Breakdown of Hier gibt es Kaffee und Tee.
und
and
hier
here
der Kaffee
the coffee
der Tee
the tea
es gibt
there is / there are
Questions & Answers about Hier gibt es Kaffee und Tee.
Why is it "gibt es" instead of "es gibt" here?
In German, the main verb usually has to be the second idea in the sentence. Because we started the sentence with Hier (Here), the verb gibt takes the second spot. The subject es is pushed to the third spot right after the verb.
Doesn't the verb "geben" mean "to give"? Why does it mean "there is" here?
That is correct! Literally, es gibt translates to "it gives". However, in German, this is the standard, fixed phrase used to say "there is" or "there are". You will use es gibt anytime you want to express that something exists.
The sentence mentions two things (coffee and tea). Why do we use the singular "gibt" instead of a plural verb?
The lesson says "es gibt" uses the accusative case. Why don't "Kaffee" and "Tee" look different?
Kaffee and Tee are both masculine nouns, but here they are used without any articles like "the" (den) or "a" (einen) in front of them. Since the nouns themselves don't usually change spelling in the accusative case, you only see the case change on words attached to them. With no attached words here, there is no visible difference.
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