Breakdown of Man darf die Trauben nicht lagern, sondern es gilt, sie rasch zu pressen.
es
it
sie
they
nicht
not
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
man
one / you (impersonal)
die Traube
the grape
zu
to (infinitive marker)
sondern
but rather
es gilt, ... zu
it is necessary to (in 'es gilt, ... zu')
rasch
swift
pressen
to press (squeeze, compress)
lagern
to store
Questions & Answers about Man darf die Trauben nicht lagern, sondern es gilt, sie rasch zu pressen.
How does the phrase "es gilt, ... zu" work to show obligation here?
The expression es gilt, ... zu followed by an infinitive is a formal, impersonal way of expressing a requirement or priority. It translates well to "it is necessary to...", "the task at hand is to...", or "it is important to...". In this sentence, it shows that the immediate priority is to press the grapes quickly, without assigning a specific person to the task.
Why is "darf ... nicht" translated as "must not" rather than "do not have to"?
This is a classic trap for English speakers! In German, the verb dürfen means "to be allowed to." Therefore, nicht dürfen means you are not allowed to do something, which equals the English "must not." If you wanted to say "one doesn't have to store the grapes" (meaning it's optional), you would use man muss nicht or man braucht nicht.
Why does the sentence use "sondern" instead of "aber" for "rather/but"?
sondern is required because it contradicts and corrects a preceding negative statement. The first half of the sentence tells us what we must not do (nicht lagern). Whenever you say "not X, but rather Y," German uses sondern to introduce the correct alternative.
Why is there a comma after "gilt"?
The comma separates the main clause (es gilt) from the extended infinitive clause (sie rasch zu pressen). In German, when an infinitive with zu is expanded with objects or adverbs—in this case, the object sie and the adverb rasch—it forms an infinitive group that is typically set off by a comma for clarity.
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