Breakdown of Es war kein harmloser Irrtum, der das Problem verursacht hat, sondern der Neid.
sein
to be
es
it
haben
to have
kein
no, not any
das Problem
the problem
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
sondern
but rather
verursachen
to cause
harmlos
harmless
der Irrtum
the error
der Neid
the envy
Questions & Answers about Es war kein harmloser Irrtum, der das Problem verursacht hat, sondern der Neid.
How does the cleft sentence structure Es war... change the emphasis here?
This is a cleft sentence (Spaltsatz). Instead of just saying Kein harmloser Irrtum hat das Problem verursacht, breaking it into two parts with Es war... puts a heavy spotlight on the specific thing being denied. This structure is perfect for setting up the strong contrast that follows.
Why is der used right after the comma?
That der is a relative pronoun referring back to Irrtum (mistake). In cleft sentences, the second part is formed as a relative clause. Since Irrtum is a masculine noun and acts as the subject of the action (the mistake caused the problem), the pronoun must be in the nominative case: der.
Why does the adjective harmloser end in -er in this sentence?
It is in the masculine nominative case. The word kein belongs to the ein-word family, which takes no ending in the masculine nominative. Because the article lacks a case marker, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting and take the strong ending -er.
Why do we use sondern here instead of aber for "but"?
You use sondern (but rather) to contradict and replace a negative statement. The first part of the sentence explicitly denies something using kein, and sondern introduces the true cause. If you used aber, it would sound like adding a completely separate contrasting thought rather than directly correcting the first one.
What case is der Neid in at the very end of the sentence?
It is in the nominative case. When you link two noun phrases with sondern, they share the same grammatical role in the sentence. Der Neid is the direct alternative to kein harmloser Irrtum, which is in the nominative case because it follows the linking verb war (was).
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