Breakdown of Laut der Statistik nimmt das Einkommen im Durchschnitt zu.
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
laut
according to
die Statistik
the statistic
das Einkommen
the income
der Durchschnitt
the average
zunehmen
to increase (intransitive)
Questions & Answers about Laut der Statistik nimmt das Einkommen im Durchschnitt zu.
Is der Statistik in the dative or genitive case here?
It could be either! The preposition laut (according to) can take either the dative or the genitive case. Because Statistik is a feminine noun (die Statistik), both its dative and genitive forms use the article der. In spoken German, the dative is much more common for this preposition.
Why does the verb nimmt come before the subject das Einkommen?
This is because of the V2 word order rule in German. The phrase Laut der Statistik occupies the first position in the sentence. The conjugated verb nimmt must take the second position, which pushes the subject das Einkommen into the third position.
Why is the word zu sitting all by itself at the end of the sentence?
It is the separable prefix of the verb zunehmen (to increase). In a standard German main clause, the conjugated part of the verb (nimmt) sits in the second position, while the separable prefix (zu) is pushed to the very end of the sentence.
How does the phrase im Durchschnitt work grammatically?
The noun der Durchschnitt means "the average". To say "on average", German uses the preposition in followed by the dative case. The preposition in merges with the dative masculine article dem to create the contraction im.
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