Forum Rocket German German Grammar Lesson 12.4: Query re "ein Danke"

Lesson 12.4: Query re "ein Danke"

Peter--252

Peter--252

There is a sentence “Und das ohne je ein Danke zu hören.” which is translated as “Without ever getting thanked for it”.

A literal translation looks like “And that without ever hearing a thanks”  (or “a thank you”).

I just wondered, as I thought “a thank you” or “thanks” as a noun was “Der Dank”. So my question is why isn't it “einen Dank” as it appears to be the object of “zu hören”?

Is “Danke” a neuter noun in this context?

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Guten Tag Peter--252,

 

thank you for your question! You can think of it as the speaker literally wanting to hear a “thank you” from the other person whereas “der Dank” is more formal and could be expressed in many different ways. 

A similar example would be:

“Und das ohne je ein Bitte zu hören.” - “And that without ever hearing a please.

 

Viele Grüße,

Julia

Peter--252

Peter--252

Guten Tag Julia!

I think I understand now. I suppose it could have been written:

Und das ohne je ein „Danke” zu hören, 

i.e. making it explicit that he'd like to hear her say the actual word. 

(Hope I've got the quote marks correct!)

Viele Grüße,

Peter

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

Hallo Peter--252!

 

Yes, you can think of it that way, although you usually wouldn't use quotation marks here. 

 

Grüße,

Julia


 

Ask a question or post a response

If you want to ask a question or post a response you need to be a member.

If you are already a member login here.
If you are not a member you can become one by taking the free Rocket German trial here.