Purpose
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to correctly use “es gibt” to state that something exists.
Lesson Explanation
Es gibt means “there is” or “there are” — genuinely useful because, like French’s il y a, German uses the same phrase for both singular and plural:
Es gibt ein Buch auf dem Tisch. (There is a book on the table.) Es gibt viele Bücher auf dem Tisch. (There are many books on the table.)
A genuinely important, specific grammatical detail: es gibt literally means “it gives,” and the noun that follows it takes the accusative case (covered directly in Part 4, Lesson 1) — es gibt einen Mann (there is a man), where einen is the accusative masculine form, not the nominative ein.
To negate: Es gibt kein Buch. (There isn’t a book), using kein from Part 3, Lesson 2.
Practice Questions
1. What does “es gibt” mean?
View Answer
There is / there are.
2. Does “es gibt” change form between singular and plural?
View Answer
No — it stays the same for both.
3. Write “There is a book on the table.”
View Answer
Es gibt ein Buch auf dem Tisch.
4. What does “es gibt” literally mean, word for word?
View Answer
“It gives.”
5. What case does the noun following “es gibt” take?
View Answer
Accusative.
6. What later Part and Lesson covers the accusative case in depth?
View Answer
Part 4, Lesson 1.
7. Write “there is a man,” using the correct accusative form.
View Answer
es gibt einen Mann
8. Is “ein” or “einen” the accusative masculine form used after “es gibt”?
View Answer
einen
9. Write “There isn’t a book,” using “kein.”
View Answer
Es gibt kein Buch.
10. What earlier lesson introduced “kein”?
View Answer
Part 3, Lesson 2.
11. Write “There are many books on the table.”
View Answer
Es gibt viele Bücher auf dem Tisch.
12. Does German use two different phrases for “there is” and “there are,” or the same phrase?
View Answer
The same phrase.