{"id":3879,"date":"2019-11-06T12:39:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T12:39:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/?p=3879"},"modified":"2023-04-13T22:34:39","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T22:34:39","slug":"guten-nacht-is-wrong-here-is-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linguaholic.com\/linguablog\/guten-nacht-is-wrong-here-is-why\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGuten Nacht\u201d is WRONG: Here is Why"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ever heard someone say Guten Nacht<\/em>?!?<\/p>\n

Well, you probably did because this is a pretty common mistake that learners of German will make. It obviously has not much to do with the very expression Guten Nacht<\/em> ( I will tell you the right way to say it in a minute, don’t worry) but much more with adjective declensions <\/strong>in general.<\/p>\n

But first of all, let’s solve the mystery and let me tell you the correct way to wish someone a good night<\/a> in German.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The correct way to say good night in German<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The correct way to wish somebody a good night in German is: Gute Nacht<\/em>!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ok, great. But could you now tell me why Guten Nacht<\/em> is wrong, please?!?<\/p>\n

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But why is it wrong to say Guten Nacht<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Well, this is where the fun begins. I hope you’ll all enjoy the ride!<\/p>\n

First, let’s have a look at the noun Nacht<\/em>. Nacht is a feminine<\/strong> noun<\/strong>. So it is die <\/strong>Nacht<\/em>. Ok, that was easy, right?<\/p>\n

Now, all we need to know is in which case Nacht<\/em> figures in Gute Nacht<\/em> and then we got all the tools to determine whether we need to say gut<\/strong><\/em>, gute<\/strong><\/em> or guten<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Nacht is in accusative case<\/strong> in this example. And therefore, it must be gute<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not so fast, please!<\/p>\n

How do I know that Nacht is in the accusative case<\/strong> in this example?!? Well, first of all you would need to realize that Nacht<\/em> is a direct object <\/strong>in our example (Gute Nacht<\/em>).<\/p>\n

If you don’t know what (direct) objects are, you might want to double-check this here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

In our example, you can consider Gute Nacht<\/em> as a wish<\/strong> somebody would have for you when you are about to sleep. So it corresponds more or less to the sentence:<\/p>\n

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I wish you a good night.  <\/strong>| Ich wünsche Dir eine gute Nacht.<\/em><\/p>\n

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So wish<\/strong> is the verb and “I” is obviously the subject<\/strong> of the sentence. The verb “to wish” demands a direct object and an indirect<\/strong> object<\/strong>. The indirect object in our sentence would be “you” (= Dir).<\/p>\n

The direct object of this sentence is “a good night” (eine gute Nacht<\/em>). And as direct objects are always in the accusative case in German, you know that Nacht<\/em> must be in the accusative case in our example. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Ok, it’s getting a little bit complicated right here, I can see that. So let’s just stop right here and get back to the essentials…<\/p>\n

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But wait, I still don’t get it!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ok, ok….let me add some more examples to clear things up further:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Let’s have a look at some greetings<\/a><\/strong> to do so.<\/p>\n

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