Breakdown of Es ist nicht die Entscheidung der alten Partei, sondern des neuen Parlaments.
sein
to be
es
it
nicht
not
alt
old
neu
new
die Entscheidung
the decision
sondern
but rather
das Parlament
the parliament
die Partei
the party (political)
Questions & Answers about Es ist nicht die Entscheidung der alten Partei, sondern des neuen Parlaments.
Why do both adjectives (alten and neuen) end in "-en"?
In the Genitive case, after a definite article like der or des, the adjective always takes the -en ending. This rule applies regardless of whether the noun is masculine, feminine, neuter, or plural.
Why is it der alten Partei if Partei is a feminine word? Doesn't der mean masculine?
Partei is indeed feminine (die Partei). In the Genitive case, the feminine definite article die changes to der. So, der alten Partei shows possession, meaning of the old party.
Why does Parlaments have an "s" at the end?
Masculine and neuter nouns usually add an -s or -es to the end of the word in the Genitive case. Since Parlament is a neuter noun (das Parlament), it becomes des neuen Parlaments. Feminine nouns like Partei do not get this extra letter.
Why use sondern here instead of aber for the word "but"?
Sondern is used to mean "but rather" when you are directly contradicting a negative statement. Because the first part of the sentence has nicht (not), we use sondern to introduce the correct alternative.
Is there a word missing after sondern?
The phrase die Entscheidung (the decision) is implied here. Just like in English, we can skip repeating it to avoid sounding clunky. The full thought is ...sondern die Entscheidung des neuen Parlaments.
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