Breakdown of Das Restaurant ist gut, aber es ist zu teuer.
sein
to be
es
it
gut
good / well
aber
but
teuer
expensive
das Restaurant
the restaurant
zu
too (e.g., too big)
Questions & Answers about Das Restaurant ist gut, aber es ist zu teuer.
Why doesn't aber push the verb to the end, or take up Position 1?
aber is a coordinating conjunction, which means it sits in Position 0. It acts like an invisible link between two separate, complete sentences. Because it takes Position 0, the next word (es) takes Position 1, and the verb (ist) stays right where it normally belongs in Position 2.
Why is there a comma before aber?
In German, you must use a comma to separate two complete sentences when they are joined by aber (but) or denn (because). Conjunctions like und or oder usually do not need a comma when doing the same thing.
Why do we use the pronoun es in the second half of the sentence?
The word es translates to 'it' here. In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since das Restaurant is a neuter noun, we must replace it with the neuter pronoun es.
I thought zu meant 'to'. Why does it mean 'too' here?
The word zu is very common and has multiple meanings! When it is placed directly in front of an adjective like teuer (expensive), it means 'too' or 'excessively'. When it is used with a place or destination, it usually means 'to'.
Learn Das Restaurant ist gut, aber es ist zu teuer and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free