Log inSign up

Hier gibt es ein Kino.

Hier gibt es ein Kino.
There is a cinema here.
From Lesson 18:There is / there are (es gibt)·German

Questions & Answers about Hier gibt es ein Kino.

Why are gibt and es swapped around in this sentence?
In German statements, the verb is always the second idea in the sentence. Because we started with the location Hier (Here) in position 1, the verb gibt takes position 2. This pushes the subject es to position 3. If we started with the subject, it would be Es gibt hier ein Kino.
What does es gibt literally translate to?
Literally, it means 'it gives' (es = it, gibt = gives). However, German uses this phrase the exact same way English uses 'there is' or 'there are'.
The lesson says es gibt requires the accusative case. Why is it ein Kino and not einen Kino?
The phrase es gibt always forces the following noun into the accusative (direct object) case. However, Kino is a neuter noun (das Kino). Neuter words don't change their articles in the accusative case, so ein stays ein. If it were a masculine noun like a park (der Park), it would change to einen Park.
If I wanted to say 'There are cinemas here' (plural), would I need to change the verb?
No! Unlike English, which changes between 'there is' and 'there are', German always uses es gibt for both singular and plural. To say 'There are cinemas here', you simply say Hier gibt es Kinos.

Learn Hier gibt es ein Kino and more in German

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning German →