Falsche Ideen: es gibt vs da ist/sind, jemanden, niemanden, relative clauses | German

Starter quiz

Match these German words to the correct English translations.

Köln

⇔

Cologne ✓

München

⇔

Munich ✓

das Zelt

⇔

tent ✓

setzen

⇔

to set, place, put ✓

die Stimme

⇔

voice, vote ✓

die Frau

⇔

woman ✓
What does 'es gibt' mean in English?

'there is'

'there are'

both 'there is' and 'there are' ✓
How would you say 'someone' in German?

'jemand' ✓
How would you say 'no-one' in German?

'niemand' ✓
Which sentence uses a relative clause?

Das Mädchen ist lieb.

Die Donau, die tief ist. ✓

Die Stadt ist multikulturell.
Match these German words to the correct English translations.

die Ostsee

⇔

the Baltic Sea ✓

unterscheiden

⇔

to distinguish, distinguishing ✓

diesmal

⇔

this time ✓

immer

⇔

always ✓

bekommen

⇔

to get, receive ✓

das Volk

⇔

people, folk ✓

Exit quiz

Match these German words to the correct English translations.

verändern

⇔

to change, changing ✓

die Frau

⇔

wife, Mrs., Ms., Miss. ✓

die Kraft

⇔

strength, power ✓

die Lage

⇔

situation ✓

darstellen

⇔

to depict, portray, show ✓

aktuell

⇔

current, currently ✓
Complete the following sentence in German: '______ ein Fluss auf dem Foto.'

'Da ist' ✓
Complete the following sentence in German: '______ viele U-Bahn Linien in Berlin.'

'Es gibt' ✓
Complete the following sentence in German using an indefinite pronoun: 'Es gibt ______, der eine laute Stimme hat.'

'jemanden' ✓
Which of these sentences is correct?

Da ist das Zelt, der groß ist.

Da ist das Zelt, das groß ist. ✓

Da ist das Zelt, das ist groß.

Da ist das Zelt, der ist groß.
Put the words below in the correct order to translate the following sentence into German: 'I know no-one who thinks negatively.'

1

⇔

ich

2

⇔

kenne

3

⇔

niemanden

4

⇔

,

5

⇔

der

6

⇔

negativ

7

⇔

denkt

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

'Es gibt' means ‘there is’ and ‘there are’. It is a general statement that something exists.
Use 'es ist' and 'da ist' to point out what there is in a specific place at a specific moment in time.
Relative clauses add information about the noun in a main clause without starting another sentence.
Use the indefinite pronouns 'jemand' (someone) and 'niemand' (no-one) instead of a noun.

Common misconception

There is only one way to say 'there is' in German.

In German, we use 'es gibt' to talk about something more generally, and 'da ist' and 'da sind' to point out what there is in a specific place at a specific moment in time.

Keywords

Es gibt - means 'there is' and is a general statement that something exists
Da ist - means 'there is' and points out what is in a specific place at a specific time
Relative clause - adds information about the noun in the main clause
Jemand - a pronoun meaning 'someone'
Niemand - a pronoun meaning 'no-one'