Breakdown of Es ist schade, dass ich das Abo kündigen muss.
ich
I
sein
to be
es
it
müssen
to have to, must
dass
that
schade
a pity / too bad
kündigen
to resign / to fire / to cancel (a contract/subscription)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
das Abo
the subscription
Questions & Answers about Es ist schade, dass ich das Abo kündigen muss.
Why does muss come right after kündigen at the very end of the sentence?
Because of the word dass (that). The word dass starts a subordinate clause, which acts like a magnet pulling the conjugated verb (muss) to the very end of the sentence. Normally, you would say Ich muss das Abo kündigen, but here muss gets pushed past the infinitive verb kündigen.
Is Abo a complete word, or is it short for something?
It is the extremely common short form of das Abonnement (the subscription). Just like English speakers might say sub instead of subscription, Germans almost exclusively use the short form das Abo in everyday conversation. Because it is a noun, it is always capitalized.
Does schade mean the exact same thing as sad or bad?
Not quite. Schade specifically means a pity or a shame. When you say es ist schade, you are expressing mild regret or disappointment. If you want to say something is genuinely sad, you would use traurig, and for bad you would use schlecht.
This lesson is about using ab (starting at) for future events. Where would I put it in this sentence if I wanted to say starting next month?
You would normally place your ab time phrase right after the object. For example, you could say Es ist schade, dass ich das Abo ab nächstem Monat kündigen muss. This perfectly uses ab to show exactly when the cancellation takes effect in the future!
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