Breakdown of Die Lücke und die Trauer sind groß, aber die Zeit wird den Schmerz schon heilen.
sein
to be
und
and
groß
big / tall
aber
but
die Zeit
the time
werden
will (future auxiliary)
der Schmerz
the pain
heilen
to heal
schon
(reassurance/impatience) surely, come on
die Lücke
the gap (empty space / missing piece)
die Trauer
the grief
Questions & Answers about Die Lücke und die Trauer sind groß, aber die Zeit wird den Schmerz schon heilen.
How can we apply this lesson's topic (vermögen + zu) to the second half of the sentence?
You could change it to aber die Zeit vermag den Schmerz schon zu heilen (but time is able to heal the pain). Notice how the verb vermögen requires the word zu before the infinitive heilen, unlike the future tense auxiliary wird which connects directly to the bare infinitive.
Doesn't schon usually mean "already"? What is it doing in this sentence?
While it often means "already", here schon acts as a modal particle. It adds a comforting, reassuring tone of confidence, meaning something like "surely", "eventually", or "no doubt". It signals the speaker's firm belief that the healing will happen.
Why is the word Lücke (gap) used in the context of mourning?
Just like in English, German uses the concept of a "void" or "gap" to describe the feeling of loss when someone passes away. The phrase eine Lücke hinterlassen (to leave a gap) is very common in condolences, so die Lücke here refers to that specific emotional emptiness.
Could we just use the present tense instead of the future wird ... heilen?
Yes, because German frequently uses the present tense for future events, you could naturally say die Zeit heilt den Schmerz schon. However, using the actual future tense (wird + infinitive) sounds slightly more formal and poetic here, emphasizing the promise that healing is a process stretching into the future.
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