Quote:
Originally Posted by Arios
1) the French structure of the sentences is somewhat strange...
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Both sentences have been taken verbatim from a popular 18th century French grammar book for German speakers:
Nouvelle grammaire allemande... by Johann Valentin Meidinger.
The usage of these two sentences is kind of an inside joke by German writer E.T.A. Hoffman, because one of the characters uses these random textbook example sentences instead of "proper magic spells."
BTW, the German original sentences read as follows:
Mein Herr, leihen Sie mir gefälligst ein wenig Ihr Federmesser.
Ja, mein Herr, sogleich. -- Da haben Sie es.
Ich werde es Ihnen mit Dank wieder zustellen.
the English back translation is:
May I borrow your penknife for a while, Sir?
Yes sir, right away sir. -- Here you go.
I shall return it to you with my thanks.