Questions & Answers about Das ist die richtige Antwort.
Das here is a demonstrative pronoun meaning roughly “this” or “that.”
It is:
- Neuter singular by default. In German, when you make general statements like “This is X” / “That is X,” you usually use das as a kind of neutral “this/that,” regardless of the gender of the noun that follows.
- Often used in the pattern Das ist + noun phrase to identify or classify something:
- Das ist mein Bruder. – “This/That is my brother.”
- Das ist die richtige Antwort. – “This/That is the correct answer.”
So das here does not have to match the gender of Antwort (which is feminine). It’s just the standard pronoun for such identification sentences.
Because Antwort is feminine in German: die Antwort (fem. noun).
In this sentence, die richtige Antwort is in the nominative case, because it is the predicate noun after ist (“to be”). Feminine singular nominative with a definite article is die:
- Masculine nominative: der Mann
- Neuter nominative: das Buch
- Feminine nominative: die Antwort
- Plural nominative: die Antworten
So you must say die richtige Antwort, not der richtige Antwort.
In German, adjectives before a noun usually take an ending that depends on:
- The article (definite, indefinite, or none),
- The gender, number, and case of the noun.
Here:
- Article: die (definite article)
- Noun: Antwort (feminine)
- Case: nominative
- Number: singular
After the definite article die in the nominative feminine singular, the adjective ending is -e.
So you get:
- die richtige Antwort – “the correct answer”
If there were no article, the ending would be different:
- richtige Antwort – “correct answer” (in a general sense, but usually you’d still have some determiner like die, eine, meine, etc.)
With Antwort (feminine), using the definite article, the adjective richtig- behaves like this:
- Nominative singular:
- die richtige Antwort – the correct answer (subject / predicate)
- Accusative singular:
- die richtige Antwort – I know the correct answer. (Ich kenne die richtige Antwort.)
- Dative singular:
- mit der richtigen Antwort – with the correct answer
- Genitive singular:
- wegen der richtigen Antwort – because of the correct answer
Plural (all genders) with definite article:
- Nominative plural: die richtigen Antworten
- Accusative plural: die richtigen Antworten
- Dative plural: mit den richtigen Antworten
- Genitive plural: der richtigen Antworten
In all these forms, richtig- takes endings (-e, -en) that agree with the article, gender, number, and case.
All nouns in German are capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence.
Antwort is a noun (like “answer”), so it must be written Antwort, never antwort.
This rule applies to:
- Concrete nouns: Haus, Tisch, Hund
- Abstract nouns: Antwort, Liebe, Hoffnung
- Nouns formed from verbs/adjectives: das Lesen, die Schönheit
Normally, no. In standard German, you generally need an article or some determiner with countable singular nouns.
So:
- Das ist die richtige Antwort. – correct and natural.
- Das ist richtige Antwort. – sounds wrong/foreign in normal German.
Exceptions where the article is dropped are usually:
- Fixed expressions: zu Hause, in Eile
- Predicate nouns in some idiomatic phrases like Er ist Arzt (“He is a doctor”), but not with a specific attribute like richtige in this context.
Here you are referring to a specific “right answer”; German wants the definite article: die richtige Antwort.
Die richtige Antwort ist das is grammatically possible, but sounds unusual in everyday speech and slightly awkward.
Natural patterns are:
- Das ist die richtige Antwort. – very common.
- Die Antwort ist richtig. – “The answer is correct.”
Die richtige Antwort ist das might be used only in some very specific emphasis or contrast, but for normal use, stick to:
- Das ist die richtige Antwort.
Both can translate to “The answer is correct,” but there is a nuance:
Das ist die richtige Antwort.
- Focus: Identifies which of several options is the right answer.
- Typical in multiple-choice or pointing situations:
- (Pointing) Das ist die richtige Antwort. – “That one is the right answer.”
Die Antwort ist richtig.
- Focus: Evaluates the answer’s correctness in general.
- You’ve been given an answer; you comment:
- Deine Antwort ist richtig. – “Your answer is correct.”
So Das ist… is more about identifying one, Die Antwort ist… is more about describing/evaluating.
Both das and es can appear in sentences with sein (“to be”), but they’re used differently:
Das ist die richtige Antwort.
- das = “this/that,” pointing to or referring to something specific (an option, a solution, etc.).
- Very natural when you identify something in context.
Es ist die richtige Antwort.
- Grammatically possible, but less common and often feels incomplete or context-dependent.
- es usually acts as a “dummy” subject (“it”) or refers back to something previously mentioned in a less pointed way.
For choosing the correct option in front of you, Das ist die richtige Antwort is the standard and best-sounding version.
For the plural, you need plural verb and plural forms:
- Das sind die richtigen Antworten.
Breakdown:
- Das – still used as a demonstrative, but now with plural sense (“those”).
- sind – plural of ist.
- die richtigen Antworten – plural:
- die – plural definite article (for all genders).
- richtigen – adjective in plural after definite article → -en ending.
- Antworten – plural of Antwort.
So singular: Das ist die richtige Antwort.
Plural: Das sind die richtigen Antworten.