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Questions & Answers about Das Foto ist wunderschön.
Why does "Foto" use the neuter article "das"?
Many modern nouns borrowed from other languages into German are neuter. Because Foto is a shortened loan word, it takes the das article.
What does the "wunder-" part of "wunderschön" do?
It acts as an intensifier. While schön means "beautiful", adding wunder- (which means "wonder" or "miracle") turns it into "wonderfully beautiful" or "gorgeous".
Since "Foto" is a "das" word, why doesn't the adjective have an ending, like "wunderschönes"?
In German, adjectives only take extra endings (like -es) when they are placed right before the noun they describe (for example, das wunderschöne Foto). Because wunderschön comes after the verb ist, it stays in its basic, unchanged dictionary form.
Could I just say "Das Foto ist sehr schön" instead?
Absolutely! sehr schön means "very beautiful", which has almost the exact same meaning. Using wunderschön just sounds a bit more expressive, similar to saying something is "gorgeous" rather than "very pretty".