Breakdown of Sie geben der Umwelt zuliebe überflüssigen Besitz weg.
sie
they
die Umwelt
the environment
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
zuliebe
for the sake of
weggeben
to give away
der Besitz
the possession
überflüssig
superfluous
Questions & Answers about Sie geben der Umwelt zuliebe überflüssigen Besitz weg.
Why is zuliebe placed after der Umwelt, and why does a feminine noun use the article der here?
zuliebe means 'for the sake of' and is a postposition, meaning it must come immediately after the noun it modifies. It requires the dative case, which changes the feminine article die to der in der Umwelt.
Why is der Umwelt zuliebe placed before the direct object überflüssigen Besitz?
In German, phrases that explain the reason or the beneficiary (like der Umwelt zuliebe) usually come before the accusative direct object. The direct object (überflüssigen Besitz) tends to be placed closer to the end of the sentence, right before the separable verb prefix weg.
Why does the adjective überflüssigen end in -en when there is no article before it?
Besitz is a masculine noun in the accusative case because it is the direct object being given away. When a noun has no preceding article (like den or einen) to indicate its gender and case, the adjective takes a 'strong' ending to show this information. For a masculine accusative noun, that strong ending is -en.
The English translation says 'possessions' (plural), but isn't Besitz singular here?
Yes, Besitz is singular in German, referring collectively to 'property' or 'ownership'. While English often uses the plural 'possessions' to describe a collection of belongings, German typically uses the singular Besitz to express the exact same concept.
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