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From Schätzungen zu Todesfällen: Robert Koch-Institut meldet 14.000 Hitzetote, tagesschau.de, 20 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
As a result, there had already been more heat-related deaths in the first seven months of this year than in any single full year before.
Word for word: With that, it gave in the first seven months of this year already more death-cases in connection with heat than in every single whole year before.
Reports that heat-related deaths recorded by July of this year already exceeded the total for any previous complete year; typical of news or statistical reporting.
The sentence uses the impersonal expletive 'es' with 'gab' (preterite of 'geben') as the main clause, introduced by the correlative adverb 'Damit'. A comparative 'mehr ... als' links two prepositional phrases; 'in Zusammenhang mit' governs the dative ('Hitze').
Rules at work(5)
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gab
'Es gab' is the past form of 'es gibt', used for reported facts about earlier periods.
The simple past is the written narrative past. In speech it survives mainly in sein, haben and the modals, where hatte and war are far commoner than the perfect forms.
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Damit gab es
The fronted adverbial 'Damit' occupies position one, so the finite verb 'gab' comes second and the dummy subject follows.
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.
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mehr Todesfälle ... als
The comparative 'mehr' is linked to its second term by 'als'.
German adds er and st rather than using more and most, however long the adjective. Many one syllable adjectives take an umlaut, and the superlative before a noun takes an ordinary adjective ending while a standalone one uses am plus sten.
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mit Hitze
'Mit' always takes the dative.
Aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von and zu always take the dative. Several of them contract with the article: von dem becomes vom, zu der becomes zur.
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dieses Jahres
The genitive marks the possessive attribute 'of this year' modifying 'Monaten'.
The genitive shows possession and follows a small set of prepositions. Masculine and neuter nouns add s or es. In speech it is often replaced by von plus the dative, but it is alive in writing and in fixed expressions.
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Words(21)
- damit
with that, thereby, by doing so
adverbB1modal
Often points forward or back to a whole clause, not just a thing.
- geben
give, here: give the appearance of, pose as
verbA1geben, gab, hat gegebenmit habenstrong
'es gibt' + accusative is the standard way to say 'there is/are'
- es
it
pronounA1personal
Often a dummy subject, as in es geht darum.
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- erst
first, only, not until (adverb)
adjectiveA1
As an ordinal adjective it is declined like any adjective; as an adverb 'erst' means 'not until/only'.
- sieben
seven
numeralA1
- der Monat
month
nounA1pl. Monategen. Monatsstrong declension
- dies
this, that
determinerA1demonstrative
- das Jahr
year
nounA1pl. Jahregen. Jahresstrong declension
- bereits
already
adverbB1temporal
More formal than schon.
- viel
much, more (comparative 'mehr')
adverbA1degree
'mehr' is the fixed comparative form of both 'viel' and 'gut'; it never takes '-er'.
- der Todesfall
case of death, death case
nounB2pl. Todesfällegen. Todesfallesstrong declension
- der Zusammenhang
connection, context
nounB2pl. Zusammenhängegen. Zusammenhangsstrong declension
Fixed phrases: 'in Zusammenhang mit' (in connection with), 'im Zusammenhang stehen mit'.
- mit
with, by (means of transport)
prepositionA1governs dative
Always dative, including travel: 'mit dem Bus, mit dem Rad'.
- die Hitze
heat, hot weather
nounA2pl. Hitzengen. der Hitzestrong declension
For a heatwave German usually says die Hitze or eine Hitzewelle.
- als
as, than, when (past)
conjunctionA2correlative
here 'als Land' means 'as a country'; also used for comparisons and after 'als' in past-time clauses
- jed
each, every
determinerA2quantifier
- einzeln
single, individual
adjectiveB1einzelner, am einzelnensten
- das Gesamtjahr
full year, entire year
nounC1pl. Gesamtjahregen. Gesamtjahresstrong declension
- zuvor
before, previously, beforehand
adverbB2temporal