Breakdown of Die Bevölkerung der Stadt wächst jedes Jahr.
die Stadt
the city
jeder
every
das Jahr
the year
die Bevölkerung
the population
wachsen
to grow
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Questions & Answers about Die Bevölkerung der Stadt wächst jedes Jahr.
Why is Bevölkerung feminine and why do we use die before it?
Because Bevölkerung is a feminine noun in German (die Bevölkerung). We use the definite article die for feminine singular nouns in the nominative case, marking it clearly as the subject of the sentence.
What case is der Stadt, and why is it used here instead of in der Stadt?
Der Stadt is in the genitive case, showing possession or association—“the population of the city.” If you said in der Stadt, you’d be using the dative case to express location (“in the city”), which changes the meaning.
Can we also say Bevölkerung von der Stadt instead of Bevölkerung der Stadt?
Yes, colloquially you might hear Bevölkerung von der Stadt, but the standard and more concise form uses the genitive: Bevölkerung der Stadt. Using von forces the dative (von der Stadt) and sounds less formal.
Why is it jedes Jahr and not jeder Jahr?
Jahr is a neuter noun (das Jahr), so the correct form of jeder in the nominative is jedes. Hence jedes Jahr literally means “every year.”
Why doesn’t jedes Jahr need an article like das?
In time expressions, jedes already acts like a determiner. You don’t add a separate article. Jedes Jahr stands alone as “every year.”
Could we start the sentence with Jedes Jahr instead of placing it at the end?
Absolutely. German allows you to move adverbials to the front, but the verb must stay in the second position:
Jedes Jahr wächst die Bevölkerung der Stadt.
Why is the verb wächst used here instead of steigt or erhöht sich?
Wachsen means “to grow” and is typically used for populations, plants, etc. Steigen (“to rise”) is more common for prices or levels. Erhöhen sich (“to increase”) is possible but more formal. Die Bevölkerung wächst feels most natural for demographic growth.
Why does wächst have an umlaut over the a?
German strong verbs often undergo a vowel change (ablaut) in the 2nd and 3rd person singular present tense. So wachsen becomes du wächst, er/sie/es wächst, changing a to ä.
Is Bevölkerung always singular, even though it refers to many people?
Yes. Bevölkerung is a collective noun and remains singular when you speak of a group as a single entity. You say die Bevölkerung wächst, not die Bevölkerungen wachsen.