Learn Hardcore German: Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann. - It is astonishing how quickly your concentration can improve in silence.

Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann.

It is astonishing how quickly your concentration can improve in silence.

Breakdown of Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann.

the; (feminine, dative)

Elon.io is an online learning platform

We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.

Start learning German now

Questions & Answers about Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann.

What does es do in Es ist erstaunlich? Is it referring to anything?

Here es is a dummy (anticipatory) subject, just like “it” in English in sentences such as “It is amazing how quickly…”.

German, like English, usually needs a subject, so es fills that slot until the real content appears in the wie… clause:

Es (dummy subject)
ist erstaunlich (is amazing)
wie schnell… (what is amazing)

It doesn’t refer to any specific noun; it just introduces the statement.

Why is there a comma before wie?

The comma is there because wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann is a subordinate clause (Nebensatz).

Main clause: Es ist erstaunlich
Subordinate clause: wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann

German always separates main and subordinate clauses with a comma. Words like wie, dass, weil, ob, wenn often introduce such clauses, and you’ll almost always see a comma before them.

Why is the word order wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann and not … wie schnell die Konzentration sich in der Stille verbessern kann or … wie schnell die Konzentration in der Stille sich verbessern kann?

Several positions are actually possible and correct, but they sound slightly different in emphasis:

Neutral / very common:
- wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann (focus slightly on Konzentration)
- wie schnell die Konzentration sich in der Stille verbessern kann (focus slightly on sich, i.e. that it improves by itself)

In subordinate clauses, the finite verb (kann) must be at the end, but the order of the other elements is more flexible. Typical patterns:

[wie schnell] [sich] [die Konzentration] [in der Stille] [verbessern] [kann]
[wie schnell] [die Konzentration] [sich] [in der Stille] [verbessern] [kann]

Your original sentence chooses pattern 1. Other orders are possible but may sound more marked or stylistically different. The key rule is: the conjugated verb (kann) goes last in a subordinate clause.

Why do we say sich verbessern and not just verbessern?

Verbessern can be:

transitive: jemanden / etwas verbessern – to improve someone/something
reflexive: sich verbessern – to improve (oneself / itself)

Here, die Konzentration is improving by itself (no external object is being improved), so German uses the reflexive form:

die Konzentration verbessert sich = the concentration improves (itself)
jemand verbessert die Konzentration = someone improves the concentration

So sich verbessern is the natural way to express “to improve” without a direct object.

Why is it die Konzentration and not der or das Konzentration?

Every German noun has a grammatical gender. Konzentration is:

feminine
singular
thus takes the article die in the nominative: die Konzentration

Some patterns that can help you remember:

Many nouns ending in -tion are feminine:
- die Situation, die Nation, die Information, die Konzentration.

So die Konzentration is simply the grammatically correct form.

What case is in der Stille, and why is it der and not die Stille?

Stille is also a feminine noun, so its base form is die Stille.

The preposition in can take either dative (location) or accusative (direction). Here the meaning is “in the silence” as a state/location, not movement towards it, so you use dative:

Feminine dative singular of die Stille is der Stille.

So:

in der Stille = in (the) silence (dative, location)
If it were direction, it would be in die Stille (accusative), but that would sound quite unusual in this context.

What exactly does in der Stille mean, and could you say in Stille or in Ruhe instead?

In der Stille literally means “in the silence” or “in quietness”. It sounds slightly more poetic or formal than in Ruhe.

in der Stille – emphasizes actual silence / absence of noise, often with a calm or contemplative tone.
in Ruhe – more everyday: in peace, without disturbance, calmly.
in Stille (without article) – is possible but sounds more literary or abstract, and is less common than in der Stille in ordinary speech.

In a natural, everyday sentence you could definitely also hear:

… wie schnell sich die Konzentration in Ruhe verbessern kann.

Why is it wie schnell and not so schnell or a clause with dass?

Wie schnell here means “how quickly” in the sense of to what extent / to what degree / at what speed:

Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell …
= It is amazing how quickly …

If you used so schnell, the meaning would change:

Es ist erstaunlich, so schnell …
→ sounds incomplete; you would normally say something like:
Es ist erstaunlich, dass sich die Konzentration so schnell in der Stille verbessern kann.
= It is amazing that concentration can improve so quickly in silence.

So:

wie schnell → focuses on the degree/speed as something you are amazed by.
dass … so schnell → focuses on the fact that it can improve so quickly.

Why do we use kann here instead of just using the present tense, like … wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessert?

Using kann (from können) expresses possibility / potential:

… wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann
= how quickly concentration *can improve in silence* (in general, under such conditions).

If you said:

… wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessert,

it would sound more like you are describing a concrete, repeatedly observed fact or even an ongoing situation, rather than a general potential. It’s not wrong, but:

mit kann → general ability/possibility
ohne kann → more about what actually (regularly) happens

The version with kann is more natural as a general statement about what is possible.

Could you rephrase the sentence as Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell man sich in der Stille konzentrieren kann.? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s a perfectly natural alternative:

Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich die Konzentration in der Stille verbessern kann.
→ Focus on concentration as a thing that improves.
Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell man sich in der Stille konzentrieren kann.
→ Focus on a person (man = “one / people in general”) and the act of concentrating.

Meaning-wise, both say almost the same:

First: It is amazing how quickly concentration can improve in silence.
Second: It is amazing how quickly you/one can concentrate in silence.

The second is slightly more personal / action-based, the first more abstract / state-based.