Breakdown of Er ist zu jung für eine Zigarette.
sein
to be
zu
too (e.g., too big)
für
for
jung
young
die Zigarette
the cigarette
Questions & Answers about Er ist zu jung für eine Zigarette.
The current lesson is about the "um ... zu" structure. Why isn't there an "um ... zu" in this sentence?
Because this sentence pairs the excessive adjective (zu jung) with a noun phrase (für eine Zigarette) instead of an action. If you wanted to express this with a verb, you would use the lesson's target structure: Er ist zu jung, um eine Zigarette zu rauchen (He is too young to smoke a cigarette).
Which case is "eine Zigarette" in here, and why?
It is in the accusative case. The preposition für always requires the accusative case. Because Zigarette is a feminine noun, its accusative article (eine) looks exactly the same as it does in the nominative case.
The word "zu" has several meanings in German. How do we know it means "too" here?
When zu is placed directly in front of an adjective, like in zu jung or zu teuer, it always translates to "too" and expresses an excessive degree. This is a different function from when it acts as a preposition meaning "to" (like zur Arbeit) or before an infinitive verb (like um ... zu rauchen).
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