Questions & Answers about Vielleicht ist es ein Koffer.
Why is the verb before the subject (ist es instead of es ist)?
In German, the main verb usually has to be in the second position in a statement. Because this sentence starts with the word Vielleicht (Maybe) in position 1, the verb ist takes position 2, and the subject es gets pushed to position 3.
Since this lesson is about noun negation, how would I say 'Maybe it is not a suitcase'?
You would simply replace the word ein with kein, giving you: Vielleicht ist es kein Koffer. Just like ein, the word kein is used here because Koffer is a masculine noun in the nominative case.
Why do we use ein Koffer instead of einen Koffer?
The verb sein (to be) acts like an equals sign, meaning both sides of the sentence take the nominative (subject) case. Even though the suitcase comes after the verb, it is not a direct object, so we use the nominative ein instead of the accusative einen.
How would I make this plural to say 'Maybe they are suitcases'?