Breakdown of Das Programm ist hart, trotzdem hilft das Fasten.
sein
to be
helfen
to help
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
trotzdem
nevertheless
hart
hard, tough
das Programm
the program
fasten
to fast
Questions & Answers about Das Programm ist hart, trotzdem hilft das Fasten.
Why is Fasten capitalized and preceded by das?
Fasten is a nominalized infinitive. This means the verb fasten (to fast) is being used as a noun (fasting). In German, all verbs turned into nouns this way are capitalized and always take the neuter article das.
Why does the verb hilft come right after trotzdem instead of the subject das Fasten?
trotzdem (nevertheless) is an adverb acting as the first element in the second clause. Because German requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position in a main clause, hilft must come immediately after it, pushing the subject das Fasten to the third position.
Could I use obwohl instead of trotzdem to say the same thing?
Not with this exact sentence structure. trotzdem (nevertheless) connects two main clauses. obwohl (although) creates a subordinate clause, which pushes the verb to the very end. To use obwohl for the same meaning, you would have to change the structure entirely: Obwohl das Programm hart ist, hilft das Fasten.
Is das Fasten plural because it ends in -en?
No, it is singular. Even though it ends in -en like many plural nouns, a nominalized infinitive is always singular. It is treated as an abstract concept (the act of fasting) rather than a countable object.
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