Breakdown of Der Brief bringt ihre Sorge deutlich zum Ausdruck.
ihr
her / their
die Sorge
the worry
der Brief
the letter
deutlich
clearly
zum Ausdruck bringen
to express, to give voice to
Questions & Answers about Der Brief bringt ihre Sorge deutlich zum Ausdruck.
What is the noun-verb support construction in this sentence, and what simple verb does it replace?
The construction is etwas zum Ausdruck bringen (literally: to bring something to expression). It is a more formal, standardized way of saying ausdrücken (to express).
Why use zum Ausdruck bringen instead of a regular verb like ausdrücken?
Noun-verb constructions (Nomen-Verb-Verbindungen) are a hallmark of formal, professional, or written German. Since this sentence is describing the contents of a letter (der Brief), using an elevated, objective style is highly natural.
What case is ihre Sorge in, and why?
It is in the accusative case. Even though etwas zum Ausdruck bringen is a fixed expression, the core verb bringen still takes a normal direct object. You are bringing something (the concern) to expression.
Why do we say zum Ausdruck instead of just zu Ausdruck?
The preposition zu always requires the dative case. Because Ausdruck is a masculine noun (der Ausdruck), it becomes dem Ausdruck in the dative. The words zu and dem merge to form zum.
Why is the adverb deutlich placed right before zum Ausdruck?
In a Nomen-Verb-Verbindung, the prepositional phrase (zum Ausdruck) acts almost like a separable prefix. It forms a single unit of meaning with the verb and gets pushed to the very end of the clause, meaning adverbs that describe the action (deutlich) will come just before it.
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