How to Say ‘But the post was in the way’ in German
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg
AH-ber dair PFOHS-ten vahr im vayk
[AH-ber dair PFOHS-ten vahr im vayk]
💬 Usage Tip: A full explanation after disappointment. Nice example of basic word order in a main clause.
🇩🇪 In Germany: Very football-fan style: blaming the post with mock annoyance is universal.
Phrase Breakdown
Aber
[AH-ber]
but
Shows contrast with what was expected before.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, deshalb fiel kein Tor.
But the post was in the way, so no goal was scored.
der Pfosten
dair PFOHS-ten
the post / goalpost
In football, this is one of the posts of the goal.
Der Pfosten ist weiß.
The post is white.
Words in this phrase
der
[dair]
the
Masculine definite article introducing 'Pfosten'.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, nicht der Torwart.
But the post was in the way, not the goalkeeper.
Pfosten
[PFOHS-ten]
post
The goalpost that stopped the shot.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, und alle stöhnten auf.
But the post was in the way, and everyone groaned.
war im Weg
vahr im vayk
was in the way
This means the post blocked the shot or caused the miss.
Der Tisch war im Weg.
The table was in the way.
Words in this phrase
war
[vahr]
was
Past tense of 'sein', describing what happened.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, das sah man sofort.
But the post was in the way, you could see that immediately.
im
[im]
in the
Contraction of 'in dem' in the phrase 'im Weg'.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, direkt vor dem Tor.
But the post was in the way, right in front of the goal.
Weg
[vayk]
way
Means an obstacle or something blocking the action.
Aber der Pfosten war im Weg, sonst wäre es ein Treffer gewesen.
But the post was in the way, otherwise it would have been a goal.
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