GRGR 1,4 - meanings of ACHTUNG

[Michael J. Hußmann]

Cometman (cometman_98 at yahoo.com) wrote:

> German verb, achten, Babelfish translates it as
> "respect", but I think observe or attend

No, "respect" is actually valid; "jemanden achten" or "Achtung vor
jemandem haben" means to respect (or to have respect for) someone.
However, "auf etwas achten" means to observe or to attend to something.
You would shout "Achtung!" ("Attention!") as a warning, or to draw
attention to something you are about to do -- say you are performing a
conjurer's trick and you want to let the audience know that this is the
precise moment the handkerchief will turn in to a pigeon.

- Michael


Michael J. Hußmann

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