German Phrase
Die Kostüme waren echt toll.
Meaning
The sentence praises the costumes, saying they were genuinely great. It uses the simple past to talk about a finished event and the adverb ‘echt’ to add emphasis.
When to use
Use this phrase after a party, carnival, theater performance, or any occasion where you want to compliment the outfits you just saw.
✦Grammar Breakdown
DieKostümewarenechttoll
Die (definite article, plural nominative)
‘Die’ is the plural form of the definite article in the nominative case, used here because ‘Kostüme’ is plural.
Kostüme (noun, plural)
‘Kostüm’ means ‘costume’; the –e ending marks the plural (die Kostüme).
waren (sein, past tense, 3rd person plural)
‘waren’ is the imperfect (simple past) of ‘sein’ for ‘they/it’ – it agrees with the plural subject.
echt (adverbial intensifier)
‘echt’ works like ‘really’ or ‘truly’, strengthening the adjective that follows.
toll (predicative adjective)
When used after ‘sein’, ‘toll’ stays in its base form – no ending is added.
🗨In Conversation
Wie fanden dir die Kostüme?
How did you find the costumes?
Die Kostüme waren echt toll.
The costumes were really great.
✕Common Mistakes
Die Kostüme war echt toll.
‘war’ is singular; the subject ‘Kostüme’ is plural, so you need ‘waren’.
Die Kostüme waren echt tollen.
After ‘sein’, the adjective stays uninflected; ‘tollen’ would be a verb form, not correct here.
Die Kostüme waren echtlich toll.
‘echtlich’ is not a German word; use ‘echt’ or ‘wirklich’.
↔Alternatives
Die Kostüme sahen wirklich großartig aus.
The costumes looked truly wonderful.
Die Kostüme waren absolut fantastisch.
The costumes were absolutely fantastic.
Die Kostüme waren super.
The costumes were super.
Cultural Tip
In German, adjectives that follow ‘sein’, ‘werden’ or ‘bleiben’ stay in their base form (no endings). ‘echt’ is informal and works well in casual conversation, but in a formal setting you might prefer ‘wirklich’ or ‘sehr’. Also, note that ‘Kostüm’ is a loanword from French, and the plural ‘Kostüme’ is pronounced with a front rounded vowel – a good sound to practice!