Word
Dem Minimalismus zuliebe gibt er seinen Besitz weg.
Meaning
For the sake of minimalism, he gives his belongings away.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Dem Minimalismus zuliebe gibt er seinen Besitz weg.
er
he
sein
his
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
zuliebe
for the sake of
Questions & Answers about Dem Minimalismus zuliebe gibt er seinen Besitz weg.
Why does zuliebe come after dem Minimalismus instead of before it like a normal preposition?
Zuliebe is a postposition, meaning it must be placed after the noun it modifies. Whenever you use zuliebe to mean "for the sake of," it will always follow its target.
What case does zuliebe trigger in this sentence?
It triggers the dative case, which is why we see the dative article dem in dem Minimalismus. Zuliebe almost always requires the dative, whether used with a noun or a pronoun (like mir zuliebe for "for my sake").
Why does the verb gibt come right after zuliebe instead of the subject er?
The entire phrase Dem Minimalismus zuliebe acts as a single grammatical block occupying position 1. Because German requires the conjugated verb in position 2, gibt must come next, which pushes the subject er to position 3.
Could I use verschenkt instead of gibt ... weg here?
Yes, but it changes the nuance slightly. Weggeben (used here as the separable verb gibt ... weg) broadly means "to part with" or "to give away," which perfectly fits the philosophy of minimalism. Verschenken specifically means giving things away as gifts.
Why is seinen Besitz singular when the English translation says "his belongings"?