Reading · A1 · Text 27

Anonymität

25 words1 min read92% known at A1

Wenn er einen Brief schreibt, unterschreibt er nicht.

When he writes a letter, he doesn't sign it.

Er schreibt seinen Namen auch nicht auf den Brief.

He doesn't write his name on the letter either.

Dann weiss niemand, wer den Brief geschrieben hat.

Then nobody knows who wrote the letter.

1 words above A1

unterschreibt← unterschreiben

signs (a document) unterschreibt, unterschrieb, hat unterschrieben (separable verb) to sign (write one’s signature); to sign; to write under or below something A2[ˌʊn.tɐˈʃʁaɪ̯.bn̩]

Grammar in this text

Conditional clause with 'wenn' + verb at end

Wenn er einen Brief schreibt, unterschreibt er nicht.

The subordinate clause introduced by 'wenn' has the finite verb at the end. The main clause follows with the verb in second position.

Negation with 'nicht'

unterschreibt er nicht

'nicht' is placed after the conjugated verb to negate the action.

Indefinite pronoun 'niemand'

weiss niemand, wer den Brief geschrieben hat

'niemand' means 'nobody' and is used as a subject. It is followed by a verb in the third person singular.

Indirect question with 'wer'

wer den Brief geschrieben hat

The question word 'wer' introduces an indirect question, and the verb goes to the end of the clause.

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A1 · Text 26 Lehnwort 92% known · 13 words Read A1 · Text 28 Beruf 92% known · 24 words Read Practice A1 reading questions Comprehension and true/false items on texts like this one. Test yourself

Same text, graded forA2 version

Text from Anonymität — Hurraki, used under CC BY-SA 3.0 DE. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.