Breakdown of Infolge des Unfalls hat der Mann eine schwere Verletzung.
ein
a, an (eine)
der Mann
the man
haben
to have
der Unfall
the accident
Questions & Answers about Infolge des Unfalls hat der Mann eine schwere Verletzung.
How does infolge affect the grammar of this sentence?
Infolge is a preposition meaning "as a result of" or "due to," and it requires the genitive case. That is why the masculine noun der Unfall changes to its genitive form, des Unfalls.
Why does Unfalls have an -s at the end?
In the genitive case, masculine and neuter nouns take an -s or -es ending. Because der Unfall is masculine, it becomes des Unfalls after the genitive preposition infolge.
Could I use wegen instead of infolge here?
Yes, wegen des Unfalls (because of the accident) is perfectly fine and means almost the same thing. However, infolge is a bit more formal and specifically stresses that the injury is the direct consequence of the event, which is why you will often see it in news, police, or medical reports.
Why is the verb hat placed before the subject der Mann?
This is due to the standard verb-second rule. The entire prepositional phrase Infolge des Unfalls takes up the first position in the sentence. The verb hat must take the second position, which pushes the subject der Mann right after it.