es phrases
das Wörtchen es
The German little word es is a dummy subject: it fills the subject slot when nobody really does the action (es regnet, es gibt) and stands in for a subject clause (Es ist wichtig, dass …).
Every German sentence needs a subject. But when it is not clear who does the action, as in “it’s raining”, es steps in as a joker to fill the gap. English does the same with “it” and “there”, and this page shows where German follows the same pattern and where it goes its own way.
Right now: sentences without a real subject
ShortcutSome sentences have no real doer: “It’s raining”, “It’s late”. German does not allow a sentence without a subject. So when there is nobody to name, you build a “dummy subject” with the word es.
Es regnet.
It’s raining. (Who is raining? -> es)
Es ist spät.
It’s late.
You already do this in English (but not always the same way)
English uses a dummy “it” for weather and time, and “there is / there are” for existence. German builds all of these with “es”. The pattern is the same for weather and time; for “there is”, German uses a different structure, es gibt.
| Use | German phrase | Example |
|---|---|---|
| There is / there are | es gibt (+ Akkusativ) | Es gibt ein Problem. (There’s a problem.) |
| Weather | es regnet, es schneit | Morgen wird es regnen. |
| Time | es ist früh/spät | Es ist schon 8 Uhr. |
| Topic / content | es geht um (+ Akkusativ) | Es geht um das Geld. (It’s about the money.) |
These phrases are fixed. You cannot drop es, just as you cannot say “Is raining” in English.
Table: the placeholder “es” (Es freut mich…)
Sometimes the real content is in a subordinate clause with “dass”. German announces that clause in the main clause with “es”: es stands for the clause that comes after it. English does the same: “It is important that we learn.”
| Placeholder | Main clause | Real subject (subordinate clause) |
|---|---|---|
| Es | freut mich, | dass du kommst. |
| Es | ist wichtig, | dass wir lernen. |
| Es | tut mir leid, | dass ich zu spät bin. |
The es in these sentences announces the subordinate clause that follows. If the clause moves to the front, es drops; if something else moves to the front, es can stay: Mich freut es, dass du kommst.
Es ist wichtig, dass wir gesund essen.
It’s important that we eat healthily.
Trap: using the Nominativ with es gibt
Saying “Es gibt der…”
es gibt means “there is / there are”, but grammatically it is built as “it (es) gives (gibt)”. So it always needs the Akkusativ (den) after it. English has no cases here (“there is a new teacher”), which is why the Nominativ slips in so easily.
Es gibt ein neuer Lehrer.
Wrong. The Nominativ was used.
Es gibt einen neuen Lehrer.
Correct. It has to be the Akkusativ.
What you just learned
___ tut mir leid, dass ich keine Zeit habe.
Show the answer
Es. In the phrase es tut mir leid, es is the temporary subject. It is a fixed expression of regret.
Gibt es hier einen Arzt? — this sentence is grammatically correct.
Show the answer
True. Because it is a question, gibt has moved to the front, and Arzt (der) is correctly in the Akkusativ (einen).
Im Text geht ___ um die Umwelt.
Show the answer
es — Being about something, having something as its topic -> es geht um.
What nobody tells you: can “es” drop out?
The “es” that announces a subordinate clause drops out when the clause moves to the front: “Dass du kommst, freut mich.” If something else moves to the front, it can stay: “Mich freut es, dass du kommst.” Only the “es” that just fills the first position (Vorfeld-es) must drop out once something else takes that position: “Es bleibt keine Zeit” becomes “Mir bleibt keine Zeit”. But the fixed “es” in phrases such as “es regnet” or “es tut mir leid” / “mir tut es leid” never drops.
Dass du kommst, freut mich.
It makes me happy that you’re coming. (es dropped)
Mir bleibt keine Zeit.
I’m left with no time. (es dropped)
Build the sentence yourself
Tap the words and put them in order. This is the hardest part of German — and there are no options to pick from, you build it.
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tap the words
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tap the words
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Know this before the test
The core of the topic in three lines, then the mistakes people make most often.
- es gibt always takes the Akkusativ
The noun after the phrase es gibt (there is / there are) must be in the Akkusativ (der -> den).
Es gibt keinen Kaffee mehr.
Heute gibt es sonnig.
Heute ist es sonnig.
With weather adjectives (sonnig, windig) you do not use “es gibt”; you use “ist” directly.
Test yourself
Tap an answer — we will look at why together.
In dieser Stadt es viele Parks.
There are many parks in this city.
Es gibt hier (ein guter Arzt).
There is a good doctor here.
Im Text geht um die Umwelt.
The text is about the environment.
ist wichtig, dass wir gesund essen.
It’s important that we eat healthily.
Worum es in dem Film?
What is the film about?
Leider gibt es mehr. (kein Zimmer)
Unfortunately there are no rooms left.
Practice done — –
To finish the topic, take the full test: score 60% and it is marked as done on your level path.
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es phrases worksheet
This whole page — tables, traps, examples — as one PDF. Download it, print it, run through it before the exam.
Related topics
sein · haben · werden
ich bin, ich habe, ich werde
sein, haben and werden are the three most-used German verbs, and they double as auxiliary verbs: ich bin, ich habe, ich werde.
Pronouns
mich or mir?
mich or mir — the full pronoun table and which case turns up when.
Infinitive with zu
zu · um…zu · ohne…zu
The infinitive with zu is the German construction where an infinitive is introduced by “zu”: zu, um…zu, ohne…zu.