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From Merz im Waldbrandgebiet: Der Kanzler zeigt sich wieder, tagesschau.de, 22 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
There the largest forest fire in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia has been extinguished; Merz wants to thank the helpers.
Word for word: There is the largest forest-fire in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia extinguished, Merz wants the helpers to thank.
A news-style statement reporting that a major forest fire has been put out and that Merz intends to thank those who helped fight it.
First clause: a perfect-tense passive (sein + past participle gelöscht), with the subject der größte Waldbrand in the nominative and a superlative adjective ending. Second clause: wollen as a modal verb with an infinitive danken at the end; den Helfern is dative because danken governs the dative.
Rules at work(8)
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ist ... gelöscht
The event of extinguishing is reported from the perspective of the thing affected, so German uses the perfect passive with sein plus past participle.
Werden plus a past participle. The agent, when it is mentioned at all, follows von for a person and durch for a means. In the perfect passive the participle of werden appears as worden rather than geworden.
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den Helfern
danken requires its recipient in the dative, so the article and noun take dative plural forms.
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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Dort ist
The fronted adverb Dort occupies the first position, so the finite verb ist comes 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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ist ... Waldbrand; will ... Merz
Both finite verbs agree in number and person with their singular third-person subjects.
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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größte
The superlative form of groß appears attributively with a weak ending after the definite article.
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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Helfern
Helfer is a weak noun and adds -n in the dative plural.
A group of masculine nouns takes an n or en in every case but the nominative singular: der Student but den Studenten, dem Studenten, des Studenten. Most denote people and many end in e, ent, ist or ant.
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will ... danken
wollen is conjugated finitely while the main verb danken stands as an infinitive at the end of the clause.
The six modals können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, wollen and mögen say something about the main verb rather than naming an action. The modal is the finite verb in second position and the main verb goes to the end of the clause as an infinitive.
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in der Geschichte
in takes the dative here because it expresses a static relationship rather than movement.
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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Words(14)
- dort
there
adverbA1local
- sein
to be
verbA1sein, war, ist gewesenmit seinirregular
Copula here linking subject to predicate noun.
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- groß
big, great
adjectiveA1größer, am größten / das größte
- der Waldbrand
forest fire, wildfire
nounB1pl. Waldbrändegen. Waldbrandesstrong declension
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- die Geschichte
history, story
nounA2pl. Geschichtengen. Geschichtestrong declension
- von
from, of, by
prepositionA1governs dative
Used here to mark authorship, like 'by' in English credits.
- das Nordrhein-Westfalen
North Rhine-Westphalia (German federal state)
nounB1pl. —gen. Nordrhein-Westfalensinvariable declension
- löschen
to extinguish, to put out (a fire)
verbB2löschen, löschte, hat gelöschtmit habenmixed
Do not confuse with 'auslöschen' or the separable 'aufhören'-type verbs; also means 'to delete' in computing contexts.
- der Merz
Merz (surname)
nounC1pl. Merzesgen. Merzstrong declension
- wollen
to want, to want to
verbA1wollen, wollte, hat gewolltmit habenmodal
Wollen has no umlaut in its conjugation: ich will, wir wollen.
- der Helfer
helper, aid worker
nounB1pl. Helfergen. Helfersweak declension
- danken
to thank
verbA2danken, dankte, hat gedanktmit habenweakgoverns dative