Reading · B1 · Text 46

Zahnrad

31 words1 min read94% known at B1

Je nachdem, welchen Gang er wählt, kann er unterschiedlich schnell fahren.

Depending on which gear he selects, he can drive at different speeds.

Je höher der Gang, desto schneller kann er fahren.

The higher the gear, the faster he can drive.

Er braucht aber auch mehr Kraft als in einem niedrigen Gang.

But he also needs more power than in a lower gear.

2 words above B1

desto

the (in 'the more..., the...' construction) used in comparative clauses: 'je... desto...' the (forming the parallel comparative with je); used instead of je in the je ... desto construction B2/ˈdɛstoː/

unterschiedlich

different, varying adverbially used here different; differing, varying; differently, in varying ways B2/ˈʊntɐˌʃiːtlɪç/

Grammar in this text

Je... desto... (the... the...)

Je höher der Gang, desto schneller kann er fahren.

This structure expresses a proportional relationship: the more/less of one thing, the more/less of another. It consists of two clauses: the first with 'je' + comparative, the second with 'desto' + comparative. The verb in the second clause often comes right after 'desto'.

Modal verb with infinitive

kann er unterschiedlich schnell fahren

The modal verb 'können' is conjugated in second position, and the main verb 'fahren' appears in its infinitive form at the end of the sentence. This is a typical sentence structure in German main clauses.

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Text from Zahnrad — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.