Sorry I just had one more question about dropping things… would one use the construction (for example)
- “mir ist die Brille runtergefallen” or
- “ich hab meine Brille fallen lassen”?
And could please tell me how I would say
- “you made me drop my pencil”?
I thought of
- “Du hast mich dazu gebracht…”
but I can’t think of how to work in either of the previous constructions.
(asked by Andrew)
Ask about German 
So as for the first part… both versions are perfect and equally idiomatic. I really can’t tell a difference.
As for “you made me”… the literal translation would indeed be as you suggested, here in combination with dropping the glasses :)
– “Du hast mich dazu gebracht, die Brille fallen zu lassen.”
However, this is not idiomatic.People would use this if they have been manipulated into doing something on a bigger scale… like… sell your car for little money or something. For the glasses example, “because of you” is what is best:
– “Wegen dir habe ich die Brille fallen lassen.”
-“Wegen dir ist mir die Brille runtergefallen.”
or with the order reversed (sounds a little childish though):
– “Na toll, jetzt ist mir die Brille runtergefallen. Wegen DIR!”