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Deshalb schlage ich vor, ....

Deshalb schlage ich dir vor, ...

Why are both idiomatic in this case?

Glorfindel
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tryst with freedom
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  • A side note: dir isn't a reflexive pronoun. It's a personal pronoun in dative case. German only has a single reflexive pronoun: sich. It's used in third person singular and plural accusative and dative, because only in third person you have to mark reflexiveness for semantic reasons. In first and second person the fact that subject and object pronouns are the same (apart from case) marks reflexiveness. — But in your example the subject pronoun is ich and the object pronoun is du, so it can't be reflexive. – Janka Oct 06 '22 at 20:55

1 Answers1

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In the first case, I make just a suggestion (to anyone).

In the second case, I make a suggestion specifically to you.

infinitezero
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  • The sentence comes in the context of a person writing letter to their boss for a change in their work place. After highlighting issue and proposing the solution, they write this sentence. Would the context make it specific in this case? – tryst with freedom Oct 06 '22 at 12:03
  • No. Specifically if it is a conversation between to people, you don't need to make it clear that you suggest it to the other person. It's somewhat implied. – infinitezero Oct 06 '22 at 12:34