Breakdown of Laut der Statistik wächst die Bevölkerung in der Stadt.
in
in
die Stadt
the city
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
wachsen
to grow
laut
according to
die Bevölkerung
the population
die Statistik
the statistic
Questions & Answers about Laut der Statistik wächst die Bevölkerung in der Stadt.
Why is it der Statistik after laut, and is it in the dative or genitive case?
The preposition laut (according to) can take either the dative or the genitive case. Because Statistik is a feminine noun, its definite article is der in both the dative and genitive cases. This means in this specific sentence, it could technically be either! Generally, the dative is more common in everyday speech, while the genitive is preferred in formal writing.
Why does the verb wächst come before the subject die Bevölkerung?
This is due to the standard German word order rule: the conjugated verb must take the second position in a main clause. The entire prepositional phrase Laut der Statistik takes up position one. Therefore, the verb wächst must come immediately after it, pushing the subject die Bevölkerung into the third position.
The infinitive is wachsen (to grow). Why is there an umlaut in wächst?
wachsen is an irregular verb that changes its stem vowel from a to ä for the second- and third-person singular (you, he/she/it). Because the subject die Bevölkerung is a singular entity (third-person), we use the conjugated form wächst.
Why do we use in der Stadt instead of in die Stadt?
The preposition in is a two-way preposition. It takes the accusative case for movement toward a destination (answering "where to?"), and the dative case for a fixed location (answering "where?"). Because the growth is happening within the static location of the city, we use the dative feminine article der.
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