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Are You Certain?

Has anyone ever had the audacity to doubt you, despite your obvious inborn genius and natural talents? The best response to such outrageous treatment is, of course, to put the disbelievers firmly in their place, and this is best accomplished through modifiers that express certainty, ways of emphasizing that there can simply be no doubt: you are the greatest, and they are just going to have to live with the fact.

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Former German president Christian Wulff may have been forced to resign in a 2012 scandal, but nobody ever doubted his support for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup:

 

Die Unterstützung des Schirmherrn aus dem Schloss Bellevue

The support of the patron from Bellevue Castle

ist also gewiss.

is certain.

Captions 13-14, Frauenfußball-WM - Der Bundespräsident am Ball

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As to life after the resignation, Wulff may be facing difficulties similar to those of an animal shelter in Nied:

 

Die Zeiten werden rauer, so viel steht fest.

The times are getting rougher, that is for sure.

Caption 48, Für Tierfreunde - Tierheim Nied

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Though Wulff's smile is still looking good, there's always room for improvement, as suggested by Diane and Franca:

 

Wenn ich weniger Schokolade essen würde,

If I ate less chocolate,

wäre mein Zahnarzt bestimmt zufriedener mit mir.

my dentist would certainly be happier with me.

Captions 30-31, Konjugation - Das Verb „essen“

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And were Wulff to be accused of smuggling a polar bear into the Frankfurt Zoo, he would surely respond:

 

Doch wie Sie sicherlich wissen,

But as you surely know,

gibt's im Frankfurter Zoo keine Eisbären.

there aren't any polar bears in the Frankfurt Zoo.

Caption 11, Umfragen - Zootiere im Winter

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Further Learning:

Gewiss, feststehen, bestimmt, and sicherlich are just a few examples of the many ways of expressing certainty in German. Go the the aforementioned interview with former German president Christian Wulff on Yabla and see if you can find other examples of Mr. Wulff expressing certainty. As the old saying goes, Hochmut kommt vor dem Fall.

Expressions

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