Basic evaluation, size, and difficulty | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Das ist sehr gut.

   This is very good.

   Das ist

   this is

   sehr

   very

   gut

   good

   More detail

   Das ist means “this is” here. Das is a demonstrative pronoun functioning as the subject, and ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The phrase can introduce an identification or evaluation: Das ist neu. — “This is new.” The specific thing referred to by das is not identified in the supplied sentence. sehr strengthens the following description. It means “very” and normally comes before the adjective it intensifies: sehr klein — “very small.” gut is the adjective “good.” Its basic comparison pattern is gut — “good,” besser — “better,” am besten — “best.” In this sentence, gut describes the subject after ist; it is not inflected for the singular subject here. Together, Das ist + sehr + gut gives “This is very good.” The sentence evaluates the referent of das as very good. The full pattern is reusable as Das ist sehr + adjective, for example, Das ist sehr wichtig. — “This is very important.”

2. Das ist nicht gut.

   That is not good.

   Das

   that

   ist

   is

   nicht

   not

   gut

   good

   More detail

   Das is a demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. It is the nominative singular neuter form, but the sentence does not identify the specific thing it refers to. In other contexts, das can have other grammatical roles, so its function must be determined from the sentence. ist is the present-tense third-person singular form of sein, “to be.” The useful pattern is Das ist ... = “That is ...” or “This is ...,” with the exact demonstrative meaning determined by context. nicht is the standard word for negating the following evaluation here. With a predicate adjective, nicht gut means “not good.” Example: Das ist nicht groß. — “That is not big.” gut is the adjective “good.” After sein, it is used predicatively and has no ending in this sentence. Its comparison forms are besser (“better”) and am besten (“best”): Das ist besser. — “That is better.” Together, Das ist nicht gut. means “That is not good.” The structure is demonstrative pronoun + sein + nicht + adjective; nicht reverses the positive evaluation expressed by gut.

3. Das ist zu groß.

   This is too big.

   Das

   this

   ist

   is

   zu

   too

   groß

   big

   More detail

   Das means “this” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun: it points to something identified by the situation, but the supplied sentence does not specify exactly what that thing is. Do not confuse it with dass, which introduces a subordinate clause. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. The form agrees with the singular subject expressed by Das. In a sentence such as Das ist neu., the same pattern means “This is new.” zu means “too” before an adjective when a quality exceeds a suitable or intended degree. Here it modifies groß, so zu groß means “too big,” not merely “big.” groß means “big” or “large” here. It is an adjective used after ist, so it describes the subject without an adjective ending. Its comparison forms are groß (big), größer (bigger), and am größten (biggest). For example: Das Haus ist größer. — “The house is bigger.” Together, Das ist zu groß. follows the reusable pattern Das ist zu + adjective: “This is too + adjective.” The complete meaning is “This is too big.”

4. Das ist zu klein.

   This is too small.

   Das ist

   This is

   zu klein

   too small

   More detail

   Das ist means “This is.” Here das is a demonstrative pronoun used as the subject; its exact referent is not identified by the supplied sentence. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. The same pattern can introduce a description: Das ist einfach. — “This is easy.” zu klein means “too small.” klein is the adjective “small”; zu placed before an adjective marks an excessive degree, so zu klein means “smaller than is suitable or wanted,” not merely “small.” The comparison forms are klein (small), kleiner (smaller), and am kleinsten (smallest). Example: Der Schuh ist zu klein. — “The shoe is too small.” Together, Das ist + zu klein forms the complete statement “This is too small.”

5. Es ist sehr einfach.

   It is very easy.

   Es ist

   It is

   sehr

   very

   einfach

   easy

   More detail

   Es ist means “it is” here. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”): sein → ist. Es is a third-person singular pronoun; this sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. Together, Es ist introduces a description with a predicative adjective. Example: Das ist neu. — “That is new.” sehr means “very” and intensifies the adjective that follows. It does not mean “many” or “much” in this construction. Pattern: sehr + adjective. Example: Sie ist sehr freundlich. — “She is very friendly.” einfach means “easy” here. It is the basic, uninflected form of the adjective after sein; with sein, the adjective does not take an attributive ending. Its comparison is einfach — einfacher — am einfachsten (“easy” — “easier” — “easiest”). In the supplied next sentence, schwierig (“difficult”) provides a contrasting description. Example: Die Aufgabe ist einfach. — “The task is easy.” The structure is Es ist + sehr + einfach: “It is” + “very” + “easy.” Thus the complete utterance says that the relevant situation or thing is very easy, without specifying a more precise referent for es.

6. Es ist sehr schwierig.

   It is very difficult.

   Es ist

   It is

   sehr

   very

   schwierig

   difficult

   More detail

   Es ist is a reusable way to say “it is” or “it’s.” ist is the present-tense form of sein (“to be”) for er, sie, and es. Here, es is the grammatical subject required by the sentence; the utterance does not identify a separate concrete referent for it. Example: Es ist spät. — “It is late.” sehr means “very” and normally intensifies the adjective that follows it. Example: Das ist sehr gut. — “That is very good.” schwierig means “difficult” or “hard.” It is an adjective; its comparison forms are schwieriger (“more difficult”) and am schwierigsten (“the most difficult”). Its useful opposite here is einfach (“easy” or “simple”), as in the preceding sentence. Example: Die Aufgabe ist schwierig. — “The task is difficult.” Together, Es ist + sehr + schwierig gives Es ist sehr schwierig. — “It is very difficult.” The pattern Es ist sehr + adjective can be reused with other adjectives, such as Es ist sehr wichtig. — “It is very important.”