Word
Die Tonne ist leer.
Meaning
The bin is empty.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching German grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Die Tonne ist leer.
Why is the article die used with Tonne here?
Because Tonne is a feminine noun in German. In the nominative case (subject of the sentence), feminine nouns take the article die.
What case is die Tonne in, and how can I tell?
It’s in the nominative case, because it’s the subject of the sentence (the thing doing or being described). In German, the subject always appears in the nominative and here die Tonne performs the action of “being empty.”
Why is Tonne capitalized?
In German, all nouns are capitalized, regardless of their position in the sentence. That’s a key spelling rule.
What does Tonne mean in this context?
Here Tonne usually refers to a large container or bin—often a garbage bin or barrel. It’s not the metric ton (unit of weight); context (and a different article or measurement word) would make that clear.
Why is the verb ist used? Could I say hat instead?
Ist is the third‑person singular form of sein (to be), which you use when stating a condition or quality (“is empty”). Hat is from haben (to have) and wouldn’t work with leer. You say der Tisch ist leer (the table is empty), not der Tisch hat leer.
Why doesn’t leer have an ending like leere or leerer?
Because here it’s a predicative adjective (linked by a form of sein), not an attributive adjective (directly before a noun). Predicative adjectives do not take endings: you say Die Tonne ist leer, but if you describe it directly you’d say die leere Tonne (with the ending -e).
How would I turn this into a yes/no question?
By inverting verb and subject. You put ist first, then the subject:
Ist die Tonne leer?
This automatically signals a yes/no question in German.
What’s the difference between die leere Tonne and die Tonne ist leer?
Die leere Tonne uses leere attributively (adjective with ending) to describe the noun directly—“the empty bin.”
Die Tonne ist leer states a condition or fact about the bin using a predicate: “the bin is empty.” Both communicate emptiness, but one is a noun phrase, the other a full sentence.