Breakdown of Das Thema gewinnt immer mehr an Bedeutung.
immer
always
mehr
more
das Thema
the topic
an Bedeutung gewinnen
to gain in importance
Questions & Answers about Das Thema gewinnt immer mehr an Bedeutung.
Why do we say an Bedeutung gewinnen instead of just using a normal phrase like wichtiger werden?
an Bedeutung gewinnen is a Noun-Verb Support Construction (Funktionsverbgefüge). German uses these to sound more formal or elegant, especially in professional or journalistic contexts. While wichtiger werden means the same thing, gewinnt an Bedeutung frames 'importance' as a substance the topic is actively accumulating.
If this describes the topic gaining importance on its own, how would I express the transitive perspective where someone actively gives it importance?
This is where perspective shifts in these constructions come in. Das Thema gewinnt an Bedeutung is intransitive; the topic changes its own state. To make it transitive (someone acting upon the topic), you swap the support verb. For example, you could use beimessen (to attach) and say Wir messen dem Thema Bedeutung bei (We attach importance to the topic).
Why is the preposition an used here, and what case is Bedeutung?
The phrase an etwas gewinnen (to gain in something) is a fixed verb-preposition combination, and an always takes the dative case here. Because Bedeutung is an abstract feminine noun used without an article, there is no visible dative ending. You will see the exact same grammar in the opposite phrase, an Bedeutung verlieren (to lose importance).
Why does the sentence use immer mehr instead of mehr und mehr?
While mehr und mehr exists in German, immer mehr is the much more natural and standard way to express 'more and more' or 'increasingly'. In German, you express continuous increase by pairing immer with a comparative adjective or adverb. For example, 'faster and faster' translates to immer schneller.
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