To continue our series of lessons on adjectives, which has included those ending in -bar, -sam, and -los, we will today look at adjectives that end with -end. These adjectives will generally be related to verbs and are often used to describe ongoing actions or states. 

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Ich will ihn lebend haben!

I want him alive!

Caption 37, Es war einmal … Entdecker und Erfinder: Archimedes

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Ausschlaggebend für die perfekte Umsetzung der Geschichte war auch die Wahl der Drehorte.

Crucial to the perfect implementation of the story was also the choice of film locations.

Caption 34, Hell: Science-Fiction-Kinotipp

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Just as many adjectives ending with -bar often have English equivalents ending with "-ible" or "-able," adjectives ending with -end are most likely to have an English equivalent ending with -ing. Like all adjectives, adjectives ending with -end require the appropriate ending for the gender of the noun they precede, and will of course need to take the case into account. 

. . . und der Nachwelt eine bleibende Erinnerung an die charakteristischen Häuser der Schwarzwälder Kulturlandschaft geben.

... and, for posterity, give a lasting memory of the characteristic buildings of the Black Forest cultural landscape.

Captions 11-12, Der Schwarzwald: Freilichtmuseum Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach

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Es wird kalt, sehr kalt und wärmende Kleidung oder ein Feuerchen wird die Neandertaler nicht mehr schützen.

It's getting cold, very cold, and warming clothes or a little fire will no longer protect the Neanderthals.

Captions 13-15, Es war einmal... der Mensch: Der Neandertaler

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In einer Düsseldorfer Klinik können jetzt werdende Eltern ihren Nachwuchs im Fortuna Düsseldorf Kreißsaal zur Welt bringen.

In a Düsseldorf clinic expectant parents can now bring their progeny into the world in the Fortuna Düsseldorf [soccer team] delivery room.

Captions 5-6, Fortuna Düsseldorf: Kreißsaal für Fußballfans

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Mit einer fliegenden Kaffeetasse wird er es versuchen.

He will try it with a flying coffee cup.

Caption 37, Playmobil: Skispringen mit Familie Hauser

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Vielleicht fällt es dir auch schon auf, dass es an treffenden Beschreibungen von Geschmacksrichtungen fehlt.

Maybe you have already noticed that there is a lack of accurate descriptions for flavors.

Captions 26-27, Deutsch mit Eylin: Geschmack beschreiben

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Further Learning
In addition to finding more adjectives like these on Yabla German, see if you can figure out what the following expressions mean: der alleinerziehende Vater, die anfallenden Kosten, der laufende Prozess, die anwesenden Gäste, eine hervorragende Idee, and das fehlende Puzzleteil.

The German verbs zwingen and erzwingen look very similar (especially in the past tense as gezwungen and erzwungen) and have similar meanings, but there are some fine points in distinguishing their proper usage. Let's take a look first at some examples of zwingen: 

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Na ja, es wird sicher kein Problem sein,

Well, it will certainly not be a problem

den Internetbetreiber zu zwingen, den Film zu löschen.

to compel the internet provider to delete the movie.

Captions 6-7, Die Pfefferkörner - Gerüchteküche

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Und wir waren gezwungen, einige Kürzungen vorzunehmen.

And we were forced to make some cuts.

Caption 14, Berufsleben - Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Es ist aber auch keine Mutter jemals gezwungen worden

There, indeed, has never been a mother [who was] forced

im Fortuna-Kreißsaal zu entbinden.

to deliver in the Fortuna delivery room.

Captions 34-35, Fortuna Düsseldorf - Kreißsaal für Fußballfans

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Thus, the verb zwingen refers to the person or company etc. that is being forced or compelled to do something.

The verb erzwingen is also usually translated as "to force" or "to compel," as well as "to enforce," but with erzwingen it is not about who is being forced, but what is actually being enforced, be it a situation, arrangement, or law etc.  

Er hat die Entscheidung erzwungen. 
He forced the decision.

Sie erzwingt ein Versprechen.
She is forcing a promise to be made.

An easy way to remember the difference between the two verbs is that zwingen is always about who is being forced or compelled to do something, and erzwingen is always about what is being forced, compelled, or enforced upon somebody:

Die Regierung wurde gezwungen, die neuen Gesetze zu erzwingen.
The government was compelled to enforce the new laws.

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Further Learning
Search for more examples of zwingen in its various conjugations on Yabla German and try writing some sentences on your own using both verbs.

The noun die Bilanz sounds similar to the English word "balance" and is often translated thus, in the sense of a "financial balance" or a "balance sheet," as opposed to getting dizzy and losing your balance, which is das Gleichgewicht. You might occasionally run into the phrase Bilanz ziehen, which sounds a bit odd if you were to translate it literally as "pull balance." Its real meaning becomes clearer when we see the phrase used in some different contexts:

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Fehmarn kann eine erfreuliche Bilanz ziehen: Es kamen zweitausendneun zehn Prozent mehr Gäste.

Fehmarn strikes a happy balance: ten percent more guests came in two thousand nine.

Caption 3, Die Insel Fehmarn - Gästeboom

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Zeit, Bilanz zu ziehen.

It's time to strike a balance.

Caption 9, Fortuna Düsseldorf - Kreißsaal für Fußballfans

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Seit knapp neun Jahren gibt es die Berliner Band, da ist es an der Zeit, einmal Bilanz zu ziehen.

The Berlin band has existed for almost nine years, so it's about time to strike a balance.

Captions 3-4, Culcha Candela - zieht Bilanz

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Although I had long assumed—incorrectly—that "to strike a balance" had to do with physical balancing (die Gleichgewicht), in fact the Oxford English Dictionary defines the phrase as meaning "to determine the exact difference, if any, between the two sides of an account," thus using the same sense of "balance" as the German die Bilanz. As with the English phrase, the German phrase too is probably used more often in a metaphorical sense.

The noun die Bilanz without the verb ziehen is also commonly translated thus: 

Neunzehnhundertachtzehn zeigt uns eine Bilanz.

Nineteen hundred eighteen shows us a result.

Caption 38, Majolika Karlsruhe - Der Bambi-Filmpreis

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Am Ende der Veranstaltung ist die Bilanz dann auch recht eindeutig.

At the end of the event, the result then is also quite clear.

Caption 64, Manga-und-Anime-Treffen - in Mainz-Kastell

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The least figurative translation of die Bilanz, however, is simply "the balance sheet."

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Further Learning
Go to Yabla German to find other examples of how the noun die Bilanz is used in a real-world context.