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Questions & Answers about Der Sonntag ist ruhig.
Why does the sentence use “Der Sonntag” instead of “Den Sonntag” or “Die Sonntag”?
Der Sonntag is in the nominative case here because it’s the subject of the sentence. The article ”der” matches the masculine gender of Sonntag. For masculine nouns, the nominative article is der, and the accusative article (used for direct objects) is den.
Why do we say “ist ruhig” and not “ist ruhige” or something else?
Ruhig is an adjective that stays in its base form when it follows a linking verb (like sein, meaning “to be”). There’s no need for an ending here because it is functioning as a predicate adjective, describing the subject Sonntag directly.
Is it common in German to capitalize “Sonntag” like that?
Yes, all nouns in German are capitalized. This applies to days of the week (Montag, Dienstag, Sonntag, etc.), as well as other nouns like Haus, Katze, or Baum.
Could I use any other words for “quiet,” like “still” or “leise”?
Yes, you could say Der Sonntag ist still or Der Sonntag ist leise, though each has slightly different nuances. Still often implies silence or peacefulness, while leise focuses more on softness of sound. Ruhig is a good all-purpose word for “quiet” or “calm.”