Word
Der Streik droht den Bahnhof lahmzulegen.
Meaning
The strike threatens to paralyze the train station.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Streik droht den Bahnhof lahmzulegen.
der Bahnhof
the train station
der Streik
the strike
drohen
to threaten (with consequences or impending danger)
lahmlegen
to paralyze
Questions & Answers about Der Streik droht den Bahnhof lahmzulegen.
Does the strike literally "threaten" the train station here, as if it had a mind of its own?
No, in this context, drohen is acting as a subject-raising verb (Modalisierungsverb). When combined with zu and an infinitive, drohen expresses that a negative event is imminent or highly likely. It translates best as "threatens to" or "is in danger of," showing a high probability of paralyzing the station, rather than an intentional threat.
Can I use versprechen instead of drohen here, since it works the same way grammatically?
Grammatically yes, but it would sound very strange! Like drohen, versprechen (to promise) can be used with zu + infinitive to express a likely future event. However, versprechen is used for positive expectations. You would only say Der Streik verspricht den Bahnhof lahmzulegen if you thought a paralyzed train station was a wonderful thing.
Why is zu tucked inside lahmzulegen instead of standing as a separate word?
lahmlegen is a separable verb. When forming an infinitive with zu for a separable verb, the zu must be squeezed between the prefix (lahm-) and the verb stem (-legen). It is always written together as a single word: lahmzulegen.
Is lahmlegen the standard verb for "paralyze" in German?