A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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12/8/2017
meaning, given that English lacks the clarity of that hyphen. You may need to write
out each compound in English.
Unit: 9: Passive voice
6. Pronoun es Referring to Clauses
Both German and English sometimes use the neuter pronoun "it" or es without
referring to any specific noun in the surrounding text, but German expands that
usage beyond the needs of English. In particular, German will use es to refer to an
entire clause, particularly as a way to tie together clauses within a complex
sentence, and especially when German syntax "inconveniently" wants a verbal
subject or object. In the next example, es is referring forward to the entire daß
clause, as a way of satisfying the German desire to have a properly located direct
object for the verb ansehen:
Ich sehe es als unser Versagen an, daß diese alten Leute so arm sind.
I see the fact that these old people are so poor as our failure.
In the next sentence, es refers forward to the daß clause, so that the verb stören
can have a grammatical subject, and to obey the German rule that the verb must
be in second position (as covered in Unit 1, section 9):
Es störte Ingrid, daß er sein Zimmer nicht zuerst aufräumte.
It bothered Ingrid that he didn’t first tidy up his room.
[or:] The fact that he didn’t first tidy up his room bothered Ingrid.
How you translate such uses of es may vary: first you must understand its function
in the German sentence, and that should guide you to an English expression of the
same meaning.
Unit: 9: Passive voice
7. More Prefixes and Suffixes
WORD FORMATION
These sections of the textbook help improve your speed during the skimming phase
of reading and help you gradually build vocabulary.