Back to library

Pronoun 'es' (it, accusative)

Pronomen 'es' (Akkusativ)

'es' (it) is the of neuter 'es' - same form as the .

Structure

… + es (Akkusativ, neutrum)

… + es (accusative, neuter)

Details

Part of Speech
Pronoun
Word Type
Personal pronoun
Register
Standard

Explanation

'es' in the means it - the direct-object form for neuter nouns. It replaces any neuter (das Buch -> es, das Auto -> es).

Important: the form does not change. Neuter es is identical in the and the ; only its role in the sentence changes.

When you use it:

  • after accusative verbs: kaufen, lesen, sehen, nehmen, brauchen (for example Ich kaufe es - I'll buy it)
  • after accusative prepositions a thing takes no es: German uses da(r)- + instead - dafür, dagegen, dadurch (not für es)

Contrast:

  • Es ist neu. ( - )
  • Ich kaufe es. (direct - )
  • Ich gebe ihm einen Namen. ( of es is ihm)

Examples:

  • Ich kaufe es heute. - I am buying it today.
  • Das Buch ist gut, ich lese es. - The book is good, I am reading it.

Common mistakes: The of es is ihm (the same as er), not es - so Ich gebe ihm Wasser for a neuter thing. Also, in casual speech es is often contracted (Ich hab's gelesen), but at A1 simply write out es.

About Pronoun 'es' (it, accusative)

'es' (it) is the of neuter 'es' - same form as the .

of 'es'; same form as the , replaces neuter nouns.

'es' (, ) hat dieselbe Form wie im .

Caution

Neuter 'es' looks the same in nominative and accusative; it replaces neuter nouns (das Buch → es).