Der Einspruch betrifft die Geldstrafe.

German nouns have grammatical gender.

• Einspruch is masculine, so its dictionary form is der Einspruch.
• Geldstrafe is feminine, so its dictionary form is die Geldstrafe.

This grammatical gender does not always match anything logical or natural; it is just something you usually learn with the noun.

• der Einspruch is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.
• die Geldstrafe is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of betrifft.

So the structure is:

• Der Einspruch = the thing doing the action
• betrifft
• die Geldstrafe = the thing affected by the action

Because for feminine singular nouns, the article is the same in both the nominative and accusative:

• nominative: die Geldstrafe
• accusative: die Geldstrafe

So there is no visible article change here. Compare that with a masculine noun:

• nominative: der Einspruch
• accusative: den Einspruch

That is why the case difference is more obvious with masculine nouns.

Betreffen is the infinitive form. In the sentence, the verb has to be conjugated to match the subject.

The subject is der Einspruch, which is third person singular, so the present-tense form is:

• ich betreffe
• du betriffst
• er/sie/es betrifft
• wir betreffen
• ihr betrefft
• sie/Sie betreffen

So der Einspruch betrifft ... is the correct form.

Yes, betreffen normally takes a direct object in the accusative.

Examples:

• Das betrifft mich.
• Die Änderung betrifft alle Kunden.
• Der Einspruch betrifft die Geldstrafe.

So if you use betreffen, you usually ask yourself: What does it concern? That thing will typically be in the accusative.

No. Betreffen is not separable. The prefix be- is an inseparable prefix.

So you say:

• Der Fall betrifft uns alle.

Not:

• Der Fall trifft uns alle be. ✗

This is a useful pattern: many verbs with be- are inseparable.

German often combines nouns into one word. Geldstrafe is a compound:

• Geld = money
• Strafe = punishment / penalty

Together, Geldstrafe means a financial penalty / fine.

A very important rule: in German compounds, the last part usually determines the gender. Since Strafe is feminine (die Strafe), the whole compound is also feminine:

• die Geldstrafe

Yes, German word order is flexible, but the finite verb still has to stay in second position in a main clause.

The neutral, standard order is:

• Der Einspruch betrifft die Geldstrafe.

You could also front another element for emphasis, for example:

• Die Geldstrafe betrifft der Einspruch.

That is grammatically possible, because der Einspruch is clearly nominative and therefore still the subject. But it sounds marked and less natural in many contexts. Learners should usually stick with the normal order unless they have a reason to emphasize something.

Yes, Einspruch is often used in formal, official, or legal contexts. It means an objection or a formal challenge to a decision.

English speakers sometimes try to treat all words like appeal, objection, and protest as interchangeable, but German legal vocabulary can be more specific. Depending on the context, you might also see words like:

• Widerspruch
• Berufung

These are related, but they are not always interchangeable. In a legal or administrative sentence, it is best to use the exact term that belongs to that procedure.