Breakdown of Es gilt, jede kranke Rebe im Weinberg sorgfältig auszusortieren.
es
it
krank
sick
jeder
everyone / each
im
in the (used with months) / in the (contraction of in + dem)
zu
to (infinitive marker)
aussortieren
to sort out
es gilt, ... zu
it is necessary to (in 'es gilt, ... zu')
der Weinberg
the vineyard
sorgfältig
careful (meticulous, thorough)
die Rebe
the vine
Questions & Answers about Es gilt, jede kranke Rebe im Weinberg sorgfältig auszusortieren.
How does the structure es gilt, ... zu work in this sentence?
The impersonal phrase es gilt expresses a necessity or a challenge. While gelten usually means "to be valid," the construction es gilt, ... zu + infinitive is a more formal, elegant way of saying "it is necessary to," "the task is to," or "one must." Here, it sets up the obligation to sort out the sick vines.
Why does kranke end in -e in the phrase jede kranke Rebe?
The word jede (every) functions grammatically like a definite article (like die). Because Rebe is feminine and in the accusative case (it is the direct object being sorted out), the adjective following the article takes the "weak" ending -e.
Why is the word zu placed in the middle of auszusortieren?
Aussortieren (to sort out) is a separable verb, made of the prefix aus- and the core verb sortieren. In infinitive clauses that require zu (like the es gilt structure in this sentence), the zu is always sandwiched between the separable prefix and the main verb, and the whole thing is written together as a single word.
Since sorting is an active process, why is it im Weinberg (dative) and not in den Weinberg (accusative)?
In is a two-way preposition. You use the accusative case when describing movement towards a new destination ("where to?"), but the dative case for a fixed location ("where?"). Even though sorting involves physical action, the action takes place entirely within the boundaries of the vineyard, so it requires the dative im (short for in dem).
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