Word
Sobald der Tarifvertrag endet, droht die Gewerkschaft wieder zu streiken.
Meaning
As soon as the collective agreement ends, the labor union threatens to strike again.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sobald der Tarifvertrag endet, droht die Gewerkschaft wieder zu streiken.
wieder
again
enden
to end
zu
to (infinitive marker)
sobald
as soon as
Questions & Answers about Sobald der Tarifvertrag endet, droht die Gewerkschaft wieder zu streiken.
Does droht here mean the union is actively making a threat, or just that a strike is a looming danger?
It can mean both here! This lesson teaches drohen as a verb used to express that an event is imminent (usually something negative). Because the subject here is an organization (die Gewerkschaft), it perfectly bridges the literal meaning (they are actively threatening) and the grammatical function (there is a looming danger of a strike). In either case, the structure is the conjugated verb drohen + zu + infinitive.
Why is the verb droht placed right after the comma instead of after die Gewerkschaft?
This is a great reminder of the verb-second (V2) rule. The entire subordinate clause (Sobald der Tarifvertrag endet) takes up the first position of the overall sentence. To keep the main conjugated verb in the second position, droht must come immediately after the comma, pushing the subject (die Gewerkschaft) into the third position.
What exactly is a Tarifvertrag?
It is a compound of der Tarif (rate, pay scale) and der Vertrag (contract). In German-speaking countries, a Tarifvertrag is a collective labor agreement negotiated by a union that dictates the standard wages and working conditions for an industry or company.
Why isn't there a comma before wieder zu streiken?