Shawn
Community Tutor
How do you say "for a week" in German? How do say "for a week" in German, in particular in the sentence, "I haven't seen him for a week." Also, could you translate the sentence that I provided so I can see the word order too? Much appreciated. :)
Apr 20, 2014 5:20 AM
Answers · 8
1
How do say "for a week" in German, in particular in the sentence, "I haven't seen him for a week." Also, could you translate the sentence that I provided so I can see the word order too? ==> Hi Shawn, I wouldn't use 'seit' (because it refers to a specific point in time -> Ich habe ihn seit Sonntag / seit gestern / seit 7 Uhr früh nicht gesehen), but 1.) Ich habe ihn (schon) eine Woche lang nicht gesehen. 2.) Ich habe ihn AUCH schon eine Woche lang nicht gesehen. because it is equivalent to 'for' in English. Kind regards, Georg
April 20, 2014
I'd agree with mashup here. I don't see any reason for why not to use "seit." As opposed to in English, in German it doesn't matter whether we're talking about a specific point in time or a period of time. In both cases, we can use "seit." Therefore, it can mean both "for" and "since". The sentence "Ich habe ihn eine Woche lang nicht gesehen", which Georg suggests, also expresses the fact that the speaker hasn't seen a specific person for a week; I see a slight difference in meaning, though. And there there definitely is a stylistic difference.
April 20, 2014
"I haven't seen him for a week." = "Ich habe ihn seit einer Woche nicht mehr gesehen."
April 20, 2014
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!