Breakdown of Der Wald brennt, infolgedessen verlieren die Insekten den Lebensraum.
brennen
to burn
verlieren
to lose
der Wald
the forest
infolgedessen
consequently
das Insekt
the insect
der Lebensraum
the habitat
Questions & Answers about Der Wald brennt, infolgedessen verlieren die Insekten den Lebensraum.
Why does the verb verlieren come immediately after infolgedessen?
Because infolgedessen is an adverbial connector, not a coordinating conjunction like und or aber. When an adverb takes the first position in a clause, the verb must take the second position, known as V2 word order. The subject (die Insekten) then moves to the third position.
How is the word infolgedessen formed?
It is a combination of three parts: the preposition in, the noun Folge (consequence or result), and dessen, which is the genitive form of the pronoun das (meaning 'of that'). Literally, it means 'in consequence of that'.
Why does the sentence say den Lebensraum (the habitat) instead of ihren Lebensraum (their habitat)?
In English, we usually specify whose habitat it is by saying 'their habitat.' In German, when the possessor is completely obvious from the context, it is very common and natural to just use the definite article (den) instead of a possessive pronoun (ihren).
Could I split this into two separate sentences instead of using a comma?
Yes, absolutely! Because infolgedessen is an adverb, it works perfectly at the beginning of a standalone sentence: Der Wald brennt. Infolgedessen verlieren die Insekten den Lebensraum. The V2 word order remains exactly the same.
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