Breakdown of Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
Questions & Answers about Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
In German, every noun has a grammatical gender that you simply have to learn:
- Preis (price) is masculine, so it takes the article der in the nominative singular: der Preis.
- The fact that Preis ends in -s does not mean it is neuter. The gender is arbitrary here.
So:
- der Preis = the price (masculine)
- das Ticket = the ticket (neuter)
That’s why the sentence starts with Der Preis … and not Das Preis ….
The preposition für always takes the accusative case.
The noun Ticket has the following singular forms:
- Nominative: das Ticket
- Accusative: das Ticket
- Dative: dem Ticket
- Genitive: des Tickets
Since Ticket is neuter, its nominative and accusative are both das Ticket.
With für (which demands accusative), you must use das:
- für das Ticket = for the ticket
Den Ticket would be wrong because den is accusative masculine, and die Ticket would be wrong because die is feminine/plural, but Ticket is neither.
Both für and von can be used in price contexts, but they don’t mean the same thing:
Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
Literally: The price *for the ticket is far too high.
→ This is the normal way to say what the ticket *costs.Der Preis von dem Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
Literally: The price *of the ticket is far too high.
→ Grammatically possible, but sounds clumsier and less natural in everyday speech. You’d more likely shorten it in writing to:
*Der Preis des Tickets ist viel zu hoch. (genitive: des Tickets)
In practice, Preis für + accusative is the most common and natural pattern when talking about the price of a product or service:
- der Preis für das Auto
- der Preis für das Essen
- der Preis für die Fahrt
In German:
kosten is used with a number or an amount:
- Das Ticket kostet 20 Euro. – The ticket costs 20 euros.
When you use an adjective like hoch (high) or teuer (expensive), you typically use sein (to be):
- Der Preis ist hoch. – The price is high.
- Das Ticket ist zu teuer. – The ticket is too expensive.
So you don’t say:
- ✗ Das Ticket kostet zu teuer. (incorrect)
But you do say: - Das Ticket ist zu teuer.
- Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
Here, ist links the subject (Der Preis …) with the adjective (hoch).
- zu hoch = too high
- viel zu hoch = far too high / way too high
viel works here as an intensifier:
- Der Preis ist zu hoch. – The price is too high.
- Der Preis ist viel zu hoch. – The price is much too high / far too high.
So viel zu hoch expresses stronger dissatisfaction than just zu hoch.
Yes, but the meaning changes:
sehr hoch = very high (describes the level, but not necessarily “too much”)
- Der Preis ist sehr hoch. – The price is very high. (neutral evaluation; no explicit “too much”)
zu hoch = too high (it’s more than it should be)
- Der Preis ist zu hoch. – The price is too high. (clearly negative: unacceptable)
viel zu hoch = far/way too high (strongly too much)
- Der Preis ist viel zu hoch. – The price is far too high.
So zu means “excessive,” while sehr just means “very.”
In Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch, hoch is a predicate adjective (it comes after the verb sein “to be”).
Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings:
- Der Preis ist hoch. – The price is high.
- Das Ticket ist teuer. – The ticket is expensive.
- Die Preise sind niedrig. – The prices are low.
Adjective endings are used when the adjective stands before a noun (attributive position):
- der hohe Preis – the high price
- ein zu hoher Preis – a too high price
- die viel zu hohen Preise – the far too high prices
So:
- Der hohe Preis ist ein Problem. (attributive → hohe)
- Der Preis ist hoch. (predicate → hoch, no ending)
Yes, both alternatives are grammatically correct; they just change the emphasis slightly.
Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
→ Neutral; focuses on the price for the ticket as one unit.Der Preis ist für das Ticket viel zu hoch.
→ Slight emphasis on für das Ticket; suggests: “For this ticket (in particular), the price is far too high.”Für das Ticket ist der Preis viel zu hoch.
→ Stronger emphasis on für das Ticket at the beginning; like saying: “For this ticket, the price is far too high.” This structure is common when you want to contrast with something else:- Für das Ticket ist der Preis viel zu hoch, aber für die Reise insgesamt ist er okay.
All three are fine; the given sentence (version 1) is probably the most neutral.
They are close in meaning but focus slightly differently:
Der Preis ist hoch.
Literal: The price is high.
→ Focus on the price itself; more neutral-sounding.Das Ticket ist teuer.
Literal: The ticket is expensive.
→ Focus on the ticket as a product; feels a bit more subjective.
In everyday speech, people often prefer teuer:
- Das Ticket ist viel zu teuer. – The ticket is way too expensive.
Your original sentence uses hoch with Preis, which is very natural:
- Der Preis für das Ticket ist viel zu hoch.
You need plural forms for Preis and Ticket, and plural adjective endings:
- Die Preise für die Tickets sind viel zu hoch.
Breakdown:
- Die Preise – the prices (plural of der Preis)
- für die Tickets – for the tickets (plural of das Ticket, accusative plural die Tickets)
- sind – are (plural of ist)
- viel zu hoch – far too high (predicate adjective → no endings)
Even in plural, the predicate adjective hoch stays uninflected: hoch, not hohen or hohe after sind.
Both can mean “ticket,” but their usage differs slightly:
das Ticket
- Very common for transport (train, bus, plane) and many modern contexts.
- Feels a bit more “international”/modern (borrowed from English).
die Karte
- Also means “ticket,” but can also mean card or map.
- Used for many types of tickets:
- Eintrittskarte – entrance ticket (to a museum, concert, etc.)
- Fahrkarte – travel ticket (train/bus)
In many contexts, Ticket and Karte overlap, e.g.:
- Kinoticket / Kinokarte – cinema ticket
Your sentence with das Ticket is completely natural, especially for transport or event tickets.
Yes. viel zu is a very common pattern in German and works with many adjectives:
- viel zu teuer – far too expensive
- viel zu klein – far too small
- viel zu groß – far too big
- viel zu früh – far too early
- viel zu spät – far too late
Examples:
- Das Ticket ist viel zu teuer. – The ticket is far too expensive.
- Die Wohnung ist viel zu klein. – The flat is way too small.
- Du bist viel zu früh angekommen. – You arrived far too early.
So viel zu hoch in your sentence fits a very productive and common pattern.