A strange report from a tabloid newspaper: “After the high-rise fire in the Czech Republic with eleven dead, the investigators assume arson, a 54-year-old is said to have started the fire on purpose.” Can you start a fire accidentally? And further: “Czech media reports that the man wanted to take revenge on his ex-wife, who took part in a family celebration in the apartment. ‘There should have been a celebration there, to which a guest who had not been invited came ‘, Deputy Mayor Igor Bruzl explained to the CTK agency. All the fatalities were in the same (!) apartment.”
In school I learned to distinguish between “the same” and “the same”. When it comes to an “identity of the individual or thing,” then “the same” is the correct expression. “The same dog has bitten me before.”
Or: “The two women bought from the same store.” If it is about an “identity of the class”, one could also say of the species or the genus, then “the same” is required. “Father and son wear the same tie.” The woman bought two ties of the same color and pattern, one for her husband and one for her son.
I found a nice sample sentence in the Duden volume “Richtiges und Gute Deutsch”: “The two fitters from the company drive the same car.” So you have to share a service vehicle – identity of the individual. “The two fitters drive the same car.” They use vehicles of the same make – identity of the class. In this case, it remains unclear whether the engine, equipment, year of construction, etc. match. Sometimes it is difficult to do justice to the complexity of our consumer world.
In the case of abstract concepts, it is not possible to determine whether an “identity of the individual” or an “identity of the class” is involved. Normally we would choose the phrase “the same goal”, but to emphasize the commonality of the word content, “the same” is often used.
Here is an example from a report by the Austria Press Agency (APA): “Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a suit at the miserably long table, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the streets of Kiev in a military outfit: These pictures have been going around the world since the beginning of the Ukraine war. Although you might think that the stagings could not be more different, the same (!) goal is being pursued: ‘The uniform, continuous conveying of messages’, said the expert for media and political communication . . . “
Difficult rules tend to be broken over time, and eventually they no longer apply. Therefore, the Duden is tolerant: “In general, it is clear from the context which identity is meant, so that a strict distinction between ‘the same’ and ‘the same’ is unnecessary.”
I mean: That may apply to everyday communication, but it would still be advisable for newspapers to follow the old rule precisely.
