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Third sentence of Ausgaben deutlich gestiegen: Sozialhilfe kostet 21,5 Milliarden Euro , tagesschau.de, 21 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
They rose by 13.3 percent to six billion euros.
Word for word: They increased themselves around 13.3 percent to six billion euros.
Typical business or news register: some figures (e.g. sales, costs) increased by 13.3 percent, ending up at six billion euros. Note that 'um ... Prozent' gives the amount of the increase while 'auf' gives the final figure.
A simple main clause in the preterite: the reflexive verb 'sich erhöhen' (to rise, increase) is conjugated in third person plural past tense ('erhöhten'), with the reflexive pronoun 'sich' in the accusative. 'um' governs the accusative and expresses the amount of change; 'auf' also takes the accusative here and expresses the new level reached.
Rules at work(4)
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erhöhten
The simple past form 'erhöhten' reports a completed past development, typical of written news style.
The simple past is the written narrative past. In speech it survives mainly in sein, haben and the modals, where hatte and war are far commoner than the perfect forms.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
erhöhten sich
'Sich erhöhen' is reflexive; the figures rise by themselves, so the accusative reflexive 'sich' appears.
A reflexive verb takes a pronoun pointing back at the subject. The pronoun is usually accusative, but it turns dative as soon as the verb has another direct object, which is why it is ich wasche mich but ich wasche mir die Hände.
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Sie erhöhten
The finite verb takes the '-en' ending agreeing with the third person plural subject 'Sie'.
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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um 13,3 Prozent
'Um' always governs the accusative and here expresses the amount of the increase.
Durch, für, gegen, ohne and um always take the accusative, whatever they mean and whatever follows them.
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Words(10)
- sie
she, they, it (referring to feminine nouns)
pronounA1personal
Here accusative singular feminine, referring back to 'die Publikumsveranstaltung'.
- erhöhen
to raise, to increase
verbB1erhöhen, erhöhte, hat erhöhtmit habenweak
Reflexive 'sich erhöhen' means 'to rise' (something rises by itself); non-reflexive means 'to raise something'.
- sich
himself/herself/themselves, itself
pronounA2reflexive
Always refers back to the subject; here it is fixed to the verb 'sich mehren'.
- um
around, by (an amount), at (a time)
prepositionA1governs accusative
'um 26 Prozent' = 'by 26 percent'; essential pattern for describing differences.
- 13,3
13.3
numeralA1
German uses a comma as decimal separator.
- das Prozent
percent
nounA2pl. Prozentgen. Prozentsstrong declension
- auf
on, onto
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Location takes the dative, movement towards the accusative.
- sechs
six
numeralA1
- die Milliarde
billion
nounB1pl. Milliardengen. Milliardemixed declension
German 'Milliarde' = English billion (10^9), not milliard confusion.
- der Euro
euro
nounA1pl. Eurogen. Eurostrong declension
The plural is identical to the singular: zehn Euro.