Deutsch Translation

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ElleRose
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Deutsch Translation

Postby ElleRose » 2016-11-19, 13:21

How to complete this :
Es gibt dort _____ Hutten in dieser Gegend.

whether it's die or den?? Or any suitable answer?? Confused.

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linguoboy
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Re: Deutsch Translation

Postby linguoboy » 2016-11-19, 19:03

Neither die or den works there. Es gibt... is a construction used to introduce a topic, so the noun that follows is generally indefinite:

Es gibt ein Reich, wo alles rein ist.
Es gibt nur Wasser.
Es gibt keinen Gott.

What you need here is a quantifier of some sort.
"Richmond is a real scholar; Owen just learns languages because he can't bear not to know what other people are saying."--Margaret Lattimore on her two sons

h34
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Re: Deutsch Translation

Postby h34 » 2016-11-20, 12:09

@ ElleRose: Do you have more context or is it just an isolated sentence in a textbook exercise?

In general, es gibt is followed by an indefinite noun, so you need to use the indefinite article in the singular and no article in the plural:

Es gibt dort Hütten in dieser Gegend.
Dort in dieser Gegend gibt es Hütten*.
In dieser Gegend gibt es Hütten*.
Dort gibt es Hütten*.


You could also add a quantifier like viele:

Es gibt dort viele Hütten in dieser Gegend.
Dort in dieser Gegend gibt es viele Hütten*.
In dieser Gegend gibt es viele Hütten*.
Dort gibt es viele Hütten*.


* Your sentence is correct but the word order sounds a bit unnatural. In German, nouns describing a new topic (in this case: Hütten) are often moved to the end of the sentence.

The reason why I think the context matters is that in some cases es gibt doesn't introduce a new topic but describes the availability of something which has been mentioned before. In that case, the definite article or the demonstrative article is used.

Question: Wo gibt es denn diese Hütten?
Answer: Dort in dieser Gegend gibt es die Hütten.


Anyway, in most other contexts the version without an article is correct.

Linguaphile
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Re: Deutsch Translation

Postby Linguaphile » 2016-11-20, 20:07

I agree that it needs some sort of quantifier: viele, einige, keine, usw.
Es gibt dort viele Hütten in dieser Gegend.
Es gibt dort einige Hütten in dieser Gegend.
Es gibt dort keine Hütten in dieser Gegend.

Just as in English you could say:
There are many cabins in this area.
There are some cabins in this area.
There are no cabins in this area.
But it would sound strange to say:
There are the cabins in this area (unless, maybe, you are pointing at them as you speak: "hey, look! There are the cabins in this area!" - and even then it sounds a bit odd).

It is similar in German. A quantifier is more appropriate, not a definite article.


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