Pointing and Belonging | Learn German in English

Sentence explanations

1. Was ist das hier?

   What is this?

   Was

   what

   ist

   is

   das

   this

   hier

   here

   More detail

   Was asks for the identity or nature of something: “what”. It is the German question pronoun used here to ask what the indicated thing is. Example: Was ist das? — “What is that/this?” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be”. The basic forms are sein — infinitive, ist — “is”, and sind — “are” for plural or certain other subjects. Here, ist links the question word with the thing being identified. das is a demonstrative pronoun here, pointing to a thing: “this”. Its form is the neuter singular form; as a pronoun, it does not name the thing itself. German also uses das as a neuter definite article in other structures, but that is not its role in this utterance. Example: Das ist neu. — “This is new.” hier means “here” and specifies that the indicated thing is present at the relevant location. It contrasts with dort, “there”, as in the supplied next sentence Was ist das dort? — “What is that there?” Together, Was ist das hier? forms a question asking for the identity of the thing being indicated here: “What is this?” The word order places the question word first, followed by ist, while das hier identifies the thing being asked about.

2. Was ist das dort?

   What is that?

   Was

   what

   ist

   is

   das

   that

   dort

   there

   More detail

   Was means “what” and asks for the identity or nature of something. It is the German question word used when the sought answer is a thing or description. Compare Wer in Wer ist das? (“Who is that?”), which asks about a person. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be.” The pattern Was ist ...? is a reusable way to ask “What is ...?” For example: Was ist das? — “What is that?” das is the demonstrative pronoun meaning “that” here. In this identifying-question pattern, it points to the thing being asked about; its exact real-world referent is not otherwise specified. German also uses das in the nearby pattern Was ist das hier? (“What is this here?”), while the location word changes the distance or position being indicated. dort means “there” or “over there.” It adds a location to the pointing reference, indicating that the thing is at a place away from the speaker. hier means “here,” so das hier contrasts with das dort. Together, Was ist das dort? asks for the identity or nature of the thing indicated as being over there: “What is that?” More explicitly in English, the location can be rendered as “What is that over there?”

3. Wer ist das?

   Who is that?

   Wer

   who

   ist

   is

   das

   that

   More detail

   Wer is the question pronoun meaning “who,” used when asking for a person’s identity. Compare was (“what”) when asking about a thing or unspecified content. Example: Wer kommt? — “Who is coming?” ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be.” The useful form chain is sein → ist; other present forms include bin (“am”), bist (“are”), and sind (“are”). Here, ist agrees with the singular subject wer. das means “that” here. It is a demonstrative pronoun in the neuter singular form, but its grammatical form does not identify the person being asked about. In this question, it points to someone or something being indicated while wer asks specifically for that person’s identity. Compare Was ist das? — “What is that?” Together, Wer ist das? has the reusable pattern Wer ist ...? (“Who is ...?”). The question asks for the identity of the indicated person: “Who is that?”

4. Welches ist deins?

   Which one is yours?

   Welches

   which one

   ist

   is

   deins

   yours

   More detail

   Welches means “which one” here. It is the independent form of the interrogative word welch-, used when the noun is omitted. In this sentence, its neuter nominative singular form does not identify what kind of thing is being chosen; the specific referent is left to the context. Compare welcher for masculine singular and welche for feminine singular or plural contexts. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein, “to be.” The basic pattern is X ist Y = “X is Y.” For example: Das ist meins. — “That is mine.” deins means “yours” here. It is an independent possessive pronoun, not an adjective directly modifying a noun. Its form is built from dein- (“your,” addressing one person informally) and the neuter nominative singular ending -s; the omitted possessed noun is therefore understood through the context. The corresponding form for “mine” in the same grammatical setting is meins, as in Das hier ist meins. — “This one here is mine.” Together, Welches ist deins? asks which item is the one belonging to the person being addressed: “Which one is yours?” The question uses welches for the unspecified item, ist for the linking verb, and deins for the independent possessive pronoun.

5. Das hier ist meins.

   This one is mine.

   Das hier

   this one

   ist

   is

   meins

   mine

   More detail

   Das hier means “this one” in this utterance. das is a demonstrative pronoun, and hier specifies that the indicated item is here or near the speaker. Together they form a useful pointing pattern: Das hier ist ... = “This one is ...”. The specific item is not named, but it is understood from the situation. ist is the third-person singular present form of sein (“to be”). The same form is used with er, sie, and es: Er ist hier = “He is here”; Sie ist hier = “She is here.” meins means “mine” here. It is a standalone possessive pronoun referring to a neuter singular item that is understood rather than repeated. Compare the attributive form mein: mein Buch = “my book”, but Das Buch ist meins = “The book is mine.” The form meins is not the noun’s name; it expresses possession while replacing the repeated noun. As a whole, Das hier ist meins. combines a demonstrative subject, the verb “is,” and a possessive pronoun: “This one is mine.”

6. Das da gehört dir.

   That one is yours.

   Das da

   that one over there

   gehört

   belongs

   dir

   to you

   More detail

   Das da is a deictic demonstrative expression meaning “that one over there.” It points to an item without naming it; the sentence therefore does not identify that item's grammatical gender. Here da adds the meaning “there,” contrasting with hier (“here”) in the preceding sentence. gehört is the present-tense third-person singular form of gehören, “to belong.” German uses the pattern etwas gehört jemandem: the thing that belongs is the subject, and the person it belongs to is expressed in the dative case. Example: Das Buch gehört Anna. — “The book belongs to Anna.” dir is the informal singular dative form of du (“you”). In this construction it means “to you.” The informal plural dative form is euch; Ihnen is the dative form used for formal “you,” whether singular or plural. Together, Das da gehört dir. means “That one over there belongs to you,” naturally translated as “That one is yours.”