Breakdown of Die hohen Kosten sind schon oft zur Sprache gekommen.
sein
to be
oft
often
kommen
to come
zur
to the (zu + der)
schon
already
hoch
high
die Sprache
the language
die Kosten
the costs
Questions & Answers about Die hohen Kosten sind schon oft zur Sprache gekommen.
How does zur Sprache kommen relate to the active phrase zur Sprache bringen?
This is a perspective shift typical of noun-verb support constructions. zur Sprache kommen is the intransitive (passive-like) version, meaning a topic comes up or is discussed. Here, the topic (die hohen Kosten) is the grammatical subject. If you want to say that a specific person actively raised the topic, you switch to the transitive verb bringen, making the person the subject and the topic the object, as in: Wir haben die Kosten zur Sprache gebracht.
Why is the auxiliary verb sind used here instead of haben?
The choice of auxiliary verb in a noun-verb construction depends entirely on the base verb. Because kommen expresses motion or a change of state, it requires sein in the perfect tense. If you were using the active counterpart zur Sprache bringen, you would use haben because bringen takes a direct object.
Why is the adjective spelled hohen instead of hochen?
The adjective hoch has an irregular stem: it drops the -c- whenever an adjective ending is added. Since die Kosten is plural and follows a definite article (die), the weak declension rule applies, giving it an -en ending. Therefore, hoch becomes hohen.
Does zur Sprache kommen mean exactly the same thing as the passive voice diskutiert werden?
They are very similar but have a slight difference in focus. diskutiert werden (to be discussed) focuses on the ongoing process of talking about something. zur Sprache kommen (to come up / to be brought up) focuses on the moment the topic successfully surfaces or is introduced into the conversation.
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