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From Nach Vorstoß aus der SPD: Amthor gegen Grundgesetzänderung für Klimaanpassung, tagesschau.de, 17 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
'Moreover, the federal government has already made considerable funds available through its Special Fund for Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality — funds which, quite without any new constitutional amendment, can also be used for climate adaptation measures,' said the minister of state responsible at the Chancellery for federal-state cooperation.
Word for word: 'Beyond-that has the federation in-particular with its special-fund infrastructure and climate-neutrality already considerable means to-the disposal placed, which — quite without renewed constitution-change — also for measures of-the climate-adaptation used become can,' said the in-the chancellery for the federation-states-cooperation responsible states-minister.
A government official stresses that the federal level has already channelled substantial money into the special infrastructure and climate fund and argues that this money can legally be spent on adapting to climate change without reopening the constitution — a typical claim in German political debates about climate financing.
A quoted statement is followed by the reporting clause 'sagte der … Staatsminister', so the finite verb sagte stands in second position after the fronted quote. Inside the quote, 'Zudem hat der Bund … gestellt' is a verb-second main clause whose perfect of stellen is built with haben, the participle closing the verb bracket. The relative clause 'die … genutzt werden können' keeps its finite modal können at the very end and contains a werden-passive infinitive. Prepositions show their cases (mit and zu + dative, ohne and für + accusative, in + dative for location), 'der Klimaanpassung' is a genitive attribute, and the adjectives show strong endings without an article (beträchtliche, erneute) and a weak ending after the definite article (zuständige).
Rules at work(19)
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Zudem hat der Bund
The adverb zudem occupies the first position, so the finite auxiliary hat must come second and the subject follows; the same happens after the fronted quotation, where sagte is the second element.
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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hat … gestellt
stellen forms its perfect with haben; present-tense hat plus the participle gestellt express a completed action with present relevance.
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.
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die … genutzt werden können
The relative pronoun die picks up the plural Mittel and opens a relative clause modifying it.
A relative pronoun takes its gender and number from the noun it refers back to, and its case from the job it does inside the relative clause. The clause is verb-final and always separated by a comma.
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die … können
Inside the relative clause the infinitives pile up before the finite modal, which stands last.
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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genutzt werden
The werden-passive appears as an infinitive (participle II + werden) because it depends on the modal können: 'can be used'.
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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können
The finite modal können governs the infinitive chain and expresses possibility.
The six modals können, müssen, dürfen, sollen, wollen and mögen say something about the main verb rather than naming an action. The modal is the finite verb in second position and the main verb goes to the end of the clause as an infinitive.
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gestellt, genutzt
Both verbs are weak, so the participle is ge- + stem + -t (stell-t, nutz-t).
A weak verb forms its participle as ge plus stem plus t, a strong verb as ge plus a often changed stem plus en. Verbs with an inseparable prefix and verbs ending in ieren take no ge at all.
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mit seinem Sondervermögen, zur Verfügung
mit and zu (contracted to zur) always govern the dative, hence seinem and Verfügung show dative forms.
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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ohne erneute Verfassungsänderung, für Maßnahmen
ohne and für require the accusative, so Verfassungsänderung and Maßnahmen appear in the accusative.
Durch, für, gegen, ohne and um always take the accusative, whatever they mean and whatever follows them.
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im Kanzleramt
in takes the dative when it expresses location, contracted here to im (in + dem).
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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seinem
The possessive sein- declines like an ein-word and agrees with the possessed noun: dative neuter singular for Sondervermögen.
Mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer and Ihr take their stem from the owner and their ending from the thing owned, which is why seine Mutter and ihr Vater are the way they are.
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der Klimaanpassung
The genitive noun phrase specifies what kind of measures: measures of climate adaptation.
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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Sondervermögen, Verfassungsänderung, Klimaanpassung, Kanzleramt, Staatsminister
German chains nouns into single words; the final element is the head that fixes gender and meaning.
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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beträchtliche Mittel, erneute Verfassungsänderung
No article stands before either adjective, so the adjective itself carries the strong case-and-number ending -e.
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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der … zuständige Staatsminister
After the definite article der the adjective needs only the weak ending -e.
After a definite article the adjective ending is e in the five nominative and accusative singular slots and en everywhere else, because the article has already shown the case and gender.
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und
und joins the two name elements Infrastruktur and Klimaneutralität inside the fund's title.
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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sagte
Written reports prefer the preterite for saying verbs; the perfect would sound odd in news prose.
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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der Bund, seinem Sondervermögen, der Klimaanpassung
The determiner endings reveal the genders: der Bund masculine, das Sondervermögen neuter, die Klimaanpassung feminine.
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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Mittel, Maßnahmen
Mittel has a zero plural identical to the singular, while the feminine Maßnahme forms its plural with -n.
German forms plurals in five main ways: adding e, er, en, s, or nothing at all, often with an umlaut on the stem vowel. The plural is not predictable from the singular and is learned with the noun.
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Words(35)
- zudem
moreover, in addition
adverbB2conjunctional
Adds a further argument to what was said before; typical of written argumentation rather than casual speech.
- haben
to have
verbA1haben, hatte, hat gehabtmit habenirregular
As an auxiliary it forms the perfect tenses of most verbs.
- der
the
determinerA1definite
Appears twice: dative feminine 'der Wirtschaft' and nominative plural 'die Beschlüsse'.
- der Bund
federation, the federal state (Germany)
nounB1pl. Bündegen. Bundesmixed declension
In German politics 'der Bund' means the federal level of government.
- insbesondere
especially, in particular
adverbB2modal
More formal than besonders.
- mit
with, by (means of transport)
prepositionA1governs dative
Always dative, including travel: 'mit dem Bus, mit dem Rad'.
- sein
his, its
determinerA1possessive
Endings agree with the thing possessed, not the owner: seinem Sondervermögen is dative neuter because Sondervermögen is das; here it means 'its' (the Bund's).
- das Sondervermögen
special fund, off-budget fund
nounC1pl. Sondervermögengen. Sondervermögensstrong declension
Budgetary jargon: a pot of money ring-fenced outside the regular federal budget.
- die Infrastruktur
infrastructure
nounB1pl. Infrastrukturengen. Infrastrukturstrong declension
- und
and
conjunctionA1coordinating
- die Klimaneutralität
climate neutrality, net-zero status
nounC1gen. Klimaneutralitätstrong declension
- schon
already, already now
adverbA1temporal
In other contexts schon is also a modal particle adding reassurance or emphasis.
- beträchtlich
considerable, substantial
adjectiveC1beträchtlicher, am beträchtlichsten
- das Mittel
means, funds, remedy, agent
nounB2pl. Mittelgen. Mittelsstrong declension
Das Mittel (singular) = a means or a medicine; die Mittel (plural) = funds/resources, which is the sense here.
- zu
to, at, too
prepositionA1governs dative
With verbs of movement it takes dative even though motion is involved.
- die Verfügung
disposal, availability, decree
nounB2pl. Verfügungengen. Verfügungstrong declension
Learn the routines: zur Verfügung stehen = to be available; jemandem etwas zur Verfügung stellen = to provide somebody with something.
- stellen
to put, to place, to pose (a question), to provide (zur Verfügung stellen)
verbA2stellen, stellte, hat gestelltmit habenweak
On its own stellen means 'put/place'; in 'zur Verfügung stellen' the whole phrase means 'to make available'.
- der
who, which
pronounA1relative
- ganz
quite, completely, entirely
adverbA2degree
Before a preposition phrase 'ganz ohne' means 'without any … whatsoever'; with nouns ganz can also mean 'whole' (das ganze Land).
- ohne
without
prepositionA1governs accusative
- erneut
another, renewed, fresh
adjectiveB2
Eine erneute Änderung = one more change; derived from the adverb erneut 'again'.
- die Verfassungsänderung
constitutional amendment
nounC1pl. Verfassungsänderungengen. Verfassungsänderungmixed declension
- auch
also, too
adverbA1modal
Focus particle; here it means the ministers are included among others already named.
- für
for
prepositionA1governs accusative
Here für Dienstag names the day the forecast applies to, not a beneficiary.
- die Maßnahme
measure, action, step
nounB2pl. Maßnahmengen. Maßnahmestrong declension
- die Klimaanpassung
climate adaptation, adapting to climate change
nounC1pl. Klimaanpassungengen. Klimaanpassungmixed declension
- nutzen
to use, to make use of
verbA2nutzen, nutzte, hat genutztmit habenweakgoverns accusative
- werden
become, will (future auxiliary)
verbA2werden, wurde, ist gewordenmit habenirregular
Also the passive auxiliary; do not confuse with bekommen (= receive).
- können
can, be able to, may, might (as könnte)
verbA1können, konnte, hat gekonntmit habenmodal
könnte is the Konjunktiv II and softens a claim into a possibility.
- sagen
to say, to tell
verbA1sagen, sagte, hat gesagtmit habenweak
- in
in, into
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for location, accusative for direction.
- das Kanzleramt
Federal Chancellery, chancellor's office
nounB2pl. Kanzlerämtergen. Kanzleramtsstrong declension
- die Bund-Länder-Zusammenarbeit
cooperation between the federal government and the Länder
nounC1gen. Bund-Länder-Zusammenarbeitstrong declension
Länder = the German federal states; the hyphenated compound is written as one word.
- zuständig
responsible (for), in charge (of)
adjectiveB1governs accusative
Always with für + accusative: für etwas zuständig sein.
- der Staatsminister
minister of state
nounC1pl. Staatsministergen. Staatsministersweak declension
In today's Germany a Staatsminister is often a junior minister, for instance in the Chancellery; the plural is unchanged.