Krieg geht uns alle etwas an.

Sentence Discussions German
#1
English Translation

War concerns us all.

Would this sentence also be correct without “etwas”?

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#2

Yes. Actually, It sounds better to me without the “etwas”.
You can also skip the “uns”, without changing the meaning in most situations.
“Krieg geht alle an.”

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#3

Thanks. Skipping the “uns” maybe would just change “all of us” to “everybody,” or a more personal attitude to a more universal.

#4

I read it as “War concern all of us in some way.”

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#5

I am not sure if I agree with you here.

“In some way” in English to me (non-native!) sounds distant or vague like in
“We might be related in some way” = “he might be a third cousin of mine but I do not know”
The German “etwas” in this sentence is in no way vague or belittleling , although in other context “etwas” might have this meaning.

Your sentence retranslated would be:

“Krieg geht uns alle irgendwie an.”

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