Learn Hardcore German: Der Wanderweg ist schmal, aber die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm. - The hiking trail is narrow, but the majority of the group finds it pleasant.

Wanderweg is a compound noun: wandern (to hike) + der Weg (path/way).
The gender of most compound nouns is the gender of the last part, here Weg.
Weg is masculine: der Weg.

So the whole word is also masculine: der Wanderweg.

Why is it ist schmal and not ist schmale or ist schmaler?

Schmal here is a predicate adjective, coming after the verb sein (ist).

In German:

Adjectives before a noun get endings:
- ein schmaler Weg, der schmale Weg, einen schmalen Weg, etc.
Adjectives after verbs like sein, werden, bleiben have no ending:
- Der Weg ist schmal.
- Die Straße bleibt schmal.

So ist schmal is correct: no extra ending is added.

What exactly does aber do here, and why is there a comma before it?

Aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning “but”.

It connects two main clauses:
- Der Wanderweg ist schmal,
- aber die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm.

Because these are two independent clauses, German spelling rules require a comma before aber.

As a coordinating conjunction, aber does not send the verb to the end (unlike weil, obwohl, dass). The second clause keeps normal main-clause word order with the finite verb in second position:
die Mehrheit der Gruppe (position 1) – findet (position 2).

Why is it die Mehrheit der Gruppe? What case and gender are these words?

Break it down:

Mehrheit = “majority”
- It’s a feminine noun: die Mehrheit.
- Here it’s the subject of the second clause, so it’s in the nominative: die Mehrheit.
der Gruppe means “of the group”.
- Gruppe is also feminine: die Gruppe.
- After Mehrheit, German normally uses the genitive to show “of”:
  - die Mehrheit der Gruppe = “the majority of the group”.
- der Gruppe here is genitive singular feminine.
  This form (der) looks the same as feminine dative singular, which can be confusing.

So the structure is:
die Mehrheit (nom. subject) der Gruppe (genitive: of the group).

Why is the verb findet and not finden? In English I might say “the majority of the group find it pleasant.”

In German, the verb agrees with the grammatical subject, not with the idea of “many people”.

The grammatical subject here is die Mehrheit:

die Mehrheit is singular → the verb must also be singular: findet.
This is like formal English:
- “The majority of the group finds it pleasant.”

So:

die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm. ✅
die Mehrheit der Gruppe finden ihn angenehm. ❌ (non-standard in German)

Why is it ihn and not es or sie? What does ihn refer to?

Ihn is the accusative form of er (he → him).

In this sentence:

ihn refers back to der Wanderweg.
Wanderweg is masculine, so the pronoun must also be masculine.
The verb finden here means “to consider” / “to find (something) [adjective]”, and it takes a direct object in the accusative.

Pronoun forms (singular):

Masculine: er → ihn (nom. → acc.)
Feminine: sie → sie
Neuter: es → es

Since der Wanderweg is masculine and is the object in the second clause, we use ihn:

die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm. = “...finds it (the trail) pleasant.”

Why is angenehm at the end and why doesn’t it have an ending?

Word order first:

The second clause is: die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm.
Normal main-clause order in German:
- Subject – Verb – (Object(s)) – Rest
Here:
- Subject: die Mehrheit der Gruppe
- Verb: findet
- Object: ihn
- Adjective complement: angenehm

So angenehm naturally comes at the end.

About endings:

As with schmal earlier, angenehm is used as a predicate adjective/complement (after finden).
Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings:
- Ich finde den Weg angenehm.
- Sie finden das Wetter schön.
- Er ist nett.

So angenehm stays in its base form.

What’s the difference between schmal and eng? Both seem to mean “narrow”.

Both can translate as “narrow”, but there is a nuance:

schmal:
- literally “narrow in width”
- often for paths, roads, tables, rivers, faces:
  - ein schmaler Weg – a narrow path
  - ein schmales Gesicht – a narrow face
eng:
- “tight, cramped, close”
- often for spaces or clothing:
  - eine enge Hose – tight pants
  - ein enger Raum – a cramped room
- Also possible with roads/paths if you mean “not much room to move/drive”.

In this sentence, schmal is very natural for a path/trail, focusing on its physical narrowness.

Could I say die meisten in der Gruppe instead of die Mehrheit der Gruppe? Does it sound different?

Yes, you can, and it’s quite natural:

Die meisten in der Gruppe finden ihn angenehm.

Differences:

die Mehrheit der Gruppe
- a bit more formal/neutral and “mathematical” (the majority).
die meisten in der Gruppe / die meisten aus der Gruppe
- more colloquial, like “most people in the group”.

Both are correct; it’s mainly a style choice.

How does the “verb-second” rule work with aber here? Why isn’t the verb immediately after aber?

In German main clauses, the finite verb must be in second position, but “second position” means second element, not second word.

Coordinating conjunctions like aber, und, oder are in position 0 and don’t count for the verb-second rule.

In the second clause:

aber → position 0 (doesn’t count)
die Mehrheit der Gruppe → first element
findet → second element (correct verb position)
ihn angenehm → rest

So:

..., aber die Mehrheit der Gruppe findet ihn angenehm. ✅
(findet is still in second position)
..., aber findet die Mehrheit der Gruppe ihn angenehm.
This is unusual here in neutral speech; it sounds like you’re emphasizing findet and is not the normal word order.