B2-28 · Describe what is feasible, accessible or useful
Urban development
Use adjectives with -bar and -lich, distinguish possibility meanings from other meanings, and add endings before nouns.
About 5 minutes to read · 13 quiz questions
01
Can it be done?
Many adjectives with -bar express possibility: planbar means able to be planned and bezahlbar means affordable. They can replace a phrase with können and a passive infinitive. The fictional district has plans that residents are assessing.
Wir brauchen bezahlbaren Wohnraum.
We need affordable housing.
Ein planbares Projekt braucht klare Ziele.
A project that can be planned needs clear goals.
Die Stadt prüft einen umsetzbaren Vorschlag.
The town examines a feasible proposal.
Die Kosten bleiben überschaubar.
The costs remain manageable.
A -bar adjective does not describe a person doing the action. Ein planbares Projekt is a project that can be planned. Not every verb forms a common -bar word, so learn established words.
02
The suffix does not decide the whole meaning
Some -lich adjectives express possibility, such as verständlich, understandable, or zugänglich, accessible. Others describe a different property: nützlich means useful and verkehrsfreundlich means traffic-friendly. Learn the whole word in context.
Die Stadt erklärt den Plan in verständlicher Sprache.
The town explains the plan in understandable language.
Ein zugänglicher Eingang erleichtert den Besuch.
An accessible entrance makes visiting easier.
Der öffentliche Platz bleibt frei.
The public square remains clear.
Die Hinweise sind nützlich.
The information is useful.
Zugänglich describes access, not necessarily compliance with a particular accessibility standard. Öffentlich means public; its meaning is not simply can be opened. Word formation helps, but it does not replace vocabulary learning.
03
Use the word in a proposal
A formal proposal may combine possibility adjectives with other descriptions. Check two things separately: does the word express the meaning you want, and does its ending fit the noun phrase?
Wir suchen eine umsetzbare Lösung.
We are looking for a feasible solution.
Mit einem erweiterbaren Netz bleibt die Stadt flexibel.
With an expandable network, the town remains flexible.
Die Erklärung des verständlichen Plans dauert nur kurz.
Explaining the understandable plan takes only a short time.
Diese Vorschläge sind umsetzbar.
These proposals are feasible.
Umsetzbar means feasible, erweiterbar expandable and verständlich understandable. In a sentence such as Der Plan ist umsetzbar, no adjective ending is added. Before a noun, ordinary adjective endings return.
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