Breakdown of Die aus Beton und Stahl gebaute Konstruktion ist riesig.
sein
to be
und
and
aus
from / out of (made of)
bauen
to build
Questions & Answers about Die aus Beton und Stahl gebaute Konstruktion ist riesig.
How does the word order work in the phrase "Die aus Beton und Stahl gebaute Konstruktion"?
This is an extended participle attribute. In German, when a past participle like gebaute is used as an adjective, any extra information describing it (like the materials aus Beton und Stahl) gets sandwiched between the article (Die) and the participle itself. English usually puts this information after the noun ("the construction built out of...").
Why does gebaut have an -e at the end here?
Because it acts as an adjective describing the feminine noun Konstruktion. Since it follows the definite article Die in the nominative case, it takes the weak adjective ending -e. Even in a long extended attribute, the participle right before the noun follows standard adjective declension rules.
How would I express this exact same meaning using a relative clause instead?
You can unpack this dense structure into a relative clause: Die Konstruktion, die aus Beton und Stahl gebaut wurde, ist riesig. (The construction, which was built out of concrete and steel, is huge.) Native speakers use extended attributes a lot in formal writing, but relative clauses are more common in everyday speech.
Why does the sentence use the preposition aus instead of von for "out of"?