Reading · C1 · Text 31
Zahnrad
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.
Grammar in this text
Correlative conjunctions 'je...desto'
Je höher der Gang, desto schneller kann er fahren.
This structure expresses a proportional relationship: the more one thing happens, the more another happens. It consists of 'je' + comparative clause (with verb at the end) followed by 'desto' + comparative clause (with verb in second position).
Subordinate clause with 'je nachdem'
Je nachdem, welchen Gang er wählt, kann er unterschiedlich schnell fahren.
'Je nachdem' introduces a dependent clause that means 'depending on' and is followed by a question word (here 'welchen'). The verb in the subordinate clause goes to the end, and the main clause follows with the verb in second position.
Modal verb 'kann' with infinitive
kann er unterschiedlich schnell fahren
The modal verb 'können' is used to express ability or possibility. It is conjugated in second position, and the main verb appears as an infinitive at the end of the clause.
Keep going
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.