Breakdown of Es ist wahr, dass er Gluten nicht verträgt.
sein
to be
er
he
es
it
nicht
not
dass
that
wahr
true
vertragen
to tolerate (physically, e.g. food or medicine)
das Gluten
the gluten
Questions & Answers about Es ist wahr, dass er Gluten nicht verträgt.
Why is nicht placed right before verträgt instead of earlier in the sentence?
When you negate an entire action (the fact that he tolerates it), nicht normally wants to go to the very end of the clause. However, because this is a dass clause, the conjugated verb verträgt has already taken the final spot. Therefore, nicht gets pushed to the position immediately before the verb.
Could I put nicht before Gluten (...dass er nicht Gluten verträgt)?
If you put nicht directly in front of a specific noun, you are negating only that noun (implying he tolerates something else, but not gluten). By putting nicht after the direct object Gluten and right before the verb, you are negating the whole action of tolerating. Note: if you wanted to say he eats 'no gluten' at all as a quantity, you could also use kein Gluten.
Why is verträgt at the very end of the sentence anyway?
The word dass (that) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it introduces a dependent clause and forces the conjugated verb (verträgt) to jump from its usual second position to the very end of that clause.
What is the base form of verträgt?
The infinitive is vertragen (to tolerate or to stomach). It is a strong verb, which is why its vowel changes in the 'he/she/it' form (adding an umlaut to become verträgt). It is exactly the verb you need when talking about medical or food intolerances in German.
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