Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer als den Alten, weil sie einander seltener sehen.

The farewell is harder for the young ones than for the elderly because they see each other less often.

Breakdown of Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer als den Alten, weil sie einander seltener sehen.

• sehen: to see
• weil: because
• sie: they
• als: than
• fallen: to fall
• den: the; (plural, dative)
• einander: each other
• der Junge: the boy
• der Alte: the old person
• der Abschied: the farewell
• schwerer: harder
• seltener: less often

Questions & Answers about Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer als den Alten, weil sie einander seltener sehen.

What does the structure Der Abschied fällt jemandem schwer mean, and how is it different from a more literal ist schwer für jemanden?

The pattern etwas fällt jemandem schwer is an idiomatic German expression meaning:

• someone finds something difficult / hard,
  literally: “the farewell falls heavy for them”.

In this sentence:

• Der Abschied = the farewell (subject, nominative)
• fällt = falls (here: is experienced as)
• den Jungen / den Alten = to the young / to the old (indirect object, dative)
• schwerer = harder (predicate adjective)

You could also say:

• Der Abschied ist für die Jungen schwerer als für die Alten.

Both are correct. fällt … schwer is just more idiomatic for emotional or mental difficulty (goodbye, decisions, learning, etc.), while ist … schwer für is more straightforward and neutral.

Why is it den Jungen and not die Jungen?

Because den Jungen is in the dative plural, not nominative or accusative.

Declension of der Junge (the boy / young man):

• Singular:
  • Nominative: der Junge
  • Accusative: den Jungen
  • Dative: dem Jungen
• Plural:
  • Nominative: die Jungen
  • Accusative: die Jungen
  • Dative: den Jungen

In the expression etwas fällt jemandem schwer, the person is in the dative case:

• Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwer.
  The farewell is hard for the young (people).

So den Jungen here = to the young ones, dative plural.

What exactly is den Alten? Why is Alten capitalized, and what does it refer to?

den Alten is a substantivized adjective: an adjective used as a noun.

• alt = old (adjective)
• die Alten = the old (people)
  literally: the old ones

In the sentence:

• den Alten is dative plural, governed by fällt … schwer.
• It refers to older people, the old generation, etc.

Capitalization rule:
When an adjective is used as a noun with an article (like der/die/das, ein, mein…), German writes it with a capital letter:

• die Reichen – the rich (people)
• die Kranken – the sick (people)
• die Jungen – the young (people)
• die Alten – the old (people)

So den Alten here literally means to the old ones.

Why is it als den Alten and not als die Alten after schwerer?

Because the case after als in a comparison stays the same case as the element you are comparing.

We have:

• Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer …
  den Jungen = dative plural (indirect object of fällt)

The full, non-elliptical form would be:

• Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer, als er den Alten fällt.

Here again, den Alten is dative (indirect object of fällt).

In normal speech/writing, Germans omit the repeated er fällt, but they keep the case:

• … schwerer als den Alten.

If you said als die Alten, that would be nominative plural, which would incorrectly make “the old people” into the subject of a separate (hidden) clause. The point is to compare:

• den Jungen (dative)
  with
• den Alten (also dative).

Does schwerer agree with der Abschied in gender or number?

No. In this sentence, schwerer is a predicative adjective, not an attributive one. Predicative adjectives do not take endings that agree with gender/number/case.

Compare:

• Attributive (before the noun, with ending):

  • der schwere Abschied – the difficult farewell
  • (here schwere agrees with der Abschied: masculine, nominative)

• Predicative (after the verb sein, werden, bleiben, or in the pattern fällt … schwer):

  • Der Abschied ist schwer.
  • Der Abschied fällt ihnen schwer.
  • Der Abschied fällt den Jungen schwerer.

In all of these, schwer / schwerer has no extra ending. It stays the base or comparative form of the adjective.

What does einander mean, and how is it different from sich?

einander means each other / one another. It shows a reciprocal action: A does something to B, and B does something to A.

In the sentence:

• weil sie einander seltener sehen
  = because they see each other less often

Difference from sich:

• sie sehen sich can mean they see themselves (reflexive), for example in a mirror or on camera.
• sie sehen einander clearly means they see each other (reciprocal).

Often you can also say sie sehen sich gegenseitig (they see each other / mutually), but einander is the neat, one‑word reciprocal pronoun.

Who does sie refer to in weil sie einander seltener sehen?

Here, sie is 3rd person plural and refers to both groups together:

• die Jungen
  • die Alten
    → sie (they)

So the meaning is:

• The farewell is harder for the young than for the old,
  because the young and the old see each other less often.

Formally, sie could also be “she” (3rd person singular, feminine), but in this context, the only sensible interpretation is “they”, referring to the two groups mentioned earlier.

What is seltener grammatically, and why doesn’t it have an ending here?

seltener is the comparative form of the adjective/adverb selten (seldom, rare).

• Positive: selten – seldom / rare
• Comparative: seltener – less often / rarer
• Superlative: am seltensten – most seldom / rarest

In sie einander seltener sehen, seltener functions as an adverb modifying the verb sehen:

• sie sehen einander seltener
  = they see each other less often

Adverbs in German do not take endings for gender/number/case, so seltener stays in that bare comparative form here.

If it were attributive before a noun, it would take endings:

• an selteneren Tagen – on rarer days (dative plural)

Why is the verb at the end in weil sie einander seltener sehen?

Because weil introduces a subordinate clause, and in standard German, the finite verb goes to the end of such clauses.

Structure:

• Main clause (verb in 2nd position):

  • Der Abschied (position 1)
  • fällt (verb, position 2)
  • den Jungen schwerer als den Alten (rest)

• Subordinate clause with weil (verb-final):

  • weil (subordinating conjunction)
  • sie einander seltener
  • sehen (finite verb, at the end)

So:

• …, weil sie einander seltener sehen.
  = because they see each other less often.

Could the weil-clause come first? Would the word order change?

Yes, you can put the weil-clause first. The word order inside the clause stays the same (verb-final), but the main clause must still have the finite verb in second position:

• Weil sie einander seltener sehen, fällt der Abschied den Jungen schwerer als den Alten.

Here:

• Subordinate clause: Weil sie einander seltener sehen (verb-final: sehen)
• Main clause: fällt is again in 2nd position:
  • der Abschied (1st element)
  • fällt (2nd element)
  • den Jungen schwerer als den Alten (rest)

The comma is obligatory between the clauses.

Why is there a comma before weil, but not before als den Alten?

• weil starts a subordinate clause, and German spelling rules require a comma before most subordinate clauses:

  • …, weil sie einander seltener sehen.

• als den Alten is not a clause; it’s just part of the comparative phrase:

  • schwerer als den Alten

There is no verb and no subject in als den Alten; it’s just the second part of the comparison, so no comma is needed (and one would be wrong here).

Is it also correct to say Der Abschied ist für die Jungen schwerer als für die Alten, weil sie einander seltener sehen? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is grammatically correct and very natural:

• Der Abschied ist für die Jungen schwerer als für die Alten, weil sie einander seltener sehen.

Differences:

• fällt den Jungen schwerer als den Alten
  uses the idiomatic fallen + dative + schwer construction.

• ist für die Jungen schwerer als für die Alten
  uses sein + schwer with the preposition für + accusative.

The meaning is essentially the same: the farewell is harder for the young than for the old. The version with fällt … schwer sounds slightly more idiomatic and emotional, but both are fully acceptable standard German.

What is the gender and plural of Abschied, and are there any common related expressions I should know?

• Abschied is masculine:

  • der Abschied – the farewell, parting

• Plural:

  • die Abschiede – farewells, goodbyes

Common expressions:

• Abschied nehmen (von jemandem) – to say goodbye (to someone)
  • Wir müssen Abschied nehmen. – We have to say goodbye.
• zum Abschied – on parting / as a parting (gift, words, etc.)
• Abschied feiern – to have a farewell party

In this sentence, Der Abschied refers to the moment of parting / saying goodbye.