Breakdown of Dieser Satz ist zu lang.
sein
to be
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
zu
too (e.g., too big)
lang
long
der Satz
the sentence
Questions & Answers about Dieser Satz ist zu lang.
Why is it Dieser and not Dieses or Diese?
Satz (sentence) is a masculine noun (der Satz), and it is the subject of this sentence (nominative case). Therefore, the demonstrative pronoun takes the masculine nominative ending -er, making it Dieser.
Why doesn't the adjective lang have an ending like langer?
In German, adjectives only take endings when they come directly before a noun, like in ein langer Satz (a long sentence). When an adjective comes after a linking verb like ist (is), it acts as a predicate adjective and remains in its basic, uninflected form.
zu usually means "to". How do I know it means "too" here?
While zu is a very common preposition meaning "to", it changes its job when placed directly before an adjective or adverb. In front of lang, it acts as an adverb of degree meaning "too" or "excessively".
Since the current lesson is about the relative pronoun was, how would I add a clause saying ", which annoys me" to this sentence?
You would add a comma followed by was, which sends the conjugated verb to the end of the clause: Dieser Satz ist zu lang, was mich ärgert. Here, was doesn't point to a specific noun, but refers back to the entire preceding fact that the sentence is too long.
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