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Breakdown of Später erklärte ein Experte, dass der Export von sauberer Energie unsere Währung stabilisiere.
später
later
dass
that
unsere
our
sauber
clean
erklären
to explain
von
of
die Energie
the energy
die Währung
the currency
der Experte
the expert
der Export
the export
stabilisieren
to stabilise
Questions & Answers about Später erklärte ein Experte, dass der Export von sauberer Energie unsere Währung stabilisiere.
Why is the verb stabilisiere placed at the end of the clause?
In German, subordinate clauses introduced by dass send the finite verb to the end. So in dass der Export von sauberer Energie unsere Währung stabilisiere, stabilisiere appears last.
Why is it spelled dass with double s and not das?
dass (with “ss”) is the conjunction meaning that. das (with one “s”) is either the definite article the or the relative pronoun which/that. You can remember: the conjunction dass always has ss.
Why is stabilisiere in the subjunctive (Konjunktiv I) instead of the indicative stabilisiert?
This sentence reports what an expert said, so German uses Konjunktiv I for indirect speech. For stabilisieren in the present, the Konjunktiv I form is stabilisiere. In everyday language you might hear the indicative (stabilisiert), but in formal style Konjunktiv I shows it’s reported.
What case is von sauberer Energie, and why does sauberer end in -er?
The preposition von takes the dative case. Energie is feminine, so in dative singular it’s der Energie. With no article, the adjective sauber receives the strong dative ending -er, resulting in sauberer Energie (“of clean energy”).
What is the subject of the subordinate clause?
The subject is the noun phrase der Export von sauberer Energie. Export is masculine (nominative der Export) and von sauberer Energie modifies it.
Why is unsere Währung in the accusative case?
The verb stabilisieren takes a direct (accusative) object, which here is unsere Währung (“our currency”). Währung is feminine, and the possessive unsere matches the feminine accusative form, so it remains unsere.
Why does Später erklärte ein Experte invert the subject and verb order?
In German main clauses the finite verb must occupy the second position. Since Später (a time adverb) is in the first slot, the verb erklärte comes second and the subject ein Experte follows.
Could you use a definite article instead of ein in ein Experte?
Yes. Use der Experte (“the expert”) when referring to a specific, known expert. ein Experte is indefinite, meaning “an expert” (not previously identified).
Why is there a comma before dass?
Subordinate clauses in German, including those introduced by dass, are always preceded by a comma to separate them from the main clause.
More from this lesson
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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