Introduction

The German pronoun ‚es’ is quite a special word. Sometimes it has a meaning, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it is required, sometimes it is not. It can be the subject, but it can also be the object. I will introduce some useful expressions dealing with this issue.

‘es’ is quite a useful word, because it has many functions. Let us take a closer look at how to use it. How does it come that sometimes it has a meaning and sometimes it doesn’t?

The two kind of ‘es’ are simply two different kind of words. The first one refers to real objects, but why do we need a word with no meaning at all? Let’s see the differences.

The pronoun ‘es’

Let’s start with the types of ‘es’ which have a meaning. But first of all: What is a pronoun? It stands for a noun, because it can replace it.

Wie ist das Buch?  – Es ist sehr interessant.

How is the book? – It is very interesting.

Kennst du das Buch? – Nein, ich kenne es nicht.

Do you know the book? – No, I don’t know it.

In both examples, ‘es’ (it) means actually ‘the book’. The only difference is that in the first sentence it is the subject (nominative case), in the second sentence it is the object (accusative case).

Notice that unlike in English, not all nouns describing things can be replaced by ‘es’. ‘das Buch’ is neuter, so its pronoun is ‘es’, but for example, the gender of table in German is masculine (der Tisch), so its pronoun is ‘er’ (literally: he) for the subject respectively ‘ihn’ (literally: him) for the object. The same for feminine, a lamp would be ‘sie’ (literally: she).

Wie viel kostet der Tisch? – Er kostet 100 Euro. – Ich finde ihn zu teurer.

How much does the table cost? – It costs 100 Euro. – I think it is too expensive.

Wo ist die Lampe? – Sie steht da. – Könntest du sie mir bitte geben?

Where is the light? – It is there. – Could you give it to me?

In a few cases ‘es’ can stand even for a person, when the gender is neuter, for example ‘das Baby’, hence ‘es’. This means ‘es’ is the pronoun of all neuter nouns.

In some cases, ‘es’ can refer to an adjective.

Ist dein Freund sportlich? – Natürlich ist er es.

Is your boyfriend very sporty? Of course, he is.

Here ends the part where ‘es’ has a meaning. However, we will see that ‘es’ is used in many other cases where it has no meaning. These cases might cause more trouble, because it is harder to learn how to use a word with no distinctive meaning.

Expletive ‘es’

What does expletive mean? It is “a word or phrase used to fill out a sentence (…) without adding to the sense” (google). In other words, when we don’t have a subject, we use ‘es’. One of the most important rules of the German grammar is that the verb must be in the second position. ‘es’ can make that possible.

Now, think about an English sentence like ‘it rains’. There is not raining anything, ‘it’ has no meaning here at all. The same in German:

Es regnet.

And other weather verbs:

Es schneit.

It is snowing.

Es hagelt.

It is hailing.

Or:

Es ist warm/kalt/heiß/sonnig/windig/wolkig etc.

It is warm/cold/hot/sunny/windy/cloudy.

Notice that unlike in English, we can’t say: The weather is warm.

Wrong: Das Wetter ist warm.

Correct: Das Wetter ist schön/herrlich/schrecklich etc..

The weather is nice/beautiful/terrible etc.

From here, we can get to structures like:

es ist + adjective + ‘zu’ + infinitive/subordinated sentence

Es ist schön dich wiederzusehen.

It is nice to see you again.

Es ist wichtig, dass du kommst.

It is important that you come.

Up to here, the use of ‘es’ is pretty similar to the English ‘it’.

Expressions where ‘es’ is required

1) ‘es’ as subject

Some verbs/expressions don’t have a subject, so they require ‘es’ in order to fill in the first position of the sentence.

Wie geht es dir/Ihnen? – Es geht mir gut./ Mir geht es gut.

Es/Das kommt darauf an./ Es/Das hängt davon ab.

It depends.

Es/Das ist mir egal.

I don’t care.

Es/Das macht mir nichts aus.

I don’t mind.

Sometimes, ‚es’ can’t be replaced by ‚das’.

Es freut mich Sie kennen zu lernen.

Nice to meet you.

Worum geht es? – Es geht um (ein neues Projekt).

What is it about? It is about (a new project).

Es lohnt sich (nicht mehr) (, heute noch damit anzufangen.)

It is (not) worth (to start with it now.)

Es fällt mir/ihm etc. (nicht) schwer/leicht (, mich/sich zu konzentrieren).

It is (not) hard/easy for me/him (to concentrate).

Es wundert mich, dass (er noch gekommen ist.)

I am surprised that / It strikes me that (he did come.)

What happens if the infinitive sentence is in the first position? ‘es’ can’t be used, because the first position of the sentence is occupied.

Das heute noch zu machen, lohnt sich nicht mehr.

Sich zu konzentrieren, fällt ihm schwer.

Dass er noch gekommen ist, wundert mich.

With the verb ‘sein’ (to be) the situation is slightly different, ‘es’ is not in the first position. Notice the difference to the sentence in English.

Ja, hallo. – Ich bin’s (es).

Hi. – It’s me.

– Wer hat das gemacht? – Ich war’s (, der/die das gemacht hat).

Who did that? – It was me (who did that).

2) ‘es’ as object

Verbs with ‘es’ and an infinitive structure

es ablehnen

to refuse to do s.th.

Ich lehne es ab das zu machen.

I refuse to do that.

es ansehen/betrachten als

to consider s.th, to take s.th. for

Ich betrachte es als selbstverständlich (Ihnen dabei zu helfen).

I take it for granted.

es aufgeben

to give up

Ich habe es aufgegeben ihn vom Rauchen abzuhalten

I have given up trying to make him stop smoking.

es aushalten

to be able to tolerate, to bear, to stand s.th.

Es ist zu heiß hier. Ich halte es nicht mehr aus.

It is too hot here. I can’t stand it anymore.

es empfinden als

to perceive s.th. as

Ich empfinde es als äußerst unangenehm das zu machen.

I think it is very embarassing to do that.

es halten für

to regard, to consider s.th. as

Ich halte es für das Beste, wenn wir das beenden.

I consider it best if we finish that.

es lieben/hassen

love/ hate

Ich liebe/hasse es Ski zu fahren.

es nennen

to call s.th.

Nennen Sie es, wie Sie wollen!

Call it whatever you like.

es eilig haben

to be in a hurry

Tut mir leid. Ich bin spät dran. Ich habe es sehr eilig.

I am sorry, I am running late. I am in a hurry.

es sein lassen

to leave s.th. alone /to stop

Lass es sein!

Leave it alone! Stop it!

es sich gut gehen lassen

to do oneself well

Lass es dir gut gehen! Lasst es euch gut gehen!

Have a great time! Take care of yourself!

es sich durch den Kopf gehen lassen

to have a good think about it

Lass es dir noch einmal durch den Kopf gehen!

Have a good think about it!

es nicht/kaum erwarten können

to be unable to wait

Ich kann es kaum erwarten endlich in Urlaub zu fahren.

I can’t wait to go on vacation.

It depends on the place of the infinitive sentence if ‚es’ is required or not.  If we have the order main sentence – infinitive sentence, ‘es’ is mandatory, in the opposite order ‘es’ can’t be used.

es sich (nicht) erlauben können

(not) be able to afford to do s.th.

Mein Chef hat mich auf dem Kieker. Ich kann es mir nicht erlauben, noch einen Fehler zu machen.

My boss suspects me of not doing a god job. I can’t afford to make another mistake.

But: Noch einen Fehler zu machen, kann ich mir nicht erlauben.

es (nicht) verdient haben

(not) to deserve

Er hat immer gut gearbeitet. Er hat es nicht verdient, gekündigt zu werden.

He always worked very well. He doesn’t deserve to get laid off.

But: Gekündigt zu werden, hat er nicht verdient.

Compare with these sentences:

Du hast es mir versprochen.

Du hast mir versprochen um 8 zu acht.

Er hat es mir gesagt.

Er hat mir gesagt, dass er um 8 kommen würde.

Here, ‘es’ is not compulsory, it is just the object of ‘versprechen’ or ‘sagen’, which can replace an infinitive sentence.

Passive voice

In German there are also uses of ‘es’ we can hardly find in English. Let’s have a look at the passive voice of intransitive verbs (verbs without a direct object/accusative case).

Active voice:

Man isst und trinkt, tanzt und singt. / Die Leute essen und trinken, tanzen und singen.

The people are eating and drinking, dancing and singing.

Passive voice:

Es wird gegessen und getrunken, getanzt und gesungen.

How to translate the passive sentence? There is no equivalent in English. The passive voice has the same meaning as both sentences of the active voice. Sentences with ‘man’ are stylistically not very elegant, therefore sometimes the passive voice is preferred. Another reason is that here the action is stressed, not the subject.

If we use another word in the first position, ‘es’ is omitted.

Correct: Heute wird getanzt.

Wrong: Heute wird es getanzt.

?? Es wird heute getanzt.

From these examples you can see that ‘es’ has only a grammatical function, but no meaning. It occupies the first position of the sentence, and it can’t be in the third position. Once the first position is occupied we don’t need it anymore. This is the only structure in German where no subject occurs at all.

Other typical structures with ‘es’

Sometimes, a similar structure is used in not passive sentences, especially with verbs expressing events.

Es geschah etwas Unerwartetes.

Something unexpected happened.

One could also say: Etwas Unerwartetes geschah.

Why should we use the sentence with ‘es’ when it means exactly the same? You will usually find the new information at the end of the sentence. That is exactly what happens here. In the first sentence suspense is created, in the second sentence this doesn’t happen.

A very typical sentence is:

Es ist jemand gekommen.

Somebody is at the door.

The most famous expression of this kind might be:

Es war einmal (ein Prinz etc.) …

Once upon a time there was (a prince etc.)