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?
Lv 7
? asked in Society & CultureLanguages · 3 years ago

Question about German pronoun?

I'm (re-) learning German from Duolingo, after some 30 years off since high school.

Today the sentence came up "Es ist ein Apfel." My question is why you would use 'Es' instead of 'Er'. After all, 'Apfel' is masculine -- der Apfel.

I'm sure there's a good reason; I'd like to know what that is. Thanks!

5 Answers

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  • 3 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Because the subject "it" is unknown gender until you get to object apple.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    3 years ago

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  • Anonymous
    3 years ago

    The German personal pronoun "es" is the English equivalent of "it" and has similar functions. Therefore, it can be used in a sentence such as your example.

  • ?
    Lv 7
    3 years ago

    Guessing (it's been a long time since I learned German...)

    For the same reason you would use neuter "it" in English.

    That is: because the word "it" itself is neuter

    and so when you mean some as-yet unidentified or ungendered object, you use the neuter.

    Similarly in English:

    - It's a boy (rather than "He's a boy")

    - It's a guy, not a girl

    etc.

    It projects the idea of a gender becoming recognized

    So - for example - of a thing unrecognized becoming recognized.

    It is at first unrecognized (and thus a neuter "thing")

    and then (by the end of the sentence) is identified, including gender.

  • Mark
    Lv 7
    3 years ago

    Well, it is colloquial and VERY common... "Es ist ein Maedchen" is correct, but no one would say "'it' is a girl", would they?

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