Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.

The hallway is narrow, but the balcony is large.

Breakdown of Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.

• sein: to be
• aber: but
• groß: large
• der Flur: the hallway
• der Balkon: the balcony
• eng: narrow

Questions & Answers about Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.

Why do both Flur and Balkon use der?

Because both Flur and Balkon are masculine singular nouns in German.

In the nominative singular, the masculine definite article is der:

• der Flur
• der Balkon

This is about grammatical gender, not biological sex. German nouns have to be learned together with their article.

What case are der Flur and der Balkon in?

They are both in the nominative case because each one is the subject of its clause:

• Der Flur ist eng.
• Der Balkon ist groß.

In each clause, the subject is the thing that is something.

Why are the adjectives eng and groß not changed?

Because they come after the verb sein and are being used as predicate adjectives.

In German, predicate adjectives do not take adjective endings:

• Der Flur ist eng.
• Der Balkon ist groß.

Compare that with adjectives before nouns, where endings are required:

• der enge Flur
• der große Balkon

So:

• after sein → eng, groß
• before a noun → enge, große, etc.

Why is ist in the second position?

German main clauses usually follow the verb-second rule.

That means:

• one element comes first
• the finite verb comes second

So in:

• Der Flur ist eng
• der Balkon ist groß

the subject comes first, and ist comes second.

This sentence happens to look similar to English, but the German rule is broader and very important.

Does aber change the word order?

No. Aber is a coordinating conjunction, so it joins two main clauses.

That means the second clause keeps normal main-clause word order:

• Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.

Not:

• aber der Balkon groß ist

That verb-at-the-end pattern happens with subordinating conjunctions such as weil or dass, not with aber.

Why is there a comma before aber?

Because German normally uses a comma to separate two full main clauses, especially when they are joined by a conjunction like aber.

So this is standard:

• Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.

In German writing, that comma is expected.

Why are Flur and Balkon capitalized?

Because all nouns are capitalized in German.

So:

• der Flur
• der Balkon

This is one of the most noticeable spelling differences from English.

What exactly does eng mean here?

Eng usually means narrow, tight, or cramped, not just generally small.

So for a hallway, eng suggests:

• there is not much width
• it may feel tight to walk through

A different adjective, klein, would mean small more generally.

So:

• ein enger Flur = a narrow/cramped hallway
• ein kleiner Flur = a small hallway

How do you pronounce groß, and what does ß mean?

ß is called Eszett or scharfes S, and it is pronounced like ss.

So groß is pronounced roughly like grohss.

A useful spelling note:

• In Germany and Austria: groß
• In Switzerland: gross

Both represent the same word.