Breakdown of Diese Hose ist zu klein.
sein
to be
klein
small
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
die Hose
the pants / the trousers
zu
too (e.g., too big)
Questions & Answers about Diese Hose ist zu klein.
Why does the German sentence use ist (is) when the English translation says 'These pants are'?
In English, words like 'pants' or 'trousers' are plural. In German, a pair of pants is a single, feminine item: die Hose. Because it is singular, we use the singular verb ist and the singular demonstrative diese (this).
Why is the word for 'these' spelled diese here instead of dieser or dieses?
The demonstrative pronoun changes its ending to match the gender of the noun it points to. Since Hose is a feminine noun, we use the feminine ending -e for the subject of the sentence, making it diese.
Doesn't zu usually mean 'to'? Why does it mean 'too' here?
The word zu is very flexible. While it often means 'to' when talking about directions, when it is placed directly in front of an adjective like klein (small), it translates to 'too' (meaning excessively).
Should klein have an -e at the end to match the feminine noun Hose?
No, because klein comes after the verb ist. In German, adjectives only take gender endings when they are placed directly in front of a noun. When they come after the verb to describe the subject, they stay in their basic, unchanged dictionary form.
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