LESSON NOTES

Newbie S1 #3
Düsseldorf Arc - How it all began

CONTENTS

Dialogue - Formal German

Main
English
Dialogue - Informal German
Main
English
Vocabulary
Sample sentences
Grammar
Cultural insight

# 3
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DIALOGUE - FORMAL GERMAN
MAIN

1. #2 : Ist hier noch frei?

2. #1 : Ja.

3. #2 : Danke. Ich heiße Michael Schmidt.

4. #1 : Angenehm. Ich heiße Lena Wagner.

5. #2 : Angenehm. Kommen Sie oft hierhin?

6. #1 : Ja, das Café ist sehr gut.

7. #2 : Ich wohne in Bremen, aber ich komme oft nach Düsseldorf. Wohnen Sie hier in Düsseldorf?

8. #1 : Nein, ich wohne nicht in Düsseldorf. Ich wohne in Köln. Duzen wir uns doch.

9. #2 : Okay, gut.

ENGLISH

1. #2 : Is [this seat] here still free?

2. #1 : Yes.

3. #2 : Thanks. I am called Michael Schmidt.

4. #1 : It’s a pleasure [to meet you]. I am called Lena Wagner.

5. #2 : It’s a pleasure [to meet you]. Do you often come here?

6. #1 : Yes, the café (the ice-cream parlour) is very good.

7. #2 : I actually live in Bremen, but I often come to Dusseldorf. Do you live here in Dusseldorf?

8. #1 : No, I don’t live in Dusseldorf. I live in Cologne. Let’s call each other “du” (= switch to informal
language).

9. #2 : Okay, good.

DIALOGUE - INFORMAL GERMAN

MAIN

1. #2 : Ist hier noch frei?

2. #1 : Ja.

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3. #2 : Danke. Ich heiße Michael Schmidt.

4. #1 : Freut mich. Ich heiße Lena Wagner.

5. #2 : Freut mich. Kommst du oft hierhin?

6. #1 : Ja, das Café ist sehr gut.

7. #2 : Ich wohne in Bremen, aber ich komme oft nach Düsseldorf. Wohnst du hier in Düsseldorf?

8. #1 : Nein, ich wohne nicht in Düsseldorf. Ich wohne in Köln.

9. #2 : Okay, gut.

ENGLISH

1. #2 : Is [this seat] here still free?

2. #1 : Yes.

3. #2 : Thanks. I am called Michael Schmidt.

4. #1 : I’m pleased [to meet you]. I am called Lena Wagner.

5. #2 : I’m pleased [to meet you]. Do you often come here?

6. #1 : Yes, the café (the ice-cream parlour) is very good.

7. #2 : I actually live in Bremen, but I often come to Dusseldorf. Do you live here in Dusseldorf?

8. #1 : No, I don’t live in Dusseldorf. I live in Cologne.

9. #2 : Okay, good.

VOCABULARY

German English Class

noch still, yet, another adverb

frei free adjective & adverb

angenehm pleasant adjective; adverb

Sie you (formal) personal pronoun

oft often adverb

hierhin here adverb

sehr very adverb

nach to, after preposition

SAMPLE SENTENCES

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 Nach einem Jahr hab ich noch immer keine Es ist noch Winter.
Ahnung, was ich mache.
It's still winter.
After one year, I still have no idea what I'm doing.

Der Eintritt ist frei/kostenlos. Ich habe heute frei.

Admission is free/free of charge. I have off (from work) today.

Angenehm, Sie kennenzulernen. Der Wind ist heute angenehm.

Nice to meet you. (get to know you) The wind is pleasant today.

Sie sind nett. oft verschlafen

You are nice. often oversleep

Er fährt sonntags oft mit dem Fahrrad in die Wie oft gehst du trainieren?
Stadt.
How often do you work out?
He often goes to town by bicycle on Sunday.

Triffst du ihn oft? Ich komme oft hierhin.

Do you meet him often? I often come here.

Komm sofort hierhin! Das ist sehr gut.

Come here immediately! That is very good.

Ich muss nach Münster fahren. Nach dem Essen möchte ich sofort nach Hause
fahren.
I have to drive to Münster.
After the meal I immediately want to drive home.

Der gefürchtete Kriegsverbrecher floh nach Am Samstag komme ich nach Hamburg.
Argentinien.
On Saturday I am coming to Hamburg.
The feared war criminal fled to Argentina.

GRAMMAR
ASKING QUESTIONS

When asking somebody a question in German, you need to pay attention to two things:
1. put the verb at the beginning of a phrase in order to turn that phrase into a question
2. for formal questions use the formal pronoun Sie "you", remember that with Sie the verb keeps its –en
ending

For example:

arbeiten "to work" ----> ich arbeite "I work" ----> Sie arbeiten "you work" ----> arbeiten Sie "do you
work?"

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Sie arbeiten bei Germanpod101.com ----> Arbeiten Sie bei Germanpod101.com? "Do you work at
Germanpod101.com?"

When asking a question with a word question (such as "who"), just add that question word to the
beginning of the changed phrase. For example:

Seit wann arbeiten Sie bei Germanpod101.com? "Since when do you work at Germanpod101.com?"

Wo wohnen Sie? "Where do you live?"

Wie geht es Ihnen? "How are you?"

If you want to make a yes/no question about somebody’s health, you can ask Geht es Ihnen gut? The
answer will be Ja "yes" or Nein "no", but most probably a complete phrase:

Ja, mir geht es sehr gut. "Yes, I’m very well."

Nein, mir geht es nicht gut. "No, I am not well."

My head is hurting, my throat is sore and I don’t feel like going into work, my doctor gave me 4 weeks of
paid sick leave but now he won’t extend them, yadda yadda yadda…

CULTURAL INSIGHT
As explained in the first lesson, you are not normally supposed to use informal language with people.
Instead, wait till you both formally agree to use informal language – as in the dialogue, somebody could
suggest “Duzen wir uns doch”, which roughly translates to “let’s say ‘du’ to each other”. “duzen” is a
special German verb that describes this notion, whereas “siezen” is the opposite: using the formal word
“Sie”. Mind you, there is no way you can go back from “du” to “Sie”, even if you haven’t seen somebody in
a long time. The only occasion you’d switch back from “du” to “Sie” would be something like first
knowing a person as a friend but later having to deal with him in an official capacity, such as in the city
administration. There, all contact is professional, that is to say formal.
Just like it’s up to the higher-ranking or older person to invite you to use informal language, older people
also enjoy respect in other situations. For example, if the bus is full and an elderly person comes in, you
are supposed to offer them your seat. When eating together, some families still observe the tradition
that guests and older people get their food first, and good restaurants train their waitresses to hand
out menus to older people and then women first.
When meeting somebody new, only young people hug or exchange kisses on the cheek like the French,
most Germans will shake hands. Here again it is the older or higher-ranking person that will offer his
hand first. If you offer your hand to somebody ranking higher than you, a few will even snub it, but
fortunately they are the minority. Even though not all Germans are known to observe the rules (in
particular the uneducated may not), please try to observe etiquette when here, as that will definitely
help your career in Germany.

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