1.

GRUNDLEGENDE GESPRCHIGE PHRASEN (BASIC CONVERSATIONAL PHRASES)

Guten Morgen /goot-en mor-gen/ Good Morning Gute Nacht /goot-eh nakht/ Good Night Gr dich / Gr Gott! Hello! / Greetings! (Southern
Germany & Austria)

Guten Tag /goot-en tahk/ Hello/Good Day Tag / Hallo / Servus /tahk / hah-loh / sair-voohs/ Hi / Hello / Hi & Bye (Southern
Germany & Austria)

Guten Abend /goot-en ah-bent/ Good Evening Auf Wiedersehen /owf vee-dair-zayn/ Goodbye Gehen wir! /geh-en veer/ Let's go! Bis morgen /biss mohr-gen/ See you tomorrow Bitte schn /bih-tuh shurn/ You're welcome Verzeihung Pardon me (Sehr) Gut / So lala /zair goot / zo lahlah/ (Very) Good / OK Ja / Nein /yah / nine/ Yes / No Ich heie... /ikh hie-ssuh/ My name is... [I am called...] Herr / Frau / Frulein /hair / frow / froi-line/ Mister / Misses / Miss Ich komme aus... /ikh koh-muh ows./.. I'm from...

Tschs / Tschau /tchews / chow/ Bye! Bis bald /biss bahlt/ See you soon Danke (schn / sehr) /dahn-kuh shurn/zai/r Thank you Entschuldigen Sie /ehnt-shool-dih-gun zee/ Excuse me Wie geht's? /vee gayts/ How are you? (informal) Es geht. /ess gate/ I'm ok. (informal) Wie heit du? /vee hiesst doo/ What's your name? (informal) Gleichfalls. /glykh-fals/ Likewise. Woher kommst du? /vo-hair kohmst doo/ Where are you from? (informal)

Bis spter /biss shpay-ter/ See you later Bitte /bih-tuh/ Please Es tut mir leid. /ehs toot meer lite/ I'm sorry Wie geht es Ihnen? /vee gayt es ee-nen/ How are you? (formal) Schlecht / Nicht Gut /shlekht / nisht goot/ Bad / Not good Wie heien Sie? /vee hie-ssen zee/ What's your name? (formal) Es freut mich. /froyt mikh/ Pleased to meet you. Woher kommen Sie? /vo-hair koh-men zee/ Where are you from? (formal)

Wo wohnen Sie? vo voh-nen zee Where do you live? (formal) Wie alt sind Sie? /vee alt zint zee/ How old are you? (formal) Sprechen Sie deutsch? /shpreck-en zee doytch/ Do you speak German? (formal) Verstehen Sie? / Verstehst du? /fehr-shtay-en zee / fehr-shtayst doo/ Do you understand? (formal / informal) Knnen Sie mir helfen? /ker-nen zee meer hell-fen/ Can you help me? (formal) Kann ich Ihnen helfen? /kahn ikh ee-nen hell-fen/ May I help you? (formal) Wie heit ___ auf deutsch? /vee heist ___ owf doytch/ How do you say ___ in German? Was ist los? /vahs ist lohs/ What's the matter?

Wo wohnst du? vo vohnst doo Where do you live? (informal) Wie alt bist du? /vee alt bisst doo/ How old are you? (informal) Sprichst du englisch? /shprikhst doo eng-lish/ Do you speak English? (informal) Ich verstehe (nicht). /ikh fehr-shtay-eh nikht/ I (don't) understand.

Ich wohne in... ikh voh-nuh in I live in... Ich bin ____ Jahre alt. ikh bin ____ yaa-reh alt I am ____ years old. Ich spreche (kein)... /ikh shpreck-uh kine/ I (don't) speak...

Ich wei (nicht). /ikh vise nikht/ I (don't) know. Natrlich / Gerne /nah-tewr-likh / gairnuh/ Of course / Gladly Wie bitte? /vee bih-tuh/ What? Pardon me? Es gibt... /ess geept/ There is / are... Das ist mir egal. /dass ist meer eh-gahl I don't care.

Kannst du mir helfen? /kahnst doo meer hell-fen/ Can you help me? (informal) Kann ich dir helfen? /kahn ikh deer hell-fen/ May I help you? (informal) Wo ist / Wo sind... ? /voh ist / voh zint/ Where is / Where are... ? Das macht nichts. /dass makht nikhts/ It doesn't matter.

Keine Angst! /ky-nuh ahngs/t Don't worry!

Ich habe es vergessen. /ikh hah-buh ess fehr-geh-sen/ I forgot.

Jetzt muss ich gehen. /yetz mooss ikh geh-en/ I must go now. Ich habe Langeweile. /ikh hah-buh lahn-guhvy-luh/ I'm bored. Prima / Toll / Super! /pree-mah / tohl / zoopair/

Ich habe Hunger / Durst. /ikh hah-buh hoong-er / dirs/t I'm hungry / thirsty. Ich mchte / Ich htte gern... /ikh merkh-tuh / ikh heh-tuh gairn/

Ich bin krank / mde. /ikh bin krahnk moo-duh/ I'm sick / tired. Das gefllt mir. /dahs geh-fehlt meer/ I like it.

I'd like... Gesundheit! .geh-soont-hyt/ Bless you! Willkommen! /vil-koh-men/ Welcome! Bitte schn? Yes? / What would you like to order? Bitte schn. Here you go. (handing something to someone) Herzlichen Glckwunsch! /herts-likh-en glewk-voonsh/ Congratulations! Viel Glck! /feel glewk/ Good luck! Was darf's sein? What can I get you? / How can I help you? Zahlen bitte! The check, please!

Great / Fantastic! Sei ruhig! zy roo-hikh Be quiet! (informal) Schauen Sie mal! / Schau mal! /show-en zee mal / show ma/l Look! (formal / informal) Sonst noch etwas? Anything else? Stimmt so. Keep the change.

Ich bin satt. I'm full. Ich liebe dich. /ikh leeb-uh dikh/ I love you. (informal) Wie wre es mit ... ? How about...?

Mir ist schlecht. I feel sick. Du fehlst mir. I miss you. (informal) Was fr ein...? What kind of (a)...?

Es tut mir weh. It hurts. Alles ist in Ordnung. Everything is fine. Nicht wahr? [general tag question]

Note: Ich is not actually pronounced ikh, unless you are speaking a northern dialect of German. If you are speaking a southern dialect, then it is more like ish. There is no equivalent sound in English. In standard German, It is somewhere between ish and ikh and somewhat like a soft hiss of a cat. Technically it is a voiceless palatal fricative and its voiced counterpart is the y sound in yes.

2. ALPHABET AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION ( ALPHABETE UND IHRE AUSSPRACHE ) a b c d e f g

/ah/ /bay/ /tsay/ /day/ /ay/ /eff/ /gay/

j k l n o p

/yoht/ /kah/ /el/

s t u v x y

/ess/ /tay/ /oo/ /fow/

m /em/
/en/ /oh/ /pay/

w /vay/
/eeks/ /irp-se-lon/

h i

/hah/ /ee/

q r

/koo/ /her/

/tset/ /es-zet/

There is another letter in written German, (es-zet ), pronounced like [s]. However, this letter is only used after long vowels or diphthongs, and it is not used at all in Switzerland.

3. NOUNS & CASES ( SUBSTANTIVE & VERPACKT )

All nouns have a gender in German, masculine, feminine or neuter. There really isn't a lot of logic to which nouns are which gender, so you must memorize the gender of each noun. 1. Male persons or animals, the seasons, months, and days are all masculine, as are nouns ending in -ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or and -us. 2. Female persons or animals, and numerals are all feminine, as are nouns ending in -a, -anz, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit, -schaft, -sion, -sis, -tt, -tion, -ung and -ur. 3. Young persons or animals, metals, chemical elements, letters of the alphabet, hotels, restaurants, cinemas, continents, countries and provinces are all neuter, as are nouns that end in -chen, -icht, -il, -it, -lein, -ma, -ment, -tel, -tum, and -um. Nouns referring to things that end in -al, -an, -ar, -t, -ent, -ett, -ier, -iv, -o and -on, as well as most words with the prefix ge- and most nouns ending in -nis and -sal are also neuter.

All nouns in German are capitalized in writing.

All nouns (as well as pronouns and adjectives) have a case depending on what function they serve in the sentence. These may seem strange, but remember that English uses cases also; however, we would say direct object instead of accusative, or indirect object instead of dative. Although these cases may make learning new words difficult, they actually help with word order because the position of words in a sentence is not as fixed in German as it is in English. And the reason for that is because words can occur in these four cases: Nominative subject of the sentence The girl is reading. We see the mountain. Accusative direct objects I bought a gift. We talk to the guide. Dative indirect objects I gave my mom a gift. The book of the girl. Genitive indicates possession or relationship The dog's tail. Note: The nouns you look up in a dictionary will be in the nominative case.

4. ARTICLES & DEMONSTRATIVES ( ARTIKEL UND DEMONSTRATIV )

Definite Articles (The) Masculine Feminine Neuter der (dare) die (dee) das (dahs) den (dane) die das dem (dame) der dem des (dess) der des Plural die die den der

Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive

Indefinite Articles (A, An) Masculine Feminine Neuter Nom. ein (ine) eine (ine-uh) ein Acc. einen (ine-en) eine ein Dat. einem (ine-em) einer(ine-er) einem Gen. eines (ine-es) einer eines Demonstratives (This, That, These, Those) This / These That / Those Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl. Masc. Fem. Neu. Pl. Nom. dieser diese dieses diese der die das die Acc. diesen diese dieses diese den die das die Dat. diesem dieser diesem diesen dem der dem den Gen. dieses dieser dieses dieser des der des der Jener is an older word found in written German that was used to mean that or those, but today in spoken German the definite articles are used. Dort or da may accompany the definite articles for emphasis. Das is also a universal demonstrative and therefore shows no agreement. Notice the last letter of each of the words above. They correspond to the last letters of the words for the definite articles. Words that are formed this same way are called der-words because they follow the pattern of the der-die-das declension. Other der-words are: jeder-every, and welcher-which. Mancher (many) and solcher (such) are also derwords, but they are used almost always in the plural.

5. SUBJECT (NOMINATIVE ) PRONOUNS

Subject Pronouns Ich Du er, sie, es, man ikh doo air, zee, ess, mahn I you (familiar) wir ihr veer eer zee we you (all) they, you (formal)

he, she, it, one sie, Sie

Note: Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general. When referring to nouns as it, you use er for masculine nouns, sie for feminine nouns and es for neuter nouns. However, the definite articles der, die and das can be substituted for er, sie and es to show more emphasis.

6. To Be, To Have, and To Become ( CONJUGATION )

( Prsens ) Present tense of sein - to be (zine) I am ich bin ikh bin we are wir sind veer zint You are (fam.) du bist doo bihst you are ihr seid eer zide

He/she/it is

er/sie/es ist air/zee/ess isst they (you) are sie sind zee zint Note: You must use the subject pronouns (ich, du, er...); however, I will leave them out of future conjugations.

Present tense of haben - to have (hah-ben) habe hah-buh haben hah-ben hast hahst Habt hahbt hat haht haben hah-ben

Present tense of werden - to become (vair-den) werde vair-duh werden vair-den wirst veerst werdet vair-det wird veert werden vair-den

Haben is frequently used in expressions that would normally take to be in English. Ich habe Hunger. = I am hungry. Ich habe Langeweile. = I am bored. Ich habe Angst. = I am afraid.

7. USEFUL WORDS
and but very or here also both und aber sehr oder hier auch beide /oont/ /ahber/ zair really together all wirklich veerk-lish right! tsoo-zahzusammen anyway men alle jetzt also noch ein ahl-luh yetst al-zoh shtimt oo-berberhaupt howpt guhenough genug nook exact(ly) genau guh-now mahnchsometimes manchmal mal always never often immer nie oft im-er nee ohft klahr stimmt

oh-der now here owkh so another already isn't it? too bad gladly

by-duh ehtsome etwas vahss only nur noor veeagain wieder der hohhopefully hoffentlich fentlikh zvishbetween zwischen en destherefore deshalb halp a lot, many viel(e)

nohkh ine schon shone nikht vah nicht wahr r schade shah-duh gern gehrn zoh-fort zikh-erlikh zohndehrn

of course klar perhaps a little a little not at all

vielleicht fee-likht ein ine bissbisschen khen ein wenig ine vaynikh

immediately sofort sure(ly) sicher(lich)

but, rather sondern schlielich

gar nicht gar nikht kine kein bissbisschen khen

feel(uh finally )

shleessnot a bit likh

Es gibt is commonly used to mean there is/are and it is always followed by the accusative case. 8.QUESTION WORDS Who Wer What Why When Was

vehr vahs

Whom (acc.) Whom (dat.) Where from Where to Which

Wen Wem

vain vaim

Warum vah-room Wann vahn voh vee

How come Wieso vee-zo Woher vo-hair Wohin vo-hin Welch- Velsh

Where Wo How Wie

9. Numbers / Die Nummern

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 30 null eins zwei drei vier fnf sechs sieben acht neun zehn elf zwlf dreizehn vierzehn fnfzehn sechzehn siebzehn achtzehn neunzehn zwanzig einundzwanzig zweiundzwanzig dreiundzwanzig vierundzwanzig dreiig nool ines tsvy dry feer fewnf zecks zee-bun ahkht noyn tsayn elf tsvurlf dry-tsayn feer-tsayn fewnf-tsayn zeck-tsayn zeep-tsayn ahkh-tsayn noyn-tsayn tsvahn-tsikh ine-oont-tsvahn-tsikh tsvy-oont-tsvahn-tsikh dry-oont-tsvahn-tsikh feer-oont-tsvahn-tsikh dry-sikh 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 30th Erste Zweite Dritte Vierte Fnfte Sechste Siebte Achte Neunte Zehnte Elfte Zwlfte dreizehnte vierzehnte fnfzehnte sechzehnte siebzehnte achtzehnte neunzehnte zwanzigste einundzwanzigste zweiundzwanzigste dreiundzwanzigste vierundzwanzigste dreiigste

40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1,000

vierzig fnfzig sechzig siebzig achtzig neunzig (ein)hundert (ein)tausend

feer-tsikh fewnf-tsikh zekh-tsikh zeep-tsikh ahkh-tsikh noyn-tsikh ine-hoon-duhrt ine-tow-zuhnt

40th 50th 60th 70th 80th 90th

Vierzigste Fnfzigste sechzigste siebzigste achtzigste neunzigste

Note: Sometimes zwo (tsvoh) is used instead of zwei to avoid confusion with drei. The use of commas and periods is switched in German, though a space is commonly used to separate thousandths, i.e. 1,000 would be 1 000. When saying telephone numbers, you can either say each number individually or group them in twos. For years, you use the hundreds: 1972 is neunzehn hundert zweiundsiebzig; or the thousands: 2005 is zwei tausend fnf. Wann sind Sie geboren? When were you born? Ich bin in 1982 geboren. I was born in 1982.

10. Days of the Week / Die Tage

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday (N & E Germany) Sunday day morning afternoon evening night today tomorrow tonight yesterday last night week weekend daily weekly Montag Dienstag Mittwoch Donnerstag Freitag Samstag
Sonnabend

mohn-tahk deens-tahk mit-vock don-ers-tahk fry-tahk zahms-tahk

zon-nah-bent

Sonntag der Tag (-e) der Morgen (-) der Nachmittag (-e) der Abend (-e) die Nacht (, -e) heute morgen heute Abend gestern gestern Abend die Woche (-n) das Wochenende (-n) tglich wchentlich

zon-tahk dehr tahk mawr-gun nakh-mih-tahk ah-bunt Nahkt hoy-tuh mawr-gun hoy-tuh ah-bunt geh-stairn geh-stairn ah-bunt voh-kuh voh-ken-en-duh teh-glikh wer-khent-likh

To say on a certain day or the weekend, use am. Add an -s to the day to express "on Mondays, Tuesdays, etc." All days, months and seasons are masculine so they all use the same form of these words: jeden - every, nchsten - next, letzten - last (as in the last of a series), vorigen - previous. In der Woche is the expression for "during the week" in Northern and Eastern Germany, while unter der Woche is used in Southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

11. Months of the Year / Die Monate

January
(Austria)

Januar
Jnner

yah-noo-ahr
yeh-ner

February (Austria) March April May June July August September October November December month year monthly yearly

Februar
Feber

fay-broo-ahr
fay-ber

Mrz April Mai Juni Juli August September Oktober November Dezember der Monat (-e) das Jahr (-e) monatlich jhrlich

Mehrts ah-pril My yoo-nee yoo-lee ow-goost zehp-tehm-ber ok-toh-ber no-vehm-ber deh-tsem-ber moh-naht Yaar moh-naht-likh jehr-likh

To say in a certain month, use im. Wann hast du Geburtstag? When is your birthday? Mein Geburtstag ist im Mai. My birthday is in May.

12. Seasons / Die Jahreszeiten + Months & Directions

Winter Spring Summer Autumn der Winter der Frhling der Sommer der Herbst dehr vin-ter dehr frew-ling dehr zom-mer dehr hehrpst

To say in the + a season, use im.

13. Directions / Die Richtungen Months & Seasons

right left straight North South East West rechts links geradeaus der Norden der Sden der Osten der Westen

im Norden = in the North nach Osten = to the East aus Westen = from the West

14. Colors & Shapes / Die Farben & Die Formen

Orange Pink Purple Blue Yellow Red Black Brown Gray White Green turquoise Beige(light brown) Silver Gold orange rosa violett / lila blau gelb rot schwarz braun grau wei grn trkis beige silber gold square circle triangle rectangle oval octagon cube sphere cone cylinder das Viereck der Kreis das Dreieck das Rechteck das Oval das Achteck der Wrfel die Kugel der Kegel der Zylinder

Because colors are adjectives, they must agree in gender and number with the noun they describe if they are placed before the noun. However, not all adjectives agree, such as colors ending in -a or -e; nor do they agree when they are used as predicate adjectives. To say that a color is light, put hell- before it, and to say that a color is dark, put dunkel- before it. Das Viereck ist braun. The square is brown. Das Rechteck ist hellblau. The rectange is light blue.

15. Time / Die Zeit

What time is it? (It is) 2 AM 2 PM 6:20 half past 3 quarter past 4 quarter to 5 10 past 11 20 to 7 noon midnight in the morning in the evening It's exactly... At 8. early(ier) late(r)

Wie spt ist es? Es ist zwei Uhr nachts Es ist zwei Uhr nachmittags Es ist sechs Uhr zwanzig Es ist halb vier Es ist Viertel nach vier Es ist Viertel vor fnf Es ist zehn nach elf Es ist zwanzig vor sieben Es ist mittags Es ist mitternachts morgens / frhs abends Es ist genau... Um 8 Uhr. frh(er) spt(er)

vee shpayt isst ess ess ist tsvy oor nahkts tsvy oor nahk-mih-tahks zex oor tsvahn-tsikh hahlp feer feer-tel nahk feer feer-tel for fewnf tsyan nahk elf tsvahn-tsikh for zee-bun mih-tahks mih-ter-nahks mawr-guns / frews aah-bunts ess ist guh-now oom akht oor frew(er) shpayt(er)

Note: Official time, such as for bus and train schedules, always uses the 24 hour clock. Notice that halb + number means half to, not half past, so you have to use the hour that comes next.

16. Weather / Das Wetter

How's the weather today? It's hot It's cold It's beautiful It's bad It's clear It's icy It's warm It's sunny It's windy It's cloudy It's hazy It's muggy It's humid It's foggy It's snowing It's raining It's freezing It looks like rain. The weather is clearing Wie ist das Wetter heute? Es ist hei Es ist kalt Es ist schn Es ist schlecht Es ist klar Es ist eisig Es ist warm Es ist sonnig Es ist windig Es ist bewlkt Es ist dunstig Es ist schwl Es ist feucht Es ist nebelig Es schneit Es regnet Es friert Es sieht nach Regen aus. Das Wetter klrt sich auf. vie ist dahs vet-ter hoy-tuh ess isst hise ess isst kahlt ess isst shern ess isst shlehkt ess isst klahr ess isst ise-ikh ess isst varm ess isst zohn-ikh ess isst vin-dikh ess isst beh-verlkt ess isst doons-tikh ess isst school ess isst foikht ess isst neh-beh-likh ess schnite ess rayg-net ess freert es seet nahkh ray-gen ows dahs vett-er klairt sikh owf

17. Family / Die Familie

Parents Mother Father Son Daughter Brother Sister Grandparents Grandfather Grandmother Grandchildren Grandson Granddaughter Niece Nephew Cousin (m) Cousin (f) Uncle Aunt Siblings Baby Godfather Godmother Step-in-law Brother-in-law Sister-in-law die Eltern die Mutter () der Vater () der Sohn (, -e) die Tochter () der Bruder () die Schwester (-n) die Groeltern der Grovater () die Gromutter () die Enkelkinder der Enkel (-) die Enkelin (-nen) die Nichte (-n) Relative Man Sir / Mister Woman / Ma'am / Mrs. / Ms. Husband Wife Boy Girl Grandpa Grandma Dad Mom Friend (m) Friend (f) Partner / Significant Other der Neffe (-n) (m) der Vetter (-n) Partner / Significant Other (f) die Kusine (-n) Marital Status der Onkel (-) Single die Tante (-n) Married die Geschwister Divorced das Baby (-s) Male der Pate (-n) Female die Patin (-nen) Child der/die StiefToddler der/die SchwiegerTeenager der Schwager () Adult die Schwgerin (-nen) Twin der/die Verwandte (-n) der Mann (, -er) der Herr (-en) die Frau (-en) der Ehemann (, -er) die Ehefrau (-en) der Junge (-n) das Mdchen (-) der Opa (-s) die Oma (-s) der Vati die Mutti der Freund (-e) die Freundin (-nen) der Partner (-) die Partnerin (-nen) der Familienstand Ledig Verheiratet Geschieden Mnnlich Weiblich das Kind (-er) das Kleinkind (-er) der Teenager (-) der Erwachsene (-n) der Zwilling (-e)

The letters in parentheses indicate the plural form of the noun. Notice that sometimes an umlaut is placed over the main vowel of the word in the plural. For example, der Mann is singular (the man) and die Mnner is plural (the men). For step- and -in-law relations, just add Stief- or Schwieger- before the main person, except in the case of brother-in-law and sister-inlaw noted above. The plurals follow the pattern for the main person, i.e. die Schwiegermutter (singular) and die Schwiegermtter (plural)

18. To Know People and Facts ( Conjugation )

kennen - to know people wissen - to know facts kenne ken-nuh kennen ken-nun wei vise wissen vih-sun kennst Kenst kennt kent weit vist wisst vihst kennt Kent kennen ken-nun wei vise wissen vih-sun Kennen is a regular verb, while wissen is irregular.

19. Formation of Plural Nouns

Plural nouns in German are unpredictable, so it's best to memorize the plural form with the singular. However, here are some rules that can help: 1. Feminine nouns usually add -n or -en. Nouns that end in -in (such as the female equivalents of masculine nouns) add -nen. eine Lampe zwei Lampen eine Tr zwei Tren eine Studentin zwei Studentinnen 2. Masculine and neuter nouns usually add -e or -er. Many masculine plural nouns ending in -e add an umlaut as well, but neuter plural nouns ending in -e don't. Plurals that end in -er add an umlaut when the stem vowel is a, o , u or au. Masculine Neuter ein Rock zwei Rcke ein Heft zwei Hefte ein Mann zwei Mnner ein Buch zwei Bcher 3. Masculine and neuter singular nouns that end in -er either add an umlaut or change nothing at all. Many nouns with a stem vowel of a, o, u or au add an umlaut. Masculine Neuter ein Bruder zwei Brder ein Fenster zwei Fenster 4. Nouns that end in a vowel other than an unstressed -e and nouns of foreign origin add -s. ein Hobby zwei Hobbys ein Hotel zwei Hotels

20. Possessive Adjectives

Masc. Nom. mein Acc. meinen Dat. meinem Gen. meines Fem. meine meine meiner meiner Neu. mein mein meinem meines Pl. meine meine meinen meiner

Note: Other words that are formed like mein (my) are: ein - a/an, dein-your (du form), seinhis/its, ihr-her, unser-our, euer-your (ihr form), ihr-their, Ihr-your (Sie form), and kein-no/not any.

21. Accusative Case

The accusative case corresponds to direct objects. Here are the accusative forms of the definite and indefinite articles. Note that only the masculine changes in this case. Definite and Indefinite Articles Masc. Fem. Neuter Plural Definite den Die das die Indefinite einen Eine ein keine Note: Some masculine nouns add an -(e)n to the accusative form, such as international nouns ending in -t (Dirigent, Komponist, Patient, Polizist, Soldat, Student, Tourist, Journalist); nouns ending in -e denoting male persons or animals (Drache, Junge, Kunde, Lwe, Neffe, Riese, Vorfahre, Zeuge); and the following nouns: Elefant, Herr, Mensch, Nachbar. And wen (whom) is the accusative of wer (who). Personal Pronouns - Nominative & Accusative ich I mich me Wir we uns us du you dich you Ihr you euch you er he ihn him Sie they sie them sie she sie her Sie you Sie you es it es it German uses the case system to show the function of a word in a sentence, whereas English relies mainly on word order. Take, for example, the following sentences: Ich esse den Apfel translates into I eat the apple. In German, you can switch the word order around without affecting the meaning. Den Apfel esse ich is also I eat the apple, but in English, if you were to change word order, you would have to say the apple eats me. English does not accommodate for the direct object to be placed before the subject and verb like German does. Usually, word order reflects (subjective) focus: the noun having the speakers focus is usually put as much as possible towards the beginning of a sentence.

22. Dative Case

The dative case corresponds to indirect objects. Usually in English, we use the words to or for to indicate an indirect object. But German relies on the endings of the dative case. Here are the dative forms of the definite and indefinite articles. Definite and Indefinite Articles Masc. Fem. Neuter Plural Definite dem der dem den Indefinite einem einer einem keinen Note: Those same masculine nouns that added an -(e)n in the accusative form also add an (e)n in the dative form. And all plural nouns add an -(e)n in the dative plural, unless they already end in an -n or -s. And wem (to/for whom) is the dative of wer (who). Personal Pronouns mir me Uns us dir you euch you ihm him ihnen they

ihr her ihm it

Ihnen you

In sentences with both a direct and indirect object, the noun in the dative case precedes the accusative noun, unless the accusative case is a pronoun. Ich schenke meinem Bruder eine Krawatte. I give (to) my brother a tie. Ich schenke sie meinem Bruder. I give it to my brother.

23. To Do or Make
Machen - to do or make mache mock-uh machen mock-en machst mockst macht mockt macht mockt machen mock-en

24. Work and School

( ARBEIT UND SCHULT male worker Arbeiter architect Architekt (en) Automechanike mechanic r librarian Bibliothekar TV Fernsehreporte reporter r engineer Ingenieur cook Koch (, e) pilot Pilot (en) police Polizist (en) officer president Prsident (en) priest Priester secretary Sekretr EIN ) lawyer doctor bank employee conductor male Anwalt (, e) Arzt (e) Bankangestellt e (n) Dirigent female Anwltin rztin Bankangestellte (n) Dirigentin Friseurin female Arbeiterin Architektin Automechanikeri n Bibliothekarin Fernsehreporteri n Ingenieurin Kchin Pilotin Polizistin Prsidentin Priesterin Sekretrin

hairdresser Friseur custodian cashier waiter nurse postal worker judge writer Hausmeister Kassierer Kellner

Hausmeisterin Kassiererin Kellnerin Krankenpflegeri Krankenpfleger n Postangestellte Postangestellte (n) (n) Richter Richterin Schriftsteller Schriftstellerin

flight Flugbegleiter attendant taxi Taxifahrer driver

Flugbegleiter (in) Taxifahrerin

salesperso Verkufer n dentist Zahnarzt (, e)

Verkuferin Zahnrztin

Note: Besides the plural forms shown above, the rest of the male professions are the same (they do not add anything) in the plural, while all the feminine add -nen in the plural. Also, German does not use articles before professions. You would only say Ich bin Kellner if you mean I am a waiter. Was sind Sie von Beruf? What do you do for a living? Ich bin Arzt. I'm a doctor (male). School University College / University Subject Literature Social Studies Biology Philosophy Earth science Math Geometry Mechanical Engineering Management Marketing Physics Music Drawing Test Lunchtime Cafeteria Dictionary Scissors Eraser Book Pencil Schoolbag Pen Girl Friend (m) Pupil/Student (m) Student (m) die Schule (n) die Universitt (en) die Hochschule (n) das Fach (, er) Literatur Sozialkunde Biologie Philosophie Erdkunde Mathematik Geometrie Maschinenbau Betriebswirtschaft Marketing Physik Musik Zeichnen die Prfung (en) die Mittagspause die Mensa das Wrterbuch (, er) die Schere (n) das Radiergummi (s) das Buch (, er) der Bleistift (e) die Schultasche (n) der Kugelschreiber / der Kuli das Mdchen (-) der Freund (e) der Schler (-) der Student (en) Elementary School Secondary School High School Foreign languages Linguistics History Natural Science Psychology Sociology Geography Computer science Economics Chemistry Media Studies Political Science Art Band Class Lunch School Supplies Stapler Ruler Chalk Notebook Sheet of Paper Calculator Homework Boy Friend (f) Pupil/Student (f) Student (f) die Grundschule (n) das Gymnasium die Oberschule (n) Fremdsprachen Linguistik Geschichte Naturwissenschaft Psychologie Soziologie Geographie Informatik Wirtschaft Chemie Medienwissenschaft Politik Kunst Musikkapelle die Klasse (n) das Mittagessen die Schulsachen die Heftmaschine (n) das Lineal (e) die Kreide das Heft (e) das Blatt Papier der Taschenrechner (-) die Hausaufgaben der Junge (n) die Freundin (nen) die Schlerin (nen) die Studentin (nen)

Teacher (m) Professor (m) Grades Course Semester Schedule

der Lehrer (-) der Professor die Noten der Kurs (e) das Semester (-) der Stundenplan (, e)

Teacher (f) Professor (f) hard easy Vacation Assignment

die Lehrerin (nen) die Professorin (nen) schwer leicht die Ferien (pl.) die Aufgabe (n)

In Germany, students must pass das Abitur in order to graduate from high school. In Austria, this final exam is called die Matura. Notice that there are two words for student: Schler is used for students in primary and secondary schools, while Student is only used for university students. The verb studieren is used for university study or to state your major. The verb lernen should be used for studying in general, and especially for learning a language. Er studiert in Freiburg. He studies (goes to university) in Freiburg. Ich studiere Franzsisch. I study French (in college). / French is my major. Ich lerne Spanisch und Italienisch. I'm studying/learning Spanish and Italian.

29. Countries and Nationalities

Germany England France USA Russia Switzerland Italy Spain Japan China Austria Australia Belgium Canada Denmark Finland Greece Holland Netherlands Ireland Korea Mexico Norway Portugal Sweden Country Deutschland England Frankreich die USA Russland die Schweiz Italien Spanien Japan China sterreich Australien Belgien Kanada Dnemark Finnland Griechenland Holland die Niederlande Irland Korea Mexiko Norwegen Portugal Schweden Masc. Nationality Deutsche Englnder Franzose Amerikaner Russe Schweizer Italiener Spanier Japaner Chinese sterreicher Australier Belgier Kanadier Dne Finnlnder Grieche Hollnder Niederlnder Ire Koreaner Mexikaner Norweger Portugiese Schwede Fem. Nationality Deutsche Englnderin Franzsin Amerikanerin Russin Schweizerin Italienerin Spanierin Japanerin Chinesin sterreicherin Australierin Belgierin Kandierin Dnin Finnlnderin Griechin Hollnderin Niederlnderin Irin Koreanerin Mexikanerin Norwegerin Portugiesin Schwedin Adjective deutsch englisch franzsisch amerikanisch russisch schweizerisch italienisch spanisch japanisch chinesisch sterreichisch australisch belgisch kanadisch dnisch finnisch griechisch hollndisch niederlndisch irisch koreanisch mexikanisch norwegisch portugiesisch schwedisch

Poland Egypt

Polen gypten

Pole gypter

Polin gypterin

polnisch gyptisch, arabisch

The adjectives can also refer to the language, but then the word must be capitalized, i.e. deutsch is the adjective that is usually followed by a noun, whereas Deutsch is the German language.

30. Negative Sentences

Nicht and kein are forms of negation, but nicht means not and kein means no, not a, or not any. Kein is used to negate nouns that either have no articles or are preceded by the indefinite article. Kein precedes the nouns in sentences. It is declined as an ein-word. Ist das eine Katze? Is that a cat? Nein, das ist keine Katze. No, that's not a cat. Nicht negates nouns preceded by a definite article or a possessive adjective; or it could negate any part (verb, noun, adjective) or all of a sentence. Nicht always follows the verb, but usually precedes the part of the sentence to be negated. It you want to negate an entire sentence, nicht comes last. Nicht also follows expressions of time. Das ist meine Frau. Das ist nicht meine Frau. Heute ist es kalt. Heute ist es nicht kalt. That's my wife. That's not my wife. It is cold today. It is not cold today.

31. To and From Countries and Cities

To nach From aus In in Note: In also means to when it is used before a country that has a definite article (feminine and plural countries.) Ich fliege in die Schweiz - I'm flying to Switzerland. Ich fliege nach Deutschland - I'm flying to Germany. And when aus is used with feminine or plural countries, the definite article must also be used. Ich bin aus der Schweiz - I am from Switzerland. Ich bin aus Deutschland - I am from Germany.

32. To Come and to Go

kommen - to come gehen - to go komme koh-muh kommen koh-men gehe geh-uh gehen geh-in kommst kohmst kommt kohmt gehst gehst geht gate kommt kohmt kommen koh-men geht gate gehen geh-in

33. Modal Verbs

German has six modal verbs that you should memorize. They express an attitude about an action or condition described by the main verb. The modal auxiliary is conjugated and placed where the verb should be. The main verb is in the infinitive form and at the end of the clause or sentence. Ich kann eine Fahrkarte kaufen. (I can buy a ticket.) Kann is the conjugated auxiliary verb and kaufen is the main verb in infinitive form. knnen - to be able to, can kann kannst kann knnen knnt knnen mssen - to have to, must mu mssen mut msst mu mssen drfen - to be allowed to darf drfen darfst drft darf drfen

Note: Nicht mssen translates to do not have to or do not need to. Nicht drfen translates to must not. Du mut es nicht machen is you don't have to do it. Du darfst es nicht machen is you must not (or are not allowed) to do it. sollen - to be supposed to wollen - to want (to) soll sollen will wollen sollst sollt willst wollt soll sollen will wollen Subjunctive of mgen mchte mchten mchtest mchtet mchte mchten mgen - to like mag mgen magst mgt mag mgen

Note: This subjunctive of mgen expresses would like to and is used more often than the indicative of mgen. Ich mchte eine Fahrkarte kaufen means I would like to buy a ticket. Sometimes the infinitive is not required with modal verbs, if the meaning is clear enough without them. For example, you can often omit sprechen and tun after knnen and you can omit verbs of motion if there is an adverb of place. Ich kann Spanisch. I can/know how to speak Spanish. Er will nach Hause. He wants to go home.

34. Conjugating Regular verbs

To conjugate means to give the different forms of a verb depending on the subject. English only has two regular conjugations in the present tense, no ending and -s ending (I, you, we, they run vs. he/she/it runs). Refer back to the subject pronouns and the conjugations of to be and to have. The following table is in the same format. To form regular verbs in German, take off the -en ending and add these endings: -e -en -st -t -t -en Regular Verbs arbeiten-to work besuchen-to visit helfen-to help bleiben-to remain,

kaufen-to buy sitzen-to sit

passieren-to happen verdienen-to earn

stehen -to stand sagen-to say liegen-to lay gehen-to go fragen-to ask machen-to make kommen-to come schwimmen-to swim tanzen-to dance beginnen-to begin reisen-to travel studieren-to study rauchen-to smoke erzhlen-to tell bekommen-to get

stay lernen-to learn brauchen-to need rufen-to call fliegen-to fly lehren-to teach suchen-to look for stecken-to put schreiben-to write finden-to find laufen-to run denken-to think lieben-to love glauben-to believe, think dauern-to last wnschen-to wish, antworten-to answer desire essen-to eat bezahlen-to pay for entdecken-to trinken-to drink discover singen-to sing erfinden-to invent fischen-to fish ergnzen-to complete sparen-to save (money) warten-to wait trennen-to separate wischen-to wipe versprechen-to promise winken-to wave

(money) verstehen-to understand gewinnen-to win verlieren-to lose benutzen-to use erlauben-to permit rennen-to run schlafen-to sleep treffen-to meet ziehen-to move sehen-to see vergessen-to forget waschen-to wash kennen-to know (people)

English has three ways of expressing the present tense, such as I run, I am running, I do run. All three of these tenses are translated as one tense in German (ich laufe.) However, you can add gerade after the verb to indicate the progressive form. Ich mache meine Hausaufgaben can be translated as I do my homework or I'm doing my homework. Ich mache gerade meine Hausaufgaben is translated as I'm doing my homework.