There are three words for 'it' in German - er/sie/es. Which one should I use?

That's right, German has three words for English 'it'! But don't worry, there's a rule which lets you pick the right one! German nouns have grammatical gender and can be masculine (der), feminine (die), or neuter (das). You use 'er' to refer to masculine nouns, 'sie' for feminine nouns', and 'es' for neuter nouns:
der Hund is groß -> er is großdie Blume ist schön -> sie ist schöndas Haus ist riesig -> es ist riesig

AB
Answered by Ashley B. German tutor

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Translate this into German:


(For the oral exam part of the GCSE German paper) - What did you do in the school holidays? (Was hast du waehrend der Schulferien gemacht?)


Which of the following sentences correctly forms the perfect tense? a) Er hat ein Buch gelest. b) Letztes Jahr bin ich nach Berlin gefahren. c) Wir haben in die Schule gegangen.


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