There is / There are: es gibt
To say "there is" or "there are" in German, use the fixed phrase es gibt (literally "it gives"). To ask "Is there...?" or "Are there...?", swap the word order to gibt es.
The thing that "exists" acts as the direct object, so it always takes the accusative case.
As a reminder, only masculine articles change in the accusative:
| Gender | "a" (Acc.) | "no / not a" (Acc.) |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine | einen | keinen |
| Feminine | eine | keine |
| Neuter | ein | kein |
Notice how masculine nouns like Park and Supermarkt require einen and keinen:
| Is there a park here? | Gibt es hier einen Park? |
| Yes, there is a park here. | Ja, hier gibt es einen Park. |
| Unfortunately, there is no supermarket here. | Leider gibt es hier keinen Supermarkt. |
For neuter and feminine nouns, the articles are identical to their subject forms:
| Is there also a restaurant here? | Gibt es hier auch ein Restaurant? |
| There is a bakery and a cafe here. | Hier gibt es eine Bäckerei und ein Café. |
| Is there no pharmacy here? | Gibt es hier keine Apotheke? |
Asking "What is there?"
Combine es gibt with was (what) to ask what is around. Because it translates to both "there is" and "there are," the phrase stays exactly the same whether you mean one place or many.
| What is there here? | Was gibt es hier? |
| There is a cinema here. | Hier gibt es ein Kino. |
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