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From Hitzetote in Deutschland: "Die meisten Todesfälle hätte man verhindern können", tagesschau.de, 20 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
"We come when 112 is called, no matter how hot it is." Metzinger is the deputy head of the rescue service of the Workers' Samaritan Federation Berlin.
Word for word: "We come, when the 112 called is, no matter how hot it is." Metzinger is deputy head with-the rescue-service of-the Workers-Samaritan-Bund Berlin.
A rescue worker explains that his team always responds to emergency calls regardless of the temperature, and the text identifies who he is.
The first sentence is a complex statement with a subordinate temporal clause introduced by wenn (verb-final), an embedded concessive clause egal wie heiß es ist, and a passive verb (gerufen wird). The second sentence is a simple present-tense copula sentence with a predicate noun and a genitive attribute chain.
Rules at work(8)
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wenn die 112 gerufen wird
wenn introduces a subordinate temporal clause whose finite verb moves to the end.
Weil, dass, wenn, als, ob, obwohl, damit, nachdem, bevor and the rest introduce a subordinate clause and send its finite verb to the very end.
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gerufen wird
In the wenn-clause the finite auxiliary wird stands at the end after the participle.
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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die 112 gerufen wird
The werden-passive in the present expresses that the emergency number is called by someone unspecified.
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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Wir kommen
The finite verb occupies the second position in the main clause.
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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des Arbeiter-Samariter-Bunds
The genitive article des marks the noun phrase as a possessive attribute of Rettungsdienst.
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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beim Rettungsdienst
bei always governs the dative, here contracted 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.
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stellvertretender Leiter
With no article before a masculine nominative singular noun, the adjective takes the strong ending -er.
With no article in front of it the adjective has to carry the case marking itself, so it takes the endings the definite article would have had, with the exception of the masculine and neuter genitive singular.
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kommen
The present tense is used for a general, timeless statement of practice.
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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Words(20)
- wir
we
pronounA1personal
- kommen
to come
verbA1kommen, kam, ist gekommenmit seinstrong
Figurative here: the decisions should 'come', i.e. appear soon.
- wenn
if, when(ever)
conjunctionA2subordinating
triggers verb-final word order; conditional 'if' here
- die
the
determinerA1definite
- 112
112 (European emergency number)
numeralA1
The emergency phone number, treated as feminine because die Nummer is understood.
- rufen
to call, to shout
verbA2rufen, rief, hat gerufenmit habenstrong
- werden
become, will (future auxiliary)
verbA2werden, wurde, ist gewordenmit habenirregular
Also the passive auxiliary; do not confuse with bekommen (= receive).
- egal
all the same, no matter
adjectiveB1
In egal wie clauses it means 'no matter how'.
- wie
how
adverbA1modal
Here a free relative meaning 'as', not a question word.
- heiß
hot, heated
adjectiveA1heißer, am heißesten
- es
it
pronounA1personal
Often a dummy subject, as in es geht darum.
- sein
to be
verbA1sein, war, ist gewesenmit seinirregular
Copula here linking subject to predicate noun.
- der Metzinger
Metzinger (surname)
nounA1pl. Metingersgen. Metingersinvariable declension
- stellvertretend
deputy, deputising
adjectiveB2
- der Leiter
head, leader, ladder
nounB1pl. Leitergen. Leitersstrong declension
Also means 'ladder'; here 'head of a department'.
- beim
at the, with regard to
prepositionA1governs dative
Contraction of 'bei dem'; used before nominalised verbs such as 'beim Fahrradfahren'.
- der Rettungsdienst
rescue service, emergency medical service
nounB2pl. Rettungsdienstegen. Rettungsdienstesmixed declension
- des
of the
determinerA1definite
- der Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund
Workers' Samaritan Federation (German welfare organisation)
nounC1pl. Arbeiter-Samariter-Bündegen. Arbeiter-Samariter-Bundsstrong declension
- das Berlin
Berlin
nounA1pl. —gen. Berlinsinvariable declension