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Breakdown of Die Kaffeemaschine ist sogar sehr leise.
sein
to be
sehr
very
leise
quiet
die Kaffeemaschine
the coffee machine
sogar
even
Questions & Answers about Die Kaffeemaschine ist sogar sehr leise.
What does the word bolded as sogar add compared with auch?
- auch = also/too (simple addition, no surprise)
- sogar = even (signals something is beyond expectation or surprisingly true)
Examples:
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist auch leise. = The coffee machine is quiet too (in addition to others).
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist sogar leise. = Even the coffee machine is quiet (unexpected!).
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist sogar sehr leise. = It’s not only quiet; it’s even very quiet.
Where can I put sogar in the sentence, and does the position change the emphasis?
Common and natural options:
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist sogar sehr leise. Focus on degree: not just quiet—surprisingly very quiet.
- Sogar die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr leise. Focus on the subject: even the coffee machine (maybe other things are quiet too).
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr leise, sogar. Afterthought/colloquial emphasis.
Avoid: Die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr sogar leise. (unnatural; don’t split sehr leise)
Remember the verb-second rule if you front something: Sogar die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr leise. (ist stays in the second position of the clause.)
What exactly does sehr do here, and can I leave it out?
- sehr intensifies the adjective: sehr leise = very quiet.
- You can omit it: Die Kaffeemaschine ist leise.
- Alternatives:
- Weaker: ziemlich/recht leise (quite/rather quiet)
- Stronger: wirklich/äußerst/unglaublich leise (really/extremely/incredibly quiet)
- ganz leise can mean “very quiet” in everyday speech, but in careful style it can suggest “completely quiet,” which a running machine rarely is.
Why is leise lowercase and without an ending?
- Adjectives are lowercase in German unless part of a noun.
- After sein (to be), adjectives are used predicatively and do not take endings: Die Kaffeemaschine ist leise.
- With a noun (attributive use), the adjective takes an ending: eine leise Kaffeemaschine, die leise Kaffeemaschine, mit einer leisen Kaffeemaschine.
Why is it die Kaffeemaschine and not der/das?
- Kaffeemaschine is feminine, so in the nominative singular it takes die.
- Here it’s the subject, so nominative is required.
- Indefinite option: Eine Kaffeemaschine ist …
- Other cases:
- Accusative: Ich reinige die Kaffeemaschine.
- Dative: mit der Kaffeemaschine, an der Kaffeemaschine
Can I start the sentence with sogar?
Yes: Sogar die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr leise. This puts special emphasis on the subject. The finite verb ist remains in second position (verb-second rule).
How do I say “even quieter” in German?
Use noch with the comparative: noch leiser.
- Die neue Kaffeemaschine ist noch leiser (als die alte).
You can use sogar with a comparative to add surprise, but it doesn’t replace noch:
- Die neue Kaffeemaschine ist sogar leiser als die alte. (Surprisingly, it’s quieter than the old one.)
How do I negate this idea, especially the “even” part?
The natural negative counterpart to sogar is nicht einmal (or colloquial nicht mal):
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist nicht einmal leise. = It isn’t even quiet. Other useful negations:
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist nicht sehr leise. = It isn’t very quiet.
- Die Kaffeemaschine ist gar nicht leise. = It’s not quiet at all. Avoid nicht sogar in this context; it’s rarely appropriate.
What’s the difference between leise, ruhig, and still?
- leise: low volume/quiet in sound. Best choice for machines: Die Kaffeemaschine ist leise.
- ruhig: calm/unagitated; for machines it can mean runs smoothly (few vibrations): Die Maschine läuft ruhig.
- still: silent/no sound at all: Im Zimmer ist es still. For a working machine, still usually implies it’s turned off.
Can I use selbst instead of sogar?
Often yes, with similar meaning to “even”:
- Selbst die Kaffeemaschine ist sehr leise. But note:
- selbst can also mean “-self” (as in ich selbst = I myself), so it can be ambiguous in some positions. sogar is unambiguous as “even.”
Why is Kaffeemaschine written as one word?
German typically writes compound nouns together: Kaffee + Maschine → Kaffeemaschine. A hyphen (Kaffee-Maschine) is acceptable for readability but the standard dictionary form is the closed compound Kaffeemaschine.
How would this look in the plural?
Plural noun and plural verb:
- Die Kaffeemaschinen sind sogar sehr leise.
Is sogar sehr redundant?
No. sogar marks the unexpectedness (“even”), while sehr marks a high degree (“very”). Together, sogar sehr leise means “surprisingly very quiet,” which is a natural and common combination.
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