Known first, new last
Every sentence has a Thema (theme), the part that connects to what came before, and a Rhema (rheme), the new information. In German the theme usually stands in position one and the rheme towards the end. A text flows when the rheme of one sentence becomes the theme of the next.
The same facts, two paragraphs
Every sentence starts fresh
Die Stadt hat eine Fahrradstraße eingerichtet. Der Autoverkehr ist um ein Drittel gesunken. Der Lärm hat auch abgenommen.
The city set up a cycle street. Car traffic has fallen by a third. The noise has gone down too.
correct, but three loose statements
Each sentence picks up the last
Die Stadt hat eine Fahrradstraße eingerichtet. Seitdem ist der Autoverkehr um ein Drittel gesunken. Mit dem Verkehr hat auch der Lärm abgenommen.
The city set up a cycle street. Since then, car traffic has fallen by a third. Along with the traffic, the noise has gone down.
each opening links back
Summary nouns: dieser Umstand
Formal German often sums up a whole previous sentence in one noun with dieser and makes it the theme of the next: dieser Umstand, diese Entwicklung, diese Maßnahme, dieses Vorgehen. English does the same with this development, but German uses it more and prefers a precise noun to a bare das.
Viele Fachkräfte wandern ab. Dieser Umstand erklärt den Personalmangel in den Kliniken.
Many skilled workers are leaving. This explains the staff shortage in the hospitals.
Die Preise für Solarmodule sind stark gefallen. Diese Entwicklung hat den Ausbau beschleunigt.
Prices for solar panels have dropped sharply. This development has sped up expansion.
Das Team will die Software selbst entwickeln. Dies zu tun würde jedoch Monate dauern.
The team wants to develop the software itself. Doing so, however, would take months.
dies zu tun: English doing so
dieser, Ersteres and Letzteres
A personal pronoun like er tends to refer back to the subject of the previous sentence. When you mean the last-named person or thing and not the subject, use dieser, which points to the nearest candidate. With two items, Ersterer and Letzterer pick them out, like English the former and the latter.
er or dieser
Der Minister traf den Botschafter. Er sprach von einem guten Gespräch.
The minister met the ambassador. He spoke of a good conversation.
er: most readers take it to be the minister
Der Minister traf den Botschafter. Dieser sprach von einem guten Gespräch.
The minister met the ambassador. The latter spoke of a good conversation.
dieser: the ambassador, the last one named
Ersterer and Letzterer take adjective endings and agree with the noun they replace. For a whole statement or idea, use the neuter: Ersteres, Letzteres.
Gefragt wurden Mieter und Eigentümer. Letztere waren deutlich zufriedener.
Tenants and owners were asked. The latter were clearly more satisfied.
plural, agreeing with Eigentümer
Man kann das Projekt verschieben oder das Budget erhöhen. Letzteres ist politisch schwer durchzusetzen.
You can postpone the project or increase the budget. The latter is politically hard to push through.
neuter for an action
