et ... sech

Et ... Sech: How Life Goes

Level 5

Zu Berlin lieft et sech gutt. (Life is good in Berlin.) Et + verb + sech + an adverb says how easy or pleasant an activity is, for anyone.

How It Works

1. How it is built
Use et as the subject, the verb in the et form, sech, and an adverb:

  • Hei lieft et sech gutt. (Life is good here.)
  • Mat engem eidele Mo schafft et sech net gutt. (It is hard to work on an empty stomach.)
  • Op engem grëffege Belag fiert et sech och am Ree gutt. (On a grippy surface, driving is fine even in the rain.)

It works with many verbs that normally are not reflexive: liewen, schaffen, fueren, wunnen, schlofen. The sentence talks about the activity in general, not about one person.

2. Word order
When a place or another phrase comes first, et and sech follow the verb: Zu Berlin lieft et sech gutt. See Pronouns Come Early.

3. With loossen
Sech loossen gives a similar meaning: An dësem Hotel léisst et sech gutt liewen! (Life is good in this hotel!)

4. Fixed expressions
Some reflexive expressions with et are fixed phrases with their own meaning:

  • et handelt sech ëm (it is about): Hei handelt et sech ëm eng kriddeleg Fro. Compare et geet ëm.
  • et lount sech (it is worth it), et gehéiert sech net (it is not proper)

Examples (6)

  1. Zu Berlin lieft et sech gutt.

    Life is good in Berlin.

  2. An eiser Gemeng lieft et sech gutt, an Ärer och?

    Life is good in our municipality. Is it in yours too?

  3. Mat engem eidele Mo schafft et sech net gutt.

    It's hard to work on an empty stomach.

    Nobody in particular is meant. It is true for anyone.

  4. Op engem grëffege Belag fiert et sech och am Ree gutt.

    On a grippy road surface, driving is fine even in the rain.

  5. An dësem Hotel léisst et sech gutt liewen!

    Life is good in this hotel!

    Sech loossen with et gives a similar meaning.

  6. Hei handelt et sech ëm eng kriddeleg Fro.

    This is a delicate question.

    Et handelt sech ëm is a fixed expression meaning "it is about".

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out et.

    Zu Berlin lieft sech gutt.
    Zu Berlin lieft et sech gutt.

    Luxembourgish needs a subject here. Et fills that place, even though it does not refer to anything.

  • Leaving out sech (intended meaning: life is good in Berlin).

    Zu Berlin lieft et gutt.
    Zu Berlin lieft et sech gutt.

    Without sech, et would be a real subject, such as a child or animal that lives well. The general meaning needs et ... sech.

  • Making the verb plural to match a plural place.

    An dëse Stied liewen et sech gutt.
    An dëse Stied lieft et sech gutt.

    The subject is et, so the verb is always in the et form.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

et ... sechLevel 5Et ... Sech: How Life Goes

Learn This First

Before Et ... sech: How Life Goes, learn Reflexive Verbs With Sech and It for Weather and Time.

Words in This Pattern

sech