Breakdown of Ein großer Teil des Geldes ist verschwunden.
sein
to be
groß
big / tall
das Geld
the money
verschwinden
to disappear
Questions & Answers about Ein großer Teil des Geldes ist verschwunden.
Why do we use des Geldes here instead of von dem Geld?
When talking about fractions or portions (like ein Drittel or ein Teil), German typically uses the genitive case to mean "of the". Des Geldes is the genitive form of das Geld. While you might hear von dem Geld in casual speech, the genitive is the standard way to express parts of a whole.
I thought the word for "part" or "piece" was das Teil. Why is it masculine (ein großer Teil) here?
The word Teil actually has two genders depending on its meaning! Der Teil is used for a fraction, portion, or abstract part of a whole (like a part of a sum of money, or a part of a book). Das Teil is used for physical, separate pieces (like a spare part for a machine, or a piece of clothing).
Why does the adjective take the -er ending (großer)?
Teil is masculine and is the subject of the sentence (nominative case). Because the indefinite article ein has no ending here to show the masculine gender, the adjective steps in to show the gender by taking the strong masculine ending -er.
Why does the past tense use ist (ist verschwunden) instead of hat?