Questions & Answers about Das Kino ist groß und alt.
Why don't the words groß and alt have any special endings?
In German, when an adjective comes after the verb (like in 'is big' or 'is old'), it stays in its basic dictionary form. You only add endings when the adjective comes directly before a noun, like if you said 'the big cinema' (das große Kino).
What is the letter that looks like a capital B in groß?
That is an Eszett or 'sharp s'. It is a special German letter that makes a hissing 's' sound, exactly like the 'ss' in the English word 'glass'. If you don't have a German keyboard, it is perfectly fine to type gross instead.
How do I know the gender of Kino?
Kino is a neuter noun, which is why it uses das. As a handy trick, many nouns in German that end in '-o' and were borrowed from other languages are neuter, such as das Auto and das Radio.
This lesson teaches es gibt (there is / there are). How would I say 'There is a cinema' instead of 'The cinema is...'?
You would say Es gibt ein Kino. The phrase es gibt always requires the accusative (direct object) case. Since Kino is a neuter noun, the word for 'a' remains ein in the accusative case, just like it is in the nominative case.
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