Breakdown of Ihre Lösung ist so klar wie unsere, Frau Becker.
sein
to be
die Lösung
the solution
klar
clear
Ihr
your
so
as
wie
as
unsere
ours
Frau Becker
Ms. Becker
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Ihre Lösung ist so klar wie unsere, Frau Becker.
Does Ihre here mean "your," "her," or "their"?
Because it’s capitalized and we’re directly addressing Frau Becker, it’s the formal “your.” Lowercase ihre would mean “her” or “their” depending on context. In standard German, the polite forms Sie/Ihnen/Ihr(e) are capitalized in direct address.
What case are Ihre Lösung and unsere?
- Ihre Lösung is the subject in the nominative case.
- unsere is a predicate nominative after ist and stands for unsere Lösung.
Both are nominative, and because Lösung is feminine, you see the -e ending on Ihre/unsere.
Why is it unsere and not unser?
Because it agrees with an implied feminine, nominative singular noun (Lösung). For feminine nominative singular, the possessive takes -e: unsere.
What exactly does the standalone unsere mean?
It’s a possessive pronoun meaning “ours”, with the noun Lösung left out: Ihre Lösung ist so klar wie (unsere Lösung).
Could I also say die unsere instead of just unsere?
Yes: Ihre Lösung ist so klar wie die unsere is correct and a bit more formal/contrastive. You may also see the rarer/old-fashioned die unsrige.
How does the so … wie construction work?
It expresses equality: so + adjective + wie = as + adjective + as. Here, so klar wie means “as clear as.” For a stronger emphasis you can add genauso: genauso klar wie.
Can I omit so and say … klar wie …?
In set similes (e.g., klar wie Glas) Germans often drop so. In neutral comparisons of equality like this one, keep so: so klar wie is the standard choice.
If I want to say “clearer than ours,” what changes?
Use the comparative with als: Ihre Lösung ist klarer als unsere. (Not wie after a comparative in standard German.)
Why is there a comma before Frau Becker?
It marks direct address (Anrede). Vocatives are set off by commas: …, Frau Becker. If placed elsewhere, you’d write Frau Becker, Ihre Lösung … or Ihre Lösung, Frau Becker, ist ….
Why is Lösung feminine?
Nouns ending in -ung are (almost) always feminine. So it’s die Lösung.
Why isn’t there an article before Lösung (why not die Ihre Lösung)?
German typically uses only one determiner per noun. The possessive determiner Ihre already fills that slot, so you don’t add die. (By contrast, die unsere is fine because unsere is a standalone pronoun there.)
Could Ihre be ambiguous if the direct address wasn’t there?
Yes. At the start of a sentence Ihre is capitalized anyway, so without context it could be formal “your” or 3rd‑person “her/their.” Context (or an explicit addressee like Frau Becker) resolves it.
How would this look informally?
- To one friend: Deine Lösung ist so klar wie unsere, Anna.
- To a group informally: Eure Lösung ist so klar wie unsere, Leute.
- Formal to one person or many stays the same: Ihre Lösung …, Frau/Herr …