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I once saw in a chess book, the report of a German commentator saying, "ganz großartig gespielt" to a particular move.

Are there commonly used similar expressions with other verbs, such as "ganz großartig gesagt," "ganz großartig getan," etc.?

If not in common use, are they grammatically correct constructs?

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Ganz großartig gefragt! Ganz großartig getan eher nicht, aber Ganz großartig gemacht. –  user unknown Jan 9 '12 at 15:11
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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Be aware of the subtleties here.

With "Ganz großartig gespielt" the commentator is praising the good play. But if you say it in a derisive tone it is used ironically (or even sarcastically).

That normally applies to most things, so I would not mention it, but you put "ganz großartig getan" in your question. I know no situation where you would use the combination with "tun" in a praising way. I would automatically assume that it is used in a ironic/sarcastic or just negative way.

Erst hat er ganz großartig getan und dann kam nichts dabei heraus.
First he acted up, but then there was nothing.

If you praise someone, you normally use a specific verb, describing what the person has done.

ganz großartig gespielt
(den Ball) ganz großartig geschossen
(den Marathon) ganz großartig gelaufen
(ein Problem) ganz großartig gelöst

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Yes, people tag "ganz" or "voll" or other intensifiers to words. "Ganz großartig" would be like saying "really great" or even "totally cool". It's grammatically correct but typically has kind of a colloquial feel to it. German is great about its flexibility for adding a lot of filler words and intensifiers that is pretty subjective to the speaker. In other words, there aren't a lot of hard and fast rules about using such words. Sports commentators do it a lot, as in your example.

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But be careful with intensifiers. When overdoing it may easily be taken ironically and thus the meaning turns into the opposite. –  Takkat Jan 8 '12 at 20:48
"Glänzend" is another one used a lot by sports commentators, as in "Ein glänzendes Tor!" ("a splendid/spectacular goal!") in Fußball. Just thought I'd throw that one in there as a further example in case you were interested. :-) –  Kevin Jan 8 '12 at 20:50
@Takkat: Auch schon wohl gut gesagt! ;-) –  Kevin Jan 8 '12 at 20:52
Careful: "Ganz" can also mean "so-so": "Ganz gut" does not mean "very good", it means "more or less OK". –  fzwo Jan 9 '12 at 10:33
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