Reading · C1 · Text 20

Pyramide

39 words1 min read90% known at C1

Zweitens gibt es einen einfachen Grund dafür, Pyramiden zu bauen.

Secondly, there is a simple reason for building pyramids.

Früher war es schwierig, ein hohes Gebäude zu bauen, weil man noch keinen Beton oder moderne Geräte hatte.

In the past, it was difficult to build a tall building because people did not yet have concrete or modern equipment.

Eine Pyramide hat den Vorteil, dass sie stabil und beständig ist.

A pyramid has the advantage of being stable and durable.

2 words above C1

bauen
to build
Zweitens← zweitens
secondly capitalized at sentence start; lowercase in mid-sentence

Grammar in this text

Verb-final word order in subordinate clauses

dass sie stabil und beständig ist

In clauses introduced by the subordinating conjunction 'dass', the finite verb is placed at the very end.

Infinitive clause with zu

ein hohes Gebäude zu bauen

An infinitive preceded by 'zu' can function as a noun clause. It often appears after certain adjectives or nouns, and is set off by a comma.

Anticipatory es

Früher war es schwierig, ein hohes Gebäude zu bauen

The pronoun 'es' acts as a placeholder for the infinitive clause that follows. It anticipates the real subject, which comes later.

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Same text, graded forC2 version

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

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