Heute ist sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.

Today she is too tired to do push‑ups for a long time.

Breakdown of Heute ist sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.

• sein: to be
• heute: today
• lange: long
• müde: tired
• noch: still
• sie: she
• um: in order to
• zu: too
• machen: to do
• die Liegestütze: the push-up

Questions & Answers about Heute ist sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.

Why does the sentence start with Heute ist sie and not Sie ist heute? Are both correct, and is there a difference?

Both Heute ist sie zu müde, um … and Sie ist heute zu müde, um … are grammatically correct.

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the conjugated verb (here ist) must be in second position. The first “position” can be:

• the subject: Sie ist heute …
• or an adverbial like Heute: Heute ist sie …

Nuance:

• Heute ist sie … puts extra emphasis on today (contrasting with other days).
• Sie ist heute … is more neutral; it just states when she is tired.

So the sentence begins with Heute mainly for emphasis and style, not because Sie ist heute … would be wrong.

Why is there a comma before um: … zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen?

The comma is required because um … zu machen forms an infinitive clause (an Infinitivsatz) that explains the purpose or result related to zu müde.

Pattern:

• zu + adjective, , um … zu + infinitive

Examples:

• Er ist zu jung, um Auto zu fahren.
• Es ist zu laut, um sich zu konzentrieren.

In modern German spelling, a comma is mandatory before um in this construction.

What exactly does zu müde, um … zu machen mean? Is zu here the same as English too?

Yes. In zu müde the zu corresponds to English too in the sense of “excessively”.

• zu müde = too tired

The pattern is:

• zu + adjective, um … zu + verb
  → expresses that something is so X that one cannot do Y.

So:

• Sie ist zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.
  ≈ “She is so tired that she can’t do push-ups for long anymore.”

This zu is different from the zu in zu machen (which corresponds to English to in an infinitive).

Why is there another zu in zu machen? Is it the same zu as in zu müde?

No, they are different uses of zu:

1. zu müde → zu = “too” (degree / intensity)
2. zu machen (inside um … zu machen) → zu is the infinitive marker, similar to to in English to do.

So the structure is:

• zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen
  too tired to do push-ups for long (anymore)

German just happens to use zu in both functions; they are unrelated grammatically.

What does um … zu machen express? Is it like “in order to”?

Yes. The basic meaning of um … zu + infinitive is “in order to …” or “to (for the purpose of) …”.

In many contexts, you can translate it with just to in English:

• Er lernt, um die Prüfung zu bestehen.
  = He studies (in order) to pass the exam.

In your sentence, the pattern is slightly different because of zu müde:

• zu müde, um … zu machen = “too tired to do …”

So um … zu is an infinitive of purpose (even when English doesn’t explicitly say “in order”).

What is the function of noch in noch lange Liegestütze? Why not just lange Liegestütze?

noch here adds the idea of “any longer / anymore”.

• lange Liegestütze machen → do push-ups for a long time
• noch lange Liegestütze machen → do push-ups for a long time any longer / anymore / further

So:

• zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen
  = too tired to keep doing push-ups for long / to do them for long anymore.

noch is a tricky, very common particle, but in this context it suggests continuation or extension into the future.

What does lange modify here? The push-ups (Liegestütze) or the verb machen?

lange modifies the duration of the activity, so it belongs to the verb phrase (the doing), not to the noun Liegestütze.

You can think of it as:

• lange (Liegestütze machen) = “do push-ups for a long time.”

So noch lange together describes how long she would be doing the push-ups, not what kind of push-ups they are.

Why is Liegestütze in the plural and without an article?

Liegestütze is usually used in the plural when you mean the exercise as repeated reps:

• singular: die Liegestütze (one push-up) – rarely needed
• plural: die Liegestütze (push-ups, several reps)

No article is used because we are talking about the activity in general:

• Liegestütze machen = “do push-ups” (the exercise in general)
• similarly: Hausaufgaben machen (do homework), Sport machen (do sports)

If you wanted to count them specifically, you could add a number:

• 20 Liegestütze machen = do 20 push-ups.

Why do we say Liegestütze machen and not Liegestütze tun?

In most everyday contexts, machen is the normal verb to combine with activities, tasks, or sports:

• Gymnastik machen, Sport machen, Hausaufgaben machen, Yoga machen

tun is less common in neutral standard German for these combinations and often sounds:

• regional,
• old-fashioned,
• or stylistically marked.

So the natural collocation is:

• Liegestütze machen = do push-ups

Using tun here (Liegestütze tun) would sound odd or non‑standard.

Why is the verb ist and not hat? Could you say Heute hat sie zu müde …?

You cannot say Heute hat sie zu müde …; that is incorrect.

In German, the verb sein (ist) is used with adjectives describing a state:

• sie ist müde (she is tired)
• er ist krank (he is ill)
• wir sind fertig (we are done)

So:

• Heute ist sie zu müde … = Today she is too tired …

The verb haben (hat) is not used like English to have + adjective in this sense. You can’t literally translate “she has tired” into German.

Is Heute ist sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen in the present tense? How would you change it for the past?

Yes, ist is present tense (Präsens):

• Heute ist sie zu müde, um … zu machen.
  = Today she is too tired to …

For the past, you’d normally change ist to war (simple past):

• Gestern war sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.
  = Yesterday she was too tired to do push-ups for long.

The um … zu machen part stays in the infinitive and doesn’t change tense.

Could I say Heute ist sie sehr müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen instead of zu müde?

No. Sehr müde, um … is wrong. You need zu müde, um ….

Reason:

• sehr = very (just describes degree of tiredness; no consequence implied)
• zu
  • adjective + , um … zu = too X (so that Y is not possible)

So:

• Sie ist sehr müde. (She is very tired.) – just a description.
• Sie ist zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.
  (She is too tired to do push-ups for long.) – describes a limitation.

To express a consequence with sehr, you need a dass-clause:

• Sie ist so müde, dass sie keine Liegestütze mehr machen kann. = She is so tired that she can’t do push-ups anymore.

Can I move heute to the end: Sie ist zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen heute?

You can say it, but it sounds awkward and unnatural in standard German.

Preferred positions for heute are:

• Heute ist sie zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.
• Sie ist heute zu müde, um noch lange Liegestütze zu machen.

Time adverbs like heute normally appear early in the sentence, especially in main clauses. Putting heute at the very end in this case feels tacked on and stylistically poor.

Why is ist in second position even though there are three words before it (Heute ist sie)? I thought the verb must be the second word.

In German main clauses, the finite verb is in second position, not necessarily the second word.

Position 1 is one constituent (a whole phrase), which can be:

• a single word (Heute)
• or a longer phrase (Heute Morgen um acht Uhr)

Then comes the finite verb (here ist) in position 2, then the rest.

So:

• Heute (position 1: adverbial phrase)
• ist (position 2: finite verb)
• sie zu müde, um … (rest of the clause)

The rule is about slots/positions, not about counting words.