Der Eindruck ist negativ.

to be

Breakdown of Der Eindruck ist negativ.

• der Eindruck: the impression
• negativ: negative

Questions & Answers about Der Eindruck ist negativ.

Why is it der Eindruck and not ein Eindruck?

Both are possible; they just say slightly different things.

• Der Eindruck ist negativ.
  → The impression is negative.
  You are talking about a specific impression that is already known from context. It’s like saying that/the impression.

• Ein Eindruck ist negativ.
  → An impression is negative.
  This would sound unusual in most contexts; it suggests there are several impressions and you’re picking one of them, but it’s not a natural way to say it here.

In most normal contexts, speakers use der Eindruck because they mean the overall/general impression or the impression (someone makes), which is understood as a specific, known thing.

Why is the article der and not die or das?

Because the noun Eindruck is grammatically masculine in German.

• Eindruck → masculine noun
• Nominative singular article: der Eindruck
• Accusative singular: den Eindruck
• Dative singular: dem Eindruck
• Genitive singular: des Eindrucks

German noun gender is largely arbitrary; you just have to learn der Eindruck as a unit. There is no simple rule that predicts the gender here.

Why is it der Eindruck (nominative) and not den Eindruck?

In this sentence, Eindruck is the subject of the verb ist:

• Der Eindruck – subject (the thing that “is” something)
• ist – verb
• negativ – predicate adjective (what the subject is)

The subject of a normal statement is in the nominative case, so you use der.

You would use den Eindruck (accusative) when Eindruck is a direct object, for example:

• Ich habe den Eindruck. – I have the impression.
  (den Eindruck is the object of habe)

Why does negativ have no ending (no -e, -er, etc.)?

Because negativ is used as a predicate adjective after the verb sein (to be).

In German:

• Attributive adjective (before a noun) → gets an ending

  • ein negativer Eindruck
  • der negative Eindruck
  • viele negative Eindrücke

• Predicate adjective (after sein, werden, bleiben, etc.) → no ending

  • Der Eindruck ist negativ.
  • Der Film war interessant.
  • Die Leute bleiben ruhig.

So negativ stays in its base form here because it comes after ist and describes the subject.

Could I say Der Eindruck ist negativ with a different word order, like Negativ ist der Eindruck?

Yes, you can say Negativ ist der Eindruck, but it changes the emphasis:

• Der Eindruck ist negativ.
  → Neutral statement; simple information.

• Negativ ist der Eindruck.
  → Stylistically marked; emphasizes negativ.
  It might appear in written style, speeches, or when contrasting with something:
  Positiv ist der Anfang, negativ ist der Eindruck am Ende.

Both are grammatically correct. The neutral, everyday version is Der Eindruck ist negativ.

What exactly does Eindruck mean, compared to words like Gefühl or Meinung?

They are related but not the same:

• Eindruck – impression, the overall effect something/someone has on you when you experience it (visual, emotional, etc.).

  • Der erste Eindruck – the first impression
  • Der Eindruck, den er macht, ist positiv.

• Gefühl – feeling, an emotional state or sensation.

  • Ich habe ein schlechtes Gefühl. – I have a bad feeling.

• Meinung – opinion, a more considered, often rational judgment.

  • Meine Meinung ist anders. – My opinion is different.

In Der Eindruck ist negativ, the focus is on the impression something makes, not directly on your feelings or your opinion structure.

How do you pronounce Eindruck and negativ?

Approximate pronunciation (IPA):

• Eindruck → [ˈaɪ̯nˌdʁʊk]

  • Ei = like English eye
  • dr = like English dr but with a German r
  • u in -druck = like u in English put

• negativ → [ˈneːɡatiːf] (standard)

  • ne = like nay but shorter, with a long e
  • ga = gah
  • tiv = teef (long i, final v pronounced like f in German)

Stress:

• EINdruck (stress on EIN)
• NE-gativ (stress on NE)

Is the sentence Der Eindruck ist negativ formal, informal, or neutral?

It’s stylistically neutral.

You can use it:

• in spoken conversation (informal or formal),
• in emails,
• in reports, reviews, or evaluations.

It’s not slangy and not overly formal—just standard German.

How would I say “He makes a negative impression” using Eindruck?

Common ways:

• Er macht einen negativen Eindruck.
  – He makes a negative impression.

• Er hinterlässt einen negativen Eindruck.
  – He leaves a negative impression.

Note that here negativ is before the noun (Eindruck), so it must take an ending:

• einen negativen Eindruck (accusative, masculine, indefinite article)

What’s the plural of Eindruck, and how would I use it?

Plural:

• Singular: der Eindruck
• Plural: die Eindrücke

Examples:

• Die Eindrücke sind negativ. – The impressions are negative.
• Meine ersten Eindrücke von der Stadt sind sehr gut. – My first impressions of the city are very good.

What is the difference between negativ and schlecht in this kind of sentence?

They overlap but are not identical:

• negativ – negative, often more neutral/technical, used in evaluations, reports, statistics, attitudes.

  • Der Eindruck ist negativ. – The impression is negative (it’s on the negative side).

• schlecht – bad, more emotional/subjective.

  • Der Eindruck ist schlecht. – The impression is bad (it feels clearly bad/poor).

In many everyday contexts you could use either, but:

• negativ sounds a bit more analytic or evaluative,
• schlecht sounds more like a straightforward value judgment.

How would I say this in the past tense or with other tenses?

Change only the verb sein:

• Present:
  Der Eindruck ist negativ. – The impression is negative.

• Simple past (Präteritum):
  Der Eindruck war negativ. – The impression was negative.

• Present perfect:
  Der Eindruck ist negativ gewesen. – The impression has been negative.
  (Grammatically fine, but in many contexts Germans just use war.)

The adjective negativ does not change with tense here; only the verb does.