Breakdown of Ab Montag drohen die Mitarbeiter der Bahn zu streiken.
der Montag
Monday
der Mitarbeiter
the employee (male)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
ab
from / starting at
die Bahn
the railway (the rail service)
drohen
to threaten (with consequences or impending danger)
streiken
to strike
Questions & Answers about Ab Montag drohen die Mitarbeiter der Bahn zu streiken.
How is drohen functioning here with zu streiken?
Here, drohen acts as a subject-raising verb combined with zu and an infinitive. It functions similarly to a modal verb to express an imminent, usually negative, event. While railway employees can literally threaten to strike, this structure is also commonly used with inanimate subjects to mean 'is at risk of' (for example, Das Haus droht einzustürzen - The house is in danger of collapsing).
Why is ab used for 'starting on' instead of seit?
Ab is used for a defined starting point that looks forward into the future, like next Monday. Seit translates to 'since' or 'for' and is only used for something that started in the past and is still ongoing. Because the strike has not happened yet, ab is the correct choice.
Why are drohen and zu streiken separated by the subject?
German sentence structure requires the conjugated verb (drohen) to be in position 2. Because the time phrase Ab Montag takes position 1, the subject (die Mitarbeiter der Bahn) is pushed to position 3. The zu infinitive phrase (zu streiken) is pushed to the very end of the clause, creating a bracket around the subject just like a modal verb would.
Why does the sentence use der Bahn if the word for railway is feminine (die Bahn)?
The phrase der Bahn is in the genitive case here, meaning 'of the railway'. For feminine nouns, the definite article die changes to der in both the dative and genitive cases. Here it links possession or affiliation directly to the employees (die Mitarbeiter).
Learn Ab Montag drohen die Mitarbeiter der Bahn zu streiken and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free