LESSON NOTES

Upper Beginner S2 #9
Coming Late to the German Party

CONTENTS
2 German
2 English
3 Vocabulary
4 Sample Sentences
5 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
6 Grammar
6 Cultural Insight

# 9
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 GERMAN

1. Paul Martens: Ich muss um drei Uhr zu Chucks Geburtstagsfeier. Sie ist in
Friedrichshain. Können Sie mich dorthin bringen, oder soll ich mit
dem Bus fahren?

2. Frau Schneider: Kein Problem, ich bringe Sie dorthin. Geben Sie einfach Bescheid,
wenn Sie bereit sind.

3. Paul Martens: Vielen Dank! Ich muss mich noch duschen, danach können wir
fahren.

4. ...

5. Frau Schneider: Herr Martens? Sind Sie gleich fertig?

6. Paul Martens: Ich wasche mir gerade die Haare.

7. Frau Schneider: Beeilen Sie sich.

8. ...

9. Frau Schneider: Herr Martens? Wenn wir pünktlich da sein sollen, müssen wir
unbedingt jetzt fahren.

10. Paul Martens: Einen Moment, ich rasiere mich gerade. Und ich muss mir noch
die Zähne putzen und mich anziehen. Wenn wir zu spät kommen,
dann kommen wir zu spät. Es ist nicht die Welt.

ENGLISH

1. Paul Martens: I have to go to Chuck's birthday party at 3 o'clock. Can you take me
there, or should I take the bus?

CONT'D OVER

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2. Mrs. Schneider: No problem, I'll take you there. Just let me know when you're ready.

3. Paul Martens: Thanks very much! I still have to shower, and then we can go.

4. ...

5. Mrs. Schneider: Mr. Martens? Are you almost done?

6. Paul Martens: I'm just washing my hair.

7. Mrs. Schneider: Hurry up.

8. ...

9. Mrs. Schneider: Mr. Martens? If we want to be there on time, then we absolutely

have to go now.

10. Paul Martens: One moment, I'm shaving. And I still have to brush my teeth and get
dressed. If we come too late, then we come too late. It's not the end
of the world.

VOCABULARY

Ge r man English C lass Ge nde r

dorthin there adverb

legal notice,
Bescheid notification noun; masculine, der plural: Bescheide

bereit ready

sich duschen to take a shower verb weak verb

fertig completed, ready

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 absolute(ly),
unbedingt
unconditional(ly)

sich beeilen to hurry verb weak verb

pünktlich punctual

Haar hair noun; neuter, das neuter; plural: Haare

Welt world noun; feminine, die plural: Welten

sich rasieren to shave oneself verb weak verb

Zahn tooth noun plural: Zähne

putzen to brush verb weak verb

can be reflexive; er
anziehen to wear, to put on verb zieht an, er zog an,
er hat angezogen

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Im S ü d e n Eu ro pa s w i rd e s frü h e r H a st d u d e n Be sch e i d vo m
w a rm , d e sw e g e n re i se n vi e l e Au sl ä n d e ra m t sch o n e rh a l te n ?
D e u tsch e i m Frü h l i n g d o rth i n .
Did you receive your notification from the
In the South of Europe it gets warm foreigners' office already?
earlier, therefore many Germans travel
there in spring.

S a g Be sch e i d , w e n n d u g e n u g S i n d S i e be re i t, m e h r
h a st. Ve ra n tw o rtu n g i m U n te rn e h m e n zu
ü be rn e h m e n ?
Say when it's enough.
Are you ready to take on more
responsibility in the enterprise?

D a s Mo tto d e r Pfa d fi n d e r i st "Al l ze i t S e i d i h r be re i t?

be re i t".
Are you ready?
The boyscouts' motto is "always ready".

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Ich so l l te m i ch zu e rst d u sch e n . D e r Ma n n d u sch t.

I should shower first. The man is showering.

D a s Mi tta g e sse n i st g l e i ch fe rti g . Fü r d e i n Vo rste l l u n g sg e sprä ch

so l l te st d u u n be d i n g t e i n e n An zu g
Lunch will soon be ready.
tra g e n .

You should definitely wear a suit to your

job interview.

Ich m u ss d i r u n be d i n g t m e i n n e u e s Ich m u ss d e n Fi l m n i ch t u n be d i n g t
Wo h n zi m m e r ze i g e n . se h e n .

I absolutely have to show you my new(ly I don't absolutely have to watch that movie.
decorated) living-room

Ko m m , w i r m ü sse n u n s be e i l e n , S e i d bi tte pü n ktl i ch .

d a s Th e a te rstü ck g e h t g l e i ch l o s!
Please be punctual. (to several people)
Come, we have to hurry, the theatre play
is about to start!

D u h a st g e su n d e H a a re . U n te rstü tze n S i e d i e Akti o n "Bro t fü r

d i e We l t" d u rch e i n e S pe n d e !
You have healthy hair.
Please support the campaign "Bread for
the world" with a donation!

Abe n d s, w e n n e s d u n ke l w i rd , si e h t Er h a t si ch be i m R a si e re n
d i e We l t g a n z a n d e rs a u s. g e sch n i tte n .

In the evening, when it gets dark, the He cut himself while shaving.
world looks very different.

Me i n Za h n tu t w e h . D i e Fra u pu tzt i h re Zä h n e .

My tooth does hurt. The woman is brushing her teeth.

Ka n n i ch d a s ro te Kl e i d zu d e n bl a u e n S ch u h e n a n zi e h e n ?

Can I wear the red dress together with the blue shoes? (Implied: do they match?)

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

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1. Friedrichshain is simply the name of a part of Berlin. This part is particularly popular with
vegetarians and vegans.
2. Bescheid geben = to say when. Literally "to give notice". Instead of "Bescheid geben" you
could also say "Bescheid sagen", with exactly the same meaning.
3. "fertig" and "bereit" are two German words that English speakers tend to confuse. Both can
be used in the sense of "ready". However, "fertig" really means "done with something" or
"finished", whereas "bereit" means "ready for something new". So if you were not doing
anything that needs to be finished, you can't use "fertig", only "bereit".
4. es ist nicht die Welt = it doesn't matter so much; the world won't end

GRAMMAR

Th e fo cu s o f th i s l e sso n i s re fl e xi ve ve rbs
Ich m u ss m i ch n o ch d u sch e n .
"I sti l l h a ve to sh o w e r."

Reflexive verbs are verbs that refer back to the subject. In English, you can recognize such a
verb because it is used with a pronoun ending in –self or –selves, for example “I dry myself off”
– in German “Ich trockne mich ab”.
You probably recognize the “mich” as the Accusative of “ich”. In German, there are no special
pronouns for these reflexive verbs, they just use the Accusative personal pronouns – except
that the 3rd person (singular and plural) is always “sich”. So it is “Er wäscht sich” (He washes
himself) rather than “Er wäscht ihn”, which would mean he washes some other male person -
or the “ihn” could also reference an object that is grammatically masculine in German.
A lot of verbs can be reflexive or not, as the above case demonstrates. You can wash
yourself, which would be reflexive, but you can also wash your car, which would not be
reflexive.
A special case is when you are washing something that is a part of you, for example your
face (das Gesicht). Then the verb is still considered reflexive, but on the other hand you need
an Accusative object to indicate what you are washing. And that is a problem, because
German sentences must not have two Accusative objects at the same time (you, to indicate it
being reflexive, and your face). So what happens is that the pronoun will be Dative instead
then (but still “sich” if it’s 3rd person). You’d say “Ich wasche mir das Gesicht”, which
translates rather funnily to “I wash myself the face”. This is the only quirky part about reflexive
verbs in German, but you’ll get used to it quickly as you hear it more often.
In previous lessons, the reflexive verb "sich treffen" has come up often. This one literally
means "to meet oneself". In German, we say "Sie treffen sich" (they meet themselves)
because there is no other word for "each other". The only way to express "each other" is the
reflexive "sich". There are a LOT of German verbs that are reflexive when the English ones
are not.

CULTURAL INSIGHT
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German Bathroom Differences

1. turning off water while showering, environmental

2. being able to stop flushing -> ways of flushing the toilet

3. ability to hold the shower head

4. liquid shower gel

5. laundromats much less common

6. sauna is more popular

7. light switches often outside the room

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