German: How to use 'einige'?
Hi!
Could you tell me how to use 'einige' in German? Do I understand correctly that 'einige' is 'some' in English? Can I use it with the singular form of the nouns?
Ich habe einige Bücher und Ich habe einige Buch?

Thanks in advance!

Question

German: How to use 'einige'?
Hi!
Could you tell me how to use 'einige' in German? Do I understand correctly that 'einige' is 'some' in English? Can I use it with the singular form of the nouns?
Ich habe einige Bücher und Ich habe einige Buch?

Thanks in advance!

Answer

"Einige" usually refers to plural:
einige Bücher
einige Menschen
einige Länder

But there are a few cases where we use it for singular:
einiges Gerümpel
einiges an Geld (quite a lot of)
einige Mühe
einiger Aufwand
einige Hoffnung
einigen Ärger
einige Arbeit

It's used for some singulare tantums (Gerümpel, Geld, etc.), and "abstract" concepts like Mühe, Aufwand, Hoffnung, Ärger, Arbeit. For me, "einiges Buch" sounds wrong. I only know "manch Buch".
http://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/einige

manche Bücher
manche Menschen
manche Länder

"many a":
manch Mensch
manch Buch
manch Land

Answer

Nina gave a perfect explanation in German. Auf Englisch würde man "einige" mit a couple, few oder several übersetzen.

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