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Das Museum ist heute kostenlos.

Das Museum ist heute kostenlos.
The museum is free today.
FromLesson 23inHardcore German
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Breakdown of Das Museum ist heute kostenlos.

sein
to be
heute
today
das Museum
the museum
kostenlos
free

Questions & Answers about Das Museum ist heute kostenlos.

Why do we use das before Museum?
Das is the neuter definite article in German. Every noun has a gender (masculine, feminine or neuter). Museum is neuter, so its nominative singular article is das, which marks it as the subject of the sentence.
Why is kostenlos not inflected (no -e, -er, etc.)?
When an adjective follows a form of sein (to be) and functions as a predicate adjective, it remains in its base form without any endings. That’s why we simply say ist kostenlos rather than ist kostenlose or similar.
Why is heute placed between ist and kostenlos?
Heute is an adverb of time. In German main clauses, adverbs of time typically occupy the “Mittelfeld” (middle field), often right after the verb in simple sentences. So the order here is Subject (Das Museum) – Verb (ist) – Adverb of time (heute) – Predicate (kostenlos).
Could we start with Heute and still say the same thing?

Yes. If you front heute, you must keep the verb in second position. That gives:
Heute ist das Museum kostenlos.
This puts slight emphasis on “today.”

What’s the difference between kostenlos, gratis and umsonst?

All three mean “free (of charge).”
• kostenlos – the most formal/common in announcements.
• gratis – Latin loanword, slightly more formal or promotional.
• umsonst – colloquial; can also mean “in vain” depending on context.

Why isn’t Museum capitalized as museum?
In German, all nouns are capitalized. Museum is a noun, so it must start with a capital letter. Lowercase museum would be incorrect.
Why don’t we say “The museum costs nothing today” or something with kosten?

You could express it that way using kosten:
Der Eintritt kostet heute nichts.
(“Admission costs nothing today.”)
But Das Museum ist heute kostenlos uses the verb sein plus a predicate adjective kostenlos, which is a very common, concise way to say “The museum is free today.”

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