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From Feuer nicht unter Kontrolle: Waldbrände im Hohen Venn und im Schwarzwald, tagesschau.de, 17 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
The fight against the fire in the High Fenn nature reserve in Belgium, right on the border with Germany, is continuing.
Word for word: The combating of-the fire in-the nature-reserve High Fenn in Belgium directly at the border to Germany goes further.
A news-style report stating that efforts to extinguish the fire in the Hohes Venn nature reserve on the Belgian–German border are still ongoing.
'Die Bekämpfung des Brandes' is the feminine singular subject in the nominative; 'des Brandes' is a genitive object depending on the noun Bekämpfung. The long prepositional phrases 'im Naturschutzgebiet ...', 'in Belgien' and 'an der Grenze zu Deutschland' modify the subject and are placed before the finite verb, which stands second ('geht'). 'Weiter' is the separated prefix of the separable verb weitergehen and is sent to the end.
Rules at work(9)
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Die Bekämpfung des Brandes ... geht weiter
The long subject phrase fills first position, so the finite verb geht must still stand second.
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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des Brandes
Bekämpfung takes its object in the genitive: the fighting of the fire.
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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geht weiter
The prefix weiter separates from weitergehen and moves 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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Die Bekämpfung
The subject of geht appears 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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Die Bekämpfung des Brandes an der Grenze
Articles agree in case, number and gender with their nouns.
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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im Naturschutzgebiet ... an der Grenze
Static location means in and an take the dative here.
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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zu Deutschland
zu 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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geht
German uses the present tense for ongoing events that English would report with a progressive.
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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Naturschutzgebiet
Three nouns are compounded into one neuter noun.
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(15)
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- die Bekämpfung
fighting, combating
nounC1pl. Bekämpfungengen. Bekämpfungweak declension
Formal register, typical of news and official language; often followed by a genitive.
- der Brand
fire, blaze
nounB1pl. Brändegen. des Brand(e)sstrong declension
Means a destructive fire (a burning building or forest), not a domestic flame; add -es in the genitive singular.
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- das Naturschutzgebiet
nature reserve
nounB1pl. Naturschutzgebietegen. Naturschutzgebietsstrong declension
- hoch
high, tall
adjectiveA1höher, am höchsten
Irregular comparative höher.
- das Venn
fen, raised bog
nounC1pl. Venntegen. Vennsstrong declension
- das Belgien
Belgium
nounA1pl. Belgiengen. Belgiensinvariable declension
- direkt
directly, right
adverbA2local
- an
on, at, by
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for points in time and location (am Montag), accusative for direction.
- die Grenze
border, boundary
nounA2pl. Grenzengen. Grenzemixed declension
Fixed pattern: die Grenze zu + dative = border with.
- zu
to, at, too
prepositionA1governs dative
With verbs of movement it takes dative even though motion is involved.
- das Deutschland
Germany
nounA1pl. —gen. Deutschlandsinvariable declension
- gehen
to go, to walk
verbA1gehen, ging, ist gegangenmit seinstrong
With a bare infinitive it means to go somewhere to do that thing: 'gehen joggen' = go jogging.
- weiter
further, farther, on, continuing
adverbA2temporal
Here adverbial 'keep on doing something'; the adjective meaning 'additional' would be weitere.