Breakdown of Dieses Handwerk ist anstrengend, außerdem braucht der Schmied viel Kraft, ehe er das Eisen formt.
sein
to be
er
he
brauchen
to need
viel
much / a lot
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
anstrengend
exhausting
außerdem
furthermore
die Kraft
the force
der Schmied
the blacksmith
ehe
before
das Eisen
the iron
formen
to shape
das Handwerk
the craft
Questions & Answers about Dieses Handwerk ist anstrengend, außerdem braucht der Schmied viel Kraft, ehe er das Eisen formt.
Why does this sentence use ehe instead of bevor, and is there a difference?
There is no difference in meaning here; ehe and bevor are exact synonyms meaning "before." ehe is simply a slightly more literary or traditional word choice, but they are completely interchangeable in this context.
Why does the verb formt come at the very end of the sentence?
Because ehe is a subordinating conjunction. Just like dass or weil, it introduces a dependent clause and kicks the conjugated verb (formt) to the very end of that clause.
English says "besides, the blacksmith needs...", so why is the German word order außerdem braucht der Schmied?
In German, außerdem (besides/furthermore) is an adverb, not a coordinating conjunction. Here, it takes up the first position in its clause. Because of the strict "verb-second" (V2) rule in main clauses, the verb braucht must come immediately after it, pushing the subject der Schmied into the third position.
Is the conjunction ehe related to the noun die Ehe (marriage)?
No, they just happen to look identical but have completely different historical roots! The conjunction ehe is related to the words eher (earlier/rather) and am ehesten (soonest).
The word anstrengend looks like a verb form. Why doesn't it have an ending here?
anstrengend is the present participle of the verb anstrengen (to strain/exhaust), which is commonly used as an adjective. Because it comes after the verb ist (as a predicate adjective) rather than sitting directly in front of a noun, it does not take any adjective endings.
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