0

All the German rules I know for picking dative vs. accusative don't seem to apply to "Ich warte auf dich.". There's no movement or change in state so I think it should be Dative: "Ich warte auf dir.". Nope. I'm wrong.

Would anyone please explain how I can amend my German rules for examples like this?

Thanks!

guidot
  • 28,192
  • 2
  • 35
  • 84
Morkus
  • 101
  • 1
    "Ich warte auf Dir" would mean "I wait ontop of you", like standing or sitting on the other person ;) – Henning Kockerbeck Jul 25 '22 at 17:02
  • Auf wen warte ich? Auf dich. Wo warte ich? Auf dir. I hope you see how comical the last one would be ;) – Polygnome Jul 25 '22 at 17:15
  • 1
    @David Vogt: It's basically a repeat of the question, but I'm not sure any of the answers there really address the issue; none were accepted. To me, "warten auf" is simply a prepositional verb, just as "wait for". The usual case rule for these verbs don't apply, and you just have to memorize the case used. – RDBury Jul 25 '22 at 17:37
  • @Polygnome: English has "wait on" with a different meaning: "She expects me to wait on her all the time." So I don't think it's reasonable to assume that "warten auf" would have to be taken literally with the wrong case. At least if you're still learning the language. – RDBury Jul 25 '22 at 17:46
  • Thanks to all for the great replies! I think the answer is I just need to memorize what, to me, is a special case. I see that "warten auf" sounds comical in this case. But, you do say, Ich bin auf einer Party (to mean "at a party"). Auf, to me, is a very confusing preposition in all its uses. – Morkus Jul 25 '22 at 19:12
  • I've passed the B2 exam and my comprehension is pretty good ... unless I try to understand Taggesahau. Then, forget it! Too complex still. Ich glaube, man muss in Deutschland leben, um fließend sprechen zu können. – Morkus Jul 25 '22 at 22:05

0 Answers0