Asking the model to read this sentence.
A sentence nobody has read before takes a minute or two, because it means asking a language model. Nothing is lost if you leave this page: the address keeps the result.
Third sentence of Nord-Stream-Pipelines: Ein Anschlag mit politischer Sprengkraft?, tagesschau.de, 20 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
From Christina Nagel, ARD capital studio: At the BSW, the gas pipelines have even made it onto the election posters in Berlin.
Word for word: From Christina Nagel, ARD-capital-studio. With-the BSW have it the gas-pipelines in Berlin even onto the election-posters managed.
A news attribution followed by a report that the BSW party has put gas pipelines on its Berlin election posters; 'es auf die Wahlplakate geschafft' means they literally made it that far, i.e. appear even there.
A byline ('Von …') is followed by a main clause with the prepositional phrase 'Beim BSW' fronted, so the finite verb 'haben' stands in second position and the subject 'die Gas-Pipelines' follows it. 'Es' is a fixed pronoun belonging to the idiom 'es auf etwas schaffen'. The perfect tense is formed with haben plus the past participle 'geschafft', which closes the sentence. 'Bei' governs the dative ('dem BSW'), 'auf' here governs the accusative because motion onto something is expressed.
Rules at work(5)
-
Beim BSW haben es die Gas-Pipelines
The fronted adverbial occupies first position, so the finite verb haben must come 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.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
haben … geschafft
The perfect of schaffen is formed with haben plus the participle geschafft.
The perfect is the ordinary spoken past. It is built from the present of haben in second position and the past participle at the end of the clause. Most verbs take haben, including every verb with a direct object and every reflexive verb.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
Beim BSW
bei always takes the dative and contracts with dem to beim.
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.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
auf die Wahlplakate
auf takes the accusative here because movement onto the posters is meant.
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.
Does this rule belong on this sentence? -
ARD-Hauptstadtstudio, Gas-Pipelines, Wahlplakate
Three compounds show German noun compounding with the head noun last and determining gender.
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.
Does this rule belong on this sentence?
Words(16)
- von
from, of, by
prepositionA1governs dative
Used here to mark authorship, like 'by' in English credits.
- die Christina
Christina
nounA1pl. Christinasgen. Christinasweak declension
- der Nagel
nail, (here) surname Nagel
nounA1pl. Nägelgen. Nagelsstrong declension
As a common noun it means nail; here it is a family name.
- das ARD-Hauptstadtstudio
ARD capital studio (ARD's Berlin studio)
nounC2pl. ARD-Hauptstadtstudiosgen. ARD-Hauptstadtstudiosstrong declension
Proper name of the Berlin studio of ARD, the umbrella organisation of German public broadcasters; treat it as a fixed name.
- bei
at, near, with
prepositionA2governs dative
'bei 42 Prozent' = 'at 42 percent', standard in poll reporting.
- das BSW
Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht, a left-populist party
nounC1pl. BSWgen. BSWinvariable declension
Indeclinable abbreviation; case must be read from the article.
- haben
to have
verbA1haben, hatte, hat gehabtmit habenirregular
As an auxiliary it forms the perfect tenses of most verbs.
- es
it
pronounA1personal
Often a dummy subject, as in es geht darum.
- die
the
determinerA1definite
- die Gas-Pipeline
gas pipeline
nounB1pl. Gas-Pipelinesgen. Gas-Pipelinemixed declension
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- das Berlin
Berlin
nounA1pl. —gen. Berlinsinvariable declension
- sogar
even
adverbB1modal
- auf
on, onto
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Location takes the dative, movement towards the accusative.
- das Wahlplakat
election poster
nounB1pl. Wahlplakategen. Wahlplakatsstrong declension
- schaffen
to create, to manage (colloquial)
verbB1schaffen, schaffte, hat geschafftmit habenmixed
'schaffen' meaning 'create' is regular; colloquial 'to manage' is strong (schaffte, geschafft both used).