- Forum >
- Topic: German >
- "Das sind große Märkte."
30 Comments
For those that are asking about "Das sind" and who enjoy seeing relative links:
das ist/das sind
When it is used with the verb sein, the form das can refer to singular and plural nouns of all three genders:
Wer ist das? – Das ist seine neue Freundin.
Und das sind seine Kinder.
Das ist mein Wagen."
http://canoo.net/services/OnlineGrammar/InflectionRules/FRegeln-P/Pron-der-die-das.html
Similar for "Dies sind"
Using diese would be like using "These ones" -- you would only do so when you have a particular noun in mind even if you are not saying it. For example, if you are talking about the sights of a city and then you might say "these ones (= these sights) are big markets".
But if you're just introducing a new item with "this/that/these/those" to "point" to something, you'd use neuter singular in German -- das or dies, e.g. Dies sind große Märkte.
778
Usually, not necessarily. One of the definitions for market in Longman Dictionary is:
American English: a shop that sells food and things for the home SYN grocery store