61.

Comparative and Superlative

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.
ie !"che ist so gross wie das #ohn$immer. %he &itchen is as bi' as the livin' room.
(ine #aschmaschine ist nicht so schwer wie ein !"hlschran&. ) *ashin' machine is
not as heavy as a refri'erator.
Comparative
1. For comparisons of superiority and inferiority, add -er to the adjective or adverb,
follo*ed by als +than,. -erman al*ays uses the .er endin', althou'h (n'lish sometimes
uses the *ord more before the adjective instead of the endin'.
(in radio is billi'er als ein Fernseher. ) radio is cheaper than a %/.
0ens l1uft schneller als (rnst. 0ens runs faster than (rnst.
2ydia ist intelli'enter als ihr 3ruder. 2ydia is more intelli'ent than her brother.
4. )djectives that end in .el, .en or .er, drop the .e in the comparative form. %euer
becomes teurer instead of teuerer, and dun&el becomes dunkler instead of dun&eler.
Some one.syllable adjectives and adverbs *hose stem vo*el is a, o, or u add an umlaut
in the comparative, such as alt, arm, dumm, grob, gro, hart, jung, kalt, klug, krank,
kurz, lang, oft, scharf, schwach, stark, warm. )djectives that never add an umlaut are
flach, froh, &lar, rasch, roh, schlan&, stol$, toll, voll and $art.
Superlative
1. %o form the superlative, add -(e)st to the adjective. %he endin' .est is used *hen the
*ord ends in .d, .t, or an s sound. %he adjectives that end in .el, .en, or .er retain the .s in
the superlative form. %he same adjectives that too& an umlaut in the comparative ta&e an
umlaut in the superlative as *ell.
4. %he superlative also has an alternative form5 am + adjective or adverb + sten. #hen
the adjective or adverb ends in a d, t or s sound, an e is inserted bet*een the stem and
endin' +am 'r6ssten is an e7ception., %his is the only form of the superlative of adverbs,
but either forms of the superlative can be used for adjectives.
8ans is am j"n'sten. 8ans is the youn'est.
Sie ist am intelli'entesten. She is the most intelli'ent.
rregular !orms
"dj# $ "dv# Comparative Superlative
'ern lieber am liebsten
'ut besser am besten
hoch h6her am h6chsten
nah n1her am n1chsten
viel mehr am meisten
Common forms of the comparative
%e mehr, desto besser. %he more, the better.
%e mehr -eld er hat, desto 'l"c&licher ist er. %he more money he has, the happier he is.
ie preise *erden immer h6her. %he prices are 'ettin' hi'her and hi'her.
0ulia *ird immer h"bscher. 0ulia is 'ettin' prettier and prettier.
!eep in mind that the comparative and superlative forms ta&e normal adjective endin's
*hen they precede a noun. )nd the adjective form of the superlative must al*ays ta&e an
adjective endin' because it is preceded by the definite article.
8aben Sie billi'ere )n$"'e9 o you have less e7pensive suits9
iese )n$"'e sind die billi'sten. %hese suits are the least e7pensive.
64. Sports : 8obbies
to do sports Sport treiben han'.'lidin' &rachen fliegen
'olf 'olf spielen *indsurfin' (indsurfing gehen
soccer !uball spielen *ater.s&iin' (asserski fahren
volleyball )olle*ball spielen fishin' angeln
football !ootball spielen aerobics "erobic machen
bas&etball +asketball spielen bun'ee.jumpin' +ungee-jumping gehen
baseball +aseball spielen 'ymnastics turnen
hoc&ey ,ishocke* spielen mountaineerin' bergsteigen gehen
tennis -ennis spielen climbin' klettern
table tennis
-ischtennis
spielen
judo %udo machen
bo*lin' kegeln *ei'ht trainin' +od*-building machen
sailin' segeln *restlin' ringen
horsebac& ridin' reiten divin' tauchen
bo7in' bo.en
to tin&er, build
thin's
basteln
roller.s&atin' /ollschuh laufen to listen to music 0usik h1ren
ice.s&atin'
Schlittschuh
laufen
to play cards 2arten spielen
s&iin' Ski fahren to collect 03nzen$+riefmarken
coins;stamps sammeln
bicyclin' /adfahren to play video 'ames )ideospiele spielen
s*immin' Schwimmen gehen photo'raphy fotografieren
jo''in' joggen to do ceramics t1pfern
hi&in' wandern to dra* zeichnen
campin' Camping gehen to play chess Schach spielen
'ardenin'
im 'arten
arbeiten
to &nit stricken
'o out *ith friends
mit !reunden
ausgehen
to *atch %/ fernsehen
to lie around, be
la$y
faulenzen 'o to the movies ins 2ino gehen
) lot of sports;hobbies e7ist as nouns and as verbs, so just as in (n'lish, you can say
either I like to fish or like to go fishing. <f it=s capitali$ed, it=s a noun and if it=s not
capitali$ed, it=s a verb.
kegeln . to bo*l
das 2egeln . bo*lin'
6>. ?ature
barn die Scheune (n) stream der +ach (4, e)
brid'e die +r3cke (n) s&y der 5immel
hill der 53gel (-) island der nsel (n)
mountain der +erg (e) air die 6uft
beach der Strand (4, e) meado* die (iese (n)
la&e der See (n) desert die (3ste (n)
river die !luss (3, e) pond der -eich (e)
street die Strae (n) 'rass das 'ras
farm der +auernhof (1, e) leaf das +latt (4, er)
field das !eld (er) flo*er die +lume (n)
forest der (ald (4, er) ocean der 7zean (e)
plant die 8flanze (n) tree der +aum (4, e)
city die Stadt (4, e) country das 6and (4, er)
sea die See $ das 0eer (e) valley das -al (4, er)
bay die +ucht (en) coast die 23ste (n)
mountain
ran'e
das 'ebirge jun'le der &schungel (-)
6@. Abject Bronouns
Subject (9om#) &irect 7bjects ("cc#) ndirect 7bjects (&at#)
ich < mich me mir +to, me
du you +fam., dich you dir +to, you
er he ihn him ihm +to, him
sie she sie her ihr +to, her
es it es it ihm +to, it
wir *e uns us uns +to, us
ihr you +pl., euch you euch +to, you
sie they sie them ihnen +to, them
Sie you +pol., Sie you hnen +to, you
Note about word order: <f there are t*o nouns in a sentence, one accusative and one
dative, then the dative noun *ill be first. 8o*ever, if there are t*o pronouns, one
accusative and one dative, then the accusative pronoun *ill be first. <n sentences *ith one
noun and one pronoun +re'ardless of *hich is accusative or dative,, the pronoun *ill be
first.
Some verbs al*ays ta&e indirect objects, even if they ta&e direct objects in (n'lish. For
verbs that can ta&e t*o objects, the direct object *ill usually be a thin', and the indirect
object *ill usually refer to a person.
antworten to ans*er +a person, The following four need an object as a subject:
schenken to 'ive schaden to be harmful to
bringen to brin' schmecken to taste 'ood to
danken to than& stehen to suit
zuh1ren to listen to passen to fit
geh1ren to belon' to
The following two need the subject and object
inverted from the original English construction:
glauben to believe
helfen to help
gratulieren to con'ratulate fehlen to be missin' to
begegnen to meet gefallen to be pleasin' to
vertrauen to trust
empfehlen to recommend
geben to 'ive
kaufen to buy
leihen to lend, borro*
sagen to tell, say
schicken to 'ive as a 'ift
schreiben to *rite
w3nschen to *ish
zeigen to sho*
6C. Barts of the 3ody
body der 21rper (-) chin das 2inn (e)
arm der "rm (e) &nee das 2nie (-)
eye das "uge (n) bone der 2nochen (-)
chee& die +acke (n) head der 2opf (1, e)
belly der +auch (4, e) lip die 6ippe (n)
le' das +ein (e) stomach der 0agen (4)
chest die +rust (3, e) nail der 9agel (4)
fin'er der !inger mouth der 0und (3, er)
foot der !uss (3, e) nose die 9ase (n)
an&le das !ussgelenk (e) ear das 7hr (en)
brain das 'ehirn bac& der /3cken (-)
hair das 5aar (e) shoulder die Schulter (n)
nec& der 5als (4, e) forehead die Stirn (en)
hand die 5and (4, e) tooth der :ahn (4, e)
*rist das 5andgelenk (e) toe die :ehe (n)
s&in die 5aut (4, e) ton'ue die :unge (n)
heart das 5erz (en) face das 'esicht (er)
ja* der 2iefer (-) chee& die (ange (n)
ch f3hle mich nicht wohl# < don=t feel *ell.
0ir ist schlecht# < feel sic&.
0ir ist kalt$warm# <=m cold;hot.
(as fehlt dir; #hat=s the matter9
&er 5als tut mir weh# Dy throat hurts.
%he separable verb wehtun is used to say that somethin' hurts. Eemember *hen the
noun is plural, the verb needs to be plural as *ell and that parts of the body do not use
possessive articles.
&ie !3e tun ihm weh# 8is feet hurt. +%he feet are hurtin' to him.,
Ather health e7pressions5
ch habe
2opfschmerzen#
< have a headache.
ch habe 5alsschmerzen# < have a sore throat.
ch habe
/3ckenschmerzen#
< have a bac&ache.
ch habe
+auchschmerzen#
< have a stomachache.
ch habe eine ,rk4ltung# < have a cold.
ch habe !ieber# < have a fever.
ch habe die 'rippe# < have the flu.
ch habe 5usten# < have a cou'h.
ch habe Schnupfen# < have a head cold.
ch habe zu viel
gegessen#
< ate too much.
'ute +esserung< -et *ell soonF
66. Eelative Bronouns
Eelative clauses be'in *ith relative pronouns . *ords that correspond to *ho, *hom, that
and *hich in (n'lish. %hese may be omitted in (n'lish, but must be included in
-erman. ) comma al*ays precedes the relative pronoun, *hich is put into the correct
'ender dependin' on the noun it refers to, and the correct case dependin' on its function
in the clause. +<n the follo*in' e7ample, the relative pronoun is in the masculine
accusative case because Dantel is masculine, and is a direct object of the verb Gto buyG,
therefore, it is accusative., %he conju'ated verb 'oes to the end of the sentence as *ell.
%hat=s the coat (that) < bou'ht yesterday.
as is der Dantel, den ich 'estern 'e&auft habe.
Eelative pronouns have the same 'ender and number as the nouns they refer to, and the
forms closely resemble those of the definite articles5
Dasc. Fem. ?eu. Blural
?om. der die das die
)cc. den die das die
at. dem der dem denen
-en. dessen deren dessen deren
,.amples
?ominative
&er !luss, der durch (ien fliesst, heit &onau#
The river, that through Vienna flows, is called the anube!
%he river that flo*s throu'h /ienna is called the anube.
)ccusative
&er 5und, den ich letzte (oche gesehen habe, war %ulias#
The dog, that I last week seen have, was "ulia#s!
%he do' that < sa* last *ee& *as 0ulia=s.
ative
0ein )ater ist der einzige 0ensch, dem ich nichts davon erz4hlt habe#
$% father is the onl% &erson, to whom I nothing about it told have!
Dy father is the only person +to, *hom < have told nothin' about it.
#hen a relative pronoun follo*s a preposition, the preposition determines the case, *hile
the 'ender and number are determined by the noun. %he preposition and pronoun al*ays
stay to'ether as one unit as *ell.
(er war die !rau, mit der ich dich gesehen habe;
'ho was the woman, with whom I %ou seen have(
#ho *as the *oman +*hom, < sa* you *ith9
6H. a and #o Compounds
Bersonal pronouns are used after prepositions *hen referrin' to people. 8o*ever, *hen
you need to refer to a thin', a compound usin' da- +or dar- if the preposition be'ins *ith
a vo*el, plus the preposition is used.
auf dem -isch +on the table, becomes darauf +on it,
in der -asche +in the poc&et, becomes darin +in it,
vor der Schule +in front of the school, becomes davor +in front of it,
hinter den 54usern +behind the houses, becomes dahinter +behind them,
zwischen dem 5aus und der Schule +bet*een the house and the school, becomes
dazwischen +bet*een them,
&a(r) Compounds
daraus out of it;them dagegen a'ainst it;them dar3ber over it;them
damit *ith it;them darin in it;them darunter
underneath
it;them
davon from it;them daran in it;them daneben ne7t to it;them
dazu to it;them darauf on top of dazwischen bet*een it;them
it;them
dadurch
throu'h
it;them
dahinter behind it;them dabei on me)%ou
daf3r for it;them davor
in front of
it;them
darum that#s wh%
&ahin is commonly used *ith verbs of motion to sho* location, re'ardless of the
preposition used. %he (n'lish translation is usually there. &ahin can be shortened to hin
in everyday speech, and sometimes da is placed at the be'innin' of the sentence and hin
is placed at the end.
<ch muI heute $ur 3an&. < have to 'o to the ban&.
<ch muI auch dahin. < have to 'o there too.
Note: abei and darum are idioms. 5ast du 'eld dabei; o you have any money on
you9 &arum hast du kein 'l3ck# %hat=s *hy you have no luc&.
?ot all prepositions + pronouns can be replaced by the da+r, compounds. Ahne, ausser,
and seit can never form a da+r, compound, and here are others that cannot5
ohnedies *ithout it stattdessen instead
bis dahin until then trotzdem nevertheless
ausserdem besides w4hrenddessen in the mean*hile
seit dem since deswegen for that reason
%here are also correspondin' questions *ord that use wo(r)- as the prefi7. #o+r, can be
substituted in all of the above da+r, compounds. #hen as&in' about people, use a
preposition and *en;*em, and use a preposition and the correspondin' personal pronoun
to ans*er.
(or3ber sprechen Sie9 <ch spreche dar3ber#
#hat are you tal&in' about9 <=m tal&in' about it.
(oran den&st du9 <ch den&e daran#
#hat are you thin&in' about9 <=m thin&in' about it.
0it wem 'ehst du ins %heater9 0it ihrF
#ho are you 'oin' to the %heater *ith9 #ith herF
#o compounds can also be used as shortcuts for the relative pronouns because you do
not need to the &no* the 'ender or case to form the relative pronoun. %his shortcut can
only be used *ith thin's and not people.
ie Jhr, mit der er reist, hat viel 'e&ostet. K ie Jhr, womit er reist, hat viel 'e&ostet.
%he *atch, *ith *hich he travels, cost a lot.
ie Stadt, in der *ir *ohnen, hat ein 'roIes !on$erthaus. K ie Stadt, worin *ir
*ohnen, hat ein 'roIes !on$erthaus.
%he city, in *hich *e live, has a lar'e concert hall.
6L. )nimals
animal das -ier (e) bull der Stier (e)
bear der +4r (en) *olf der (olf (1, e)
squirrel das ,ichh1rnchen (-) *orm der (urm (3, er)
fo7 der !uchs (3, e) bird der )ogel (1)
hare die 5ase (n) rooster der 5ahn (4, e)
do' der 5und (e) hen die 5enne (n)
calf das 2alb (4, er) ea'le der "dler (-)
rabbit das 2aninchen (-) chic& das 23ken (-)
cat die 2atze (n) ant die "meise (n)
&itten das 24tzchen (-) bee die +iene (n)
co* die 2uh (3, e) fly die !liege (n)
lion der 61we (n) 'rasshopper die 5euschrecke (n)
mouse die 0aus (4, e) moth die 0otte(n)
horse das 8ferd (e) mosquito die 03cke (n)
rat die /atte (n) butterfly der Schmetterling (e)
turtle die Schildkr1te (n) spider die Spinne (n)
sna&e die Schlange (n) chic&en das 5uhn
6M. 2i&es and isli&es
Jse the *ords gern, nicht gern, lieber, and am liebsten after a verb to e7press
preferences.
<ch spiele gern Fussball. < like to play soccer.
<ch spiele lieber 8oc&ey < prefer to play hoc&ey.
<ch spiele am liebsten %ennis. < like to play tennis most of all#
<ch spiele nicht gern 3as&etball. < don=t like to play 3as&etball.
Ar just use haben *ith any of the four phrases for 'eneral li&es;disli&es.
<ch habe Fussball 'ern. < li&e soccer.
<ch habe 0ulia am liebsten. < li&e 0ulia most of all.
<ch habe das Eestaurant nicht 'ern. < don=t li&e the restaurant.
'efallen is another verb used for e7pressin' li&es. <t literally means to please. %o use it
correctly, you must s*itch the object in (n'lish *ith the subject in -erman. as Nimmer
is the object in (n'lish, but it becomes the subject in -erman. )nd the object in -erman
+mir, *ould become the subject in (n'lish +<,. <t is al*ays in the dative case in -erman.
'erman sentence 6iterall* -ranslated
as Nimmer 'ef1llt mir. The room &leases me. < li&e the room.
You could al*ays just use the verb m*gen to e7press li&es and disli&es, but another
common *ay of sayin' that you li&e +doin', somethin' is macht spa#
(as macht dir spa; #hat do you li&e +to do,9
!uball macht mir spa# < li&e soccer.
HO. Bast Berfect %ense
%he Bast Berfect %ense or Bluperfect corresponds to the (n'lish had + past participle and
refers to somethin' that had already happened *hen somethin' else happened. <t consists
of the imperfect of haben or sein and a past participle and is comparable to the present
perfect tense.
Bresent perfect5 <ch habe in #iesbaden 'e*ohnt. < +have, lived in #iesbaden.
Bast perfect5 <ch hatte in #iesbaden 'e*ohnt. < had lived in #iesbaden.
Bresent perfect5 #as ist passiert9 #hat +has, happened9
Bast perfect5 #as war passiert9 #hat had happened9
H1. )ls, *enn and *ann
)ll three *ords correspond to when and act as subordinatin' conjunctions +therefore, the
conju'ated verb 'oes to the end of the sentence., "ls is used in past time conte7ts for a
sin'le event, wenn is used to mean whenever or if, as *ell as in future time, and wann is
an adverb of time or a question *ord and can be used in declarative sentences.
"ls ich ihn fand### #hen < found him.. +follo*ed by simple past tense,
(enn er kommt###
#henever he comes...
<f he comes...
#hen he comes... +follo*ed by future tense,
ch wei nicht, wann er kommt# < don=t &no* *hen +or at *hat time, he=s comin'.
H4. Eevie* of #ord Arder
1. <n most sentences, the order is subject . verb . time . manner . place.
ch gehe morgen mit dem +us in die Schule# <=m 'oin' to school tomorro* by bus.
4. Sometimes another element be'ins a sentence instead of a subject. %hen the verb is
still in the second position, but the subject follo*s it.
0orgen gehe ich mit dem +us in die Schule# %omorro* <=m 'oin' to school by bus.
>. <n sentences *ith more than one verb or *ith past participles, the conju'ated verb
remains in the normal position and the infinitive or past participle 'oes to the end of the
sentence.
ch will nach 5ause gehen# < *ant to 'o home.
ch habe dir geglaubt# < believed you.
@. #hen as&in' questions, you can usually just invert the subject and verb.
2ann ich jetzt gehen; Can < 'o no*9
C. <n sentences *ith dependent clauses +phrases that have a subject and verb but cannot
stand alone as sentences,, the verb in the dependent clause is last. ependent clauses are
introduced *ith a comma and certain conjunctions, such as als.*hen, bevor-before, bis.
until, damit.so that, dass.that, wenn.if;*hen, ob.*hether, obwohl-althou'h, nachdem.
after, da.since, w4hrend.*hile, weil.because, and wie.ho*. 8o*ever, these
conjunctions use normal *ord order5 und.and, oder.or, aber.but, denn.for;because.
ch bleibe im +ett, wenn ich krank bin. < stay in bed *hen < am sic&.
6. <f there is a separable prefi7 verb in a dependent clause, the prefi7 remains attached to
the verb, and the entire verb 'oes to the end of the sentence, *hereas normally the prefi7
*ould 'o to the end.
,r ist immer m3de, wenn er fr3h aufsteht# 8e is al*ays tired *hen he 'ets up early.
H. #hen there are t*o verbs in a dependent clause +such as a modal and an infinitive,,
the modal 'oes last, follo*in' the infinitive.
,r ist m3de, wenn er fr3h aufstehen muss# 8e is tired *hen he must 'et up early.
L. )nd *hen a dependent clause be'ins a sentence, it acts as an element, therefore the
subject and verb in the follo*in' clause are inverted.
(enn ich krank bin, bleibe ich im +ett# #hen < am sic&, < stay in bed.
M. <f 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. <f the direct object is a
&ronoun, it 'oes before the indirect object. So basically the only time the accusative is
placed before the dative is *hen the accusative is a pronoun.
ch schenke meinem +ruder eine 2rawatte# < 'ive my brother a tie.
ch schenke sie meinem +ruder# < 'ive it to my brother.
H>. Flavorin' Barticles
-erman has many *ords that cannot be translated literally into (n'lish. %hese *ords are
mostly for emphasis.
doch yes, of course
counteracts ne'ative statement,
used for persuasion,
or implies somethin' is obvious
ja really emphasis
aber is it ever emphasis
denn *ell then
indicates impatience,
or adds emphasis to question
gerade ri'ht no* immediacy
nur, blo only, just
mal sometime, someday
used in su''estions,
or softens commands
H@. Colloquial (7pressions and <dioms
<n informal speech and *ritin', es is commonly contracted *ith the precedin' *ord by =s.
-eht es K 'eht=s
Es is also used as an impersonal pronoun +es re'net, it=s rainin',, but it can also be used
as an introductory *ord for emphasis or stylistic reasons. (s be'ins the sentence, and the
true subject follo*s the verb.
,s ist niemand zu 5ause# ?o one is at home.
,s kommen heute drei 2inder# %hree children are comin' today.
Es can also be used to anticipate a dependent clause or infinitive phrase. %his is almost
li&e in (n'lish *hen *e say I hate it when that ha&&ens instead of I hate when that
ha&&ens. G<tG has no real meanin' in the first sentence, but it is not incorrect to say it.
ch kann es nicht glauben, da er sich vor nichts f3rchtet# < can=t believe that he=s not
afraid of anythin'.
,r hat es, nichts davon zu wissen# 8e hates not &no*in' anythin' about it.
Ather idioms5
Sie ist mit ihrem >rteil immer sehr schnell bei der 5and. She ma&es her jud'ments
rather quic&ly. +2iterally5 She is quic& at hand *ith her jud'ments.,
"lles ist in +utter# (verythin' is fine. +2iterally5 (verythin' is in butter.,
,r geht mit dem 2opf durch die (and# 8e does as he pleases. +2iterally5 8e 'oes
*ith his head throu'h the *all.,
HC. #ord Formation
9oun compounds
-erman uses compounds more often than (n'lish and they are formed by simply puttin'
the t*o *ords to'ether +sometimes addin' an .n or .s in bet*een,, and usin' the 'ender
of the last *ord. ie 'oche +*ee&, + der Tag +day, K der 'ochentag +ays of the
*ee&,
-he prefi. un-
)s in (n'lish, the prefi7 un. 'ives a *ord a ne'ative or opposite meanin'. klar +clear, .
unklar +unclear,
-he suffi. -los
%his suffi7 is often the equivalent of the (n'lish suffi7 .less, and is used to form
adjectives and adverbs from nouns. das ,nde +the end, . endlos +endless,
-he suffi. -haft
%he suffi7 .haft is used to form adjectives from nouns so as to desi'nate related qualities.
das 2ind +the child, . kindhaft +childli&e,
-he suffi. -ung
%his suffi7 may be added to the stem of a verb to form a noun. )ll nouns endin' in .un'
are feminine. wandern +to hi&e, . die (anderung +the hi&e,
-he suffi. -er
%his suffi7 desi'nates a person is from a certain place. !rankfurt +a city, . !rankfurter
+a person from Fran&furt,
-he suffi. -in
%his suffi7 desi'nates a female person and is added to the male counterpart. "rchitekt
+male architect, . "rchitektin +female architect,
H6. )djectival ?ouns
#hen referrin' to people, adjectives can sometimes be used as nouns. %he definite
article precedes the adjective, *hich is no* capitali$ed because it is functionin' as a
noun. %he adjectival nouns ta&e the re'ular adjective endin's for adjectives preceded by
a der *ord as *ell.
der )lte . the old man
die )lte . the old *oman
das )lte . everythin' that is old
die )lten . the old people
HH. Ardinal ?umbers
%o form the ordinal numbers, just add .te to the cardinal numbers for 1.1M, and .ste for 4O
and up. %he e7ceptions are erste, dritte, siebte, and achte.
first erste eleventh elfte
second zweite t*elfth zw1lfte
third dritte thirteenth dreizehnte
fourth vierte fourteenth vierzehnte
fifth f3nfte fifteenth f3nfzehnte
si7th sechste si7teenth sechzehnte
seventh siebte seventeenth siebzehnte
ei'hth achte ei'hteenth achtzehnte
ninth neunte nineteenth neunzehnte
tenth zehnte t*entieth zwanzigste
<n *ritin' dates, -erman uses the number follo*ed by a period. An February 4nd *ould
be am 4. Februar. 8o*ever, *hen sayin' this out loud, you *ould say am $*eiten
Februar. You must use the construction am ? -en to ans*er a question be'innin' *ith
'ann( 3ut you use the construction der ? -e to ans*er the question 'elches atum(
'ann sind Sie 'eboren9 #hen *ere you born9
"m ach$ehnten Dai. An Day 1Lth.
'elches atum is heute9 #hat is today=s date9
8eute ist der neunte A&tober. %oday is Actober ninth.
HL. Bassive /oice
%o chan'e a sentence from the active to the passive, chan'e three thin's5
1. accusative object of active sentence to nominative subject of passive sentence
4. active verb to a tense of *erden +same tenseF, plus the past participle of verb in active
sentence
>. subject to von + dative object in the passive sentence, if a'ent is mentioned
+resent Tense
/iele Studenten lesen diesen Eoman. K ieser Eoman wird von vielen Studenten
gelesen#
Dany students read this novel. K %his novel is read by many students.
Im&erfect Tense
/iele Studenten lasen diesen Eoman. K ieser Eoman wurde von vielen Studenten
gelesen.
Dany students read this novel. K %his novel *as read by many students.
,uture Tense
/iele Studenten *erden diesen Eoman lesen. K ieser Eoman wird von vielen Studenten
gelesen werden.
Dany students *ill read this novel. K %his novel *ill be read by many students.
+resent +erfect Tense
/iele Studenten haben diesen Eoman 'elesen. K ieser Eoman ist von vielen Studenten
gelesen worden#
Dany students have read this novel. K %his novel has been read by many students.
+ast +erfect Tense
/iele Studenten hatten diesen Eoman 'elesen. K ieser Eoman war von vielen Studenten
gelesen worden#
Dany students had read this novel. K %his novel had been read by many students.
P?otice that in the passive voice, the past participle of werden is worden and not
'e*orden.
&urch can replace von *hen the a'ent is an impersonal force +fire, *ind, etc.,Q but it
cannot be used if preceded by a limitin' *ord +such as an article or adjective.,
8assive with modals
Shifts in tense *ill only affect the modal part of the sentence. %he infinitive forms of the
past participles are used *ith modals in the passive voice as *ell. )nd *here you mi'ht
e7pect somethin' li&e as -aus hat werden m.ssen verkauft, the actual construction is
&as 5aus hat verkauft werden m3ssen because of the double infinitive construction.
ouble infinitives al*ays 'o to the end of the sentence, but you only need to *orry
about these in the present perfect and past perfect tenses.
8assive nfinitives
%o be + past participle in (n'lish is translated as the past participle + *erden in -erman.
#ith a passive infinitive, usually only the present or simple past of modals is used.
ie %iere &onnten gerettet werden# %he animals *ere able to be saved.
HM. Broblems *ith the Bassive
!alse 8assive
-rammatically, the false passive is the same as sein + an adjective. %his construction
describes a condition rather than an action. &as 5aus ist verkauft is the false passive,
*hile das 5aus wird verkauft is the true passive. %he false passive sentence indicates
that the house is already sold +condition,, *hile the true passive indicates the house is in
the process of bein' sold +action,.
8assive with "bsentee Subjects
Bassive forms may have a definite or indefinite subject, or no apparent subject at all. %he
accusative object of an active sentence becomes the nominative subject of the passive
sentence. 3ut sometimes there is no accusative object. Since a verb cannot be in the first
position of sentence *ithout turnin' the sentence into a question, es is used as the subject.

$an antwortet ihnen nicht is an active sentence, but if it *ere turned into the passive,
there *ould be no accusative object. %he passive *ould have to be es wird ihnen nicht
geantwortet. +8ere *erden a'rees *ith the apparent subject, es.,
3ut if another element, such as a dative object or time e7pression, can be put in the first
position, then es is omitted. hnen wird nicht geantwortet can also be used as the
passive. %here is no apparent subject, only an implied es, so the form of *erden remains
wird to a'ree *ith es!
LO. )voidin' the Bassive
1. %he construction man + an active verb can be used instead of the passive voice. Dan
translates to one, you, *e, they, people and constitutes the subject.
iese 3luse *ird 'ereini't. %his blouse is bein' dry.cleaned
0an reinigt diese 3luse. %hey are dry.cleanin' this blouse.
er ieb *urde 'efunden. %he thief *as cau'ht
0an fand den ieb. %hey cau'ht the thief.
4. Dan + modal + an infinitive is frequently used *ith m"ssen or &6nnen.
er Flec&en &ann nicht entfernt *erden. %he stain cannot be removed.
en Flec&en kann man nicht entfernen. #e can=t remove the stain.
>. Sein + $u + an infinitive can be used *ith &6nnen or m"ssen to e7press the possibility
or necessity of an action.
as &ann schnell 'emacht *erden. %hat can be done quic&ly.
as ist schnell zu machen. %hat is quic&ly done.
@. Sich lassen + an infinitive can replace &6nnen and a passive infinitive.
as &ann 'emacht *erden. %hat can be done.
as l4t sich machen. %hat can be done.
ie 2orelei
-einrich -eine
<ch *eiI nicht, *as soll es bedeuten < &no* not, *hat it is portendin'
aI ich so trauri' binQ that < am so depressedQ
(in D1rchen aus alten Neiten a le'end from olden days past
as &ommt mir nicht aus dem Sinn. *ill not leave my mind alone.
ie 2uft ist &"hl und es dun&elt, %he bree$e is cool and it dar&ens,
Jnd ruhi' flieIt der EheinQ and peaceful flo*s the EhineQ
er -ipfel des 3er'es fun&elt the pea& of the mountain spar&les
<m )bendsonnenschein. *ith evenin'=s settin' sun.
ie sch6nste 0un'frau sit$et %he fairest maiden sits perched
ort oben *underbar, ri'ht up there *ondrously,
<hr 'old=nes -eschmeide blit$et her 'olden je*elry flashes
Sie &1mmt ihr 'old=nes 8aar. she combs her 'olden hair.
Sie &1mmt es mit 'old=nem !amme She combs *ith a comb all 'olden
Jnd sin't ein 2ied dabeiQ and thus she sin's a son'Q
as hat eine *undersame that has a mysteriously
-e*alti'e Delodei. tyrannical melody.
en Schiffer im &leinen Schiffe %he sailor in tiny vessel
er'reift es mit *ildem #eh, is sei$ed *ith a sava'e *oe,
(r schaut nicht die Felsenriffe, he sees not the roc&y reef ed'e,
(r schaut nur hinauf in die 86h=. he loo&s only up to*ard the hei'ht.
<ch 'laube, die #ellen verschlin'en < thin& that the *aves have devoured
)m (nde Schiffer und !ahnQ at last the sailor and boatQ
Jnd das hat mit ihrem Sin'en and that=s the deed, by her sin'in'
ie 2orelei 'etan. the 2orelei has done.