguists. :)
You're welcome. Like wataya said, I wouldn't worry about this phrase too much. It's way beyond basic grammar.
