Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

The important thing is that we stay calm today.

Breakdown of Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

• sein: to be
• wir: we
• heute: today
• bleiben: to stay
• dass: that
• ruhig: calm
• das Wichtige: the important thing

Questions & Answers about Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

Why is Wichtige capitalized and why does it have the ending -e (das Wichtige)?

Das Wichtige is a nominalized adjective – an adjective used as a noun.

• Normally: wichtig = important (adjective)
• With a noun: das wichtige Problem = the important problem
• Without a noun, but still used as a noun: das Wichtige = the important thing / what is important

Because it behaves like an adjective, it keeps an adjective ending:

• Definite article + neuter, nominative singular → weak ending -e: das Wichtige

It is capitalized because in German all nouns and nominalized adjectives are capitalized. So das Wichtige literally means “the important (thing)” and is grammatically neuter singular.

Why is it das Wichtige (neuter) and not die Wichtige or something else?

When German turns an adjective into a noun to refer to an abstract “thing”, it very often uses the neuter:

• das Gute – the good (thing)
• das Neue – the new (thing)
• das Wichtige – the important (thing)

The choice of neuter here is not about a specific masculine/feminine noun; it’s more of a default gender for an unspecified or abstract thing.

So das Wichtige = “the important thing” or “what’s important (here).”

What is the structure of the sentence Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.? Which part is the subject?

Syntactically, you can analyze it like this:

• Subject: Das Wichtige
• Verb: ist
• Complement / Predicate: the dass-clause → dass wir heute ruhig bleiben

So you could paraphrase the structure in English as:

• The important thing is (this): that we stay calm today.

Logically, the content of the dass-clause is “what is important,” but in terms of grammar, das Wichtige is the subject and the dass-clause is the complement telling us what the important thing actually is.

Why is there a comma before dass?

In German, a comma is mandatory before most subordinate clauses, including all dass-clauses.

• Main clause: Das Wichtige ist
• Subordinate clause introduced by a conjunction: dass wir heute ruhig bleiben

Rule:
Whenever a clause is introduced by dass, weil, wenn, obwohl, als, nachdem, etc., you put a comma before that conjunction. There is no choice; it’s a fixed rule of German punctuation.

What does dass do here, and how is it different from das?

Here, dass is a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subordinate clause that functions as a content clause (similar to English that in “that we stay calm”).

• dass (with ss) = conjunction: “that”

  • dass wir heute ruhig bleiben = that we stay calm today

• das (with s) can be:

  • the neuter definite article: das Kind (the child)
  • the relative pronoun: das ich kenne = that/which I know
  • the demonstrative pronoun: das ist gut = that is good

A common learner rule of thumb:
If you can replace it by “dieses / jenes / welches”, it’s usually das;
if it introduces a content clause (“that …”), it’s dass.

Why does the verb bleiben go to the end in dass wir heute ruhig bleiben?

Because dass introduces a subordinate clause, and in standard German word order, the conjugated verb goes to the end of subordinate clauses.

• Main clause word order: Heute bleiben wir ruhig. (verb in 2nd position)
• Subordinate clause after dass: dass wir heute ruhig bleiben (verb at the end)

Pattern:

• dass
  • [subject + objects/adverbs/etc.] + [verb at the end]

So:

• dass – conjunction
• wir – subject
• heute – time adverb
• ruhig – manner adverb
• bleiben – conjugated verb at the end

Why is the word order wir heute ruhig bleiben and not wir ruhig heute bleiben or something else?

Inside the dass-clause, the order follows a common guideline for adverbs in German: time – manner – place.

• heute = time
• ruhig = manner (how we stay: calmly)

So the “neutral” order is:

• wir (subject) + heute (time) + ruhig (manner) + bleiben (verb)
  → dass wir heute ruhig bleiben

Other orders like dass wir ruhig heute bleiben are not impossible, but they sound odd or would carry unusual emphasis. The given sentence uses the standard, most natural order.

What exactly does ruhig bleiben mean here? Is ruhig an adjective or an adverb?

ruhig bleiben means “to stay calm / to remain calm” in this context.

• bleiben = to remain / to stay
• ruhig = calm, quiet

Grammatically:

• ruhig is an adjective, but like in English, German adjectives can be used adverbially (describing how you do something) without extra endings.
  • ruhig bleiben – to stay calm
  • schnell laufen – to run fast

So ruhig here functions adverbially, modifying bleiben: stay in a calm state.

What is the difference between ruhig and still? Could I also say still bleiben?

ruhig and still overlap, but they’re not identical:

• ruhig:

  • calm, relaxed, not agitated
  • can refer to mood, behavior, or a situation
  • ruhig bleiben fits well for “keep calm,” “don’t panic”

• still:

  • silent, not making noise
  • can also mean “motionless” in some contexts
  • still sein = be silent/quiet (not talking)

In this sentence, Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben, the focus is on not panicking / keeping our composure, so ruhig bleiben is the natural choice.

still bleiben would suggest “remain silent / don’t make noise,” which is a different idea.

Could I say Es ist wichtig, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben instead? How is that different from Das Wichtige ist, dass …?

Yes, Es ist wichtig, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben is perfectly correct and very common.

Differences in nuance:

• Es ist wichtig, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

  • Literally: It is important that we stay calm today.
  • Neutral, straightforward statement about importance.
  • es is a dummy subject.

• Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

  • Literally: The important thing is that we stay calm today.
  • Emphasizes “this is the key point / the crucial thing”.
  • Sounds slightly more pointed, like you are highlighting the main point among several things.

Both are correct; the original sentence is a bit more emphatic about this being the central point.

Why not say Das ist wichtig, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben?

Das ist wichtig, dass … is not idiomatic in German. Two natural alternatives are:

1. Es ist wichtig, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.
2. Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben.

Why “Das ist wichtig, dass …” sounds wrong:

• You are mixing two patterns:
  • Es ist wichtig, dass … (dummy es
    • adjective + dass-clause)
  • Das Wichtige ist, dass … (noun phrase + ist
    • dass-clause)

With das, you either:

• let das be a pronoun with something like: Das ist wichtig. (That is important.) – and stop there,
  or
• turn the adjective into a noun: Das Wichtige ist, dass …

You don’t normally continue Das ist wichtig, dass … with a dass-clause.

Could I also say Das Wichtigste ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben? What’s the difference to Das Wichtige?

Yes, Das Wichtigste ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben is also correct.

Difference:

• das Wichtige = the important thing / what is important
• das Wichtigste = the most important thing

So:

• Das Wichtige ist, dass …
  → This is (what is) important.

• Das Wichtigste ist, dass …
  → This is the single most important point.

In many contexts, das Wichtigste sounds even more emphatic: Above all, the most important thing is that we stay calm today.

Could I say Die wichtigste Sache ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben instead of Das Wichtige ist, …?

Yes, Die wichtigste Sache ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben is grammatically correct.

However:

• die wichtigste Sache = the most important thing (literally “the most important matter/thing”)
• It sounds a bit heavier / more formal or clunky than das Wichtige or das Wichtigste.

Native speakers often prefer the shorter, more abstract forms:

• Das Wichtige ist, dass …
• Das Wichtigste ist, dass …

Using Sache is not wrong, but it can feel redundant, similar to saying “the important thing thing” in English.

Why is the verb in dass wir heute ruhig bleiben in the present tense? Doesn’t it refer to the future?

German present tense (bleiben) is used more broadly than English present:

• It covers:
  • true present: Wir bleiben ruhig. – We are staying calm (now).
  • near future / planned future: Wir bleiben heute ruhig. – We will stay calm today.

So:

• dass wir heute ruhig bleiben can mean “that we stay calm today” or “that we will stay calm today” depending on context.

You generally don’t need forms like wir werden heute ruhig bleiben unless you want a particular emphasis, and even then, in this kind of statement, natives normally just use the present.

Can I move heute to another position, like Dass wir ruhig bleiben heute or Heute ist das Wichtige, dass wir ruhig bleiben?

You have some flexibility, but not all positions sound natural.

Most natural options:

1. Das Wichtige ist, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben. (original)
2. Das Wichtige ist, dass wir ruhig bleiben heute.
   
   • Possible, but sounds slightly marked; heute at the end is more colloquial or emphatic.
3. Heute ist das Wichtige, dass wir ruhig bleiben.
   
   • Changes the focus: Today, the important thing is that we stay calm (strong emphasis on “today”).

Within the dass-clause, dass wir heute ruhig bleiben is the neutral order.
dass wir ruhig bleiben heute is possible in spoken language for emphasis on heute, but it’s less standard and can sound stylistically off in careful written German.

In summary, the given sentence has the default, most neutral positioning for heute.