Learn Hardcore German: Die Straße ist gerade.

Die Straße ist gerade.

The street is straight.

Breakdown of Die Straße ist gerade.

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Questions & Answers about Die Straße ist gerade.

Why is it die Straße and not der Straße or das Straße?

German nouns have grammatical gender that you simply have to learn with each noun. Straße is grammatically feminine, so its article in the nominative singular is die.

die Straße = feminine, nominative singular (subject of the sentence)
If it were masculine, it would be der, and if neuter, das.

You will always see Straße in dictionaries with the article die, which tells you its gender: die Straße (f.).

How do you pronounce Straße, especially the ß?

Straße is pronounced approximately like SHTRAH-seh:

Str at the beginning is pronounced ʃtr (like sht
- r)
a is long: aː, as in father
ß is like an unvoiced s (as in class, not like z)
The final e is a reduced sound (schwa), like the e in the (when unstressed)

In IPA: [ˈʃtʁaːsə].

So ß is just a strong s sound; there is no b sound in it.

Can I write Straße as Strasse? Is there a difference?

Yes, you will often see Strasse instead of Straße, especially:

in Switzerland and Liechtenstein (they officially do not use ß),
in contexts where the ß character is not available (old systems, all-caps, etc.).

For Straße / Strasse, there is no difference in meaning or pronunciation. Both are read the same: [ˈʃtʁaːsə].

In standard German orthography:

ß is usually used after a long vowel or diphthong: Straße, heißen, Maß
ss is usually used after a short vowel: Masse, lassen, müssen

In this word, the correct standard spelling is Straße, but Strasse is widely understood and officially correct in Swiss German.

Why is gerade at the end? Could I say Gerade ist die Straße instead?

In a simple statement with sein (to be), German typically uses Subject – Verb – Predicate:

Die Straße (subject)
ist (verb)
gerade (predicate adjective)

So Die Straße ist gerade is the normal, neutral word order.

You can say Gerade ist die Straße, but then gerade is not the adjective straight anymore. It becomes an adverb meaning just now / at the moment, and you are fronting it for emphasis:

Gerade ist die Straße leer.
Right now the street is empty.

Without any extra word like leer or voll, Gerade ist die Straße sounds incomplete or poetic/marked, not like a normal sentence about the street being straight.

Why doesn’t gerade have an ending here, like geradee or something? Don’t German adjectives usually change?

German adjectives only take endings when they stand directly in front of a noun (attributive position):

die gerade Straße = the straight street
eine lange Straße = a long street

Here, gerade comes after the verb sein and describes the subject. That is called a predicate adjective, and in that position, German adjectives do not decline:

Die Straße ist gerade.
Die Straßen sind gerade.
Die Straße war gerade.

No endings are added in these predicate constructions (sein / werden / bleiben + adjective).

What is the difference between gerade and geradeaus?

They are related but not interchangeable.

gerade

As an adjective: straight (not bent, not curved)
- Die Straße ist gerade. – The street is straight.
As an adverb: just / right now / exactly
- Ich komme gerade. – I am just coming / I’m on my way.

geradeaus

Only an adverb: straight ahead / straight on (direction of movement)
- Geh geradeaus. – Go straight ahead.
- Fahr immer geradeaus. – Just keep going straight ahead.

So:

Die Straße ist gerade. = the shape of the street
Geh die Straße geradeaus. = the direction you move along the street (go straight along it)

Does gerade always mean straight? I have seen sentences like Ich komme gerade.

No, gerade is quite flexible and has several common meanings. The two main ones you’ll meet early on:

Adjective = straight
- Die Straße ist gerade. – The street is straight.
- Die Linie ist nicht gerade. – The line is not straight.
Adverb = just / right now / just now
- Ich komme gerade. – I’m just coming / I’m on my way right now.
- Er telefoniert gerade. – He is on the phone right now.
- Wir haben gerade gegessen. – We have just eaten.

Which meaning is intended depends on position and context. In Die Straße ist gerade, the structure noun + sein + adjective clearly points to the straight meaning.

Which case is die Straße in here?

Die Straße is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

Pattern:

[Subject in nominative] + sein + [predicative complement, also normally in nominative]

Examples:

Die Straße ist gerade. – Die Straße = nominative subject
Das Haus ist alt. – Das Haus = nominative subject
Mein Auto ist neu. – Mein Auto = nominative subject

Both the subject and the adjective (or noun) describing it stay in the nominative after sein. There is no accusative object here.

Why is Straße capitalized but gerade is not?

In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of whether they refer to concrete things or abstract ideas:

Straße, Haus, Liebe, Zeit, Wasser

Straße is a noun, so it must start with a capital S.

Adjectives and adverbs are not capitalized, so gerade is written with a small g:

gerade, schön, schnell, langsam

That is why we write Die Straße ist gerade. and not Die Straße ist Gerade.

When should I use Straße instead of other words like Weg or Straße vs. Weg?

Some common words for road / path in German:

die Straße – a street or road for traffic, usually with buildings, signs, etc.
- Ich wohne in der Hauptstraße. – I live on Main Street.
der Weg – a path, way, track (often smaller, maybe for walking)
- Der Weg durch den Wald ist schmal. – The path through the forest is narrow.
die Fahrbahn – the carriageway, the part of the street where vehicles drive
- Die Fahrbahn ist glatt. – The road surface is slippery.

For a named or normal city street, Straße is standard. In Die Straße ist gerade, you are talking about the road’s physical shape, so Straße is the natural choice.

Could I use other adjectives in the same way, like Die Straße ist lang or breit? Do they change?

Yes. Any normal adjective can be used in this pattern without endings:

Die Straße ist lang. – The street is long.
Die Straße ist breit. – The street is wide.
Die Straße ist leer. – The street is empty.
Die Straße ist laut. – The street is noisy.

As soon as you move the adjective in front of the noun, it takes an ending:

die lange Straße – the long street
die breite Straße – the wide street
eine leere Straße – an empty street

So:

predicate position (after sein) → no ending
attributive position (before noun) → adjective ending

Why do we use ist (sein) here and not a verb like verlaufen or liegen?

sein is the normal verb to state a characteristic or property:

Die Straße ist gerade / lang / breit.
Das Wasser ist kalt.
Die Stadt ist groß.

You can use more descriptive verbs if you want to emphasize how something extends or runs:

Die Straße verläuft gerade. – The road runs straight.
Die Straße verläuft in einer Kurve. – The road runs in a curve.

But stehen (to stand) or liegen (to lie) are not used for streets in standard German. You wouldn’t say Die Straße liegt gerade. For a neutral description of the property straight, Die Straße ist gerade is exactly right.

Could Die Straße ist gerade ever be understood as The street is (busy) right now or The street is just now?

No. In this exact form, Die Straße ist gerade, native speakers will interpret gerade as straight, not as right now.

To express right now, gerade behaves as an adverb of time and normally modifies the verb or the entire situation, often together with another adjective or verb:

Die Straße ist gerade leer. – The street is empty right now.
Die Straße ist gerade sehr voll. – The street is very busy right now.
Gerade ist die Straße leer. – Right now, the street is empty. (fronted for emphasis)

So:

Die Straße ist gerade. → about the street’s shape (straight)
Die Straße ist gerade leer / voll. → about the current situation (right now)