Breakdown of Aufgrund des Gases ist das Bergwerk geschlossen.
sein
to be
schließen
to close
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
aufgrund
due to
das Gas
the gas (state of matter, natural gas)
das Bergwerk
the mine
Questions & Answers about Aufgrund des Gases ist das Bergwerk geschlossen.
Why does this sentence use des Gases instead of das Gas?
The preposition aufgrund (meaning due to or because of) requires the genitive case. Since Gas is a neuter noun, its article changes to des in the genitive, and the noun itself takes an ending.
Why is the ending on the noun -es (Gases) instead of just -s?
Masculine and neuter nouns take an -s or -es ending in the genitive case. Because Gas is a short, one-syllable word that already ends in an s-sound, you must add -es to make it easy to pronounce.
Why does the verb ist come before the subject das Bergwerk?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must always take the second position. The entire prepositional phrase Aufgrund des Gases counts as block one. Therefore, the verb ist claims position two, pushing the subject to position three.
Could I say wird geschlossen instead of ist geschlossen here?
Not if you mean the mine is already in a closed state. Using ist geschlossen describes a condition resulting from a past action (often called the stative passive). If you used wird geschlossen, it would mean the action of closing the mine is happening right now.
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