Breakdown of Ein Bündnis hat die Stadt gerettet.
ein
a, an (eine)
haben
to have
die Stadt
the city
retten
to save (rescue)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Bündnis
the alliance
Questions & Answers about Ein Bündnis hat die Stadt gerettet.
Why is it Ein Bündnis instead of Eine Bündnis?
Nouns ending in the suffix -nis are usually neuter (das), like das Bündnis (the alliance) or das Geheimnis (the secret). Because it is neuter and in the nominative case here, the indefinite article is ein. Note that a few -nis nouns are feminine (die), like die Erlaubnis (the permission), but neuter is the best guess if you aren't sure.
If the sentence were about multiple alliances, how does Bündnis change in the plural?
To make nouns ending in -nis plural, you double the final s and add -e. So das Bündnis becomes die Bündnisse. If several alliances saved the city, you would say Bündnisse haben die Stadt gerettet.
What root word is Bündnis based on?
It comes from the noun der Bund (the bond, league, or federation), which itself is related to the verb binden (to bind or tie). The suffix -nis is often added to verbs or nouns to create an abstract noun, similar to '-ness' or '-tion' in English.
Could we flip the sentence around and say Die Stadt hat ein Bündnis gerettet?
Grammatically, yes. German allows you to put the object first for emphasis. However, because both die Stadt (feminine) and ein Bündnis (neuter) look exactly the same in both their nominative and accusative forms, the grammar alone doesn't tell us who saved whom here. Native speakers simply rely on context and logic: an alliance saves a city, not the other way around.
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