Breakdown of Es jonglieren viele Clowns in der Manege.
es
it
in
in
viel
much / a lot
jonglieren
to juggle
der Clown
the clown
die Manege
the circus ring
Questions & Answers about Es jonglieren viele Clowns in der Manege.
Why does the sentence start with Es if "many clowns" are the ones juggling?
Here, Es is a dummy subject (Vorfeld-es). It acts as a placeholder to fill position 1 in the sentence so that the real, logical subject (viele Clowns) can be delayed until after the verb. This is often used to introduce a scene or make the sentence sound more dramatic and narrative.
Since the sentence starts with Es, shouldn't the verb be singular (jongliert)?
No, because Es isn't the actual subject performing the action. The real subject is viele Clowns, which is plural. Therefore, the verb must be conjugated in the plural form: jonglieren. The dummy Es never dictates the verb conjugation.
Can I rearrange this sentence to start with Viele Clowns or In der Manege? What happens to Es?
Yes, you can! If you put the real subject or a prepositional phrase in position 1, the dummy Es completely disappears because its only job is to keep position 1 full. You would simply say: Viele Clowns jonglieren in der Manege. or In der Manege jonglieren viele Clowns.
Why is it in der Manege instead of in die Manege?
in is a two-way preposition. Because the clowns are juggling inside the ring as a fixed location (answering "where?" or wo?), we use the dative case. Manege is a feminine noun, so die changes to der in the dative case. If they were running into the ring from outside, you would use the accusative in die Manege to show direction.
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