Word
Das Glas ist leer.
Meaning
The glass is empty.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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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”?