abookofwords-deactivated2010070 asked: Hi! :) I recently found out that in informal German you can use the definite article with personal names, and I find it intriguing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_name#Order_of_names_and_use_of_articles
I wonder if you could comment on this? How widespread is this tendency, and in what situations would people use it? And is it strictly informal? Thanks!
Hey :) Yes, that’s very common and frequently used. Both in spoken and written standard German.
You use the definite article + first name when:
a) you either talk about a person in a derogatory way
b) or you talk about somebody and you want to express a close/good relationship.
I know, those two rules are basically contrary. Let me give you some examples:
a) “Der Thomas hat schon wieder das Fenster offen gelassen!” (annoyed) = (The) Thomas has once again left the window open!
“Wer hat das Buch vergessen?” - “Die Andrea natürlich!” (annoyed)
= Who forgot the book? - (The) Andrea of course.
b) “Gestern war ich mit der Bianca im Kino.” (excited; friendly) = Yesterday I went to the movies with (the) Bianca.
“Wen hast du angerufen?” - “Meinen Kumpel, den Nico!” (excited; friendly) = Whom did you call? - My buddy (the) Nico.
One thing all of the examples have in common is: The person that is being mentioned isn’t present. So there’s always some sort of distance involved.
I hope this wasn’t too confusing! :)
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