The German personal pronoun es is the English equivalent of it and has similar functions. Es is certainly used as “it” in both the nominative and accusative cases, but it has other functions as well. For example, es is used in daily conversation such as when describing the weather or stating the time. There are some differences between German es and English it and there’s specifically one use that trips up many learners because the es doesn’t seem to make sense. So let’s take a detailed look at es.
Es is used in daily conversation such as when describing the weather or stating the time. Es, however, is used more often in German. Also, not only can the position of es be changed, it can even be eliminated, depending on its function.
The German personal pronoun “es” is used for a variety of expressions.
1. “Es gibt”
The expression “es gibt” (lit: it gives) is the German equivalent of the English “There is/There are”. In German, however, we always use the singular conjugation of “geben”, even if referring to a plural noun. In some instances, we can also say “Es ist/sind”. When using “ist/sind”, we do differentiate between singular and plural. “Es ist/sind” is used for specific occurrences or instances, whereas “es gibt” is used when discussing things in general terms.
Examples:
Es gibt viele Studenten an der Uni. There are a lot of students at the university.
Es sind viele Studenten auf dieser Party. There are lots of students at this party.
The party is a specific event that has a limited duration, but speaking of the number of students at a university is a general comment that has no apparent time constraint. Also note that the verb “sein” agrees with the subject and not the “es,” which is why it is “Es sind viele Studenten…” versus “Es ist niemand da” (there is no one there).
“Es gibt” is also used when talking about the existence (or lack) of things in general.
Examples:
Es gibt eine Bäckerei in dieser Nachbarschaft.
There is a bakery in this neighborhood.
Es gibt keine professionellen Fußballmannschaften in diesem Dorf.
There are no professional soccer teams in this village.
2. Impersonal uses of “es”
“Es” can be used as an impersonal pronoun (i.e. placeholder) in conjunction with a verb in order to express that an action is occurring and not specifying an agent. Examples: Es klingelt. (lit. “It rings“)The doorbell is ringing. OR Someone is ringing the doorbell.
Es regnet. It is raining.
Es heißt, dass die Firma fast pleite ist. People say the company is almost bankrupt.
3. Anticipatory use of “es”
Sometimes “es” is used in a sentence in order to anticipate something that will be mentioned in the next part or clause of the sentence. It is typically followed by a dependent or infinitival clause.
Examples:
Ich mag es, wenn die Sonne scheint. I like it when the sun shines.
Wir lieben es, mit unseren Kollegen zu arbeiten. We love working with our colleagues.