or it can express exasperation:
Das gibt es doch nicht!
I don’t believe it!/You must be joking!and in questions it can express hope for a positive response:
Du hast doch den Brief abgeschickt?
You did send the letter (didn’t you?)When stressed, doch can be used to reject an actual or implied negative (see 109.1b
on expressing disagreement). With even greater emphasis, it can be used to
confirm an unexpected turn of events, often with dann or together with noch
(doch noch):
Trotz der Panne ist der Zug dann doch pünktlich angekommen.
Despite the breakdown the train still arrived on time.eben usually highlights a potential problem which the speaker can reasonably expect
the listener to understand and sympathize with:
Das ist es eben.
That’s just it.Das ist eben klar.
That is clear, after all (as everyone surely accepts).freilich signals that the speaker acknowledges the force of some argument that detracts
from the argument he or she is making:
Die Mitglieder dieser Regierung sind freilich keine Engel, aber sie tun
ihr Bestes.
The members of this government are no angels, admittedly, but they are
doing their best.gerade highlights a particular point, draws the listener’s attention to something, and
gives it a particular prominence. In a conversation, this may imply that the speaker and
the listener need to talk about this further. Eben can also be used in this way:
Das ist gerade das Problem.
Das ist eben das Problem.
That is exactly the problem (which you may not fully appreciate).halt is used colloquially and generally invites the listener to agree that something is a
fact and cannot easily be changed:
Es ist halt so. (informal)
That’s (just) the way it is.Heutzutage gibt es halt nur Staus.
These days there are only traffic jams.immerhin functions very like allerdings (see above):
Wir haben das Spiel verloren. Immerhin hätte es schlimmer sein
können.
We lost the game. It could have been worse, though.117
COMMUNICATION STATEGIES