Word
Ich erkenne den Strauch anhand dieses Merkmals, wobei die Blüte oft fehlt.
Meaning
I recognize the bush by means of this feature, whereby the blossom is often missing.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Ich erkenne den Strauch anhand dieses Merkmals, wobei die Blüte oft fehlt.
ich
I
oft
often
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
fehlen
to be missing
Questions & Answers about Ich erkenne den Strauch anhand dieses Merkmals, wobei die Blüte oft fehlt.
Why is it dieses Merkmals after anhand?
The preposition anhand (meaning "on the basis of" or "by means of") requires the genitive case. Since das Merkmal (the feature or characteristic) is a neuter noun, the demonstrative pronoun changes to dieses and we add the -s ending to the noun, making it dieses Merkmals.
Could I use an instead of anhand here, like Ich erkenne den Strauch an diesem Merkmal?
Yes, you can! The phrase erkennen an (always followed by the dative case) is a very common way to say "to recognize by." Using anhand (with the genitive) has the exact same core meaning but sounds slightly more formal, analytical, or scientific, emphasizing the specific evidence used for identification.
How does wobei function in this sentence?
Wobei introduces an accompanying circumstance, a contrast, or a slight caveat. In this context, it translates nicely to "whereby," "although," or "bearing in mind that." Because it acts as a subordinating conjunction here, it kicks the conjugated verb (fehlt) to the very end of the clause.
What is the difference between der Strauch and der Busch?