Breakdown of Das Hochwasser war hochgefährlich, infolgedessen evakuierten sie das Dorf.
sein
to be
sie
they
das Dorf
the village
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
infolgedessen
consequently
das Hochwasser
the flood
evakuieren
to evacuate
hochgefährlich
highly dangerous
Questions & Answers about Das Hochwasser war hochgefährlich, infolgedessen evakuierten sie das Dorf.
How does the prefix hoch- work in hochgefährlich?
In this context, hoch- acts as an intensifying prefix meaning "highly" or "extremely." Instead of the flood just being dangerous (gefährlich), it was highly dangerous (hochgefährlich). You can attach it to many adjectives to express an extreme degree, such as hochinteressant (highly interesting) or hochaktuell (highly topical).
Does the Hoch- in Hochwasser serve the exact same purpose as in hochgefährlich?
Not quite! While hochgefährlich uses hoch- figuratively as an intensifier (meaning "highly"), Hochwasser (flood) uses it literally to mean "high water." This is a great example of how flexible the word hoch can be when forming compound words.
Why does the verb evakuierten come immediately after infolgedessen?
Infolgedessen (as a result / consequently) is a connecting adverb that takes up the first position in the second clause. Because German main clauses strictly follow the "verb-second" (V2) rule, the verb evakuierten must take that second position, right before the subject sie.
What kind of word is infolgedessen and how is it used?
It is an adverb built from the genitive phrase infolge dessen (as a result of that). At the B2 level, you will frequently see it used in written German or news reports to connect a cause to an effect. It functions very similarly to deshalb or folglich, but sounds a bit more formal.
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