Breakdown of Ist der Athlet so stark, dass er jeden Wettkampf gewinnt?
sein
to be
er
he
gewinnen
to win
so
so, such (intensifier)
stark
strong
jeder
everyone / each
dass
that
der Athlet
the athlete
der Wettkampf
the competition
Questions & Answers about Ist der Athlet so stark, dass er jeden Wettkampf gewinnt?
Why are so and dass separated here instead of using sodass?
By placing so directly in front of the adjective stark, the sentence emphasizes the degree of his strength: "Is the athlete so strong that...". If you used sodass as one word, it would sound like a more general consequence: "Ist der Athlet stark, sodass..." (Is the athlete strong, so that...).
The whole sentence is a question. Why doesn't the second half have a question word order?
The main clause, Ist der Athlet so stark, already makes the sentence a question by putting the verb first. The second half is a subordinate clause introduced by dass. Subordinate clauses always send their conjugated verb (gewinnt) to the very end, regardless of whether the overall sentence is a statement or a question.
Why is it jeden Wettkampf instead of jeder Wettkampf?
Wettkampf (competition) is a masculine noun (der Wettkampf). Because it is the direct object of the verb gewinnt (it is the thing being won), it must be in the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the accusative case turns jeder into jeden.
Is the comma before dass mandatory?
Yes! In German, subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions like dass, sodass, or weil must always be separated from the main clause by a comma.
Learn Ist der Athlet so stark, dass er jeden Wettkampf gewinnt and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free