-falls

See also: falls, Falls, and fälls

German

Etymology

Suffixation of the conjunction falls, this presumably from the genitive of Fall.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fals/

Suffix

-falls

1. used to form adverbs from adjectives

   ‎gleich (“similar”) + ‎-falls → ‎gleichfalls (“similarly”)

   ‎besten (“best”) + ‎-falls → ‎bestenfalls (“at best”)

   ‎notwendig (“necessary”) + ‎-falls → ‎notwendigenfalls (“if necessary”)

2. used to form adverbs from pronouns

   ‎kein (“no”) + ‎-falls → ‎keinesfalls (“in no case”)

   ‎ander (“other”) + ‎-falls → ‎anderenfalls (“alternatively”)

Usage notes

• This suffix forms adverbs that imply a particular condition or circumstance, similarly to phrases like "in case of," "if," or "in the event of" in English, and it adds a hypothetical or conditional sense to words.
• The adverbs are formed either from an adjective or from a pronoun.
• Since the suffix comes from a genitive formation, adjectives are often accompanied by an interfix -en, which originally corresponds to the strong masculine singular declension of the adjective itself.
• For the same reason, some pronouns could present the interfix -es, as in keinesfalls.

Derived terms

German terms suffixed with -falls