Der Garten ist heute still.

The garden is quiet today.

Breakdown of Der Garten ist heute still.

• sein: to be
• heute: today
• der Garten: the garden
• still: calm

Questions & Answers about Der Garten ist heute still.

What does still mean here? Is it the same as English still (as in “yet”)?

In this sentence, still is an adjective meaning quiet, silent, calm.

• Der Garten ist heute still. = The garden is quiet today.
• It does not mean “still” in the English sense of yet / continuing.
• For “still” in the sense of “yet / continuing”, German usually uses noch or immer noch:
  • Der Garten ist noch still. = The garden is still (continuing to be) quiet.
  • Der Garten ist immer noch still. = The garden is still quiet.

Why is the article der used with Garten?

Garten is a masculine noun in German, so in the nominative case (for the subject of the sentence) it takes the article der.

• Masculine, nominative singular: der Garten
• Feminine, nominative singular: die Blume
• Neuter, nominative singular: das Haus

Here, Der Garten is the subject of the sentence, so it must be in the nominative case, and the correct article is der.

What case is Garten in, and how can I tell?

Garten is in the nominative case.

You can tell because:

1. Der Garten is the subject – it is the thing that is quiet.
2. The verb ist (3rd person singular) agrees with Der Garten.
3. The article der in front of a masculine noun is nominative; in other cases it would change:
   • Nominative: der Garten (subject)
   • Accusative: den Garten (direct object)
   • Dative: dem Garten (indirect object)
   • Genitive: des Gartens (possession)

So in Der Garten ist heute still., Der Garten must be nominative.

Why doesn’t still have an ending like stille or stiller in this sentence?

Because still is used as a predicate adjective here, not as an adjective directly before a noun.

• After sein, werden, bleiben, etc., adjectives normally do not take endings:
  • Der Garten ist still.
  • Die Kinder sind laut.
  • Das Wetter bleibt schön.

When the adjective is directly before a noun, it usually does take an ending:

• der stille Garten = the quiet garden
• ein stiller Garten
• die stillen Gärten

So:

• Der Garten ist still. (no ending after ist)
• Der stille Garten ist heute leer. (ending because stille is before Garten)

Why is it Der Garten ist heute still and not Der Garten ist still heute?

Both Der Garten ist heute still and Der Garten ist still heute are grammatically possible, but:

• Der Garten ist heute still. sounds more natural and neutral.
• heute is an adverb of time, and in German time expressions usually come earlier in the sentence than other information like manner, place, etc.

A common guideline is: Time – Manner – Place.

Here:

• heute = time
• still = manner/state

So Der Garten ist heute still follows the usual preference and is the normal choice in everyday German. Der Garten ist still heute might sound a bit unusual or specially emphasized.

Can I also say Heute ist der Garten still? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, Heute ist der Garten still. is also correct.

The difference is mostly in emphasis:

• Der Garten ist heute still.
  Neutral statement, slight emphasis on the garden.
• Heute ist der Garten still.
  Emphasis on today – for example, compared to other days when it is not quiet.

In both sentences, the verb ist still appears in second position, which is a key rule in German main clauses:

• Position 1: Der Garten / Heute
• Position 2: ist
• Rest: heute still / der Garten still

What is the difference between still and ruhig?

Both can be translated as quiet, but they have different nuances:

• still

  • Focus on silence or almost no sound.
  • Der Garten ist heute still. – You hardly hear anything; very peaceful, almost silent.
  • Can sometimes have a slightly poetic or emotional tone.

• ruhig

  • Focus more on calmness / not hectic / not noisy, but some normal sounds can be present.
  • Der Garten ist heute ruhig. – It is calm, not busy; you might still hear birds, wind, etc.
  • Also used with people: Sei bitte ruhig. (Be quiet / calm.)

So still is usually quieter than ruhig and closer to silent.

How would I say “The gardens are quiet today” in German?

You would use the plural of Garten:

• Die Gärten sind heute still.

Notes:

• Plural article: die
• Plural of Garten is Gärten (with an Umlaut ä).
• The verb changes to plural: sind instead of ist.
• The adjective still still has no ending here, because it is a predicate adjective after sein:
  • Die Gärten sind still.

How do you pronounce Garten, heute, and still?

Approximate standard German pronunciation:

• Garten

  • IPA: [ˈɡaʁ.tn̩] (or [ˈɡaʁ.tən])
  • Gar like gar in garden but shorter; r is a uvular German r; ten is unstressed and very short.

• heute

  • IPA: [ˈhɔʏ.tə]
  • heu sounds a bit like hoy (as in Spanish hoy);
  • te like te in temple, but shorter and with a schwa sound [tə].

• still

  • IPA: [ʃtɪl]
  • Initial st at the beginning of a word in standard German is pronounced sht.
  • So still sounds roughly like shtill (with a short i, like in English sit).

If I want to say “The garden is still quiet today” (continuing to be quiet), how do I say that?

Then you need the adverb noch (or immer noch) to express still (continuing):

• Der Garten ist heute noch still.
  = The garden is still quiet today. (He was quiet before, and he remains quiet.)

• Der Garten ist heute immer noch still.
  = The garden is still (even now) quiet today.

Without noch or immer noch, Der Garten ist heute still. is just a simple description of today; it does not explicitly say that this state is continuing from before.

Why do we use ist and not sein in this sentence?

sein is the infinitive form (to be). In a real sentence, you must use a conjugated form that matches the subject.

• Subject: der Garten → 3rd person singular, present tense
• Correct conjugation of sein for 3rd person singular: ist

A brief present-tense overview:

• ich bin – I am
• du bist – you are (informal singular)
• er / sie / es ist – he / she / it is
• wir sind – we are
• ihr seid – you are (informal plural)
• sie / Sie sind – they are / you are (formal)

So here we must say: Der Garten ist heute still., not Der Garten sein heute still.

How can I make the sentence stronger, like “The garden is very quiet today”?

You can add an adverb in front of still:

• Der Garten ist heute sehr still. – The garden is very quiet today.
• Der Garten ist heute ganz still. – The garden is completely / totally quiet today.
• Der Garten ist heute ungewöhnlich still. – The garden is unusually quiet today.

The word order stays the same:

• Subject: Der Garten
• Verb: ist
• Time: heute
• Degree adverb + adjective: sehr still / ganz still / ungewöhnlich still