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From Nahverkehr auf dem Land: Wenn der Bus nur alle paar Stunden kommt, tagesschau.de, 23 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
The pressure to save is high nationwide for many municipalities. Some are also taking the red pencil to public transport.
Word for word: The saving-pressure is nation-wide at many municipalities big. The red-pencil put some also at-the public-transport on.
A typical news-style statement about budget cuts: many German municipalities are under financial pressure, and some are cutting spending on local public transport ('ÖPNV'). 'Den Rotstift ansetzen' is a fixed expression meaning to start making cuts.
Two main clauses in verb-second order. In the first, 'Der Spardruck' is the nominative subject and 'groß' a predicative adjective with no ending. 'bei vielen Kommunen' is a dative prepositional phrase; after the dative preposition 'bei' the plural takes the strong ending '-en'. The second clause fronts the accusative object 'Den Rotstift', so the finite verb 'setzen' stays second and the separable prefix 'an' moves to the end.
Rules at work(11)
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ist ... groß / Den Rotstift setzen
Both clauses are declarative main clauses, so the finite verb occupies the second position even when the object is fronted.
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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vielen Kommunen, beim ÖPNV
The preposition bei requires the dative for its complement.
The dative marks the indirect object, usually the person something is given, said or shown to. A number of common verbs take a dative object where English would use a direct one, and several prepositions always take it.
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bei, beim
bei always governs 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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setzen ... an
The prefix an of ansetzen separates and goes to the end of the clause.
Some verbs carry a prefix that detaches in a main clause and moves to the very end: aufstehen becomes Ich stehe um sieben auf. The prefix is stressed, which is what tells a separable prefix from an inseparable one. In a subordinate clause and in the infinitive the verb stays whole.
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ist, setzen
Both verbs are finite present-tense forms describing a current situation.
The present describes what is happening now, what happens habitually, and very often what is going to happen, since German uses the present with a time expression where English would use a future.
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ist, setzen
ist agrees with the singular subject Spardruck; setzen agrees with the plural subject einige.
The finite verb takes an ending that matches its subject in person and number. The endings for regular verbs in the present are e, st, t, en, t, en.
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Der Spardruck, einige
Subjects of both clauses stand in the 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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Den Rotstift
The direct object of ansetzen is masculine accusative, shown by den.
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.
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Der, Den
The same lemma der appears as Der in the nominative and Den in the accusative.
Der, die and das change their form according to the gender, number and case of the noun. The full set of sixteen forms is the backbone of the case system, because most other endings follow the same pattern.
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Spardruck, Rotstift
Both nouns are compounds whose gender comes from the final element.
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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vielen
After a preposition with no article, the quantifier takes the strong dative plural ending -en.
With no article in front of it the adjective has to carry the case marking itself, so it takes the endings the definite article would have had, with the exception of the masculine and neuter genitive singular.
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Words(13)
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- der Spardruck
pressure to save money, budget pressure
nounB2pl. Spardrückegen. Spardrucksstrong declension
Journalistic term for fiscal austerity pressure.
- sein
to be
verbA1sein, war, ist gewesenmit seinirregular
Copula here linking subject to predicate noun.
- bundesweit
nationwide, across Germany
adverbB1local
- bei
at, near, with
prepositionA2governs dative
'bei 42 Prozent' = 'at 42 percent', standard in poll reporting.
- viele
many
determinerA1quantifier
- die Kommune
municipality, local authority
nounB1pl. Kommunengen. Kommuneweak declension
- groß
big, great
adjectiveA1größer, am größten / das größte
- der Rotstift
red pencil, red pen
nounC1pl. Rotstiftegen. Rotstiftsstrong declension
Fixed in the idiom 'den Rotstift ansetzen' = to make cuts.
- ansetzen
to set to work, to apply (a tool), to schedule
verbB2ansetzen, setzte an, hat angesetztmit habenseparableweak
Separable; 'den Rotstift ansetzen' means to begin cutting budgets.
- einige
some, a few
pronounA2indefinite
- auch
also, too
adverbA1modal
Focus particle; here it means the ministers are included among others already named.
- der ÖPNV
public transport, public local transit
nounB2pl. —gen. ÖPNVsmixed declension
Abbreviation of 'öffentlicher Personennahverkehr'; used as a masculine noun.