Impersonal verbs (unpersönliche Verben) are verbsNo definition set for verbsLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. that don’t have a true subjectNo definition set for subjectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum., in that they describe actions that “just happen.” In German, impersonal verbs use the “dummy” subject es(it) and are always used in the third person singular form. For example:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb (3rd person singular)
Es regnet nun schon seit drei Tagen.
It’s been raining for three days already.
Weather verbs like regnen are classic impersonal verbs, however impersonal verbs can be used to describe situations that are not weather-related as well. Let’s learn more!
Personal vs. impersonal verbs
Most verbs in German are personal verbs, meaning that they can be used with a variety of different subject pronouns in different “persons” (e.g. first person, second person, third person, etc.).
1st person subjectpersonal verb
Wir tanzen die ganze Nacht durch.
Impersonal verbs, on the other hand, can only take one subject: the pronoun es(it). This is parallel to the English “dummy it” pronoun. These verbs cannot be used with a noun as their subject or with any other pronoun besides es.
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb
✅Es stürmt und schneit draußen.
It is storming and snowing outside.
personal subjectimpersonal verb
❌Der Himmel stürmt und schneit.
The sky is storming and snowing.
❌Du regnest und schneist.
You are storming and snowing.
The word es(it) can also be used as a “Korrelat.” In this other use, it acts as a placeholder for a connecting subordinate clauseNo definition set for subordinate clauseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.:
Korrelat 'es'subordinate clause
Es ist wichtig, dass wir diesen Punkt erklären.
It’s important that we explain this point.
In this post, we’ll focus only on the uses of es as an impersonal pronoun.
What are “partly personal” verbs in German?
“Partly personal” verbs in German are a subgroup of impersonal verbs that sometimes take third person subjects other than es(it).
Like normal impersonal verbs, though, these still describe situations that “just arise,” so the third person subject usually does not do anything intentionally to cause the situation being described. Also, these verbs still cannot be used with “I,” “we,” or “you” subjects.
3rd person subjectimpersonal verb
→ Your eyes didn’t do anything on purpose.
Die Niederlage vom letzten Spiel schmerzt noch immer.
Last game’s defeat still hurts.
→ The game didn’t hurt you on purpose.
Seit deiner Abreise ist viel geschehen.
A lot has happened since your departure.
→ Nothing happened intentionally.
Die lustigsten Dinge sind in den Sommerferien passiert.
The funniest things happened during the summer vacations.
Hier entsteht eine neue Website.
A new web page is being created here.
You can find a list of verbs like this in our impersonal verbs reference sheet.
Which German verbs are impersonal?
In German, a few different types of verbs can be used as impersonal verbs, including:
verbs for emotions and feelings
verbs for sounds and noise
Of these, only weather verbs are “purely impersonal,” meaning that they can only be used as impersonal verbs, while the other types are impersonal in some uses but not others. Let’s have a look!
If you’d rather skip to a list of verbs, though, check out this list of impersonal verbs in German!
Weather verbs
Weather verbs are the most common impersonal verbs and the only ones that are exclusively used in the 3rd person singular — they don’t have a personal use. They are used in sentences describing weather phenomena like raining (regnen), snowing (schneien), storm (stürmen) or thunder and lightning (donnern, blitzen).
impersonal verbimpersonal 'es'
Im Sommer regnet es an etwa zehn Tagen im Monat.
In summer it rains about ten days a month.
Diesen Winter hat es nur einmal richtig geschneit.
This winter it has snowed properly only once.
Es stürmt im Herbst am meisten.
It storms most in autumn. (= It is most stormy in the fall.)
Draußen blitzt und donnert es nun schon den ganzen Tag.
Outside, it's been thundering and lightning all day.
In all these examples, es stands for a situation or state to which no concrete subject can be assigned. Note that es falls in the same position as any other subject. It is classically at the beginning of the sentence, but not always.
A very common impersonal construction in describing weather comes in this form:
Es ist immer sonnig in Philadelphia.
It’s always sunny in Philadelphia.
Wenn es neblig ist, sollte man die Nebelscheinwerfer einschalten.
If it is foggy, you should turn on the fog lights.
You can use this to say that it’s sunny (sonnig), windy (windig), cloudy (bewölkt), foggy (neblig), hot (heiss) or cold (cold)!
Some weather verbs can be used with an objectNo definition set for objectLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. representing the type of precipitation that is falling. This is use is most common if you want to get specific, or speak in metaphors:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verbdirect object
Es schneit dicke Flocken vom Himmel.
It’s snowing thick flakes from the sky.
In diesem Semester hagelte es schlechte Zensuren.
This semester, it hailed bad grades.
Note, though, that it is not possible to use the passive voice in these sentences:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb (passive)direct object
❌Es werden dicke Flocken vom Himmel geschneit.
❌Thick flakes are being snowed from the sky.
Though weather verbs can only be impersonal in their traditional meaning, describing the weather, a few can be used with other subjects when they’re used metaphorically. For example:
personal verbsubject
Nach dem Sieg stürmten die Fans auf den Platz.
After the victory, the fans stormed onto the pitch.
Verbs conveying emotions and feelings
Verbs pertaining to emotions, feelings, or bodily sensations can often be used as impersonal verbs, though they generally also have personal uses. Many of these fall into the “partly personal” category, in that the subject can either be es or in the third person.
For example, if your skin is itchy, you might use an impersonal sentence to say:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb
Es juckt am ganzen Körper!
It itches all over the body!
But you could also use a personal sentence, to describe the same situation:
subjectpersonal verb
Mein ganzer Körper juckt!
Alle meine Körperteile jucken!
In impersonal sentences like this, the person experiencing the sensation is given in the accusative case:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verbaccusative case
I’m itching all over!
lit. I’m itching all over!!
Other verbs like this include weh tun(to hurt), schmerzen(to hurt), kribbeln(to tingle) or bluten(to bleed). Note that verbs expressing bodily sensations primarily take body parts or experiences as their subject!
Some verbs and verbal phrases denoting an unpleasant sensation can be used without a personal subject and without the impersonal es. However, with these verbs, a noun or pronoun in the dative case serves as a quasi-subject:
dative case
I’m cold.
lit. To me is cold.
Den Studenten graut es vor der Abschlussprüfung.
The students are dreading their final exams.
Uns wurde auf der Fahrt übel.
In all of these sentences, an impersonal es can be used as a formal subject, but it is not necessary and commonly omitted in daily speech.
Verbs of sound and noise
Verbs of sound and noise can be impersonal, when you want to express simply that the noise is being made:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb
Oh, it (the bell) is ringing!
But if you’re describing what’s making the noise, they’re personal verbs:
impersonal 'es'personal verb
Der Briefträger klingelt an der Tür.
The mailman is ringing the doorbell.
Other sound related verbs behave in a similar way, e.g. läuten(to ring), klopfen(to knock), poltern(to rumble), dröhnen(to roar), pfeifen(to whistle) etc.
Other personal verbs with impersonal uses
A few other personal verbs have some uses that are impersonal. We’ve already seen how sein(to be) can be impersonal when discussing weather.
Another common verb like this is geben, which can mean “to give” but it can also be used much like the English phrase “there is” or “there are.” In this second use, it is impersonal:
impersonal 'es'impersonal 'geben'
There is no more bread left.
lit. It doesn’t give bread anymore
In der Stadt gibt es viele Einkaufsmöglichkeiten.
There are many shopping opportunities in the city.
lit. In the city it gives a lot of shopping opportunities.
In certain regions of Southern Germany, Switzerland and Austria, es hat(it has) is used the same way:
impersonal 'es'impersonal verb
There’s no bread left.
lit. It doesn’t have bread anymore.
If you want to use Standard German, use es gibt, but both versions are understood everywhere!
Another example is gehen(to go), which is personal when used for movement, but can also have impersonal senses.
impersonal verbimpersonal 'es'
How are you doing?
lit. How is it going for you?
Another example is riechen(to smell), which is used impersonally to describe the general state of a room or space.
subjectpersonal verb
Dieses Parfüm riecht sehr blumig.
This perfume smells very floral.
impersonal verbimpersonal 'es'
Hier riecht es nach verbrannter Pizza!
It smells like burnt pizza here!
A few other verbs like this include ziehen(to pull), gehen(to go), laufen(to run), brennen(to burn), and spuken(to haunt). Check out this list of verbs with personal and impersonal uses for more examples!
