Breakdown of Das Gewicht von diesem Paket ist zu hoch.
sein
to be
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
zu
too (e.g., too big)
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
das Paket
the package
hoch
high
das Gewicht
the weight
Questions & Answers about Das Gewicht von diesem Paket ist zu hoch.
Why does the sentence use von diesem Paket instead of the genitive case?
In everyday spoken German, people often use von plus the dative case instead of the genitive to show possession or belonging. You could absolutely say Das Gewicht dieses Pakets (using the genitive), which means exactly the same thing but sounds a bit more formal and is preferred in written German.
Why is the ending -em used in diesem Paket?
The preposition von always forces the following phrase into the dative case. Because Paket is a neuter noun (das Paket), the word for "this" takes the dative neuter ending -em, resulting in diesem.
Why does it say zu hoch (too high) instead of zu schwer (too heavy)?
It depends on exactly what you are describing. Here, the subject is das Gewicht (the weight). In German, a measurement like weight is described as hoch (high) or niedrig (low). If you wanted to describe the parcel itself rather than its weight, you would use schwer (heavy): Dieses Paket ist zu schwer.
Is the noun Gewicht related to the verb for "to weigh"?
Yes, it comes from the verb wiegen (to weigh). German often creates nouns from verbs by adding a Ge- prefix, sometimes along with a vowel change or a -t at the end. Another great example is packen (to pack) becoming das Gepäck (the luggage).
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