Breakdown of Obwohl die Konkurrenz stark ist, funktioniert unser Geschäftsmodell.
sein
to be
funktionieren
to work (function)
unser
our
stark
strong
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
obwohl
although
die Konkurrenz
the competition (business, competitors)
das Geschäftsmodell
the business model
Questions & Answers about Obwohl die Konkurrenz stark ist, funktioniert unser Geschäftsmodell.
How would I rewrite this sentence using trotz (despite) instead of obwohl?
You need to turn the subordinate clause into a prepositional phrase using trotz followed by the Genitive case. The clause Obwohl die Konkurrenz stark ist becomes Trotz der starken Konkurrenz. The new sentence is: Trotz der starken Konkurrenz funktioniert unser Geschäftsmodell.
If I transform the first half to Trotz der starken Konkurrenz, why does the adjective stark take the -en ending?
The preposition trotz requires the Genitive case. Because Konkurrenz is feminine, the definite article changes to der. When an adjective follows a definite article in the Genitive case, it takes the weak ending -en, giving us der starken Konkurrenz.
Why does the verb funktioniert come right after the comma?
In a German sentence, the conjugated verb of the main clause must sit in position 2. Because the entire obwohl clause occupies position 1, the verb funktioniert has to come immediately after the comma to take that second slot. If you used the trotz version, the rule remains the same: Trotz der starken Konkurrenz takes position 1, so the verb still follows right after.
What determines the gender of the compound noun Geschäftsmodell?
In German compound nouns, the very last word always determines the gender. Since it is das Modell, the entire word is neuter: das Geschäftsmodell. The s in the middle is a linking sound (called a Fugen-s) commonly added after words like Geschäft to make pronunciation smoother.
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