Learn German: Die Bedürfnisse der Bürger werden oft ignoriert. - The needs of the citizens are often ignored.

Nouns ending in -nis are usually neuter (das Bedürfnis) or feminine. To form the plural, they predictably double the 's' and add an 'e', resulting in -nisse. So, das Bedürfnis becomes die Bedürfnisse.

Why does the word Bürger use the article der here if it means "the citizens" in plural?

In this sentence, der Bürger is in the genitive case, which translates to "of the citizens". While der is the masculine singular nominative article, it is also the plural genitive article for all genders. The noun Bürger itself does not change its ending in the plural.

Why do we use werden instead of sind to say "are ignored"?

The sentence uses the dynamic passive voice, which focuses on the action of ignoring as it happens. In German, this is formed using werden plus the past participle (ignoriert). If you used sind, it would be the statal passive, focusing merely on the resulting state rather than the ongoing action.

What verb is Bedürfnisse derived from?

It comes from the verb bedürfen, which means "to require" or "to need". By adding the suffix -nis, German turns the verb into an abstract noun representing the concept of a need.