Reading · B1 · Text 16

Klavier

35 words1 min read86% known at B1

Die Eigenschaften leise und laut nennt man in der Musikwelt auch „piano“ für leise und „forte“ für laut.

In the music world, the qualities of quiet and loud are also called 'piano' for quiet and 'forte' for loud.

Daher kommt auch die Bezeichnung Piano oder Pianoforte für das Klavier: Es kann leise oder laut spielen.

This is also where the name piano or pianoforte for the piano comes from: it can play quietly or loudly.

4 words above B1

piano

quietly (musical direction) Italian word used in German; not declined

forte

loudly (musical direction) Italian word used in German; not declined

Pianoforte

the piano (full name) plural: die Pianofortes (rare)

Musikwelt

music world compound of Musik + Welt; plural: die Musikwelten

Grammar in this text

Impersonal 'man' as passive substitute

Die Eigenschaften leise und laut nennt man in der Musikwelt auch „piano“ für leise und „forte“ für laut.

The pronoun 'man' is used to express a general statement without specifying the agent. The verb is in active form, but the meaning is similar to a passive construction ('is called').

Modal verb 'können' + infinitive without 'zu'

Es kann leise oder laut spielen.

The modal verb 'können' is conjugated in the second position, and the main verb appears in its infinitive form at the end of the sentence, without 'zu'.

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Text from Klavier — Klexikon, used under CC BY-SA 4.0. See sources.

Translation, glossary and grammar notes are machine-generated and inherit the same licence.