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From Wagenknecht und das BSW: Mit Schlagzeilen in den Überlebenskampf, tagesschau.de, 18 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
And then, at the start of the year, the BSW faction in the Brandenburg state parliament fell apart – and with it the BSW's participation in government in Potsdam.
Word for word: And then, beginning of the year, disassembled itself the BSW-faction in-the parliament of Brandenburg and thereby the government-participation of-the BSW in Potsdam.
The sentence reports that early in the year the BSW group in the Brandenburg state parliament broke apart, which also ended the party's role in the state government in Potsdam. Typical journalistic register; 'sich zerlegen' is figurative, literally 'to take apart'.
A main clause with verb-second word order: the fronted element is the temporal apposition 'Anfang des Jahres', so the finite verb 'zerlegte' stands second and the subject 'die BSW-Fraktion' follows it. The verb is the reflexive 'sich zerlegen' in the simple preterite, third person singular agreeing with the feminine singular subject. 'Anfang des Jahres' is a noun phrase with a genitive attribute; 'des BSW' is likewise a genitive object-like attribute. The coordinated second noun phrase 'die Regierungsbeteiligung...' is picked up by 'damit', meaning 'and with that'.
Rules at work(7)
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Und dann, Anfang des Jahres, zerlegte sich die BSW-Fraktion
The fronted adverbial 'Und dann, Anfang des Jahres' occupies first position, so the finite verb 'zerlegte' must stand in second position with the subject following.
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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zerlegte
Written narrative style favours the simple preterite over the perfect for reporting past events.
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.
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zerlegte sich
'Sich zerlegen' is used reflexively here in a figurative sense: the faction took itself apart.
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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Anfang des Jahres ... die Regierungsbeteiligung des BSW
Both 'des Jahres' and 'des BSW' are genitive attributes expressing 'of the year' and 'of the BSW'.
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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im Landtag
'Im' is 'in dem': the dative is used because the phrase describes 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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und ... und
'Und' coordinates the opening discourse marker and links the two parallel subjects.
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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die BSW-Fraktion, der Landtag, die Regierungsbeteiligung
Article forms show the genders: feminine 'Fraktion'/'Regierungsbeteiligung', masculine 'Landtag'.
Every German noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. The gender is a property of the word rather than of the thing it names, and it decides the form of every article, adjective and pronoun that refers to it, so it has to be learned with the noun.
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Words(15)
- und
and
conjunctionA1coordinating
- dann
then, in that case
adverbA1temporal
- der Anfang
beginning, start
nounA2pl. Anfängegen. Anfangsstrong declension
Commonly used without an article in time expressions like 'Anfang des Jahres' (= early in the year).
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- das Jahr
year
nounA1pl. Jahregen. Jahresstrong declension
- zerlegen
to take apart, to dismantle, (figurative) to fall apart
verbC1zerlegen, zerlegte, hat zerlegtmit habenirregular
Here used reflexively and figuratively: 'sich zerlegen' = a group breaks apart internally.
- sich
himself/herself/themselves, itself
pronounA2reflexive
Always refers back to the subject; here it is fixed to the verb 'sich mehren'.
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- der Landtag
state parliament, diet of a federal state
nounB2pl. Landtagegen. Landtages/Landtagsstrong declension
- von
from, of, by
prepositionA1governs dative
Used here to mark authorship, like 'by' in English credits.
- das Brandenburg
Brandenburg (German federal state)
nounB1gen. Brandenburgsinvariable declension
- damit
with that, thereby, by doing so
adverbB1modal
Often points forward or back to a whole clause, not just a thing.
- die Regierungsbeteiligung
participation in government, share in government
nounC1pl. Regierungsbeteiligungengen. Regierungsbeteiligungmixed declension
- das BSW
Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, a left-populist party
nounC1pl. BSWgen. BSWinvariable declension
Indeclinable abbreviation; case must be read from the article.
- das Potsdam
Potsdam (capital of Brandenburg)
nounB1gen. Potsdamsinvariable declension