Breakdown of Der Flur ist eng, aber der Balkon ist groß.
sein
to be
aber
but
groß
large
der Flur
the hallway
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.