Der Schutz ist wichtig.

to be

Breakdown of Der Schutz ist wichtig.

• wichtig: important
• der Schutz: protection

Questions & Answers about Der Schutz ist wichtig.

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

Because Schutz is a masculine noun in German. Its dictionary form is der Schutz.

In this sentence, der is the nominative singular definite article, because der Schutz is the subject of the sentence.

A quick comparison:

• der Schutz = nominative masculine singular
• den Schutz = accusative masculine singular

So in Der Schutz ist wichtig, der Schutz is the thing that is important, so nominative is required.

What kind of word is Schutz, and how is it used in German?

Schutz is a noun meaning things like protection, safety, or defense, depending on context.

It is often used in a fairly broad or abstract way, much like protection in English:

• Der Schutz ist wichtig. = Protection is important.
• Zum Schutz der Kinder = for the protection of the children

It also appears very often in compound nouns, which is extremely common in German:

• Umweltschutz = environmental protection
• Datenschutz = data protection
• Kinderschutz = child protection

So learning Schutz is useful because it shows up in many related words.

Why is the verb ist in the middle of the sentence?