Breakdown of Der Lärm im Zug war furchtbar laut.
sein
to be
in
in
der Zug
the train
laut
loud, loudly
der Lärm
the noise
furchtbar
dreadful
Questions & Answers about Der Lärm im Zug war furchtbar laut.
This lesson is about -bar meaning passive possibility (like machbar). Does furchtbar mean "can be feared"?
Not exactly. When -bar is added to a verb stem, it usually means something can be done (like lesbar for readable). But furchtbar is built from the noun die Furcht (fear). Instead of a literal "able to be feared", it simply translates to the adjective "terrible" or "awful".
Why is furchtbar used right next to laut without any grammatical ending?
Here, furchtbar is acting as an adverb modifying the adjective laut. Just like in English where you say "terribly loud" instead of "terrible loud", German uses the base form of the word to amplify the adjective next to it. Adverbs in German do not take endings.
Why does the sentence use im Zug (in the train) when the English translation says "on the train"?
English uses "on" for large vehicles like trains and buses, but German is more literal about being enclosed inside the physical space, so it uses in. Since the location is stationary (answering the question "where?"), in triggers the dative case. The preposition in plus the article dem contracts to im.
Can furchtbar be used as an intensifier for positive things too?
Yes! Just like "terribly" or "awfully" in English, furchtbar is heavily used in colloquial German as an extreme intensifier, even for good things. It is very common to hear native speakers say someone is furchtbar nett (awfully nice) or that a meal was furchtbar lecker (terribly delicious).
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