Und Piggeldy fühlte, wie er immer kleiner und kleiner wurde und Frederick immer größer.

And Piggeldy felt that he was becoming smaller and smaller and Frederick bigger and bigger.

Captions 28-29, Piggeldy und Frederick: Sprichwörter

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When we talk about the size, number, or extent of something changing, there are a number of verbs we can use in order to not always just say kleiner werden or größer werden. The German verbs we pick often depend on whether the verb is transitive or intransitive. An intransitive verb doesn't require an object; something is simply happening almost as if on its own. The verbs above, and the verbs in the next examples are intransitive, and you can note that no cause is mentioned that is making the growth happen. 

Der Bedarf an Flugreisen wird mit der Zeit immer größer, und die Anzahl der Flugzeuge wird stark zunehmen.

The need for air travel will increase over time, and the number of planes will rise sharply.

Captions 34-35, Die Welt in der Zukunft: Flugzeuge im Jahr 2050

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Der Anteil der Kinder mit Migrationshintergrund in dieser Gruppe wird ansteigen.

the percentage of children with migration backgrounds in this group will rise.

Caption 9, Angela Merkel: beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat

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banner PLACEHOLDER

If you want to describe humans, animals, or objects that are growing in size, wachsen is quite often the appropriate verb to use. It should be noted that the verb for plants growing is wachsen, but this is only intransitive. If you are growing flowers or vegetables, your activity "to grow something" is etwas anbauen or etwas züchten. 

„Du malst die blauen Blumen, die im grünen Wald wachsen“, sagte Frederick.

“You paint the blue flowers that grow in the green forest," Frederick said.

Caption 17, Piggeldy und Frederick: Malen

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Now let's look at some examples with transitive verbs, in which something is being done by someone. In these sentences, that which is increasing or rising is an object:

Dies hat uns dazu genötigt, unsere Preise stark anzuheben.

This has made it necessary for us to increase our prices significantly.

Caption 20, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Ziel der Aktion: die Attraktivität der Innenstadt erhöhen.

The aim of the campaign: to increase the attractiveness of the city center

Caption 9, Rheinmain im Blick Stadtmomente: Wiesbaden

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Um die Attraktivität der Elektrofahrzeuge zu steigern, wird es ab Mitte zweitausendfünfzehn zwei Dinge geben.

In order to increase the attractiveness of electric vehicles, there will, starting in the middle of two thousand fifteen, be two things.

Captions 5-6, Rhein-Main-TV: Veränderungen für das Autofahrerjahr 2015

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Further Learning

We'll be back soon with a lesson on verbs that describe decreasing, shrinking, and falling. In the meantime, try to make your own sentences with the verbs above or do a search on Yabla.