Breakdown of Er reduziert der Leichtigkeit zuliebe den Konsum.
er
he
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
reduzieren
to reduce
der Konsum
the consumption
Questions & Answers about Er reduziert der Leichtigkeit zuliebe den Konsum.
Why does zuliebe come after der Leichtigkeit instead of before it?
The word zuliebe is a postposition, meaning it is placed after the noun it affects. It translates to "for the sake of" and always requires the dative case, which is why it forces the feminine noun Leichtigkeit into the dative form.
Is der Leichtigkeit masculine? Why use der here?
No, Leichtigkeit is feminine, just like all German nouns ending in -keit. It takes the article der here because it must be in the dative case, as required by the postposition zuliebe. The feminine dative article is der.
Why is der Leichtigkeit zuliebe placed before the direct object den Konsum?
Adverbial phrases, like this one explaining the reason or motivation, generally come before a noun direct object in the German sentence structure. If the object were a pronoun like ihn, it would normally come before the phrase instead.
Why is there an article before Konsum when the English translation just says "consumption"?
German frequently uses definite articles for abstract nouns, general categories, or concepts where English leaves them out. Since he is reducing consumption as a general concept, German requires the definite accusative article den.