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Questions & Answers about Das Glas ist leer.
Why is das used as the article for Glas?
In German every noun has a gender (masculine, feminine or neuter). Glas is a neuter noun, and when a neuter noun is the subject (nominative case) its definite article is das.
Why doesn’t leer take an ending like leeres?
Because leer here is a predicate adjective, coming after the verb sein (ist). Predicate adjectives in German remain uninflected. If you use the adjective attributively (directly before a noun), you do add an ending: for example ein leeres Glas.
Why is ist in the second position and not at the end of the sentence?
Standard German main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must occupy the second position. Here Das Glas is the first element, so ist comes immediately after it.
How do you form a question to ask “Is the glass empty?”
Flip the subject and the conjugated verb (inversion). You get: Ist das Glas leer?
How can I say “A glass is empty,” instead of “The glass is empty”?
Replace the definite article das with the indefinite article ein:
Ein Glas ist leer.
Note that ein is uninflected here because Glas is neuter nominative.
How do I refer back to das Glas without repeating the noun?
Use the neuter pronoun es:
Es ist leer.
What is the plural form of das Glas?
The plural is die Gläser (add -er and an Umlaut over a).
How do you pronounce Glas?
It’s pronounced with a hard G and a long a: /ɡlaːs/. The final s is voiceless, like the s in English “see.”
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.
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