Die Probleme des modernen Staates stören jeden Bürger.

Questions & Answers about Die Probleme des modernen Staates stören jeden Bürger.

Why does the adjective modernen end in -en? Shouldn't it match the -s of des and Staates?
A common trap! When you have a definite article like des that already shows the genitive case clearly, the adjective following it takes the weak ending. In the genitive case, the weak adjective ending is always -en. So it is des modernen Staates, not des modernes Staates.
Why does the noun Staates get an -es at the end instead of just -s?
Masculine and neuter nouns take an extra -s or -es in the genitive case. For short, one-syllable words like Staat (state), adding -es is the standard rule because it makes the word flow better and is easier to pronounce.
Why is the end of the sentence jeden Bürger instead of jeder Bürger?
The phrase jeden Bürger is the direct object experiencing the action of the verb (being bothered), so it must be in the accusative case. Because Bürger (citizen) is a masculine noun, the word for "every" changes to the masculine accusative form jeden.
How do I know whether the verb stören should be singular or plural here?
The verb always matches the main subject of the sentence. The subject here is Die Probleme (The problems), which is plural, so we use the plural verb stören. The genitive phrase des modernen Staates is just extra information describing whose problems they are, so it does not affect the verb.

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