Breakdown of Wir spenden Geld, um das Leben derer zu verbessern, die in Armut leben.
in
in
das Geld
the money
wir
we
um
at (time)
leben
to live (be alive, exist)
das Leben
the life
zu
to (infinitive marker)
verbessern
to improve
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
spenden
to donate
die Armut
the poverty
derer
of those (pointing forward)
Questions & Answers about Wir spenden Geld, um das Leben derer zu verbessern, die in Armut leben.
Why do we use derer here instead of deren?
Both are genitive plural demonstrative pronouns. The rule depends on direction: use derer when you are pointing forward to a relative clause that explains who you mean (in this case, die in Armut leben). If you were pointing backward to a group of people already mentioned earlier, you would use deren.
Since das Leben is followed by a genitive, why can't we just use the definite article der?
Because derer is acting as a standalone pronoun meaning 'of those', not as an article attached to a noun (like der Menschen, meaning 'of the people'). When a genitive plural stands alone like this, German requires the demonstrative pronoun form, which is either deren or derer.
Why is zu verbessern placed before the relative clause rather than at the very end of the sentence?
The phrase um ... zu verbessern forms an infinitive clause. The grammatical rule is that the zu + infinitive goes at the very end of its own specific clause. Since die in Armut leben is a new, separate relative clause, zu verbessern must come right before the comma to properly close the um clause.
Is die Armut the standard noun for 'poverty'?
Yes, die Armut is the noun form of the adjective arm (poor). Just like in English, in Armut leben (to live in poverty) is a standard, fixed phrase used to describe this condition.
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