Der Herbst ist kühl, aber oft sehr schön.

to be

Breakdown of Der Herbst ist kühl, aber oft sehr schön.

• oft: often
• aber: but
• sehr: very

Questions & Answers about Der Herbst ist kühl, aber oft sehr schön.

Why is Herbst capitalized?

In German, all nouns are capitalized. Since Herbst (autumn) is a noun, it must start with a capital letter.

Why is the definite article der used before Herbst? Could we say Herbst ist kühl?

Unlike English (“Spring is nice”), German seasons normally take the definite article when they act as a subject. Saying Der Herbst ist kühl is the standard way to personify the season. Dropping der and saying Herbst ist kühl sounds unnatural. If you want a weather statement, you’d usually switch to Im Herbst ist es kühl (“In autumn it’s cool”).

Why is there no ending on the adjective kühl?

Here kühl follows the verb sein as a predicative adjective (it describes the subject rather than directly modifying a noun). Predicative adjectives in German remain uninflected, so they appear in their base form.

Why is there a comma before aber?

In German, coordinate conjunctions like aber (“but”) require a comma when they link clauses or major sentence parts. The comma signals a clear break before the contrasting idea.

Why do we not repeat ist before oft sehr schön?