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I don't understand the use of commas in German. They seem to appear more than in English. The commas don't seem to translate directly between German and English. Saying, "He shows, how one cooks eggs" would be a strange use of a comma in English.
In German, commas are used to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause(s).
Er zeigt, = main clause
wie man Eier kocht. = subordinate clause
The subordinating conjunction is wie.
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Thanks for the response!
Would one pause at the beginning of the subordinate clause when saying this in German? So would one say "Er zeigt [pause] wie man Eier kocht." like one would pause at a comma in English?
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I heard this: "Er zeigt wie Mann Eier kocht" and typed it. I know it is not what DL intended, But is it correct in German?
No. "man" and "Mann" are completely different words.
der Mann = the man
man = one/you (in impersonal constructions/generalisations)
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Thanks Christian I learned this recently. I just asked to learn if the above construction is meaningful in german language: "Er zeigt wie Mann Eier kocht"?
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I think (please correct me if I'm wrong) that for your sentence to be meaningful it would have to include an article before Mann. As in "Er zeigt wie den Mann Eier kocht" = "He shows how the man cooks eggs".
It'd have to be "Er zeigt, wie der Mann Eier kocht". "Er zeigt, wie Mann Eier kocht" is not grammatical, but it could be interpreted as a wordplay meaning "He shows how men cook eggs". In any case, you can't omit the comma.
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As I know there shouldn't be difference in sounds at all. Let somebody correct me if I'm wrong.
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I did the same, but it was an audio translation so wrote what I heard. Seeing it corrected makes sense. =)
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Could this sentence translate to, "He points out how one cooks eggs"? Duolingo didn't accept it, but I wasn't sure.
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More like he shows how one cooks an egg or he shows how eggs are cooked.
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Can someone explain commas to me? I'm not quite grasping them. Thanks!
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"Er zeigt, wie man Eier kocht."
Could it also be "Er zeigt man Eier zu kochen."?
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I believe it would be intelligible, but the direct object should always directly follow the verb. Some one can correct me if I'm wrong about this.
In this sentence there are two clauses separate with a comma
Er zeigt=Main clause (the verb zeigt is in the second position)
Wie man Eier kocht=Subordinate clause (the verb kocht is in the last position).
And also you can change the word order and the verb of the Main clause is always in 2 position (all the subordinate clause is in first position)the verb of subordinate clause is in the last position
Wie man Eier kocht,zeigter
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Is this the only way to say something like this? I mean, is 'man' mandatory :)? Could i say something like this "Er zeigt, wie Eier kochen."?
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I'd like to know this as well... Do you need to add "zu" if you wish to use an infinitive for this construction? i.e. "wie Eier zu kochen". Or is it not used as such in German?
