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Opening sentence of Ernährungssicherheit: NABU-Studie zweifelt an Nutzen der EU-Agrarhilfen, tagesschau.de, 20 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
Does it need agricultural subsidies to secure the food supply in Europe?
Word for word: Needs it agricultural-subventions, in-order-to the food-supply in Europe to secure?
Asks whether farm subsidies are necessary to guarantee that Europe has a reliable food supply; typical of a debate or essay question.
A yes-no question with the finite verb 'braucht' in first position and the dummy subject 'es'. The 'um ... zu' infinitive clause expresses purpose, with the separable verb 'sichern' appearing as a zu-infinitive 'zu sichern'.
Rules at work(7)
-
Braucht es
The finite verb moves to first position with no question word, forming a yes-no question.
A question expecting yes or no puts the finite verb first and the subject immediately after it. Nothing else moves.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
um die Lebensmittelversorgung in Europa zu sichern
Purpose is expressed by um plus a zu-infinitive at the end of the clause.
Um plus an infinitive with zu at the end expresses purpose. It works only where both clauses share a subject; where they do not, damit is used instead.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
Braucht es Agrarsubventionen
The finite verb occupies the first position of the sentence as required by German clause structure in questions.
In a German main clause the finite verb is always the second element. The first element can be the subject, but it can just as easily be a time expression, an object or a whole subordinate clause; whatever it is, it counts as one element and the verb follows it. This is why putting something other than the subject first pushes the subject after the verb.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
zu sichern
The infinitive carries zu before it inside the purpose clause.
Many verbs, adjectives and nouns take an infinitive introduced by zu, which stands at the end of its clause. With a separable verb the zu goes between the prefix and the stem, giving aufzustehen.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
in Europa
in takes the dative here because it describes where the supply exists, not movement.
An, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor and zwischen take the accusative when the phrase answers where to, and the dative when it answers where. The distinction is movement across a boundary against position, not motion against stillness.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
Agrarsubventionen, Lebensmittelversorgung
Both nouns are compounds whose head noun determines gender and plural.
German builds long nouns by joining shorter ones. The last part carries the gender and the plural, and everything before it modifies what follows, so a compound is read from the right.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
Agrarsubventionen, die Lebensmittelversorgung
Both are direct objects of their verbs and therefore appear in the accusative.
The accusative marks the direct object: the thing the action is done to. Only the masculine changes visibly, from der to den and from ein to einen, which is why the masculine is where accusative errors show.
Does this rule belong on this sentence?
Words(10)
- brauchen
to need
verbA1brauchen, brauchte, hat gebrauchtmit habenweak
takes a direct accusative object, unlike English 'need for'
- es
it
pronounA1personal
Often a dummy subject, as in es geht darum.
- die Agrarsubvention
agricultural subsidy
nounC1pl. Agrarsubventionengen. Agrarsubventionmixed declension
- um
in order to
conjunctionA2subordinating
In 'um ... zu + infinitive' it introduces a purpose clause with no explicit subject.
- die
the
determinerA1definite
- die Lebensmittelversorgung
food supply
nounB2pl. Lebensmittelversorgungengen. Lebensmittelversorgungmixed declension
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- das Europa
Europe
nounA1pl. Europasgen. Europasstrong declension
- zu
marker before infinitives
particleA1
Only certain verbs and expressions allow a zu-infinitive; it also exists as a preposition 'to'.
- sichern
to secure, to safeguard
verbB2sichern, sicherte, hat gesichertmit habenseparableweakgoverns accusative
Separable in main clauses (sichert ... ab is sichern? no: sichern is inseparable-looking but plain); here it appears as zu-infinitive.