Breakdown of Die Vertretung soll streng sein. Stattdessen ist sie nett.
sein
to be
sie
she
sollen
should / ought to
streng
strict
nett
nice
stattdessen
instead
die Vertretung
the substitute
Questions & Answers about Die Vertretung soll streng sein. Stattdessen ist sie nett.
Why does the verb ist come before the subject sie in the second sentence?
Stattdessen (instead) is an adverbial connector. When an adverb takes up the first position in a German sentence, the conjugated verb must immediately follow it in the second position (V2 word order). This pushes the subject into the third position, resulting in Stattdessen (1) + ist (2) + sie (3).
Why is soll translated as 'is said to be' instead of 'should'?
This is the subjective use of the modal verb sollen. While you learned it earlier as 'should' (giving advice or obligations), it is also commonly used to report rumors, hearsay, or what other people claim. Die Vertretung soll streng sein means that according to others, the substitute is supposedly strict.
Could I use statt instead of stattdessen in the second sentence?
No, because they function differently. Statt (instead of) is a preposition that requires a noun object or an infinitive clause, such as statt der Lehrerin (instead of the teacher). Stattdessen (instead) is an adverb that stands on its own and connects two independent sentences, pointing back to an idea already mentioned.
If the substitute teacher were a man, would we change sie to er in the second sentence?
Grammatically, you still use sie. The pronoun must match the grammatical gender of the noun it refers to. Since die Vertretung (the substitute/replacement) is a feminine noun, you must refer back to it with the feminine pronoun sie, regardless of the actual gender of the person.
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