I would like to find the present tense form of the phrase 'wie es eigentlich gewesen ist'. It's important that those exact words are used.
Since that's roughly translated as 'as it essentially was', I'd like the German for 'as it essentially is'.
Thanks in advance Hatrack!
[Edit: I have to get some shut-eye. If I don't respond it's not because I'm rude. ]
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Yeah, my German ain't that good. Sorry and good luck. Posted by Tristan (Member # 1670) on :
I think you just have to remove "gewesen" and you'll have it. I'm not a native speaker, though.
Posted by HollowEarth (Member # 2586) on :
FWIW that was my thought too.
Posted by Michiel (Member # 7649) on :
This is correct. THe present tense phrase would simply be "wie es eigentlich ist".
However, "wie es eigentlich gewesen" is a famous quote from the 19th century German historian Leopold Ranke, which is almost always quoted wrongly. Ranke wrote "wie es eigentlich gewesen" without the IST. Now, to English speakers this sounds like a grammatical absurdity, but in written German this can be used for stylistic reasons.
The full sentence in the original text ran as follows: “Man hat der Historie das Amt, die Vergangenheit zu richten, die Mitwelt zum Nutzen zukünftiger Jahre zu belehren, beigemessen: so hoher Ämter unterwindet sich gegenwärtiger Versuch nicht: er will bloß zeigen, wie es eigentlich gewesen.”
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
Thanks everyone. Michiel, Ranke is the reason I wanted to use the phrase.
Though I must admit that like most English speakers I thought the 'ist' should always be in the quote.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
And just to check, would "wie es eigentlich ist" on its own sound awkward to a German speaker?
Posted by Michiel (Member # 7649) on :
No, it doesn't sound awkward. Good luck. Honored to be able to advice an Euripides.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
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Sorry and good luck. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)