Breakdown of Dieser Edelstein ist teuer, aber jener ist lupenrein.
sein
to be
aber
but
teuer
expensive
dieser
this / that (fem.: diese, neut.: dieses)
der Edelstein
the gemstone
jener
that (m)
lupenrein
flawless (diamonds, gemstones)
Questions & Answers about Dieser Edelstein ist teuer, aber jener ist lupenrein.
Why do we use jener here instead of just pointing with der or der da?
While you will often hear native speakers use der or der da to mean "that one" in everyday speech, jener is the formal counterpart to dieser (this). It perfectly sets up a direct, elevated contrast between two specific things: "this one here" versus "that one there."
Why does jener end in -er in this sentence?
It takes the masculine nominative ending because it acts as a standalone pronoun replacing jener Edelstein (that gemstone). Since der Edelstein is masculine and is the subject of the second clause, the pronoun takes the strong -er ending.
Lupenrein translates to "flawless," but what does it literally mean?
It literally means "magnifying-glass-pure" (die Lupe + rein). It is the technical term for a flawless diamond or gemstone, but you can also use it metaphorically to describe a perfect alibi (ein lupenreines Alibi) or someone's impeccable character.
Why doesn't the verb ist come immediately after aber?
Aber belongs to a small group of coordinating conjunctions (along with und, oder, denn, and sondern) that occupy "position zero" in a sentence. This means it does not count towards the word order, so the subject jener takes position one, and the verb ist stays in its normal position two.
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