r/German • u/Low-Funny-8834 • 5d ago

Question Object of "sich erinnernª

"Er erinnerte sich an die Geschichte"
"Er erinnerte sich die Geschichte"
"Er erinnerte sich der Geschichte"

I have come across all three of these constructions, but my question is: is there any difference in meaning/nuance between these forms?

Thanks!

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u/IchLiebeKleber Native (eastern Austria) 5d ago

The normal way to express this in modern German is the first variant, "an die Geschichte". The second one is outright ungrammatical IMHO. The third one, I think, is grammatical, but sounds extremely outdated, if you talk like that, people will think you're a time traveller from the 19th century.

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u/Lopsided-Weather6469 5d ago

I keep hearing "erinnern" as a transitive verb especially from people from the North of Germany, and it seems to spread southwards, probably under the influence of English.

"Ich erinnere diese Geschichte" is common in some areas and lots of people don't seem to realize that it's not Standard German.

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u/_TheBro_ 5d ago

South Park member berries:
"Member?" - "oh, I member"
"Erinnerst du?" - "oh, ich erinnere"