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Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.

Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.
The tie goes well with the suit.
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Questions & Answers about Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.

Why is it Die Krawatte and not something else?

Krawatte is a feminine noun in German.

  • Singular definite article for feminine nouns in the nominative case is die.
  • So die Krawatte = the tie.

You simply have to memorize the gender:

  • die Krawatte (feminine)
  • der Anzug (masculine)

In this sentence, die Krawatte is the subject, so it takes the nominative case with die.

What does the verb passen mean here, and who is doing what to whom?

In this sentence, passen means to go well (together), to match, to suit.

  • Die Krawatte = subject (the thing that does the matching)
  • passt = matches / goes well
  • (gut) zum Anzug = what it matches with

So the structure is:

  • etwas passt (gut) zu etwas
    • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.
    • The tie goes well with the suit.

There is no direct object in the accusative here. The second thing is introduced by zu in the dative.

Why is it passt and not passe or passen?

Passen is a regular verb. Its present tense conjugation is:

  • ich passe
  • du passt
  • er/sie/es passt
  • wir passen
  • ihr passt
  • sie/Sie passen

The subject is die Krawatte (3rd person singular), so you must use passt:

  • Die Krawatte passt …
  • Der Anzug passt …
  • Es passt …
What does zum mean, and why isn’t it zu dem?

Zum is a contraction of zu dem:

  • zu (to, with) + dem (dative masculine / neuter article) → zum

Since Anzug is masculine:

  • der Anzug (nominative)
  • dem Anzug (dative)

The preposition zu always takes the dative case, so you get:

  • zu dem Anzug → contracted to → zum Anzug
  • literally: to the suit, idiomatically: with the suit / with that suit
What case is dem/ zum Anzug, and why?

Zum Anzug is dative.

Reason: the preposition zu always governs the dative case.

  • Masculine noun: der Anzug
    • Nominative: der Anzug
    • Dative: dem Anzug

With zu:

  • zu dem Anzug (dative)
  • contracted: zum Anzug

So zum Anzug is simply zu + dative.

Could I say Die Krawatte passt gut zu dem Anzug instead of zum Anzug?

Yes. Grammatically, both are correct:

  • Die Krawatte passt gut zu dem Anzug.
  • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.

In normal spoken and written German, the contraction zum is much more common and sounds more natural. Zu dem is a bit more emphatic or formal, or used if you especially want to stress dem (that specific suit).

Why is it zu and not mit (like mit dem Anzug)?

Both are possible, but they have different nuances:

  • passen zu = to go well with, to match (in style, color, etc.)

    • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.
    • The tie matches the suit well.

  • mit

    • dative = simply “with”, together with

    • Die Krawatte sieht gut mit dem Anzug aus.
    • The tie looks good with the suit.

In practice:

  • If you want to express matching / going together, use passen zu.
  • If you just want to say two things appear together, you might use mit, often with verbs like aussehen, tragen, etc.
Where does gut go in this sentence, and could I move it?

In neutral word order, adverbs like gut usually go after the verb and before the rest of the information:

  • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.

You could move gut for emphasis:

  • Die Krawatte passt zum Anzug gut. – possible, but a bit marked; stresses gut.
  • Die Krawatte passt sehr gut zum Anzug. – very natural; sehr gut stays together before zum Anzug.

Basic guideline:
Verb – (adverb like gut) – prepositional phrase

So the original sentence is the most natural version.

Can I leave out gut and just say Die Krawatte passt zum Anzug?

Yes, that is perfectly correct:

  • Die Krawatte passt zum Anzug.
    • The tie matches the suit.

Adding gut just makes it more positive:

  • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.
    • The tie matches the suit well / goes really well with the suit.
Is Anzug always masculine, and what is its plural?

Yes, Anzug is always masculine:

  • Singular: der Anzug – the suit
  • Plural: die Anzüge – the suits

Examples:

  • Nominative singular: Der Anzug ist teuer.
  • Dative singular: Zum Anzug trage ich eine Krawatte.
  • Dative plural: Die Krawatte passt gut zu den Anzügen.
How would this sentence change in the plural, for example “The ties go well with the suit”?

You can change either the tie or the suit (or both) to plural.

  1. Plural ties, one suit:

    • Die Krawatten passen gut zum Anzug.
    • Die Krawatten (plural subject) → passen (plural verb)
    • zum Anzug (still singular, masculine dative)

  2. One tie, plural suits:

    • Die Krawatte passt gut zu den Anzügen.
    • Plural dative article: den Anzügen

  3. Both plural:

    • Die Krawatten passen gut zu den Anzügen.
Can I say Die Krawatte passt den Anzug like English “fits the suit”?

No. That is incorrect in German.

Passen does not take a direct object in this meaning. You must use zu + dative:

  • ✅ Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.
  • ❌ Die Krawatte passt den Anzug.

Think of the pattern:

  • etwas passt (gut) zu etwas
    • literally: something fits to something
What is the difference between Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug and Der Anzug steht dir gut?

They express related but different ideas:

  • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug.

    • The tie matches the suit (two items go well together).

  • Der Anzug steht dir gut.

    • The suit looks good on you / suits you (you look good wearing it).

Patterns to remember:

  • etwas passt (gut) zu etwas – one item matches another.
  • etwas steht jemandem (gut) – something suits someone (a person).

You could combine ideas, for example:

  • Die Krawatte passt gut zum Anzug und der Anzug steht dir sehr gut.
    • The tie goes well with the suit, and the suit really suits you.