Breakdown of Das Aluminium, das wir brauchen, kostet viel Geld.
das Geld
the money
wir
we
brauchen
to need
viel
much / a lot
Questions & Answers about Das Aluminium, das wir brauchen, kostet viel Geld.
How does this sentence relate to our current lesson about using von instead of the Genitive case?
Our lesson teaches that bare mass nouns (like Aluminium without an article) cannot easily take the Genitive case. If you wanted to say 'the price of aluminum', you must use von + Dative: der Preis von Aluminium. However, in this specific sentence, we are talking about the aluminum (das Aluminium). Because it has a definite article, it is marked, so you could actually use the standard Genitive for it if you needed to: der Preis des Aluminiums (the price of the aluminum).
Why are there two das words so close to each other in Das Aluminium, das...?
The first Das is the neuter definite article meaning 'the'. The second das is a relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'. It points back to Aluminium and introduces the relative clause das wir brauchen (that we need). In German, you must always use commas to enclose a relative clause.
Why does the verb kostet come immediately after the comma?
In German main clauses, the conjugated verb must sit in position 2. The entire chunk Das Aluminium, das wir brauchen, functions as a single subject block occupying position 1. As soon as that block ends (marked by the closing comma of the relative clause), the verb kostet must immediately follow to take position 2.
Both Aluminium and Geld are mass nouns in this sentence. Why does one have an article while the other doesn't?