Vati, kann ich mit Elli spielen? – Ja, meine Kleine, das darfst du
schon.
Daddy, can I play with Elli? – Yes, little one, of course you can.wohl ‘probably’ often signals a supposition or expectation on the part of the speaker.
It has a wide range of uses, from signalling an awareness that there may be other
views on the subject, to an intimidating challenge:Entschuldigen Sie bitte die Störung. Sie haben wohl viele wichtige
Sachen zu erledigen.
Please excuse the interruption. You’ve probably got a lot of important
things to see to.Sie haben wohl eine Erklärung?
I suppose you have an explanation?See also 88.2c (p. 320) for wohl.
117.2 It is usual for the listener to give little verbal signals to show that he or she is following
what the speaker is saying and is involved. In German this can be done using the
following expressions. Some of them also express reservation or disagreement:
ja, ja/ja, mmm/so, so, ja
ach ‘oh’
Sagen Sie bloß! ‘You don’t say’
tatsächlich? wirklich? echt? ‘really’
(ganz) klar ‘of course’
OK alles klar! ‘OK, no problem’
eben!/genau! ‘exactly’
richtig! ‘right’
jawohl! ‘yes, indeed’
naja, aber... ‘well OK, but... ’
naja, vielleicht... ‘well, maybe’
nein doch! ‘certainly not’(a) A fairly low level of interest, without particular involvement, can be conveyed with
ja (or ja ja), mmm or so, said with a low and slightly falling intonation. Combinations
of these are possible, e.g. so, ja.(b) A greater degree of involvement can be signalled by producing the previous set of
words with an appropriately emphatic manner, such as a high falling intonation.
Alternatively, the use of ach! or tatsächlich! implies a degree of interest and possibly
surprise at learning something. Other responses which could be appropriate here
include Sagen Sie bloß! and Was Sie nicht sagen! ‘you don’t say!’(c) To signal explicitly that he or she understands and/or agrees with the speaker, the
listener can say alles klar! or OK! Combinations with the words listed above are also
possible, e.g. so, ja, alles klar!(d) Strong agreement can be indicated by saying genau! ‘exactly’, richtig! ‘right’, ja
eben! ‘exactly!’ or jawohl! ‘yes, indeed’. Alternatively, one can say:117
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