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Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen.

Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen.
The library is closed today.
FromLesson 38inHardcore German
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Breakdown of Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen.

sein
to be
heute
today
die Bibliothek
the library
geschlossen
closed

Questions & Answers about Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen.

Why is the article die used before Bibliothek, and what gender is Bibliothek?
German nouns have grammatical gender: masculine (der), feminine (die) or neuter (das). Bibliothek (library) is feminine, so it takes the feminine definite article die in the nominative singular.
Why is heute positioned between the verb ist and geschlossen?

In German main clauses, the finite verb occupies the second position, and time expressions usually follow immediately after the verb (or after the subject if the verb is first). In Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen, the order is:

  1. Subject (Die Bibliothek)
  2. Verb (ist)
  3. Time (heute)
  4. Predicate (geschlossen)
Is geschlossen an adjective or a verb form here?
Geschlossen is originally the past participle of the verb schließen (to close). In this sentence it functions as a predicative adjective describing the state of the library, hence the combination sein (ist) + geschlossen.
Why doesn’t geschlossen carry an adjective ending in this sentence?
Predicative adjectives (i.e., those used after a linking verb like sein) are not declined in German. Only attributive adjectives (directly modifying a noun before it) take endings.
Is this sentence an example of the passive voice?
No. Although you see the past participle geschlossen, it’s not a true passive because it’s not formed with werden and doesn’t emphasize an action being done. It simply states a condition: The library is closed.
How do I turn this into a question meaning Is the library closed today?

For a yes/no question you invert the subject and the verb. So you get: Ist die Bibliothek heute geschlossen?

How would I say The library is not closed today or The library is open today?

To negate “closed” you can say: Die Bibliothek ist heute nicht geschlossen.
However, Germans often use the opposite adjective offen (open) and simply say: Die Bibliothek ist heute offen.

Could I say Die Bibliothek hat heute geschlossen instead of ist geschlossen?

No, because hat geschlossen would be the perfect tense of schließen (i.e. has closed, meaning the library performed the action of closing). To describe the present state you use ist geschlossen. That said, you use perfect with hat when specifying when it closed, for example: Die Bibliothek hat um 18 Uhr geschlossen (meaning it closed at 6 pm).

Can I use zu instead of geschlossen to say it’s closed?
In colloquial speech about small shops or restaurants you might hear zu: Der Laden ist zu. For formal announcements of public institutions, geschlossen is the standard choice: Die Bibliothek ist heute geschlossen.

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