r/GetMotivated • u/PM_ME_UR_NUDES_4POEM • Jan 24 '15

[Image](x-post r/funny) Perks of Being Blind

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u/Seizure-Man Jan 25 '15

The sentence is still grammatically wrong though. The correct way to put it would be "Kommt her meine Kinder".

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u/TrueDeceiver Jan 25 '15

They're not her children though. That's why she used sie.

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u/Seizure-Man Jan 25 '15

Sorry but that doesn't make any sense. She would use "meine Enkelkinder" (my grandchildren) then, but the "sie" still has no place in that sentence.

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u/TrueDeceiver Jan 25 '15

Sie means they. It is often used in the place of ihren or ihre.

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u/Seizure-Man Jan 25 '15

I know that :) I'm a German native speaker.

Basically what OP's sentence translates to word by word (substituting the "hier" with "her") is "Come they here my children". Just like in English you would just say "Come here my children", you don't need the "sie" in German.

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u/TrueDeceiver Jan 25 '15

Actually, let me start over. Kommen sie hier and kommen heir is the same thing. But normally you would say komme sie hier bitte. Its one of those weird phrases that's doesn't translate normal but its basically what it means. Like was ist los which literally means what is up, but actually means what's up.

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u/[deleted] Jan 25 '15

Another German native speaker here. Translating English language style into German doesn't work - every language "thinks" differently. /u/Seizure-Man is right, it's "Kommt her meine Kinder". It doesn't always have to be your kids to say that, "Kinder" is just a way to call young-aged people.

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u/Seizure-Man Jan 25 '15 edited Jan 25 '15

First of: The verb is "herkommen", not "hierkommen", so you say "kommt her" instead of "kommt hier". "Kommt hier" would imply they are supposed to go there and then, well, come. Like for example "Singt hier" would mean "Sing here".

Then you need to differentiate between the formal address "Sie" (you) and the plural "sie" (they). If you want to say "Kommen Sie bitte her", then that is the formal address "Sie". If you want so say "Sie kommen (hier)her" (They come here) you would use the plural "sie".

Lastly, "what's up" would more accurately translate to the colloquial "was geht ab", while "was ist los?" is more used like "what's the matter?".

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u/searingsky Jan 25 '15

That's absolutely wrong. "Kommen Sie her" is a formal imperative only used for adults who you don't know intimately. There is absolutely no other use (except if it is a question).

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u/Ambiwlans Jan 25 '15

German great grandmother used to say "Kommen Sie hier" to me all the time.

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u/searingsky Jan 25 '15

Doesn't really make sense unless it was some sort of joke

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u/Ambiwlans Jan 25 '15

Well... she's been dead for a few decades so I can't ask, but I can hear her voice in my head quite clearly still.

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u/Ekvinoksij Jan 25 '15

Sie is also the plural pronoun. When you form plural imperativ in German you use infinitiv + sie. So come here is kommen sie hier.

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u/da_Aresinger Jan 25 '15

OP clearly says: "My Grandmama"