Basic German Grammar and Workbook PDF

BASIC GERMAN: A GRAMMAR AND WORKBOOK Basic German: A Grammar and Workbook comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume. It introduces German people and culture through the medium of the language used today, covering the core material which students would expect to encounter in their ﬁrst years of learning German. Each of the 28 units presents one or more related grammar topics, illustrated by examples which serve as models for the exercises that follow. These wide-ranging and varied exercises enable the student to master each grammar point thoroughly. Basic German is suitable for independent study and for class use. Features include: Clear grammatical explanations with examples in both English and German Authentic language samples from a range of media Checklists at the end of each Unit to reinforce key points Cross-referencing to other grammar chapters Full exercise answer key Glossary of grammatical terms Basic German is the ideal reference and practice book for beginners but also for students with some knowledge of the language. Heiner Schenke is Senior Lecturer in German at the University of Westminster and Karen Seago is Course Leader for Applied Translation at the London Metropolitan University. Other titles available in the Grammar Workbooks series are: Basic Cantonese Intermediate Cantonese Basic Chinese Intermediate Chinese Intermediate German Basic Polish Intermediate Polish Basic Russian Intermediate Russian Basic Welsh Intermediate Welsh Titles of related interest published by Routledge: Colloquial German by Dietlinde Hatherall and Glyn Hatherall Modern German Grammar: A Practical Guide, Second Edition by Bill Dodd, Christine Eckhard-Black, John Klapper, Ruth Whittle Modern German Grammar Workbook, Second Edition by Heidi Zojer, Bill Dodd, Christine Eckhard-Black, John Klapper, Ruth Whittle BASIC GERMAN: A GRAMMAR AND WORKBOOK Heiner Schenke and Karen Seago First published 2004 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” © 2004 Heiner Schenke and Karen Seago All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-64270-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-67466-9 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0–415–28404–X (hbk) 0–415–28405–8 (pbk) CONTENTS Preface vii 1 What’s diﬀerent in German? Basic tips and patterns 1 2 Verbs in the present tense 6 3 Verb variations and irregular verbs 12 4 Irregular verbs: haben and sein 19 5 Separable verbs in the present tense 24 6 Imperatives 30 7 Questions 36 8 Nouns and gender 42 9 Plural of nouns 50 10 The four cases 56 11 The nominative case 62 12 The accusative case 65 13 The dative case 70 14 The genitive case 75 15 Personal pronouns 79 16 Possessive adjectives 87 17 Reﬂexive verbs 92 18 Negatives 97 19 Comparison of adjectives and adverbs 102 20 Modal verbs 109 vi Contents 21 The present perfect tense 116 22 The simple past tense 124 23 The future tense 130 24 Prepositions 135 25 Adjective endings 143 26 Numbers and dates 151 27 Conjunctions and clauses 158 28 Word order 167 Key to exercises and checklists 175 Glossary of grammatical terms 200 Common irregular verbs 203 Index 205 PREFACE Basic German is aimed at absolute beginners and those learners who have some knowledge of German but who need to refresh and consolidate basic structures. It can be used on its own or in connection with any major German coursebook and it is suitable for self-study, class-based learning or reference purposes. Presentation of grammar The book explains the essentials of German grammar in clear and simple language. The format is easily accessible and grammar topics follow a pro- gression, which moves from simple aspects to more complex features. For more in-depth study, there are cross-references to related grammar items. Explanations are simple and avoid specialised terminology while introducing key terms. The vocabulary is practical and functional. It is introduced on a cumulative basis and builds on vocabulary associated with topics featured in major course books. Structure of units There are 28 units. Each unit covers one key grammar topic, which is con- trasted with English structures where appropriate. Each topic starts out with an overview. This is followed by detailed explanation in an easy-to-follow step-by-step layout, breaking down complex aspects into simple segments. Examples in English and German illustrate each point and introduce relevant vocabulary. Checklists and exercises Integrated exercises allow immediate practice to consolidate each grammar point. Exercises are varied and progress from simple recognition to more complex application of grammar points. viii Preface A checklist at the end of each unit reinforces main points and provides an opportunity to self-assess understanding of the material covered. Answers to all exercises and checklists are at the end of the book. Using the book as a grammar reference Unit headings indicate which grammar point is covered, and the glossary provides clear deﬁnitions and simple explanations of key grammatical terms. When appropriate, cross-references are provided within units. Extra features Unit 1 highlights some basic principles where the structures of German are fundamentally diﬀerent from English. It explains their characteristics in simple terms and draws attention to underlying patterns. Extra tips on how to learn a language and learning speciﬁc grammar points are provided in this unit and throughout the book. The book is suitable for independent learners GCSE preparation AS/A-level revision beginners’ courses at university and in further education adult education courses. UNIT ONE What’s different in German? Basic tips and patterns Learning German is often perceived as diﬃcult. In 1880, Mark Twain famously dubbed it ‘the awful German language’, protesting ‘Surely there is not another language that is so slipshod and systemless, and so slippery and elusive to the grasp’ (Mark Twain, ‘The awful German language’, The Tramp Abroad, 1880 (Harmondsworth: Penguin 1997), pp. 390–402). But is this really the case? One thing that is very helpful in learning German is that it is a systematic language, which follows rules. There are many ways to make these rules easier to learn, and there are quite a few tips which will help you in learning the language. If you approach the language step by step you will ﬁnd that it is much easier than you may think at the beginning. Here are pointers to some basic principles where German is diﬀerent from English, and which may be useful before you start out with the grammar proper. Spelling – capital letters and different characters There are a few ways in which German spelling is diﬀerent from English. Capital letters for nouns German is one of the few languages which uses capital letters not only at the beginning of sentences but also within sentences. In English, this applies only to proper names, to the personal pronoun ‘I’ and to personiﬁcations, such as ‘Love’. In German, all nouns must always be written with a capital letter, regard- less of whether they are at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle: Der Mann und die Frau arbeiten jeden Tag am Computer. The man and the woman work at their computer every day. Note that the pronoun ich (‘I’) has no initial capital in German, but Sie (formal form of ‘you’) has. 2 Unit 1 Different characters The German alphabet has some characters which do not exist in the English alphabet: ß – the sharp ‘s’ The letter ß, called eszett in German, is pronounced like the normal English ‘s’, for example in ‘sun’ or ‘basic’. German uses this letter for instance after ei and ie, and after a, o, u if they are pronounced long: heißen to be called Straße street groß big The umlauts – ä, ö, ü These are very important. They change the pronunciation of a word and, more importantly, its meaning: Mutter means ‘mother’, but Mütter is the plural form and means ‘mothers’. Musste means had to, but müsste means ‘should’ or ‘ought to’. Three genders All nouns in German are masculine, feminine or neuter. This shows in their singular article: der for masculine, die for feminine, das for neuter. It is important to realise that gender in German is grammatical, not biological as it is in English. This means that objects, concepts etc. which are neuter (‘it’) in English can be masculine, feminine or neuter in German: der Tisch the table (masculine) die Tür the door ( feminine) das Fenster the window (neuter) Whenever you learn a new noun, always learn it with its gender: the best way to do it is to learn it with its article. You will ﬁnd that this will pay oﬀ in the long term. Endings One of the principal diﬀerences between English and German is that in German words take speciﬁc endings depending on their relationship to other Unit 1 3 parts of the sentence. This applies to verbs, articles and possessive adjectives and adjectives. Verbs These are words describing the ‘action’ of a sentence, such as ‘to run’, ‘to think’. For example, the German verb ‘to go’ has diﬀerent endings when used with ‘I’, ‘he’ and ‘they’: Ich gehe. I go. Er geht. He goes. Sie gehen. They go. Articles and possessive adjectives These are words linked to a noun such as ‘a’, ‘the’, ‘my’ or ‘his’. For example, the indeﬁnite article meaning ‘a’ changes in German when it is linked to the subject of the sentence (ein Mann) or the object of the sentence (einen Mann): Ist das ein Mann? Is that a man? Da drüben sehe ich einen Mann. I can see a man over there. Adjectives These words, which describe the quality of a noun, such as a ‘new’ computer, an ‘intelligent’ woman, a ‘beautiful’ house, follow a similar pattern when they appear in front of a noun. In German adjectives can have diﬀerent endings when they are linked to a masculine noun (ein neuer Computer), a feminine noun (eine intelligente Frau) or a neuter noun (ein schönes Haus). Cases One of the most important features of German is that you can tell what function a noun performs in a sentence by its ending and the form of the article. These show its case. For example, a noun can be the subject of the sentence, i.e. the ‘agent’ of what is happening: Der Hund beißt den Mann. The dog bites the man. Or it can be the object, i.e. the ‘receiver’ of the action in the sentence: Der Hund beißt den Mann. The dog bites the man. 4 Unit 1 The subject and the object are in diﬀerent cases, which means that the article (‘the’) has a diﬀerent ending. Both ‘dog’ and ‘man’ are masculine (der) but ‘the dog’ is the subject (der Hund) and the man is the object (den Mann). Word order Word order is much more ﬂexible in German than in English, but there are some very important rules. The most important apply to the position of the ﬁnite verb. Here are some basic principles, which illustrate the diﬀerence to English word order. The ﬁnite verb is the second idea in most statements: Er hat zwei Brüder. He has two brothers. Morgen fahre ich nach Tomorrow I’m going to Manchester. Manchester. The ﬁnite verb goes at the beginning of a sentence in orders and many questions: Öﬀnet das Fenster! Open the window, please. Hast Du morgen Zeit? Are you free tomorrow? The ﬁnite verb goes at the end in subordinate clauses: Ich kann morgen nicht kommen, weil ich nach Manchester fahre. I can’t come tomorrow because I’m going to Manchester. If there are two verb forms, one of them goes at the end: Morgen muss ich nach Manchester fahren. Tomorrow I have to go to Manchester. Tenses English tenses diﬀerentiate between an action happening at the moment (‘I am working’) and an action taking place regularly (‘I work at Harrods’). In German, this diﬀerence does not exist. The ﬁnite verb form is the same in both statements: Ich arbeite. I am working. Ich arbeite bei Harrods. I work at Harrods. The past in English is expressed either by the present perfect tense (when something happened recently or has a connection to the present: ‘I was Unit 1 5 working’ or the simple past tense (when something happened at a certain time in the past or has no link to the present: ‘I worked’). German is simpler: you normally use the present perfect when you talk about the past regard- less of when it happened, and you normally use the simple past in written German. And ﬁnally – looking for principles German is a very systematic language, and very soon you will realise that there are certain patterns which occur again and again. If you bear this in mind you will see that, after the ﬁrst few weeks of a fairly steep learning curve, things will become easier and you will recognise these patterns. Buy a good dictionary. It not only gives you a list of translations but also tells you how to pronounce unfamiliar words and gives you important grammatical information, for example whether a verb takes a certain case or what the plural is for a noun. Throughout the book, we tell you how to work with dictionaries to get this kind of information and how it is relevant. Checklist 1 Where do you use capital letters in German? 2 When do you use the letter ß? 3 Why are umlauts important? 4 What is the diﬀerence between the use of gender in German and English? 5 Give an example where a word changes its ending in German. 6 What is one of the most important principles aﬀecting German word order? 7 Is there a diﬀerence between ‘I am working’ and ‘I work’ in German? UNIT TWO Verbs in the present tense What is a verb? A verb usually describes what a person or any other subject is doing: ‘I go to the cinema.’ ‘She thinks about her holiday.’ ‘They play football.’ It can also describe a state: ‘He is angry.’ ‘She lives over there.’ ‘They love me.’ Verbs in English In English, verbs take no endings except for the third person singular (‘he’/‘she’/‘it’) in the present tense. You would say: ‘I go’, ‘you go’, ‘he/she/it goes’, ‘we go’, ‘you go’, ‘they go’. Apart from the third person singular where ‘-(e)s’ is added, the verb in the sentence is the same form as the inﬁnitive, that is the basic form of a verb as it is listed in a dictionary or glossary (‘to go’). Verb Formation German has more endings for verbs in the present tense than English. You take the stem of a verb and then add the required ending. The stem is the form of the inﬁnitive without -en or -n. inﬁnitive stem kommen komm to come wohnen wohn to live hören hör to hear Verb endings – an overview Here is an overview of the verb endings in the present tense: Unit 2 7 komm-en wohn-en hör-en ich (I) -e komme wohne höre du (you, informal) -st kommst wohnst hörst Sie (you, formal) -en kommen wohnen hören er/sie/es (he/she/it) -t kommt wohnt hört wir (we) -en kommen wohnen hören ihr (you, plural, informal) -t kommt wohnt hört Sie (you, plural, formal) -en kommen wohnen hören sie (they) -en kommen wohnen hören A verb with its ending is called a ﬁnite verb (as opposed to the inﬁnitive which does not have a meaningful ending). This is an important grammatical term, and you will ﬁnd it in quite a few of the units. Verb endings in more detail Although as a beginner you probably mostly use the ﬁrst and second person singular (ich and du or Sie) it is important to know all the endings for the verbs. Here they are in more detail. ich (‘I’) For the ﬁrst person singular you add -e to the stem: Ich wohne in Frankfurt. I live in Frankfurt. Ich spiele Gitarre. I play the guitar. du/Sie (‘you’, singular) There are two forms of address in German: the informal and the formal. If you are addressing one person, the informal address is du and the formal is Sie (always with an initial capital letter). The endings are -st and -en: Woher kommst du? Where do you come from? (informal) Wo wohnst du? Where do you live? (informal) Woher kommen Sie? Where do you come from? (formal) Wo wohnen Sie? Where do you live? (formal) er/sie/es (‘he’, ‘she’, ‘it’) To talk about a third person or thing you use er for ‘he’, sie (with small s) for ‘she’ and es for ‘it’ in German and add -t to the stem: 8 Unit 2 Er spielt Tennis. He plays tennis. Woher kommt sie? Where does she come from? Es schneit. It is snowing. wir (‘we’) Overall the plural forms are much easier to learn. ‘We’ (wir) takes -en – the same form as most inﬁnitives: Wir wohnen in Köln. We live in Cologne. Wir lernen Deutsch. We learn German. ihr/Sie (‘you’, plural) As for the singular, there is an informal (ihr) and a formal way (Sie) to address more than one person. These take diﬀerent endings: Wo wohnt ihr? Where do you live? (plural, informal) Was macht ihr hier? What are you doing here? (plural, informal) Wo wohnen Sie? Where do you live? (plural, formal) Was machen Sie hier? What are you doing here? (plural, formal) sie (‘they’) When referring to several people, German uses sie again (spelled with a small s!). You have to add -en: Und woher kommen sie? And where do they come from? Jutta und Bernd – was machen sie? Jutta and Bernd – what are they doing? Uses of sie/Sie When you start learning German you may be confused by the diﬀerent meanings of the word sie. sie with a small s can mean either ‘she’ or ‘they’. Sie with a capital S is used for formal ‘you’ in both singular and plural. The verb endings for ‘they’ and singular and plural formal ‘you’ are identical. Unit 2 9 One present tense in German As we have seen, in German there is only one present tense, which corre- sponds both to the simple and to the continous present in English: Er trinkt Bier. He drinks beer. or He is drinking beer. Sie spielt Fußball. She plays football. or She is playing football. Exceptions Although the majority of verbs in German follow the regular pattern described above, there are a number of exceptions (irregular forms): Some verbs have slight spelling variations, or their stem vowel changes (see Unit 3). Sein and haben (‘to be’ or ‘to have’) are particularly irregular (see Unit 4). But before you explore the mysteries of German verb endings further, make sure that you have digested all the information from this Unit. For more information on verb endings see Units 3 and 4. See also Unit 15 for more details on personal pronouns (‘I’, ‘you’, ‘he’, ‘she’ etc.). Exercise 2.1 Use the endings from the list below to complete the verb forms. The ﬁrst one has been done for you. -en -en -e -st -t -en -en -t ich -e wir du ihr Sie Sie er/sie/es sie 10 Unit 2 Exercise 2.2 Here is a short interview with Alex Maschke, who lives in Berlin. Complete the gaps with the appropriate verb forms. Example: kommen → Woher du? – Ich aus Frankfurt. → Woher kommst du? – Ich komme aus Frankfurt. 1 wohnen → Wo du? – Ich jetzt in Berlin. 2 studieren → Und was du? – Ich Physik und Chemie. 3 hören → Welche Musik du? – Ich gern klassische Musik. 4 lernen → Welche Sprache du im Moment? – Ich Spanisch. 5 trinken → Was du gern? – Ich gern Kaﬀee. As you have probably noticed, Alex was addressed informally. Rewrite the questions in the formal mode (using the Sie form). Exercise 2.3 Supply the missing endings. Example: Anna komm aus Wien. → Anna kommt aus Wien. 1 Ich heiß Ulrike. 2 Komm du wirklich aus London? 3 Peter wohn im Stadtzentrum. 4 Das ist Pia. Sie geh sehr gern ins Restaurant. 5 Wie heiß Sie? 6 Ich heiß Petra Schmidt. 7 Und was mach Sie beruﬂich? 8 Ich studier Physik. 9 Und woher komm ihr? 10 Was mach ihr hier? 11 Und wo wohn ihr? 12 Wir komm aus Süddeutschland. 13 Wir geh zu einem Fußballspiel. 14 Wir bleib drei Tage. 15 Sie (Pier und Jörg) lern Englisch. 16 Basel lieg in der Schweiz. 17 Komm ihr aus Freiburg? 18 Und woher komm du? Unit 2 11 19 Ann und Tina spiel gern Badminton. 20 Wir ﬁnd Berlin sehr interessant. Exercise 2.4 Translate the following sentences: 1 I live in Berlin. 2 He drinks beer. 3 She plays tennis. 4 Carla and Sophia are playing football. 5 Where do you come from? (Use (a) the du and (b) the Sie form.) 6 Where do you live? (Use (a) the du, (b) the Sie-form and (c) the ihr form.) Checklist 1 Can you form the stem of a German verb? 2 What are the verb endings in the singular? 3 Do you know the endings in the plural? 4 How many tenses are there in German for the present? 5 Can you deﬁne what a ﬁnite verb is? UNIT THREE Verb variations and irregular verbs Regular and irregular forms Most verbs in German follow a regular pattern where the ending is simply added to the stem of the verb. But there are some variations where the spelling is slightly diﬀerent. There is also a group of irregular verbs where there are changes in the stem of the verb. Irregular forms in English In English there is also a diﬀerence between regular and irregular verbs, but it usually does not aﬀect the present tense, except for ‘to be’ and ‘to have’. These verbs will be discussed in Unit 4. Spelling variations – an overview Stem endings in -d or -t There are some German verbs where the stem ends in -d or -t. It would be diﬃcult to pronounce the -st endings for du and the t ending for er/sie/es and ihr if -st or -t was directly added to the stem. This is why an e is put before these endings: inﬁnitive stem ﬁnite verb arbeiten arbeit du arbeitest to work kosten kost es kostet to cost reden red ihr redet to talk Verbs such as atmen and regnen Verbs such as atmen and regnen, where the stem ends in a consonant + n or m, also need the additional e: Unit 3 13 inﬁnitive stem ﬁnite verb atmen atm du atmest to breathe regnen regn es regnet to rain Examples: Du atmest sehr heftig. You’re breathing rather heavily. Herr Maier arbeitet bei Siemens. Mr Maier works for Siemens. Es regnet schon wieder! It’s raining again! Das Buch kostet 5 Euro. The book costs 5 euros. Ihr redet zu viel. You’re talking too much. Only du, er/sie/es and ihr are affected The extra e is added only with the endings for du, er/sie/es and ihr: it does not aﬀect the other verb forms: ich arbeite wir arbeiten du arbeitest ihr arbeitet Sie arbeiten Sie arbeiten er/sie/es arbeitet sie arbeiten Stem endings in -s, -ss, -ß, -x, -z, -tz Normally the verb ending for du is st, but, if the verb stem ends in s, ss or ß, add a t as the verb ending for du: inﬁnitive ﬁnite verb reisen du reist to travel küssen er küsst to kiss heißen du heißt to be called Examples: Reist du wieder nach Italien? Are you travelling to Italy again? Du heißt doch Frank, oder? You’re called Frank, aren’t you? Susi küsst gern. Susi likes kissing. For a few verbs where the stem ends in x, z or tz the same pattern applies: faxen du faxt to fax tanzen du tanzt to dance schwitzen du schwitzt to sweat 14 Unit 3 Irregular verbs with vowel changes There is a group of German verbs where the vowel in the stem changes in the present tense. These changes apply only in the du and er/sie/es forms. None of the other endings is aﬀected. Here are examples in some frequently used verbs: inﬁnitive ﬁnite verb schlafen er schläft to sleep essen sie isst to eat sprechen du sprichst to speak lesen du liest to read sehen er sieht to see Examples: Liest du gern Harry Potter? Do you like reading Harry Potter? Er sieht ein Fußballspiel. He is watching a football match. Sie isst gern Pizza. She likes eating pizza. Sprichst du Deutsch? Do you speak German? Sie schläft bis elf Uhr. She sleeps until eleven o’clock. Looking out for patterns These changes apply only to a limited number of verbs. It is best to learn these verbs by heart. There are also certain patterns which can help you predict how a verb changes. They are: a → ä e → i e → ie Here they are in more detail. Changes from a to ä Important verbs – apart from schlafen – which follow this pattern are: fahren → du fährst, er/sie/es fährt to drive halten du hältst, er/sie/es hält to hold, to stop tragen du trägst, er/sie/es trägt to carry waschen du wäschst, er/sie/es wäscht to wash Unit 3 15 Examples: Du fährst morgen nach Hause. You’re going home tomorrow. Gleich fällt es runter! Any moment now it will fall (down)! Er trägt ein neues T-Shirt. He wears a new T-shirt. Changes from e to i You have seen that sprechen and essen are two prominent verbs which change their vowel from e to i. Other verbs which follow this pattern are: geben → du gibst, er/sie/es gibt to give helfen du hilfst, er/sie/es hilft to help treﬀen du triﬀst, er/sie/es triﬀt to meet werfen du wirfst, er/sie/es wirft to throw Examples: Er hilft Frau Maier. He helps Frau Maier. Triﬀst du heute Angelika? Are you meeting Angelika today? Er wirft den Ball zu Beckham. He throws the ball to Beckham. The verb nehmen also follows the e to i pattern, but it has greater spelling variations. Here are all forms: ich nehme wir nehmen du nimmst ihr nehmt Sie nehmen Sie nehmen er/sie/es nimmt sie nehmen Examples: Nimmst du Kaﬀee oder Tee? Do you take coﬀee or tea? Er nimmt ein heißes Bad. He is taking a hot bath. Changes from e to ie Some verbs such as sehen and lesen, where the e sound is pronounced long, change their vowel e into ie: sehen → du siehst, er/sie/es sieht to see lesen du liest, er/sie/es liest to read 16 Unit 3 Another important verb is empfehlen: empfehlen → du empfiehlst, er/sie/es empfiehlt to recommend Examples: Er sieht Jutta nicht. He doesn’t see Jutta. Sie empfiehlt Tee. She recommends tea. Where to look for irregular forms All verbs with a vowel change are irregular verbs. You will ﬁnd a list of irregular verbs, often also called strong verbs, at the back of most course books and dictionaries, as well as at the back of this one. But beware: not all irregular verbs change their spelling in the present tense. Other irregular verbs There are also two other groups of verb forms which do not conform to the regular pattern in the present tense: the verbs sein and haben ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ (see Unit 4) the modal verbs (see Unit 18). Exercise 3.1 Write out the full present tense of the following verbs (for all persons: ich, du, Sie, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, Sie, sie): 1 arbeiten 2 tanzen 3 heißen 4 reisen Exercise 3.2 Here is a list of frequently used irregular verbs. Place a tick against the ones which change their vowel in the present tense and a cross against the ones which do not. The ﬁrst two have been done for you. Use a verb list to check your answers. Unit 3 17 bleiben helfen schreiben stehen essen kommen schwimmen tragen fahren nehmen sehen treﬀen geben lesen singen trinken gehen schlafen sprechen waschen Exercise 3.3 Here is what Hans Homann, a young television presenter from Austria, says about himself. Use this information to write a short portrait of him. The ﬁrst sentence has been done for you. 1 Ich heiße Hans Homann. → Er heißt Hans Homann. 2 Ich komme aus Wien. 3 Ich arbeite für das Österreichische Fernsehen. 4 Ich spreche natürlich Deutsch, aber auch Englisch und Spanisch. 5 Ich lese gern Kriminalromane. 6 Ich fahre auch gern Ski und schwimme viel. 7 Ich sehe gern alte Filme mit Marlene Dietrich. 8 Ich schlafe oft lange. 9 Ich reise gern. 10 Und ich helfe am Wochenende alten Leuten. Exercise 3.4 Translate the following sentences into German: 1 She reads a book. 2 Peter speaks German and English. 3 We speak German and Spanish. 4 Magda likes eating pizza. 5 I’ll have a beer, please. 6 He has a beer. 7 She is wearing a T-shirt. 8 It is raining. 18 Unit 3 Checklist 1 Can you remember for which endings there is a stem vowel change? 2 Can you identify when you need to use an additional e? 3 What do you need to remember if the stem ends in an s sound? 4 What are the most common stem vowel changes? UNIT FOUR Irregular verbs: haben and sein Irregular in both languages The verbs haben ‘to have’ and sein ‘to be’ are both very important. They are quite irregular in German, as in English. Different patterns As explained in Unit 3, irregular verbs in German tend to change their stem vowel. In the present tense this sometimes aﬀects the du and er/sie/es forms: lesen → du liest, er/sie/es liest to read essen du isst, er/sie/es isst to eat Sein is an example of an irregular verb where the endings change even more drastically. This is very similar to English, where ‘to be’ has very irregular forms in the present tense: ‘I am’, ‘you are’, ‘he/she/it is’, ‘we are’, ‘you are’, ‘they are’. Haben and sein – an overview Here is an overview of the verb forms for haben and sein: haben sein ich (I) habe bin du (you, informal) hast bist Sie (you, formal) haben sind er/sie/es (he/she/it) hat ist wir (we) haben sind 20 Unit 4 ihr (you, plural, informal) habt seid Sie (you, plural, formal) haben sind sie (they) haben sind Here are both verbs in more detail. Haben in more detail Different pattern for du and er/sie/es There are some patterns with haben which may help you remember the endings. The endings for ich, wir, ihr and sie are regular: you add them to the stem in the normal way: ich hab-e, wir hab-en, ihr hab-t, sie hab-en. It is only for du and er/sie/es that the ﬁnite verb form is irregular – you need to drop the b from the stem: du hast, er/sie/es hat. Examples Ich habe viel zu tun. I have a lot to do. Claus hat eine Schwester. Claus has one sister. Haben Sie Wechselgeld? Do you have change? Sie haben ein neues Auto. They have a new car. Use of haben Haben is an important verb which you will be using a lot. It is used to form tenses just as English uses ‘to have’: Ich habe gesungen. I have sung. Useful phrases Here are a few useful phrases with haben: Hunger haben to be hungry Ich habe Hunger. Durst haben to be thirsty Er hat Durst. Zeit haben to be free/have time Du hast Zeit. Langeweile haben to be bored Wir haben Langeweile. Kopfschmerzen haben to have a headache Sie hat Kopfschmerzen. Unit 4 21 Sein in more detail Completely irregular The ﬁnite verb forms for sein are completely irregular and need to be learned by heart: ich bin, du bist, Sie sind, er/sie/es ist, wir sind, ihr seid, Sie sind, sie sind. Examples: Ich bin aus Deutschland. I’m from Germany. Sind Sie Herr Schuhmacher? Are you Mr Schuhmacher? Du bist sehr schön. You’re very beautiful. Er ist Amerikaner. He is an American. Sie ist Lehrerin. She is a teacher. Es ist schwer. It’s diﬃcult. Entschuldigung, wir sind verspätet. Apologies, we are late. Seid Ihr verheiratet? Are you married? Wir sind aus Großbritannien. We’re from Great Britain. And there is, of course Shakespeare: To be or not to be, that is the question. In German this would be: Sein oder Nicht-Sein. Das ist die Frage. Use of sein Like haben, sein is an important verb and you will be using it a lot. It is used to form tenses and other grammatical forms. Reminder – only one present tense in German Although there are many similarities between the use of ‘to be’/sein in English and German, there are also important diﬀerences. You cannot, for instance, use sein to form a tense similar to the English: ‘I am going’. This tense does not exist in German. There is only one present tense: Ich gehe. For more irregular verb endings in the present tense see Unit 3. To remind yourself of the regular endings see Unit 2. Exercise 4.1 Complete the following sentences with the correct ﬁnite verb forms of haben. 22 Unit 4 Example: Ich eine Schwester. → Ich habe eine Schwester. 1 du heute Abend Zeit? 2 Wir neue Nachbarn. 3 Er eine Schwester und einen Bruder. 4 ihr etwas Geld? 5 Petra ein neues Auto. 6 Sie ein Zimmer frei? 7 Ich Hunger. 8 Susanne und Frank eine neue Wohnung. Exercise 4.2 Use the appropriate ﬁnite verb forms of sein to complete the following short dialogues. Example: Was Carsten von Beruf ? – Er Student. → Was ist Carsten von Beruf ? – Er ist Student. 1 Sie Engländer? – Nein, ich aus Australien. 2 du aus Deutschland? – Ja, ich komme aus der Nähe von Bonn. 3 ihr aus München? – Nein, wir aus Nürnberg. 4 Was machen denn Kathrin und Boris? – Beide Studenten. 5 Was Nele von Beruf ? – Sie Designerin. Exercise 4.3 Now write out the full present tense (for all persons: ich, du, Sie, er/sie/es, wir, ihr, Sie, sie) of the verbs (1) haben and (2) sein. Exercise 4.4 Translate the following sentences into German. 1 We are from New York. 2 They are from Australia. 3 Mario is from Munich. 4 Are you Mr Becker? (Use (a) the du and (b) the Sie form.) 5 He has one sister. 6 Do you have time? (Use (a) the du and (b) the Sie form.) Unit 4 23 7 They are students. 8 Berlin is the capital of Germany. 9 I have a ﬂat. 10 We are hungry. Checklist 1 Do you know all the ﬁnite verb forms (in the present tense) for sein by heart? 2 What are the irregularities for haben? 3 Can you remember some useful phrases with haben? UNIT FIVE Separable verbs in the present tense What is a separable verb? These are verbs which are made up of two parts: a preﬁx and the inﬁnitive of a verb. For example: auf + stehen → aufstehen ‘to get up’. Comparison with English Separable verbs are comparable to English phrasal verbs, which consist of an inﬁnitive plus an adverb or preposition: ‘to get up’, ‘to get on’ etc. Important separable verbs Separable verbs are quite frequent in German. Here are some of the most important ones: abfahren to depart abholen to pick up abwaschen to do the washing up anfangen to start ankommen to arrive anrufen to phone aufhören to stop aufräumen to tidy up aufstehen to get up ausgehen to go out einkaufen to go shopping einladen to invite Unit 5 25 einschlafen to fall asleep fernsehen to watch television saubermachen to clean stattﬁnden to take place vorbereiten to prepare (sich) vorstellen to introduce oneself Preﬁxes go at the end When a separable verb is in the present tense, the preﬁx is usually separated from the ﬁnite form of the verb and goes to the end of the sentence: anrufen → Herr Nolte ruft seine Frau an. Mr Nolte rings his wife. aufstehen Bernhard steht um fünf Uhr morgens auf. Bernhard gets up at ﬁve o’clock in the morning. ausgehen Corinna geht jeden Tag aus. Corinna goes out every day. fernsehen Die Kinder sehen jeden Abend fern. The children watch television every evening. einkaufen Er kauft im Supermarkt ein. He goes shopping in the supermarket. stattﬁnden Das Meeting ﬁndet am Montag statt. The meeting takes place on Monday. Separable verbs in two clauses When a sentence consists of two clauses, the split-oﬀ preﬁx goes to the end of the relevant clause. This may not necessarily be at the end of the sentence. clause 1 clause 2 Ich stehe auf und dann frühstücke ich. I get up and then I have breakfast. Herr Carlsen Mr Carlsen is watching sieht fern, aber seine Kinder lesen. television, but his children are reading. If you have a sentence with several clauses which use separable verbs, then you have the split-oﬀ part at the end of each clause: 26 Unit 5 Dr Schuster schläft erst um vierundzwanzig Uhr ein, aber er steht schon um fünf Uhr auf. Dr Schuster only goes to sleep at midnight, but he gets up at ﬁve o’clock. Verbs can have more than one preﬁx A verb often takes more than one preﬁx. Here are examples of the many diﬀerent meanings that the verb kommen ‘to come’ has when combined with a preﬁx: ankommen to arrive mitkommen to come along weiterkommen to get on hereinkommen to come in herauskommen to come out nachkommen to come later zurückkommen to come back Another example is the verb steigen: einsteigen means ‘to get in/on’, umsteigen means ‘to change’ (trains, buses etc.) and aussteigen means ‘to get out/oﬀ’. You can quite often guess the meaning by knowing what the preﬁx means. But that does not work all the time, so meanings of separable verbs need to be learned. How to ﬁnd out whether a verb is separable You can ﬁnd out whether a verb is separable by checking in a good dictionary. After the main entry, it will say ‘sep.’ if it is separable. Common separable preﬁxes The most common separable preﬁxes are: ab-, an-, auf-, aus-, ein-, mit-, nach-, vor-, zu-, zurück- You will ﬁnd examples of most of these preﬁxes used with a verb in the preceding pages. Unit 5 27 Some inseparable preﬁxes There are also preﬁxes which are inseparable. They include be-, er-, ge- and ver-. Frequently used verbs with inseparable preﬁxes are bezahlen ‘to pay’, erzählen ‘to tell’, verdienen ‘to earn’, verkaufen ‘to sell’ and verstehen ‘to understand’. Er bezahlt mit seiner Kreditkarte. He pays with his credit card. Sie verkauft ihren alten Computer. She is selling her old computer. As you can see, these preﬁxes do not separate from the verb. More about separable verbs As a beginner you will probably use separable verbs most often as explained above. However, separable verbs occur also in the imperative, in combination with modal verbs, and in the perfect and future tense. See Units 6 and 20–23 for more information. If you cannot ﬁnd a separable verb in a verb list or dictionary, look up the verbs without its preﬁx. So, for example, to ﬁnd out the simple past tense form of abfahren, look up fahren in the verb list. Exercise 5.1 Here is a description of Jens Fischer’s day. Complete the gaps with the ﬁnite verb and the preﬁx. Example: ausstellen Jens den Wecker um sieben Uhr. → Jens stellt den Wecker um sieben Uhr aus. 1 Jens um halb acht Uhr. (aufstehen) 2 Er seine Arbeit um neun Uhr. (anfangen) 3 Mittags er seine Freundin. (anrufen) 4 Um siebzehn Uhr er mit seiner Arbeit. (aufhören) 5 Nach der Arbeit er im Supermarkt. (einkaufen) 6 Abends er. (fernsehen) 7 Er mit seiner Freundin. (ausgehen) 8 Um Mitternacht er meistens. (ausgehen) 28 Unit 5 Exercise 5.2 Use your dictionary to check which ones of the following verbs are separable. Put a tick against them. The ﬁrst separable verb has been done for you. aufstehen verlieren abfahren anrufen verstehen fernsehen aufhören stattﬁnden einladen mitkommen bezahlen erzählen aufräumen frühstücken einkaufen benutzen Exercise 5.3 Now use the separable verbs from Exercise 5.2 to ﬁll in the gaps below. The ﬁrst has been done for you. 1 Herr und Frau Conradi stehen um sieben Uhr auf. 2 Die Kinder ihr Zimmer. 3 Er immer im Supermarkt. 4 Wir gehen ins Kino. du ? 5 Frau Schmidt mit dem Rauchen. 6 Wann das Konzert ? 7 Herr Claus liebt Seifenopern. Er jeden Tag. 8 Wann der nächste Zug nach Hamburg ? 9 Wir viele Gäste zu unserer Party. 10 Sie kauft eine Telefonkarte und ihre Mutter. Exercise 5.4 Translate the following sentences: 1 I get up at six o’clock. 2 I start my work at 8 o’clock. 3 The meeting takes place on Monday. 4 When does the train depart? 5 When does the train arrive? 6 Michael is tidying up and his children are watching television. 7 Are you coming along to the cinema? Unit 5 29 Checklist 1 Which part of the verb is split oﬀ? 2 Where does it go in a sentence? 3 What happens if a sentence consists of more than one clause? 4 How can you check whether a verb is separable? 5 Do you know which preﬁxes are non-separable? UNIT SIX Imperatives What is the imperative? The imperative is used for giving orders or instructing people to do things. The imperative in English In English, the imperative works by using the inﬁnitive form of the verb: Go home! Open your books! Close the window! Whether you are addressing only one person or several, it does not change. Four different forms in German The imperative in German is a bit more complicated. There are diﬀerent forms depending on whether you are addressing one person only or more than one. German also distinguishes between the formal and informal mode of address in the imperative. Imperatives – an overview Here is an overview of the diﬀerent forms of the imperative: singular plural du Sie ihr Sie kommen Komm! Kommen Sie! Kommt! Kommen Sie! warten Warte. Warten Sie. Wartet. Warten Sie. sprechen Sprich Sprechen Sie Sprecht Sprechen Sie leise. leise. leise. leise. Unit 6 31 anfangen Fang an. Fangen Sie an. Fangt an. Fangen Sie an. haben Hab Haben Sie Habt Haben Sie Geduld. Geduld. Geduld. Geduld. sein Sei Seien Sie Seid Seien Sie vorsichtig. vorsichtig. vorsichtig. vorsichtig. As you can see, the du, Sie and ihr forms follow diﬀerent patterns. The formal imperative is the same in the singular and plural. Imperatives in more detail Here are the diﬀerent forms in more detail. Addressing one person informally (du form) The informal singular or du form is used with one person with whom you are quite familiar – children, family or close friends. Formation You form the imperative by using the stem of the verb without an ending: komm-en → komm Komm her! Come (here)! trink-en trink Trink weniger. Drink less. Irregular forms Verbs which have some variation in their present tense also have slight vari- ations for the imperative: Verbs ending in d, t, consonant + m or consonant + n add e to the stem: warten → wart (+-e) Warte. Wait. atmen atm (+ -e) Atme schneller. Breathe faster. Verbs which have a stem vowel change have the same stem vowel change in the imperative: sprechen → sprich Sprich leise. Talk quietly. lesen lies Lies die Zeitung. Read the newspaper. But verbs which have a stem vowel change from a to ä do not change. They simply use the stem to form the imperative: 32 Unit 6 fahren → fahr Fahr rechts! Drive on the right! tragen trag Trag das rote Kleid. Wear the red dress. Separable verbs Separable verbs split oﬀ their preﬁx and place it after the ﬁnite verb or at the end of the clause: anfangen → fang... an Fang an! Start. mitmachen mach... mit Mach mit! Join us! Haben and sein Haben and sein behave like regular verbs. Use the stem of the verb: hab-en → hab Hab Geduld. Be patient. sei-n sei Sei vorsichtig. Be careful. Addressing one person formally (Sie form) Use the formal singular or Sie form when you address one person you are not intimate with. Formation Simply use the present-tense Sie form. Unlike the informal, the formal imperative includes the personal pronoun Sie. You can tell that it is an imperative because the Sie comes after the verb: kommen → Kommen Sie, bitte. Please come. warten Warten Sie! Wait! Separable verbs Separable verbs split up again: anfangen → Fangen Sie bitte an. Please start. Addressing more than one person informally (ihr form) The informal plural is used when you are addressing at least two people or a group of people you are familiar with – children, family or friends. Unit 6 33 Formation The informal plural is formed exactly like the second person plural (ihr): add t to the stem of the verb. Verbs which take an additional e because their stem ends in d, t, consonant + m or consonant + n also have the ending stem -et. Separable verbs split oﬀ their preﬁx. Examples: kommen → Kommt, bitte! Please come. warten Wartet auf uns! Wait for us. aufhören Hört mit dem Reden Stop talking. auf. Addressing more than one person formally (Sie form) If you address more than one person in a formal way, you use the Sie plural form. As the formal imperative does not diﬀerentiate between singular and plural, it is formed exactly like the singular: kommen → Kommen Sie, meine Gentlemen, please come. Herren. warten Warten Sie! Wait! eintreten Bitte treten Sie ein. Please enter. Verb in ﬁrst position As you have seen, all imperative forms in German have one important feature in common: the verb is placed in the ﬁrst position in the sentence. This structure is very similar to English. Exclamation marks In written German, you often put an exclamation mark after the command form. This puts more emphasis on what is being said. Frequent use The imperative is used quite frequently in German. It is not impolite or rude to do so. English tends to use more elaborate structures, often in question 34 Unit 6 form, when asking somebody to do something: ‘Could you open the window, please?’ Although German quite often uses similar phrases, be prepared for imperatives as well. Exercise 6.1 Complete these commands by using the verbs in brackets. Example: Sie langsamer, bitte. (reden) → Reden Sie lang- samer, bitte. 1 Brigen Sie mir noch ein Bier, bitte.(bringen) 2 Schreiben Sie bitte die Rechnung.(schreiben) 3 Erzahlen Sie doch bitte von Ihrem Urlaub.(erzählen) 4 Warten Sie bitte noch fünf Minuten.(warten) 5 Fang en Sie an!(anfangen) 6 Horen Sie mit dem Rauchen auf !(aufhören) 7 Sind Sie bitte ruhig.(sein) 8 Haben Sie ein bisschen Geduld.(haben) Exercise 6.2 Now rewrite the sentences from Exercise 6.1, this time using the du form. Example: 1 Bring mir noch ein Bier, bitte. Schreib bitte die Rechnung Erzähl doch bbite von Ihrem Urblaub Exercise 6.3 You are giving your close friend advice about her health. Put the following in the command form, using the du form. Example: mehr Zeit für sich selber / haben → Hab mehr Zeit für dich selber! Iss mehr Gemüse 1 mehr Gemüse / essen Fahr mehr mit dem Fahrrad Hör mit dem Rachen auf 2 mehr mit dem Fahrrad / fahren Sieh weniger fern 3 mit dem Rauchen / aufhören 4 weniger / fernsehen 5 weniger Tabletten / nehmen 6 mehr Bücher über Gesundheit / lesen 7 mehr / schlafen 8 relaxter / sein Fang bitte an Fangen Sie bitte an Fangt an öffnen Sie das Fenster öffne das f Unit 6 35 Exercise 6.4 Translate the following sentences. To practise all command forms in German, use ﬁrst the Sie form, then the du form and ﬁnally the ihr form. 1 Please start. 2 Open the window. 3 Could you bring me the bill, please. 4 Be careful. Checklist 1 How many diﬀerent imperative forms are there in German? 3 2 How do you form the singular informal imperative? stem 3 Do normal verb variations apply in the formation of the imperative? 4 How do you recognise the formal imperative? UNIT SEVEN Questions Two types of questions There are two main types of questions. The ﬁrst starts with a question word (interrogative) and tends to be more ‘open’. The second starts with a ﬁnite verb and requires ‘yes’ or ‘no’ as an answer. Similar use in English and German Both types are frequently used in English and German: Interrogative Where do you come from? Woher kommen Sie? Where do you live? Wo wohnen Sie? Yes or no question Have you got brothers and sisters? Haben Sie Geschwister? Is this your mobile? Ist das Ihr Handy? Here are both types in more detail. Interrogative or ‘w-questions’ in detail Frequently used question words Here is a list of important question words and their English equivalents: wer? who? was? what? wo? where? woher? where... from? wohin? where... (to)? Unit 7 37 wann? when? wie? how? what? wie lange? how long? wie viel? how much? wie viele? how many? wie oft? how often? warum? why? Examples Here are some examples which show how the question words work. Wer ist das? Who is that? Wo wohnst du? Where do you live? Woher kommen Sie? Where do you come from? Wohin fährt Juliane nächstes Where is Juliane going next Wochenende? weekend? Wie ist deine E-Mail-Adresse? What is your e-mail address? Wie viel kosten 100 Gramm How much is 100 grams of Mozzarella? Mozzarella? Wie oft gehst du aus? How often do you go out? Useful points As you can see, the usage of most question words in German is very similar to English. Note the following points. Wie used for names and adresses The German interrogative wie ‘how’ is also used when you ask for a name or address: Wie ist dein Name? What is your name? Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer/ What is your phone number/ Adresse? address? It is incorrect to use was in such questions. Use of wo, wohin and woher Note that wo corresponds to the English ‘where’. If motion to or from a place is indicated, German always uses wohin or woher: 38 Unit 7 Wo ist die Kirche? Where is the church? Wohin gehst du heute Abend? Where are you going (to) this evening? Woher kommst du gerade? Where have you just come from? How to ask about professions and where you work The most common way in German to ask what somebody does for a living is: Was sind Sie von Beruf? What do you do for a living? lit.What are you by profession To ﬁnd out for which company somebody is working, the question in German is: Wo arbeiten Sie? For whom do you work? lit.Where do you work? Question words in ﬁrst position The question word occupies the ﬁrst place in a question. It is followed by the ﬁnite verb as the second idea and then the subject: question word ﬁnite verb subject other elements Woher kommen Sie? Wohin fährt Juliane am Wochenende? Yes and no questions in detail Formation The second type of question can by answered by a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. As you can see, it does not need a question word. Instead the ﬁnite verb moves into the ﬁrst position: ﬁnite verb subject other elements Kommt Peter aus Berlin? Wohnen Sie im Hotel ‘Zur Sonne’? Trinkst du gern? Unit 7 39 This structure diﬀers from a statement, where the ﬁnite verb is the second idea: statement question Peter kommt aus Berlin. Kommt Peter aus Berlin? Sie wohnen im Hotel Zur Sonne. Wohnen Sie im Hotel ‘Zur Sonne’? Simpler structure than English English often uses the verb ‘do’ to form this kind of question: ‘Does Peter come from Berlin?’ ‘Do you stay in the hotel “Zur Sonne”?’ ‘Do you like drinking?’ In German, these structures do not exist. It is suﬃcient to move the ﬁnite verb to the beginning of the sentence. Here are some more examples: Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Do you speak German? Arbeitet er bei MTV Deutschland? Does he work for MTV Germany? Läuft sie wirklich jeden Tag 10 km? Does she really run 10 km each day? German is much simpler than English in this respect. Exercise 7.1 Supply the missing question words from the list. The ﬁrst one has been done for you. wo wie wie wann wo was wie wie woher wie 1 Wie heißen Sie? 2 wo wohnen Sie? 3 was ist Ihre E-Mail-Adresse? 4 wo arbeiten Sie? 5 was sind Sie von Beruf ? 6 woherkommen Sie eigentlich? 7 wie viel kostet das? 8 wannbeginnt das Konzert? 9 wie viel Uhr ist es? 10 wie viele Einwohner hat Deutschland? 40 Unit 7 Exercise 7.2 Here is an interview with Oliver Gehrs, who is a well-known journalist. Can you ﬁnd out what the questions were? Example: Wie alt sind Sie? → Ich bin 32 Jahre alt. 1 wie ist Ihr Name ? → Mein Name ist Oliver Gehrs. 2 Was sind? Sie von Beruf → Ich bin Journalist. 3 ? Wann fangen Sie Ihre Arbeit → Meine Arbeit beginnt meistens um 8.00 Uhr. 4 Ist Ihre?Arbeit sehr Interestant? → Ja, die Arbeit ist sehr interessant. Manchmal aber auch ein wenig stressig. 5 Haben?Sie kindern? → Ja, ich habe Kinder. Eine Tochter und zwei Söhne. 6 ? → Ja, ich bin seit fast 15 Jahren verheiratet. 7 ? → Ich lese gern, ich gehe gern ins Kino und ich schwimme auch viel. 8 ? → Nein, ich spreche kein Spanisch. Ich spreche aber sehr gut Englisch. Exercise 7.3 Translate the following questions. Use both the du and Sie forms for ‘you’. 1 What is your name? 2 Where do you come from? 3 What is your e-mail address? 4 What is the time? 5 Are you married? 6 Do you have children? 7 Do you speak English? Wie ist Ihr Name Wie ist deine Name Woher kommen Sie Wie ist Ihr Email adresse? wie viel Uhr ist es Bist du verheiratet Haben Sie Kinder Unit 7 41 Checklist 1 Which question word do you use when you ask for a name or an address? 2 Where do you put the ﬁnite verb in a yes or no question? 3 Where do you put the ﬁnite verb in a ‘w-question’? 4 If you want to describe somebody coming from somewhere or going to a destination, which question words do you need to use? UNIT EIGHT Nouns and gender What is a noun? A noun is a word used to name a person, an object, an abstract quality or a concept: a woman, a boat, friendship, democracy. In many languages nouns have diﬀerent genders – they can be masculine, feminine or neuter. Biological gender in English In English, the gender of nouns conforms with their status: things, objects, animals and concepts are neuter (‘it’), female persons are feminine (‘she’) and male persons are masculine (‘he’). This way of classifying nouns can be called ‘biological’ gender. German uses instead grammatical gender, where there is no such obvious relationship. Three genders in German In German, all nouns are masculine, feminine or neuter. They can be identi- ﬁed by the deﬁnite article (‘the’ in English) which is diﬀerent for each gender: der is for masculine nouns, die for female and das for neuter nouns: Masculine der der Mann, der Tisch the man, the table Feminine die die Frau, die Tür the woman, the door Neuter das das Kind, das Fenster the child, the window Note that in the plural all three groups take the same article: die Männer ‘the men’, die Frauen ‘the women’, die Kinder ‘the children’. Unit 8 43 As you can see, it is easy to guess the gender for nouns where the natural gender is fairly clear: der Mann is masculine and die Frau feminine. Unfortunately for the majority of nouns the gender seems diﬃcult to work out. The German words for ‘table’, ‘door’ and ‘window’ for example all belong to diﬀerent groups. It is therefore advisable to learn a new noun with its gender: der Tisch, die Tür, das Fenster. How to ﬁnd the gender of a noun In a dictionary the gender of a noun is usually indicated after the word. The most common abbreviations are: m (masculine), f (feminine), nt (neuter). Nevertheless, there are some clues that can help you work out whether a noun is masculine, feminine or neuter. One is the ending of a noun. There are also certain groups of nouns which have identical genders. Here is an overview. Clues for masculine nouns Typical endings The following endings usually indicate that a noun is masculine: -er der Computer, der Wecker computer, alarm clock -ig der Honig, der Käfig honey, cage -ismus der Idealismus, der Kapitalismus idealism, capitalism -ling der Frühling, der Schilling spring, shilling -or der Motor, der Reaktor engine, reactor Groups of nouns There are also certain groups of nouns which are masculine. They include: male persons der Vater, der Sohn father, son names of days and months der Montag, der August Monday, August names of seasons der Sommer, der Winter summer, winter makes of cars der BMW, der Jaguar BMW, Jaguar alcoholic drinks der Whisky, der Wein whisky, wine ‘Beer’ is an exception and neuter: das Bier 44 Unit 8 Clues for feminine nouns Typical feminine endings The following endings usually indicate that a noun is feminine: -ei die Bäckerei, die Türkei bakery, Turkey -enz die Intelligenz, die Diﬀerenz intelligence, diﬀerence -heit die Freiheit, die Dummheit freedom, stupidity -ie die Demokratie, die Phantasie democracy, imagination -ion die Nation, die Kommunikation nation, communication -keit die Schwierigkeit, die Möglich- diﬃculty, possibility/ keit opportunity -tät die Universität, die Fakultät university, faculty -schaft die Mannschaft, die Landschaft team, landscape -ung die Wohnung, die Zeitung ﬂat, newspaper -ur die Kultur, die Natur culture, nature Note also that about ninety per cent of nouns ending in -e are feminine: die Adresse ‘address’, die Flasche ‘bottle’, die Krawatte ‘tie’ But there are a number of important exceptions such as der Name ‘name’ and der Käse ‘cheese’. Groups of nouns Nouns which tend to be feminine are: female persons die Mutter, die Tochter mother, daughter names of motorbikes and ships die BMW, die Titanic BMW, Titanic names of trees and ﬂowers die Eiche, die Rose oak, rose Notable exceptions include: das Mädchen ‘girl’, das Veilchen ‘violet’. Clues for neuter nouns Typical endings As for the other two genders, certain endings help you identify that a noun is neuter. The most important are: Unit 8 45 -chen das Mädchen, das Märchen girl, fairy tale -lein das Fräulein, das Männlein Miss, little man -ma das Klima, das Thema climate, theme/topic -ment das Dokument, das Instrument document, instrument -o das Kino, das Büro cinema, oﬃce -um das Album, das Zentrum album, centre Important exceptions include: die Firma ‘company’. Groups of nouns There are also certain groups of nouns which tend to be neuter: young persons das Baby, das Kind baby, child inﬁnitives used as nouns das Singen, das Tanzen singing, dancing names of hotels and cinemas das Hilton, das Roxy the Hilton, the Roxy names of most metals das Silber, das Gold silver, gold diminutives das Tischlein small table Compound nouns You may have noticed that German speakers love to form long words. In grammar terms a word that is made up of more than one noun is called a compound noun. In this case the last noun deﬁnes the gender: der Wein + die Flasche → die Weinﬂasche wine bottle das Telefon + die Nummer die Telefonnummer telephone number der Computer + das Spiel das Computerspiel computer game Nouns take capital letters in German Remember that all nouns in German start with a capital letter: Der Computer hat eine neue The computer has a new Tastatur. keyboard. Wie heißt das Kino? What is the name of the cinema? This can help you spot a noun in a German sentence. 46 Unit 8 Plurals of articles You have already seen that there are three diﬀerent singular forms for the deﬁnite article: der, die and das. In the plural all three are die. The indeﬁnite articles The indeﬁnite article (‘a’ in English) is: ein for masculine nouns, eine for feminine nouns and ein for neuter nouns: Masculine ein ein Mann, ein Tisch a man, a table Feminine eine eine Frau, eine Tür a woman, a door Neuter ein ein Kind, ein Fenster a child, a window Articles can change In more complex structures the forms of both the deﬁnite and the indeﬁnite articles can change slightly. For more details see Units 10–14. Summary of main pointers Here is a summary of the main clues that can help you identify the gender of a noun in German: Groups of nouns include: masculine nouns (der) feminine nouns (die) neuter nouns (das) Male persons, names Female persons, names Young persons, of days and months, of motorbikes and inﬁnitives used as names of seasons, ships, names of trees nouns, names of hotels makes of cars, and ﬂowers and cinemas, names of alcoholic drinks most metals, diminutives Endings are: -er, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ion, -chen, -lein, -ma, -ment, -or -tät, -schaft, -ung, -ur -o, -um Unit 8 47 Exercise 8.1 Here are groups of nouns. Do you remember which article they take? Example: Hilton, Ritz, Vierjahreszeiten-Hotel → das Hilton, Ritz, Vierjahreszeiten-Hotel 1 Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Sonntag 2 Audi, Ferrari, Mini, Ford 3 Silber, Gold, Eisen, Kupfer 4 Rose, Tulpe, Sonnenblume 5 Tochter, Schwester, Mutter, Oma 6 Sommer, Frühling, Herbst, Winter 7 Wodka, Rum, Rotwein, Schnaps 8 Schwimmen, Essen, Tanzen, Joggen Exercise 8.2 Decide whether the nouns in the box are masculine, feminine or neuter and put m, f or nt in the appropriate box. Most words have appeared previously, but, if you are not sure about the meaning, check in your dictionary. The ﬁrst two have been done for you. Konditorei f Auto Tasse Computer Lampe f Märchen Metzgerei Museum Kirche Emigration Zentrum Religion Liberalismus Nation Demokratie Instrument Zeitung Kino Büro Terror Meinung Universität Solidarität Motor Flasche Modernismus Mädchen Kultur Now make a list of the typical (1) masculine, (2) feminine and (3) neuter endings that have appeared in the above examples. 48 Unit 8 Exercise 8.3 Rewrite the following sentences and put a capital letter where necessary. All German sentences start with a capital letter. Example: berlin hat eine lange geschichte → Berlin hat eine lange Geschichte. 1 berlin ist eine fantastische stadt. 2 das hotel, wo wir wohnen, ist sehr komfortabel. 3 der service ist ausgezeichnet und das essen ist gut. 4 die woche geht so schnell vorbei. 5 die landschaft um berlin und besonders die seen sind sehr schön. 6 heute abend gehen wir in die kneipe und feiern unseren letzten tag in berlin. Exercise 8.4 Translate the following sentences. 1 The Ferrari is very fast. 2 The table and the window are broken. 3 The daughter is called Marianna. 4 The newspaper is too expensive. 5 The rose is very beautiful. 6 The cinema is closed. (closed = geschlossen) 7 The football team is bad. 8 The beer costs 2 euros. 9 The town centre is very old. 10 Is the computer new? 11 The girl is ﬁve years old and the boy is seven. 12 The cheese is from France. Unit 8 49 Checklist 1 Why is gender so important for learners of German? What is meant by grammatical gender? 2 Can you give the deﬁnite and indeﬁnite articles for masculine, feminine, neuter nouns? 3 What are the endings which indicate that a noun is masculine, feminine, neuter? 4 Can you list the categories in which nouns are usually masculine, feminine, neuter? 5 What is distinctive about the spelling of German nouns? UNIT NINE Plural of nouns Singular and plural When nouns refer to only one item grammatically they are in the singular form. If you talk about more than one item you use the plural: ein Auto ‘a car’ (singular) → zwei Autos ‘two cars’ (plural). Plurals in English In English it is relatively easy to form the plural forms of nouns – normally you only add ‘-s’: ‘a cigarette’ → ‘two cigarettes’, ‘a house’ → ‘ﬁve houses’. Exceptions include: ‘a woman’ → ‘two women’, ‘a child’ → ‘three children’. Patterns in German German has several ways of forming the plural. It is therefore advisable to learn a new word with its plural form. But as with gender there are patterns for typical endings, or plural formations for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. Here is an overview. Clues for masculine nouns Adding -e The great majority of masculine nouns form their plural by just adding -e: Unit 9 51 singular plural ending: -e der Beruf job die Berufe jobs -e der Film ﬁlm die Filme ﬁlms -e der Tisch table die Tische tables -e Adding an umlaut + -e Often an umlaut is added when the original stem vowel is a, o or u: singular plural ending: umlaut + -e der Ball ball die Bälle balls umlaut + -e der Zug train die Züge trains umlaut + -e Nouns ending in -er, -el or -en Nouns ending in -er, -el or -en have no change or sometimes add an umlaut: singular plural no ending or just umlaut der Kuchen cake die Kuchen cakes – der Apfel apple die Äpfel apples umlaut Always remember that these are only guidelines, there are some irregular endings such as der Mann → die Männer. Clues for feminine nouns Adding -n or -en The huge majority of feminine nouns add -n or -en: singular plural ending -n or -en die Frau woman die Frauen women -en die Zeitung newspaper die Zeitungen newspapers -en die Tasse cup die Tassen cups -n die Sprache language die Sprachen languages -n Adding umlaut + -e A number of commonly used feminine nouns add umlaut: + -e: singular plural ending -e + umlaut die Hand hand die Hände hands Umlaut + -e die Stadt city die Städte cities Umlaut + -e 52 Unit 9 Again be aware that there are diﬀerent forms. Mutter and Tochter for instance both only add an umlaut: die Mutter → die Mütter; die Tochter → die Töchter. Clues for neuter nouns Adding -e Most neuter nouns add -e but no umlaut: singular plural ending: -e das Bein leg die Beine legs -e das Haar hair die Haare hairs -e das Jahr year die Jahre years -e Adding umlaut + er Another common ending is -er, with an umlaut where the original stem vowel is a, o or u: singular plural ending: -er or umlaut + -er das Kind child die Kinder children -er das Buch book die Bücher books umlaut + -er Nouns ending in -chen or -lein Nouns ending in -chen or -lein do not change in the plural: singular plural no ending das Mädchen girl die Mädchen girls – Foreign words Foreign word which are ‘imported’ into German from English or French usually add -s: der Chef boss → die Chefs bosses die Party party die Partys parties das Team team die Teams teams Unit 9 53 How to ﬁnd the plural from a dictionary If you do not know the plural form of a noun you can look it up in a dictionary. The plural form is usually given in third place following the gender and the genitive ending (see Units 10 and 12) of the noun: Beruf m, -(e)s, -e occupation, job → Here the plural is given as -e: Berufe Reise f, -, -n journey, trip → Here the plural is given as -n: Reisen If you look up the ending of a noun and see -̈, this means that an umlaut is needed: Vater m, -s, -̈ father → The plural should therefore be Väter. In some cases an umlaut plus another ending is required: Hand f, -, -̈e hand → Here you have to add an umlaut plus -e: Hand becomes Hände Points to remember Here is a summary of the most common plural noun endings: -e Most masculine nouns need an extra -e: der Film → die Filme The same applies to neuter nouns: das Bier → die Biere -e + umlaut Many masculine nouns also add an umlaut: der Ball → die Bälle So do a number of feminine nouns: die Hand → die Hände -er (+ umlaut) Many neuter nous add umlaut + -er when possible: das Buch → die Bücher A few masculine nouns also take the same changes: der Wald → die Wälder -n or -en Around ninety per cent of feminine nouns follow this pattern: die Sprache → die Sprachen die Frau → die Frauen -s Most foreign words in German take -s: die Party → die Partys no ending Nouns ending with -chen or -lein: das Mädchen → die Mädchen Nouns ending with -el, -en, -er: der Spiegel → die Spiegel Often they add an umlaut: der Vater → die Väter 54 Unit 9 Exercise 9.1 Use the given information and write out the plural form of the following nouns. The ﬁrst has been done for you. 1 Messer nt, - die Messer 2 Blumentopf m, -̈e 3 Buch nt, -̈er 4 Kühlschrank m, -̈e 5 Glas nt, -̈er 6 Mutter f, -̈ 7 Mantel m, -̈ 8 Regal nt, -e 9 Tasse f, -n 10 Teppich m, -e 11 Zeitung f, -en 12 Zimmer nt, - Exercise 9.2 Give the plural form of the following nouns. Example: die Flasche → die Flaschen 1 der Tag → die 2 der Kurs die 3 der Orangensaft die 4 der Gast die 5 der Schnaps die 6 die Tasse → die 7 die Tomate die 8 die Meinung die 9 die Stadt die 10 die Bratwurst die 11 das Schiﬀ → die 12 das Boot die 13 das Haus die 14 das Buch die 15 das Land die 16 das Hotel → die 17 die Cola die 18 das Büro die 19 der Tipp die 20 der Club die Unit 9 55 Exercise 9.3 Now go through the plural forms again and identify the typical (1) masculine, (2) neuter and (3) feminine endings used in these examples. Exercise 9.4 Translate the following sentences. 1 I would like two bottles, please. 2 Two sausages, please. 3 The apples are very sweet. 4 He has got two sisters and three brothers. 5 She reads three newspapers. 6 The ﬂat has four rooms. 7 She speaks ﬁve languages. 8 The parties are always interesting. Checklist 1 How do most masculine nouns form the plural? 2 How do most feminine nouns form the plural? 3 How do most neuter nouns form the plural? 4 How do most foreign (imported) words form the plural? 5 Where do you ﬁnd information on how the plural is formed in a dictionary entry? UNIT TEN The four cases This Unit will give you a very short overview of the basic rules governing the cases in German and will compare them to English. Units 11–14 will explain each case in detail and give examples and exercises. What are cases? Nouns (words such as ‘man’, ‘house’, ‘dog’) play diﬀerent roles in a sentence or clause. For example, a noun can be the agent of what is happening (‘Dog bites man’) or it can be in the position where the action of the verb happens to it (‘Dog bites man’). In German, these diﬀerent roles are signalled by the case. The diﬀerent cases are shown in the endings. How does this compare to English? In English, the noun also plays these diﬀerent roles in the sentence. You know that a noun is a subject when it comes before the verb. If it is an object, it comes after the verb. But normally the case isn’t evident, except when you use pronouns: ‘he’/‘she’/‘it’ etc.: Peter loves Mary. He loves her. Mary loves Peter. She loves him. The four cases in German There are four diﬀerent cases in German. Each case can be linked with a particular role, or ‘function’, in the sentence. Unit 10 57 The nominative case The nominative is used when the noun is the subject of the sentence, i.e. the ‘agent’ of what is happening (‘Who is doing the action?’): Der Mann liest. The man is reading. The accusative case When the noun is the direct object, i.e. the ‘receiver’ of the action in the sentence, German normally uses the accusative (‘Who or what is aﬀected by the action?’): Der Mann liest einen Roman. The man is reading a novel. The dative case In addition to the direct object, many verbs can take a second object, the indirect object (‘To whom/what, or for whom/what is the action done?’). Der Mann gibt der Frau einen The man gives the woman a Roman. novel. The genitive case This is used to show the relationship between two nouns. It indicates that one item ‘belongs’ to the other. Der Hut des Mannes. The man’s hat. Why are cases important? The cases dictate the endings of deﬁnite articles (‘the’ – der, die, das), indeﬁnite articles (‘a’ – ein, eine, ein) and other words linked with nouns (see Units 11–14 for more). Here is a quick overview of how the four cases aﬀect the indeﬁnite article and the deﬁnite article. The indeﬁnite article: nominative accusative dative genitive masculine ein einen einem eines feminine eine eine einer einer neuter ein ein einem eines 58 Unit 10 The deﬁnite article: nominative accusative dative genitive masculine der den dem des feminine die die der der neuter das das dem des Can you spot the changed endings in the examples on the previous page? Answers: einen Roman = masculine accusative; der Frau = feminine dative; des Mannes = masculine genitive. Factors which determine case There are three factors which determine case. We have explained one of them above: the case is determined by the role the noun plays in the sentence; is it a subject or an object? There are two more factors, which decide what case must be used: the verb, and prepositions in the sentence. Verbs The verb determines which case you use for the object: The majority of verbs require the accusative. Certain verbs always require the dative (for example, helfen ‘to help’ or gehören ‘to belong’). Very few verbs take the genitive case. If you have a verb which requires the dative case, then the object in the German sentence must be in the dative even if it would be a direct object in English: Der Mann hilft der Frau. The man helps the woman. In the German, ‘the woman’ is in the dative case (der Frau) because helfen is a verb after which you must always use the dative. Prepositions Prepositions in German (words such as English ‘at’, ‘on’, ‘to’, ‘for’) require a certain case. Unit 10 59 Some of them take the accusative (for example durch ‘through’ or für ‘for’. Some prepositions take the dative (for example mit ‘with’ or von ‘from’. Very few prepositions take the genitive. If you have a preposition which requires the accusative case, then the object in the German sentence must be in the accusative, even if it would be an indirect object in English: Ich kaufe einen Roman für meinen I’m buying a novel for my friend. Freund. In English, ‘for my friend’ is the indirect object, but in German für meinen Freund is in the accusative case because für is one of the prepositions after which you must always use the accusative. Summary of basic principles The use of cases is determined by three principles: whether the noun is the subject or the object of the sentence the verb, and any prepositions used. It is particularly important to learn which verbs take the dative, and which prepositions govern which case. Exercise 10.1 Underline the subject – the noun in the nominative – in each sentence. Example: Die Frau isst einen Hamburger. → Die Frau isst einen Hamburger. 1 Der Mann geht ins Kino. 2 Das Kind spielt mit den Autos. 3 Nach dem Essen trinken die Leute noch Kaﬀee. 4 Die Katze heißt Kassandra. 5 In der Garage steht das Auto. 6 Um acht Uhr verlässt die Nachbarin das Haus. 60 Unit 10 Exercise 10.2 Identify the objects in the following sentences and number them 1 and 2. Can you identify which one is in the accusative and which one in the dative case? Check the tables above for endings. Example: Sie gibt dem Mann eine Zigarette. → dem Mann (1), eine Zigarette (2) (1) dem Mann is in the dative case (something is given to him) (2) eine Zigarette is in the accusative case 1 Ich schenke der Frau ein Buch. 2 Er kauft dem Mädchen ein Eis. 3 Herr Schulz zeigt dem Gast seinen Garten. 4 Der Kellner bringt dem Mann das Essen. Exercise 10.3 In the two tables below, put a tick against those endings which are diﬀerent from the nominative. One of each has been done for you. The indeﬁnite article: accusative dative genitive masculine einen einem eines feminine eine einer einer neuter ein einem eines The deﬁnite article: accusative dative genitive masculine den dem des feminine die der der neuter das dem des Unit 10 61 Checklist 1 How many principles govern the cases in German? 2 Can you give these principles? 3 Which case do you use for the subject? 4 Which case do you normally use for the direct object? 5 Which case do you normally use for the indirect object? 6 Which words or parts of words change when you use the diﬀerent cases? 7 When is an ‘indirect’ object in the accusative cace? 8 When is a ‘direct’ object in the dative case? UNIT ELEVEN The nominative case What is the nominative case? German uses the nominative case if the noun is the subject in a sentence – a person or thing doing the action. Examples Here are some examples of nouns in the nominative case: Der Mann hört Musik. The man is listening to music. Die Frau liest das Buch. The woman reads the book. Das Kind kauft einen Apfel. The child buys an apple. Die Gäste wollen es nicht. The guests don’t want it. Endings in the nominative case As described in Unit 10, cases are important in German because they aﬀect the endings of various words linked to nouns. Here is an overview of the most common endings: modiﬁer masculine feminine neuter plural deﬁnite articles der Mann die Frau das Kind die Gäste indeﬁnite articles ein Mann eine Frau ein Kind Gäste negative article kein Mann keine Frau kein Kind keine Gäste possessive mein Mann meine Frau mein Kind meine Gäste The nominative case after sein and werden Note that you also use the nominative after sein ‘to be’ and werden ‘to become’: Unit 11 63 Er ist ein interessanter Mann. He is an interesting man. Es wird ein schöner Tag. It’s going to be a nice day. However, this is not always obvious, since you sometimes do not use an indeﬁnite article with these verbs in German: Er ist Ingenieur. He is an engineer. Sie wird Lehrerin. She is going to be(come) a teacher. How to spot the nominative case The subject does not have to be at the beginning of the sentence: Morgen fährt die Klasse Tomorrow the class is going nach Berlin. to Berlin. Nach dem Essen trinkt er After the meal he drinks einen Expresso. an espresso. An easy way to ﬁnd out the subject of a sentence is to ask ‘Who or what is doing the action?’ Who is going to Berlin tomorrow? The class. Who is drinking an espresso? He is. Exercise 11.1 Fill in the correct form of the indeﬁnite (ein, eine, ein) and deﬁnite articles (der, die, das, plural die) in the nominative. The genders of the nouns are given in parentheses. Example:(f) Das ist eine Popgruppe. Die Popgruppe heißt No Angels. 1 (m) Das ist Computer. Computer kostet 1200 Euro. 2 (nt) Das ist Auto. Auto ist ein VW. 3 (f) Das ist Zeitung. Zeitung heißt Die Welt. 4 (f) Das ist Flasche Bier. Flasche kommt aus München. 5 (nt) Das ist Hotel. Hotel heißt Maritim. 6 (m) Das ist Supermarkt. Supermarkt heißt Aldi. 7 (pl) Das sind Studenten. Studenten kommen aus Kanada. 8 (pl) Das sind Briefmarken. Briefmarken kommen aus der ganzen Welt. 64 Unit 11 Exercise 11.2 Underline the subject in the following sentences: Example: Am Wochenende spielt sie meistens Fußball. → Am Wochenende spielt sie meistens Fußball. 1 Morgen fahren wir nach Italien. 2 Meine Mutter heißt Karin. 3 Hast du heute Zeit? 4 Im Sommer wohnen wir in Berlin. 5 Trinkt er gerne Bier? Exercise 11.3 Translate the following sentences. 1 This is a house. 2 The house is very old. 3 The man is called Mario. 4 He is an engineer. 5 The newspaper is very interesting. 6 Aldi is a supermarket in Germany. 7 Who are the children? Checklist 1 What function does the noun have in a sentence when it is in the nominative case? 2 After which two verbs do you also use the nominative? 3 How can you spot the subject in a sentence? UNIT TWELVE The accusative case What is the accusative case? German normally uses the accusative case when the noun is the direct object, i.e. the ‘receiver’ of the action in the sentence: Der Mann kauft den Computer. The man buys the computer. Masculine forms change In the accusative case, the endings for the modiﬁers (for example, the deﬁnite article, e.g. der, or the indeﬁnite article, e.g. ein), change when used for masculine nouns: der changes to den and ein changes to einen For nouns in the feminine, the neuter and the plural, the endings are the same as in the nominative case. Endings in the accusative case Here is an overview of accusative endings for some of the most common modiﬁers: modiﬁer masculine feminine neuter plural deﬁnite articles den Mann die Frau das Kind die Gäste indeﬁnite articles einen Mann eine Frau ein Kind – Gäste negative article keinen Mann keine Frau kein Kind keine Gäste possessive meinen Mann meine Frau mein Kind meine Gäste As you can see, the endings for all masculine modiﬁers are -en. 66 Unit 12 Examples Here are some examples of nouns in the accusative case in use: Nominative accusative der Stuhl Ich kaufe den Stuhl. I buy the chair. die CD Er hört die CD. He is listening to the CD. das Auto Fährst du das Auto? Are you driving the car? ein Regenschirm (m) Ich habe einen Regenschirm. I’ve got an umbrella. eine Cola (f) Ich nehme eine Cola. I’ll take a coke. ein Bier (n) Sie trinkt ein Bier. She is drinking a beer. der Hunger Ich habe keinen Hunger. I’m not hungry. ihr Bruder (m) Sie vermisst ihren Bruder. She misses her brother. The accusative case after most verbs You also use the accusative after certain verbs. In fact, the majority of German verbs which can take a (direct) object take the accusative. Verbs which take the accusative are also called transitive verbs. In the dictionary, there will be an abbreviation ‘vt’ after the headword to indicate this. If you ﬁnd a ‘vt’ after a verb entry in the dictionary, you know that this verb takes the accusative case. The accusative case after prepositions You also use the accusative case after certain prepositions. The following prepositions always take the accusative: bis until durch through für for gegen against, round ohne without um around, at Examples: Wir fahren gerade durch einen We are just driving through a Tunnel. tunnel. Arbeitest du für di

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