Reading · B2 · Text 3

Bundestag

68 words1 min read100% known at B2

Ein Mitglied des Bundestages bekommt Geld für sich selbst, damit er davon leben kann.
A member of the Bundestag receives money for themselves so that they can live on it.
Das nennt man die Diäten.
This is called the Diäten.
Dazu bekommt er aber zusätzlich noch Geld, damit ihm nichts für seine Arbeit fehlt.
In addition, they also receive extra money so that they lack nothing for their work.
Davon stellt er Mitarbeiter ein, die ihm helfen.
With this, they hire staff to help them.
Sie regeln für ihn, was er wann machen will, oder sie besorgen für ihn wichtige Bücher.
They arrange for them what they want to do when, or they procure important books for them.
Manche sind Wissenschaftler, andere Sekretäre.
Some are scientists, others are secretaries.
Insgesamt gibt es etwa 4.500 solcher Mitarbeiter.
In total, there are about 4,500 such staff members.

16 words above B2

Mitglied

member plural: die Mitglieder B1/ˈmɪtˌɡliːt/

Bundestages← der Bundestag

German parliament (lower house) genitive singular; proper noun, but included for context Bundestag; federal/state parliament B2/ˈbʊndəsˌtaːk/

bekommt← bekommen

receives, gets irregular: bekommt, bekam, bekommen to receive; to get; to catch; to agree with, to sit well with [with dative ‘someone’] (of food or drink) A1/bəˈkɔmən/

Geld

money no plural in this context A1/ɡɛlt/

davon

from it, of it pronominal adverb; refers to the money from it, from that, therefrom, off it, off that A1/daˈfɔn/

nennt← nennen

calls, names irregular: nennt, nannte, genannt to name (to give a name to); to call, to describe; to mention, to make known, to tell, to give A2/ˈnɛnən/

Diäten← die Diät

parliamentary allowance, salary plural only in this sense; singular 'Diät' means diet diet B1/diˈɛːt/

Dazu← dazu

in addition, additionally pronominal adverb in addition to it, in addition, besides; for that purpose; to it, to that A1/daˈtsuː/

zusätzlich

additional, extra used as adverb here additional, extra, supplementary; ancillary; additionally, in addition B1[ˈt͡suːˌzɛt͡slɪç]

fehlt← fehlen

is missing, lacks regular: fehlt, fehlte, gefehlt; often used with dative for there to be a lack [with dative ‘to someone/something’ and an (+ dative) ‘of something’] (idiomatically translated by English lack with the… A2/ˈfeːlən/

Davon← davon

from that, with that pronominal adverb; refers to the additional money from it, from that, therefrom, off it, off that A1/daˈfɔn/

stellt ... ein← einstellen

hires, employs separable: stellt ein, stellte ein, eingestellt to hire (to add someone to a position of employment); to adjust, to set; to prepare, to adjust, to adapt to something or someone B1[ˈʔaɪ̯nʃtɛln̩]

Mitarbeiter

employee, staff member plural same as singular employee (person who works, together with others, in a particular business or institution); collaborator (person who works with others towards a… A2/ˈmɪtarˌbaɪ̯tər/

helfen

to help irregular: hilft, half, geholfen; takes dative to help (someone); to assist; to aid A1/ˈhɛlfn̩/

regeln

to organize, manage regular: regelt, regelte, geregelt to regulate; to control (to adjust an apparatus); to take care of, to deal with, to see to (errands, a situation, a small task) B1/ˈʁeːɡl̩n/

besorgen

to get, procure regular: besorgt, besorgte, besorgt to deal, to manage, to procure; to get, to obtain; to give (it to someone), to satisfy carnally B1

Grammar in this text

Subordinate clauses with 'damit' (purpose clauses)

damit er davon leben kann

'damit' introduces a subordinate clause expressing purpose. The conjugated verb moves to the end of the clause.

Pronominal adverbs (da(r)- + preposition)

Davon stellt er Mitarbeiter ein

Pronominal adverbs like 'davon' replace 'von + noun' (here: 'von dem Geld'). They are common in German to avoid repeating nouns.

Separable verb in main clause (present tense)

Davon stellt er Mitarbeiter ein

In a main clause, the prefix of a separable verb (einstellen) is separated and placed at the end of the sentence.

Relative clause with 'die' (relative pronoun)

die ihm helfen

The relative pronoun 'die' refers to 'Mitarbeiter' (plural). In relative clauses, the conjugated verb goes to the end.

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Same text, graded forB1 version C1 version C2 version

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

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