Breakdown of Haben die Leute Zeit?
haben
to have
die Zeit
the time
die Leute
the people
Zeit haben
to have time
Questions & Answers about Haben die Leute Zeit?
Why does this question start with Haben instead of a word for 'Do'?
In German, you don't use a helper word like 'do' to make a yes/no question. Instead, you just put the verb first. So, the statement Die Leute haben (The people have) becomes the question Haben die Leute (Have the people).
Why does the verb haben end in -en here?
The subject is die Leute (the people), which is a plural noun. In the present tense, verbs for plural subjects like wir (we), sie (they), or plural nouns take the -en ending.
If I wanted to use a pronoun instead of die Leute, which one would I use?
You would use the plural pronoun sie (they). Because die Leute refers to a group of people, replacing it gives you Haben sie Zeit? (Do they have time?). The verb haben keeps its -en ending to match the plural pronoun.
Why isn't there an article like 'eine' or 'die' before Zeit?
Just like in English, German often leaves out the article when talking about general, uncountable concepts. You just say Zeit (time), exactly like we say 'have time' rather than 'have a time'.
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