Reading · C1 · Text 44
Abfall
Giftige Sachen gehören nicht in normale Mülltonnen sondern in eine besondere Sammlung, damit man sie bei einer sehr hohen Temperatur verbrennen und damit unschädlich machen kann.
Toxic materials do not belong in regular trash cans but in a special collection, so that they can be burned at a very high temperature and thus rendered harmless.
Oft gibt man diesen Sachen den Namen „Sondermüll“.
Often these things are called 'special waste'.
3 words above C1
Grammar in this text
damit-clause with verb-final and infinitive construction
damit man sie bei einer sehr hohen Temperatur verbrennen und damit unschädlich machen kann
The subordinate conjunction 'damit' introduces a purpose clause. The finite verb 'kann' is placed at the very end, preceded by two infinitives ('verbrennen', 'machen'). This is typical for modal verbs in subordinate clauses. The second 'damit' is an adverb meaning 'thereby'.
nicht ... sondern ... (contrast after negation)
gehören nicht in normale Mülltonnen sondern in eine besondere Sammlung
'sondern' links a negated clause to a positive alternative. It is used only when the first part is explicitly negated with 'nicht'. The structure is parallel: 'nicht in ... sondern in ...'.
Ditransitive verb 'geben' with dative and accusative objects
gibt man diesen Sachen den Namen
'geben' takes a dative object (diesen Sachen = 'to these things') and an accusative object (den Namen = 'the name'). In a German sentence, the dative object typically precedes the accusative object when both are nouns.
Preposition 'bei' + Dative for circumstances
bei einer sehr hohen Temperatur
'bei' is used here to express the condition or circumstance under which something happens. It takes the dative case (einer Temperatur). Although 'bei' can be a two-way preposition, in this meaning it is fixed with dative.
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Text from Abfall — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.
Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.