Breakdown of Dieses Kleid ist sehr teuer!
sein
to be
sehr
very
teuer
expensive
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
Questions & Answers about Dieses Kleid ist sehr teuer!
Why does the word for "this" end in -es (Dieses) here?
Dieses is the specific word for "this" when talking about neuter nouns like das Kleid (the dress). Since it is the subject of the sentence, it takes the neuter -es ending. If the word were masculine like der Pullover (the sweater), you would use Dieser.
Can I use Das instead of Dieses to mean "this" dress?
Yes! In everyday spoken German, people often use the regular "the" words (der, die, das) to mean "this" or "that". You could simply say Das Kleid ist sehr teuer! and put strong vocal stress on the word Das. However, using Dieses is a bit stronger and specifically points out this exact dress.
Why doesn't the word teuer (expensive) have an ending to match the neuter dress?
In German, adjectives only take matching endings when they come directly in front of a noun. Because teuer comes after the verb ist (is), it stays in its plain dictionary form without any extra letters.
I always forget how to pronounce sehr (very). Is the letter 'h' silent?
Yes, the 'h' is silent! In German, when an 'h' comes directly after a vowel, its only job is to stretch that vowel out to make a longer sound. So sehr sounds a lot like the English word "zair".