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- Topic: German >
- "Ich helfe Ihnen!"
22 Comments
I also like that translation - Germans often use the present tense for situations in which English would use the future tense. Such translations can be considered idiomatic, even if the grammar is changed.
This sentence is however administered by the Pearson team, so it's up to them to decide to add it.
Can anyone explain when the verb takes -en and when it doesn't when it comes to 'Formal You'?
- with the verb sein (to be), which is irregular, it's Sie sind
- with verbs whose stems end in -er or -el, the -e- is dropped and the Sie form (like the infinitive) ends in -ern, -eln as in ändern (change) or handeln (act)
- otherwise, it ends in -en, like the infinitive
So for example, "You help [someone]" would be Sie helfen (jemandem).