Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig.

The hotel is modern and quiet.

Breakdown of Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig.

• sein: to be
• und: and
• ruhig: quiet
• modern: modern
• das Hotel: the hotel

Questions & Answers about Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig.

Why is das used before Hotel instead of der or die?

In German every noun has one of three genders: masculine, feminine or neuter. Hotel is a neuter noun, so its definite article in the nominative case is das. Many borrowed words ending in -el (like Hotel) are neuter.

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Why don’t modern and ruhig take any adjective endings here?

In this sentence both adjectives follow the verb sein (to be). Such predicate adjectives remain in their base form (no endings) because they describe the subject rather than directly modify it.
Example:

• Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig.
  If you used them attributively (directly before the noun), they would need endings:
• ein modernes und ruhiges Hotel

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Why does the verb ist appear in the second position instead of at the end?

German main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: the finite verb must be the second element in the sentence. Here the first element is Das Hotel, so the verb ist comes immediately after.

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Do I need a comma before und when listing adjectives?

No. When linking adjectives (or any two equal elements) with the conjunction und, you do not use a comma. You could write either:

• Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig.
  If you drop und and simply list them, you would separate with a comma:
• Das Hotel ist modern, ruhig.

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Can I switch the order to ruhig und modern, and does the meaning change?

Yes, you can say ruhig und modern instead of modern und ruhig. The basic meaning (“quiet and modern”) stays the same. Changing the order can slightly shift which quality you emphasize first, but both versions are perfectly natural.

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How would I say “a modern and quiet hotel” using an indefinite article and attributive adjectives?

You must inflect the adjectives because they come directly before the noun without a strong article. The correct phrase is:
 ein modernes und ruhiges Hotel

Breakdown:

• ein (indefinite article, neuter, nominative)
• modern → modernes (weak/strong mixed ending)
• ruhig → ruhiges
• Hotel (neuter noun)

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How do I pronounce Das Hotel ist modern und ruhig?

Approximate pronunciation guide:

• Das → [dɑs] (like “dahs”)
• Hotel → [hoˈtɛl] (ho-TELL, emphasize second syllable)
• ist → [ɪst] (short “i” as in “bit”)
• modern → [moˈdɛʁn] (mo-DERN, the “r” is a soft German r)
• und → [ʊnt] (like “oont”)
• ruhig → [ˈʁuːɪç] (ROO-ikh, the final “ch” is a soft German fricative)
  Put it together with even stress on ist and und slightly reduced:
  “dahs ho-TELL ist mo-DERN oont ROO-ikh.”