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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 two SPD ministers Stefanie Hubig and Verena Hubertz, just days before the federal government's cabinet retreat, once again called on the Union not to resist a change to the Basic Law – and presented some concrete proposals for better heat protection.
Word for word: The both SPD-ministers Stefanie Hubig and Verena Hubertz have few days before the cabinet-retreat of the federal-government yet once at the Union appealed, themselves a Basic-Law-change not to resist - and partly concrete proposals for more heat-protection presented.
Shortly before a government strategy meeting, two SPD ministers publicly urged the conservative Union parties to accept a constitutional amendment and offered concrete suggestions for protecting people from heat.
A main clause with the perfect tense (haben ... appelliert / vorgelegt). The verb appellieren takes the preposition an + accusative. The zu-infinitive clause 'sich einer Grundgesetzänderung nicht zu verwehren' is the content of the appeal; verwehren governs the dative (sich) and the genitive object (einer Grundgesetzänderung), with the reflexive pronoun sich as indirect object. The second participle vorgelegt shares the auxiliary haben in a coordinated predicate.
Rules at work(9)
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haben
The finite verb haben stands in second position after the fronted subject phrase, as required in German main clauses.
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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haben ... appelliert ... vorgelegt
Both participles form the perfect tense with haben, and one auxiliary serves two coordinated participles.
The perfect is the ordinary spoken past. It is built from the present of haben in second position and the past participle at the end of the clause. Most verbs take haben, including every verb with a direct object and every reflexive verb.
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an die Union appelliert
Appellieren is fixed to the preposition an with the accusative.
Many verbs are tied to one preposition and one case, and the pairing rarely matches the English one. Warten auf takes the accusative, denken an takes the accusative, teilnehmen an takes the dative.
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sich einer Grundgesetzänderung nicht zu verwehren
The content of the appeal is expressed as a zu-infinitive clause with zu directly before the infinitive.
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.
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appelliert, vorgelegt
Appellieren loses no ge- (unstressed initial syllable); separable vorlegen inserts ge- between prefix and stem: vorgelegt.
A weak verb forms its participle as ge plus stem plus t, a strong verb as ge plus a often changed stem plus en. Verbs with an inseparable prefix and verbs ending in ieren take no ge at all.
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vor der Kabinettsklausur
Vor is a two-way preposition; in this temporal sense it takes the dative.
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.
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der Bundesregierung
The genitive marks the possessive relationship 'retreat of the government'.
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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nicht zu verwehren
Nicht negates the infinitive clause, standing immediately before zu + infinitive.
Nicht negates a verb, an adjective or a whole clause. It stands at the end of the middle field, before a separable prefix, a participle, an infinitive or a predicate adjective, but after most objects and time expressions.
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sich einer Grundgesetzänderung nicht zu verwehren
Sich verwehren takes a dative reflexive object and a genitive object.
Helfen, danken, folgen, gefallen, gehören, passen, antworten and a few dozen others take a dative object where English would use a direct one. Ich helfe dir, never ich helfe dich.
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Words(33)
- die
the
determinerA1definite
- beide
both
adjectiveA2
Functions like a plural determiner; declined as an adjective.
- die SPD-Ministerin
SPD (female) minister
nounB2pl. SPD-Ministerinnengen. der SPD-Ministerinmixed declension
- die Stefanie
Stefanie (given name)
nounA1pl. Stefaniesgen. Stefanieinvariable declension
- die Hubig
Hubig (surname)
nounC2gen. Hubigsinvariable declension
- und
and
conjunctionA1coordinating
- die Verena
Verena (female first name)
nounA1pl. Verenasgen. Verenastrong declension
- die Hubertz
Hubertz (surname)
nounC2pl. Hubertzesgen. Hubertzstrong declension
- haben
to have
verbA1haben, hatte, hat gehabtmit habenirregular
As an auxiliary it forms the perfect tenses of most verbs.
- wenig
few, little
adjectiveA2weniger, am wenigsten
- der Tag
day
nounA1pl. Tagegen. des Tagesmixed declension
- vor
before, in front of, ago
prepositionA1governs dative
With clock time ('vor 7 Uhr') it means 'before' and takes no visible case change.
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- die Kabinettsklausur
cabinet retreat, cabinet closed-door meeting
nounC2pl. Kabinettsklausurengen. Kabinettsklausurmixed declension
Journalistic term for a working session of the cabinet away from Berlin.
- die Bundesregierung
federal government
nounB2pl. Bundesregierungengen. Bundesregierungstrong declension
- noch
still, yet
adverbA1temporal
Before a comparative, 'noch stärker' means 'even stronger'.
- einmal
one day, eventually, once
adverbA2temporal
Here means 'some day in the future', not 'one time only'.
- an
on, at, by
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for points in time and location (am Montag), accusative for direction.
- die Union
the Union (CDU/CSU), union
nounB2pl. Unionengen. der Unionweak declension
In German politics, 'die Union' means the CDU and CSU together.
- appellieren
to appeal (to), to call for, to urge
verbC1appellieren, appellierte, hat appelliertmit habenweakan + accusative
Fixed pattern: an jemanden appellieren, etwas zu tun – 'to appeal to someone to do something'.
- sich
himself/herself/themselves, itself
pronounA2reflexive
Always refers back to the subject; here it is fixed to the verb 'sich mehren'.
- ein
a, an, one
determinerA1indefinite
The form einer here is dative feminine singular, not the pronoun meaning 'one'.
- die Grundgesetzänderung
amendment to the Basic Law, constitutional amendment
nounC1pl. Grundgesetzänderungengen. Grundgesetzänderungweak declension
- nicht
not
adverbA1negation
Negates single words or phrases directly before them; sentence negation places it later.
- zu
marker before infinitives
particleA1
Only certain verbs and expressions allow a zu-infinitive; it also exists as a preposition 'to'.
- verwehren
to refuse, to deny, to resist
verbC2verwehren, verwehrte, hat verwehrtmit habenweakgoverns genitive
Formal; often reflexive 'sich etwas verwehren' = to refuse something to oneself / not allow oneself something.
- teils
partly, in some cases
adverbB2degree
Often paired as 'teils … teils' meaning 'partly … partly'.
- konkret
concrete, specific
adjectiveB1konkreter, am konkrettesten
- der Vorschlag
proposal, suggestion
nounB1pl. Vorschlägegen. Vorschlagsstrong declension
- für
for
prepositionA1governs accusative
Here für Dienstag names the day the forecast applies to, not a beneficiary.
- viel
much, more (comparative 'mehr')
adverbA1degree
'mehr' is the fixed comparative form of both 'viel' and 'gut'; it never takes '-er'.
- der Hitzeschutz
heat protection
nounB2pl. Hitzeschutzegen. Hitzeschutzesstrong declension
- vorlegen
to present, to submit
verbB2vorlegen, legte vor, hat vorgelegtmit habenseparableweakgoverns dative
Separable prefix vor- splits off in main clauses: 'Sie legen einen Plan vor'.