De lift was te smal voor de kast.

Lift is a de-word in Dutch, so the correct article is de: de lift.

A useful habit is to learn each noun together with its article:

• de lift = the elevator
• de kast = the cupboard / wardrobe / cabinet

For many nouns, especially borrowed words like lift, the article just has to be memorized.

Here te means too, not English to.

So:

• te smal = too narrow

It shows that something exceeds a limit in a negative way.

Compare:

• smal = narrow
• heel smal = very narrow
• te smal = too narrow

So the sentence means the elevator was not just narrow, but more narrow than was acceptable for the wardrobe.

Because smal is used after the verb was, not directly before a noun.

In Dutch, adjectives usually:

• do take an ending when they come before a noun:
  
  • de smalle lift = the narrow elevator
• do not take an ending when they come after verbs like zijn, worden, blijven, etc.:
  
  • de lift was smal = the elevator was narrow

So:

• de smalle lift
• but de lift was smal

The same rule applies in te smal.

Was is the past tense singular of zijn = to be.

So:

• de lift is te smal = the elevator is too narrow
• de lift was te smal = the elevator was too narrow

Because de lift is singular, Dutch uses was, not waren.

Here voor means something like for or for the purpose of fitting.

So te smal voor de kast means:

• too narrow for the wardrobe
• too narrow to accommodate the wardrobe

This use of voor often appears when talking about whether something is suitable, large enough, strong enough, etc.

Examples:

• te zwaar voor de tafel = too heavy for the table
• te moeilijk voor kinderen = too difficult for children
• te klein voor drie mensen = too small for three people

No. Kast is a broad word in Dutch. Depending on context, it can mean:

• cupboard
• cabinet
• closet
• wardrobe

So in this sentence, de kast could be a wardrobe or another large piece of furniture. The exact English translation depends on context.

Yes, it is completely normal.

The sentence follows standard Dutch main-clause word order:

• De lift = subject
• was = finite verb
• te smal voor de kast = rest of the sentence

Dutch main clauses usually put the finite verb in the second position:

• De lift was te smal voor de kast.

That is why was comes right after the subject.

Yes, and that is a very natural alternative.

• De lift was te smal voor de kast.
  Focus: the elevator was too narrow.
• De kast paste niet in de lift.
  Focus: the wardrobe did not fit in the elevator.

Both are correct, but they highlight different things.

Useful verb:

• passen in = to fit in

Past tense:

• passen → paste
• De kast paste niet in de lift.

A rough guide for English speakers:

• smal: the a is like the short vowel in British cat, but not exactly the same
• kast: also has that short a sound

A few pronunciation notes:

• sm at the start of smal is pronounced clearly: sm-
• kast ends with a crisp t
• lift is pronounced very similarly to English lift

If you want to sound natural, keep the vowels short:

• smal, not smaaaal
• kast, not kaast

Yes, very often. This is a very common Dutch pattern:

• te groot = too big
• te klein = too small
• te zwaar = too heavy
• te duur = too expensive
• te laat = too late

So the structure is:

te + adjective + voor + noun

Examples:

• De doos is te zwaar voor mij. = The box is too heavy for me.
• De kamer is te klein voor ons. = The room is too small for us.
• De lift was te smal voor de kast. = The elevator was too narrow for the wardrobe.

Dutch often expresses this idea more directly than English.

English might say:

• The elevator was too narrow for the wardrobe to fit in it.

Dutch can simply say:

• De lift was te smal voor de kast.

The meaning is understood from context: the elevator was too narrow for the wardrobe to go in / fit inside.

So Dutch does not always spell out every part that English might include. The shorter version is natural and idiomatic.