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anstellen and  sich anstellen

The verb anstellen and its reflexive form sich anstellen have a number of different meanings and uses. 

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You may have heard anstellen used in the context of the job market, as it means "to hire," "to employ," or "to appoint." You can look at ways to describe different types of employment in this previous lesson

 

Die meisten Leute, die bei einem Arbeitgeber angestellt sind, werden für diese Arbeit am Ende des Monats bezahlt.

Most people who are employed by an employer are paid for this work at the end of the month.

Captions 4-5, Eva: erklärt Bankkonten

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Dann wär ich ja angestellt.

Then I would be an employee.

Caption 23, Nicos Weg: Studium und Beruf

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Although einschalten is more common, there are cases when anstellen is used to talk about turning on a device or machine. 

 

Man musste den Ventilator anstellen.

You had to turn on the fan.

Caption 30, Kinder lernen: Wie aus Wind Strom gemacht wird

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The verb sich anstellen has a few other meanings. For one, it means to line up or wait in a line. 

 

Im Hintergrund sieht man ein paar von den Linien an denen man sich anstellen muss, um sein Mittagessen zu holen.

In the background, you can see a few of the lines that you have to wait in to get your lunch.

Captions 41-42, Studieren in Deutschland: Campustag KIT

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Entschuldigung, Sie müssen sich erst anstellen.

Excuse me, you have to get in line first.

Caption 20, Mein Weg nach Deutschland: Auf Arbeitssuche

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Both of these verbs can be used to talk about behavior and, unless otherwise specified, generally imply making a scene or behaving badly. 

 

Und wie hat er sich angestellt?

And how did he do?

Caption 17, Die Toten von Marnow: S1 E1 Zyklop

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Ich meine, beziehungsweise, was passiert, wenn irgendjemand irgendeinen Mist mit der Waffe anstellt?

I mean, or rather, what happens if someone does something stupid with the gun?

Captions 48-49, Großstadtrevier: Der Gute Bulle (Teil 1)

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Was habt ihr mit meinem Bruder angestellt?

What have you done with my brother?

Caption 2, Oskar - Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist: Nur die Liebe zählt

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The verb anstellen is also used with certain nouns to express the act of undertaking or initiating an action. Examples of this are Nachforschungen anstellen (to conduct investigations), Untersuchungen anstellen (to carry out inquiries), and Vermutungen anstellen (to make speculations). 

 

Wohin damit? -Wie hast du das denn angestellt?

Where should it go? -How did you arrange that then?

Caption 47, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern

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Na, aussichtslos... Wir können Nachforschungen anstellen.

Well, hopeless... We can start investigations.

Caption 11, Die Pfefferkörner: Gerüchteküche

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Further Learning
Review the conjugations of anstellen. You can also refer to additional examples on Yabla German and build your own sentences. 

The prepositional negation nicht ohne

The standard negation in German — when you say that something is "not" by using nicht — is relatively straightforward for native English speakers. Although its placement in a sentence may differ from English, often falling at the end of a sentence (Ich liebe dich... nicht!), it usually parallels the use of the English word "not." A standard German phrase combined with the preposition ohne ("without") might read:

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

Das ist nicht ohne Risiko.

This is not without risk.

Caption 14, Die letzten Paradiese - Die Schönheit der Alpen 1

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Nee, nee, nee, mein Lieber, nicht ohne dich.

No, no, no, my dear, not without you.

Caption 75, Großstadtrevier - St. Pauli rettet HSV

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Und da bin ich nicht ohne Sorge.

And there I'm not without worries.

Caption 60, Holocaust-Gedenktag - Gespräch mit jüdischen Schülern

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Note that in the above cases, the phrase nicht ohne has an object that defines what is lacking, in the above examples Risiko, dich, and Sorge respectively. But what does it mean when somebody says nicht ohne without an object? To say "Oh, that's not without" in English is a sentence fragment with no clear meaning.

 

To say nicht ohne with no defined object in German, however, is an idiomatic or slang usage that has been in use since at least the 17th century, according to the Redensarten-Index website. To leave a word out of a sentence is what's known in linguistics as an ellipsis. This particular ellipsis is more difficult to immediately understand than most of those in English, however. 

 

Ein Radfahrer... Das ist nicht ohne.

A bicyclist... That is difficult.

Caption 22, Knallerfrauen - Mathehausaufgaben

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Mein Fahrgestell ist nämlich auch nicht ganz ohne.

My undercarriage isn't exactly without its dangers, either.

Caption 27, Oskar - Gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist - Nur die Liebe zählt

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Thus, depending upon the specific context, the phrase nicht ohne can mean that something is difficult, dangerous, or to be taken seriously.

 

Further Learning
Read the above link for the Redensarten-Index and search for more examples of nicht ohne on Yabla German to see other ways that the phrase can be used in German sentences.