Word
Sie gründen ein Gemeinschaftsunternehmen, was eine gute Idee ist.
Meaning
They are founding a joint venture, which is a good idea.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sie gründen ein Gemeinschaftsunternehmen, was eine gute Idee ist.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
gut
good / well
die Idee
the idea
Questions & Answers about Sie gründen ein Gemeinschaftsunternehmen, was eine gute Idee ist.
Why is the relative pronoun was used here instead of das?
When a relative pronoun refers back to an entire preceding idea or clause rather than a specific noun, German uses was. Here, was refers to the whole fact that they are founding a joint venture. If it referred specifically to the neuter noun das Gemeinschaftsunternehmen, you would use das (for example: ein Gemeinschaftsunternehmen, das erfolgreich ist).
What is the purpose of the s in the middle of Gemeinschaftsunternehmen?
That is a connecting letter (often called a Fugen-s). It acts as a glue when combining words into a compound noun. You will almost always see this connecting s when the first word in the compound noun ends in a suffix like -schaft, -heit, -keit, or -ung (here: die Gemeinschaft + s + das Unternehmen).
Can gründen be used for things other than businesses?
Yes, gründen is the standard verb for establishing or founding many things from the ground up. You can use it for a company (eine Firma gründen), an organization or club (einen Verein gründen), or even starting a family (eine Familie gründen).
Why is the verb ist pushed to the very end of the sentence?