Post B49AvCAP8yqvoGL62K by iris@neuromatch.social
 (DIR) More posts by iris@neuromatch.social
 (DIR) Post #B49AvCAP8yqvoGL62K by iris@neuromatch.social
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       German speakers, what the hell is "doch" and how do you use it? I can't figure it out.
       
 (DIR) Post #B49AvCM6RUD6OXoRGq by privateger@plasmatrap.com
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       @iris@neuromatch.social It's a lot of things.It's a modal particle and does not have just one meaning.The main function is contradicting a negative statement; if someone says something negative, "doch" flips it to the positive. English has no real equivalent for thisIt can also serve as an emphatic "but/however""Ich wollte gehen, doch dann hat es geregnet" - I wanted to go, but then it rained.pretty straightforward, just a slightly more literary synonym for "aber"and as a flavoring wordthis is where it gets a bit more fuzzy, it's more of an emotional signal. It adds some nuance of expectation, surprise, reassurance, or mild insistence "Das ist doch klar." -> That's obvious (come on, you know that)."Komm doch mal her!" -> Come over here (won't you / go ahead)."Du weißt doch, dass..." -> You know (surely) that..."Es hat doch funktioniert!" -> It worked after all! (contrary to expectation)you will also see it used for rhetorical questions, like:"Das war doch gestern, oder?" -> That was yesterday, wasn't it?pushing back against an assumption, expectation, or negative is the vast majority of use cases for it, get those down and you're pretty much fine
       
 (DIR) Post #B49BKBifwZeff7Hq0e by iris@neuromatch.social
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       @privateger huh. I think I get the feel of it now but I'll need to see/hear a lot of examples before I'll be able to use it right, I think.