einige
some / several
Indicates an indefinite but not very large number of people or things.
EXAMPLE
Einige Schüler hatten ihre Hausaufgaben vergessen.
Some students had forgotten their homework.
einige
some / several
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Meanings
einige
some
Used in the singular to describe a certain, unspecified amount or duration.
EXAMPLE
Es wird noch einige Zeit dauern, bis das Essen fertig ist.
It will take some time before the food is ready.
Usage tips
Always declined
'Einige' (some/several) behaves like an adjective and must always be declined. The ending adapts to the gender, number, and case of the noun it refers to.
EXAMPLE
Ich habe mit einigen Experten über das Problem gesprochen.
I spoke with several experts about the problem.
Singular and plural
In the plural, 'einige' (some/several) means a small number of countable things or people. In the singular, it is used with uncountable nouns like 'Zeit' (time) or 'Mühe' (effort) and means 'a certain amount'.
EXAMPLE
Einige Autos parkten am Straßenrand.
Some cars were parked along the roadside.
Register and style
The word 'einige' (some/several) is frequently used in written language and in more formal contexts. It often sounds a bit more elevated.
EXAMPLE
Die Studie zog einige wichtige Schlussfolgerungen.
The study drew several important conclusions.
Compare with
einige vs zwei
two
Zwei (two) and einige (some/several) refer to a small number, but zwei gives an exact number. Einige remains indefinite and means several, but not a very large amount. Use zwei when the number is known, and einige when you only want to indicate an approximate small number of items.
einige
Für die Suppe brauche ich einige Tomaten, aber keine große Menge.
I need some tomatoes for the soup, but not a large amount.
zwei
Für die Suppe brauche ich zwei Tomaten.
I need two tomatoes for the soup.
In real life
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