Textreferenz (ersteres/letzteres, besagter)
Textreferenz — for English Speakers
Introduction
Formal German uses specialized reference words to avoid repetition: 'ersteres/letzteres' (the former/the latter), 'besagter' (the aforementioned), 'derjenige' (the one who). English has exact equivalents (the former, the latter, the aforementioned), so the concepts are transparent. These words are characteristic of academic papers, legal texts, and formal reports. They follow adjective declension rules in German.
German vs English
In German
Ersteres ist wichtiger als Letzteres.
In English
The former is more important than the latter.
Key Difference
Direct equivalents — German capitalizes them as nouns and declines them.
In German
Besagter Mitarbeiter wurde befördert.
In English
The aforementioned employee was promoted.
Key Difference
Same formal register and function. German 'besagter' takes adjective endings.
Common Mistakes for English Speakers
Erstere ist wichtiger als Letztere. (when referring to neuter nouns)
Forgetting to match the ending to the gender of the referenced noun — these decline like adjectives.
Derjenige, der will teilnehmen.
Wrong word order in the relative clause — the modal verb goes to the end.
Practice Examples
Diejenigen, die teilnehmen wollen, melden sich bitte an.
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Wir haben zwei Optionen. Ersteres halte ich für besser.
We have two options. I consider the former better.
Besagte Regelung tritt ab morgen in Kraft.
The aforementioned regulation takes effect tomorrow.
Memory Tip
ERSTERES = former, LETZTERES = latter, BESAGTER = aforementioned, DERJENIGE = the one who — the 'formal four' of text reference.
View Grammar Rule
Textreferenz (ersteres/letzteres, besagter)
Textreferenz — C1
Practice Exercises
Textreferenz (ersteres/letzteres, besagter) Übungen
8 exercises
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