Breakdown of Es fehlen alle Artisten nebst dem Dompteur.
es
it
alle
all, everyone
fehlen
to be missing
nebst
alongside / together with (in addition to)
der Artist
the circus artist / the performer
der Dompteur
the animal tamer
Questions & Answers about Es fehlen alle Artisten nebst dem Dompteur.
Why is the preposition nebst used here instead of mit?
While mit means 'with', nebst is a more formal preposition that specifically means 'along with', 'in addition to', or 'including'. Like many prepositions of inclusion, it requires the dative case, which is why it is followed by the dative masculine article in dem Dompteur.
Why is the verb fehlen plural when the sentence starts with the singular pronoun Es?
In this sentence, Es isn't the true subject; it's a dummy placeholder filling the first position to keep the verb in position two. The real subject is the plural alle Artisten, so the verb must be conjugated in the plural (fehlen). If we move the real subject to the front, the placeholder disappears: Alle Artisten nebst dem Dompteur fehlen.
Does the phrase nebst dem Dompteur help make the subject plural?
No. Unlike the conjunction und (and), prepositions like nebst or samt do not combine multiple singular items into a plural subject. The verb is plural here solely because of alle Artisten. If the main subject were a single person, the verb would be singular despite the addition: Es fehlt ein Artist nebst dem Dompteur.
Is Artisten the usual German word for artists like painters or musicians?
No, this is a classic false friend! An Artist in German is specifically a circus performer, acrobat, or variety entertainer. A fine arts artist (like a painter) is a Künstler. Additionally, Artist is a weak masculine noun (N-declension), which is why it takes an -en ending here in the plural.
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