Learn Hardcore German: Letzte Woche war die Bibliothek geschlossen.

Because the event is in the past. War is the simple past (Präteritum) of sein. German commonly uses the simple past with sein even in speech: Letzte Woche war ... (not ist ... gewesen).

Why does war come before die Bibliothek?

German main clauses are verb-second. If you put something (here: Letzte Woche) in first position, the finite verb (war) must be in second, and the subject (die Bibliothek) follows it.

Can I also say Die Bibliothek war letzte Woche geschlossen?

Yes. Time phrases can appear at the beginning or later in the sentence. Neutral/default is often subject–verb–time: Die Bibliothek war letzte Woche geschlossen. … war geschlossen letzte Woche is possible but more colloquial/emphatic.

What case is Letzte Woche?

It functions as a temporal adverbial. Many grammars analyze such bare time expressions as accusative of time, but with feminine nouns the nominative/accusative look the same (letzte), so you don’t see a form change. Article omission is normal in these time expressions.

Why Letzte and not Letzten?

Because Woche is feminine singular. With no article, the strong ending for feminine nominative/accusative is -e: letzte Woche. You see -en with masculine accusative: letzten Montag.

Can I say in der letzten Woche instead of letzte Woche?

Yes. It’s a bit more formal or precise; in takes the dative here: in der letzten Woche. Meaning is essentially the same.

What’s the difference between war geschlossen and wurde geschlossen?

war geschlossen = state passive: “was in a closed state.”
wurde geschlossen = event passive: “was closed (got closed) [by someone/authority]” — it describes the closing event.

Can I say Die Bibliothek hat geschlossen or hatte geschlossen?

Yes, but that describes the closing event (like “closed for the day”), not the state. hat geschlossen = “has closed/closed,” often seen on signs (Wir haben geschlossen). hatte geschlossen is past perfect (“had closed”) used in narratives.

Is ist geschlossen gewesen wrong?

Not wrong, but it sounds stiff or overly formal in most contexts. For a past state, Germans strongly prefer war geschlossen.

Why is geschlossen not geschlossene here?

After sein, adjectives/participles are predicative and not declined: war geschlossen. You only add endings when the adjective comes before a noun: die geschlossene Bibliothek.

What gender is Bibliothek, and how can I tell?

It’s feminine: die Bibliothek. Many nouns ending in -thek are feminine (die Bibliothek, die Diskothek, die Mediathek, die Videothek).

How do I pronounce the tricky parts?

letzte: z sounds like “ts,” so roughly “LET-stə.”
Bibliothek: say “biblio-TEEK”; the th is just a plain t in German.
geschlossen: sch = “sh,” short o, and ss as in “hiss.”

Why are Woche and Bibliothek capitalized but letzte and geschlossen are not?

All nouns are capitalized in German (Woche, Bibliothek). Adjectives and verbs are not, unless they start the sentence.

Why is it geschlossen with ss, not geschloßen with ß?

After a short vowel, German uses ss; after a long vowel or diphthong, ß. The o in geschlossen is short, so it’s ss.

How would this look in a subordinate clause?

The finite verb goes to the end: …, dass die Bibliothek letzte Woche geschlossen war.

How do I negate it?

Place nicht before the predicate adjective or near the end:

Letzte Woche war die Bibliothek nicht geschlossen.
Die Bibliothek war letzte Woche nicht geschlossen.

Are there synonyms for letzte Woche?

Yes: vorige Woche, vergangene Woche, and the more formal in der vergangenen Woche. All mean “last week,” with minor style differences.

Can I say Die Bibliothek war zu?

Yes, colloquially/regional (especially in northern/colloquial speech). In neutral/formal contexts, prefer geschlossen.

Any regional differences regarding war vs perfect forms?

Spoken southern German often favors the perfect for many verbs, but sein commonly appears in simple past across regions. Die Bibliothek war … sounds natural everywhere.