Word
Es ist ein Kind.
Meaning
It is a child.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Es ist ein Kind.
Why do we use ein here instead of eine?
The word Kind is a neuter noun. In German, the word for 'a' changes based on the gender of the noun. In the nominative case, we use ein for masculine and neuter nouns, and eine for feminine nouns.
Could ein Kind also mean 'one child'?
Yes! The word ein translates to both 'a' and the number 'one'. You can usually tell which one is meant from the context, but both translations make sense for this sentence.
Why is the word Kind capitalized in the middle of the sentence?
In German, all nouns (words for people, places, things, or concepts) must be capitalized, no matter where they appear in the sentence. Since Kind means 'child', it is a noun and gets a capital letter.
Why is ein Kind in the nominative case here?
The verb ist comes from sein (to be). This verb acts like an equals sign between two things, so both sides of the equation use the basic nominative case. That is why we use the standard form ein.