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In English, we often use the word "it" in fixed expressions where "it" does not refer to any specific noun, such as "take it easy" or "make it far." German does the exact same thing using the dummy object **es**.

### Being in a hurry

One of the most common expressions with a dummy object is **es eilig haben** (to be in a hurry). Even though *eilig* means "hurried," you must always include *es* when using it as a fixed phrase with *haben*.

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### Taking things personally

When dealing with mistakes, another common *es* phrase describes holding a grudge: **es jemandem übel nehmen** (to hold it against someone, literally: to take it amiss from someone). 

Notice that this phrase requires the dative case for the person you are holding the grudge against (e.g., *mir*, *dir*).

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### Going far and having a hard time

You can also use *es* to describe general success or difficulty in life:

- **es weit bringen**: to go far 
- **es schwer haben**: to have a hard time

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### Rushing and intentions

When you are in a rush (*die Hektik*) or acting out of haste (*aus Eile*), accidents and minor mishaps (*das Missgeschick*) happen.

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To explain that you or someone else did not intend for a mishap to happen, use the expression **es gut meinen** (to mean well) or **es böse meinen** (to mean harm).

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### Taking it seriously or lightly

You can use *es* with the verb *nehmen* (to take) to describe your attitude toward a situation or mishap:

- **es ernst nehmen**: to take it seriously
- **es leicht nehmen**: to take it lightly
- **es genau nehmen**: to be particular or precise (to take it exactly)

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When you are feeling scatterbrained (*schusselig*) and accidentally mess something up (*vermasseln*), remembering that you "meant well" can often soften the blow!

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Dummy object phrases (es)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
hurried	eilig
I am in a hurry because I missed the train.	Ich habe es eilig, weil ich den Zug verpasst habe.
You don't need to be in a hurry.	Du brauchst es nicht eilig zu haben.
amiss	übel
He held it against me.	Er hat es mir übel genommen.
I hope you don't hold it against me.	Ich hoffe, dass du es mir nicht übel nimmst.
the diligence	der Fleiß
With diligence, you can go far.	Mit Fleiß kannst du es weit bringen.
Diligence is very important for success.	Fleiß ist sehr wichtig für den Erfolg.
the hurry	die Eile
Out of haste, I forgot the keys.	Aus Eile habe ich die Schlüssel vergessen.
the mishap	das Missgeschick
Because of his haste, he had a mishap.	Aus Eile ist ihm ein Missgeschick passiert.
The little mishap is not a problem.	Das kleine Missgeschick ist kein Problem.
the rush	die Hektik
In the rush, she often means no harm.	In der Hektik meint sie es oft nicht böse.
I don't like this rush today.	Ich mag diese Hektik heute nicht.
Either you take it seriously, or you have a hard time.	Entweder nimmst du es ernst, oder du hast es schwer.
to rush	hetzen
We don't have to rush, we have time.	Wir müssen nicht hetzen, wir haben Zeit.
I stumbled, but I took it lightly.	Ich bin gestolpert, aber ich habe es leicht genommen.
You must be careful not to stumble.	Du musst aufpassen, dass du nicht stolperst.
to slip (lose one's footing)	ausrutschen
If you are in a hurry, you can slip on the ice.	Wenn du es eilig hast, kannst du auf dem Eis ausrutschen.
She slipped in the bathroom and injured herself.	Sie ist im Bad ausgerutscht und hat sich verletzt.
accidentally	versehentlich
I accidentally deleted the file, but she is very particular.	Ich habe die Datei versehentlich gelöscht, aber sie nimmt es genau.
He accidentally broke the glass.	Er hat versehentlich das Glas zerbrochen.
You don't need to take it so seriously.	Du brauchst es nicht so ernst zu nehmen.
The man is in a hurry, therefore he is rushing.	Der Mann hat es eilig, deshalb hetzt er.
scatterbrained	schusselig
He was scatterbrained today, but he really meant well.	Er war heute schusselig, aber er hat es wirklich gut gemeint.
We were in a huge hurry and were totally scatterbrained.	Wir hatten es sehr eilig und waren total schusselig.
to mess up	vermasseln
I meant well, but unfortunately I messed everything up.	Ich habe es gut gemeint, aber leider habe ich alles vermasselt.
He took it too lightly and messed up the interview.	Er hat es zu leicht genommen und das Interview vermasselt.

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