German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 1a

Lesson 1:Common Greetings and Courtesies

Below you'll find some of the most common German greetings (Gre) and pleasantries
(Nettigkeiten). Be aware that German, more than English, makes a clear distinction between formal (Sie) and familar (first name, du) forms of expression. Phrases marked "familiar" or "casual" should only be used in informal, first-name situations. Germans tend to be more formal and use first names only in certain situations. We'll talk more about this in Lesson 2. Also see Das Alphabet (Lesson 1b).
AUDIO Listen to the German phrases below!

Click on any hyperlinked word or phrase in the chart to hear it spoken in German.

Gre und Nettigkeiten

Deutsch Englisch

Everyday Pleasantries
Guten Tag! - Tag! Gr Gott! Gr dich! Guten Morgen! - Morgen! Guten Abend! Gute Nacht! Wie geht es Ihnen? Wie geht's? Danke, gut. Sehr gut. Es geht. Hello! - Hi! Hello! (southern Germany & Austria) Hello! (familiar, informal) Good morning! - Morning! Good evening! Good night! How are you? How are you? (Familiar, informal) Fine, thanks. Great. Okay. So-so.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 1 of 1

German for Beginners

Nicht so gut. Auf Wiedersehen. Tschs!

Not so well. Good-bye. Bye! See you later. (casual)

Requests Bitten
Was mchten Sie? Ich mchte... Darf ich? Knnen Sie mir helfen? What would you like? I would like... May I? Can you help me?

Yes/No - Thanks - You're Welcome

Bitte! - Ja, bitte! Please! - Yes, please! Thanks! - No thanks! Danke! Danke schn! Vielen Dank! Bitte schn! Nein, danke!
Note: "Danke!" in response to an offer usually means "No thanks!" If you want to indicate a positive response to an offer, say "Bitte!"

Thank you! Thanks a lot! - Many thanks! You're welcome! (in response to "Danke schn!") No thanks!

Prepared by Ashish

Page 2 of 2

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Das Abc - Das Alphabet

Lesson 1b
AUDIO Hren Sie zu! LISTEN to German! (below)

In

the following charts you'll find the letters of the German alphabet, including those

unique to German (in darker boxes). The pronunciation shown is only approximate and is for the letter (der Buchstabe ) itself, not the way it may be sounded in the sample words shown. To hear the entire alphabet in German, click on the red speaker icon below. (Some sound files require free RealPlayer software.) To hear individual letters (as .wav files), click on any hyperlinked letter. Note also that German words almost always sound the way they are spelled -- with consistent sounds for any given spelling. (e.g., The German EI [nein] spelling is always sounded EYE, whereas German IE [Sie] always has the EEE sound.) No need to learn exceptions like "i before e, except after c" in German (the few exceptions being foreign words from English, French or other languages). The alphabet is a very practical thing to learn. There are times when you may need to spell your name or other words on the phone. A BMW car is prounonced BAY-EMVAY in German. A VW is a FOW-VAY. A bra is a BAY-HAH ( BH) in German. Many other German words are reduced to letters in the same way: Lkw (truck, ELL-KA-VAY), Pkw (car, PAY-KA-VAY), ICE (high-speed train, EE-SAY-AY). See our Alphabet Exercise that tests your ability to write out German letters for abbreviations or words you hear! For older German font/type styles such as Gothic (Fraktur) or the hand-written Stterlin, see "Genealogy" or "Translation" in the Subjects box on the left. Also see Diphthongs and Grouped Consonants below, and the Related Links at the bottom of this page.

Click on any hyperlinked letter below to hear that letter as a .wav file . To hear the entire alphabet in German as RealAudio streamed sound, click on the speaker icon Don't have RealPlayer? Download it for free from Real.com

Prepared by Ashish

Page 3 of 3

German for Beginners das Alphabet

Buchstabe Letter Aussprache Pronunciation Beispiele / Examples

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt

ah ay bay say day ay eff gay haa eeh yot kah ell emm enn oh ooh pay koo err ess ess-zett tay

ab (from), der Apparat (appliance, phone) der ther (ether), die Fhre (ferry) bei (at, near), das Buch (book) die City (downtown), der Computer durch (through), dunkel (dark) elf (eleven), wer (who), er (he) faul (lazy), der Feind (enemy) das Gehirn (brain), gleich (same, equal) die Hand (hand), halb (half) der Igel (hedgehog), immer (always) das Jahr (year), jung (young) der Kalender (calendar), kennen (know) langsam (slow, slowly), die Leute (people) mein (my), der Mann (man) die Nacht (night), nein (no), nicht (not) das Ohr (ear), die Oper (opera) sterreich (Austria), fters (once in a while) das Papier (paper), positiv (positive) die Quelle (source), quer (crossways) das Rathaus (city hall), rechts (right) die Sache (matter), das Salz (salt), seit (since) Lower case only. Replaces "ss" in some words. Not used in Swiss German. gro (big, great), die Strae (street) der Tag (day), das Tier (animal) Page 4 of 4

Prepared by Ashish

German for Beginners

Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

ooh uyuh fow vay ixx oop-seelohn zett

die U-Bahn (subway, metro), unter (below) ber (over, about), die Tr (door) der Vater (father), vier (four) wenn (if, whenever), die Woche (week) x-mal (umpteen), das Xylofon der Yen (yen), der Typ (type) zahlen (pay), die Pizza, zu (to, too)

To hear the entire alphabet in German as streamed sound, click on the speaker: (Requires free RealPlayer)

Diphthongs
Diphthong Double Vowels Aussprache Pronunciation

Beispiele / Examples

Ai / ei au Eu / u ie

eye ow oy eeh

bei (at, near), das Ei (egg), der Mai (May) auch (also), das Auge (eye), aus (out of) Huser (houses), Europa (Europe), neu (new) bieten (offer), nie (never), Sie (you) Grouped Consonants

Consonant

Aussprache Pronunciation

Beispiele / Examples

ck

Dick (fat, thick), der Schock (shock) After a, o, u and au, pronounced like the guttural ch in Scottish

ch

--

"loch" - das Buch (book), auch (also). Otherwise it is a palatal sound as in: mich (me), welche (which), wirklich (really). Tip: If no air is passing over your tongue when you say a ch-sound, you

Prepared by Ashish

Page 5 of 5

German for Beginners

aren't saying it correctly. No true equivalent in English. Although ch doesn't usually have a hard k sound, there are exceptions: Chor, Christoph, Chaos, Orchester, Wachs (wax), Lachs (salmon), wechseln (to change). Both letters are (quickly) pronounced as a combined puff-sound: pf pf das Pferd (horse), der Pfennig. If this is difficult for you, an f sound will work, but try to do it! ph f das Alphabet, phonetisch - Some words formerly spelled with ph are now spelled with f: das Telefon, das Foto qu sch Sp / st kv sh shp / sht die Qual (anguish, torture), die Quittung (receipt) schn (pretty), die Schule (school) At the start of a word, the s in sp/st has a sh sound as in English "show, she." sprechen (speak), stehen (stand) das Theater (tay-AHTER), das Thema (topic) - Always sounds like a t. Never has the English the sound!

th

Prepared by Ashish

Page 6 of 6

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 2

Personal Pronouns and Related Expressions

The German personal pronouns (er, sie, es, du, wir, usw.) work in much the same way as
their English equivalents (he, she, it, you, we, etc.). When we get to verb conjugation later, these words will be a key element that you should know very well. Even here we have included some sample verb phrases for many of the pronouns. The pronouns listed below are in the NOMINATIVE (subject) case. We will talk about their other forms and different cases in a later lesson. A special word about "you"! - German, much more than English, makes a clear distinction between formal you (Sie) and familar you (first name, du) in social situations. In this regard, Germans tend to be more formal than English-speakers and use first names only after a long period of getting to know each other. This is a good example of how language and culture are intertwined, and you need to be aware of this to avoid embarassing yourself and others. In the table below, the familiar "you" forms (du, ihr) are marked with the abbreviation "fam." to distinguish them from the formal "you" (Sie). NOTE: German has three different forms of sie! Often the only way to tell which one is meant is to notice the verb ending and/or the context in which the pronoun is used. Even the capitalized Sie (you, formal) is tricky if it appears at the beginning of a sentence. Lower-case sie can mean both "she" and "they": sie ist (she is), sie sind (they are). Also read the article and try our self-scoring quiz on du and Sie that is included in You and thou, Sie und du.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 7 of 7

German for Beginners

die deutschen Pronomina NOMINATIVE SINGULAR

Pronomen Pronoun Sample Phrases

ich

I you (fam.) he she it you

Darf ich? (May I?) Ich bin 16 Jahre alt. (I'm 16 years old.)
The pronoun ich is not capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.

du er sie es Sie

Kommst du mit? (Are you coming along?) Ist er da? (Is he here?) Ist sie da? (Is she here?) Hast du es? (Do you have it?) Kommen Sie heute? (Are you coming today?)
The pronoun Sie always takes a plural conjugation, but is also used for the formal "you" singular.

NOMINATIVE PLURAL
Pronomen Pronoun Sample Phrases

wir ihr

we you guys (fam.) they you (plur.)

Wir kommen am Dienstag. (We're coming on Tuesday.) Habt ihr das Geld? (Do you guys have the money?) Sie kommen heute. (They're coming today.)
The pronoun sie in this sentence could also mean "you" Sie. Only the context makes it clear which of the two is meant.

sie

Sie

Kommen

Sie

heute?

(Are

you

[all]

coming

today?)

The pronoun Sie always takes a plural conjugation, but is also used for the formal "you" singular.

See the article and quiz You and thou, Sie und du for more about du and Sie.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 8 of 8

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 3

Nouns and Gender
Hren Sie zu!
Druckversion Printer version of this page

AUDIO in LESSON

German nouns (a person, place or thing) are very easy to spot: they always begin with a
CAPITAL letter! (As did nouns in Old English.) Although there has been debate over the years about doing away with this rather inefficient practice, for now ALL German nouns must begin with a CAPITAL letter. Whether we are talking about a simple tree (ein Baum) or President Lincoln (Prsident Lincoln), any noun is capitalized in German. The other important thing for English-speakers to understand about German nouns is the matter of gender. Just as we learned about the pronouns in the previous lesson, German nouns parallel he, she and it ( er, sie , es ) by also being masculine (der - DARE), feminine (die - DEE) or neuter ( das - DAHSS). We can see the parallel very clearly by the ending letters for each article/pronoun: der = er, die = sie, das = es.
Always learn German nouns with their genders! Although our Gender Hints page tells you ways by which it is possible to know the gender of some German nouns, there is no better way than to simply learn each noun and its gender together. Don't just learn Baum (tree), learn der Baum (the tree)!

Der, die and das are the same as "the" in English the DEFINITE ARTICLE. In German the definite article is much more important than it is in English. For one thing, it is used more often. In English we might say: "Nature is wonderful." In German, the article would be also be included: "Die Natur ist wunderschn." So knowing which article to use becomes even more important! The INDEFINITE ARTICLE ("a" or "an" in English) is "ein" or "eine" in German. Ein basically means "one" and like the definite article, it indicates the gender of the noun it goes with (eine or ein). Only eine can be used with a feminine noun in German (nominative case). For masculine or neuter nouns, only ein is correct. This is a very

Prepared by Ashish

Page 9 of 9

German for Beginners important concept to learn! It is also reflected in the use of possessive adjectives such as sein(e) (his) or mein(e) (my), which are also called "ein-words." Gender is sometimes natural der Mann/ein Mann (man, masc.), die Frau/eine Frau (woman, fem. ), but more often it is not: das Mdchen (girl, neuter). Nor does noun gender carry over from one language to another. The sun is feminine in German (die Sonne ) but masculine in Spanish ( el sol). A table is masculine in German (der Tisch) but feminine in French (la table). But it is the WORD, not the thing that has gender, and it makes little sense to worry about the whys of gender. Just concentrate on learning the genders. (Using little hints to help you remember a noun's gender IS a good idea. To remind yourself that die Natur, nature, is feminine think of "Mother Nature.") As you continue your studies, always learn a new noun and its gender together. To learn more about German nouns and gender, study the chart below carefully, then read the article Gender Hints and try our self-scoring quiz on nouns and gender. You can hear the pronunciation of the words (.wav audio) in each group by clicking on any noun.

Substantive Nouns NOMINATIVE SINGULAR

Artikel Gender

Sample Nouns der Bahnhof (train station), Sohn (son), Vater (father), Wagen (car), Zug (draft, parade, train) die Anlage (installation, park), Dame (fortress), Gesundheit (health), Luft (air) (lady), Festung

der ein die eine das ein

masc. fem. neut.

das Boot (boat), Dach (roof), Geld (money), Jahr (year), Kino (cinema, movie theater), Radio

NOMINATIVE PLURAL
Artikel Gender Sample Nouns (Plurals)

die keine meine

plur.

die Bcher (books), Dcher (roofs), Fenster (windows), Jahre (years), Radios, Shne (sons), Zeitungen (newspapers)

Note : All nouns, of any gender, become die in the plural. (Ein can't be plural, but other so-called ein-words can: keine [none], meine [my], seine [his], etc.) That's the good news. The bad news is that there are about seven ways to form the plural of German nouns, only one of which is to add an "s" - as in English. See the article and quiz Gender Hints for more.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 10 of 10

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 4A

Two Important Verbs: haben and sein

To have and have not

Haben und nicht haben The two most important German verbs are haben (to have) and sein (to be). As in most languages, the verb "to be" is one of the oldest verbs in German, and therefore one of the most irregular. The verb "to have" is only slightly less irregular, but no less vital to surviving in German. We'll start with haben. Look at the following table for the conjugation of haben (to have) in the present tense, along with sample sentences. Notice the strong resemblance to English for many forms of this verb, with most forms only one letter off from the English (habe/have, hat/has). In the case of the familiar you (du), the German verb is identical to Old English: "thou hast" = "du hast." Haben is also used in some German expressions that are translated with "to be" in English: Ich habe Hunger. = I'm hungry. haben

Deutsch

English

Sample Sentences SINGULAR

ich habe du hast er hat sie hat es hat

I have you have he has she has it has

Ich habe einen roten Wagen. (...a red car.) (fam.) Du hast mein Buch. (...my book.) Er hat ein blaues Auge. (...a black eye.) Sie hat blaue Augen. (...blue eyes.) Es hat keine Fehler. (...no flaws.) PLURAL

wir haben ihr habt

we have you have

Wir haben keine Zeit. (...no time.)

(guys) Habt ihr euer Geld? (...your money?)

Prepared by Ashish

Page 11 of 11

German for Beginners

sie haben Sie haben they have you have Sie haben kein Geld. (They have no money.) Haben Sie das Geld? ( Sie , formal "you," is both singular and plural.)

To be or not to be... Sein oder nicht sein...

Look at the following table for the conjugation of sein (to be) in the present tense. Notice how close the German and English forms are in the third person (ist/is). sein

Deutsch SINGULAR

English

Sample Sentences

ich bin du bist er ist sie ist es ist

PLURAL

I am you are he is she is it is

Ich bin's. (It's me.) (fam.) Du bist mein Schatz. (...my darling/treasure.) Er ist ein netter Kerl. (...a nice guy.) Ist sie da? (Is she here?) Es ist mein Buch. (...my book.)

wir sind ihr seid sie sind Sie sind

we are you are they are you are

"Wir sind das Volk!" ("We are the people/nation!" Slogan of 1989 East German protests in Leipzig.) (guys) Seid ihr unsere Freunde? (..our friends.) Sie sind unsere Freunde. (..our friends.) Sind Sie Herr Meier? (Sie , formal "you," is both singular and plural.)

In future lessons we'll go over the past tense forms of both of these key verbs. In the meantime, if you want to look at these and other irregular verbs in the simple past and present perfect, see our German Strong Verbs pages.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 12 of 12

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 4B

German Verbs in the Present Tense
Continued from: Two Important Verbs (Lektion 4A) More verbs on our 50 Common German Verbs page.

Unlike

"haben" and "sein," most German verbs follow a predictable pattern in the

present tense. Once you learn the pattern for one German verb, you know how most German verbs are conjugated. (Yes, there are some irregular verbs that don't always follow the rules, but even they will usually have the same endings as other verbs.) The Basics Each verb has a basic "infinitive" ("to") form. This is the form of the verb you find in a German dictionary. The verb "to play" in English is the infinitive form. ("He plays" is a conjugated form.) The German equivalent of "to play" is spielen. Each verb has a "stem" form, the basic part of the verb left after you remove the -en ending. For spielen the stem is spiel- (spielen - en). To conjugate the verb that is, use it in a sentence you must add the correct ending to the stem. If you want to say, "I play" you add an - e ending: "ich spiele " (which can also be translated into English as "I am playing"). Each "person" (he, you, they, etc.) requires its own ending on the verb. This is called "conjugating the verb." If you don't know how to conjugate verbs correctly it means your German will sound strange to people who understand the language. German verbs require more different endings than English verbs. In English we use only an s ending or no ending for most verbs: "I/they/we/you play" or "he/she plays." In the present tense, German has a different ending for almost all of those verb situations: ich spiele , sie spielen, du spielst, er spielt, etc. Observe that the verb spielen has a different ending in each of the examples. If you want to sound intelligent in German, you need to learn when to use which ending. That's why we have this chart for you!
German has no present progressive tense ("am going"/"are buying"). The German Prsens "ich kaufe" can be translated into English as "I buy" or "I am buying," depending on the context.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 13 of 13

German for Beginners The chart below lists two sample German verbs one an example of a "normal" verb, the other an example of verbs that require a "connecting e" in the 2nd person singular and plural, and the 3rd person singular (du/ihr, er/sie/es ) as in er arbeitet. We have also included a helpful list of some representative common stem-changing verbs. These are verbs that follow the normal pattern of endings, but have a vowel change in their stem or base form (hence the name "stem-changing"). In the chart below, the verb endings for each pronoun (person) are indicated in bold type.
More verbs on our 50 Common German Verbs page.

Take the Present Tense Verb Quiz 1, a self-scoring quiz, after you've studied this lesson. SPIELEN / TO PLAY
Deutsch SINGULAR English Sample Sentence

ich spiele du spielst er spielt sie spielt es spielt

PLURAL

I play You (fam.) play he plays she plays it plays

Ich spiele gern Basketball. Spielst du Schach? (Chess) Er spielt mit mir. (With me) Sie spielt Karten. (Cards) Es spielt keine Rolle. It doesn't matter.

wir spielen ihr spielt sie spielen Sie spielen

we play you (guys) play they play you play

Wir spielen Basketball. Spielt ihr Monopoly? Sie spielen Golf. Spielen Sie heute? (Sie, formal "you," is both singular and plural.)

Prepared by Ashish

Page 14 of 14

German for Beginners Now let's look at another German verb. This one is only slightly different from the others. The verb arbeiten (to work) belongs to a category of verbs that add a "connecting" e in the 2nd person singular and plural, and the 3rd person singular ( du/ihr, er/sie/es ) in the present tense: er arbeitet. Verbs whose stem ends in d or t do this. The following are examples of verbs in this category: antworten (answer), bedeuten (mean), enden (end), senden (send). (The more common verbs in this group are included on our 50 Common German Verbs page.) In the chart below we have marked the 2nd and 3rd person conjugations with *. ARBEITEN / TO WORK
Deutsch English Sample Sentence SINGULAR

ich arbeit e du arbeit est * er arbeitet * sie arbeit et * es arbeitet *

I work you (fam.) work he works she works it works

Ich arbeite am Samstag. Arbeitest du in der Stadt? Er arbeitet mit mir. (with me) Sie arbeitet nicht. -PLURAL

wir arbeiten ihr arbeit et * sie arbeit en Sie arbeiten

we work you (guys) work they work you work

Wir arbeiten zu viel. Arbeitet ihr am Montag? Sie arbeiten bei BMW. Arbeiten Sie heute? ( Sie, formal "you," is both singular and plural.)

See more verbs on our 50 Common German Verbs page.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 15 of 15

German for Beginners Sample Stem-Changing Verbs

Deutsch English Sample Sentence

In the examples below, er stands for all three third-person p ronouns ( er, sie, es). Stem-changing verbs only change in the singular (except for ich). Their plural forms are completely regular.

Fahren er fhrt du fhrst

To travel He travels You travel

Er fhrt nach Berlin. He's traveling/going to Berlin. Ich fahre nach Berlin. I'm traveling/going to Berlin. Maria liest die Zeitung. Maria's reading the newspaper. Wir lesen die Zeitung. We read the newspaper. Karl nimmt sein Geld. Karl's taking his money. Ich nehme mein Geld. I'm taking my money.

lesen er liest du liest

to read he reads you read

nehmen er nimmt du nimmst

to take he takes you take

vergessen du vergisst

to forget you forget

Er vergisst immer. He always forgets. Vergiss es! / Vergessen Sie es! Forget it!

er vergisst he forgets

Prepared by Ashish

Page 16 of 16

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 5

Adjectives and Colors Adjective Endings

German adjectives, like English ones, usually go in front of the noun they modify: "der
gute Mann" (the good man), "das groe Haus" (the big house/building), "die schne Dame" (the pretty lady). Unlike English adjectives, a German adjective in front of a noun has to have an ending (- e in the examples above). Just what that ending will be depends on several factors, including gender (der, die, das) and case (nominative, accusative, dative). But most of the time the ending is an - e or an - en (in the plural). With ein-words, the ending varies according to the modified noun's gender (see below). Look at the following table for the adjective endings in the nominative (subject) case:
With definite article (der, die, das) - Nominative case AUDIO Click on a phrase to hear it spoken.

Masculine der der neue Wagen

the new car

Feminine die die schne Stadt

the beautiful city

Neuter das das alte Auto

the old car

Plural die die neuen Bcher

the new books

With indefinite article (ein, eine, kein, mein) - Nominative case

Masculine ein ein neuer Wagen

a new car

Feminine eine

Neuter ein

Plural keine keine neuen Bcher

no new books

eine schne Stadt ein altes Auto

a beautiful city an old car

Note that with ein-words, since the article may not tell us the gender of the following noun, the adjective ending often does this instead (-es = das , - er = der; see above).

Prepared by Ashish

Page 17 of 17

German for Beginners As in English, a German adjective can also come after the verb (predicate adjective): "Das Haus ist gro." (The house is large.) In such cases the adjective will have NO ending.

Colors / Farben

The

German words for colors usually function as adjectives and take the normal

adjective endings (but see exceptions below). In certain situations, colors can also be nouns and are thus capitalized: "eine Bluse in Blau" (a blouse in blue); "das Blaue vom Himmel versprechen" (to promise heaven and earth, lit., "the blue of the heavens"). The chart below shows some of the more common colors with sample phrases. For m any more colors, see our German Colors page. And for more about colors and color idioms in German, see Farbenfroh: Colorful Expressions. You'll learn that the colors in "feeling blue" or "seeing red" may not mean the same thing in German.
Farbe Color Color Phrases with Adjective Endings

rot rosa blau hellblau dunkelblau grn gelb wei

red pink blue light blue dark blue green yellow white

der rote Wagen (the red car), der Wagen ist rot die rosa Rosen (the pink roses)* ein blaues Auge (a black eye), er ist blau (he's drunk) die hellblaue Bluse (the light blue blouse)**

die dunkelblaue Bluse (the dark blue blouse)

der grne Hut (the green hat) die gelben Seiten (yellow pages), ein gelbes Auto das weie Papier (the white paper)

Prepared by Ashish

Page 18 of 18

German for Beginners

schwarz

black

der schwarze Koffer (the black suitcase)

See more colors on our German Colors page!

* Colors ending in -a (lila, rosa) do not take the normal adjective endings. **
Light or dark colors are preceded by hell (light) or dunkel- (dark), as in hellgrn (light green) or dunkelgrn (dark green).

Prepared by Ashish

Page 19 of 19

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 6

Land und Leute kennenlernen Getting to know the country and the people
Hren Sie zu! LISTEN TO GERMAN!

Drei Personen

Let's

look at three imaginary people from three different German-speaking countries.

We'll find out where they live (wohnen ), what nationality they are, and the language they speak (sprechen).
KARL Karl wohnt in Berlin. Er ist Deutscher. Er spricht Deutsch.

Karl lives in Berlin. He's German. He speaks German. Inge wohnt in Graz. Sie ist sterreicherin. Sie spricht Deutsch.

INGE

Inge lives in Graz. She's Austrian. She speaks German. Martin wohnt in Genf. Er ist Schweizer. Er spricht Franzsisch und Deutsch. Martin lives in Geneva. He's Swiss. He speaks French and German.

MARTIN

If we want to get this information from the three people, here's what we would ask (fragen) in German and what they would answer (antworten ): FRAGEN und ANTWORTEN
Wo wohnen Sie? - Ich wohne in Berlin. KARL Welche Nationalitt haben Sie? - Ich bin Deutscher. Welche Sprache sprechen Sie? - Ich spreche Deutsch. Wo wohnen Sie? - Ich wohne in Graz. INGE Welche Nationalitt haben Sie? - Ich bin sterreicherin. Welche Sprache sprechen Sie? - Ich spreche Deutsch. Wo wohnen Sie? - Ich wohne in Genf. MARTIN Welche Nationalitt haben Sie? - Ich bin Schweizer. Welche Sprache sprechen Sie? - Ich spreche Franzsisch und Deutsch.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 20 of 20

German for Beginners Most countries are neuter (das ) in German, but do not use the article in most cases: in Deutschland (in Germany), nach Deutschland (to Germany). Some nations, such as die Schweiz and die Trkei (Turkey), are feminine and a few are plural (die Vereinigten Staaten, USA). A very few, mostly Islamic countries, are masculine: der Irak, der Iran. (See more countries in Part 2 of this lesson.) Now you can try out what you've learned. Here are two exercises (bungen) to practice talking about where you live, nationality and language. After you complete each exercise, you can check your answers in the answer keys provided. bung 6A (Exercise 6A) How would you answer the same questions for yourself? Model your answers on those shown above. If you need help with your nationality or language, see our Nationality and Language chart. 1. Wo wohnen Sie? - Ich ________________________ 2. Welche Nationalitt haben Sie? - ______________________ 3. Welche Sprache sprechen Sie? - _______________________ Answer Key for this exercise (6A). bung 6B (Exercise 6B) Identify the country and nationality of these 10 famous people. Note: "kommt aus" means "comes from." If you need help with countries or nationalities, see our Nationality and Language chart. Wer hat welche Nationalitt? 1. Arnold Schwarzenegger kommt aus ______. Er ist _____. 2. Steffi Graf (Tennis) kommt aus ______. Sie ist _____. 3. Tom Cruise... 4. Prinz Charles... 5. Julia Roberts ... 6. Wladimir Putin... 7. Mel Gibson... 8. Alex Trebek ('Jeopardy') ... 9. Catherine Deneuve... 10. Sean Connery...

Prepared by Ashish

Page 21 of 21

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 7

Die Zahlen und zhlen (0-20) Numbers and counting

The

numbers and counting in German are not difficult to learn, but... true mastery of

numbers, in any language, takes time. It is fairly easy to learn to rattle off the numbers "eins, zwei, drei..." and so forth. However, most of the time numbers are used in more practical ways: in telephone numbers, in math problems, in prices, for addresses, etc. Also, because you have already internalized the numbers in English or another first language, there can be the same kind of interference that happens with other vocabulary. So, do learn to say the numbers, but also try our exercises to see if you really know how to deal with them. If someone tells you a phone number in German, can you write it down? Can you do simple addition or subtraction in German? - After you've learned the basic numbers from 0-20 (below and on our more detailed German Numbers page), do the exercises below to check your mastery.

DIE ZAHLEN 0-10

0 null 1 eins 2 zwei * 3 drei 4 vier 5 fnf 6 sechs 7 sieben 8 acht 9 neun 10 zehn * Often zwo is used to avoid confusion with drei.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 22 of 22

German for Beginners

DIE ZAHLEN 11-20

11 elf 12 zwlf 13 dreizehn 14 vierzehn 15 fnfzehn bung 7A (Exercise 7A) Mathe - Write out the answer to the following math problems in German. Note: + in German is "plus" (PLOOHS); - is "minus" (MEEN-OOS). 1. zwei + fnf = ________________ 2. zwlf - zwei = ________________ 3. drei + neun = _________________ 4. vier - vier = _________________ 5. eins + sechs = _________________ 6. dreizehn - zwei = _________________ 7. sieben + elf = _________________ Answer Key for this exercise (7A). bung 7B (Exercise 7B) Diktat (Dictation) - Write out the following phone numbers as numerals. Example: null, vier; zwlf, vierzehn, zwanzig = 04 12 14 20 (German phone numbers are often printed/written in groups of two-number pairs.) 1. null, zwo; zwlf, elf, zwanzig = ______________ 2. neunzehn; null, fnf; sechzehn, = ______________ 3. null, acht; zwlf, elf, zwanzig = ______________ 4. null, drei; vier, sieben; achtzehn, zwanzig = ______________ 5. dreizehn, zwlf, zehn, vierzehn = ______________ Answer Key for this exercise (7B). 16 sechzehn 17 siebzehn 18 achtzehn 19 neunzehn 20 zwanzig

Prepared by Ashish

Page 23 of 23

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 8

Die Zahlen und zhlen (21-100) Numbers and counting

In our previous lesson, we introduced you to the German numbers from 0 to 20.
Now it's time to expand to "higher" math from 21 (einundzwanzig) to 100 (hundert ). Once you have a grasp of the twenties, the rest of the numbers up to 100 and beyond are similar and easy to learn. You'll also be using many of the numbers you learned from zero ( null) to 20.
Numbers are everywhere! The author and his camera are seen reflected in the window of a German ICE high-speed train in the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. Do you know what the numbers on the right mean? Foto Hyde Flippo

For the German numbers above 20, think of the English nursery and rhyme the line "Sing "four a Song of Sixpence" and twenty

blackbirds" ("baked in a pie"). In German you say one-and-twenty (einundzwanzig) rather than twenty-one. All of the numbers over 20 work the same way: zweiundzwanzig (22), einundreiig (31), dreiundvierzig (43), etc. No matter how long they may be, German numbers are written as one word.

For numbers above (ein)hundert , the pattern just repeats itself. The number 125 is hundertfnfundzwanzig. To say 215 in German, you simply put zwei in front of hundert to make zweihundertfnfzehn. Three hundred is dreihundert and so on. (For more about the numbers above 100, see our German Numbers page.) Wie viel? / Wie viele? To ask "how much" you say wie viel. To ask "how many" you say wie viele. For example, a simple math problem would be: Wie viel ist drei und vier? (How much is three and four?). To ask "how many cars" you would say: Wie viele Autos?, as in Wie viele Autos hat Karl? (How many cars does Karl have?). After you go over the number charts below... If you hear a number above 20 in

German, can you write it down? Can you do simple math in German? - After you've

Prepared by Ashish

Page 24 of 24

German for Beginners

learned the numbers from 21-100, try the related number exercises to check your mastery. You may particularly enjoy our special Foto-bung for the numbers!

Die Zahlen 20-100 (by tens)

20 zwanzig 30 dreiig 40 vierzig 50 fnfzig 60 sechzig 70 siebzig 80 achtzig 90 neunzig 100 hundert * * or einhundert

Note: The number sechzig (60) drops the s in sechs . The number siebzig (70) drops the en in sieben. The number dreiig (30) is the only one of the tens that doesn't end with - zig. (dreiig = dreissig)

Die Zahlen 21-30

21 einundzwanzig 22 zweiundzwanzig 23 dreiundzwanzig 24 vierundzwanzig 25 fnfundzwanzig 26 sechsundzwanzig 27 siebenundzwanzig 28 achtundzwanzig 29 neunundzwanzig 30 dreiig

Note: The n umber dreiig (30) is the only one of the tens that doesn't end with zig.

Die Zahlen 31-40

31 einunddreiig 32 zweiunddreiig 33 dreiunddreiig 34 vierunddreiig 35 fnfunddreiig 36 sechsunddreiig 37 siebenunddreiig 38 achtunddreiig 39 neununddreiig 40 vierzig

Prepared by Ashish

Page 25 of 25

German for Beginners

Die Zahlen 41-100 (selected numbers)

41 einundvierzig 42 zweiundvierzig 53 dreiundfnfzig 64 vierundsechzig 75 fnfundsiebzig 86 sechsundachtzig 87 siebenundachtzig 98 achtundneunzig 99 neunundneunzig 100 hundert

Prepared by Ashish

Page 26 of 26

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 9

Lesson 9: Meine Familie und ich

In this lesson we introduce vocabulary and grammar related to talking about your family
and yourself. You'll learn words and phrases that will let you talk about your o wn family in German, as well as understand what someone else says about his or her family. In addition to the members of a family ( die Familie, fah-MILL-yah), you'll learn how to ask someone's name (and answer), talk about family relationships and give the ages of people. We will also discuss the difference between the formal and informal "you" in German a vital cultural and language distinction that English-speakers need to understand! Cognates One of the first things you'll notice is that many of the German words for the family are similar to the English terms. It is easy to see the close Germanic language "family resemblance" between "brother" and "Bruder," "father" and "Vater," or "uncle" and "Onkel." We call these similar words in two languages cognates . There are a lot of English-German cognates for the family. After you have studied this lesson, you will be able to read and understand a short paragraph in German about your or someone else's family. You'll even be able to draw your own family tree (Stammbaum) in German!

Familienmitglieder - Family Members

Notice in the phrases below that when you talk about a feminine ( die ) person (or thing), the possessive pronoun mein ends in e . When talking about a masculine ( der) person (or thing), mein has n o ending in the nominative (subject) case. Other possessive forms ( sein, his; dein , your, etc.) work the same way. The final e in German is always pronounced: ( meine = MINE-ah)!

Deutsch die Mutter - meine Mutter der Vater - mein Vater die Eltern (pl.) - meine Eltern der Sohn - sein Sohn

Englisch mother - my mother father - my father parents - my parents son - his son

Prepared by Ashish

Page 27 of 27

German for Beginners

die Tochter - seine Tochter der Bruder - ihr Bruder die Schwester - seine Schwester

daughter - his daughter brother - her brother sister - his sister

die Geschwister (pl.) - meine siblings / brothers & sisters - my brothers and sisters Geschwister die Gromutter Gromutter die Oma - meine Oma der Grovater - dein Grovater der Opa - sein Opa der Enkelsohn - mein Enkelsohn die Enkelin - seine Enkelin
More family words in our Family Glossary .

meine

grandmother - my grandmother grandma/granny - my grandma grandfather - your grandfather grandpa/gramps - his grandpa grandson - my grandson granddaughter - his granddaughter

Fragen & Antworten - Questions & Answers Wie ist Ihr Name? - What's your name? Wie heien Sie? Ich heie Braun. Wie heit du? Ich heie Karla. Wie heit er/sie? Er heit Jones. Geschwister? - Siblings? Haben Sie Geschwister? Do you have any brothers or sisters? What's your name? (formal) My name is Braun. (formal, last name) What's your name? (familiar) My name is Karla. (familiar, first name) What's his/her name? His name is Jones. (formal)

Ja, ich habe einen Bruder und Yes, I have a / one brother and a / one sister. eine Schwester.
Notice that you add - en to ein when you say you have a brother, and an - e for a sister. We'll discuss the grammar for this in a future lesson. For now, just learn this as vocabulary.

Nein, ich habe keine Geschwister. Ja, ich habe zwei Schwestern.

No, I don't have any brothers or sisters. Yes, I have two sisters.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 28 of 28

German for Beginners

Wie heit dein Bruder? Er heit Jens. Wie alt? - How old? Wie alt ist dein Bruder? Er ist zehn Jahre alt. Wie alt bist du? Ich bin zwanzig Jahre alt.

What's your brother's name? His name is Jens. (informal)

How old is your brother? He is ten years old. How old are you? (fam.) I'm twenty years old.

As you study the vocabulary for this lesson, pay attention to the difference between asking a FORMAL (Sie) and a FAMILIAR (du/ihr) question. German-speakers tend to be much more formal than English-speakers. While Americans in particular may use first names with people they have just met or only know casually, German-speakers do not. When a German-speaker is asked his or her name, the reply will be the last or family name, not the first name. The more formal question, Wie ist Ihr Name?, as well as the standard Wie heien Sie?, should be understood as "what is your LAST name?" Naturally, within the family and among good friends, the familiar "you" pronouns du and ihr are used, and people are on a first-name basis. But when in doubt, you should always err on the side of being too formal, rather than too familiar. Keep this in mind when you do the exercises in Part Two of this lesson. For more about this important cultural difference, see this article by your Guide: You and thou, Sie und du. The article includes a self-scoring quiz on the use of Sie und du. You can also review the personal pronouns in Lesson 2. Kultur
KLEINE FAMILIEN Families in the German-speaking countries tend to be small, with only one or two children (or no children). The birthrate in Austria, Germany and Switzerland is lower than in many modern industrialized nations, with fewer births than deaths, i.e., less than zero population growth.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 29 of 29

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 10

Wie komme ich dorthin? How do I get there? Wann? Adverbs of time

Here

in Lesson 10 we introduce vocabulary and

grammar related to going places, asking for simple directions and receiving directions. You'll learn words and phrases that will let you talk about going places, as well as understand what someone else says when giving simple directions.
How do I get there? Wie komme ich dorthin? What directions is this cluster of signs in Berlin giving us? Foto: Hyde Flippo

One word of

caution before we begin. Asking for directions is easy. Understanding the torrent of German you may get back is another story! Most German textbooks/courses teach you how to ask the questions, but fail to deal adequately with the understanding aspect. That's why we will also teach you some coping skills in this lesson to help in such situations. One example is to ask your question in such a way that it will elicit a simple ja or nein, or a simple "left," "straight ahead" or "right" answer. And don' t forget those ever reliable hand signals that work in any language! W O vs. WOHIN German has two question words for asking "where." One ( wo?) is for asking the location of someone or something. The other (wohin?) is for asking about motion or direction ("where to"). For instance, in English you would use "where" to ask both "Where are the keys?" (location) and "Where are you going?" (motion/direction). In German these two questions require two different forms of "where": Wo sind die Schlssel? ("Where are the keys?") Wohin gehen Sie? ("Where are you going?")

Prepared by Ashish

Page 30 of 30

German for Beginners In English this can be compared to the difference between the locations question, "where's it at?" (Poor English, but it gets the idea across) and the direction question "where to?" But in German you can only use wo? For "where's it at?" (Location) and wohin? for "where to?" (direction). Sometimes wohin gets split in two, as in: "Wo gehen Sie hin?" But you can't use wo without hin to ask about motion or direction in German. You must always use the correct form of "where" for location (wo?) or motion/direction (wohin?). We'll test your understanding of this grammatical concept later in the exercises for this lesson. Now let's look at some common words and expressions related to directions and places we might go to. You need to memorize this vocabulary.

DIRECTIONS RICHTUNGEN
Notice that in some of the phrases below the gender (der/die/das) may affect the article, as in "in die Kirche" or "an den See". Notice that der sometimes changes to den, and so on. You'll learn more about the grammar for this in a future lesson. For now, just notice what's going on related to gender!

Englisch along/down Go along/down this street. Back Go back. in the direction of/towards... station the church the hotel left - to the left right - to the right straight ahead Keep going straight ahead.

Deutsch Entlang Gehen Sie diese Strae entlang! Zurck Gehen Sie zurck! the train in Richtung auf... den Bahnhof die Kirche das Hotel links - nach links rechts - nach rechts Geradeaus (guh-RAH-duh-ouse) Gehen Sie immer geradeaus! bis zum (masc./neut.) bis zur (fem.) bis zur Ampel bis zum Kino

up to, until up to the traffic light up to the cinema

Prepared by Ashish

Page 31 of 31

German for Beginners

COMPASS DIRECTIONS

HIMMELSRICHTUNGEN
North - to the north north of (Leipzig) south - to the south south of (Munich) East - to the east east of (Frankfurt) west - to the west west of (Cologne) der Nord(en) - nach Norden nrdlich von (Leipzig) der Sd(en) - nach Sden sdlich von (Mnchen) der Ost(en) - nach Osten stlich von (Frankfurt) der West(en) - nach Westen westlich von (Kln) PLACES TO GO 1 Lnder/Stdte - Countries/Cities
Most geographic place names (countries, states, cities, etc.) use nach for "to." However, a few countries that are feminine, masculine or plural (rather than the normal neuter das) use in for "to." Notice the exceptions listed below. For more about countries, see the special Glossary of Nations and Lektion 6.

Englisch from (Frankfurt) to (Berlin) from (the bank) to (the from (the hotel) to (the bank) to... (countries/cities) Germany France Australia Munich Berlin to Switzerland to the US to Iran (Iran and Irak can be der or das)

Deutsch von (Frankfurt) nach (Berlin) hotel) von ( der Bank) bis (zum von (dem Hotel) bis (zur Bank ) nach... (Nationen/Stdte) Deutschland Frankreich Australien Mnchen Berlin in die Schweiz in die USA in den Iran (der) / nach Iran (das) Hotel)

IN DER STADT
to the bakery to the restaurant
More places to go in the city in Part Two.

zur Bckerei ins Restaurant

Prepared by Ashish

Page 32 of 32

German for Beginners Now here are some adverbs that tell us when we're going someplace along with sample sentences. WANN? - WHEN?
GRAMMATIK: Notice that in German, TIME comes before PLACE! In English, it's the other way around. See the sample sentences below.

Englisch yesterday - today tomorrow We're going to the cinema tomorrow.

Deutsch gestern - heute morgen Wir gehen morgen ins Kino.

(the) day before yesterday vorgestern (the) day after tomorrow bermorgen We're driving to Vienna (the) day after Wir fahren bermorgen nach Wien. tomorrow. this morning/afternoon He's traveling to Hamburg this morning. now later I'm going to work later. at eight o'clock I'm going to the station at eight. heute Morgen/Nachmittag Er fhrt heute Morgen nach Hamburg. jetzt spatter Ich gehe spter zur Arbeit. um acht Uhr Ich gehe um acht zum Bahnhof.

Also see Day by Day: Day Expressions in German. HOW-TO : For more about TELLING TIME (die Uhrzeit ) in German, see our step -by-step How To Tell Time in German. To review the numbers in German see Lektion 7 and Lektion 8.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 33 of 33

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 10 - Part 2

Wie komme ich dorthin? How do I get there? Fragen und Antworten
LEKTION 10:

Part One, Part Two , Exercises

In this section of Lektion 10 we'll look at some more vocabulary and look at some related Fragen und Antworten (questions and answers). PLACES TO GO 2 In der Stadt / In Town
This section is vocabulary for places in town. Both the basic word and the "to" phrase are given for each item. For example, die Bckerei is the bakery, but if we want to say "to the bakery," it's zur Bckerei (the short form of zu der Bckerei). Some of the phrases below may have more than one way to say "to." We have listed the most common way. Note the following contractions: ins = in das, zum = zu dem, zur = zu der

Englisch bakery - to the bakery bank - to the bank bar/pub - to the bar/pub butcher to the butcher hotel - to the hotel market/fleamarket to the market cinema - to the movies/cinema the post office - to the post office restaurant - to the restaurant to a/the Chinese restaurant to an/the Italian restaurant to a/the Greek restaurant school - to school the shopping center

Deutsch die Bckerei - zur Bckerei die Bank - auf die Bank die Kneipe - in die Kneipe der Fleischer/der Metzger zum Fleischer/zum Metzger das Hotel - zum Hotel der Markt/der Flohmarkt zum Markt/zum Flohmarkt das Kino - ins Kino die Post - zur Post das Restaurant - ins Restaurant zum Chinesen zum Italiener zum Griechen die Schule - zur Schule das Einkaufszentrum

Prepared by Ashish

Page 34 of 34

German for Beginners

to the shopping center the traffic light/signal (up) to the signal the train station - to the station work - to work the youth hostel to the youth hostel
ANDERSWO ELSEWHERE

zum Einkaufszentrum die Ampel bis zur Ampel der Bahnhof - zum Bahnhof die Arbeit - zur Arbeit die Jugendherberge in die Jugendherberge

the lake - to the lake the sea - to the see the toilet/restroom to the toilet/restroom

der See - an den See die See/das Meer - ans Meer die Toilette /das Klo/das WC zur Toilette/zum Klo/zum WC

Here are some sample questions and answers related to asking and giving directions.

FRAGEN und ANTWORTEN Questions and Answers in German and English

In the sentences below, the TO -phrases are in bold type both in German and English. There is some grammar here that we will ignore until a later lesson. For now, learn the patterns for the various articles (der/die/das) for each gender (masc./fem./neuter). NOTE: The sentences below are answers to the question in red ( rot).

Wohin fahren Sie? / Wohin fhrst du? Where are you going? (driving/traveling) Ich fahre morgen an den See. I'm going to the lake tomorrow. Ich fahre morgen nach Dresden. I'm going to Dresden tomorrow. Wie komme ich... How do I get... ...auf die Bank? - Gehen Sie zwei Straen und dann rechts. ...to the bank? - Go two blocks (streets) and then right.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 35 of 35

German for Beginners

...zum Hotel? - Fahren Sie diese Strae entlang. ...to the hotel? - Drive down/along this street. ...zur Post? - Gehen Sie bis zur Ampel und dann links. ...to the post office? - Go up to the traffic light and then left.
NOTE : For the items above, if you are walking, you use gehen; if you are driving, you use fahren.

Extra-Ausdrcke Extra Expressions an der Kirche vorbei am Kino vorbei past the church past the cinema rechts/links an der Ampel right/left at the traffic light am Marktplatz an der Ecke at the market square at the corner die nchste Strae ber die Strae ber den Marktplatz the next street across/over the street across/over the market square vor dem Bahnhof vor der Kirche in front of the train station in front of the church

Prepared by Ashish

Page 36 of 36

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 10 - Exercises

Wie komme ich dorthin? bungen - Exercises

Now

that you have studied the vocabulary and grammar in Part One and Part Two of

this lesson, try the following exercises. 10 Wie komme ich dorthin? BUNGEN - EXERCISES
10A. WOHIN? - Answer logically in German, using the English que given. Make sure to respond correctly according to the person being asked. See the examples below: BEISPIEL A: Wo gehst du hin? (cinema) - Ich gehe ins Kino. BEISPIEL B: Wohin fahren wir? (Bonn) - Wir fahren nach Bonn.

1. Wohin gehen Sie jetzt? (toilet) __________________. 2. Wo fahren Sie hin? (post office) __________________. 3. Wohin geht Alex jetzt? (bakery) __________________. 4. Und wo gehst du denn hin? (pub) __________________. 5. Wohin gehen wir heute? (Italian restaurant) __________________. 6. Wo fahren Sie hin? (train station) __________________. 7. Wohin gehen Andrea und Brigitte jetzt? (shopping center) __________________. 8. Wohin fahren Sie morgen? (London) __________________. 9. Wohin geht Herr Schmidt jetzt? (work) __________________. 10. Wohin fhrst du jetzt? (the lake) __________________. Answer Key - Lektion 10

10B. zur oder zum? Decide if the sentence requires zur or zum and fill in the blank:

1. Wie komme ich ______ Kirche? 2. Karl geht jetzt ______ Bahnhof. 3. Gehen Sie hier links und dann bis ______ Ampel

Prepared by Ashish

Page 37 of 37

German for Beginners

4. Wann geht er ______ Arbeit? 5. Karl geht heute ______ Markt. Answer Key - Lektion 10
10C. Ein Stadtplan Use the city map below to find the correct destination by following the directions given in items 15. You should start at the red arrow unless told otherwise in the directions.

1. Gehen Sie links am Marktplatz, dann immer geradeaus bis zur Ampel, dann rechts. An a. der Ecke links finden Sie ___. b. das Museum c. die Bank d. das Restaurant e. das Kino 2. Sie sind am Bahnhof. Gehen Sie ber den Marktplatz an der Kirche vorbei, dann rechts. Links in die nchste Strae, dann geradeaus. Auf der linken Seite sehen [see] Sie ___. das Museum die Bank das Restaurant das Kino

Prepared by Ashish

Page 38 of 38

German for Beginners 3. Gehen Sie links am Marktplatz, am Hotel vorbei und ber die Strae. An der nchsten Ecke rechts ist ___. a. das Restaurant b. die Kirche c. das Museum d. das Hotel 4. Gehen Sie immer geradeaus. Rechts an der Ecke ist ___. a. das Museum b. die Kirche c. der Bahnhof d. das Hotel 5. Sie sind vor dem Museum und Sie sehen die Bank. Gehen Sie links um die Ecke bis zur nchsten Strae, dann rechts. Auf der rechten Seite ist ___. a. das Hotel b. die Bank c. das Restaurant d. das Kino Answer Key - Lektion 10
10D. GEOGRAPHIE - Using the key below, fill in the correct answer in German. The following items require a basic knowledge of European geography. Please consult an atlas or map if you need to. (To review the names of countries in German, see Lektion 6.) KEY: a. nrdlich b. sdlich c. stlich d. westlich

1. Frankreich liegt ___ von Deutschland. 2. Hamburg liegt ___ von Frankfurt. 3. Berlin liegt ___ von Dresden. 4. sterreich liegt ___ von Deutschland. 5. sterreich liegt ___ von der Schweiz.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 39 of 39

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 11

Giving and Taking - The Accusative Case Command Forms
geben (give)/ es gibt (there is/are) nehmen (take)

In this lesson you'll learn how to express in German the concepts of giving ( geben) and
taking (nehmen). This involves the grammatical elements known as the accusative case (the direct object case in German), irregular stem-changing verbs and the command forms (imperative). If that sort of grammar terminology scares you, don't worry. We'll introduce it all in such a way that you'll hardly feel a thing. The important thing is that after studying this lesson, you'll be able to express the important and useful concepts of giving and taking. geben (give) - nehmen (take) These two German verbs have something in common. See if you can find what it is by observing the following:
geben ich gebe (I give), du gibst (you give) er gibt (he gives), sie gibt (she gives) wir geben (we give), sie geben (they give) nehmen ich nehme (I take), du nimmst (you take) er nimmt (he takes), sie nimmt (she takes) wir nehmen (we take), sie nehmen (they take)

Now can you tell what essential change these two verbs have in common? If you said that they both change from e to i in the same situations, then you're right! (The verb nehmen also changes its spelling slightly, but the e-to- i change is what these two verbs have in common.) Both of these verbs belong to a class of German verbs known as

Prepared by Ashish

Page 40 of 40

German for Beginners the "stem-changing" verbs. In the infinitive form (ending in - en) they have an e in their stem, or base form. But when they are conjugated (used with a pronoun or noun in a sentence), the stem vowel changes under certain conditions from e to i: nehmen (infinitive) --> er nimmt (conjugated, 3rd person sing.); geben (infinitive) --> er gibt (conjugated, 3rd person sing.) All stem-changing verbs only change their stem vowel in the singular. Most only change when used with er, sie, es (3rd person) and du (2nd person, familiar). Other e -to-i stemchanging verbs include: helfen/hilft (help), treffen/trifft (meet) and sprechen/spricht (speak). (For a detailed look at all the German irregular verbs, including geben and nehmen , see our Strong Verbs chart.) Now study the chart below. It shows all the forms of the two verbs in the present tense in English and German. In the example sentences, observe also how direct objects (the things you give or take) that are masculine (der) change to den or einen when they function as direct objects (rather than the subject). In the accusative (direct object) case, der is the only gender that has this change. Neuter ( das ), feminine ( die ) and plural nouns are unaffected.

The stem-changing verbs geben & nehmen

The words me , us, them ( mir, uns, ihnen) and so on in the sente nces with geben are indirect objects in the dative case. You will learn more about the dative in a future lesson. For now, just learn these words as vocabulary.

Englisch Geben there is/there are Today there are no apples.

Deutsch

es gibt Heute gibt es keine pfel.

The expression es gibt (there is/are) always takes the accusative case: "Es gibt heute keinen Wind." = "There is no wind today."

I give I give her the new ball. you (fam.) give Are you giving him the money?

ich gebe Ich gebe ihr den neuen Ball. du gibst Gibst du ihm das Geld?

Prepared by Ashish

Page 41 of 41

German for Beginners

he gives He gives me the green book. she gives She gives us a book. we give We aren't giving them any money. you (pl.) give You (guys) give me a key. they give They give him no opportunity. you (formal) give Are you giving me the pencil?

er gibt Er gibt mir das grne Buch. sie gibt Sie gibt uns ein Buch. wir geben Wir geben ihnen kein Geld. ihr gebt Ihr gebt mir einen Schlssel. sie geben Sie geben ihm keine Gelegenheit. Sie geben Geben Sie mir den Bleistift? nehmen

I take I take the ball. you (fam.) take Are you taking the money? he takes He's taking the green book. she takes She takes a book. we take We aren't taking any money. you (pl.) take You (guys) take a key. they take They take everyhting. you (formal) take Are you taking the pencil?

ich nehme Ich nehme den Ball. du nimmst Nimmst du das Geld? er nimmt Er nimmt das grne Buch. sie nimmt Sie nimmt ein Buch. wir nehmen Wir nehmen kein Geld. ihr nehmt Ihr nehmt einen Schlssel. sie nehmen Sie nehmen alles. Sie nehmen Nehmen Sie den Bleistift?

By their nature, these two verbs are often used in the imperative or command form. Below you'll find how to say things like "Give me the pen!" or "Take the money!" If you are talking to one person, the command will be different than if you are addressing two or

Prepared by Ashish

Page 42 of 42

German for Beginners more people. Note that, as usual, German makes a distinction between a formal Sie (sing. & pl.) command and a familiar du (sing.) or ihr (pl.) command. If you tell a child to give you something, the command will not be the same as when you are addressing an adult formally ( Sie). If you are telling more than one child ( ihr) to do something, that will also be a different command than if you are only addressing one child ( du). The du command form of most verbs is almost always the normal du form of the verb minus the - st ending. (Du nimmst das Buch. - Nimm das Buch!) Study the chart below. Command Forms for geben & nehmen
The German imperative, or command, verb forms vary according to whom you are commanding or telling to do something. Each form of YOU ( du, ihr, Sie) has its own command form. Note that only the Sie command includes the pronoun in the command! The du and ihr commands do not usually include du or ihr.

Englisch Geben Give me the (ballpoint) pen! (Sie ) Give me the (ballpoint) pen! (du) Give me the (ballpoint) pen! (ihr) nehmen Take the (ballpoint) pen! (Sie) Take the (ballpoint) pen! (du) Take the (ballpoint) pen! (ihr)

Deutsch

Geben Sie mir den Kuli! Gib mir den Kuli! Gebt mir den Kuli!

Nehmen Sie den Kuli! Nimm den Kuli! Nehmt den Kuli!

Prepared by Ashish

Page 43 of 43

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: ektion 12

The Calendar and Appointments The Days - Dative Phrases

After studying this lesson, you'll be able to: (1) say the days and months in German, (2)
express calendar dates, (3) talk about the seasons and (4) talk about dates and deadlines (Termine) in German. We'll also review some of the vocabulary for time and telling time that you learned in earlier lessons. Luckily, because they are based on Latin, the English and German words for the months are almost identical. The days in many cases are also similar because of a common Germanic heritage. Most of the days bear the names of Teutonic gods in both languages. For example, the Germanic god of war and thunder, Thor, lends his name to both English Thursday and German Donnerstag (thunder = Donner). Let's start with the days of the week ( Tage der Woche ). Most of the days in German end in the word (der) Tag, just as the English days end in "day." The German week (and calendar) starts with Monday ( Montag) rather than Sunday. Each day is shown with its common two-letter abbreviation.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 44 of 44

German for Beginners

Tage der Woche Days of the Week

DEUTSCH
Montag (Mo) (Mond-Tag) Dienstag (Di) (Zies-Tag) Mittwoch (Mi) (mid-week) Donnerstag (Do) "thunder-day" Freitag (Fr) (Freya-Tag) Samstag (Sa ) Sonnabend (Sa ) (used in No. Germany) Sonntag (So) (Sonne-Tag)

ENGLISCH
Monday "moon day" Tuesday Wednesday (Wodan's day) Thursday (Thor's day) Friday (Freya's day) Saturday (Saturn's day) Sunday "sun day"

The seven days of the week are masculine gender ( der) since they usually end in - tag. (The two exceptions, Mittwoch and Sonnabend, are also masculine.) Note that there are two words for Saturday. Samstag is used in most of Germany, in Austria and in German Switzerland. Sonnabend ("Sunday eve") is used in eastern Germany and roughly north of the city of Mnster in northern Germany. So, in Hamburg, Rostock, Leipzig or Berlin, it's Sonnabend; in Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich or Vienna "Saturday" is Samstag. Both words for "Saturday" are understood all over the German-speaking world, but you should try to use the one most common in the region you're in. Note the two-letter abbreviation for each of the days ( Mo, Di, Mi , etc.). These are used on calendars, schedules and German/Swiss watches that indicate the day and date. To say "on Monday" or "on Friday" you use the prepositional phrase am Montag or am Freitag. (The word am is actually a contraction of an and dem, the dative form of der. Prepared by Ashish Page 45 of 45

German for Beginners We'll explain more about that below.) Here are some commonly used phrases for the days of the week: Day Phrases Englisch
on Monday (on Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) (on) Mondays (on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, etc.) every Monday, Mondays (every Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) this Tuesday last Wednesday the Thursday after next every other Friday Today is Tuesday. Tomorrow is Wednesday. Yesterday was Monday.

Deutsch
am Montag (am Dienstag , Mittwoch, usw.) montags (dienstags, mittwochs, usw.) jeden Montag (jeden Dienstag, Mittwoch, usw.) (am) kommenden Dienstag letzten Mittwoch bernchsten Donnerstag jeden zweiten Freitag Heute ist Dienstag. Morgen ist Mittwoch. Gestern war Montag.

A few words about the DATIVE case. In Lesson 11 we looked at the accusative (direct object) case. Below is a chart of what happens to the articles (der, die, das ) in the three main cases (only the genitive is yet to come). The dative case is used as the object of certain prepositions (as with dates) and as the indirect object of a verb. Here we are concentrating on the use of the accusative and dative in expressing dates. Here is a chart of those changes. (Items in the darker boxes do not change.)

Prepared by Ashish

Page 46 of 46

German for Beginners

NOMINATIV-AKKUSATIV-DATIV
GENDER MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nominativ der/jeder das die Akkusativ den/jeden das die Dativ dem dem der

NOTE: The masculine ( der) and neuter ( das) make the same changes (look the same) in the DATIV case. Adjectives or numbers used in the dative will have an -en ending: am sechsten April.

Now we want to apply the information in the chart above. When we use the prepositions an (on) and in (in) with days, months or dates, they take the dative case. Days and months are masculine, so we end up with a combination of an or in plus dem, which equals am or im. Additionally, some date expressions that do not use prepositions ( jeden Dienstag , letzten Mittwoch) are in the accusative case. Don't worry if you haven't completely grasped the accusative/dative business. We'll go into more detail in later lessons. But for now, be sure to learn the basic phrases for days, dates and months. See Part Two of this lesson for the months, dates and the four seasons.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 47 of 47

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 13

Essen und Trinken Lebensmittel

This

lesson introduces: (1) food words and vocabulary for eating, drinking and grocery

shopping, (2) expressions related to those topics and (3) related German grammar. A very important supplement to this lesson is our German-English Menu and Dining Guide. Read and study the following dialog. If you need help with the vocabulary or grammar, see the German-English version. LERNTIPP: You will comprehend and learn this dialog better if you use this German-only version as much as possible, only turning to the duallanguage version when you need to. You can easily switch between the two. Also see the glossary at the bottom of the dialog. Your goal is to get to the point where you can read this German dialog with full comprehension. Dialog 1 In der Kche
Katrin: Mutti, was machst du denn da? Ist das Wienerschnitzel? Mutter: Ja, dein Lieblingsessen natrlich. Katrin: Toll! Mutti: Aber Katrin, ich hab' gerade entdeckt, dass wir keine Kartoffeln fr die Pommes frites haben. Kannst du mir schnell Kartoffeln bei EDEKA holen? An der Kasse bei EDEKA. At the check-out at EDEKA. Katrin: Ja, das kann ich. Brauchst du sonst noch etwas? Mutter: Wenn es ein paar schne Gurken gibt, wre das auch gut. Katrin: Und Brtchen? Mutter: Nee, das haben wir schon. Katrin: OK, dann bin ich gleich wieder da.

Prepared by Ashish

Page 48 of 48

German for Beginners

Mutter: Hast du etwas Geld? Katrin: Ja, genug, um ein paar Kartoffeln und Gurken zu kaufen. Mutter: Natrlich bekommst du das Geld von mir zurck. Katrin: Es geht schon, Mutti. Tschs!
(German-English version of this dialog) GLOSSARY: wre =would be, nee=nein, e Gurke=cucumber, genug=enough CULTURAL NOTE: EDEKA is a German co-op chain of over 10,000 neighborhood, independently-owned grocery stores that offer a wide variety of items, sometimes including a small bakery. By using a centralized distribution system from 12 regional centers in Germany, they are better able to compete with larger supermarkets. For more information, see the EDEKA Web site (in German).

Where

else can you buy groceries? Below is a chart of various shopping possibilities.

Although supermarkets are popular, many Germans still prefer to shop for meat, bread, pastry, fruit and vegetables in specialty shops: the butcher, the baker, the green grocer and other specialized types of stores. Wo kaufe ich das?
Useful words and expressions in English and German Lebensmittel Groceries WO (where) WAS (what)
fast alles almost everything die Lebensmittel groceries das Gemse vegetables das Obst fruit die Milch milk der Kse cheese das Brot bread das Brtchen roll die Semmeln rolls (So. Germany, Austria) die Torte cake der Kuchen cake der Fisch fish das Fleisch meat das Rindfleisch beef das Geflgel fowl das Kalbfleisch veal der Schinken ham das Schweinefleisch pork die Wurst sausage

der Supermarkt the supermarket im Supermarkt at the supermarket

der Bcker the baker beim Bcker at the baker's die Bckerei bakery

der Fleischer the butcher* die Fleischerei butcher shop beim Fleischer at the butcher's der Metzger the butcher die Metzgerei the butcher shop beim Metzger at the butcher's

*The German terms for "butcher" and "butcher shop" are regional. Metzger tends to be used more in southern Germany, while Fleischer is more common in the north. The official term for the trade is Fleischer . Older, rarely used terms are Fleischhacker , Fleischhauerand Schlachter. der Getrnkemarkt beverage shop Getrnke beverages

Prepared by Ashish

Page 49 of 49

German for Beginners

Here you buy beverages (beer, cola, mineral das Getrnk beverage, drink water, etc.) by the case. Supermarkets now das Bier beer usually have a similar department. der Wein wine die Limonade soda, soft drink die Cola cola drink das Mineralwasser mineral water A growing trend in Germany is the gas station mini-mart, selling everything from groceries to videos and CDs. It offers shoppers an alternative to regular stores that by law are closed on Sundays and after 8pm, if not earlier.

der Markt the market der Tante-Emma-Laden corner market die Tankstelle gas station (market)

Prepared by Ashish

Page 50 of 50

German for Beginners

German for Beginners: Lektion 13b

Der gedeckte Tisch
The Table Setting: Plates, cups, cutlery, etc.

What do we

find on a table set for dining? Below is an English-German chart of various

items that might be found on a typical dining table.

Useful words and expressions in English and German ENGLISH CUTLERY, TABLEWARE fork knife spoon teaspoon tablespoon knife cake knife, slicer die Gabel das Messer der Lffel der Teelffel der Esslffel das Messer der Tortenheber When you're ready, don't forget to try the Photo Exercise for This Page DINNERWARE, CHINA, DISHES bowl cup/mug saucer plate, salad plate CONTAINERS can - beer can, cola can DAS GESCHIRR die Schale, die Schssel die Tasse/der Becher die Untertasse der Teller, der Salatteller BEHLTER die Dose - Bierdose , Coladose DEUTSCH DAS BESTECK

Der gedeckte Tisch

Prepared by Ashish

Page 51 of 51

German for Beginners

a can of beer/cola glass - beer glass, wine glass a glass of beer/wine/milk bottle - beer bottle, wine bottle a bottle of beer/wine/milk a cup of coffee/tea a cup/dish of ice cream dish, (serving) bowl pitcher, jug tea pot (small) tea pot (large) coffee pot (small) coffee pot (large) (cooking) pot OTHER THINGS coaster, beer coaster/mat napkin, serviette place setting place mat salt/pepper shaker eine Dose Bier/Cola das Glas - Bierglas , Weinglas ein Glas Bier/Wein/Milch die Flasche - Bierflasche, Weinflasche eine Flasche Bier/Wein/Milch eine Tasse Kaffee /Tee ein(en) Becher Eis die Schale, die Schssel der Krug das Teeknnchen die Teekanne das Kaffeeknnchen die Kaffeekanne der Topf ANDERE SACHEN der Untersetzer, der Bierdeckel die Serviette das Gedeck das Set der Salzstreuer/Pfefferstreuer

Prepared by Ashish

Page 52 of 52