Breakdown of Fünftens ist eine gute Denkweise, wenngleich schwierig, sehr wichtig.
sein
to be
ein
a, an (eine)
sehr
very
gut
good / well
wichtig
important
schwierig
difficult
wenngleich
although
fünftens
fifthly
die Denkweise
the mindset
Questions & Answers about Fünftens ist eine gute Denkweise, wenngleich schwierig, sehr wichtig.
How is fünftens formed, and why does the verb ist come right after it?
Fünftens (fifthly) is an enumerating adverb made by adding the suffix -ns to the ordinal number fünfte. Because it acts as an adverb taking up the first position in the sentence, standard German word order requires the conjugated verb ist to come in the second position, pushing the subject eine gute Denkweise to the third position.
Could I place fünftens somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes, you could technically write Eine gute Denkweise ist fünftens, wenngleich schwierig, sehr wichtig. However, when you are listing arguments, putting sequence adverbs like erstens, zweitens, and fünftens at the very beginning of the sentence is the most natural choice because it clearly signals your structure to the audience.
What kind of word is wenngleich and why isn't there a verb inside its commas?
Wenngleich means "although" or "albeit" and is a formal subordinating conjunction. Usually, subordinating conjunctions send the verb to the end of a full clause. Here, however, it forms a shortened phrase (wenngleich schwierig instead of wenngleich sie schwierig ist). Leaving out the subject and verb is a stylistic choice common in higher-level written German when those words are obvious from the main sentence.
How does the word Denkweise get its meaning of "mindset"?
It is a compound noun built from the verb stem denk- (from denken, to think) and the noun die Weise (the way or manner). Adding the noun Weise to a stem creates a word describing how something is done, making die Denkweise literally "the way of thinking."
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