Breakdown of Wo sind die Pinsel? Es gab hier keine Pinsel!
sein
to be
hier
here
kein
no, not any
wo
where
es gibt
there is / there are
der Pinsel
the paintbrush
Questions & Answers about Wo sind die Pinsel? Es gab hier keine Pinsel!
Why does the second sentence use es gab instead of the plural es gaben or es waren to mean 'there were'?
In English, we say 'there was' (singular) or 'there were' (plural). But German always uses the fixed phrase es gibt (there is/are) and its simple past form es gab (there was/were). The phrase stays singular regardless of whether it is talking about one brush or many.
Why didn't the word Pinsel change its spelling to become plural?
What case is keine Pinsel in this sentence?
It is in the accusative case. The phrase es gibt (and its past tense es gab) always requires its object to be in the accusative. Because Pinsel is plural here, the accusative negative article is keine.
Since the current lesson is about da-compounds, how would I add 'I painted with them' referring to these brushes?
Because paintbrushes are inanimate objects, you cannot use normal personal pronouns after a preposition (like mit ihnen). Instead, you combine da- with the preposition. 'With them' becomes the da-compound damit, so you would say Ich habe damit gemalt.
Learn Wo sind die Pinsel? Es gab hier keine Pinsel 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