Breakdown of Es balancieren viele Akrobaten, und die Spannung steigt.
es
it
und
and
viel
much / a lot
steigen
to rise (go up, increase)
balancieren
to balance
der Akrobat
the acrobat
die Spannung
the suspense
Questions & Answers about Es balancieren viele Akrobaten, und die Spannung steigt.
Why does the sentence start with Es when the acrobats are the ones balancing?
This is a "dummy subject" (often called a Vorfeld-es). It sits in position 1 just to keep the verb in position 2, which delays the actual subject (viele Akrobaten) until later. This is a stylistic choice used to set a scene or put more focus on the acrobats by revealing them after the verb.
Since the sentence starts with Es, shouldn't the verb be singular?
No, because the dummy Es isn't the real grammatical subject. The verb always has to match the logical subject. Since viele Akrobaten is plural, the verb must be the plural balancieren. If it were just one acrobat, it would be Es balanciert ein Akrobat.
Is it grammatically correct to just say Viele Akrobaten balancieren without the Es?
Yes, that is completely correct and means the exact same thing. Moving the real subject to position 1 and dropping the dummy Es is the more standard, everyday way to say this. Using the dummy Es just makes it sound a bit more dramatic or story-like.
In the second clause, why does the verb steigt come after die Spannung instead of right after und?
The word und is a coordinating conjunction, which means it occupies "position 0". It connects the two clauses but doesn't count as the first idea in the new clause. Because of this, the new subject die Spannung takes position 1, and the verb steigt safely takes position 2.
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