Word
Der Wald brannte gestern, aber wir waren in der Lage, ihn zu retten.
Meaning
The forest was burning yesterday, but we were in a position to save it.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der Wald brannte gestern, aber wir waren in der Lage, ihn zu retten.
er
he
aber
but
wir
we
gestern
yesterday
Questions & Answers about Der Wald brannte gestern, aber wir waren in der Lage, ihn zu retten.
How does using in der Lage sein change the tone compared to using the modal verb können?
in der Lage sein (literally 'to be in the position/situation') is a formal, nominal alternative to können. While you could simply say ... aber wir konnten ihn retten, using in der Lage sein elevates the register. It makes the sentence sound more official or written, similar to saying 'we were in a position to' or 'we had the capability to' instead of 'we could' in English.
Why is there a comma before ihn zu retten?
The phrase ihn zu retten is an infinitive clause (zu + infinitive). In German, you must separate an infinitive clause with a comma if it depends on a noun phrase like in der Lage. The comma clearly marks where the main clause ends and the explanation of what you were 'in the position' to do begins.
Why does the sentence use ihn instead of es to mean 'it'?
Pronouns in German must match the grammatical gender of the noun they replace. Since 'the forest' is masculine (der Wald), you must use a masculine pronoun. Because the forest is the direct object being saved by the verb retten, the pronoun takes the accusative case, resulting in ihn.
brannte is the simple past (Präteritum) of brennen. Is this a regular or irregular verb?