German Tutorials Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
Note: Before heading to the tutorial I would Strictly recommend to download any online dictionary which could easily translate the difficult German words provided below so that you can understand them easily and learn quickly, if you have one so that’s good if not then I’ll personally prefer BabelFish dictionary which is free so you don’t need to buy it. The download link is provided below:
1. Basic Phrases| Guten Morgen goot-en mor-gen Good Morning | Guten Tag goot-en tahk Hello/Good Day | Guten Abend goot-en ah-bent Good Evening |
| Gute Nacht goot-eh nakht Good Night | Tag / Hallo / Servus tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye (Southern Germany & Austria) | Auf Wiedersehen owf vee-dair-zayn Goodbye |
| Grüß dich / Grüß Gott! Hello! / Greetings! (Southern Germany & Austria) | Tschüs / Tschau tchews / chow Bye! | Gehen wir! geh-en veer Let’s go! |
| Bis später biss shpay-ter See you later | Bis bald biss bahlt See you soon | Bis morgen biss mohr-gen See you tomorrow |
| Bitte bih-tuh Please | Danke (schön / sehr) dahn-kuh shurn/zair Thank you | Bitte schön bih-tuh shurn You’re welcome |
| Es tut mir leid. ehs toot meer lite I’m sorry | Entschuldigen Sie ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee Excuse me | Verzeihung Pardon me |
| Wie geht es Ihnen? vee gayt es ee-nen How are you? (formal) | Wie geht’s? vee gayts How are you? (informal) | (Sehr) Gut / So lala zair goot / zo lahlah (Very) Good / OK |
| Schlecht / Nicht Gut shlekht / nisht goot Bad / Not good | Es geht. ess gate I’m ok. (informal) | Ja / Nein yah / nine Yes / No |
| Wie heißen Sie? vee hie-ssen zee What’s your name? (formal) | Wie heißt du? vee hiesst doo What’s your name? (informal) | Ich heiße… ikh hie-ssuh My name is… [I am called...] |
| Es freut mich. froyt mikh Pleased to meet you. | Gleichfalls. glykh-fals Likewise. | Herr / Frau / Fräulein hair / frow / froi-line Mister / Misses / Miss |
| Woher kommen Sie? vo-hair koh-men zee Where are you from? (formal) | Woher kommst du? vo-hair kohmst doo Where are you from? (informal) | Ich komme aus… ikh koh-muh ows… I’m from… |
| Wo wohnen Sie? vo voh-nen zee Where do you live? (formal) | Wo wohnst du? vo vohnst doo Where do you live? (informal) | Ich wohne in… ikh voh-nuh in I live in… |
| Wie alt sind Sie? vee alt zint zee How old are you? (formal) | Wie alt bist du? vee alt bisst doo How old are you? (informal) | Ich bin ____ Jahre alt. ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt I am ____ years old. |
| Sprechen Sie deutsch? shpreck-en zee doytch Do you speak German? (formal) | Sprichst du englisch? shprikhst doo eng-lish Do you speak English? (informal) | Ich spreche (kein)… ikh shpreck-uh kine I (don’t) speak… |
| Verstehen Sie? / Verstehst du? fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-shtayst doo Do you understand? (formal / informal) | Ich verstehe (nicht). ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht I (don’t) understand. | Ich weiß (nicht). ikh vise nikht I (don’t) know. |
| Können Sie mir helfen? ker-nen zee meer hell-fen Can you help me? (formal) | Kannst du mir helfen? kahnst doo meer hell-fen Can you help me? (informal) | Natürlich / Gerne nah-tewr-likh / gair-nuh Of course / Gladly |
| Kann ich Ihnen helfen? kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen May I help you? (formal) | Kann ich dir helfen? kahn ikh deer hell-fen May I help you? (informal) | Wie bitte? vee bih-tuh What? Pardon me? |
| Wie heißt ___ auf deutsch? vee heist ___ owf doytch How do you say ___ in German? | Wo ist / Wo sind… ? voh ist / voh zint Where is / Where are… ? | Es gibt… ess geept There is / are… |
| Was ist los? vahs ist lohs What’s the matter? | Das macht nichts. dass makht nikhts It doesn’t matter. | Das ist mir egal. dass ist meer eh-gahl I don’t care. |
| Keine Angst! ky-nuh ahngst Don’t worry! | Ich habe es vergessen. ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh-sen I forgot. | Jetzt muss ich gehen. yetz mooss ikh geh-en I must go now. |
| Ich habe Hunger / Durst. ikh hah-buh hoong-er / dirst I’m hungry / thirsty. | Ich bin krank / müde. ikh bin krahnk moo-duh I’m sick / tired. | Ich habe Langeweile. ikh hah-buh lahn-guh-vy-luh I’m bored. |
| Ich möchte / Ich hätte gern… ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh gairn I’d like… | Das gefällt mir. dahs geh-fehlt meer I like it. | Prima / Toll / Super! pree-mah / tohl / zoo-pair Great / Fantastic! |
| Gesundheit! geh-soont-hyt Bless you! | Herzlichen Glückwunsch! herts-likh-en glewk-voonsh Congratulations! | Sei ruhig! zy roo-hikh Be quiet! (informal) |
| Willkommen! vil-koh-men Welcome! | Viel Glück! feel glewk Good luck! | Schauen Sie mal! / Schau mal! show-en zee mal / show mal Look! (formal / informal) |
| Bitte schön? Yes? / What would you like to order? | Was darf’s sein? What can I get you? / How can I help you? | Sonst noch etwas? Anything else? |
| Bitte schön. Here you go. (handing something to someone) | Zahlen bitte! The check, please! | Stimmt so. Keep the change. |
| Ich bin satt. I’m full. | Mir ist schlecht. I feel sick. | Es tut mir weh. It hurts. |
| Ich liebe dich. ikh leeb-uh dikh I love you. (informal) | Du fehlst mir. I miss you. (informal) | Alles ist in Ordnung. Everything is fine. |
| Wie wäre es mit … ? How about…? | Was für ein…? What kind of (a)…? | Nicht wahr? [general tag question] |
2. Pronunciation
Highlighted vowels do not exist in English.
Notice that words spelled with ö and ü can be pronounced with a long or short vowel, so determining the pronunciation based on the spelling is not possible. The other umlauted letter, ä, is generally pronounced as [e], though it can be pronounced as [ɛ] in some dialects. A general rule for pronunciation, however, states that the short vowels / ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ ɔ / must be followed by a consonant, whereas the long vowels / i y u e ø o / can occur at the end of the syllable or word.
German Consonants
There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the pronunciation of the German r changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e. [R] in northern Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
In addition, the sounds [b], [d], and [g] lose their voicing at the end of a syllable, so they are pronounced as their voiceless counterparts [p], [t], and [k], respectively. However, the spelling does not reflect the pronunciation.
Stress
Stress generally falls on the first syllable of the word, except in words borrowed from other languages, where the stress falls on the last syllable (especially with French words.)
3. Alphabet
There is another letter in written German, ß (es-zet), pronounced like [s]. However, this letter is only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in Switzerland.
4. Nouns & Cases All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter. There really isn’t a lot of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the gender of each noun.
1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us.
2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur.
3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um. Nouns referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.
All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.
All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function they serve in the sentence. These may seem strange, but remember that English uses cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object instead of dative. Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they actually help with word order because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English. And the reason for that is because words can occur in these four cases:
The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case.
5. Articles & Demonstratives
Jener is an older word found in written German that was used to mean that or those, but today in spoken German the definite articles are used. Dort or da may accompany the definite articles for emphasis. Das is also a universal demonstrative and therefore shows no agreement. Notice the last letter of each of the words above. They correspond to the last letters of the words for the definite articles. Words that are formed this same way are called der-words because they follow the pattern of the der-die-das declension. Other der-words are: jeder-every, and welcher-which. Mancher (many) and solcher (such) are also der-words, but they are used almost always in the plural.
6. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns
Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as it, you use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter nouns. However, the definite articles der, die and das can be substituted for er, sie and es to show more emphasis.
7. To Be, to Have, & to Become
Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English.
Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry.
Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty.
Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored.
Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick.
Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.
In everyday speech, the final -e on the ich conjugations can be dropped: ich hab’ or hab’ ich
8. Useful Words
Es gibt is commonly used to mean there is/are and it is always followed by the accusative case.
9. Question Words
10. Numbers / Die Nummern
Sometimes zwo (tsvoh) is used instead of zwei to avoid confusion with drei when talking on the telephone. The use of commas and periods is switched in German, though a space is commonly used to separate thousandths, i.e. 1,000 would be 1 000. When saying telephone numbers, you can either say each number individually or group them in twos. For years, you use the hundreds: 1972 is neunzehn hundert zweiundsiebzig; or the thousands: 2005 is zwei tausend fünf.
Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born?
Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.
11. Days of the Week / Die Tage
To say on a certain day or the weekend, use am. Add an -s to the day to express “on Mondays, Tuesdays, etc.” All days, months and seasons are masculine so they all use the same form of these words: jeden – every, nächsten – next, letzten – last (as in the last of a series), vorigen – previous. In der Woche is the expression for “during the week” in Northern and Eastern Germany, while unter der Woche is used in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
12. Months of the Year / Die Monate
To say in a certain month, use im.
Wann hast du Geburtstag? When is your birthday?
Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.
13. Seasons / Die Jahreszeiten
To say in the + a season, use im.
14. Directions / Die Richtungen
im Norden = in the North
nach Osten = to the East
aus Westen = from the West
15. Colors & Shapes / Die Farben & Die Formen
Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe if they are placed before the noun. However, not all adjectives agree, such as colors ending in -a or -e; nor do they agree when they are used as predicate adjectives. More about Adjectives in German III. To say that a color is light, put hell- before it, and to say that a color is dark, put dunkel- before it.
Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown.
Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.
16. Time / Die Zeit
Official time, such as for bus and train schedules, always uses the 24 hour clock. Notice that halb + number means half to, not half past, so you have to use the hour that comes next.
17. Weather / Das Wetter
18. Family / Die Familie
The letters in parentheses indicate the plural form of the noun. Notice that sometimes an umlaut is placed over the main vowel of the word in the plural. For example, der Mann is singular (the man) and die Männer is plural (the men). For step- and -in-law relations, just add Stief- or Schwieger- before the main person, except in the case of brother-in-law and sister-in-law noted above. The plurals follow the pattern for the main person, i.e. die Schwiegermutter (singular) and die Schwiegermütter (plural)
19. To Know People & Facts
Kennen is a regular, while wissen is irregular in the present tense.
You must use the subject pronouns (ich, du, er…); however, I will leave them out of future conjugations.
20. Formation of Plural Nouns Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it’s best to memorize the plural form with the singular. However, here are some rules that can help:
1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en. Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.
2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er. Many masculine plural nouns ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don’t. Plurals that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au.
3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change nothing at all. Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -el also add nothing at all (with three exceptions: Pantoffel, Stachel, Muskel).
4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add -s.
| German Vowels | English Pronunciation | |
| [i] | viel | meet, eat |
| [y] | kühl | ee rounded / long vowel |
| [ɪ] | Tisch | mitt, it |
| [ʏ] | hübsch | ih rounded / short vowel |
| [e] | Tee | mate, wait |
| [ø] | schön | ay rounded / long vowel |
| [ɛ] | Bett | met, wet |
| [œ] | zwölf | eh rounded / short vowel |
| [a] | Mann | mop, not |
| [ɑ] | kam | ah / longer vowel than [a] |
| [u] | gut | boot, suit |
| [ʊ] | muss | put, soot |
| [o] | Sohn | coat, goat |
| [ɔ] | Stock | caught, bought |
| [ə] | bitte | cut, what |
| [ɐ] | Wetter | uhr / also short vowel like [ə] |
Notice that words spelled with ö and ü can be pronounced with a long or short vowel, so determining the pronunciation based on the spelling is not possible. The other umlauted letter, ä, is generally pronounced as [e], though it can be pronounced as [ɛ] in some dialects. A general rule for pronunciation, however, states that the short vowels / ɪ ʏ ʊ ɛ ɔ / must be followed by a consonant, whereas the long vowels / i y u e ø o / can occur at the end of the syllable or word.
| German Diphthongs | English Pronunciation | |
| [aɪ] | ein, mein | eye, buy, why |
| [aʊ] | auf, kaufen | cow, now, how |
| [ɔɪ] | neu, Gebäude | toy, boy, foil |
There are a few German consonants that do not exist in English, and some consonant combinations that are not common in English. Notice that the pronunciation of the German r changes according to the location in the countries that speak German, i.e. [R] in northern Germany and [r] in southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
| Spelling | IPA | Sample words | How to pronounce: |
| ch (with vowels e and i) | [ç] | Chemie, mich, nicht | Make yuh sound voiceless (no vibration of vocal cords) |
| ch (with vowels a, o, u) | [x] | Buch, lachen, kochen | Make kuh sound a fricative (continuous airflow) |
| pf | [pf] | Apfel, Pferd, Pfanne | Pronounce together as one sound |
| z | [ts] | Zeit, Zug, Tanz | Pronounce together as one sound |
| j | [j] | ja, Januar, Junge | yuh |
| qu | [kv] | Quote, Quiz, Quitte | kv |
| st / sp (at beginning of syllable) | [ʃt] / [ʃp] | Stadt, sprechen | sht / shp |
| sch | [ʃ] | schenken, schlafen | sh |
| th | [t] | Theater, Thron | t |
| v | [f] | Vater, verboten | f |
| w | [v] | Wasser, warm | v |
| ß | [s] | Straße, groß | s |
| s (before vowel) | [z] | Salz, seit, Sitz | z |
Stress
Stress generally falls on the first syllable of the word, except in words borrowed from other languages, where the stress falls on the last syllable (especially with French words.)
3. Alphabet
| a | ah | j | yoht | s | ess |
| b | bay | k | kah | t | tay |
| c | tsay | l | el | u | oo |
| d | day | m | em | v | fow |
| e | ay | n | en | w | vay |
| f | eff | o | oh | x | eeks |
| g | gay | p | pay | y | irp-se-lon |
| h | hah | q | koo | z | tset |
| i | ee | r | ehr |
4. Nouns & Cases All nouns have a gender in German, either masculine, feminine or neuter. There really isn’t a lot of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the gender of each noun.
1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us.
2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tät, -tion, -ung and -ur.
3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um. Nouns referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -ät, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.
All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.
All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function they serve in the sentence. These may seem strange, but remember that English uses cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object instead of dative. Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they actually help with word order because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English. And the reason for that is because words can occur in these four cases:
| Nominative | subject of the sentence | The girl is reading. |
| Accusative | direct objects | We see the mountain. I bought a gift. |
| Dative | indirect objects | We talk to the guide. I gave my mom a gift. |
| Genitive | indicates possession or relationship | The book of the girl. The dog’s tail. |
5. Articles & Demonstratives
| Definite Articles (The) | ||||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Plural | |
| Nominative | der (dare) | die (dee) | das (dahs) | die |
| Accusative | den (dane) | die | das | die |
| Dative | dem (dame) | der | dem | den |
| Genitive | des (dess) | der | des | der |
| Indefinite Articles (A, An) | |||
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| Nom. | ein (ine) | eine (ine-uh) | ein |
| Acc. | einen (ine-en) | eine | ein |
| Dat. | einem (ine-em) | einer(ine-er) | einem |
| Gen. | eines (ine-es) | einer | eines |
| Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those) | ||||||||
| This / These | That / Those | |||||||
| Masc. | Fem. | Neu. | Pl. | Masc. | Fem. | Neu. | Pl. | |
| Nom. | dieser | diese | dieses | diese | der | die | das | die |
| Acc. | diesen | diese | dieses | diese | den | die | das | die |
| Dat. | diesem | dieser | diesem | diesen | dem | der | dem | den |
| Gen. | dieses | dieser | dieses | dieser | des | der | des | der |
6. Subject (Nominative) Pronouns
| Subject Pronouns | |||||
| ich | ikh | I | wir | veer | we |
| du | doo | you (familiar) | ihr | eer | you (all) |
| er, sie, es, man | air, zee, ess, mahn | he, she, it, one | sie, Sie | zee | they, you (formal) |
7. To Be, to Have, & to Become
| Present tense of sein – to be (zine) | |||||
| I am | ich bin | ikh bin | we are | wir sind | veer zint |
| you are (familiar) | du bist | doo bihst | you (plural) are | ihr seid | eer zide |
| he/she/it is | er/sie/es ist | air/zee/ess isst | they/you (formal) are | sie/Sie sind | zee zint |
| Past tense of sein | |||||
| I was | ich war | ikh var | we were | wir waren | veer vah-ren |
| you were (familiar) | du warst | doo varst | you (plural) were | ihr wart | eer vart |
| he/she/it was | er/sie/es war | air/zee/es var | they/you (formal) were | sie/Sie waren | zee vah-ren |
| Present tense of haben – to have (hah-ben) | |||
| ich habe | hah-buh | wir haben | hah-ben |
| du hast | hahst | ihr habt | hahbt |
| er/sie/es hat | haht | sie/Sie haben | hah-ben |
| Past tense of haben | |||
| ich hatte | hah-tuh | wir hatten | hah-ten |
| du hattest | hah-test | ihr hattet | hah-tet |
| er/sie/es hatte | hah-tuh | sie/Sie hatten | hah-ten |
| Present tense of werden – to become (vair-den) | |||
| ich werde | vair-duh | wir werden | vair-den |
| du wirst | veerst | ihr werdet | vair-det |
| er/sie/es wird | veert | sie/Sie werden | vair-den |
| Past tense of werden | |||
| ich wurde | voor-duh | wir wurden | voor-den |
| du wurdest | voor-dest | ihr wurdet | voor-det |
| er/sie/es wurde | voor-duh | sie/Sie wurden | voor-den |
Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry.
Ich hatte Durst. = I was thirsty.
Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored.
Ich hatte Heimweh. = I was homesick.
Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.
In everyday speech, the final -e on the ich conjugations can be dropped: ich hab’ or hab’ ich
8. Useful Words
| and | und | oont | isn’t it? | nicht wahr? | nikht vahr |
| but | aber | ah-ber | too bad | schade | shah-duh |
| very | sehr | zair | gladly | gern | gehrn |
| or | oder | oh-der | immediately | sofort | zoh-fort |
| here | hier | here | sure(ly) | sicher(lich) | zikh-er-likh |
| also | auch | owkh | but, rather | sondern | zohn-dehrn |
| both | beide | by-duh | finally | schließlich | shleess-likh |
| some | etwas | eht-vahss | right! | stimmt | shtimt |
| only | nur | noor | anyway | überhaupt | oo-ber-howpt |
| again | wieder | vee-der | enough | genug | guh-nook |
| hopefully | hoffentlich | hoh-fent-likh | exact(ly) | genau | guh-now |
| between | zwischen | zvish-en | sometimes | manchmal | mahnch-mal |
| therefore | deshalb | des-halp | always | immer | im-er |
| a lot, many | viel(e) | feel(uh) | never | nie | nee |
| really | wirklich | veerk-lish | often | oft | ohft |
| together | zusammen | tsoo-zah-men | of course | klar | klahr |
| all | alle | ahl-luh | perhaps | vielleicht | fee-likht |
| now | jetzt | yetst | a little | ein bisschen | ine biss-khen |
| so | also | al-zoh | a little | ein wenig | ine vay-nikh |
| another | noch ein | nohkh ine | not at all | gar nicht | gar nikht |
| already | schon | shone | not a bit | kein bisschen | kine biss-khen |
9. Question Words
| Who | wer | vehr | Whom (acc.) | wen | vain |
| What | was | vahs | Whom (dat.) | wem | vaim |
| Why | warum | vah-room | How come | wieso | vee-zo |
| When | wann | vahn | Where from | woher | vo-hair |
| Where | wo | voh | Where to | wohin | vo-hin |
| How | wie | vee | Which | welche/-r/-s | velsh-uh/er/es |
10. Numbers / Die Nummern
| 0 | null | nool | ||
| 1 | eins | ines | 1st | erste |
| 2 | zwei | tsvy | 2nd | zweite |
| 3 | drei | dry | 3rd | dritte |
| 4 | vier | feer | 4th | vierte |
| 5 | fünf | fewnf | 5th | fünfte |
| 6 | sechs | zecks | 6th | sechste |
| 7 | sieben | zee-bun | 7th | siebte |
| 8 | acht | ahkht | 8th | achte |
| 9 | neun | noyn | 9th | neunte |
| 10 | zehn | tsayn | 10th | zehnte |
| 11 | elf | elf | 11th | elfte |
| 12 | zwölf | tsvurlf | 12th | zwölfte |
| 13 | dreizehn | dry-tsayn | 13th | dreizehnte |
| 14 | vierzehn | feer-tsayn | 14th | vierzehnte |
| 15 | fünfzehn | fewnf-tsayn | 15th | fünfzehnte |
| 16 | sechzehn | zeck-tsayn | 16th | sechzehnte |
| 17 | siebzehn | zeep-tsayn | 17th | siebzehnte |
| 18 | achtzehn | ahkh-tsayn | 18th | achtzehnte |
| 19 | neunzehn | noyn-tsayn | 19th | neunzehnte |
| 20 | zwanzig | tsvahn-tsikh | 20th | zwanzigste |
| 21 | einundzwanzig | ine-oont-tsvahn-tsikh | 21st | einundzwanzigste |
| 22 | zweiundzwanzig | tsvy-oont-tsvahn-tsikh | 22nd | zweiundzwanzigste |
| 23 | dreiundzwanzig | dry-oont-tsvahn-tsikh | 23rd | dreiundzwanzigste |
| 24 | vierundzwanzig | feer-oont-tsvahn-tsikh | 24th | vierundzwanzigste |
| 30 | dreißig | dry-sikh | 30th | dreißigste |
| 40 | vierzig | feer-tsikh | 40th | vierzigste |
| 50 | fünfzig | fewnf-tsikh | 50th | fünfzigste |
| 60 | sechzig | zekh-tsikh | 60th | sechzigste |
| 70 | siebzig | zeep-tsikh | 70th | siebzigste |
| 80 | achtzig | ahkh-tsikh | 80th | achtzigste |
| 90 | neunzig | noyn-tsikh | 90th | neunzigste |
| 100 | (ein)hundert | ine-hoon-duhrt | ||
| 1,000 | (ein)tausend | ine-tow-zuhnt |
Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born?
Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.
11. Days of the Week / Die Tage
| Monday | Montag | mohn-tahk |
| Tuesday | Dienstag | deens-tahk |
| Wednesday | Mittwoch | mit-vock |
| Thursday | Donnerstag | don-ers-tahk |
| Friday | Freitag | fry-tahk |
| Saturday (N & E Germany) | Samstag Sonnabend | zahms-tahk zon-nah-bent |
| Sunday | Sonntag | zon-tahk |
| day | der Tag (-e) | dehr tahk |
| morning | der Morgen (-) | mawr-gun |
| afternoon | der Nachmittag (-e) | nakh-mih-tahk |
| evening | der Abend (-e) | ah-bunt |
| night | die Nacht (ä, -e) | nahkt |
| today | heute | hoy-tuh |
| tomorrow | morgen | mawr-gun |
| tonight | heute Abend | hoy-tuh ah-bunt |
| yesterday | gestern | geh-stairn |
| last night | gestern Abend | geh-stairn ah-bunt |
| week | die Woche (-n) | voh-kuh |
| weekend | das Wochenende (-n) | voh-ken-en-duh |
| daily | täglich | teh-glikh |
| weekly | wöchentlich | wer-khent-likh |
12. Months of the Year / Die Monate
| January | Januar | yah-noo-ahr |
| (Austria) | Jänner | yeh-ner |
| February | Februar | fay-broo-ahr |
| March | März | mehrts |
| April | April | ah-pril |
| May | Mai | my |
| June | Juni | yoo-nee |
| July | Juli | yoo-lee |
| August | August | ow-goost |
| September | September | zehp-tehm-ber |
| October | Oktober | ok-toh-ber |
| November | November | no-vehm-ber |
| December | Dezember | deh-tsem-ber |
| month | der Monat (-e) | moh-naht |
| year | das Jahr (-e) | yaar |
| monthly | monatlich | moh-naht-likh |
| yearly | jährlich | jehr-likh |
Wann hast du Geburtstag? When is your birthday?
Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.
13. Seasons / Die Jahreszeiten
| Winter | der Winter | dehr vin-ter |
| Spring | der Frühling | dehr frew-ling |
| Summer | der Sommer | dehr zom-mer |
| Autumn | der Herbst | dehr hehrpst |
14. Directions / Die Richtungen
| right | rechts |
| left | links |
| straight | geradeaus |
| North | der Norden |
| South | der Süden |
| East | der Osten |
| West | der Westen |
nach Osten = to the East
aus Westen = from the West
15. Colors & Shapes / Die Farben & Die Formen
| orange | orange | square | das Viereck |
| pink | rosa | circle | der Kreis |
| purple | violett / lila | triangle | das Dreieck |
| blue | blau | rectangle | das Rechteck |
| yellow | gelb | oval | das Oval |
| red | rot | octagon | das Achteck |
| black | schwarz | cube | der Würfel |
| brown | braun | sphere | die Kugel |
| gray | grau | cone | der Kegel |
| white | weiß | cylinder | der Zylinder |
| green | grün | ||
| turquoise | türkis | ||
| beige | beige | ||
| silver | silber | ||
| gold | gold |
Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown.
Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.
16. Time / Die Zeit
| What time is it? | Wie spät ist es? | vee shpayt isst ess |
| (It is) 2 AM | Es ist zwei Uhr nachts | ess ist tsvy oor nahkts |
| 2 PM | Es ist zwei Uhr nachmittags | tsvy oor nahk-mih-tahks |
| 6:20 | Es ist sechs Uhr zwanzig | zex oor tsvahn-tsikh |
| half past 3 | Es ist halb vier | hahlp feer |
| quarter past 4 | Es ist Viertel nach vier | feer-tel nahk feer |
| quarter to 5 | Es ist Viertel vor fünf | feer-tel for fewnf |
| 10 past 11 | Es ist zehn nach elf | tsyan nahk elf |
| 20 to 7 | Es ist zwanzig vor sieben | tsvahn-tsikh for zee-bun |
| noon | Es ist nachmittag | nakh-mih-tahk |
| midnight | Es ist mitternacht | mih-ter-nahk |
| in the morning | morgens / früh | mawr-guns / frew |
| in the evening | abends | aah-bunts |
| It’s exactly… | Es ist genau… | ess ist guh-now |
| At 8. | Um 8 Uhr. | oom akht oor |
| early(ier) | früh(er) | frew(er) |
| late(r) | spät(er) | shpayt(er) |
17. Weather / Das Wetter
| How’s the weather today? | Wie ist das Wetter heute? | vie ist dahs vet-ter hoy-tuh |
| It’s hot | Es ist heiß | ess isst hise |
| It’s cold | Es ist kalt | ess isst kahlt |
| It’s beautiful | Es ist schön | ess isst shern |
| It’s bad | Es ist schlecht | ess isst shlehkt |
| It’s clear | Es ist klar | ess isst klahr |
| It’s icy | Es ist eisig | ess isst ise-ikh |
| It’s warm | Es ist warm | ess isst varm |
| It’s sunny | Es ist sonnig | ess isst zohn-ikh |
| It’s windy | Es ist windig | ess isst vin-dikh |
| It’s cloudy | Es ist bewölkt | ess isst beh-verlkt |
| It’s hazy | Es ist dunstig | ess isst doons-tikh |
| It’s muggy | Es ist schwül | ess isst schvool |
| It’s humid | Es ist feucht | ess isst foikht |
| It’s foggy | Es ist nebelig | ess isst neh-beh-likh |
| It’s snowing | Es schneit | ess schnite |
| It’s raining | Es regnet | ess rayg-net |
| It’s freezing | Es friert | ess freert |
| It looks like rain. | Es sieht nach Regen aus. | es seet nahkh ray-gen ows |
| The weather is clearing | Das Wetter klärt sich auf. | dahs vett-er klairt sikh owf |
18. Family / Die Familie
| Parents | die Eltern | Relative | der Verwandte (-n) |
| Mother | die Mutter (ü) | Man | der Mann (ä, -er) |
| Father | der Vater (ä) | Sir / Mister | der Herr (-en) |
| Son | der Sohn (ö, -e) | Woman / Ma’am / Mrs. / Ms. | die Frau (-en) |
| Daughter | die Tochter (ö) | Husband | der Ehemann (ä, -er) |
| Brother | der Bruder (ü) | Wife | die Ehefrau (-en) |
| Sister | die Schwester (-n) | Boy | der Junge (-n) |
| Grandparents | die Großeltern | Girl | das Mädchen (-) |
| Grandfather | der Großvater (ä) | Grandpa | der Opa (-s) |
| Grandmother | die Großmutter (ü) | Grandma | die Oma (-s) |
| Grandchildren | die Enkelkinder | Dad | der Vati |
| Grandson | der Enkel (-) | Mom | die Mutti |
| Granddaughter | die Enkelin (-nen) | Friend (m) | der Freund (-e) |
| Niece | die Nichte (-n) | Friend (f) | die Freundin (-nen) |
| Nephew | der Neffe (-n) | Partner / Significant Other (m) | der Partner (-) |
| Cousin (m) | der Vetter (-n) | Partner / Significant Other (f) | die Partnerin (-nen) |
| Cousin (f) | die Kusine (-n) | Marital Status | der Familienstand |
| Uncle | der Onkel (-) | Single | ledig |
| Aunt | die Tante (-n) | Married | verheiratet |
| Siblings | die Geschwister | Divorced | geschieden |
| Baby | das Baby (-s) | Male | männlich |
| Godfather | der Pate (-n) | Female | weiblich |
| Godmother | die Patin (-nen) | Child | das Kind (-er) |
| Step- | der/die Stief- | Toddler | das Kleinkind (-er) |
| -in-law | der/die Schwieger- | Teenager | der Teenager (-) |
| Brother-in-law | der Schwager (ä) | Adult | der Erwachsene (-n) |
| Sister-in-law | die Schwägerin (-nen) | Twin | der Zwilling (-e) |
19. To Know People & Facts
| kennen – to know people | wissen – to know facts | ||||||
| ich kenne | ken-nuh | wir kennen | ken-nun | ich weiß | vise | wir wissen | vih-sun |
| du kennst | kenst | ihr kennt | kent | du weißt | vist | ihr wisst | vihst |
| er/sie/es kennt | kent | sie/Sie kennen | ken-nun | er/sie/es weiß | vise | sie/Sie wissen | vih-sun |
You must use the subject pronouns (ich, du, er…); however, I will leave them out of future conjugations.
20. Formation of Plural Nouns Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it’s best to memorize the plural form with the singular. However, here are some rules that can help:
1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en. Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen.
| eine Lampe | zwei Lampen |
| eine Tür | zwei Türen |
| eine Studentin | zwei Studentinnen |
| eine Gabel | zwei Gabeln |
| Masculine | Neuter | ||
| ein Rock | zwei Röcke | ein Heft | zwei Hefte |
| ein Mann | zwei Männer | ein Buch | zwei Bücher |
| Masculine | Neuter | ||
| ein Bruder | zwei Brüder | ein Fenster | zwei Fenster |
| ein Kegel | zwei Kegel | ein Mittel | zwei Mittel |
| ein Hobby | zwei Hobbys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ein Hotel | zwei Hotels`21. Possessive Adjectives
22. Accusative Case The accusative case corresponds to direct objects. Here are the accusative forms of the definite and indefinite articles. Note that only the masculine changes in this case.
23. Dative Case The dative case corresponds to indirect objects. Usually in English, we use the words to or for to indicate an indirect object. But German relies on the endings of the dative case. Here are the dative forms of the definite and indefinite articles.
Ich schenke meinem Bruder eine Krawatte. I give (to) my brother a tie. Ich schenke sie meinem Bruder. I give it to my brother. 24. Genitive Case The genitive case is used to show possession, more often in writing than in speech. When speaking, most people use von (of) plus the dative case to show possession. For proper nouns, German only adds an -s to the noun, whereas English would add an apostrophe and an -s. Feminine and Plural nouns do not change in the Genitive case. Masculine and Neuter nouns add an -s if the word is more than one syllable, or an -es if the word is one syllable. Except the weak masculine nouns that added -(e)n in the accusative and dative; they also add -(e)n in the genitive. There are some irregular nouns that add -s after -en in the genitive case as well, for example der Name becomes des Namens and das Herz becomes des Herzens. die Farbe des Vogels – the color of the bird die Grösse des Hauses – the size of the house die Tasche meiner Mutter – my mother’s purse [the purse of my mother] der Bleistift des Studenten – the student’s pencil [the pencil of the student]
25. To Do or Make
26. Work and School
Was sind Sie von Beruf? What do you do for a living? Ich bin Arzt. I’m a doctor (male).
The verb studieren is used for university study or to state your major. The verb lernen should be used for studying in general, and especially for learning a language. Er studiert in Freiburg. He studies (goes to university) in Freiburg. Ich studiere Französisch. I study French (in college). / French is my major. Ich lerne Spanisch und Italienisch. I’m studying/learning Spanish and Italian. 27. Prepositions
28. Prepositional Contractions
29. Countries and Nationalities
30. Negative Sentences Nicht and kein are forms of negation, but nicht means not and kein means no, not a, or not any. Kein is used to negate nouns that either have no articles or are preceded by the indefinite article. Kein precedes the nouns in sentences. It is declined as an ein-word.
31. To and From Countries and Cities
Ich fliege in die Schweiz. I’m flying to Switzerland. Ich fliege nach Deutschland. I’m flying to Germany. And when aus is used with feminine or plural countries, the definite article must also be used. Ich bin aus den USA . I am from the US. Ich bin aus Frankreich . I am from France. 32. To Come and to Go
33. Modal Verbs German has six modal verbs that you should memorize. They express an attitude about an action or condition described by the main verb. The modal auxiliary is conjugated and placed in the second position of the sentence. The main verb is in the infinitive form and placed at the end of the clause or sentence. Ich kann eine Fahrkarte kaufen. (I can buy a ticket.) Kann is the conjugated auxiliary verb and kaufen is the main verb in infinitive form.
Sometimes the infinitive is not required with modal verbs, if the meaning is clear enough without them. For example, you can often omit sprechen and tun after können and you can omit verbs of motion if there is an adverb of place. Ich kann Spanisch. I can/know how to speak Spanish. Er will nach Hause. He wants to go home. 34. Conjugating Regular Verbs in the Present Tense To conjugate means to give the different forms of a verb depending on the subject. English only has two regular conjugations in the present tense, no ending and -s ending (I, you, we, they run vs. he/she/it runs). To form regular verbs in German, remove the -en ending and add these endings:
35. Reflexive Verbs Reflexive verbs express an action that reciprocates back to the subject. In other words, whoever is speaking is doing an action to himself. Examples in English would be: I wash myself, he hurts himself, we hate ourselves. Usually the -self words are a clue in English; however, there are more reflexive verbs in German than in English.
Accusative: Ich fühle mich nicht wohl - I don’t feel well. Dative: Ich ziehe mir den Mantel aus - I’m taking off my coat. Also note that parts of the body and articles of clothing use the definite article, not a possessive.
36. Exceptions: Irregularities in Regular verbs 1) Some verbs require an umlaut over the a in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
2) Some verbs change the e to ie in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
3) Some verbs change the e to an i in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
*nehmen has another irregularity: it doubles the m and drops the h*
37. Verbs with Prepositions
Fahren mit cannot be used with all forms of transportation, such as on foot or by plane. 38. Separable Prefixes
Verbs with Separable Prefixes
39. Inseparable Prefixes
Unter and über can function as separable prefixes, but they are much more commonly used as inseparable prefixes. When prefixes are stressed, they are separable; when they are not stressed, they are inseparable. The stress on the following verbs in not on the prefix, so they are all inseparable: unterhalten – to entertain, unternehmen – to undertake, überholen – to overtake, and übersetzen - to translate. The German National Anthem: Deutschland-Lied by Heinrich Hoffman von Fallersleben Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit für das deutsche Vaterland! Danach lasst uns alle streben brüderlich mit Herz und Hand! Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit sind des Glückes Unterpfand Blüh im Glanze dieses Glückes blühe deutsches Vaterland! Unity and right and freedom for the German fatherland; Let us all pursue this purpose brotherly, with heart and hands. Unity and right and freedom are the pawns of happiness. Flourish in this blessing’s glory, flourish, German fatherland. The Austrian National Anthem: Österreichische Bundeshymne by Paula von Preradovic Land der Berge, Land am Strome, Land der Äcker, Land der Dome, Land der Hämmer, zukunftsreich! Heimat bist du großer Söhne, Volk, begnadet für das Schöne, Vielgerühmtes Österreich. Heiß umfehdet, wild umstritten leigst dem Erdteil du inmitten einem starken Herzen gleich. Hast seit frühen Ahnentagen Hoher Sendung Last getragen Vielgeprüftes Österreich. Mutig in die neuen Zeiten, Frei und gläubig sich uns schreiten, Arbeitsfroh und hoffnungsreich. Einig laß in Brüderchören, Vaterland, dir Treue schwören, Vielgeliebtes Österreich. Land of mountains, land of streams, Land of fields, land of spires, Land of hammers, with a rich future. You are the home of great sons, A nation blessed by its sense of beauty, Highly praised Austria. Strongly fought for, fiercely contested, You are in the centre of the Continent Like a strong heart. You have borne since the earliest days. The burden of a high mission, Much tried Austria. Watch us striding free and believing, With courage, into new eras, Working cheerfully and full of hope. In fraternal chorus let us take in unity The oath of allegiance to you, our country, Our much beloved Austria. The Swiss National Anthem: Schweizerpsalm by Leonhard Widmer Trittst im Morgenrot daher, Seh’ ich dich im Strahlenmeer, Dich, du Hocherhabener, Herrlicher! Wenn der Alpenfirn sich rötet, Betet, freie Schweizer, betet! Eure fromme Seele ahnt Gott im hehren Vaterland, Gott, den Herrn, im hehren Vaterland. Kommst im Abendglühn daher, Find’ ich dich im Sternenheer, Dich, du Menschenfreundlicher, Liebender! In des Himmels lichten Räumen Kann ich froh und selig träumen! Denn die fromme Seele ahnt Gott im hehren Vaterland, Gott, den Herrn, im hehren Vaterland. Ziehst im Nebelflor daher, Such’ ich dich im Wolkenmeer, Dich, du Unergründlicher, Ewiger! Aus dem grauen Luftgebilde Tritt die Sonne klar und milde, Und die fromme Seele ahnt Gott im hehren Vaterland, Gott, den Herrn, im hehren Vaterland. Fährst im wilden Sturm daher, Bist Du selbst uns Hort und Wehr, Du, allmächtig Waltender, Rettender! In Gewitternacht und Grauen Lasst uns kindlich ihm vertrauen! Ja, die fromme Seele ahnt, Ja, die fromme Seele ahnt Gott im hehren Vaterland, Gott, den Herrn, im hehren Vaterland ! 40. Present Perfect or Past Indefinite Tense This tense is used more often than the simple past, especially in conversation, and is equivalent to I have asked or I asked. Regular verbs use a form of haben or sein and a past participle. Past participles are made by adding ge- to the beginning of the verb stem and -t (or -et, if stem ends in -t or -d) to the end. Sagen is to ask, and -sag- is the stem; therefore gesagt is the past participle. Arbeiten is to work, and -arbeit- is the stem; therefore gearbeitet is the past participle. Machen is to do/make, and -mach- is the stem; therefore gemacht is the past participle. Verbs ending in -ieren only add the -t ending. Studieren is to study and studier- is the stem, so studiert is the past participle. The form of haben or sein is placed where the verb should be, and the past participle goes to the end of the sentence. Ex: Ich habe meinen Bruder gefragt – I asked my brother. Haben or Sein Most verbs use haben, but a few use sein, if and only if, both of these conditions are met: 1. The verb expresses motion or change of condition. 2. The verb is intransitive (i.e. cannot take a direct object.) Double Infinitive: When modals are used in the present perfect tense with a dependent infinitive, the past participle is not used. The infinitive of the modal acts as the past participle. Logically, I had to go home would be translated as ich habe nach Hause gehen gemußt. However, it is actually Ich habe nach Hause gehen müssen. When there is no other infinitive in the sentence, then the past participles of the modals are used. I had to would be translated as Ich habe gemußt. All modals, as well as reflexive verbs, use haben in the present perfect tense. The reflexive pronouns follow the auxiliary verb as in Ich habe mir den Arm gebrochen. I broke my arm. With separable prefixes, the prefix comes before the ge- in a past participle, such as angekommen and aufgestanden. From the participle of the base verb, and then add the prefix to the beginning. But note that the prefix does change the entire meaning of the verb, and it may take a different auxiliary verb than its base verb. For example, stehen takes haben, but aufstehen takes sein. With inseparable prefixes, whether the verb is regular or irregular, there is no ge- prefix when forming the past participle, such as besucht and verloren. To express something that has been going on or happening for a period of time, German using the present tense (rather than the past) and the word schon. “I have been studying German for two years” translates to Ich studiere Deutsch schon zwei Jahre. 41. Irregular Past Participles with Haben These irregular past participles end with -en, and some have vowel changes in the stem. All of the following irregular past participles use haben as the auxiliary verb.
42. Sein Verbs and Past Participles The following verbs use sein as the auxiliary verb, and many have irregular past participles.
43. Food and Meals
44. Fruits, Vegetables and Meats
45. Genitive Partitive The genitive partitive is mostly used when talking about quantities of food. Both words are in the nominative case in German, and of is not needed. a glass of water – ein Glas Wasser a piece of cake – ein Stück Kuchen a slice of pizza – ein Stück Pizza 46. Commands
47. Subordinating Conjunctions Subordinating conjunctions are used to connect an independent and dependent clause together, and they do affect word order. An independent (or main) clause contains a subject and verb and can stand alone as its own sentence. A dependent (or subordinate) clause also contains a subject and verb, but is introduced with a subordinating conjunction and cannot stand alone as its own sentence. There are also other conjunctions (called coordinating) that do not affect word order. The easiest way to tell the two types of conjunctions apart is to memorize the coordinating ones. Und, aber, denn – for/because, sondern – but (on the contrary) and oder are the coordinating conjunctions. The rest of the conjunctions act as subordinating, and interrogative words can also act as subordinating conjunctions. Some examples are als-when, bevor-before, bis-until, damit-so that, dass-that, wenn-if/when, ob-whether, obwohl-although, nachdem-after, da-since, während-while, weil-because, and wie-how. 1. In clauses introduced by subordinating conjunctions, the conjugated verb is forced to the end of the clause (not sentence) and a comma is placed before the conjunction. Ich bleibe zu Hause. Ich bin krank. I’m staying home. I am sick. Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich krank bin. I’m staying home because I am sick. (weil is the subordinating conjunction, and bin must go to the end.) Sie kommt nach zu dir. Sie hat gegessen. She’s coming to your place. She has eaten. Sie kommt nach zu dir, nachdem sie gegessen hat. She’s coming to your place after she has eaten. (nachdem is the sub. conjunction, and hat must go to the end.) However, when a double infinitive construction is involved, the conjugated verb form precedes the two infinitives. (The double infinitive always goes to the end of the clause or sentence.) Ich weiß nicht, ob er hat mitkommen wollen. I don’t know if he wanted to come along. 2. When a sentence begins with a subordinating conjunction, the main clause begins with the conjugated verb in keeping with the normal word order of German that states verbs are always in the second position. The subordinate clause becomes the first position, so the verb of the main clause must occupy the second position. Hans telefoniert mit Ihnen, während Sie in Berlin sind. Hans will call you while you’re in Berlin. Während Sie in Berlin sind, telefoniert Hans mit Ihnen. While you are in Berlin, Hans will call you. (während is a subordinating conjunction, and the subordinating clause occupies the first position of the sentence, so the second position must be occupied by the verb of the main clause, telefoniert.) 3. If there is a separable prefix verb in a dependent clause, the prefix remains attached to the verb, and the entire verb goes to the end of the clause, whereas normally the prefix would go to the end. Er ist immer müde, wenn er früh aufsteht. He is always tired when he gets up early. 4. When there are two verbs in a dependent clause (such as a modal and an infinitive), the modal goes last, following the infinitive. Er ist müde, wenn er früh aufstehen muss. He is tired when he must get up early. 48. Holiday Phrases
49. Helfen, lassen and the senses Helfen, lassen and verbs indicating the senses (such as sehen and hören) function like modal auxiliaries. Like the modals, these verbs require a double infinitive construction when forming the present perfect tense if there is a dependent infinitive involved. After verbs of this type, English often uses a present participle, but German uses a dependent infinitive. Ich sehe ihn kommen. I see him coming. Ich habe ihn kommen hören. I heard him coming. Lassen can have different meanings depending on how it is used in the sentence. Usually, lassen means to let or allow, as in Laß den Jungen spielen! Let the boy play! (Notice that lassen takes an accusative object) But it can also mean to have something done or to have someone do something. Wir lassen uns ein Haus bauen. We’re having a house built./We’re building a house. Ich lasse meinen Sohn die Post abholen. I’m having my son pick up the mail. 50. Places
51. Transportation
52. Simple Past / Imperfect Tense In English, this tense corresponds to I did, you saw, he cried, etc. and is used less often in spoken German than the present perfect tense. It is used more often in writing to tell a sequence of past events. Nevertheless, even in conversational German, sein, haben, werden, wissen and the modal verbs are preferred in the simple past tense than in the present perfect tense. In addition, the simple past tense is commonly used in clauses that begin with als (when). All regular verbs add these endings to their original stems:
53. Irregular Stems in Simple Past / Imperfect Tense Irregular verbs have a different stem for the past tense and add different endings than those of the regular verbs. You will have to memorize these stems, as they can be unpredictable (and unlike the past participles). Remember the simple past forms given below are just the stems; you must add different endings depending on the subject.
54. House and Furniture
55. Location vs. Direction Location: the prepositions in, an, auf and bei (followed by the dative case) are used with fixed locations, while aus and von (also followed by the dative case) are used to signify origin.
Remember the two idioms with Haus: zu Hause is a location and means at home, while nach Hause is a direction and means (to) home. 56. Clothing
A few verbs that require dative objects can be used with clothing: gefallen – to like, passen – to fit, stehen – to look (good/bad) Gefällt dir dieses Hemd? Do you like this shirt? Die Farbe steht mir nicht. The color doesn’t look good on me. Größe 48 paßt ihr bestimmt. Size 48 fits her well. 57. Future Tense The future tense is simple to form in German. Just use the present tense forms of werden and put the infinitive to the end of the sentence. However, German usually relies on the present tense to indicate the future (implied future) and uses time expressions, such as tonight, tomorrow, etc. so the actual future tense is not quite as common in German as it is in English. Wir gehen morgen nach Deutschland is translated as We are going to Germany tomorrow, and implies a future action, yet it uses the present tense, in both German and English. To express present or future probability, use wohl (probably) with the future tense.
You will help me! Du wirst mir helfen! We will learn Latin. Wir werden Latein lernen. My friend should be home now. Mein Freund wird jetzt wohl zu Hause sein. (Expresses probability) 58. Asking Questions 1. Simply add a question mark 2. Invert the verb and subject 3. Use a question word + verb + subject 4. Add nicht wahr? to the end of the statement 59. Declensions of Adjectives There are three types of declensions for adjectives: adjectives used with der words, adjectives used with ein words, and independent adjectives. Predicate adjectives (Das brot ist frisch. The bread is fresh.) are not declined and usually follow a form of sein.
60. Adjectives
For comparisons of equality, use the construction so + adjective or adverb + wie to mean as + adjective or adverb + as. You can also add nicht in front of the so for a comparison of inequality. Die Küche ist so gross wie das Wohnzimmer. The kitchen is as big as the living room. Eine Waschmaschine ist nicht so schwer wie ein Kühlschrank. A washing machine is not as heavy as a refrigerator. Comparative 1. For comparisons of superiority and inferiority, add -er to the adjective or adverb, followed by als (than). German always uses the -er ending, although English sometimes uses the word more before the adjective instead of the ending. Ein radio is billiger als ein Fernseher. A radio is cheaper than a TV. Jens läuft schneller als Ernst. Jens runs faster than Ernst. Lydia ist intelligenter als ihr Bruder. Lydia is more intelligent than her brother. 2. Adjectives that end in -el, -en or -er, drop the -e in the comparative form. Teuer becomes teurer instead of teuerer, and dunkel becomes dunkler instead of dunkeler. Some one-syllable adjectives and adverbs whose stem vowel is a, o, or u add an umlaut in the comparative, such as alt, arm, dumm, grob, groß, hart, jung, kalt, klug, krank, kurz, lang, oft, scharf, schwach, stark, warm. Adjectives that never add an umlaut are flach, froh, klar, rasch, roh, schlank, stolz, toll, voll and zart. Superlative 1. To form the superlative, add -(e)st to the adjective. The ending -est is used when the word ends in -d, -t, or an s sound. The adjectives that end in -el, -en, or -er retain the -s in the superlative form. The same adjectives that took an umlaut in the comparative take an umlaut in the superlative as well. 2. The superlative also has an alternative form: am + adjective or adverb + sten. When the adjective or adverb ends in a d, t or s sound, an e is inserted between the stem and ending (am grössten is an exception.) This is the only form of the superlative of adverbs, but either forms of the superlative can be used for adjectives. Hans is am jüngsten. Hans is the youngest. Sie ist am intelligentesten. She is the most intelligent. Irregular Forms
Je mehr, desto besser. The more, the better. Je mehr Geld er hat, desto glücklicher ist er. The more money he has, the happier he is. Die preise werden immer höher. The prices are getting higher and higher. Julia wird immer hübscher. Julia is getting prettier and prettier. Keep in mind that the comparative and superlative forms take normal adjective endings when they precede a noun. And the adjective form of the superlative must always take an adjective ending because it is preceded by the definite article. Haben Sie billigere Anzüge? Do you have less expensive suits? Diese Anzüge sind die billigsten. These suits are the least expensive. 62. Sports & Hobbies
kegeln – to bowl das Kegeln – bowling 63. Nature
64. Object Pronouns
Some verbs always take indirect objects, even if they take direct objects in English. For verbs that can take two objects, the direct object will usually be a thing, and the indirect object will usually refer to a person.
65. Parts of the Body
Mir ist schlecht. I feel sick. Mir ist kalt/warm. I’m cold/hot. Was fehlt dir? What’s the matter? Der Hals tut mir weh. My throat hurts. The separable verb wehtun is used to say that something hurts. Remember when the noun is plural, the verb needs to be plural as well and that parts of the body do not use possessive articles. Die Füße tun ihm weh. His feet hurt. (The feet are hurting to him.) Other health expressions:
66. Relative Pronouns Relative clauses begin with relative pronouns – words that correspond to who, whom, that and which in English. These may be omitted in English, but must be included in German. A comma always precedes the relative pronoun, which is put into the correct gender depending on the noun it refers to, and the correct case depending on its function in the clause. (In the following example, the relative pronoun is in the masculine accusative case because Mantel is masculine, and is a direct object of the verb “to buy”, therefore, it is accusative.) The conjugated verb goes to the end of the sentence as well. That’s the coat (that) I bought yesterday. Das is der Mantel, den ich gestern gekauft habe. Relative pronouns have the same gender and number as the nouns they refer to, and the forms closely resemble those of the definite articles:
Wer war die Frau, mit der ich dich gesehen habe? Who was the woman, with whom I you seen have? Who was the woman (whom) I saw you with? 67. Da and Wo Compounds Personal pronouns are used after prepositions when referring to people. However, when you need to refer to a thing, a compound using da- (or dar- if the preposition begins with a vowel) plus the preposition is used. auf dem Tisch (on the table) becomes darauf (on it) in der Tasche (in the pocket) becomes darin (in it) vor der Schule (in front of the school) becomes davor (in front of it) hinter den Häusern (behind the houses) becomes dahinter (behind them) zwischen dem Haus und der Schule (between the house and the school) becomes dazwischen (between them)
Ich muß heute zur Bank. I have to go to the bank. Ich muß auch dahin. I have to go there too. Note: Dabei and darum are idioms. Hast du Geld dabei? Do you have any money on you? Darum hast du kein Glück. That’s why you have no luck. Not all prepositions + pronouns can be replaced by the da(r) compounds. Ohne, ausser, and seit can never form a da(r) compound, and here are others that cannot:
Die Uhr, mit der er reist, hat viel gekostet. = Die Uhr, womit er reist, hat viel gekostet. The watch, with which he travels, cost a lot. Die Stadt, in der wir wohnen, hat ein großes Konzerthaus. = Die Stadt, worin wir wohnen, hat ein großes Konzerthaus. The city, in which we live, has a large concert hall. 68. Animals
69. Likes and Dislikes Use the words gern, nicht gern, lieber, and am liebsten after a verb to express preferences.
Was macht dir spaß? What do you like (to do)? Fußball macht mir spaß. I like soccer. 70. Past Perfect Tense The Past Perfect Tense or Pluperfect corresponds to the English had + past participle and refers to something that had already happened when something else happened. It consists of the imperfect of haben or sein and a past participle and is comparable to the present perfect tense. Present perfect: Ich habe in Wiesbaden gewohnt. I (have) lived in Wiesbaden. Past perfect: Ich hatte in Wiesbaden gewohnt. I had lived in Wiesbaden. Present perfect: Was ist passiert? What (has) happened? Past perfect: Was war passiert? What had happened? 71. Als, wenn and wann All three words correspond to when and act as subordinating conjunctions (therefore, the conjugated verb goes to the end of the sentence.) Als is used in past time contexts for a single event, wenn is used to mean whenever or if, as well as in future time, and wann is an adverb of time or a question word and can be used in declarative sentences.
72. Review of Word Order 1. In most sentences, the order is subject – verb – time – manner – place. Ich gehe morgen mit dem Bus in die Schule. I’m going to school tomorrow by bus. 2. Sometimes another element begins a sentence instead of a subject. Then the verb is still in the second position, but the subject follows it. Morgen gehe ich mit dem Bus in die Schule. Tomorrow I’m going to school by bus. 3. In sentences with more than one verb or with past participles, the conjugated verb remains in the normal position and the infinitive or past participle goes to the end of the sentence. Ich will nach Hause gehen. I want to go home. Ich habe dir geglaubt. I believed you. 4. When asking questions, you can usually just invert the subject and verb. Kann ich jetzt gehen? Can I go now? 5. In sentences with dependent clauses (phrases that have a subject and verb but cannot stand alone as sentences), the verb in the dependent clause is last. Dependent clauses are introduced with a comma and certain conjunctions, such as als-when, bevor-before, bis-until, damit-so that, dass-that, wenn-if/when, ob-whether, obwohl-although, nachdem-after, da-since, während-while, weil-because, and wie-how. However, these conjunctions use normal word order: und-and, oder-or, aber-but, denn-for/because. Ich bleibe im Bett, wenn ich krank bin. I stay in bed when I am sick. 6. If there is a separable prefix verb in a dependent clause, the prefix remains attached to the verb, and the entire verb goes to the end of the sentence, whereas normally the prefix would go to the end. Er ist immer müde, wenn er früh aufsteht. He is always tired when he gets up early. 7. When there are two verbs in a dependent clause (such as a modal and an infinitive), the modal goes last, following the infinitive. Er ist müde, wenn er früh aufstehen muss. He is tired when he must get up early. 8. And when a dependent clause begins a sentence, it acts as an element, therefore the subject and verb in the following clause are inverted. Wenn ich krank bin, bleibe ich im Bett. When I am sick, I stay in bed. 9. If you have both direct and indirect pronouns in your sentence, remember that if the direct object is a noun it is placed after the indirect object. If the direct object is a pronoun, it goes before the indirect object. So basically the only time the accusative is placed before the dative is when the accusative is a pronoun. Ich schenke meinem Bruder eine Krawatte. I give my brother a tie. Ich schenke sie meinem Bruder. I give it to my brother. 73. Flavoring Particles German has many words that cannot be translated literally into English. These words are mostly for emphasis.
74. Colloquial Expressions and Idioms In informal speech and writing, es is commonly contracted with the preceding word by ’s. Geht es = geht’s Es is also used as an impersonal pronoun (es regnet, it’s raining), but it can also be used as an introductory word for emphasis or stylistic reasons. Es begins the sentence, and the true subject follows the verb. Es ist niemand zu Hause. No one is at home. Es kommen heute drei Kinder. Three children are coming today. Es can also be used to anticipate a dependent clause or infinitive phrase. This is almost like in English when we say I hate it when that happens instead of I hate when that happens. ”It” has no real meaning in the first sentence, but it is not incorrect to say it. Ich kann es nicht glauben, daß er sich vor nichts fürchtet. I can’t believe that he’s not afraid of anything. Er haßt es, nichts davon zu wissen. He hates not knowing anything about it. Other idioms: Sie ist mit ihrem Urteil immer sehr schnell bei der Hand. She makes her judgments rather quickly. (Literally: She is quick at hand with her judgments.) Alles ist in Butter. Everything is fine. (Literally: Everything is in butter.) Er geht mit dem Kopf durch die Wand. He does as he pleases. (Literally: He goes with his head through the wall.) 75. Word Formation Noun compounds German uses compounds more often than English and they are formed by simply putting the two words together (sometimes adding an -n or -s in between), and using the gender of the last word. Die Woche (week) + der Tag (day) = der Wochentag (Days of the week) The prefix un- As in English, the prefix un- gives a word a negative or opposite meaning. klar (clear) – unklar (unclear) The suffix -los This suffix is often the equivalent of the English suffix -less, and is used to form adjectives and adverbs from nouns. das Ende (the end) – endlos (endless) The suffix -haft The suffix -haft is used to form adjectives from nouns so as to designate related qualities. das Kind (the child) – kindhaft (childlike) The suffix -ung This suffix may be added to the stem of a verb to form a noun. All nouns ending in -ung are feminine. wandern (to hike) – die Wanderung (the hike) The suffix -er This suffix designates a person is from a certain place. Frankfurt (a city) – Frankfurter (a person from Frankfurt) The suffix -in This suffix designates a female person and is added to the male counterpart. Architekt (male architect) – Architektin (female architect) 76. Adjectival Nouns When referring to people, adjectives can sometimes be used as nouns. The definite article precedes the adjective, which is now capitalized because it is functioning as a noun. The adjectival nouns take the regular adjective endings for adjectives preceded by a der word as well. der Alte – the old man die Alte – the old woman das Alte – everything that is old die Alten – the old people 77. Ordinal Numbers To form the ordinal numbers, just add -te to the cardinal numbers for 1-19, and -ste for 20 and up. The exceptions are erste, dritte, siebte, and achte.
Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born? Am achzehnten Mai. On May 18th. Welches Datum is heute? What is today’s date? Heute ist der neunte Oktober. Today is October ninth. 78. Passive Voice To change a sentence from the active to the passive, change three things: 1. accusative object of active sentence to nominative subject of passive sentence 2. active verb to a tense of werden (same tense!) plus the past participle of verb in active sentence 3. subject to von + dative object in the passive sentence, if agent is mentioned Present Tense Viele Studenten lesen diesen Roman. = Dieser Roman wird von vielen Studenten gelesen. Many students read this novel. = This novel is read by many students. Imperfect Tense Viele Studenten lasen diesen Roman. = Dieser Roman wurde von vielen Studenten gelesen. Many students read this novel. = This novel was read by many students. Future Tense Viele Studenten werden diesen Roman lesen. = Dieser Roman wird von vielen Studenten gelesen werden. Many students will read this novel. = This novel will be read by many students. Present Perfect Tense Viele Studenten haben diesen Roman gelesen. = Dieser Roman ist von vielen Studenten gelesen worden. Many students have read this novel. = This novel has been read by many students. Past Perfect Tense Viele Studenten hatten diesen Roman gelesen. = Dieser Roman war von vielen Studenten gelesen worden. Many students had read this novel. = This novel had been read by many students. *Notice that in the passive voice, the past participle of werden is worden and not geworden. Durch can replace von when the agent is an impersonal force (fire, wind, etc.); but it cannot be used if preceded by a limiting word (such as an article or adjective.) Passive with modals Shifts in tense will only affect the modal part of the sentence. The infinitive forms of the past participles are used with modals in the passive voice as well. And where you might expect something like Das Haus hat werden müssen verkauft, the actual construction is Das Haus hat verkauft werden müssen because of the double infinitive construction. Double infinitives always go to the end of the sentence, but you only need to worry about these in the present perfect and past perfect tenses. Passive Infinitives To be + past participle in English is translated as the past participle + werden in German. With a passive infinitive, usually only the present or simple past of modals is used. Die Tiere konnten gerettet werden. The animals were able to be saved. 79. Problems with the Passive False Passive Grammatically, the false passive is the same as sein + an adjective. This construction describes a condition rather than an action. Das Haus ist verkauft is the false passive, while das Haus wird verkauft is the true passive. The false passive sentence indicates that the house is already sold (condition), while the true passive indicates the house is in the process of being sold (action). Passive with Absentee Subjects Passive forms may have a definite or indefinite subject, or no apparent subject at all. The accusative object of an active sentence becomes the nominative subject of the passive sentence. But sometimes there is no accusative object. Since a verb cannot be in the first position of sentence without turning the sentence into a question, es is used as the subject. Man antwortet ihnen nicht is an active sentence, but if it were turned into the passive, there would be no accusative object. The passive would have to be es wird ihnen nicht geantwortet. (Here werden agrees with the apparent subject, es.) But if another element, such as a dative object or time expression, can be put in the first position, then es is omitted. Ihnen wird nicht geantwortet can also be used as the passive. There is no apparent subject, only an implied es, so the form of werden remains wird to agree with es. 80. Avoiding the Passive 1. The construction man + an active verb can be used instead of the passive voice. Man translates to one, you, we, they, people and constitutes the subject. Diese Bluse wird gereinigt. This blouse is being dry-cleaned Man reinigt diese Bluse. They are dry-cleaning this blouse. Der Dieb wurde gefunden. The thief was caught Man fand den Dieb. They caught the thief. 2. Man + modal + an infinitive is frequently used with müssen or können. Der Flecken kann nicht entfernt werden. The stain cannot be removed. Den Flecken kann man nicht entfernen. We can’t remove the stain. 3. Sein + zu + an infinitive can be used with können or müssen to express the possibility or necessity of an action. Das kann schnell gemacht werden. That can be done quickly. Das ist schnell zu machen. That is quickly done. 4. Sich lassen + an infinitive can replace können and a passive infinitive. Das kann gemacht werden. That can be done. Das läßt sich machen. That can be done. Die Lorelei Heinrich Heine
Weil (because) + a dependent clause shows the reason for an action; however, damit and um…zu (so that, in order to) show the goal of an action. Damit is also followed by a dependent clause, whereas um…zu introduces an infinitive. Sie macht das Fenster zu, damit sie nicht friert. = Sie macht das Fenster zu, um nicht zu frieren. She closes the window, so that she won’t freeze . = She closes the window, in order to not freeze. Commonly, you use damit when the subject of the main clause is different from the subject of the dependent clause, and um…zu when the understood subject of the infinitive is the same as the subject of the main clause. 82. Shopping
83. Post Office and Bank
84. Zu with Infinitives Infinitives are usually preceded by zu (except when modals are used) when they act as complements of verbs, adjectives or nouns. Zu + infinitive is always the last element in a sentence. If a separable prefix is used in the infinitive, the zu is inserted between the prefix and the stem. Hast du Lust, den Dom zu besichtigen? Do you feel like visiting the cathedral? Es dauert lange, durch die Stadt zu fahren. It takes a long time to drive through the city. Es ist zu früh um aufzustehen. It is too early to get up. Um, ohne and anstatt can be used with zu as well. They introduce infinitival clauses. Um.. zu is used to indicate purpose, while ohne…zu and anstatt…zu are used with infinitives, and translated as present participles in English. (Um…zu must be used instead of just zu when the English equivalent “in order to” can be used sensibly.) Er kam, um das Buch abzuholen. He came in order to pick up the book. Sie sagte es, ohne mich anzusehen. She said it, without looking at me. Statt hier zu sitzen, sollten wir ihn suchen. Instead of sitting here, we should look for him. Sein + zu + an infinitive is used the same way in English and German, but the construction is far more common in German. Das ist nicht zu machen. That can’t be done. Das ist in jedem Laden zu finden. That can be found in any store. The verbs brauchen (to need) and scheinen (to seem, appear) are often used with zu + an infinitive. Brauchen in the negative is usually translated as to not have to, and is the opposite of müssen. Es scheint kaputt zu sein. It seems to be broken. Ich brauche heute nicht zu arbeiten. I don’t have to work today. 85. Office / School Supplies
86. Expressions of Time The accusative case is used to indicate definite time when no preposition is used. Letzten Sonntag blieb ich zu Hause. Last Sunday I stayed home. Sie fährt nächste Woche nach Deutschland. She’s going to Germany next week. Er hat uns voriges Jahr besucht. He visited us last year. Time expressions with the prepositions an, in and vor are in the dative case. Wir müssen am Sonntag zurück. We must return on Sunday. In der Nacht wird es kalt. It gets cold at night. Vor drei Jahren war es hier genau so kalt. Three years ago it was just as cold here. The genitive case is used to express indefinite time, and may refer to the future or past. Eines Tages war er krank. One day he was sick. Eines Morgens wird er zu spät kommen. One morning he’ll be late. 87. Travelling / Airport
88. Another Ein(e) ander- and noch ein- both mean another, but they cannot be used interchangeably. Ein(e) ander- means a different one, and ander- takes the adjective endings for adjectives preceded by ein words. Noch ein means one more. Sollen wir ein anderes Mal wiederkommen? Should we come again at another (a different) time? Möchtest du noch einen Raum anschauen? Would you like to look at another (one more) room? 89. Cosmetics / Toiletries
90. Subjunctive II or General Subjunctive (Conditional) This subjunctive mood is used to make statements that are contrary to fact, instead of factual statements that are made in the indicative mood. There are two forms of the German subjunctive: Subjunctive II and Subjunctive I. Subjunctive II or the general subjunctive is used with if…then (wenn… dann) statements and conditional sentences. Subjunctive I or special subjunctive is a less common mood that is used with indirect discourse. (If you study other languages with a subjunctive mood, please don’t confuse it with the German subjunctive. They are not the same!) The present tense of Subjunctive II is derived from the simple past / imperfect tense of the indicative. For weak (regular) verbs, the subjunctive II is the same as the simple past tense. For strong (irregular) verbs, the present tense of the subjunctive II uses the stem of the simple past, adds an umlaut where possible, and then adds the following endings:
Conditional sentences These sentences are based on an if… then (wenn… dann) pattern in both English and German. Dann can be omitted in these sentences also. Remember that wenn is a subordinating conjunction, and forces the conjugated verb to the end of the clause. Present Subj. II: Wenn ich Zeit hätte, (dann) ginge ich ins Kino. If I had time, (then) I would go to the movies. Past Subj. II: Wenn ich Zeit gehabt hätte, dann wäre ich ins Kino gegangen. If I had had time, (then) I would have gone to the movies. Wenn clauses may be introduced by a verb, and in this case, wenn disappears and dann may be replaced by so: Kommt er heute nicht, (so) kommt er morgen. If he’s not coming today, then he’ll come tomorrow. A conditional sentence may begin with the dann clause as well; but in this case, dann is not actually used and the clause uses normal word order: Wir trinken den Kaffee nicht, wenn er zu heiß ist. We don’t drink coffee if it is too hot. Forms of würden + an infinitive Würde and an infinitive translates to would + infinitive and is more common than the one word form in the dann clause. Wenn clauses tend to avoid the würde construction, except with these eight verbs: helfen, stehen, sterben, werfen, brennen, kennen, nennen, and rennen. These eight verbs use the würde construction in the wenn clause because the one word forms are archaic. Moreover, conversational German tends to replace many subjunctive II forms of strong verbs with the würde construction. However, this construction is generally not used with the modal auxiliaries, wissen, haben or sein.
91. Other uses of Subjunctive II 1. Being Polite To be more polite, use the subjunctive II form of the modals.
Dürfte ich Ihr Telefon benutzen? Could I use your phone? In modern German, the subjunctive forms of mögen has become almost a synonym of wollen. Was willst du? = What do you want? Was möchtest du? = What would you like? Hätte gern is also becoming common as a synonym for “would like” especially when ordering food. Wir hätten gern zwei Colas, bitte. = We would like two colas, please. Note that these polite forms are only limited to the modal verbs, sein, haben and werden. For this reason, you may hear Würden Sie mir helfen? but never Hülfen Sie mir? 2. Expressing Wishes The subjunctive II is also used to express wishes. These phrases generally begin with “I wish” or “If only” in English. Wenn (if) can be omitted from these statements, but then you must move the conjugated verb in the subjunctive II to the place of wenn at the beginning of the phrase. When expressing wishes, the present and past tenses of the subjunctive II can be used. Wenn ich nur noch jung wäre! = Wäre ich nur noch jung! I wish I were still young! / If only I were still young! Wenn er nur früher gekommen wäre! = Wäre er nur früher gekommen! If only he had come earlier! Wenn sie doch mehr Zeit gehabt hätten! = Hätten sie doch mehr Zeit gehabt! If only they had had more time! Ich wünschte and ich wollte (I wish) are fixed expressions followed by the subjunctive II or würde + infinitive. Another expression always followed by the subjunctive is an deiner Stelle (in your place / If I were you) when giving advice. 92. Subjunctive I or Special Subjunctive (Indirect Discourse) The Subjunctive I form is used with indirect discourse when reporting what someone says in a formal, impartial way. The indicative can also be used to imply a statement of fact, while the subjunctive II can be used to imply the statement is open to question (since subjunctive II is used with contrary to fact statements.) These three distinctions are quite subtle, although they are important. In everyday conversation, the tendency is to avoid the subjunctive I and to choose instead between the indicative and subjunctive II. The present tense of Subjunctive I is derived from the present tense of the indicative and formed by adding the following endings to the stem of the verb. Note that the subjunctive I forms never have the stem vowel change found in their present indicative counterparts (a does not become ä, e does not become ie, etc.)
Tenses The tense used in an indirect quotation is dependent upon the tense used in the direct quotation that underlies it. If the direct quotation is in the present tense of the indicative, then the indirect quotation must be in the present tense of the subjunctive I. If the direct quotation is in any tense referring to past time in the indicative (simple past, present perfect, or past perfect), then the indirect quotation is in the past tense of the subjunctive I. Subjunctive I only has one tense when referring to past time, as compared to the three tenses of the indicative. If the direct quotation is in the future tense, then the future tense of subjunctive I is used. If the original quotation is in subjunctive II, then the indirect quotation will also be in subjunctive II.
93. Parts of a Car
94. Present Participle To form the present participle, simply add -d to the infinitive. It usually functions as an adjective and takes the normal adjective endings. It can also function as an adverb, but then of course, it does not add any endings. kochendes Wasser - boiling water die führenden Kritiker – the leading critics im kommenden Sommer – in the coming summer Sie spricht fließend Deutsch. She speaks German fluently. 95. In the Ocean
96. Als ob / Als wenn The conjunctions als wenn and als ob are interchangeable; they both mean “as if” or “as though.” Both introduce a dependent clause, so the conjugated verb must go to the end. In addition, both require the subjunctive II. Als ob ich das nicht wüßte! As if I didn’t know that! Er tut, als wenn er nichts Besseres zu tun hätte. He acts as though he had nothing better to do. 97. In Space
98. Future Perfect The future perfect tense is comparable to the other perfect tenses. It is formed with the future of haben or sein, and the past participle. The future perfect deals with the future as if it were already past time (he will have done it), or it is used to imply probability (that was probably him.) The latter case commonly uses the past tense in English though. Er wird gegangen sein. He will have gone. Ich werde es genommen haben. I will have taken it. Es wird dunkel geworden sein. It will have become dark. Das wird Rudi gewesen sein. That will have been Rudi. / That was probably Rudi. When using modals, the future perfect tense can create the double infinitive construction, so make sure to put the double infinitive at the very end. Die Uhr wird sehr viel gekostet haben müssen. 99. Make Believe Stuff
100. Spelling Reform Recently, there has been a spelling reform of the German language. The following are a few points that have changed: 1. Write ss after a short vowel, and ß after a long vowel or diphthong. Please note that ß is not used in Switzerland or Liechtenstein and a lot of people don’t pay attention to this rule anyway. Also, there is no capital letter that corresponds to the lower case ß, so it must be written as SS. 2. Words that are now capitalized: (auf) Deutsch, Mittag, Abend, Morgen, Recht haben, Leid tun… 3. The forms of Du (familiar you) are no longer capitalized in letters. 4. A comma is not necessary when two independent clauses are joined by und. 101. Review of Declensions of Nouns 1) Feminine Singular nouns remain unchanged in all Singular cases.
3) Masculine nouns that end in -e in Nom. Sing. and designate living things add -n to form both Singular and Plural for all cases.
5) In Plurals of all declensions of all genders, the Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative Plural are the same.
Most singular declensions can be formed from the first three rules above, but plural nouns are more complex and irregular. Some may add -n, -en, -r, -er, -e, or an umlaut over the stem vowel with a final -e, and some nouns do not change from singular to plural. Group 1 -Singular follows rules -Plural adds umlaut to stem vowel and -n to all datives
Group 2 -Singular follows rules -Plural sometimes adds umlaut to stem vowel and -e to Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative; -en to Dative
Group 3 -Singular follow rules -Plural adds umlaut to stem vowel and -er to Nominative, Genitive, and Accusative; -ern to Dative
Group 4 -Singular adds -en to all Masculine Dative, Accusative, and Genitive; Feminine follows rule -Plural adds -n or -en to all forms
Group 5 -Add -s to Genitive Singular -Add -s to all plural forms
Group 6 – Irregular -Add -ns or -ens to Genitive Singular -Add -en to Dative Singular, may add -en to Accusative Singular -All plural add -en
-Add -s or -es for Genitive Singular -Add -n or -en for all plural
German States / Bundesländer
Austrian States / Bundesländer
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