Breakdown of Die Übernahme zweier Konkurrenten war extrem teuer.
sein
to be
teuer
expensive
zwei
two
extrem
extremely
der Konkurrent
the competitor
die Übernahme
the takeover
Questions & Answers about Die Übernahme zweier Konkurrenten war extrem teuer.
Why does the number zwei have an -er ending here?
zweier is the genitive form of the number zwei. Usually, numbers do not change their endings, but zwei and drei use the special genitive forms zweier and dreier to mean 'of two' or 'of three'. We use these when there is no other article or adjective before the noun to show that it is in the genitive case.
Why does Konkurrenten have an -en ending?
der Konkurrent is a 'weak noun' (part of the n-declension group). This means it adds an -en ending in every case except the nominative singular. Here it is in the genitive plural, showing possession ('of two competitors').
Could I say von zwei Konkurrenten instead of using the genitive zweier?
Yes, using von plus the dative case (von zwei Konkurrenten) is perfectly correct and very common in everyday speech. However, the genitive zweier sounds more formal and professional, which fits perfectly with a business context like a corporate takeover.
How does the noun Übernahme relate to the verb for 'to take over'?
It comes from the inseparable verb übernehmen. When creating a noun from a verb that ends in -nehmen, the stem often changes to -nahme. This is a very common pattern you will also see in words like teilnehmen (to participate) and die Teilnahme (the participation).
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