In diesem Zimmer ist es ruhig.

It is quiet in this room.

Breakdown of In diesem Zimmer ist es ruhig.

• sein: to be
• in: in
• ruhig: quiet
• es: it

Questions & Answers about In diesem Zimmer ist es ruhig.

Why do we need es in In diesem Zimmer ist es ruhig? Why not just In diesem Zimmer ist ruhig?

German almost always requires a subject, even when English would leave it out.

• In this sentence, es is a dummy subject (also called an expletive) – it doesn’t really “mean” anything.
• The real information is:
  • Ort (place): in diesem Zimmer
  • Zustand (state): ruhig

But German grammar wants:

1. Something in the subject position
2. A verb
3. The rest of the information

So you get: In diesem Zimmer (first position) – ist (second) – es (subject in “middle” field) – ruhig.

You cannot say In diesem Zimmer ist ruhig; that sounds ungrammatical, like “In this room is quiet” without a subject. You need es.

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Why is it diesem Zimmer and not dieses / dieser Zimmer?

Diesem is the dative singular neuter form of dies- (“this”).

• The noun Zimmer is:
  • gender: neuter (das Zimmer)
  • number: singular
  • case: dative (because of the preposition in expressing location)

The declension of in the singular is: