Re: R: Re: another ?

Mangiat wrote:

> My teacher of German once said me that she had a relative who, as every good
> noble German (she is of noble origins), used only indirect speech.
>
> Ich sehe es (I see it)
>     became
> Man sieht es (one sees it)
>
> Was machst du gerade? (What are you doing?)
>     became
> Was macht man gerade? (What one is doing?)
>
> (Jörg?)
I haven't encountered this even once, but what was common practice
in noble circles was to use either 1st person plural,
or 3rd person singular pronouns (but not indefinite pronouns),
as in the following examples:

Wir sehen es.  (We see it.)
Was machen wir gerade?  (What are we doing right now?)

Er sieht es.  (He sees it.)
Was macht er gerade?  (What is he doing right now?)

Today, however, both versions are considered obsolete and affectionate.
Only snobs would speak that way.

Jörg.