Der Pullover sitzt locker.

The sweater fits loosely.

Breakdown of Der Pullover sitzt locker.

• der Pullover: the sweater
• locker: casual
• sitzen: to fit

Questions & Answers about Der Pullover sitzt locker.

Why does the sentence use sitzt (from sitzen) with clothing? In English we wouldn’t say “The sweater sits loose.”

In German, sitzen is commonly used for how clothes fit on the body:

• Die Hose sitzt gut. – The trousers fit well.
• Der Mantel sitzt zu eng. – The coat is too tight (in the way it fits).

So Der Pullover sitzt locker. literally “The sweater sits loose(ly)” means “The sweater fits loosely.”

English uses fit where German often uses sitzen for clothes. It’s just an idiomatic difference between the two languages.

What is the grammatical subject and verb in Der Pullover sitzt locker?

• Subject: Der Pullover (“the sweater”)
• Verb: sitzt (3rd person singular, present tense of sitzen)

So structurally it’s:

• Der Pullover (subject) + sitzt (verb) + locker (description of how it sits / fits)

Why is it Der Pullover and not Das Pullover?

In German, every noun has a fixed grammatical gender that you simply have to learn.

• Pullover is masculine, so in the nominative singular it takes der:
  • der Pullover – the sweater (subject)
  • den Pullover – the sweater (direct object, accusative)
  • dem Pullover – to/for the sweater (dative)

So here, because the sweater is the subject, you see der Pullover (nominative masculine).

Which case is Der Pullover in here, and why?

Der Pullover is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence: it’s the thing that “sits (fits) loosely.”

• Nominative (subject):
  Der Pullover sitzt locker. – The sweater fits loosely.
• Accusative (object):
  Ich kaufe den Pullover. – I’m buying the sweater.

Same noun, different case depending on the function in the sentence.

Why doesn’t locker have an ending? Why not lockere or lockerer?

German adjectives only take endings when they directly stand in front of a noun (attributive position):

• ein lockerer Pullover – a loose sweater
• der lockere Pullover – the loose sweater

In Der Pullover sitzt locker, the adjective locker comes after the verb and describes the state/way of sitting. In this predicate (or adverbial) position, the adjective does not take an ending:

• Der Pullover ist locker.
• Der Pullover sitzt locker.
• Die Hose fühlt sich weich an.

So no -e, -er, etc. in this kind of position.

Is locker an adjective or an adverb here?

You’ll see it described both ways, but practically:

• It behaves like a predicate adjective describing the state/fit of the sweater.
• You can think of it like an adverb modifying sitzt (“sits loosely”), but grammatically it’s more like “The sweater is loose(-fitting).”

For learning purposes, the important point is: after verbs like sein, werden, bleiben, aussehen, and often sitzen (for clothes), these describing words do not get adjective endings.

Could I also say Der Pullover ist locker? Does it mean the same thing?

You can say Der Pullover ist locker, and it’s grammatically correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

• Der Pullover sitzt locker.
  Focus on how it fits on the body. This sounds very natural when talking about clothing size/fit.

• Der Pullover ist locker.
  Stresses the quality “loose” more generally. It can still refer to fit, but it sounds a bit less specific to fit than sitzt locker.

In everyday conversation about whether clothes fit tightly or loosely, Germans very often use sitzen:
Die Jeans sitzt locker / eng / perfekt.

What’s the difference between sitzt locker and passt gut when talking about clothes?

Both can describe clothing, but they focus on slightly different aspects:

• sitzen = how the clothing sits on the body, its cut and shape

  • Die Hose sitzt locker. – The trousers fit loosely (not tight).
  • Die Jacke sitzt nicht richtig. – The jacket doesn’t sit right (maybe twisted, wrong cut, etc.).

• passen = whether the clothing is the right size / appropriate (often with a person as an indirect object)

  • Der Pullover passt mir gut. – The sweater fits me well (size-wise).
  • Die Schuhe passen nicht. – The shoes don’t fit.

So:

• Der Pullover sitzt locker. – The sweater is loose(-fitting).
• Der Pullover passt mir gut. – The sweater is a good fit for me (size), maybe not tight, not too loose.

Why is it sitzt and not sitzen?

sitzen is the infinitive form (“to sit”).
In the sentence Der Pullover sitzt locker, we need the conjugated form that matches the subject der Pullover (3rd person singular, present):

• ich sitze
• du sitzt
• er/sie/es sitzt
• wir sitzen
• ihr sitzt
• sie/Sie sitzen

Since der Pullover = er, we use sitzt:

• Er sitzt locker. – It (the sweater) fits loosely.
• Der Pullover sitzt locker. – The sweater fits loosely.

Can I replace Der Pullover with a pronoun? What would the pronoun be?

Yes. Pullover is masculine, so its pronoun is er:

• Der Pullover sitzt locker.
  → Er sitzt locker.

In context, if it’s clear you’re talking about the sweater, Germans will often just say:

• Und, wie sitzt er? – So, how does it fit?
  (er referring to der Pullover, der Mantel, etc.)

Is the word order fixed, or could I say Locker sitzt der Pullover?

The neutral, standard word order is:

• Der Pullover sitzt locker. (subject – verb – rest)

You can say Locker sitzt der Pullover, but that:

• sounds unusual in everyday speech, and
• puts special emphasis on locker (e.g. in a poem, a slogan, or very stylized speech).

For normal conversation, stick with Der Pullover sitzt locker.

Does Pullover mean exactly the same as English pullover, and how is it pronounced in German?

Pullover in German is a very common word for a sweater/jumper. It’s borrowed from English, but:

• It usually means what many English speakers call a sweater or jumper (often knitted, long-sleeved).
• Colloquially, Germans also say der Pulli (short for Pullover).

Pronunciation in German (roughly): [PUL-oh-ver]

• Stress on the first syllable: PUL-lover
• Final -er sounds like a light -uh: -ver ≈ -vuh

So: PUL-oh-vuh (not like English “pull-OVER” with stress on over).