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From Forderung nach Grundgesetzänderung: SPD-Ministerinnen legen bei Klimaplänen nach, tagesschau.de, 19 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
The coalition partner, the CDU, has so far shown itself to be skeptical.
Word for word: The coalition-partner CDU showed itself until-now skeptical.
Used in news reporting: up to now, the CDU as coalition partner has expressed skepticism (about some plan or proposal).
'sich zeigen' is a reflexive verb used with an adjective; the preterite 'zeigte' is the finite verb in second position; 'sich' is the accusative reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject 'Der Koalitionspartner CDU'; 'bislang' is a temporal adverb meaning 'so far'.
Rules at work(5)
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CDU zeigte sich
The finite verb zeigte stands in second position after the subject phrase.
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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zeigte sich ... skeptisch
sich zeigen takes an accusative reflexive pronoun plus a predicative adjective.
A reflexive verb takes a pronoun pointing back at the subject. The pronoun is usually accusative, but it turns dative as soon as the verb has another direct object, which is why it is ich wasche mich but ich wasche mir die Hände.
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zeigte
Simple past is preferred over the perfect in formal written German such as news reports.
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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Der Koalitionspartner
The subject of the sentence is marked nominative.
The nominative marks the subject of the clause: whoever or whatever is doing the verb. It is also the case used after the verbs sein, werden and bleiben, so both sides of Das ist mein Bruder stand in the nominative.
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Koalitionspartner
Noun formed from Koalition + Partner.
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.
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Words(7)
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- der Koalitionspartner
coalition partner
nounC1pl. Koalitionspartnergen. Koalitionspartnersmixed declension
- die CDU
Christian Democratic Union
nounB1pl. CDU(s)gen. CDUinvariable declension
Feminine: die CDU.
- zeigen
to show, to point
verbA2zeigen, zeigte, hat gezeigtmit habenweak
In 'sich zeigen + adjective' it means 'to appear/prove to be', not literally 'to show something'.
- sich
himself/herself/themselves, itself
pronounA2reflexive
Always refers back to the subject; here it is fixed to the verb 'sich mehren'.
- bislang
so far, until now
adverbB2temporal
- skeptisch
sceptical, skeptical
adjectiveB1skeptischer, am skeptischsten