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Opening 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
For the second time, the Federal Public Prosecutor is having a diver allegedly involved in the Nord Stream attacks arrested.
Word for word: To the second time lets the federal-prosecution a supposedly at the Nord-Stream-attacks involved diver arrest.
Reports that the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has for the second time arranged the arrest of a diver suspected of taking part in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines; typical news-register German.
The sentence is a verb-second statement. lässt is the finite verb in position two; the causative verb lassen takes an accusative object (einen ... Taucher) plus an infinitive (festnehmen) at the end, a so-called Ersatzinfinitiv construction. mutmaßlich an den Nord-Stream-Anschlägen beteiligten is an extended participial/adjectival phrase modifying Taucher, with an + dative inside it. Zum zweiten Mal is a temporal adverbial in the dative.
Rules at work(6)
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lässt die Bundesanwaltschaft
A declarative main sentence places the finite verb lässt in second position after the fronted adverbial zum zweiten Mal.
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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einen ... Taucher
The causative lassen takes a direct object in the accusative: einen ... Taucher.
The accusative marks the direct object: the thing the action is done to. Only the masculine changes visibly, from der to den and from ein to einen, which is why the masculine is where accusative errors show.
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lässt ... festnehmen
lassen + accusative + infinitive expresses having something done by someone; the infinitive stands at the clause end.
lassen + accusative object + bare infinitive means to cause or have an action carried out; at the end of the clause the infinitive appears, not a participle.
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festnehmen
festnehmen is separable; in the infinitive at the end of the clause it stays whole, but in a finite clause it would split into nimmt ... fest.
Some verbs carry a prefix that detaches in a main clause and moves to the very end: aufstehen becomes Ich stehe um sieben auf. The prefix is stressed, which is what tells a separable prefix from an inseparable one. In a subordinate clause and in the infinitive the verb stays whole.
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an den Nord-Stream-Anschlägen
an takes dative here (den ... Anschlägen) in the fixed expression beteiligt an + dative.
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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einen ... beteiligten Taucher
After the indefinite determiner einen, the adjective takes the mixed ending -en in the masculine accusative singular.
After ein, kein and a possessive, the adjective takes strong endings exactly where the article shows nothing, which is the masculine nominative and the neuter nominative and accusative, and weak endings everywhere else.
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Words(13)
- zu
to, at, too
prepositionA1governs dative
With verbs of movement it takes dative even though motion is involved.
- zweit
second
adjectiveA2
- das Mal
time, occasion
nounA1pl. Malegen. Malsstrong declension
- lassen
let, leave, allow
verbA2lassen, ließ, hat lassen/gelassenmit habenirregular
'etwas offen lassen' = to leave something open/unanswered.
- die
the
determinerA1definite
- die Bundesanwaltschaft
Federal Public Prosecutor's Office
nounC1pl. Bundesanwaltschaftengen. Bundesanwaltschaftstrong declension
- ein
a, an, one
determinerA1indefinite
The form einer here is dative feminine singular, not the pronoun meaning 'one'.
- mutmaßlich
presumed, supposed, alleged
adjectiveC1
Often adverbial ('presumably') hedging a claim, as here.
- an
on, at, by
prepositionA1governs accusative or dative
Dative for points in time and location (am Montag), accusative for direction.
- der Nord-Stream-Anschlag
Nord Stream attack
nounC2pl. Nord-Stream-Anschlägegen. Nord-Stream-Anschlagsstrong declension
- beteiligt
involved, taking part
adjectiveB1governs dative
- der Taucher
diver
nounB1pl. Tauchergen. Tauchersstrong declension
- festnehmen
to arrest, detain
verbB2festnehmen, nahm fest, hat festgenommenmit habenseparableweakgoverns accusative