German Grammar (5)

Das Rohr (Grammatik)

Text & Grammatik

In this lesson, we will focus on the personal pronouns ich, wir and er. We will examine the text Das Rohr closely to see how grammar contributes to its interpretation.

ich ⇒ wir — When danger is shared

At first, the story is told in the first person (ich) — alone, afraid, focused on perception.

• Ich stehe auf einer Brücke im Nebel. (I am standing on a bridge in the fog.)
• Ich sehe nicht viel. (I can't see much.)

I can only hear the water below me.

Then something happens: the sound becomes a memory.

• Da erinnere ich mich. (I remember.)
• Als Junge bin ich über ein Rohr balanciert. (As a boy, I balanced on a pipe.)

Suddenly, the narrator is no longer alone.

• Wir haben das Wasser gehört. (We heard the water.)
• Wir waren damals siebzehn Jahre alt. (We were seventeen years old at the time.)

Who is wir? The text doesn’t say yet, but the use of the plural pronoun tells us that this memory was shared.

The pronouns ich and wir represent solitude and togetherness, respectively. Understanding this is essential for grasping the story's meaning.

er ⇔ ich — When he almost falls and I become the witness

Do you remember the pipe fixed between two rocks, suspended above an abyss?

Do you remember how Als Junge bin ich über ein Rohr balanciert later becomes Wir waren damals siebzehn Jahre alt?

The shift from ich to wir tells us something important: crossing the pipe was a dangerous game, but it was a shared action.

• Dann passiert etwas Schlimmes. (Something terrible happens.)

• Mein bester Freund heißt Roberto. (My best friend is called Roberto.)

• Roberto rutscht aus. (Roberto slips.)

These sentences mark a turning point.

From now on, the pace of the narration will focus on the character called Roberto.

Very quickly, the proper name Roberto is replaced by the personal pronoun er.

He holds on.

• Er klammert sich mit Armen und Beinen an das Rohr. (He clings to the pipe with his arms and legs.)

• Er hat große Angst. (He is very afraid.)

• Er braucht zwei Stunden. (He needs two hours.)

• Dann ist er in Sicherheit. (Then he is safe.)

Drei Meter. (Three metres.) Zwei Stunden. (Two hours.) A lot of fear.

And what about the narrator?

He was the first to reach the other side. Now he is the witness. All he does is stand and watch.

• Ich sehe ihn noch vor mir. (I still see him in front of me.)

• Ich spüre noch seine Angst. (I still feel his fear.)

EN-DE

Ermanno wakes up. His thoughts return to the dream, like free-floating images.

Translate the following short sentences into German.

• I am standing on a bridge in the fog.

• I don’t see much.

• Under me, I hear water.

• A river is flowing down there.

• I am sure: I know this sound well.

• Then I remember.

• As a boy, I balanced over a pipe.

• It was between two rocks.

• It was narrow. It was only twenty centimeters wide.

• We were seventeen years old at the time.

You can find the solutions here: Unit 2 - Lösungen.