German Learn German in 21 DAYS - Henry Ray

German: Learn German in 21 DAYS! A Practical Guide To Make German Look Easy! EVEN For Beginners

Table Of Contents Introduction Chapter 1: The Basics of the German Language The German Alphabet German Pronunciation Basic German Phrases Chapter 2: German Numbers Ordinal Numbers Fractions German Time and Date German Colors (Die Farben) Chapter 3: Word Order and Sentence Structure Compound Verbs Chapter 4: Capitalization and Punctuation Chapter 5: Nouns (Noune) Gender of Nouns Feminine Nouns Neuter Nouns Nouns with More than One Gender Gender of Compound Nouns Chapter 6: Forming the Plural Chapter 7: Alternative Plural Forms for Foreign-Derived Words Adjectival Nouns Infinitive Nouns Chapter 8: German Cases Nominative Case The Accusative Case The Dative Case The Genitive Case Chapter 9: Pronouns Personal and Possessive Pronouns Reflexive Pronouns Interrogative Pronouns Chapter 10: Adjectives Chapter 11: Declension of adjectives Strong Declension Weak Declension Mixed Declension Chapter 12: Adjectives Which are Not Declined Chapter 13: Verbs Auxiliary Verbs: Modal Verbs German Infinitives Chapter 14: Regular Verbs (Regelmäßige Verben)

Irregular Verbs Chapter 15: Mixed Verbs Verb Moods Indicative (Indikativ) Mood Subjunctive (Konjunktiv) I Subjuntive (Konjunktiv) II Chapter 16: The Imperative (Imperativ) Mood Verb Tenses The Present Tense (Präsens) Conjugating Verbs Chapter 17: The Simple Past Tense (Präteritum/Imperfekt/Preterite) Past Tense of Regular Verbs Past Tense of Irregular Verbs Reflexive Verbs Chapter 18: Active Vs. Passive Voice The Verbs Sein and Haben Chapter 19: Adverbs Types of Adverbs Modal Adverbs Temporal Adverbs Chapter 20: Locative Adverbs Causal Adverbs Relative Adverbs Chapter 21: Negation Conclusion Bonus: Preview Of “Spanish: Learn Spanish in 21 DAYS! – A Practical Guide To Make Spanish Look Easy! EVEN For Beginners”

Introduction In this book you will find highly-informative chapters on the fundamentals of the German language to address the needs of travellers, business owners, and students who need to have a good grasp of the language in three weeks’ time or less. This book is designed for beginners and intermediate learners of German grammar and communication who prefer to learn at their own pace and convenience. It seeks to provide selflearners an excellent foundation of the language by imparting essential grammar rules, pronunciation guide, vocabulary, key phrases, and common expressions. The path to learning the German language starts with a full chapter on pronunciation and the basic facts you need to know about the language – numbers, telling time, months of the year, days of the week, telling the year and date, colors, and important phrases for everyday conversations. The succeeding chapters cover grammar topics such as word order, sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation, and parts of speech. Each chapter features relevant examples, charts, tables, and vocabulary listings which were carefully and strategically chosen to enhance the learners’ comprehension and appreciation of the language as well as shorten learning time considerably. Let’s begin the journey.

Chapter 1: The Basics of the German Language

The German Alphabet The German Alphabet consists of the same 26 letters used in the English alphabet plus four more letter sounds which are uniquely its own. Some letters in the alphabet have no equivalent sound in English and their pronunciation and accent have to be learned in a special way. Here is the German alphabet and the Pronunciation of each letter names: A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m

Ag Bay Tsay Day Ay Eff Gay Haa Eeh Yot Kah Ell Em

N n O 0 P p Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x Y y Z z

En Oh Pay Koo Air Es tay ooh fow vay iks ypsilon tset

The extra letters – Umlauts and Es-zett ä like the "a" in (long) air ä like the "e" in (short) bed close to the vowel ö sound in "girl" or "sir" close to the sound ü of ew in pew ß ss sound

German Pronunciation Vowel Sounds a ah, as in "hard" e (long) ay, as in "say" eh, pronounced like e (short) the e in "get" the unstressed "e", also known as e (final) schwa, is similar to the final "a" in sofa ee, similar to the i (long) vowel sound in seen ih, similar to the "i" i (short) in lip oh, similar to the "o" in open but o (long) doesn't glide into a "u" sound aw like the sound in o (short) the English words "lot" and "pot" oo as in "moon" or u (long) "root" u as in "push" and u (short) "put" German Dipthongs sound like "ow" in now, au how close to the vowel sound ei in light, tie pronounced like the "oy" eu in toy, boy sounds like the "ee" in ie meek, week ai pronounced like "ei" Consonant Sounds

b b (final) c (before a,o,u) c (before i and e) d

d (final) f

g

g (final) g (final, suffix -ig)

g

h j K l m n ng

b as in "bed" pronounced like "p" k ts similar to the English "d" but more dental similar to the English "t" but more dental like the "f" in effort nearly always have a hard sound like the "g" in "get" pronounced like "k" pronounced like "ich" pronounced like zh in words of French origin (Ex. Etage, ay-tahzhuh) sounds like the "h" in house at the start of a syllable pronounced like the "y" in yoga sounds like the "c" in cat uses the "l" sound in "land" in all positions pronounced like "m" in mouse sounds like "n" in nose sounds like ng in singer

p

qu r s s (final)

t

v w (in general) x y

z

sounds like "p" in park in all positions pronounced as "kv" r with slightly guttural roll or trill pronounced like "z" in maze sounds like "s" in song pronounced like the English "t" but slightly less dental sounds like "f" in father sounds like "v" in video sounds like "ks" sounds like ü but pronounced as English “y” in borrowed words sounds like "ts" in cats

Letter Combinations pronounced like the sch "sh" in sheep at the start of a sp word or syllable, it sounds like sh+p at the start of a word or syllable, it st sounds like sh+t or the sht in ashtray pronounced like the ng "ng" in ringing ch (after sounds like "kh" in a, au,o,u) Lochness ch (after sounds like "sch" or ä,ö,ü,e,i) "sh"

ch (after ä,ö,ü,e,i)

ch

ph ck

sounds like "sch" or "sh". After "i" and "e", pronounced like the "h" in huge at the start of a word, pronounced like the "ch" in character pronounced like the "f" in fish sounds like "ck" in locking

Basic German Phrases Now that you have familiarized yourself with the German Alphabet and pronunciation, it’s time to learn key phrases which you can use to start a conversation easily and deal with day-to-day interactions with native German speakers.

Good day!

Guten Tag!

gooh-ten tahk!

Hello!

Hallo! (informal)

hâ-loh!

Goodbye!

Auf Wiedersehen!

ouf veeder-zeyen! gooh-ten ah-bent! goot-en mor-gen goot-eh nakht

Good Guten Abend! evening! Good Guten Morgen! morning! Good Gute Nacht! night! See you Bis bald! biss bahlt soon! See you biss Bis morgen. tomorrow. mohr-gen See you biss Bis später. later. shpay-ter Please. Bitte. bi-te. You're bih-tuh Bitte schön. welcome. shurn Thank Danke. dân-ke. you. Thank Feelen you very Vielen Dank! Dank! much. Very well, dang-ker Danke, gut. thanks. goot Very Sehr gut. zair goot good. ehs toot I’m sorry. Es tut mir leid. meer lite fairpardon verzeihen Sie TSEYEme en zee

yes no

yah nine ênt-shoolExcuse Entschuldigung. deeme/sorry. goong. entExcuse Entschuldigen SHOOLme. Sie! de-gen zee How are Wie geht's? vee gayts you? (informal) How are Wie geht es vee gayt you? Ihnen? (formal) es ee-nen geh-en Let's go! Gehen wir! veer ker-nen Can you Können Sie mir zee meer help me? helfen? hell-fen My name Mine Mein Name ist is NAH-muh _____ ________ ist ___ Do you Haben HAB-uhn have Sie______? see_____? _______? ish HATI'd Ich hätte uh like_____ gern______ garn____



ja nein

Chapter 2: German Numbers It’s important to learn German numbers by heart because you will need it for a variety of purposes. Among its many uses, you need numbers to tell time, know the price or value of products or services, express quantity, and understand measurements. German numbers differ with their English counterparts in several ways. While German numbers one to twenty follows the counting pattern used in English numbers, you will sort of say numbers backwards when you reach twenty-one up to ninety-nine. For example, instead of saying twenty-one, you have to say one and twenty (einundzwanzig). When writing numbers, German uses a comma where English uses a decimal point and uses a decimal point where English uses a comma. For example, to write 934,432.60 in German, this is how the number should appear: 934.432,60. In addition, numbers lower than one million are written as a single word. Here are the German cardinal numbers: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

zero one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve

null eins zwei drei vier fünf sechs sieben acht neun zehn elf zwölf

13

thirteen

dreizehn

14

fourteen

vierzehn

15

fifteen

fünfzehn

16

sixteen

sechzehn

17

seventeen

siebzehn

18

eighteen

achtzehn

19

nineteen

neunzehn

20

twenty

zwanzig

null ighnss tsvigh drigh feer fuunf zekhs ZEE-ben ahkht noyn tsayn elf tsvoolf DRIGHtsayn FEERtsayn FUUNFtsayn ZEKHtsayn ZEEPtsayn AHKHtsayn NOYNtsayn TSVAHNtsikh IGHN-

21

twentyone

einundzwanzig

22

twentytwo

zweiundzwanzig

23

twentythree

dreiundzwanzig

24

twentyfour

vierundzwanzig

25

twentyfive

fünfundzwanzig

26

twentysix

sechsundzwanzig

27

twentyseven

siebenundzwanzig

28

twentyeight

achtundzwanzig

29

twentynine

neunundzwanzig

30

thirty

dreißig

40

forty

vierzig

50

fifty

fünfzig

60

sixty

sechzig

70

seventy

siebzig

80

eighty

achtzig

90

ninety

neunzig

100 1.000 2.000 3.000 5.000 10.000 100.000

1.000.000

one hundred one thousand two thousand three thousand five thousand ten thousand one hundred thousand one

hundert tausend zweitausend dreitausend fünftausend zehntausend hunderttausend

eine Million

oonttsvahntsikh TSVIGHoonttsvahntsikh DRIGHoonttsvahntsikh foonfoonttsvan-tsikh foonfoonttsvan-tsikh zekhsoonttsvan-tsikh zee-benoonttsvan-tsikh akht-oonttsvan-tsikh noynoonttsvan-tsikh DRIGHsikh FEERtsikh FUUNFtsikh ZEKHtsikh ZEEPtsikh AHKHtsikh NOYNtsikh HOONdert TOW-zent TSVIGHtow-zent DRIGHtow-zent FUUNFtow-zent TSAYNtow-zent HOONdert-towzent igh-nuh mill-

million

1.000.000.000



one billion

YOHN

eine Milliarde

igh-nuh billYOHN

Ordinal Numbers Ordinal numbers show ranking and order of things. You need ordinal numbers to talk about dates, holidays, hotel floors, and priorities. Ordinal numbers are adjectives and take on endings to agree with the noun or pronoun being modified. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th

first second third fourth

erste zweite dritte vierte

5th

fifth

fünfte

6th

sixth

sechste

7th

seventh

siebte

8th 9th 10th 11th

eighth ninth tenth eleventh

achte neunte zehnte elfte

12th

twelfth

zwölfte

13th

thirteenth

dreizehnte

14th

fourteenth

vierzehnte

15th

fifteenth

fünfzehnte

16th

sixteenth

sechzehnte

17th

seventeenth

siebzehnte

18th

eighteenth

achtzehnte

19th

nineteenth

neunzehnte

20th

twentieth

zwanzigste

21st

twenty-first

einundzwanzigste

22nd

twenty-

zweiundzwanzigste

er-ste tsvy-te drit-te feer-te foonfte zekhste zeepste akh-te noyn-te tsayn-te elf-te tsvur'lfte drytsayn-te feertsayn-te foonftsayn-te zekhtsayn-te zeeptsayn-te akhttsayn-te noyntsayn-te tsvantsikhste ineoonttsvantsikhste tsvyoonttsvan-

second

tsikhste

23rd

twentythird

dreiundzwanzigste

24th

twentyfourth

vierundzwanzigste

25th

twenty-fifth

fünfundzwanzigste

26th

twentysixty

sechsundzwanzigste

27th

twentysevent

siebenundzwanzigste

28th

twentyeight

achtundzwanzigste

29th

twentyninth

neunundzwanzigste

30th

thirtieth

dreißigste

31st

thirty-first

einunddreißigste

40th

fortieth

vierzigste

50th

fiftieth

fünfzigste

60th

sixtieth

sechzigste

70th

seventieth

siebzigste

80th

eightyieth

achtzigste

dryoonttsvantsikhste feeroonttsvantsikhste foonfoonttsvantsikhste zekhsoonttsvantsikhste zeebenoonttsvantsikhste akhtoonttsvantsikhste noynoonttsvantsikhste drysikh-ste ineoontdrysikh-ste feertsikhste foonftsikhste zekhtsikhste zeeptsikhste akhttsikhste noyn-

90th 100th 101st 1,000th 1,000,000th



ninetyieth one hundredth one hundredfirst one thousandth one millionth

neunzigste hundertste hunderterste tausendste millionste

tsikhste hoondert-ste hoondert-erste towzent-ste mil-eeon-ste

Fractions Fractions are expressions of partial quantities. To write fractions in German, you need to extract the stem of an ordinal number and add the –el ending. With the exception of “halb” which is inflected like most adjectives, fraction forms are unchanging. Examples: ein halb ein viertel ein achtel zwei drittel ein drittel ein fünftel drei viertel ein sechstel ein hundertstel

1/2 1/4 1/8 2/3 1/3 1/5 3/4 1/6 1/100

Months of the Year (Die Monate) German names for months are almost similar to English. yahnooJanuary Januar ahr faybrooFebruary Februar ahr March März Mehrts April April ah-pril May Mai my yooJune Juni nee yooJuly Juli lee owAugust August goost

September

September

October

Oktober

November

November

December Dezember Days of the Week (Wochentage)

zehptehmber oktohber novehmber dehtsember

mohnMonday Montag tahk deensTuesday Dienstag tahk mitWednesday Mittwoch vock donersThursday Donnerstag tahk fryFriday Freitag tahk zahmsSaturday Samstag tahk zonSunday Sonntag tahk

German Time and Date Germans make use of the 12-hour time format in everyday conversations and the 24-hour format, otherwise known as the military format for more formal and official activities such as news reporting, business appointments game schedules, announcements, and in other occasions where clarity in time is of utmost importance. You can ask for time using any of the following phrases: Wie viel Uhr ist es? -> vee feel oohr ist ês Wie spät ist es? -> vee shpayt isst ess Telling time using the 12-hour Format To express time when the watch is at one o’clock, you will have to use “ein”: It’s one o’clock. -> Es ist ein Uhr. To tell time for the other hours, you can use this phrase: It’s ______ o’clock. -> Es ist ______ Uhr. For example: It’s three o’clock. -> Es ist drei uhr nachts. It’s eleven o’clock. -> Es ist elf uhr nachts. To express time around the hour, you can use the term “nach” (nâH) to say after or past the hour and “vor” (fohr) to tell to or before an approaching hour. To tell time which is a quarter to or past an hour, you can use the German word for quarter, “Viertel” (feer-tel). Examples:

It is quarter to___________. -> Es ist Viertel vor ______. It is quarter past __________. -> Es ist Viertel nach _____. 2:45 -> It’s quarter to three. -> Es ist Viertel vor drei. 5:45 -> It is quarter past five. -> Es ist Viertel nach fünf. To express time at half hour, you use the German term for half which is halb (hâlp) to indicate that the time is a half-hour before the approaching hour. Examples: 5:30 -> Es ist halb sechs. -> It’s half an hour before 6:00. 9:30 -> Es ist halb zehn. -> It’s half an hour before 10:00. To tell time with a few minutes around the hour, the words “nach” and “vor” are used to indicate “after” or “past” and “before” or “to”, respectively. Examples: 9:54 -> Es ist sechs Minuten vor zehn. -> It is six minutes to ten. 4:11 -> Es ist elf Minuten nach vier. -> It is eleven minutes past four. The words Uhr or Minuten can be omitted when telling time. Germans don’t use the time expressions a.m. and p.m. Instead, they use various time descriptions to indicate the part of day being referred to. Below are the German time expressions and the approximate time duration: Approximate English Time das Morgengrauen 12 am - 6 am dawn der Morgen 6 am - 10 am morning 10 am - 12 late der Vormittag pm morning 12 pm - 2 der Mittag Noon pm der Nachmittag 2 pm - 4 pm Afternoon der Abend 4 pm - 7pm Evening Parts of Day

die Nacht

7pm - 12 am

Night

Telling Precise Time (Military time): The 24-hour format, also known as military format, allows you to tell the time of day in a precise manner and helps avoid ambiguities and misunderstanding. You might, in fact, find this format simpler than the 12-hour format described above. To tell the precise time, you will just have to imagine a digital clock and substitute the word “Uhr” for the colon then read the numbers on the left and right side of the colon as you would read regular cardinal numbers. Examples: 11:25 is expressed as 11 Uhr 25 (elf Uhr vierundzwanzig) 12:12 is expressed as 12 Uhr 12 (zwölf Uhr zwölf ) 20:29 becomes 20 Uhr 29 (zwanzig Uhr neunundzwanzig) 23:14 is 23 Uhr 14 (dreiundzwanzig Uhr vierzehn) Telling the Date in German To write dates in German, you can use either the long or short format. The long format: der 05.Februar 2015 -> the fifth of February 2015 The short format: der 05.02.2015 -> 02/05/2015 Take note that the day, month, and years are separated by periods instead of the slash mark used in English. The day is also written before the month which is the reverse of the English practice of writing the month before the day. In addition, the day is expressed as an ordinal number. The years following the year 2000 are expressed in the same manner that you would a regular number. For instance, year 2015 will be read as zweitausendundfünfzehn or two thousand fifteen. When the year is before the year 2000, it is written like this:

Neunzehnhundertachtzehn (1918) -> Nineteen hundred eighteen.

German Colors (Die Farben) What color is it? -> Welche Farbe ist das? Here are the basic colors to help you answer the question: English German Pronunciation red rot roht yellow gelb gelp blue blau blou green grün gruun ohorange orange RAHNGSH brown braun brown black schwarz shvarts white weiβ vighss gray grau grou pink rosa ROH-zah purple lila lee-lah

Chapter 3: Word Order and Sentence Structure German clauses and sentences can be constructed in similar manner that English sentences and clauses are formed. German, however, has more flexibility in terms of arranging words in a sentence to change the emphasis. In general, German sentences follow the Subject-Verb-Object (S-V-O) Pattern. I met him a few months ago. -> Ich traf ihn vor ein paar Monaten. The teacher gave him an assignment. -> Der Lehrer gab ihm eine Hausarbeit. He gave his mother a gift. -> Er gab seine Mutter ein Geschenk. I gave my son a car. -> Ich habe meinem Sohn ein Auto. To shift the emphasis of the sentence or clause, you can rearrange the words and place the object ahead of the subject without changing the conjugated verb’s second position. For instance, to state that you gave your son a car instead of other things, you can use the following sentence: I gave a car to my son. -> Ein Auto habe ich meinem Sohn gegeben. On the other hand, to stress that an object is being given to your son instead of another person, you can say: My son was given a car. -> Meinem Sohn wurde ein Auto gegeben.

Compound Verbs In English phrases or sentences, compound verbs are generally placed adjacent to each other. Hence, you will often use “will go”, “are studying”, and “am reading” together. In German, however, it’s not unusual to see compound verbs in separate positions. The conjugated verb commonly takes the second position and the accompanying verb nearly always takes the end of the phrase or sentence. Example: Ich werde ein Buch zu lesen. -> I am reading a book. Sie werden an der Party teilnehmen. -> They will attend the party. In subordinate clauses as well as other dependent clauses, all verbs go to the end part of the clause. The conjugated verb takes the last position if there are several verbs. Ich bin glücklich weil meine Mutter überlebte. I’m happy because my mother survived. Sein Magen tat weh, weil er zu viel gegessen hat. His stomach ached because he ate too much. Er findet es schwierig, über sich selbst zu sprechen. He finds it difficult to talk about himself. When using coordinating conjuctions such as “and”, “or” or “but”, the standard word order is retained in both clauses. Die Studenten sind lesen und die Lehrer sprechen. The students are reading and the teachers are talking. The conjugated verb takes the second position again in questions.

Warum haben sie das Unternehmen verlassen? Why did you leave the company? Warum hat sie zurücktreten? Why did she resign? When giving direct instructions in imperative sentences, the conjugated verb takes the first position: Call the police! -> Rufen Sie die Polizei! Leave us alone! -> Lasst uns allein!

Chapter 4: Capitalization and Punctuation 1. Regardless of their position in a sentence, all German nouns are capitalized.

2. Unless it starts a sentence, Ich, the first person singular pronoun, is never capitalized unlike its English counterpart, “I”.

3. Ihnen and Ihr as well as Sie, a formal form of “you” are always capitalized. 4. Except when they are part of proper nouns, words or adjectives that describe nationality, ethnicity, or religions are not capitalized. 5. The German language uses this quotation mark: „___“ . 6. While the “Oxford comma” is commonly used in English, it is never used in the German language.







Chapter 5: Nouns (Noune) Nouns refer to the names given to persons, places, animals, things, or ideas. German nouns are easily identifiable because all begin with a capital letter regardless of their position in a sentence. Examples: Sie hat 4 Hunde und 2 Katzen. -> She has four dogs and two cats. Er ist ein verantwortlicher Fahrer. -> He is a responsible driver.

Gender of Nouns German nouns can have any one of these three genders: feminine, masculine, or neutral. The gender of a noun is indicated by the definite or indefinite article that accompanies the noun. As a new language learner, the best way to remember a noun’s gender is to memorize the article and the noun together. Following is a table of definite and indefinite articles for each gender. Definite Indefinite Articles Articles Masculine der ein Feminine die eine Neutral das ein Gender

It will be very difficult to tell a noun’s gender by sight when you’re just starting to learn the German language but you can make use of some guidelines to help you identify a noun’s gender. Masculine Nouns 1. Male persons and animals der Junge -> the boy der Mann -> the man der Vater -> the father der Lehrer -> the male teacher der Sohn -> son der Stier -> bull 2. Seasons, months, days of the week, most weather elements der März ->March der Freitag -> Friday der Samstag -> Saturday der Tag -> day der Frühling -> spring der Herbs -> autumn der Regen -> rain der Schnee -> snow 3. Compass Points der Süden -> South der Norden -> North der Westen -> West

der Osten -> East 4. Nouns ending in -ich, -ig, -ling, -us, -or, -er, -ant der Teppich -> carpet der Käfig -> cage der Pfennig -> penny der Schmetterling -> butterfly der Kommunismus -> communism der Zirkus -> circus der Tutor -> tutor der Motor -> motor der Kugelschreiber -> ballpoint pen der Toaster -> toaster der Lieferant -> supplier der Elefant -> elephant 5. Most nouns that end in –en der Ofen -> oven der Garten -> garden 6. Car names although the German word for car, das Auto, is a feminine noun der Porsche der Volkswagen der Toyota 7. Many non-German rivers der Nil -> Nile River der Mississippi -> Mississippi River 8. Weak nouns, also called masculine n-nouns This group of masculine nouns follow special declension rules besides inflecting their articles. Weak nouns add an –en or –n in all cases except in the singular nominative case. Those that don’t refer to persons or animals take on an additional–s ending in the singular genitive case.

Example: der Held (hero) Singular -> Plural Nominative -> der Held -> die Helden Accusative -> den Helden -> die Helden Dative -> dem Helden -> den Helden Genitive -> des Helden -> der Helden Der Fels -> (rock) Nominative -> der Fels -> die Felsen Accusative -> der Felsen -> die Felsen Dative -> dem Felsen -> den Felsen Genitive -> des Felsens -> der Felsen Common German Masculine Nouns English German amber der Bernstein atheist der Atheist boar der Eber boy der Junge bull der Stier carbonate der Kohlenstoff cellar der Keller diamond der Diamant emerald der Smaragd farmer der Bauer father der Vater grandad der Opa hydrogen der Wasserstoff man der Mann optimist der Optimist oxygen der Sauerstoff pianist der Pianist plate der Teller policeman der Polizist rosy quartz der Rosenquarz ruby der Rubin stallion der Hengst TV der Fernseher

Uncle

der Onkel

Feminine Nouns Female persons and animals die Mutter -> mother die Schwester -> sister die Frau -> woman die Gans -> goose die Kuh -> cow Nouns ending in -ei, -ung, -schaft, -tät, , –heit, keit, -nis die Malerei -> painting die Bücherei -> library die Bedeutung -> meaning die Ehrung -> ceremony die Wirtschaft -> economy die Wissenschaft -> science die Elektrizität -> electricity die Universität -> university die Schönheit -> beauty die Dummheit -> stupidity die Eitelkeit -> vanity die Schwierigkeit -> difficulty die Erkenntnis -> knowledge Exception: der Papagei (parrot) Nouns which have foreign origin ending in –ie, -ion, -enz, -anz, -ik, or –ur die Magie -> magic

die Biologie -> biology die Funktion -> function die Situation -> situation die Frequenz -> frequency die Diskrepanz -> discrepancy die Toleranz -> tolerance die Musik -> music die Ethik -> ethic die Kultur -> culture die Prozedur -> procedure Most nouns that end in –e die Karte -> card die Straße -> road die Blume -> flower Exceptions: der Name (name), der Käse (cheese) , das Auge (eye), der Kunde (customer), das Ende (end), der Affe (monkey), other animals names with –e ending, der Biologe (biologist) and other male designations. Most German rivers die Mosel die Weser die Donau die Oder die Elbe Exceptions: der Main, der Rhein Cardinal numbers

die Dreizehn die Million die Eins Exception: das Hundert, das Tausend Common German Feminine Nouns English childhood construction figure five flower friendship magic palm tree quality strawberry tribute

German die Kindheit die Montage die Figur die Fünf die Blume die Freundschaft die Magie die Palme die Qualität die Erdbeere die Ehrung

Neuter Nouns Human and animal babies das Kind -> child das Baby -> baby das Kalb -> calf das Lamm -> lamb Nouns formed from verb infinitives das Essen -> food das Einkaufen -> shopping das Schlafen -> sleep das Schwimmen -> swimming das Leben -> life Diminutives with –chen and –lein endings as well as their dialect forms (-erl, -el, -le- li) das Kindlein -> child das Männlein -> male das Mädchen -> girl Alphabet letters das A -> A das Ypsilon -> Y Many collective nouns that start with Ge

das Gebüsch -> bushes das Gepäck -> luggage das Geschirr -> dishes das Geflügel -> poultry das Gebirge -> mountains Nouns of foreign origin ending in –um, -ment, or -tum das Datum -> date das Museum -> museum das Instrument -> instrument das Experiment -> experiment das Heldentum -> heroism Most metal das Silber -> silver das Gold -> gold das Nickel -> nickel das Kupfer -> copper das Kadmium -> cadmium Exception: der Stahl -> steel Names of countries, continents, cities, islands, and places when no article is used or when an article is used along with an adjective Österreich -> Austria Europa -> Europe unser liebes Deutschland -> our beloved Germany Exception: die Türkei, die Schweiz , die USA, die Tschechoslowakei

Nouns with More than One Gender A few German nouns have two genders and they can be grouped into two broad categories: Nouns which have similar spellings but unrelated meanings. das der salary contents Gehalt Gehalt das Golf golf der Golf gulf das der knife gauge Messer Messer das element, der moment Moment factor Moment das der sign shield Schild Schild das steeringdie tax Steuer wheel Steuer das Tor gate der Tor fool das der merit earnings Verdienst Verdienst die der heath, moor pagan Heide Heide die der pine tree jaw Kiefer Kiefer die der information customer Kunde Kunde die der ladder leader Leiter Leiter die See sea, ocean der See lake die way, der wise Weise manner Weise man Nouns with varying gender Some nouns can have multiple genders and vary in accordance with regional or individual preferences:

der/das Bonbon der/das Joghurt der/das Keks der/das Liter der/das Poster der/das Salbei der/das Schrot der/das Sims der/das Virus der/die Sellerie

candy yogurt cookie liter poster sage whole wheat sill, ledge virus celery

Gender of Compound Nouns A compound noun is a combination of two or more words into a single word. While the last element should be a noun, the other components of a compound noun can be an adjective, verb stem, adverb, or a preposition. The gender and plural form of a compound noun is determined by the last word in the combination. There are many compound nouns in the German language. das Haus + slipper der Schuh schnell + der Schnellzug fast train der Zug der Abend night die Abendschule + die school Schule ab + die die Abfahrt departure Fahrt der Arm + die Armbanduhr das Band + watch die Uhr frei + die die Freizeit free time Zeit das Haupt + die Hauptstadt capital city die Stadt höchst + die highest die Höchsttemperatur temperature Temperatur das Jahr + die Jahreszeit es- + die season Zeit geh(en) + der Gehweg walkway der Weg zwischen + die Zwischenzeit meantime die Zeit der Hausschuh

Some words require –n, -s, -es, or –en to join the elements of a compound noun. Example: der Krankenwagen -> krank + -en- + der Wagen -> ambulance das Straßenschild -> die Straße + -n- + das Schil -> streetsign

Chapter 6: Forming the Plural There are a several ways to form the plural in German. Nouns can take any of the endings -n, -(n)en, e, -r, -er, -s, or take no ending at all. All plural forms take the article “die”. While there are many exceptions, you can use the following guidelines to determine the plural form of a noun.

-n Almost all nouns ending in –e form their plural by adding n. Feminine nouns that end in –er or –el take the plural suffix –n but never add an umlaut. A small number of neuter nouns with –e ending likewise add –n to form the plural. aunt -> die Tante -> die Tanten country -> die Nation -> die Nationen niece -> die Nichte -> die Nichten name -> der Name -> die Namen nephew -> der Neffe -> die Neffen feather -> die Feder -> die Federn German -> der Deutsche -> die Deutschen student -> der Student -> die Studenten flower -> die Blume -> die Blumen box -> die Schachtel -> die Schachteln issue -> die Frage -> die Fragen eyes -> das Auge -> die Augen

-(n)en Feminine nouns with “–ei”, “-schaft”, “-ung”, “-heit”, or “–keit” ending take on the plural suffix “–en)

while feminine nouns with –in ending add –nen to form the plural. Bakery -> die Bäckerei -> die Bäckereien person -> die Person -> die Personen disease -> die Krankheit -> die Krankheiten granddaughter -> die Enkelin -> die Enkelinnen girlfriend -> die Freundin -> die Freundinnen similarity -> die Ähnlichkeit -> die Ähnlichkeiten passion -> die Leidenschaft -> die Leidenschaften research -> die Forschung -> die Forschungen teacher -> die Lehrerin -> die Lehrerinnen pocket -> die Tasche -> die Taschen

-e or –e + an umlaut in the stem A large number of masculine nouns and neuter nouns and several feminine nouns take the plural ending -e or -¨e. Feminine words with an –e ending in the plural form always get the umlaut while neuter nouns with an –e ending in the plural rarely get the umlaut. Masculine nouns frequently get the umlaut though not all the time. hairdresser -> der Friseur -> die Friseure conversation -> das Gespräch -> die Gespräche stream -> der Fluss -> die Flüsse hand -> die Hand -> die Hände day -> der Tag -> die Tage horse -> das Pferd -> die Pferde force -> die Kraft ->die Kräfte mouse -> die Maus -> die Mäuse cook -> der Koch -> die Köche document -> das Dokument -> die Dokumente

table -> der Tisch -> der Tische

-er or -¨er Several neuter nouns take the plural suffix –er with or without an umlaut in the stem: bath -> das Bad -> die Bäder light -> das Licht -> die Lichter property -> das Eigentum -> die Eigentümer mouth -> der Mund -> die Münder image-> das Bild -> die Bilder forest -> der Wald -> die Wälder village -> das Dorf -> die Dörfer child -> das Kind -> die Kinder face -> Gesicht -> die Gesichter house -> das Haus -> die Häuser

-s The –s plural ending is appended to people’s names, abbreviations functioning as nouns, nouns with unstressed vowel ending, and nouns of English, Dutch, and French origin. Plural forms with –s suffix never take an umlaut. cousin -> der Cousin -> die Cousins car -> das Auto -> die Autos radio -> das Radio -> die Radios camera -> die Kamera -> die Kameras the Schmidt -> der Schmidt -> die Schmidts

DVD -> die DVD -> die DVDs park -> der Park -> die Parks

No change in form or the use of an umlaut in the plural form Almost all neuter and masculine nouns with –en, -er, -el, -lein, and –chen ending as well as collective neuter nouns that begins with “Ge-” either have plural forms that are identical to their singular form or take an umlaut to express the plural. window -> das Fenster -> die Fenster uncle -> der Onkel -> die Onkel medium -> das Mittel -> die Mittel floor -> der Boden -> die Böden belt -> der Gürtel -> die Gürtel Spaniard -> der Spanier -> die Spanier teacher -> der Lehrer -> die Lehrer mountain -> das Gebirge ->die Gebirge apples -> der Apfel -> die Äpfel classroom -> das Klassenzimmer -> die Klassenzimmer cousin -> der Vetter -> die Vetter truck -> der Lkw -> die Lkws

Chapter 7: Alternative Plural Forms for Foreign-Derived Words Most nouns with –um ending form their plural by changing the ending to –en. Words that end in –us, os, -a, or –is sometimes take the –en ending when forming their plural. Specialized terms in the fields of medicine, music, linguistics, and law which are of Greek, Italian, and Latin origin retain their foreign plural form. datum -> das Datum -> die Daten genus -> der Genus -> die Genera daughter -> die Tochter -> die Töchter study -> das Studium -> die Studien practice -> die Praxis -> die Praxen brother -> der Bruder -> die Brüder rhythm -> der Rhythmus -> die Rhythmen mother -> die Mutter -> die Mütter museum -> das Museum -> die Museen encyclopedia -> das Lexikon ->die Lexika villa -> die Villa -> die Villen number -> der Numerus -> die Numeri epic -> das Epos -> die Epen mode -> der Modus -> die Modi tense -> das Tempus -> die Tempora

Adjectival Nouns Some German nouns that refer to persons are derived from adjectives or participles functioning as adjectives. Adjective nouns are capitalized like other nouns and take similar endings as regular adjectives. Here are some of the feminine and masculine adjectival nouns: Adjectival Meaning Noun Der/die Blind Blind Blind Blinde person der/die prisoner captive gefangen Gefangene der/die dead person dead tot Tote der/die scholar educated gelehrt Gelehrte der/die employee employed angestellt Angestellte der/die fiancé(e) engaged verlobt Verlobte der/die foreigner foreign fremd Fremde der/die German German deutsch Deutsche person der/die adult grown erwachsen Erwachsene der/die injured hurt verletzt Verletzte person der/die acquaintance known bekannt Bekannte der/die lover loved geliebt Geliebte old alt der/die Alte old person placed in der/die superior, vorgesetzt front of Vorgesetzte supervisor der/die poor person poor arm Arme der/die English

German

related

verwandt

relative

Verwandte

der/die Kranke der/die traveling reisend Reisende der/die youthful jugendlich Jugendliche sick

krank

sick person traveler adolescent

Neuter nouns may also be formed from adjectives and they refer to concepts and ideas. Here are some of neuter adjectival nouns:







English

Adjective

best whole good

bestganz gut

possible

möglich

new

neu

right

richtig

beautiful

schön

expensive

teuer

important

wichtig







Adjectival Noun das Beste das Ganze das Gute das Mögliche das Neue das Richtige das Schöne



Meaning the best the whole the good the possible the new the right

the beautiful the das Teure expensive das the Wichtige important



Infinitive Nouns Any verb in its infinitive form can be used as a noun by capitalizing its initial letter. Infinitive nouns correspond to the English gerund (-ing) and are always neuter. A definite articles often accompanies German infinitive nouns. Meaning

Verb

to drink

trinken

Infinitive Noun das Trinken

to go

gehen

das Gehen

to laugh

lachen

Meaning drinking going, walking laughing

das Lachen das einkaufen to shop shopping Einkaufen das to swim schwimmen swimming Schwimmen das to whine jammern whining Jammern to flüstern das Flüstern whispering whisper

Chapter 8: German Cases A noun’s case refers to its function in a sentence. A noun may act as a subject, direct object, object of a preposition, indirect object, or object of a dative verb among other roles. A noun’s case is usually indicated by the article preceding it. There are four noun cases in German and each case signifies specific functions: the nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive cases. In previous lessons, you have learned the definite articles used for each gender: der (for masculine nouns), die (for feminine nouns), and das (for neuter nouns). These nouns are in the nominative case, the most common case in the German language. When used in another case, the definite article may undergo declension but will continue to mean “the”. Articles The Definite Article The definite article is used when talking about a specific subject or something that is already known. Gender masculine (singular) feminine (singular) neuter (singular) plural

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

der

den

des

dem

die

die

der

der

das

das

des

dem

die

die

der

den

The Indefinite Articles Indefinite articles can also be placed before a noun to indicate its case. The indefinite article “ein” and its variations mean “a” or “an” which means that they can’t be used before plural nouns.

Gender masculine (singular) feminine (singular) neuter (singular)

Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

ein

einen

eines

einem

eine

eine

einer

einer

ein

ein

eines

einem

The indefinite article “kein” Unlike the indefinite article “ein”, the article “kein” which means “no” or “not a”, can be combined with plurals. Gender masculine (singular) feminine (singular) neuter (singular) Plural



Nominative

Accusative

Genitive

Dative

kein

keinen

keines

keinem

keine

keine

keiner

keiner

kein

kein

keines

keinem

keine

keine

keiner

keinen

Nominative Case A noun is in the nominative case if it is used as a subject or a predicate noun in a sentence. As a subject The subject of the sentence carries out the action or the meaning of the verb. It tells who or what is performing the action or condition indicated by the verb. Ihr Mann lehrt Schwimmen. Her husband teaches swimming. Ihre Hunde sind groß und wild. Her dogs are big and ferocious. Mein Großvater ist ein guter Künstler. My grandfather is a good artist. As a predicate noun A predicate noun, otherwise known as predicate nominative, reiterates the subject and occurs with the verbs sein, werden, heißen, and sometimes, with bleiben. Meine Schwester heißt Arianna. My sister ’s name is Arianna. Marlene und Gretchen sind Freunde. Marlene and Gretchen are friends. Ich bin Arzt geworden. I became a doctor.

The Accusative Case A noun in the accusative case performs four functions in a sentence. As a direct object A direct object is a noun which receives the action done by the subject or shows the effect of the action. Er spielt Violine. He plays the violin. Der Arzt überprüft den Puls. The doctor checked the pulse. Meine Mutter besitzt eine Farm. My mother owns a farm. Die Schlange beißt den Jungen. The snake bites the boy. As 0bject of accusative prepositions Several German prepositions always require noun objects in the accusative case: pro -> per für -> for bis -> until um -> around, at durch -> through wider -> against ohne -> without gegen -> against Mein Freund arbeitet hart für das Geld. My friend works hard for the money. Er kann nicht Lesen ohne Brille. He can’t read without eyeglasses. Er ist zu Fuß entlang der Küste. He is walking along the shore.

As object of two-way prepositions Two-way prepositions can be used in either dative or accusative case. When used in the accusative case, two-way prepositions either indicate a shift or movement in location or destination or are required in idiomatic expressions. Following are two-way prepositions: across, about in front of in, into behind to, toward beside to, onto, toward under between

über vor in hinter an neben auf unter zwischen

Sie wirft ihren Beutel auf den Tisch. She throws her bag onto the table. Die Studenten gehen in den Zoo. The students are going to the zoo. Expressions of specific time Expressions of definite time take the accusative case if they don’t follow prepositions: Er fährt dieses Wochenende weg. He is leaving this weekend. Sie gehen jeden Monat einkaufen. They go shopping every month.

The Dative Case Nouns in the dative case perform one of four functions. As an Indirect Object An indirect object tells to or for whom the subject’s action is being done. It is the receiver of the direct object. Lola ist kauft ihrer Mutter ein Geschenk. Lola is buying her mother a gift. Sie schreibt ihrem Chef einen langen Brief. She writes her boss a long letter. Er gab seinem Sohn ein teures Auto. He gave his son an expensive car. As the object of dative construction or dative verb A dative object is required by several adjectives, verbs, and idiomatic expressions. Here are verbs that require a dative object: to answer to encounter to thank to serve to threaten to occur to to be missing to follow to be pleasing to to belong to to succeed to believe to congratulate to help

antworten begegnen danken dienen drohen geschehen fehlen folgen gefallen gehören gelingen glauben gratulieren helfen

to impress to be sorry to be useful to to suit to happen to to be enough to damage to taste to be difficult for to trust to forgive to hurt to contradict to listen to

imponieren Leid tun nutzen passen passieren reichen schaden schmecken schwer•fallen vertrauen verzeihen weh•tun widersprechen zu•hören

Die Teilnehmer folgten dem Lehrer. The students followed the teacher. Können Sie helfen Erik mit seinen Hausaufgaben helfen? Can you help Erick with his homework? Seine Eltern glaubten die Geschichte. His parents believed the story. Besides dative verbs, several idiomatic expressions and adjectives are usually paired with dative objects. Following are examples: similar pleasant understandable helpful known

ähnlich angenehm begreiflich behilflich bekannt

comfortable thankful foreign same easy useful embarrassing damaging expensive related welcome

bequem dankbar fremd gleich leicht nützlich peinlich schädlich teuer verwandt willkommen

Ihre Tasche ist ähnlich zu meiner Tasche. Her bag is similar to my bag. As an Object of Dative Prepositions An object of a dative preposition should take the dative case. Here are German prepositions which require noun objects to be in the dative case: out of, from except for at, with in relation to, opposite by means of, with to, after, according to since, for (+ time period) from, by To

aus außer bei gegenüber mit nach seit von zu

Sie reisen mit dem Flugzeug.

They are travelling by plane. Sie studiert mit Ihren Freunden. She is studying with her friends. Sie verlassen nach Plan. They are leaving according to plan. As object of Two-Way Prepositions Two-way prepositions used in the dative case either signify location or are used in idiomatic phrases that require the dative case. Here are the two-way prepositions once again and their usage in the dative case: across, about in front of in, into behind to, toward beside to, onto, toward under between

über vor in hinter an neben auf unter zwischen

Sie sitzt neben ihrer Mutter. She is sitting beside her mother. Er steht vor der Bank. He is standing in front of the bank.

The Genitive Case The genitive case is used to indicate possessions or relationships. It is also used after certain verbs, prepositions, and adjectives. To signify possessions or relationships The genitive case expresses possession which is the equivalent of using apostrophe and s (‘s) or “of” in English. Die Farbe meiner Haare ist braun. The color of my hair is brown. Das ist das Haus meines Bruders. That is my brother ’s house. The genitive construction is generally placed after the noun it modifies except when a proper name is used to express possession. In such cases, an “s” is simply added to the proper name. Names that already end in “s” take an apostrophe at the end. Carl's Auto ist in Reparatur. Carl’s car is under repair. Hans' Cousin kommt für einen Urlaub. Hans’ cousin comes for a vacation. The genitive is more prevalent in written, standard German language. In spoken and colloquial language, genitives that denote relationships and possessions are usually replaced by “von + the dative case”. Die Farbe von meinen Haaren ist braun.

The color of my hair is brown. Das ist das Haus von meinem Bruder. That is the house of my brother. As an Object of Genitive Prepositions An object of a genitive preposition must take the genitive in standard German language. Here are a few common genitive prepositions: instead of on the occasion of in place of on the basis of outside of with regard to within on the other side of by virtue of according to on the part of despite, in spite of during because of

(an)statt anlässlich anstelle aufgrund außerhalb bezüglich innerhalb jenseits kraft laut seitens trotz während wegen

Er besucht regelmässig den Unterricht trotz der Schmerzen. He attends classes regularly despite the pain. Er plant den Umzug in eine andere Stadt innerhalb des Jahres. He is planning to move to another city within the year.

As an Object of Genitive Verbs or Genitive Constructions Some German verbs, idiomatic phrases, and adjectives need a genitive object. Here are the genitive verbs: to see to to make use of to be in need of to take control of to refrain from to think of to boast of to make certain of

sich annehmen sich bedienen bedürfen sich bemächtigen sich enthalten gedenken sich rühmen sich vergewissern

Seine Großmutter bedürft einer Krankenschwester. His grandmother is in need of a nurse. Besides the genitive verbs, a few idioms and adjectives also require genitive objects: in need conscious certain guilty certain suspicious

bedürftig bewusst gewiß schuldig sicher verdächtig

worth worthy

wert würdig

Er ist des Opfers würdig. He is worthy of the sacrifice. Der Mensch ist schuldig des Verbrechens. The man is guilty of the crime. In Expressions of Non-Specific Time Indefinite time expressions which do not involve a preposition or are not adverbs take the genitive case. Eines Tages werde ich eine großartige Sängerin sein. Someday I will be a great singer. Ein Wochenende war sie auf einer Party. One weekend she was at a party.

Chapter 9: Pronouns German pronouns take the place of a noun or a noun phrase. Their use is governed by rules on gender, number, and cases. Pronouns may be categorized into personal, possessive, reflexive, indefinite, relative, demonstrative, and interrogative.

Personal and Possessive Pronouns German pronouns and their English counterparts have different forms depending on the gender, number, and case. There are a few features, however, which differentiate German from English pronouns: 1. The English language uses the pronoun “you” to signify the second person whether plural or singular. On the other hand, German makes use of “du” to denote the second person singular form and “ihr” to express the second person plural form. 2. German uses the pronoun “Sie” to express both the singular and plural formal form of the English pronoun “you”. The formal form shares the same conjugation as the third person plural and begins with a capital letter. Personal pronouns are commonly used in the nominative case. Here is a table of personal pronouns in the four cases:















Singular 1st Person German

2nd Person

English

German

English

NOM

ich

I

du

you

ACC

mich

me

dich

you

DAT

mir

me

dir

you

GEN

meiner

my/mine

deiner

yours

3rd Person German

English

er / sie / es ihn / sie / es

he / she / it him / her / it

ihm / ihr / ihm seiner / ihrer / seiner

him / her /it his / her(s) / its

Plural





1st Person

Formal

2nd Person



3rd Person



2nd Person



German

English

German

English

German

English

German

NOM

wir

we

ihr

you

sie

they

Sie

ACC

uns

us

euch

you

sie

them

Sie

DAT

uns

us

euch

you

ihnen

them

Ihnen

GEN

unser

our(s)

euer

your(s)

ihrer

their(s)

Ihrer

Reflexive Pronouns Reflexive pronouns are more widely used in German than in the English language because a great number of reflexive verbs require them as direct or indirect objects. By nature, reflexive pronouns only take either the dative or accusative case.

Singular



Plural





Formal

3rd

1st

2nd

3rd

2nd

ourselves

yourselves

themselves

yourself

uns

euch

sich

sich

sich

uns

euch

sich

sich













1st

2nd

English

myself

yourself

ACC

mich

dich

him/her/ itself sich

DAT

mir

dir







Reflexive pronouns take on similar forms in the accusative and dative case except in the first person and second person singular. They are more common in accusative case constructions. Ich lasse mich massieren am Wochenende. I get myself massage on weekends. Sie wäscht sich vor dem Schlafen. She washes herself before sleeping.

Interrogative Pronouns Interrogative pronouns are question words which are at times called “W-Wörter” because they all start with “W”. A majority of interrogative pronouns can be translated directly to English: Wie? -> How? Wann? -> When? Warum? -> Why? Was? -> What? The question words “where” and “who” differ from their English equivalents. “Where”can take any of the following forms: Wohin? -> Where to? Woher? -> Where from? Wo? -> Where at? The interrogative pronoun “who” is even more complicated as it changes form in all cases. Following is the set of endings for “who” Case English German Nominative Who? Wer? to Dative Wem? whom? Accusative Whom? Wen? Genitive Whose? Wessen? The word “wo” may likewise be added at the start of some prepositions to construct a question word. An”r” is inserted between “wo” and the preposition to facilitate smooth pronunciation.

Worauf warten Sie noch? -> What are you waiting for? Wofür ist das? -> What is this for? Wofür sind diese Materialien? -> For what are these materials? Like their English equivalents, German interrogative pronouns may also function as relative pronouns. They are, however, not declined.

Chapter 10: Adjectives Adjectives describe or modify nouns or pronouns. Like their English counterparts, German adjectives usually precede the word they modify. Unlike English pronouns, however, German adjectives change their endings to agree with the number, gender, and case of the nouns they describe. In addition, their declension is influenced by the type of determiners that are placed before them. When used after the words they modify, adjectives are called predicative adjectives and are not declined. Examples: Der Athlet ist groß und stark. The athlete is big and strong. Ich habe den großen und starken Athleten getroffen. I met the big and strong athlete. Der Student ist schön und intelligent. That student is beautiful and intelligent. Der schöne und intelligente Student gewann den Wettbewerb. The beautiful an intelligent student won the contest. Die Studenten sind schön und intelligent. The students are beautiful and intelligent. Diese schönen und intelligenten Studenten gewannen den Wettbewerb. Those beautiful and smart students won the contest.

You will notice that when placed before a noun, adjectives undergo declension or changes in their endings. When declining adjectives, you must take four factors into consideration: the gender, number, case, and type of declension required. Declension can be “strong”, “weak”, or “mixed”.

Chapter 11: Declension of adjectives

Strong Declension Strong adjective inflection is required if the preceding determiners do not have endings that clearly indicate the number, gender, and case of the word being modified. Strong declension is used in any of the following cases: 1. no article is used

2. when the adjective follows a pronoun except “dir”, “mir”, and “ihm”

3. the adjective follows number adjectives without endings

4. the adjective follows “mehr”(more) or “etwas” (some, somewhat)

5. the adjective is used after “viele” (many, much), “wenige”(few), “alle” (all), “etliche” (some), folgende” (the following), “ein Paar” (a few), and “mehrere” (many, several)

Strong Declension Table for Adjectives Masculine, singular Feminine, singular Neuter, singular Plural

Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

-er

-en

-em

-en

-e

-e

-er

-er

-es

-es

-em

-en

-e

-e

-en

-er

Starker Kaffee ist belebend. Strong coffee is invigorating. Es gibt ein paar beliebte Freiwillige aus ihrer Gruppe. There are a few popular volunteers from their group.

Weak Declension Weak declension is used if the accompanying determiners have endings that clearly indicate the gender, number, and case of the noun being modified. Adjectives that require weak declension can only take one of two possible endings: “e” or “en”. Weak declension is used in the following circumstances: 1. when the adjective follows the definite article 2. when it is used after “derjenic-” (the one) and “derselb-” (the same) 3. if it follows “dies-” (this), “jeglich-” (any), “jen-” (that), and “jed-”(every) which are inflected like the definite article 4. when the adjective follows “dir”, “mir”, and “ihm” 5. if it is used after “welch-” (which), “solch-” (such), and “manch-” (some) which are inflected like the definite article 6. if it follows “alt”(old), “arm” (meager), and “all” (all) Weak declension table for adjectives Masculine, singular Feminine, singular Neuter, singular Plural

Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

-e

-en

-en

-en

-e

-e

-en

-en

-e

-e

-en

-en

-en

-en

-en

-en

Die mutige Frau jagte die Räuber. The courageous woman chased the robber.

Alle neuen Mitglieder sind begeistert. All new members are excited.

Mixed Declension The mixed declension is used when the adjective follows the possessive determiners and the indefinite articles “kein-”, “ein-”. Declension Table for Mixed Adjectives Masculine, singular Feminine, singular Neuter, singular Plural



Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

-er

-en

-en

-en

-e

-e

-en

-en

-es

-es

-en

-en

-en

-en

-en

-en

Chapter 12: Adjectives Which are Not Declined A few adjectives take no changes in their endings: 1. “ein paar”, a plural limiting phrase which means “a few” 2. singular limiting adjectives: “etwas” (something), “wenig” (little), “viel” (much), and “genug” (enough) Most Common German Adjecives English Adventurous dependant agressive clueless, innocent active alone old-fashioned flexible, adaptable decent, moral annoying poor arrogant attractive annoying, harsh, caustic enlightened, well-informed upset, excited open-minded upright, sincere, proper crazy talented, gifted excited,

German abenteuerlich abhängig aggressive ahnungslos aktiv allein altmodisch anpassungsfähig anständig ärgerlich arm arrogant attraktiv ätzend aufgeklärt aufgeregt aufgeschlossen aufrichtig ausgeflippt begabt

enthusiastic, psyched well-known / famous popular comfortable, relaxed modest, humble demented, crazy spellbinding, fascinating inexpensive ignorant, stupid mean well-behaved, good charming cool thankful, grateful fat, thick dumb thin self-centered ambitious honest jealous simple, plain, simply conceited, arrogant unique, rare lonely agreed, of the same mind very mean, detestable gross, disgusting elegant, classy touchy, sensitive

begeistert Bekannt/ berühmt beliebt / populär bequem bescheiden bescheuert bezaubernd billig blöd boshaft brav charmant cool dankbar dick dumm/doof dünn egozentrisch ehrgeizig ehrlich eifersüchtig einfach eingebildet einmalig einsam einverstanden ekelhaft eklig elegant empfindlich

committed, dedicated narrow-minded successful serious first-class wrong fantastic fascinating lazy cowardly fine, refined solid, strong, unchanging fatty fit, feeling good hard-working, industrious advanced saucy, smartalecky free kind, friendly happy happy, merry caring generous educated patient dangerous sensitive, with feeling witty, brilliant stingy, cheap rude, low, ignorant pleasant brilliant, genius just, right

engagiert engstirnig erfolgreich ernst erstklassig falsch fantastisch faszinierend faul feige fein fest fett fit fleißig fortgeschritten frech frei freundlich froh fröhlich fürsorglich gastfreundlich gebildet geduldig gefährlich gefühlvoll geistreich geizig gemein gemütlich genial gerecht

valued, dear clever, skillful

geschätzt gescheit

skillful closed, reserved talkative social, friendly healthy greedy credible, believable happy, lucky coarse, rude big, large, tall generous crabby good well-dressed in a good mood well informed half stubborn hard hard-headed, stubborn ugly hot, great cheerful bright uninhibited wonderful, magnificent heartless helpful deceitful, tricky high haughty, proud snooty, stuck up polite handsome,

geschickt geschlossen geschwätzig gesellig gesund gierig glaubwürdig glücklich grob groß grosszügig mürrisch gut gut angezogen gut gelaunt gut informiert halb stur hart hartnäckig hässlich heiß heiter hell hemmungslos herrlich herzlos hilfreich hinterlistig hoch hochmütig hochnäsig höflich

pretty

hübsch

hungry idealistic

hungrig idealistisch

smart interesting intolerant young cold, unfriendly childish childlike great, super small, little, short petty, nit-picky clever, smart strange, funny complicated consistent conservative outgoing strong sick creative critical crooked moody, unstable long slow boring lazy, sluggish moody, changing loud living, alive easy, light airheaded, shallow passionate, serious

intelligent interessant intolerant jung kalt kindisch kindlich klasse klein kleinlich klug komisch kompliziert konsequent konservativ kontaktfreudig kräftig krank kreativ kritisch krumm labil lang langsam langweilig lässig launisch laut lebendig leicht leichtsinnig leidenschaftlich

quiet, soft liberal

leise liberal

dear, nice

lieb

lovable liebenswürdig funny lustig melancholy, melancholisch pensive unusual, strange merkwürdig miserable miserabel mistrustful misstrauisch modern modern fashionable, modisch stylish plump, chubby mollig moral moralisch alert, upbeat munter musical musikalisch courageous mutig careless, nachlässig negligent near nah wet nass envious neidisch nervous nervös nice nett new neu curious neugierig depressed niedergeschlagen cute niedlich low niedrig normal normal superficial, oberflächlich shallow open offen optimistic optimistisch orderly ordentlich biased parteiisch passive passiv

embarrassing pessimistic practical punctual, on time radical, revolutionary refined, elegant rough rebellious just always must be right honest, has integrity rich mature religious correct, proper gigantic romantic inconsiderate considerate calm clean angry, sour chic, stylish messy, dirty clever, tricky bad dirty, not clean fast, quick beautiful, pretty, nice shy weak, poor difficult, heavy

peinlich pessimistisch praktisch pünktlich radikal raffiniert rauh rebellisch recht rechthaberisch redlich reich reif religiös richtig riesig romantisch rücksichtslos rücksichtsvoll ruhig sauber sauer schick schlampig schlau schlecht/ schlimm schmutzig schnell schön schüchtern schwach schwer / schwierig

heavy, awkward depressed, melancholic unselfish self-confident egotistical

schwerfällig schwermütig selbstlos selbstsicher selbstsüchtig

strange, wierd seltsam sensitive sensibel safe, secure, sicher certainly carefree, sorgenlos, untroubled sorgenfrei careful sorgfältig late spät spontaneous spontan athletic sportlich mocking, spöttisch making fun of strong, cool stark proud (of) stolz (auf) loves to argue streitsüchtig sweet, nice süß likable, friendly sympathisch tactless, harsh taktlos tactful, skillful taktvoll lively, vivacious temperamentvoll expensive, dear, teuer valuable dead tot sad traurig loyal, faithful treu typical(ly) typisch crazy, too übergeschnappt tightly wound environmentally umweltbewusst conscious independent unabhängig clumsy unbeholfen untroubled,

worry-free

unbekümmert

unpredictable, incalculable

unberechenbar

inflexible unbeugsam inexperienced unerfahren disobedient ungehorsam clumsy, ungeschickt unskilled impolite, rude unhöflich inevitable, unwiderstehlich irresistable responsible verantwortlich mean, spiteful, verbissen uptight annoyed, glum, verdrießlich depressing dependable verlässlich embarassed verlegen sensible, vernünftig reasonable crazy verrückt trustworthy vertrauenswürdig confused verwirrt spoiled brat verwöhnt desperate verzweifelt careful vorsichtig insane, crazy wahnsinnig warm, friendly warm warm hearted warmherzig important wichtig disgusting widerlich wild wild tiny winzig funny, smartwitzig alecky wonderful, wunderbar great beautiful, wunderschön fabulous

confused coincidental, accidental satisfied, content together reliable

zerstreut zufällig zufrieden zusammen zuverlässig

Chapter 13: Verbs A German verb expresses a state of being or action. Its grammatical forms include person, number, mood, and tense. German verbs are grouped into four categories: 1. Auxiliary 2. Modal 3. Regular Verbs 4. Irregular Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs: Auxiliary verbs, also called helping verbs, are used with main verbs to construct compound tenses. There are three auxiliary verbs in German: to be -> sein to have -> haben will/would -> werden Examples: Ich helfe einem neuen Freund seinen Weg in die Stadt zu finden. I am helping a new friend find his way in the city. Er wird später einen Film ansehen. He will watch a movie later. Ich habe ihr neues Auto gesehen. I have seen her new car.

Modal Verbs Modal verbs modify the main verb by indicating their modality or the perception of obligation, ability, possibility, permission, and desire. There are six modal verbs in German: können -> can (to be able to) dürfen -> may (to be allowed to) mögen -> to like (to) sollen -> should wollen -> to want to müssen -> must Können Sie meinem Freund helfen? Can you help my friend? Sie muss die Sprache schnell lernen. You must learn the language fast.

German Infinitives The German verb infinitive form is the equivalent of the English construction “to+simple verb”. Most infinitives end in –en although there are few that end in –eln and –ern (sammeln, handeln) and two that end in –n (tun and sein). The present infinitive is the basic form of infinitive but there are three other classifications of German infinitive. Here are the four types of infinitives: Present Infinitive to read -> lesen to write -> schreiben to eat -> essen Perfect Infinitive to have read -> gelesen haben to have written -> geschrieben haben to have eaten -> gegessen haben Passive Infinitive to be eaten -> gegessen werden to be read -> gelesen werden to be written -> geschrieben werden

Perfect Passive Infinitive to have eaten -> gegessen worden sein to have read -> gelesen worden sein to have been written -> geschrieben worden sein The infinitive form is commonly used with conjugated modal verbs, a few verbs of perception (sehen, hören, spüren) and a handful of other verbs (blieben, lassen, helfen, gehen, lehren). The infinitive is placed at the last position in an independent clause or sentence if it is accompanied by a finite verb. Ich hörte sie kommen. I heard her coming. Er kann es sich nich leisten zu reisen. He cannot afford to travel,

Chapter 14: Regular Verbs (Regelmäßige Verben) Regular verbs, otherwise known as weak verbs, follow a predictable pattern when forming verb tenses. The verb stem of a weak verb remains unchanged when conjugating. To form tenses, you will use the present infinitive stem of the verb and add the indicated endings for each tense. For instance, the verb stem of sagen and warten are sag and wart, respectively. Most Commonly-Used Regular Verbs to answer, respond to work to build, construct to build to mean to train, form to thank to develop to remember to explain to reach to tell, narrate to lack to follow to ask to feel to lead to belong to believe to trade, deal to interest to buy to buy to take care to live to put

antworten arbeiten bauen bauen bedeuten bilden danken entwickeln erinnern erklären erreichen erzählen fehlen folgen fragen fühlen führen gehören glauben handeln interessieren kaufen kaufen kümmern leben legen

to learn to make to paint to believe, to assume to use to talk to rain to say to like, to taste (food) to play to study to look for to dance to dream to sell to try to wait to live to show

lernen machen malen meinen nutzen reden regnen sagen schmecken spielen studieren suchen tanzen träumen verkaufen versuchen warten wohnen zeigen

Irregular Verbs Irregular verbs, also known as strong verbs, go through stem changes to express verb tenses. There are around 173 German irregular verbs. The stem changes among irregular verbs are far from predictable and should be studied and memorized by German language learners. In addition, not all irregular verbs change their stem in every tense. Hence, each irregular verb should be learned individually. All irregular verbs, however, change their stem to express the simple past. Likewise, all Geramn irregular verbs use “-en”to form the past participle. Here is a comprehensive list of irregular verbs: To ___

Infinitive

Present

Participle for

Imperfect Tense



Form

Tense

Present & Perfect

bake

backen

backt

gebacken

backte

command, order

befehlen

befiehlt

befohlen

befahl

Begin

beginnen

beginnt

begonnen

begann

Bite

beißen

beißt

gebissen

biss

deceive

betrügen

betrügt

betrogen

betrog

move

bewegen

bewegt

bewogen

bewog

bend, turn

biegen

biegt

gebogen

bog

bid, offer

bieten

bietet

geboten

bot

tie

binden

bindet

gebunden

band

request

bitten

bittet

gebeten

bat

sound, blow

blasen

bläst

geblasen

blies

stay, remain

bleiben

bleibt

geblieben

blieb

roast

braten

brät

gebraten

briet

break

brechen

bricht

gebrochen

brach

burn

brennen

brennt

gebrannt

brannte

bring

bringen

bringt

gebracht

brachte

think

denken

denkt

gedacht

dachte

be allowed to

dürfen

darf

gedurft

durfte

recommend

empfehlen

empfiehlt

empfohlen

empfahl

be frightened

erschrecken

erschrickt

erschrocken

erschrak

eat

essen

isst

gegessen

aß

go

fahren

fährt

gefahren

fährt fuhr

fall

fallen

fällt

gefallen

fiel

catch

fangen

fängt

gefangen

fing

find

finden

findet

gefunden

fand

fly

fliegen

fliegt

geflogen

flog

flee, run away

fliehen

flieht

geflohen

floh

flow

fließen

fließt

geflossen

floss

fressen

frisst

gefressen

fraß

frieren

friert

gefroren

fror

geben

gibt

gegeben

gab

eat (animal action) freeze, be cold give

prosper, flourish

gedeihen

gedeiht

gediehen

gedieh

go, walk

gehen

geht

gegangen

ging

succeed

gelingen

gelingt

gelungen

gelang

be of worth, be valid

gelten

gilt

gegolten

galt

enjoy

genießen

genießt

genossen

genoss

fall into, get into

geraten

gerät

geraten

geriet

happen

geschehen

geschieht

geschehen

geschah

win, gain

gewinnen

gewinnt

gewonnen

gewann

pour

gießen

gießt

gegossen

goss

resemble

gleichen

gleicht

geglichen

glich

glide, slide

gleiten

gleitet

geglitten

glitt

dig

graben

gräbt

gegraben

grub

grasp, grab hold of

greifen

greift

gegriffen

griff

have

haben

hat

gehabt

hatte

hold

halten

hält

gehalten

hielt

be hanging

hängen

hängt

gehangen

hing

raise, left

heben

hebt

gehoben

hob

be called

heißen

heißt

geheißen

hieß

help

helfen

hilft

geholfen

half

know a place/person

kennen

kennt

gekannt

kannte

sound

klingen

klingt

geklungen

klang

come

kommen

kommt

gekommen

kam

can, to be able

können

kann

gekonnt

konnte

crawl

kriechen

kriecht

gekrochen

kroch

load, invite

laden

lädt

geladen

lud

let

lassen

lässt

gelassen

ließ

run

laufen

läuft

gelaufen

life

suffer

leiden

leidet

gelitten

litt

lend out

leihen

leiht

geliehen

lieh

read

lesen

liest

gelesen

las

lie in a place

liegen

liegt

gelegen

lag

tell lies

lügen

lügt

gelogen

log

measure

messen

misst

gemessen

maß

like

mögen

mag

gemocht

mochte

have to, must

müssen

muss

gemusst

musste

take

nehmen

nimmt

genommen

nahm

call, name

nennen

nennt

genannt

nannte

whistle, pipe

pfeifen

pfeift

gepfiffen

pfiff

advise, guess

raten

rät

geraten

riet

rub

reiben

reibt

gerieben

rieb

tear, rip

reißen

reißt

gerissen

riss

ride on a horse

reiten

reitet

geritten

ritt

run

rennen

rennt

gerannt

rannte

smell

riechen

riecht

gerochen

roch

call, shout

rufen

ruft

gerufen

rief

separate

scheiden

scheidet

geschieden

schied

seem, shine

scheinen

scheint

geschienen

schien

push, shove

schieben

schiebt

geschoben

schob

shoot

schießen

schießt

geschossen

schoss

sleep

schlafen

schläft

geschlafen

schlief

schlagen

schlägt

geschlagen

schlug

schließen

schließt

geschlossen

schloss

cut

schneiden

schneidet

geschnitten

schnitt

hit, strike, beat shut, finish, conclude write

schreiben

schreibt

geschrieben

schrieb

shout, yell

schreien

schreit

geschrie(e)n

schrie

be silent

schweigen

schweigt

geschwiegen

schwieg

swell

schwellen

schwillt

geschwollen

schwoll

swim

schwimmen

schwimmt

geschwommen

schwamm

swing

schwingen

schwingt

geschwungen

schwang

swear (under oath)

schwören

schwört

geschworen

schwur

see

sehen

sieht

gesehen

sah

be

sein

ist

gewesen

war

send

senden

sendet

gesandt

sandte

sing

singen

singt

gesungen

sang

sink

sinken

sinkt

gesunken

sank

sit, be sitting

sitzen

sitzt

gesessen

saß

be obliged

sollen

soll

gesollt

sollte

speak

sprechen

spricht

gesprochen

sprach

jump, spring

springen

springt

gesprungen

sprang

sting, prick

stechen

sticht

gestochen

stach

stand

stehen

steht

gestanden

stand

steal

stehlen

stiehlt

gestohlen

stahl

rise, mount

steigen

steigt

gestiegen

stieg

die

sterben

stirbt

gestorben

starb

stink

stinken

stinkt

gestunken

stank

push, kick

stoßen

stößt

gestoßen

stieß

quarrel, clash

streiten

streitet

gestritten

stritt

carry, wear

tragen

trägt

getragen

trug

meet, hit

treffen

trifft

getroffen

traf

force, urge, drive, drift

treiben

treibt

getrieben

trieb

step, go

treten

tritt

getreten

trat

drink

trinken

trinkt

getrunken

trank

do

tun

tut

getan

tat

hide, conceal

verbergen

verbirgt

verborgen

verbarg

spoil, ruin

verderben

verdirbt

verdorben

verdarb

forget

vergessen

vergisst

vergessen

vergaß

leave a person/place

verlassen

verlässt

verlassen

verließ

lose

verlieren

verliert

verloren

verlor

avoid

vermeiden

vermeidet

vermieden

vermied

disappear

verschwinden

verschwindet

verschwunden

verschwand

excuse, pardon

verzeihen

verzeiht

verziehen

verzieh

grow

wachsen

wächst

gewachsen

wuchs

wash

waschen

wäscht

gewaschen

wusch

turn

wenden

wendet

gewandt

wandte

advertise, push become, turn out

werben

wirbt

geworben

warb

warden

wird

geworden

wurde

throw

werfen

wirft

geworfen

warf

weigh

wiegen

wiegt

gewogen

wog

know (a fact)

wissen

weiß

gewusst

wusste

want

wollen

will

gewollt

wollte

ziehen

zieht

gezogen

zog

zwingen

zwingt

gezwungen

zwang

pull, draw, move, go compel, force



Chapter 15: Mixed Verbs Mixed verbs take some characteristics from both regular (weak) verbs and irregular (strong) verbs. Like irregular verbs, mixed verbs go through a stem change and like regular verbs, they take on the suffix -(e)t or –te in the past participle and the simple past respectively. Here are some of the mixed verbs: to burn to bring to think to know (someone) to name to run to send to turn to know

brennen bringen denken kennen nennen rennen senden wenden wissen

Verb Moods The mood of a verb indicates the attitude or perception of the speaker towards what is being expressed in a sentence. The German language has four verb moods: the indicative, subjunctive I, subjunctive II, and the imperative mood.

Indicative (Indikativ) Mood The indicative mood is used to describe reality or state facts whether in the past, present, or future. It is the most common mood in English and German. Examples: Ich werde zwei Bücher an diesem Wochenende lesen. I will read two books this weekend. Wir spielen jeden Sonntag Schach. We play chess every Sunday.

Subjunctive (Konjunktiv) I The Subjunctive I mood is used to state another person’s opinions, words, or thoughts and is most commonly used in news reporting. Examples: Er sagte, seine Frau sei nicht gesund. He said his wife is not healthy. Sie sagte, dass ich die Klage verlieren werde. They said I am going to lose the lawsuit.

Subjuntive (Konjunktiv) II The Subjunctive II Mood expresses possibility, wish, hypothetical actions, or unrealistic situations. It is also used for indirect speech. The subjunctive mood II is the counterpart of the conditional mood in English and frequently uses a verb form of “werden” in the same way that “would” is used in English. Subjunctive II mood can only be used in the past and present tenses. Examples: Ich würde Klavier gespielt haben. I would have played the piano. Wir würden Country Songs auf der Veranda singen. We would sing country songs on the porch.

Chapter 16: The Imperative (Imperativ) Mood Th imperative mood is used to communicate a command. It appears only in the present tense and in the second person. In some situations, a German infinitive can be used to express the imperative. Examples: Geh weg! -> Go away! Lassen Sie allein! -> Leave them alone!

Verb Tenses German has six verb tenses which can be grouped into finite tenses and compound tenses. Finite tenses Finite tenses are formed by changing the verb stem or by adding a suffix or prefix. There are two finite verb tenses: 1. present tense 2. simple past tense Compound tenses 1. 2. 3. 4.

Future tense Present perfect tense Past Perfect tense Future perfect tense

The Present Tense (Präsens) In contrast with the several forms of the present tense in the English language, German present tense has only one form for all present tense usage: Ich spreche -> I speak, I am speaking, I do speak du schreibst -> you write, you are writing, you do write wir lessen -> we read, we are reading, we do read er sieht -> he sees, he is seeing, he does see In addition, the German present tense can be used to refer to an event that will happen in the future: Ich spiele morgen Schach. I am playing chess tomorrow. To distinguish between the different aspects of the present tense, adverbs are commonly used to indicate the general time involved.

Examples: Ich spiele täglich Fußball. I play football everyday. Ich spiele Fußball. I am playing football. Ich sehe einen Film heute Abend. I am seeing a movie tonight. Regular verbs use the conjugation pattern in the following table to express the present tense: ich du

I You

-e -st

er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie

he/she/it we you (plural) they/you (formal)

-t -en -t -en

Conjugating Verbs To conjugate verbs, you will have to obtain the verb stem from its infinitive form and add the personal endings on the conjugation table for the appropriate tense. The verb stem is what’s left of the verb after taking out the –(e)n ending. For example, to conjugate the verb “lesen” (to read) in the present tense, you will need to extract the verb stem “les”and append the appropriate endings: ich -> lese -> I read du -> liest -> you read er/sie/es -> liest -> he/she/it reads wir -> lesen -> we read ihr -> lest -> you (plural) read sie/Sie -> lesen -> they/You read While a vast majority of verbs end in–en, you will likely encounter some verbs with different endings like the verbs handeln (to act) and wandern (to hike). To conjugate verbs ending in –ln or –rn, just omit the –n ending before affixing personal endings. In addition, the “e” in the personal endings for the plural is likewise dropped. Hence, to conjugate wandern: ich (I) -> wandere du (you) -> wanderst er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> wandert wir (we) -> wandern ihr (you plural) -> wandert sie/Sie (they/You-formal) -> wandern Verbs with a verb stem ending in –d or –t add an –e before adding a –t or –st personal ending. The rule holds true for verbs with a verb stem ending in –m or –n after another consonant. For example, take a look at the conjugation of the verb finden (to find): ich (I) -> finde du (you) -> findest er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> findet wir (we) -> finden ihr (you plural) -> findet sie/Sie (they/You-formal) -> finden To conjugate “atmen” (to breathe)

ich -> atme du -> atmest er/sie/es -> atmet wir -> atmen ihr -> atmet sie/Sie -> atmen Verbs with stems ending in -s, -ß, -z, -x, or –ss are conjugated in the second person singular by omitting the –s from the –st personal ending. For example: boxen (to fight) -> du boxt reisen (to travel) -> du reist heißen (to be called) -> du heißt bremsen (to apply the brake) -> du bremst

Chapter 17: The Simple Past Tense (Präteritum/Imperfekt/Preterite) There are two forms for the past tense in German: the Perfekt and the Präteritum. While both forms express past actions or events, the Perfekt form consists of two words and is more prevalent in informal speech. On the other hand, the Präteritum is the formal, written form of the past tense which is expressed through one-word verbs. The simple past tense takes the second position in sentences except in yes-no questions where it is placed in the first position. Other verbal parts like complementary infinitives or separable verb prefixes take the last position in a sentence. Er malte das Haus. He painted the house. Wurden sie informiert? Were you informed? Sie brachte ihr Kind mit. She brought her child along. Here is the conjugation table for the Preterite: ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie

I you he/she/it we you (plural) they/you (formal)

-te -test -te -ten -tet -ten

Regular, irregular, and mixed verbs form their simple past tense differently.

Past Tense of Regular Verbs Regular verbs form their past tense by using the stem of the present infinitive and adding the personal endings. Example: hören (to hear) Präteritum ich (I) -> hörte du (you) -> hörtest er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> hörte wir (we) -> hörten ihr (you, plural) -> hörtet sie/Sie (they, You, formal) -> hörten Verbs with a stem that ends in –t and –d or –m and –n which follows another consonant take on a –e before adding the –te, -tet, or –test ending. Example: arbeiten (to work) ich (I) -> arbeitete du (you) -> arbeitetest er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> arbeitete wir (we) -> arbeiteten ihr (you, plural) -> arbeitetet sie/Sie (they/You, formal) -> arbeiteten

Past Tense of Irregular Verbs Irregular verbs form their past tense by changing their stem and adding appropriate personal endings. Since the stem changes are not predictable, each verb has to be learned by consulting a dictionary. Here are the personal endings for irregular verbs: ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie

I You he/she/it We you (plural) they/you (formal)

-st -en -t -en

Example: sprechen (to speak) ich (I) -> sprach du (you) -> sprachst er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> sprach wir (we) -> sprachen ihr (you, plural) -> spracht sie/Sie (they/you, formal) -> sprachen Simple Past Tense of Mixed Verbs To form their simple past, mixed verbs change their stem just like irregular verbs and take on indicated personal endings similar to the regular verbs.

Example: brennen (to burn) ich (I) -> brannte du (you) -> branntest er/sie/es (he/she/it) -> brannte wir (we) -> brannten ihr (you, plural) -> branntet sie/Sie (they/You, formal) -> brannten

Reflexive Verbs Reflexive verbs express an action in which the subject is also the object and require a reflexive pronoun as the receiver of the action. Reflexive verbs are used extensively in German. They occur in only two cases, namely, the accusative and the dative case. Example: Ich bade mich. -> I bathe myself. Er kleidet sich. -> He gets dressed or He dresses himself. The German object pronouns mich (myself) and sich (himself) are needed to identify the receiver of the action. Most Commonly Used Reflexive Verbs: to take a bath to shower to wash oneself to move to be late to look after to say thank you to get dressed to serve oneself to behave oneself to hurry to apply to make an effort to be suitable to drink too much escape, elude

sich baden sich duschen sich waschen sich bewegen sich verspäten sich annehmen sich bedanken sich anziehen sich bedienen sich benehmen sich beeilen sich bewerben sich bemühen sich eignen sich besaufen sich entziehen

to sneak into

to deal with to prove oneself to turn around to take the trouble to catch cold to be happy about to recover to remember to anticipate to look forward to

sich einschleichen sich beschäftigen mit sich bewähren

sich drehen um sich die Mühe geben sich erkälten sich freuen über sich erholen sich erinnern sich freuen auf sich freuen über sich to focus on konzentrieren to get sich gewöhnen accustomed to an to shave sich rasieren to be mistaken sich irren to point at sich richten an to be sich nich stationary bewegen to feel sich schämen ashamed to forget vergessen to hurry sich beeilen to comb hair sich kämmen sich richten to be based on nach sich to make sure vergewissern to sit down sich setzen to fall in love sich verlieben to meet sich treffen to introduce sich vorstellen self

to fool oneself

sich täuschen

to refuse

sich weigern sich verlassen auf zu etwas auswaschsen sich vorkommen sich ärgern sich wundern über sich überlegen

to rely on to turn into to seem to be angry to wonder about to consider

Chapter 18: Active Vs. Passive Voice The active voice is the regular voice where the subject is the doer of the action. The object or receiver of the action is in the accusative case. Example: Sie reinigt das Haus jeden Tag. -> She cleans the house everyday. In passive voice constructions, the object or receiver is the subject of the sentence. To form sentences in the passive voice, the conjugated form of the verb werden is used along with the past participle form of the main verb. The subject need not be stated in passive sentences but you may do so by using von+dative noun case. This is the counterpart of the English by (doer) . Das Haus wird jeden Tag gereinigt. The house is cleaned everyday. Das Haus wird täglich von ihr gereinigt. The house is cleaned by her everyday.

The Verbs Sein and Haben Sein (to be) and haben (haben) are the most common verbs in German. Both sein and haben are irregular verbs and memorizing their forms will help you significantly in your study of the German langauge. Sein (to be) The verb sein has very irregular forms like its English counterpart. Here is the conjugation of sein in the present indicative tense: ich du er/sie/es wir ihr sie/Sie

bin bist ist sind seid sind

I am You are he/she/it is we are you are they are

Haben (to have) Here is the conjugation of the verb haben in the present tense:



ich du

habe du hast

er/sie/es

hat

wir ihr sie/Sie

haben habt haben

I have You have he/she/it has we have you have they have

Chapter 19: Adverbs German adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs by expressing manner, place, time, and reason. Adverbs are unchanging words and they can be found in different parts of a sentence.

Types of Adverbs

Modal Adverbs A modal adverb tells how or how much. Er ist wirklich unverschämt. -> He is truly outrageous. Der Junge isst kaum noch Gemüse. -> The boy hardly eats vegetables. different anders apparently anscheinend otherwise ansonsten completely ganz also auch in addition außerdem extremely äußerst nearly beinahe famously bekanntlich surely bestimmt likewise ebenfalls as well ebenfalls firstly erstens eventually eventuell almost fast as follows folgendermaßen exactly like genauso enough genug gladly gern mostly größtenteils mainly hauptsächlich hopefully hoffentlich hardly kaum unfortunately leider possibly möglicherweise of course natürlich only nur by the dozen reihenweise very sehr so, thus so

Perhaps Maybe Probably at least truly, really

vielleicht vielleicht wahrscheinlich wenigstens wirklich

Temporal Adverbs A temporal adverb deals with time and frequency and tells when, how often, how long, since when, and until when. Sie haben gestern ein neues Auto gekauft. -> They bought a new car yesterday. Ich bin immer beschäftigt. -> I am always busy. in the evening soon already until now then thereafter after/then beforehand once eventually/finally on Fridays yesterday immediately today always meanwhile yearly now monthly tomorrow in the morning in the afternoon during the night recently/lately never often regularly immediately

abends bald bereits bisher damals danach dann davor einst endlich freitags gestern gleich heute immer inzwischen jährlich jetzt monatlich morgen morgens nachmittags nachts neulich nie oft regelmäßig sofort

later constantly daily the day after tomorrow the day before yesterday earlier weekly at the time

später stets täglich übermorgen vorgestern vorhin wöchentlich zurzeit

Chapter 20: Locative Adverbs A locative adverb or adverb of place tells about location and direction and answers the questions where, where from, and where to. Er war vor einer Stunde hier. -> He was here an hour ago. Er liess sein Buch irgendwo. -> He left his book somewhere. Most common locative adverbs: downwards upwards outside here/there there/over there inside away straight ahead here up to here into behind somewhere on the left to the left to the right near nowhere up above on the right everywhere below, down on the way

abwärts aufwärts außen da dort drinnen fort geradeaus hier hierhin hinein hinten irgendwo links nach links nach rechts nebenan nirgends oben oberhalb rechts überall unten unterwegs

in front somewhere else

vorn woanders

Causal Adverbs Causal adverbs tell the origin of or reason for an action and answer questions like “why”, “for what reason”, “how so”, or “under what condition”. Example: Deshalb hat er das Unternehmen verlassen. He therefore left the company. Causal Adverbs so, therefore also otherwise anderenfalls because of dadurch that therefore darum thus demnach whereby, demzufolge accordingly therefore deshalb however, doch surely consequently folglich so far insofern in any case jedenfalls namely nämlich preventatively sicherheitshalber thus, somit therefore otherwise sonst despite that trotzdem nevertheless trotzdem

Relative Adverbs Relative adverbs signify relative clauses and modify parts of a sentence. Dies war das Haus, wo wir uns beide treffen wollten. This was the house where we both agreed to meet. where about which for which with which

wo worüber wofür womit

Conjuctional Adverbs Conjunctional adverbs serve as a link between clauses in a sentence. Er kam immer spät, deshalb zog er in eine nahe gelegene Wohnanlage. He was always late that’s why he moved to a nearby condominium. so, therefore in addition, also besides therefore thereafter then yet, nevertheless that’s why therefore therefore consequently however scarcely,

also auch außerdem daher danach dann dennoch deshalb deshalb deswegen folglich jedoch



hardly

kaum

finally so otherwise despite that by the way, after all previously

schließlich so sonst trotzdem überhaupt zuvor

Chapter 21: Negation Negative sentences and clauses in German are formed by using “nicht”, and adverb, and “kein”, an adjective. Nicht Nicht is used to negate proper nouns, nouns which follow definite articles, nouns modified by a possessive adjective, adjectives, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs. Nicht usually comes before the word it negates except when the word being negated is a verb. If no specific word is negated, it is placed at the last part of a clause or sentence. Examples: Nein, das ist nicht der Verdächtige. -> No, that is not the suspect. Nein, das ist nicht Renate. -> No, she is not Renate. Kein Kein is used to negate nouns modified by indefinite articles “ein” or “eine” and nouns which are not modified by any article. Example: Nein, er ist kein Dieb. -> No, he is not a thief. Ich sehe keinen Polizisten. -> I see no policeman.

Conclusion I’d like to thank you and congratulate you for transiting my lines from start to finish. I hope this book was able to help you to learn the fundamentals of the German language in a fast and easy manner. Now is the time to enhance your language skills by reading German literature and content, conversing with a German speaker, taking up advance courses in German language, or travelling to a German-speaking country. I wish you the best of luck! To your success, Henry Ray

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Nouns and Articles In Spanish, nouns are either masculine or feminine and an article, which indicates its gender, modifies each one. Articles The English definite article “the” has four equivalent articles in Spanish: Gender Singular Plural Masculine el los Feminine la las A masculine noun is modified by the definite article “el” in the singular and by the article “los” in the plural: el niño (the boy) -> los niños (the boys) el libro (the book) -> los libros (the books) A feminine noun goes with the definite article “la” in its singular form and with “las” in the plural: la niña (the girl) -> las niñas (the girls)

la cama (the bed) -> las camas (the beds) When a plural noun has mixed gender, the masculine form of the noun is used along with the article “los”: los padres (the parents) los gatos (male and female cats) los niños (the children) los perros (male and female dogs)

Indefinite Articles The Spanish singular indefinite articles are the equivalent of “a” or “an” in English while the plural indefinite articles are the equivalent of “some”. Gender Singular Plural Masculine Un unos Feminine Una unas Examples: un libro -> a book unos librossome -> books una casa -> a house unas casas -> some houses

Contractions To make pronunciation easier, the article “el” is contracted in two instances: When the preposition “a” (to, in, at) is followed by the definite article “el”, they are combined to form “al”. a + el = al Voy a ir al aeropuerto. -> I will go to the airport. Whenever the preposition “de” (from) comes before “el”, they combine to form “del”. de + el = del Ella ha venido del mercado. -> She has come from the market. Gender The gender of a living creature is based on its natural gender while the gender of an inanimate object follows certain rules. In this section, you will learn the rules governing the gender of nouns as well as the exceptions.

Feminine Nouns In general, the following nouns are feminine: Nouns ending in “-a”: la chica (girl), la gata (female cat), la mesa (table) Nouns that end in –tad, -dad, and –tud la libertad (freedom), la dificultad (difficulty), la facultad (faculty) la edad (age), la universidad (university), la ciudad (city) la gratitud (gratitude), la virtud (virtue), la juventud (youth) Nouns that end in –cion, –gion, and sion la habitación (bedroom), la canción (song), la estación (station) la religion (religion), la legion (legion), la región (region), la decision (decision), la profesión (profession), la tension (tension) Nouns that end in –umbre la certidumbre (certainty), la legumbre (vegetable), la muchedumbre (crowd) Nouns that end in -triz la directriz (directress), la emperatriz (empress), la actriz (actress) Abbreviated forms of feminine nouns la foto, from la fotografia (photography) la tele, from la televisión (television) la moto, from la motocicleta (motorcycle) Nouns that refer to women la mujer (woman) la madre (mother)

A few nouns ending in –d la pared (wall), la merced (mercy), la salud (health), la sed (thirst), la red (net) Nouns that end in -z la voz (voice), la cruz (cross), la paz (peace), la faz (face), la luz (light), la nariz, (nose), la vez (time), la nuez (nut), la raíz (root) Some nouns that end in -e la llave -> key la base -> basis la gente -> people la calle -> street la nieve -> snow la carne -> meat la nube -> cloud la clase -> class la clave -> clue la torre -> tower la corriente -> current la muerte -> death la fe -> faith la sede -> headquarters la fiebre -> fever la serpiente -> snake la frase -> phrase la fuente -> source la tarde -> afternoon la leche -> milk la suerte -> fate la lente -> lens la noche -> evening

la mente -> mind la sangre -> blood Other nouns: la piel (skin) la filial (affiliate) la sal (salt) la flor (flower) la miel (honey) la imagen (image) la mano (hand) la ley (law) la tribu (tribe)

The following nouns are exceptions: el día (day) el mediodía (noon) el sofa (sofa) el gorila (gorilla) el pijama (pajamas) el yoga (yoga) el sofá (sofa) el tranvía (tram) The names of letters, illnesses, and islands are usually feminine. la hache (h), la apendicitis (appendicitis), la isla de Rodas (Rhodes Island) Masculine Nouns In general, the following nouns are masculine: Most nouns that end in –0 el trabajo (job), el vestido (dress), el ojo (eye) Nouns ending in –ma, -pa, -ta which are usually of Greek origin el tema (topic) el telegrama (telegram) el clima (climate) el programa (program) el sistema (system) el planeta (planet)

el cometa (comet) el mapa (map) el idioma (language) el problema (problem) el poema (poem) Nouns that refer to male living creatures el padre (father) el hombre (man) el perro (male dog) Most nouns ending in -l, -r, or -aje are masculine el papel (paper) el favor (favor) el paisaje (landscape) el valor (value) el personaje (character) el lugar (place) el traje (suit) el control (control) el garaje (garage) el final (end) el temor (fear) el hotel (hotel) Some exceptions: la sal (salt), la cárcel (jail), la miel (honey), la labor (labor), la flor (flower),

la catedral (cathedral) Days, months, numbers, mountains, seas, oceans, rivers, and compound nouns are commonly masculine. el martes (Tuesday) el enero (January), los cuarenta (forty), el Océano Pacífico (Pacific Ocean), el mar Báltico Click here or the image below to check out the rest of “Spanish: Learn Spanish in 21 DAYS! – A Practical Guide To Make Spanish Look Easy! EVEN For Beginners” on Amazon.

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