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From Feuer nicht unter Kontrolle: Waldbrände im Hohen Venn und im Schwarzwald, tagesschau.de, 17 August 2026. Quoted for study. The words are the publisher's; the analysis is ours.
Meaning
Two helicopters with water tanks for firefighting would be provided, the Federal Ministry of Defence announced.
Word for word: Two helicopters with extinguishing-water-containers would for-that made-ready, shared the federal-defence-ministry along.
A news-style report: the Defence Ministry announced that two helicopters equipped with fire-fighting water containers would be made available (e.g. for disaster relief).
The main clause is a passive-voice statement in Konjunktiv II (würden bereitgestellt) reporting a hypothetical or planned measure. The second clause is a verb-final subordinate clause introduced by the dropped conjunction dass (elliptical), containing the reporting verb teilte ... mit, a separable verb in preterite.
Rules at work(7)
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würden bereitgestellt
The helicopters are not doing anything themselves; werden + past participle expresses that they are being provided.
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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würden
würden is the Konjunktiv II of werden, marking the provision as planned/hypothetical rather than an accomplished fact.
The form for the hypothetical, the unreal and the polite. Wäre, hätte and the modals have their own forms; most other verbs use würde plus an infinitive.
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teilte das Bundesverteidigungsministerium mit
The reported-content clause has its finite verb before the subject but the separable prefix mit at the very end, showing clause-final placement of the verbal bracket.
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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teilte ... mit
mitteilen splits, sending its prefix mit to the end of the clause.
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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teilte
Written narrative reports use the preterite rather than the perfect.
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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mit Löschwasserbehältern
mit always governs the dative, hence the plural dative ending -n on Löschwasserbehältern.
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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dafür
dafür = da(r)- + für refers back to the previously mentioned purpose.
Where a preposition would be followed by a pronoun standing for a thing rather than a person, German fuses the two: damit, darauf, davon. An r appears between them when the preposition begins with a vowel.
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Words(10)
- zwei
two
numeralA1
- der Hubschrauber
helicopter
nounB1pl. Hubschraubergen. Hubschraubersstrong declension
- mit
with, by (means of transport)
prepositionA1governs dative
Always dative, including travel: 'mit dem Bus, mit dem Rad'.
- der Löschwasserbehälter
firefighting water tank
nounC1pl. Löschwasserbehältergen. Löschwasserbehältersstrong declension
- werden
become, will (future auxiliary)
verbA2werden, wurde, ist gewordenmit habenirregular
Also the passive auxiliary; do not confuse with bekommen (= receive).
- dafür
for that, for it
adverbB1causal
Da-compound standing in for 'for this purpose'; English uses plain 'for it/that'.
- bereitstellen
provide, make available
verbC1bereitstellen, stellte bereit, hat bereitgestelltmit habenseparableweak
- mitteilen
announce, report, communicate
verbB2mitteilen, teilte mit, hat mitgeteiltmit habenseparableweakgoverns dative
Separable; common in news style as 'teilte X mit' = 'X announced'.
- das
the
determinerA1definite
- das Bundesverteidigungsministerium
Federal Ministry of Defence
nounC1pl. Bundesverteidigungsministeriengen. Bundesverteidigungsministeriumsstrong declension