Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
begrüßen_____________________________________
There are many different ways to greet people, here are the standard forms:
Guten Morgen good morning
Guten Tag good day
Guten Abend good evening
Grüß Gott is used often in southern Germany and Austria instead of Guten
Morgen / Guten Tag / Guten Abend
Grüß dich hi
Hallo and even Hi are used frequently by young people .
Here are some greetings and possible replies:
Guten Morgen, wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Danke, gut. Und Ihnen?
Müller? Nicht schlecht. Und dir?
Guten Tag, wie geht’s dir, Peter? Gut, danke. Und wie geht es
Guten Abend, wie geht es Ihnen, Frau Ihnen?
Scherer? Ach, mir geht’s nicht so gut.
Grüß dich, Claudia. Wie geht’s dir so? Oh du, mir geht’s schlecht.
Hallo Bennie, wie geht’s?
“Gute Nacht” is, of course, not a
greeting but is used the same way as “Good Night”
and to ask for someone’s name you can use the following:
verabschieden <
“Auf Wiedersehen” and “Tschüs” are the most common forms used for “Good Bye”.
Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Keller. Tschüs Peter, bis morgen. Mach’s gut!
Auf Wiedersehen, Frau Kaufmann. Tschüs Angelika, bis später. Macht’s gut!
Like French, German uses two forms of address: familiar and formal.
The formal form of address - using the pronoun "Sie" or “Ihnen”- is used with persons
one
does not know well. The use of the formal form does not indicate coldness or
unfriendliness, but respect. These forms are always capitalized. They are usually
preceded by an introductory: “Herr” (Mr.) or “Frau” (Mrs/Ms/Miss).-
The familiar form of address - using the pronouns "du", “dich” or “dir” for one person
or "ihr" , “euch” for several people - is reserved for those people one knows very well,
such as family, friends, and children. It is also used more frequently among young people,
and within certain groups in society.
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Personal
Pronouns______________________________<
Personal pronouns are pronouns used to indicate or refer to the:
The personal pronouns in German referring to one person (singular form) are:
3rd. person
masculine: er (he)
feminine: sie (she)
neuter: es (it)
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GRAMMAR
Article
Words_________________________________________
Since the gender is not usually apparent in the noun itself it is expressed through other
parts of speech such as pronouns, adjectives and articles.
We deal with articles first. There are two types of articles
EIN - for all masculine AND neuter nouns (ein Mantel - ein Hemd)
EINE - for all feminine nouns (eine Bluse)
Nouns_________________________________________
_
In German it is very easy to recognize nouns: they are all capitalized. Nouns are also
classified in three grammatical genders:
Unfortunately there is no particular rhyme or reason why a noun has its specific gender.
That’s why
you have to memorize the gender
when you learn new nouns.
There is some help in predicting the gender of a noun - see list further down.
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Plural Forms of
Nouns____________________________
Nouns also have a singular and a plural form. In English - with a few exceptions - you
just add an -s to the singular form. In German there are several possibilities to form the
plural:
indefinite article.
There is NO indefinite article for plurals.
Here are some rules that can help you predict the gender of a noun:
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Nouns Gender
Indicators__________________________
NOTE: German has many compound nouns - nouns created by putting two or more
nouns together to form a new word.
die Stadt + das Zentrum = das Stadtzentrum (city centre)
die Natur + das Museum = das Naturmuseum (nature museum)
das Jahr + die Zeit = die Jahreszeit (season)
der Mittag + das Essen = das Mittagessen (lunch)
der Sommer + der Tag = der Sommertag (summer day)
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What is the gender of a compound noun if the individual nouns have different genders?
Pronouns______________________________________
_
Pronouns are “stand-ins” for nouns. Since there are three genders there are three
different pronouns in the singular:
All feminine nouns are represented by SIE Die Familie ist groß.
Sie ist groß.
All plural nouns are represented by SIE Die Eltern sind zu Hause.
Sie sind zu Hause.
Adjective +
Comparative___________________________
Adjectives indicate characteristics or qualities. The basic form of the adjective is called
“positive” :
Mein Bruder ist klein.
Der Mann ist groß.
Der Film ist lang.
To indicate that a person or object has more of a certain quality than another, the
comparative form of the adjective is used:
The comparative in German is always formed by adding -er to the adjective, even in
the case of long ones like “intelligent”:
Mein Hund ist intelligenter als meine Katze.
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Most one-syllable adjectives with vowels that can carry an Umlaut do so in the
comparative. Some adjectives never or rarely have a comparative form, the colours for
instance. Some adjectives have irregular forms:
To compare things of different value the adjective in the comparative form is followed
by the word “als” . It has the same function as the English “than” after a comparative.
To compare two things of equal value you use the adjective in the positive form
preceeded by the word “so” and followed by the word “wie”. They fulfill the same
function as the English “as ... as”.
Zeit
(time)__________________________________________________
To find out what time it is now, you can use the following questions:
Wie viel Uhr ist es? In Germany the official time works on
Wie spät ist es ? the 24 hour system, informally one
uses 12 hours.
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To find out at what time something begins, ends etc. you can ask:
Das Konzert beginnt um acht Uhr. Der Film ist um halb elf zu Ende.
To Das Konzert beginnt um 20.00 Uhr. Der Film ist um 22.30 Uhr zu Ende. find
out
on what day something happens you can ask:
Im Juli gehe ich nach Europa. Am 10. Juli fliege ich nach Frankfurt. Der
Abflug ist am Abend um elf Uhr in Halifax. Der Flug dauert sechs Stunden
und die Maschine landet am nächsten Morgen um zehn in Frankfurt.
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Und was machst du?
Am Freitag fahre ich mit meinem Bruder nach Westen. Am Sonntag sind
wir in Montreal und am Dienstag in Toronto. Am Abend ist dort ein
Baseballspiel. Es beginnt um sieben Uhr.
Im Juli sind wir dann in den Rocky Mountains und wandern dort eine
Woche. Im August kommen wir wieder zurück.
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Personal Pronouns <
Personal pronouns are used to indicate or refer to the:
NOTE: The
pronoun Singular Plural "sie"
carries four
meanings: 1st person: ich wir
2nd person familiar du ihr
1. formal: Sie Sie she
3rd person Heute
ist sie masculine: er sie for all hier.
2. genders they
feminine: sie Sind
Jan und neuter: es Anne zu
Hause? Nein, sie
sind nicht hier.
3. you (singular) Herr Weiß, wie alt sind Sie?
4. you (plural) Woher sind Sie? Wir sind aus Kanada.
Here is the conjugation of “sein” for the present and the past tense:
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present tense simple past tense
singular plural singular plural
1. ich bin wir sind 1. ich war wir waren
2. du bist ihr seid 2. du warst ihr wart
(formal) Sie sind (formal) Sie waren
3. er 3. er
sie ist sie sind sie war sie waren
es es
Nationalitäten <
Länder Nationalitäten Adjektive
(das Land) (die Nationalität) (not capitalized)
America Amerika der Amerikaner/- amerikanisch
Great Britain England der Engländer/- englisch
France Frankreich der Franzose/n* französisch
Germany Deutschland der Deutsche/n* deutsch
Canada Kanada der Kanadier/- kanadisch
Mexico Mexiko der Mexikaner/- mexikanisch
Austria Österreich der Österreicher/- österreichisch
Spain Spanien der Spanier/- spanisch
Italy Italien der Italiener italienisch
Switzerland die Schweiz der Schweizer/- schweizer(isch)
U.S. die USA
Countries have a gender - most of them are neuter - but the article is only used if the
name is connected with an adjective. However, Switzerland is one of the few exceptions. It
is feminine: "die Schweiz" and the name is always used with its article.
NOTE: The words for many nationalities usually end in -er and the nouns do not
change to form a plural. However, there are exceptions. The word for German, for
example, is an adjective; one says:
der Deutsche (masculine)
die Deutsche (feminine)
die Deutschen (plural)
but without the article it is:
Ich bin Deutscher (masculine)
Ich bin Deutsche (feminine)
Wir sind Deutsche (plural)
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Berufe <
German nouns are of three genders, the genders being indicated with the help of
articles. Contrary to English, however, nouns indicating nationalities and
professions do not use any article if they are connected with a form of the verb to
be:
Unless the masculine version of the nouns does not end in "-er", the plural form is the
same as the singular. The feminine plural is formed by adding "-nen" to the singular:
The indefinite articles for masculine and neuter nouns are the same. They lack the
distinctive endings "r" and "s" respectively.
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Negation of the indefinite article
The word "kein" is treated exactly as "ein". Thus the rules above for "ein" apply likewise to
"kein". In fact, for practical reasons, "ein" and "kein" are grouped together and can be
referred to as KEIN-WORDS.
Unlike "ein", the indefinite article "kein" is able to form a plural: keine
(the same last letter as with the plural of the definite article)
Possessives <
Possessives are a group of words that show possession:
Singular Plural
1. mein (my) unser (our)
2. dein (your) euer (your)
Ihr (formal) Ihr (formal)
3. sein (his)
ihr (her) ihr (their)
sein (its)
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The possessives are "KEIN-WORDS", they get the same endings as "kein":
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
(ich) mein Onkel meine Tante mein Buch meine Tische
(du) dein Onkel deine Tante dein Buch deine Taschen
(er,es) sein Onkel seine Tante sein Buch seine Taschen
(sie) ihr Onkel ihre Tante ihr Buch ihre Bücher
NOTE: The possessive itself points to the "possessor"; the ending of the possessive is
determined by the following noun:
Seine Tante ist dort drüben. His aunt is over there.
"Sein" points to the owner.
The "-e" ending on "sein" is determined by the gender of the noun "Tante".
If a possessive is replaced by a pronoun, the regular personal pronouns are used to
replace them:
Wo ist mein Computer? Er war hier.
Das ist meine Uhr. Sie ist neu.
Hier ist dein Buch. Es ist interessant.
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ihr their (+ masc / neut) alle all
ihre (+ fem)
Ihr + Ihre you formal
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Adjectives and their endings <
I. Adjectives preceded by a DER-WORD
der gute Wein
die warme Milch
dieses kalte Bier
welche guten Studenten ?
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GRAMMAR
ZAHLEN <
Numbers above 100
100 einhundert 115 einhundertundfünfzehn
hundert hundertfünfzehn
1000 eintausend 1115 eintausendeinhundertundfünfzehn
tausend tausendeinhundertfünfzehn
1 000 000 (eine) Million
1 000 000 000 (eine) Milliarde
In German, a comma is used to set off decimals: 1,3 (eins Komma drei)
Large numbers are usually grouped in blocks of 3 digits: 20 000 000
Most ordinal numbers are adjectives and are never used without
endings.
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Ordinal numbers not written out as words appear as numbers followed by a period:
1. = 1st 2. = 2nd 3. = 3rd 4. = 4th etc.
Date: Ordinal numbers are used in German for writing the date;
January 1, 1997 is often written like this:
1. 1. 97 (first day of the first month of 1997)
15. 11. 97 (November 15, 1996)
The first number refers always to the day, the second to the month, the last to the year.
Es gibt
The expression “es gibt” (from the verb “geben” = to give) means “there exists”,
but is usually represented in English
by “there is” (singular) or “there are” (plural)
Es gibt nur eine Universität in Wolfville. (There is only one University in Wolfville.)
Es gibt keine blauen Äpfel. (There are no blue apples.)
gern
The adverb “gern” can be added to many verbs and it changes the meaning in
the sense of “to like to do” something. In English “to like” precedes the verb
expressing what is liked, in German “gern” follows the verb.
man
The German pronoun “man” is used for an unspecific person. It is always
impersonal and used in the 3rd person singular (like er, sie, es). Its English
equivalent is usually “one”, sometimes “they” , “people”, ”we” or “you”.
In diesem Seminar lernt man viel. (In this seminar one learns a lot.)
Man sagt, Heidelberg ist eine schöne Stadt. (They say, H. is a beautiful city.)
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Accusative <
When we speak about actions, i.e. what somebody or something is doing, we imply the
"doer" of the action as well as the receiver of the action. In this sentence
A large majority of verbs both in English and in German take a direct object.
NOTE: the verbs "sein" (to be) and "heißen" (to be called) do not take a direct object. What
follows "sein" and "heißen" is the subjective complement (in the NOMINATIVE):
Only the article word of a masculine noun is visibly different from the nominative. In the
accusative "der" changes to "den", "ein" to "einen" ("kein" to "keinen" etc.).
The possessives ("mein", "dein", etc.), too, add an "-en" for the masculine singular in the
accusative:
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Interrogatives <
The interrogative for the "doer", the subject, is "wer" (for persons) and "was" (for things).
When you ask about the receiver of an action, the direct object, the interrogative is "wen"
(for persons) and "was" (for things), the same as English "whom" and "what":
Nominative Accusative
The pronouns in the nominative: ich, du, er, sie, es, wir, ihr, sie, (Sie)
These pronouns also have a form for the accusative:
singular plural
1. mich uns
2. dich euch
3. ihn
sie sie
es
(Sie) (Sie)
Of course, these pronouns (like the ones in nominative) are used when something specific
is meant:
"Hertie" verkauft den neuen Sony-Walkman.
("Hertie" sells the new Sony-Walkman)
There are six prepositions which require the use of the accusative:
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(They are against this politician.)
The weak adjective endings in the accusative are like the weak nominative endings,
except for the masculine ending:
NOM: der rote Mantel die gelbe Jacke das gute Auto die guten
Autos
ein roter Mantel eine gelbe Jacke ein rotes Auto keine guten
Autos
ACC: den roten Mantel die gelbe Jacke das gute Auto die guten
Autos
einen roten Mantel eine gelbe Jacke ein gutes Auto keine guten Autos
The characteristic (strong) endings are the same one finds on the definite articles:
Nominative: Accusative:
Das ist guter Wein. Er trinkt guten Wein.
Das ist kalte Milch. Sie holt kalte Milch.
Das ist dunkles Bier. Wir kaufen dunkles Bier.
Das sind alte Freunde. Er sieht alte Freunde.
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DER-Words <
"DER-Words" ("dies-" and "welch-") are declined the same way as "der", "die", "das";
"die", that is, they get the same characteristic endings, in the nominative as well as the
accusative.
Nominative Accusative
Wo ist der Mantel? Möchten Sie den Mantel?
Welcher? Dieser. Welchen? Diesen.
"Jede/r/s" means "each" or "every" and can only be used in the singular.
"Alle", its counterpart in a way, only picks up the plural endings.
Position of "nicht"
The negating word "nicht" is usually placed in front of the element of the sentence which
one wishes to negate:
When the sentence contains a direct object, however, it is normally placed after the direct
object (especially when the direct object is a pronoun):
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The verb-form "möchte"
"Möchte" comes from the verb "mögen" (which we will treat in detail later) and means
"would like to". It is a helping (auxiliary) verb that is often accompanied by another verb,
a so-called infinitive completion, which is placed at the end of the sentence:
Ich möchte einen Wintermantel kaufen. (I would like to buy a winter coat)
Wir möchten nach München fahren. (We would like to go to Munich)
a. Ich möchte ein Glas Wasser (haben). (I would like [to have] a glass of water)
b. Er möchte nach Hause (gehen). (He would like to go home)
"Möchte" has an irregular form in its conjugation. The third person singular does not have
the usual "-t" ending
Singular Plural_____
1. ich möchte wir möchten
2. du möchtest ihr möchtet
3. er, sie, es möchte sie möchten
Expressions of time (if they do not follow prepositions that require other cases) are in the
accusative case:
Marlies fährt jeden Tag nach Köln. (Marlies drives to Cologne every day.)
Gerhard studiert nächstes Jahr in Wien. (Gerhard is going to study in Vienna next
year)
Ich bin diesen Samstag in Stuttgart. (I'm in Stuttgart this Saturday.)
GRAMMATIK 1: The Present Perfect Tense
The present perfect tense is the tense normally used in German to talk about
events in the past. It is a compound tense, that is, it consists of two parts:
2. and the past participle, which usually begins with the prefix ge- and ends
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with the suffixes –t or –en. The past participle is always at the end of the
sentence.
It is the auxiliary that is conjugated according to person and number (2nd person singular,
3rd person plural, etc.); the participle remains the same.
Regular verbs generally form their past participle by adding the prefix ge- and the ending
-t to the verb stem. Verbs with stems ending in -d or -t add -et.
Verbs ending in the suffix -ieren do not add the prefix ge- in the past participle!
There are many verbs in the German language that do not follow the regular pattern of
past participle formation. These irregular verbs generally form their past participle by
adding the prefix ge- and the ending -n or -en to the verb stem. In addition, many irregular
verbs change their stem vowel and occasionally some consonants in the stem. For this
reason, the past participle of each irregular verb will be listed in the vocabulary section and
must be memorized.
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of verbs with stem
vowel change:
anrufen hat angerufen to call
beginnen hat begonnen to begin
behalten er behält hat behalten to keep
bekommen hat bekommen to receive, get
bleiben ist geblieben to stay, remain
bringen hat gebracht to bring
essen er isst hat gegessen to eat
fahren er fährt ist gefahren to drive
finden hat gefunden to find
fliegen ist geflogen to fly
geben er gibt hat gegeben to give
gehen ist gegangen to go, walk
kennen hat gekannt to know
kommen ist gekommen to come
laufen er läuft ist gelaufen to run, go
lesen er liest hat gelesen to read
nehmen er nimmt hat genommen to take
schlafen er schläft hat geschlafen to sleep
schreiben hat geschrieben to write
schwimmen ist geschwommen to swim
sehen er sieht hat gesehen to see
sein irregular ist gewesen to be
sprechen er spricht hat gesprochen to speak
steigen ist gestiegen to climb
tragen er trägt hat getragen to wear, carry
treffen er trifft hat getroffen to meet
trinken hat getrunken to drink
verbringen hat verbracht to spend
vergessen er vergisst hat vergessen to forget
werden du wirst / er wird ist geworden to become
The use of the auxiliary verb "sein" with the past participle
Some German verbs use "sein" rather than "haben" as their auxiliary verb in the present
perfect tense:
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Wir sind nach Bonn gereist. change of location (regular verb)
(We traveled to Bonn.)
NOTE: Whether a verb is irregular or regular does NOT determine the use of
"haben" or "sein" as an auxiliary. Both regular (i.e.:"reisen") and
irregular verbs (i.e.:"fahren") may use the auxiliary "sein".
There are two common verbs that are exceptions to this rule. Both do not show motion nor
change of condition but still use "sein" as auxiliary in the present perfect tense:
Inseparable Prefixes
bekommen (to receive, get), erzählen (to tell), entschuldigen (to excuse),
missverstehen (to misunderstand), vergessen (to forget), zerbrechen (to break)
Inseparable prefixes do not separate from the verb when the verb is conjugated:
Peter bekommt morgen einen Brief. (Peter will get a letter tomorrow)
Sie erzählt eine schöne Geschichte. (She's telling a nice story)
Mein Freund vergisst seinen Pass. (My friend forgets his passport)
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These are the most frequently used prefixes:
be- / er- / ent- / miss- / ver- / zer-
Separable Prefixes
Separable prefixes are joined to the verb only in the infinitive form. Otherwise they
separate from the conjugated form of the verb and are placed at the end of the clause.
Mark Twain uses the verb to depart, in German: abfahren or abreisen ; one word in the
infinitive but used in a sentence the prefix ab separates from the verb and is placed at the
end of the clause:
Der Zug fährt gleich ab. (The train will depart soon)
As Twain points out there is quite a number of separable prefixes in German. They are
themselves words, especially prepositions or adverbs like "mit", for example, which means
"with" (as a preposition) or "along" (as a prefix).
Sie bringt ihren Freund mit. (She is bringing her friend along.)
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weiter further, continue Nach einer Minute liest sie weiter.
(After a minute, she continues to read.)
zu to or closed Machen Sie bitte die Tür zu!
(Close the door, please.)
zurück back Wann kommst du heute abend zurück? (When
will you come back tonight?)
The meaning of these prefixes is not always the same. It may change depending on the
verb they are affixed to. (i.e."zumachen" means "to close" , "zusprechen" means "to
encourage")
Verbs with inseparable prefixes also do not add the prefix ge- in the past participle.
besuchen hat besucht
behalten hat behalten
Verbs with separable prefixes have the ge- inserted between prefix and verb.
einkaufen hat eingekauft
aussteigen ist ausgestiegen
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GRAMMATIK
In addition to the nominative (subject) case and the accusative (direct object) case
German has another case:
the DATIVE CASE.
Once more it is primarily the article that changes in the DATIVE CASE as seen in the
following table. (Nominative and accusative are also given for the sake of contrast.)
NOTE: To form the dative in the plural the noun picks up an "-n", if it does not
already have one in the nominative plural form ( exceptions are names :
“den Meyers” and nouns with foreign roots: “den Autos”, “den Kameras”.
ADJECTIVE ENDING
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DATIVE CASE PRONOUNS _______ <
The pronouns for the subject case (NOMINATIVE) and the direct object case
(ACCUSATIVE) have already been introduced. Here they are listed again plus the
DATIVE CASE PRONOUNS.
SINGULAR PLURAL
Nom. Acc. Dat. Nom. Acc. Dat.
1. ich mich mir wir uns uns
2. du dich dir ihr euch euch
3. er ihn ihm sie sie ihnen
sie sie ihr
es es ihm
Examples: Wem gehört der Audi? To whom does the Audi belong?
Wem schenkst du das Buch? To whom do you give the book?
After the following nine prepositions one must use the DATIVE CASE.
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(Richard works at Siemens.)
(at the house of) Wir sind heute bei unseren Freunden.
(Today, we are at our friends’ house/place.)
gegenüber (opposite) Meine Wohnung ist gegenüber dem Kino.
(My apartment is opposite the movie theatre.)
The prepositions "bei", "von" and "zu" often contract with the definite article dem, and
"zu" also contracts with the definite article der.
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The following verbs take a so-called DATIVE-OBJECT, not a direct object.
danken (to thank) Sie dankt ihrem Freund für den Brief.
(She thanks her friend for the letter.)
The verb "glauben" takes an indirect object only when it refers to persons.
BUT: glauben (to believe something) Ich glaube diese Geschichte nicht.
(I don't believe this story.)
There are several very common expressions in German which use the DATIVE:
34
<
The accusative case identifies the receiver of the action (the direct object). The DATIVE
case identifies the indirect object. It is usually a person (or group of persons, an
organization, etc.) who does not receive but is indirectly involved with the action expressed
by the verb. In most instances one could say that the indirect object denotes the
beneficiary of an action:
German, much more than English, prefers the pure dative case (that is indirect objects).
Many verbs that take a direct object can also pick up an indirect object. When both the
direct and the indirect objects in a sentence are nouns, the indirect object (DATIVE CASE)
is placed before the direct object (ACCUSATIVE CASE):
NOTE: The rule of thumb is: the indirect object precedes the direct object.
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Ich kaufe meiner Freundin diese Jacke.
If, however, one object happens to be a pronoun, then it precedes the other object:
Double pronoun combinations like these are not very frequent and combinations, that
sound alike i.e. ihn/ihm or ihn/ihr are avoided altogether.
The infinitive of a verb may take over the function of a noun in a sentence. It then
becomes a neuter noun and may be used with article words and prepositions. The
English equivalents of these nouns normally end in "-ing", e.g. Einkaufen = shopping;
Schwimmen = swimming; vor dem Einkaufen = before shopping; nach dem Schwimmen =
after swimming, etc.
Common combinations are the prepositions "bei","von" und "zu" with verbal nouns: beim
Essen (at/during the meal, while eating), zum Einkaufen gehen (to go shopping) vom
Schwimmen kommen (to come from swimming).
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GRAMMATIK 1: The Present Perfect Tense
A list of strong and irregular weak verbs so far introduced (including Kapitel Acht):
37
(see) sehen sieht hat gesehen
(be) sein ist ist gewesen
(sit) sitzen hat gesessen
(speak) sprechen spricht hat gesprochen
(stand) stehen hat gestanden
(wear, carry) tragen trägt hat getragen
(meet) treffen trifft hat getroffen
(drink) trinken hat getrunken
(do) tun hat getan
(change [trains etc.]) um/steigen steigt ... um ist umgestiegen
(to move) um/ziehen ist umgezogen
(spend [time]) verbringen hat verbracht
(forget) vergessen vergisst hat vergessen
(pass on) weiter/geben gibt ... weiter hat weitergegeben
(become) werden wird ist geworden
(drive back) zurück/fahren fährt...zurück ist zurückgefahren
II. The prefixes "hin" and "her" can combine with other separable prefixes forming
double prefixes. These prefixes, usually denoting position, are made more precise
by this addition:
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Hans geht hinauf. Hans kommt herunter.
The prefix "hinauf" denotes both "up" and "away" from the point of reference. The prefix
"herunter" indicates "down" and "towards" the speaker, at the bottom of the stairs. The
speaker standing at the top of the stairs would be saying:
The verb "kommen", of course, already implies "her" and "gehen" implies "hin".
The prefixes "auf" (up) and "unter" (under) are not the only ones "hin" or "her" can
combine with, although they are found quite frequently.
hineingehen herauskommen
NOTE: when an infinitive with separable prefix is used as an infinitive completion the
prefix is joined to the main part of the infinitive:
Commands <
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There are three forms for the German command (imperative), one for the formal form of
address and two for the familiar form of address, one each for singular and plural.
1. FORMAL FORM
Sprechen Sie lauter! (Speak up!)
Vergessen Sie Ihr Buch nicht! (Don't forget your book!)
Steigen Sie ein! (Get in!)
Machen Sie das nicht! (Don't do that!)
Rufen Sie mich an! (Call me!)
The familiar singular form of the command uses the stem of the verb without an ending.
The familiar plural form of the command uses the stem of the verb with the ending –t.
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Note: Verbs with stems ending in -t, -d add an –e to the stem:
Arbeite nicht so viel! (Don’t work too much! - sing.)
Arbeitet nicht so viel! (Don’t work too much! - pl.)
Strong verbs with a vowel change in the present tense (i.e. "sprechen", "geben",
"essen") maintain that change only in the familiar command form singular:
Verbs with a vowel change from "a" to "ä" are an exception. In the command
form there is NO umlaut:
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POLITE REQUESTS <
There is a way of asking someone to do something without using a command, which might
sound too forceful. It uses the conditional form of the auxiliary "werden": "würde" (would).
This form is conjugated like "möchte":
singular plural
er
sie würde sie würden
es
The construction of a sentence with "würde" is also similar to that with "möchte":
Möchten Sie die Zeitung lesen? (Would you like to read the newspaper?)
Würden Sie mich heute Abend anrufen? (Would you call me tonight?)
Würdest du mich bitte hinfahren? (Would you drive me there, please?)
Würdet ihr bitte einsteigen? (Would you get in, please?)
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GRAMMATIK
As in English these verbs really describe what might be called an "attitude" toward
another action:
I want to give a party.
This sentence does not say you give a party; it describes your feelings, your desire to
give a party. The same in the German sentence:
Since these modals describe attitudes toward actions, they are usually not used alone
but need a completion in the form of an infinitive. One cannot really say: "I must." alone,
without some other action at least being understood: "I must work (write letters, visit my
friends, etc.)". In German the infinitive completion always goes at the end of the
sentence without "zu" - "to"!
The conjugation of the modal auxiliaries differs from the regular German verb
conjugation.
dürfen können
sg. pl. sg. pl.
mögen müssen
sollen wollen
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sg. pl. sg. pl.
Note the vowel change in the singular (in some modals) and the missing "e" and
"t" endings in the 1st and 3rd persons singular!
English "must" and "have to" have the same meaning in positive sentences but not in
negative ones. So there are different German equivalents.
Instead of changing to a past participle when used in the prsent perfect tense, the modal
verbs follow the dependent infinitive as another infinitive. The auxiliary for all modals in the
present perfect tense is "haben".
Ich habe sehr viel schreiben müssen.
Wir haben nach Hause gehen wollen.
Only when there is no dependent infinitive, the modals may form past participles. All modal
verbs are weak and have past participles on the pattern ge________t, but the Umlaut of
the infinitive disappears.
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müssen Hast du das wirklich gemusst?
wollen Ich habe das nicht gewollt!
The infinitive completion is often omitted in sentences with a modal when the meaning
of the infinitive is clear from the context.
DO NOT CONFUSE
a. “wollen” (to want to) or "mögen" (to like) with "möchten" (would like)
b. „ich will", "er, sie, es will" with the English "will" (future tense).
Another verb, "wissen" (to know), - although not a modal auxiliary - is conjugated like
the modals:
wissen
sg. pl.
Note the lack of endings on the first and third persons, singular.
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The English equivalent of both "wissen" and "kennen" is "to know";
"wissen" means to know something as a fact
"kennen" means to be acquainted with a person, place or thing.
"können" means "to be able to do something"
Ich weiß, wer Frau Bauer ist. I know who Mrs. Bauer is.
Ich kenne Frau Bauer gut. I know Mrs. Bauer well.
Ich kann sehr gut Italienisch. I know Italian very well.
("kennen" was used in Middle English and is still used in Scottish. The noun "ken"
means perception or understanding: "That's beyond my ken.")
Modal auxiliaries are not the only verbs to take infinitive completions. Many other verbs
do, too. The big difference is that almost all verbs other than the modals (and
"möchten" + "würden") take the word "zu" with the infinitive:
(In the last example the modal is an infinitive completion not the main verb!)
When the infinitive completion is a verb with a separable prefix, then "zu" is inserted
between the prefix and the stem of the infinitive:
Max versucht, die Tür aufzumachen. (Max tries to open the door.)
The preposition "um" is used in a construction with the infinitive to express purpose (in
order to). One action is done to achieve another. The infinitive is placed at the end of
the sentence as usual and is always preceded by "zu"; anything else, direct objects,
prepositional phrases, etc., is placed in between "um" and "zu" + infinitive (this
infinitive constructions is separated from the main clause by a comma):
This construction can only be used when the subject carrying out the action of the main
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clause and the action in the infinitive construction are the same.
Although the "um ... zu" + infinitive construction cannot stand alone separated from a
main clause, in conversation it's often used without it:
a. The terms "ein paar" and "einige" mean "a few" or "some" and express an
undefined number, more than two but not many.
In this function "etwas" can be replaced by "ein bisschen" meaning "a little bit"
Möchten Sie ein bisschen Wein? (Would you like a little bit of wine?)
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GRAMMATIK
Either/Or-Prepositions
Here is a group of prepositons which can be used EITHER with the accusative OR the
dative.
an on (a vertical surface)
on, to (rivers, lakes, sea)
at, by (bordering at places)
auf on, onto (horizontal surface)
in in, into
vor in front of, before
über over, above
unter under, below
hinter behind
neben beside, next to
zwischen between
All these prepositions usually describe local relationships. The term "EITHER / OR
PREPOSITIONS" refers to the fact that these prepositions require either the
ACCUSATIVE case or the DATIVE case.
If the verb describes a movement towards a certain goal or area and thereby implies a
change of place, the noun or pronoun following one of these prepositions must be in the
ACCUSATIVE case. The corresponding interrogative here is "wohin?" (where to?).
If the verb expresses that someone or something remains in the same place, that there is
no change of place including either no motion/movement or motion without a specific goal,
the noun or pronoun following the above prepositions must be in the DATIVE case. The
corresponding interrogative is then "wo?" (where?).
NOTE: The verb in the dative case might include a motion within certain boundaries.
To determine the correct case check if the object passes/crosses real or
imaginary borders.
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ACCUSATIVE : Wohin?
DATIVE : Wo?
The verbs liegen, sitzen and stehen are strong verbs. They indicate that an either/or-
preposition is followed by the dative case.
The same is true for the verb sein.
The verbs legen, setzen and stellen are weak verbs and they indicate the accusative
case.
The verb hängen can express both the action of hanging something and the position of
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something hanging.
Either/Or-Prepositions
auf Sie legt ihre Brille auf den Tisch. Die Brille liegt auf dem Tisch.
(She puts her glasses on the table.) (The glasses are on the table.)
hinter Wir stellen das Sofa hinter den Tisch. Das Sofa steht hinter dem Tisch.
(We put the sofa behind the table) (The sofa stands behind the table.)
neben Maja stellt den Stuhl neben das Fenster. Der Stuhl steht neben dem Fenster.
(Maja puts the chair next to the window.) (The chair stands next to the window.)
über Sabine hängt eine Lampe über den Tisch. Eine Lampe hängt über dem Tisch.
(Sabine hangs a lamp over the table.) (A lamp is hanging over the table.)
unter Der Hund geht unter das Bett. Der Hund ist unter dem Bett.
(The dog goes under the bed.) The dog is under the bed.
vor Der Bus fährt vor den Bahnhof. Die Kinder spielen vor dem Haus.
(The bus drives up in front of the train (The children are playing in front of the
station.) house.)
zwischen Er stellt die Schachtel zwischen das Regal Die Schachtel steht zwischen dem Regal
und den Kühlschrank. und dem Kühlschrank.
(He puts the box between the shelf and the (The box is between the shelf and the
fridge.) fridge.)
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