Breakdown of Dem Meteorologen zufolge gibt es wegen eines Orkans Überschwemmungen.
ein
a, an (eine)
es gibt
there is / there are
wegen
because of
der Meteorologe
the meteorologist
zufolge
according to (often follows the noun)
die Überschwemmung
the flood (inundation of land)
der Orkan
the hurricane
Questions & Answers about Dem Meteorologen zufolge gibt es wegen eines Orkans Überschwemmungen.
Why is zufolge placed after Dem Meteorologen instead of before it?
When zufolge means "according to" and refers to a person or source of information, it acts as a postposition, meaning it is placed right after the noun it modifies. In this postpositioned spot, it always requires the dative case, which is why we see the dative article Dem.
Why does Meteorologen have an -n at the end if it refers to just one meteorologist?
Der Meteorologe belongs to a group of nouns known as weak masculine nouns (or n-declension). These nouns add an -n or -en ending in every case except the nominative singular. Since zufolge requires the dative case here, Meteorologe gets an -n.
Why does the sentence use gibt es instead of es gibt?
The entire phrase Dem Meteorologen zufolge acts as a single block of information occupying the first position in the sentence. Because German strictly requires the conjugated verb to be in the second position, the verb gibt comes next, pushing the subject es into the third position.
Why is Orkan written as eines Orkans?
The preposition wegen (because of) requires the genitive case in standard German. Because der Orkan (the hurricane) is a masculine noun, its indefinite article changes to eines and the noun itself takes an -s ending in the genitive.
Learn Dem Meteorologen zufolge gibt es wegen eines Orkans Überschwemmungen 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