Die Regierung will die Preise senken.

to want

Breakdown of Die Regierung will die Preise senken.

• der Preis: the price
• die Regierung: the government
• senken: to lower

Questions & Answers about Die Regierung will die Preise senken.

Why is Die Regierung used with die?

German nouns have grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter). Regierung is a feminine noun. In the nominative case (when it’s the subject of the sentence), the definite article for feminine singular is die, so we say die Regierung.

Why are die Preise in the accusative case?

The verb senken is transitive—it needs a direct object. The direct object in German takes the accusative case. The plural form of Preis is Preise, and its accusative plural article is also die. Hence die Preise is accusative plural.

Why does will come before die Preise senken, and why is senken at the end?

Will is the finite (conjugated) form of the modal verb wollen in the third-person singular present. In a main clause, German word order is:

1. Subject or other element in first position
2. Conjugated verb (here will)
3. The rest of the sentence, with any infinitive verbs (here senken) placed at the end.
   Because wollen is a modal verb, it forces the action verb senken into the infinitive position at the very end.

What is the difference between senken and sinken?

• senken is a transitive verb meaning “to lower” or “to reduce” something (it takes a direct object).
• sinken is intransitive, meaning “to sink” or “to go down” by itself (no direct object).
  In this sentence we have an actor (die Regierung) acting on die Preise, so we need the transitive senken.

How would I say “The government wants to lower the price” (singular)?

You’d replace the plural die Preise with singular den Preis, because Preis is masculine and the direct object in the accusative singular takes den. The sentence becomes:
Die Regierung will den Preis senken.

Could I drop the article and say Die Regierung will Preise senken?

Grammatically it’s possible, but it sounds unusual unless you’re speaking very generally or stylistically. In most contexts you refer to specific prices (e.g. gas prices, food prices), so using the article (die Preise) is normal to show you mean “the (known) prices.”

How do I form a yes/no question from this sentence?

Invert the finite verb and the subject. “Die Regierung” (subject) and “will” (verb) swap places:
Will die Regierung die Preise senken?
This simple inversion is how German forms most yes/no questions.

What nuance does will carry compared to möchte?

• will (from wollen) expresses a strong intention or political will: “is determined to,” “intends to.”
• möchte (the subjunctive of mögen) is more polite/soft and means “would like to.”
  Using will here signals a firm plan or promise by the government, while möchte would sound more like a gentle wish.