Der Raum ist leer.

The room is empty.

Breakdown of Der Raum ist leer.

• sein: to be
• leer: empty
• der Raum: the room

Questions & Answers about Der Raum ist leer.

Why is the article Der used before Raum, and not das or die?

In German every noun has a grammatical gender: masculine, feminine, or neuter. Raum is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine definite article der in the nominative case.

• der Raum (masculine)
• die Tür (feminine)
• das Fenster (neuter)

Why is the adjective leer not declined to leere in Der Raum ist leer?

When an adjective follows a form of the verb sein (to be), it functions as a predicative adjective and remains in its base form (no ending). In other words, sein + adjective never requires adjective declension:

• Der Raum ist leer.
  If you instead use the adjective attributively (directly before a noun), you must decline it:
• Der leere Raum (nominative, masculine)

What is the sentence structure of Der Raum ist leer?

This is a simple S-V-P (Subject-Verb-Predicative) structure:

1. Subject: Der Raum
2. Verb: ist (third-person singular of sein)
3. Predicative adjective: leer

How would you turn Der Raum ist leer into a yes-no question?

Invert the verb and the subject:
Ist der Raum leer?
That’s the standard way to form a yes/no question in German (Verb-Subject-…).

How do you pronounce Raum?

Raum is pronounced [ʁaʊm]. Key points:

• R is a voiced uvular fricative, like a gargled or “guttural” R.
• au sounds like the English ow in “cow.”
• Final m is the same as English “m.”

Why is Raum capitalized in German?

All German nouns are always capitalized, regardless of where they appear in the sentence. This rule makes it easy to spot nouns in written German.

Could I use an attributive adjective instead of the predicative form here?

Yes. If you want to describe the space with an adjective before the noun, you decline leer:

• Der leere Raum (the empty room)
  Then you’d need a verb to complete the sentence, e.g. Der leere Raum wirkt groß (The empty room seems big).

Are there any common synonyms for leer in this context?

Yes, depending on nuance you might use:

• unbesetzt (unoccupied) – often for seats or rooms without people
• frei (free, available) – e.g. Ist der Raum frei?
• ungefüllt (unfilled) – more formal, for containers or abstract spaces

What’s the difference between Raum and Zimmer?

• Raum is a general term meaning “room” or “space.” It can refer to any enclosed or defined area (meeting room, storage space, conceptual space).
• Zimmer usually means a room in a residence or hotel (bedroom, living room).
  So Der Konferenzraum ist leer (The conference room is empty) vs. Mein Zimmer ist leer (My bedroom is empty).