Is the following sentence correct and do we need a definite article before "Lösung" in it:
Die Bevölkerung traut der Regierung Lösung aller Probleme zu.
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1 Answer
The sentence is wrong, a definite article before »Lösung« is missing. This is the correct sentence:
Die Bevölkerung traut der Regierung die Lösung aller Probleme zu.
answered Mar 3, 2022 at 5:49
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Thank you! Could you please elaborate in which scenarios the definite article is left out? Mar 3, 2022 at 5:56
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@D_Lernender: Leaving out a definite article means to replace it by a null article. So, it ceases being definite if you leave it out. For details see german.stackexchange.com/a/40061/1487 (written in German language). For English answers search for "null article". Mar 3, 2022 at 7:07
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The indefinite article is also possible (at least in quite similar examples, e. g. eine Lösung für die Rentenfinanzierung), especially since there may exist more than one solution. In plural the absence of an article is legal (as written in the linked answer).– guidot ♦Mar 3, 2022 at 11:40
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@guidot: But it is not »Lösung für die Rentenfinanzierung«. It's »Lösung aller Probleme«. And »Die Bevölkerung traut der Regierung eine Lösung aller Probleme zu.« does not work. This works: »Die Bevölkerung traut der Regierung eine Lösung für alle Probleme zu.« But this was not topic of the question. Mar 3, 2022 at 14:26
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Another situation where definite articles are left out is in so-called Telegrammstil, for example in newspaper headlines: "Bevölkerung traut Regierung Lösung aller Probleme zu." Mar 3, 2022 at 18:42