Breakdown of Der Lauf des Flusses ist hier sehr ruhig.
sein
to be
hier
here
sehr
very
ruhig
quiet, calm
der Fluss
the river
der Lauf
the course, the run
Questions & Answers about Der Lauf des Flusses ist hier sehr ruhig.
Is the -es at the end of Flusses a linking element (Fugenlaut) like the ones we are studying in this lesson?
No, the -es here is simply the standard genitive case ending for masculine nouns ending in an s sound (der Fluss becomes des Flusses). However, the historical genitive case is exactly where the -s or -es linking elements in many compound nouns originally come from!
Could we combine Fluss and Lauf into a compound noun instead of using the genitive case here?
Yes! You could say Der Flusslauf ist hier sehr ruhig. Notice that when forming the compound noun Flusslauf, no extra linking element (Fugenlaut) is added between the two words.
How does der Lauf mean 'course' here? I thought it meant 'the run'.
While der Lauf comes from the verb laufen (to run), it is often used abstractly to describe the flow, path, or progression of something. You will see it used for rivers (der Flusslauf) and also for time, such as in the common phrase im Laufe der Zeit (in the course of time).
Why does Flusses use a double s rather than an ß?
The base noun is der Fluss. Because the u is pronounced as a short, quick vowel, German spelling rules dictate it must be followed by a double s rather than an ß. When adding the genitive -es ending to make Flusses, the double s remains to keep that preceding vowel short.
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