In English, we'd say "There is a dog!" or "There are twenty books!" but in German, you can simply use the phrase Es gibt... Careful! Don't use the phrase Da ist - this is used to point out a location. Da ist irgendwas - something is there Cultural tip!: When counting with the fingers, Germans start with Eins (one) on their thumb, using your pointer finger might lead a German native to assume two. When giving numbers over the phone, German natives would say zwo instead of zwei to say two. This is to avoid confusion in the similiar sounding zwei and drei.