Breakdown of Nach der Arbeit waren die Pendler zwar müde, aber glücklich.
sein
to be
aber
but
glücklich
happy
müde
tired
die Arbeit
the work
nach
after (in time)
zwar
admittedly
der Pendler
the commuter
Questions & Answers about Nach der Arbeit waren die Pendler zwar müde, aber glücklich.
How does the zwar ... aber structure work here?
zwar ... aber translates to 'admittedly ... but' or 'it is true that ... but'. It sets up a contrast. In this sentence, it connects the adjectives müde (tired) and glücklich (happy) to emphasize that despite being tired, the commuters were still happy.
Why is zwar placed right before müde?
The word zwar is usually placed directly in front of the specific idea that is being conceded or contrasted. Since the contrast in this sentence is specifically between the two states of being tired and happy, zwar belongs right before müde.
Why does the sentence say waren die Pendler instead of die Pendler waren?
This is because of the German verb-second rule. The sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Nach der Arbeit (After work), which takes up the first position. The verb waren must be in the second position, so the subject die Pendler gets pushed to the third position.
Why is there a comma before aber when it just connects two words?
Unlike in English, German punctuation rules require a comma before the conjunction aber (but), even if it is only connecting two adjectives like müde and glücklich rather than two full clauses.
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