Formal connectives and genitive prepositions

Every connective in this lesson could be replaced by weil, obwohl or mit. That is not the point. Each of them says something more specific, and a reader of formal German takes that specificity seriously.

zumal is the most useful of these and the least known. It does not introduce a reason; it introduces a further one that the writer considers decisive. Whatever follows zumal is meant to settle the matter.

• Die Maßnahme ist problematisch, zumal ihre Wirkung unklar ist.

  The measure is problematic, all the more so as its effect is unclear.

  the clincher, added to reasons already given

• Wenngleich die Ergebnisse positiv wirken, bleiben Fragen offen.

  Although the results appear positive, questions remain.

  obwohl in a suit; verb goes to the end exactly the same way

• Ungeachtet der Kritik wurde das Projekt fortgesetzt.

  Regardless of the criticism, the project was continued.

  a preposition, not a conjunction: genitive, no verb of its own

• Mangels ausreichender Daten lässt sich keine eindeutige Aussage treffen.

  For want of sufficient data, no clear statement can be made.

  the cause is specifically an absence

• Anhand der Ergebnisse lässt sich erkennen, dass die Wirkung gering ist.

  On the basis of the results it can be seen that the effect is small.

  evidence you reason from

Know which are conjunctions and which are prepositions. zumal, wenngleich, insofern als, sofern introduce a clause and send the verb to the end. ungeachtet, mangels, mithilfe, anhand, zwecks take a noun in the genitive and no verb at all.

insofern als is the precision instrument of academic German: it grants a claim in one respect only. Die Kritik ist berechtigt, insofern als sie die Kosten betrifft — correct about the costs, and by implication not about the rest.

• Die Kritik ist berechtigt, insofern als sie die Kosten betrifft.

  The criticism is justified insofar as it concerns the costs.

  valid in this respect — and quietly, not beyond it

• Sofern die Frist eingehalten wird, entstehen keine Zusatzkosten.

  Provided the deadline is met, no additional costs arise.

  a condition with a whiff of contract

• Sofern nicht ausdrücklich widersprochen wird, gilt die Regelung weiter.

  Unless explicit objection is raised, the rule continues to apply.

• Mithilfe eines einfachen Modells lassen sich die Daten erklären.

  With the help of a simple model, the data can be explained.

anhand vs mithilfe: anhand is what you read the answer from (evidence, data, examples); mithilfe is what you use to get there (a tool, a method, a model).

zwecks is worth recognising and rarely worth writing. It belongs to administrative German — zwecks Überprüfung der Angaben — and in ordinary formal prose zur Überprüfung or um … zu reads better.