Breakdown of Der Fluss fließt ruhig durch die große Stadt.
groß
big
die Stadt
the city
fließen
to flow
der Fluss
the river
Questions & Answers about Der Fluss fließt ruhig durch die große Stadt.
Why is Fluss capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized. Since Fluss means "river," it is treated as a noun and must begin with a capital letter.
Why does fließt use ß instead of ss?
The ß in fließt follows the German spelling rule used after a long vowel or diphthong (although there can be nuances). It indicates a specific pronunciation and writing convention in standard German. In Switzerland, you might instead see fliesst with ss, but in most other German-speaking regions, ß is used here.
Why does ruhig appear in this position in the sentence?
Ruhig is an adverb describing how the river flows. In German word order, an adverb often appears after the verb or between the verb and the object (in this case, the phrase durch die große Stadt). Placing it here emphasizes the manner in which the action is happening.
What grammatical case follows durch?
Durch is a preposition that takes the accusative case in German. Therefore, the article and any adjectives referring to the noun after durch must be in the accusative form. Hence die große Stadt is in the accusative.
Why is große spelled with an -e at the end?