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Third sentence of Testzentrum in Sachsen-Anhalt: So können Drohnen im Katastrophenfall helfen, tagesschau.de, 18 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
A glimpse of how researchers work there. By Boris Geiger, BR. There is a whirring and buzzing in the sky above the National Test Centre for Unmanned Aerial Systems of the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
Word for word: An insight, how researchers there work. From Boris Geiger, BR. It whirls and buzzes in-the sky over the National Testing-Centre for Unmanned Air-craft-systems of-the German Centre for Air- and Space-travel (DLR).
This is journalistic teaser text: a headline-style fragment announcing a report about researchers at the DLR test centre for drones, followed by a byline and a vivid opening sentence describing drone activity overhead.
The first line is a nominal fragment: an apposition-like noun phrase containing an embedded indirect question introduced by 'wie', which triggers verb-final word order ('arbeiten' at the end). The second sentence uses 'es' as a purely formal subject with two coordinated finite verbs 'schwirrt und surrt'. 'am' contracts 'an dem'; 'über' governs the dative here because the location is static. The long noun phrase shows compounds and genitive attributes ('des Deutschen Zentrums').
Rules at work(8)
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wie Forschende dort arbeiten
The 'wie'-clause is an embedded indirect question, so the finite verb 'arbeiten' moves to final position.
In a subordinate clause the finite verb stands last. Where the clause also holds a participle or an infinitive, the finite verb goes after them, so the order at the end is participle then auxiliary.
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über dem ... Erprobungszentrum
'über' takes dative here because it describes static location, not 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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des Deutschen Zentrums für Luft- und Raumfahrt
The genitive marks the possessive attribute answering 'whose centre'.
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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schwirrt und surrt
Vivid descriptive present used in journalism to make the scene immediate.
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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Es schwirrt und surrt
Both finite verbs take third person singular endings agreeing with the formal subject 'es'.
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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Erprobungszentrum, Luftfahrtsysteme, Luft- und Raumfahrt
German routinely chains nouns into compounds; the head noun determines gender and plural.
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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Forschende
The present participle of 'forschen' is nominalised and declined like an adjective.
An adjective can be capitalised and used as a noun, and it goes on taking adjective endings: der Alte, ein Alter, etwas Neues.
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schwirrt und surrt; Luft- und Raumfahrt
'und' links two verbs sharing one subject and two compound halves sharing one ending.
Und, aber, oder, denn and sondern join two main clauses and do not count as an element, so the word order after them is unchanged and the verb stays in second position.
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Words(28)
- ein
a, an, one
determinerA1indefinite
The form einer here is dative feminine singular, not the pronoun meaning 'one'.
- Einblick
insight, glimpse
nounB2
Usually with 'in' + accusative: 'einen Einblick in etwas geben/bekommen'.
- wie
like, as, how
conjunctionA1subordinating
Here introducing an example, equivalent to 'such as'.
- Forschende
researchers
nounB2
- dort
there
adverbA1local
- arbeiten
to work
verbA1arbeiten, arbeitete, hat gearbeitetmit habenweak
- von
from, of, by
prepositionA1governs dative
Used here to mark authorship, like 'by' in English credits.
- Boris
Boris (male given name)
nounA1
- Geiger
violinist, Geiger (surname)
nounA2
- BR
Bavarian Broadcasting (Bayerischer Rundfunk)
nounC1
- es
it
pronounA1personal
Often a dummy subject, as in es geht darum.
- schwirren
to whir, to swarm about
verbC1schwirren, schwirrte, hat/ist geschwirrtmit haben or seinweak
- und
and
conjunctionA1coordinating
- surren
to buzz, to hum
verbC2surren, surrte, hat gesurrtmit habenweak
- an
on, at, by
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for points in time and location (am Montag), accusative for direction.
- der Himmel
sky, heaven
nounA1pl. Himmelgen. Himmelsstrong declension
- über
over, above, about, via, by way of
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Accusative with movement or route, as here ('via the programme'); dative for static location.
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- national
national
adjectiveB1nationaler, am nationalsten
- das Erprobungszentrum
test centre, testing centre
nounC1pl. Erprobungszentrengen. Erprobungszentrumsstrong declension
- für
for
prepositionA1governs accusative
Here für Dienstag names the day the forecast applies to, not a beneficiary.
- unbemannt
unmanned, uncrewed
adjectiveC1
- das Luftfahrtsystem
aerial vehicle system, aircraft system
nounC1pl. Luftfahrtsystemegen. Luftfahrtsystemsstrong declension
- deutsch
German
adjectiveA1deutscher, am deutschesten
- das Zentrum
centre, center
nounA2pl. Zentrengen. Zentrumsstrong declension
- die Luftfahrt
aviation, aerospace
nounB2pl. Luftfahrtengen. Luftfahrtstrong declension
- die Raumfahrt
space travel, spaceflight
nounB2pl. Raumfahrtengen. Raumfahrtstrong declension
- das DLR
German Aerospace Centre (abbreviation)
nounC1invariable declension