Breakdown of Die Wirtschaft des Landes verbessert sich, weil die Anzahl der Touristen steigt.
weil
because
sich
itself
der Tourist
the tourist
steigen
to rise
die Anzahl
the number
die Wirtschaft
the economy
das Land
the country
des
the; (neuter, genitive)
verbessern
to improve
der
the; (plural, genitive)
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Questions & Answers about Die Wirtschaft des Landes verbessert sich, weil die Anzahl der Touristen steigt.
Why does Land get the ending -es in des Landes, and why is the article des used here?
In German, to express “of the country” you use the genitive case. For most neuter (and masculine) nouns in the genitive singular you add -s or -es, and the definite article becomes des.
- Land (neuter) → des Landes (genitive singular)
- Article: das (nominative) → des (genitive)
This construction corresponds to English “the country’s economy” or “the economy of the country.”
Why is there a comma before weil, and why does steigt appear at the end of the clause?
Because weil introduces a subordinate clause, German grammar requires:
- A comma before the subordinate clause.
- The finite verb goes to the very end of that clause.
So in “…, weil die Anzahl der Touristen steigt,” the comma marks the break, and steigt (the conjugated verb) moves to clause-final position.
What is the function of sich in verbessert sich?
sich verbessern is a reflexive verb meaning “to improve” (lit. “to better oneself”). In the clause Die Wirtschaft verbessert sich, sich refers back to die Wirtschaft, indicating the economy itself is becoming better. English simply says “the economy improves,” but German often uses sich with certain verbs.
Why is the verb steigt not steigen or steig?
German verbs change ending to agree with their subject. Here the subject is die Anzahl (singular, feminine). For 3rd person singular in the present tense, regular verbs take -t, so steigen → steigt.
Subject: die Anzahl → Verb: steigt
Why is Anzahl feminine, and how do I know to use die Anzahl?
Every German noun has a fixed gender. Anzahl (meaning “number, quantity”) is always feminine. You memorize that like any other vocabulary item. The definite article for feminine nouns in the nominative is die, so you say die Anzahl.
Why is it der Touristen and not die Touristen or den Touristen?
After Anzahl we indicate “number of [something]” with the genitive. In the genitive plural, all genders use der as the definite article. The noun Touristen (plural) already ends in -en, so you don’t add another ending. Thus:
- nominative plural: die Touristen
- genitive plural: der Touristen
Giving Anzahl der Touristen = “the number of tourists.”