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Modern agriculture faces a balancing act: increasing crop yields while protecting the soil and climate.

### Expressing means with "dadurch, dass"

To explain *how* a goal is achieved, English often uses "by" plus an "-ing" verb (like "by flying less"). German expresses this using the two-part connector **dadurch, dass** (literally: "through that, that"). 

- **dadurch** sits in the main clause, pointing forward to the method.
- **dass** starts a subordinate clause, pushing its conjugated verb to the very end of the sentence.

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### Improving yields in agriculture

Let's apply this to agricultural vocabulary, like *der Ertrag* (the yield) and *steigern* (to increase).

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To explain exactly *how* to increase the yield, use **dadurch, dass**. Notice how the conjugated verb (*düngen* - to fertilize) moves to the end.

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### Method vs. Purpose

While **dadurch, dass** explains the *method* (by doing X), the structure **um ... zu** explains the *purpose* (in order to do X). Compare how these two structures express intent and method:

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Expressing means (dadurch, dass)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
to conserve	schonen
the climate	das Klima
by the fact that	dadurch, dass
One conserves the climate by flying rarely.	Man schont das Klima dadurch, dass man selten fliegt.
the drought	die Trockenheit
to irrigate	bewässern
We fight against the drought by irrigating the field often.	Wir kämpfen gegen die Trockenheit dadurch, dass wir das Feld oft bewässern.
the agriculture	die Landwirtschaft
On the one hand, agriculture is important, but on the other hand, it harms the climate.	Einerseits ist die Landwirtschaft wichtig, andererseits schadet sie dem Klima.
the yield	der Ertrag
to increase (value, performance)	steigern
The farmers try to increase the yield.	Die Bauern versuchen, den Ertrag zu steigern.
to fertilize	düngen
You increase the yield by fertilizing the field.	Sie steigern den Ertrag dadurch, dass Sie das Feld düngen.
He helps the plants by fertilizing them regularly.	Er hilft den Pflanzen dadurch, dass er sie regelmäßig düngt.
the fertilizer	der Dünger
The farmer needs good fertilizer for the field.	Der Bauer braucht guten Dünger für das Feld.
We conserve the soil by working without fertilizer.	Wir schonen den Boden dadurch, dass wir ohne Dünger arbeiten.
Because of the drought, we have to irrigate the field in order to save the harvest.	Wegen der Trockenheit müssen wir das Feld bewässern, um die Ernte zu retten.
The farmers fertilize the soil in order to increase the yield.	Die Bauern düngen den Boden, um den Ertrag zu steigern.
We help agriculture by protecting the climate.	Wir helfen der Landwirtschaft dadurch, dass wir das Klima schonen.