Breakdown of Wir brauchten erheblich mehr Ressourcen, als wir glaubten.
wir
we
brauchen
to need
glauben
to believe
mehr
more
als
than
erheblich
considerable
die Ressource
the resource
Questions & Answers about Wir brauchten erheblich mehr Ressourcen, als wir glaubten.
Why does the verb glaubten go at the end of the sentence?
In this sentence, als acts as a subordinating conjunction introducing a comparative clause. Because it is a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb (glaubten) must go to the very end. This structure is commonly used to compare an actual event to a previous thought, expectation, or claim.
Could I just use viel instead of erheblich here?
Yes, you could say viel mehr (much more), but erheblich mehr is an excellent B2-level phrase. Erheblich means "considerably" or "significantly," making your expression sound more precise and advanced than just using viel.
Both verbs (brauchten and glaubten) are in the simple past (Präteritum). Would it be wrong to use the spoken past (Perfekt) here?
It wouldn't be wrong, but it can sound slightly clunky. The simple past forms of verbs related to thoughts, states, or needs, like brauchen and glauben, are very common even in everyday conversational German. Saying Wir haben erheblich mehr Ressourcen gebraucht, als wir geglaubt haben is grammatically fine, but the simple past version flows much better.
In English, I might say "than we believed we would". Do I need to add anything after glaubten in German?
No, German keeps it simple here. The clause als wir glaubten stands perfectly on its own. You do not need to add a placeholder pronoun like es or repeat the context of the main clause, though you might occasionally hear phrases like als wir es geglaubt haben.
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