Breakdown of Wir wollten durch die Gasse gehen, aber sie ist zu eng.
sein
to be
sie
she
aber
but
wir
we
zu
too (e.g., too big)
gehen
to go
wollen
to want
durch
through
die Gasse
the alley
eng
narrow / tight
Questions & Answers about Wir wollten durch die Gasse gehen, aber sie ist zu eng.
Why is it durch die Gasse?
The preposition durch (through) always requires the accusative case. Because Gasse (alley) is a feminine noun, the article remains die in the accusative.
Why is gehen at the very end of the first part of the sentence?
This happens because of the modal verb wollten (wanted to). In German, the conjugated modal verb takes the second position in the sentence, and it pushes the main action verb (gehen) in its dictionary form to the very end of the clause.
Why does the second half say sie ist zu eng when the English translation says 'it is too narrow'?
In German, pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they refer to. Since die Gasse is a feminine noun, you must use the feminine pronoun sie to refer back to it, even though alleys are objects and we use 'it' in English.
Does zu mean 'to' in this sentence?
Not here! While zu is often a preposition meaning 'to', when it is placed directly in front of an adjective like eng (narrow), it acts as an adverb meaning 'too'. So zu eng translates to 'too narrow'.
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