Breakdown of Die Rebe ist sehr alt, und es gilt, sie gut zu pflegen.
sein
to be
sie
she
es
it
und
and
sehr
very
gut
good / well
alt
old
zu
to (infinitive marker)
pflegen
to care for
es gilt, ... zu
it is necessary to (in 'es gilt, ... zu')
die Rebe
the vine
Questions & Answers about Die Rebe ist sehr alt, und es gilt, sie gut zu pflegen.
How does es gilt, ... zu work to express obligation here?
The phrase es gilt combined with a zu-infinitive (zu pflegen) is a slightly formal way to express "it is necessary to" or "the task at hand is to." It emphasizes an objective necessity or a shared goal rather than giving a direct command to a specific person.
Could I just say ... und man muss sie gut pflegen instead?
Yes, using müssen is grammatically correct and means essentially the same thing. However, es gilt elevates the tone. It is commonly used in writing, journalism, or formal contexts to make a necessity sound more like an important objective than a strict, everyday rule.
Why is the pronoun sie used to mean "it" when referring to the vine?
German pronouns must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Because the word for vine is feminine (die Rebe), you must use the feminine pronoun sie (in the accusative case here) to say "care for it," even though English uses a neutral pronoun.
Why is there a comma before sie gut zu pflegen?
The phrase sie gut zu pflegen is an extended infinitive clause, meaning it contains a zu-infinitive along with other elements (the object sie and the adverb gut). In German, you use a comma to separate these longer infinitive phrases from the main clause, especially when they depend on introductory phrases like es gilt.
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