Breakdown of Wir müssen dringend reden über die verheerende Hitzewelle.
wir
we
müssen
to have to, must
über
about (a topic)
reden
to talk
dringend
urgent / urgently
verheerend
devastating
die Hitzewelle
the heatwave
Questions & Answers about Wir müssen dringend reden über die verheerende Hitzewelle.
Wait, shouldn't the infinitive reden go at the very end of the sentence?
According to standard written grammar, yes: Wir müssen dringend über die verheerende Hitzewelle reden. However, in spoken German, speakers often place long prepositional phrases after the final verb. This position is called the Nachfeld (afterfield). It is used to add an afterthought or to emphasize the phrase—in this case, putting heavy focus on the heatwave itself.
Where does the word verheerende (devastating) come from?
It is built from the verb verheeren (to devastate). By adding -d to the infinitive, you create the present participle verheerend (devastating), which acts just like a normal adjective. Because it follows the feminine accusative article die, it takes the ending -e.
Why does über take the accusative case here (die Hitzewelle) instead of the dative?
über is a two-way preposition, which usually switches between dative for location and accusative for motion. But when it is used abstractly to mean "about"—such as with the verb reden (to talk)—it always requires the accusative case, regardless of location.
Is dringend (urgently) related to a specific verb?
Yes, it comes from the verb dringen (to urge or to press). Just like verheerend, it is actually a present participle (dringend) that has become a standard vocabulary word. Here it is used as an adverb modifying reden, but you will also frequently see it as an adjective, such as in ein dringendes Problem (an urgent problem).
Learn Wir müssen dringend reden über die verheerende Hitzewelle and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free