Breakdown of Es ist sehr dunkel dafür, dass bald Sonnenaufgang ist.
sein
to be
es
it
sehr
very
dunkel
dark
dass
that
dafür
for it
bald
soon
der Sonnenaufgang
the sunrise
Questions & Answers about Es ist sehr dunkel dafür, dass bald Sonnenaufgang ist.
What exactly does dafür, dass mean in this context?
The combination dafür, dass is a common and native-sounding way to say 'considering that' or 'for the fact that'. You use it to express a contrast or something that goes against expectations. Here, it highlights that the extreme darkness is surprising given how close it is to sunrise.
Why is the comma placed between dafür and dass rather than before dafür?
The word dafür is a pronominal adverb that belongs to the first half of the sentence (Es ist sehr dunkel dafür). It acts as a grammatical placeholder pointing forward to the specific reason. The comma must go immediately before dass to separate the main clause from the subordinate clause.
Why is there no article before Sonnenaufgang? Shouldn't it be dass bald der Sonnenaufgang ist?
When referring to times of day, meals, or daily transitions like sunrise and sunset with the verb sein, German often drops the definite article. This is similar to English: just as you say 'It is midnight' instead of 'It is the midnight', you can simply say Es ist Sonnenaufgang.
If I wanted to emphasize the approaching sunrise, could I start the sentence with the dafür, dass part?
Yes, you can move the entire subordinate clause to the front for emphasis. The sentence would become: Dafür, dass bald Sonnenaufgang ist, ist es sehr dunkel. Notice that the main clause then starts with the verb ist, because the entire dafür, dass block takes up the first position in the sentence.
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