2

CRRL”
I a re

Ar RiKsH
e
AN 4
 Other titles in this series
GERMAN IN THREE MONTHS
FRENCH IN THREE MONTHS
SPANISH IN THREE MONTHS
ITALIAN IN THREE MONTHS
PORTUGUESE IN THREE MONTHS
DUTCH IN THREE MONTHS
GREEK IN THREE MONTHS
SWEDISH IN THREE MONTHS
JAPANESE SIMPLIFIED
RUSSIAN IN THREE MONTHS
TURKISH IN THREE MONTHS
NORWEGIAN IN THREE MONTHS
ARABIC IN THREE MONTHS
LATIN-AMERICAN SPANISH IN THREE MONTHS
DANISH IN THREE MONTHS
Hugo’s Simplified System © 1990 Hugo’s Language Books Ltd
All rights reserved
ISBN 0 85285 160 X

(Gserman in Written by
Sigrid-B. Martin 2.4.

I'hree Months Lecturer in German

University of Kent at Canterbury

4th impression 1993

Sigrid-B. Martin

Cover photo (Spectrum): Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Set in 10/12pt Plantin by

Typesetters Limited
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
The Bath Press, Avon
Hugo’s Language Books Limited
 6

writing down the answers. Check these by referring to the key at the
Preface back of the book; if you have made too many mistakes, go back over the
instruction before attempting the same questions again. The
conversational exercises and conversations should be read aloud and
their constructions carefully noted. If you have the cassette recordings,
you should listen to these at the same time as you read. Listen also to
the spoken German of each exercise, both before you complete the
This new edition of ‘German in Three Months’ has been written for us written work and again as you check the answers. After you have
by Sigrid Martin, whose experience in teaching her native tongue ranges listened to the conversations and read them aloud, see how closely you
from beginners to post-graduate level. She has drawn on this expertise to can imitate the voices on the recording. It is best to keep at all times
produce a simple yet complete course for students aiming to acquire a your own running list of new words; this way, you will remember them
good working knowledge of the language in a short time, and who will better.
probably be studying alone at home.
When you think you have completed a section satisfactorily
The book begins with an explanation of German pronunciation, as far (alternatively, just before your daily study period is over) go back over
as this is possible without going too deeply into all the nuances and what you have recently done, to ensure that it is firmly committed to
varying sounds involved. If you are working without a teacher, you memory. When the course is completed, you should have a very good
should find that our system of “imitated pronunciation’ simplifies matters understanding of the language — more than sufficient for general
considerably. Using the book together with our cassette recordings holiday or business purposes, and enough to lead quickly into an
(allowing you to hear the German text at the same time that you read it) examination syllabus if this is your eventual aim.
is an ideal combination, giving another dimension to the course.
We hope you will enjoy ‘German in Three Months’, and we wish you
It has always been a principle of the Hugo method to teach only what is success with your studies.
really essential. We assume that the student wants to learn German from
a practical angle; the lessons contain those rules of grammar that will be
of most use in this repect. Constructions are clearly explained, and the
order in which everything is presented takes into consideration the need ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
for rapid progress. Lesson 1 concentrates on pronunciation. Lessons 2-13
include exercises and conversations; later in the course you will move on The author would like to thank especially her husband John Martin, for
to the use of idiom and colloquialisms, so necessary for a thorough many years Director of the Institute of Languages & Linguistics in the
grasp of conversational German. Answers to the exercises, and a full University of Kent at Canterbury, without whose help she could never
vocabulary list, appear at the back of the book. have written ‘German in Three Months”. Thanks also to Naomi Laredo,
whose expert editing and calming influence in times of stress ensured
Ideally you should spend about an hour a day on your work (slightly
that the text remained ‘on course‘, and to those others who gave their
less, maybe, if you do not use the cassette recordings), although there is encouragement and made comments on various drafts of this book.
no hard and fast rule on this. Do as much as you feel capable of doing;
if you have no special aptitude for language-learning, there is no point
in forcing yourself beyond your daily capacity to assimilate new material.
It is much better to learn alittle at a time, and to learn that thoroughly.
However, ideally you should try to complete one lesson each week.
In studying the lessons, first read each rule or numbered section
carefully and re-read it to ensure that you have fully understood the
grammar, then work through any following exercise(s) as they occur by
 Lesson 10 110 Lesson 13 161
Contents Indicating possession: the possessor ‘by ...-ing’; ‘in spite of ...-ing’
(PO) case Line-of-thought pointers
Prepositions requiring the PO case Conversation between intimates: the
Some exceptional masculine nouns plural
TYPE II verbs used as finite verbs Attached sentences with two -en forms
zu + -en form Impersonal expressions
Expressing purpose: um ... zu The oblique present tense
ohne ... zu (without ...-ing); statt ... zu Indirect citation of speech
Lesson 1 9 Lesson 6 56 (instead of ...-ing) Sequence of words in indirect citation
Speaking German Structural words: prepositions Obverse process Enclosed attached sentences
The alphabet and spelling Expressing existence or availability The pre-present of some auxiliary verbs Exercises, vocabulary
Spelling and pronunciation Exercises, vocabulary The past tense (I) Conversation: “Spendthrift youth’
Vowels and vowel combinations Conversational exercise Exercises, vocabulary
Consonants
Conversation: “ ‘Romantic’ New Year’ Key to Exercises 179
The hiatus or stop
Lesson 7 64
Stressed (accented, emphasised) syllables Lesson 11 128
Words paralleltod.. andein.. Vocabulary 184
Punctuation
Adjectives preceding nouns Quantifiers and identifiers
Lesson 2 21 Numerals: ordinal numbers and fractions Converting adjectives into nouns Index 198
Word endings and word sequences Conversation between intimates Attached sentences
Greetings, everyday phrases Sequence of words (I) Joiners affecting word sequence in the
‘the’ and gender Exercises, vocabulary attached sentence
‘the’ and singular/plural Conversation: “Evading the shopping” Reflexive pronouns
Plural of nouns Reflexive verbs
Exercises and vocabulary Lesson 8 76 Exercises, vocabulary
Sequence of words (II) Conversation: “Faulty merchandise”
Lesson 3 27
‘the’ and case Finite (auxiliary) verb + -en non-finite
verb Lesson 12 146
‘I, me, we, us, you ... (pronouns)
Use ofthe auxiliary verbs (present tense) The past tense (II)
Verbs: present tense of ‘to be’, ‘to have’
Measurements, quantities, other units New past tense stems
and ‘to make’
‘there is/are’ + quantity/number/location The pre-past
Exercises, vocabulary
Expressing specific location The oblique past tense (I)
Conversation: “Why find the way?”
Expressing ‘put’ The oblique past tense (II)
Lesson 4 33 Preposition + ‘it’/‘*them’/‘this’/‘these‘, etc. Conditional statements
‘alan’ Exercises, vocabulary zu + -en form expressing obverse process
Numerals: cardinal numbers Conversation: “Weight-watchers in vain!” Affective words
Prices Exercises, vocabulary
Another case: indirect object (IO) Conversation: “Fooled by a camera”
Lesson 9 89
Verbs using the IO case
Further uses of der, die, das, etc.
Exercises, vocabulary
Uses of the present tense
Conversation: “A present to avoid”
Present tense: exceptional forms
Lesson5 44 The pre-present
Asking questions Pre-present auxiliary verb: sein or haben?
Negative sentences Uses of the pre-present
Instructions and requests The ge _(e)t form
Descriptive and amplifying words: Time information
adjectives and adverbs Reassurance tags
Exercises, vocabulary Exercises, vocabulary
Conversation: ““Choosing a flat - but Conversation: “Frustration at the
the rent...!” doctor’s”
 10

compound word. The following examples and comments show the

Lesson 1 principles involved:

ch | Preceding vowels are short but no vowel follows.

mußte
Füße Vowel follows but preceding vowel is pronounced long.
ERapfel Preceding vowels are short, and vowels follow
mißachten ) immediately, but the ß ends a word in a compound
1 Speaking German
word (Eß lapfel) or a prefix (miß lachten).
Flüsse Preceding vowel is short and vowel follows
Although there are a few sounds in German which will be unfamiliar to
immediately.
you as a native speaker of English, on the whole English speakers find
German easier to pronounce than French. Since the main thing is to be (c) All nouns, not just names, begin with capital letters. The pronoun
understood, don’t worry if your pronunciation is less than perfect; to Sie, the formal word for ‘you’ (see Section 15), and related words
correct it, keep listening and prattising, particularly with the cassettes (e.g. Ihr ‘your’) always begin with capitals. In correspondence only,
which are an optional extra to this course. the pronouns Du (see Section 31) and Ihr (see Section 76), used
when addressing intimates, together with related words, begin with
Lesson 1 gives an explanation of German pronunciation and its relation
capitals. On the other hand, the first person singular pronoun (°T’)
to the written language. We deliberately avoid anything but passing
starts with a small letter (ich).
references to meaning, and ask you - hard as it may seem - to resist the
temptation to worry about meaning, just for this lesson, so that you can (d) Here are the letters of the alphabet with their names given in our
concentrate on the sounds of the words. Some concepts introduced here imitated pronunciation, which is explained in. the following sections.
will seem strange at first, but as you work through the course they will These are the names used when spelling out words.
become familiar. You will find it worthwhile to refer back to Lesson 1 at
A ah J yot Ss
frequent intervals for practice and revision.
B beh K kah T teh
C_tseh Lı>el U oo
D deh M em V fow
2 The alphabet and spelling E. ch N en W veh
E ef O oh X_ iks
(a) The German alphabet contains all the 26 letters, small and capital,
G geh P peh Y uepsilon (uep |sillon)
of the English alphabet. In addition, three of the vowel letters -
H hah Q koo Z tset
alA, 0o/O, u/U - also appear in the forms älÄ, ö/Ö, ü/Ü, which
Itee R eer
represent entirely different sounds from the same letters without the
“Umlaut’ symbol (!) above.
(b) Note that double ss is always written ß (which never starts a word 3 Spelling and pronunciation
and occurs only as a small letter) except when the following two
conditions hold good at the same time: There is a far greater consistency between spelling and pronunciation in
German than exists in English. However, some letters consistently
(i) the preceding vowel in the word is pronounced short (see
require a pronunciation different from the same letters in English, and
Section 3);
some letters appear in combinations unfamiliar in English, so we need
(ii) another vowel follows immediately in the same word.
to mention these before looking at the sounds of German in detail. Try
Even if these two conditions are fulfilled, the form ß is still used if to say aloud each of the examples in this section and in Sections 4, 5, 6
the double ss ends either a prefix or a word that is part of a and 7, preferably with the aid of the cassette or a native speaker of
 11 12

German. No English meanings are given for the examples, which have Fürsorge (Für |sorge), Rose (Ro Ise), Riese
been chosen for their usefulness as illustrations. (Riese)
The following letters are pronounced differently from their English s-sounding: Gast, längst, Wespe (Wes Ipe),
counterparts, or are subject to different rules of pronunciation Muster (Muster), meins, meines (meines)
depending on their position: Words containing both sounds: süß, seins, seines
(seilnes), dieses (die Ises)
Imitated s in the combinations sp and st at the start of
[sh]
pronunciation words and syllables is spoken like English sA:
b [bl, [pl y Atthe start of words and syllables pronounced as in Speck, spät, spülen, gespannt (ge Ispannt),
d (dl, MW English. At the end of words and syllables (standing Stamm, sterben, Strecke, steigen, erstaunt
g [g]; [K], 4 either alone or in a cluster of consonants of which (er |staunt), verstimmt (ver |stimmt),
[7], [?] they may not be the last) these letters MUST be Anstand (Anstand)
pronounced as p, tand k (or ch) respectively: This
means that habt rhymes with klappt, that wird th [t] Is never like th in this or thing, but pronounced
sounds exactly the same as Wirt, Rad like Rat,
simply as ı/t. Found only in words of foreign
origin, thus Apotheke, Hypothek, Thymian,
that Erdöl is spoken Ert-öl, and that folg could
These.
sound like Volk, Krieg like kriech. (All these
words actually exist and some are therefore tion [tsiohn] Found only in the many “imported’ words ending in
‘homophones’: words spelt differently but sounding -tion, thus Station, Aktion, Funktion, Tradition
alike.)
vol Is almost always like English f in from, first, thus
ec Is used constantly in the combinations ch and ck Vater, von, Verlag, bevor.
but is rarely found on its own except in foreign w WW] Is like English v in very, thus was, Wein, Weg, Wirt.
words.
y Te] Is not like the English y in either yer or very, but is
j [y] Is almost always spoken as English y at the start of pronounced like the German (short) vowel ü (see
a word (yet, yonder), thus Junge, Jammer. Section 4), thus System, sympatisch.
q Is always, as in English, in combination with u, but zZ [ts] Is NEVER like the English z as in hazard, but like
the combination is spoken differently, like English k i + sspoken in rapid succession, almost
+ vin rapid succession, thus quer, Quatsch, simultaneously, often with no more than a trace of
Qualität. the z. Something similar is found in the usual
s [s]» [z] Like English s (compare sin sıt, busy, its, 15) it is English pronunciation of the name Mozart, though
pronounced in two different ways: like the s in sızs z can also start a word, where it seems very odd to
and :zs, and like the z sound in busy and ıs. However, speakers of English: Zeit, zu, Zinsen, Zange,
distribution of the two types of s in German is Zorn, zusammen, beizeiten, inzwischen
exactly opposite to that in English. Whereas in (inzwischen), Weizen (Weizen), Schnauze
English the s-sounding s occurs at the start of words (Schnau |ze), Konzert, Winzer, Geiz, Sitz,
(and syllables) and the z-sounding s is found (though Franz, Holz, Harz, Lenz.
not universally) at the end, German s (except in sp The appearance of consonants in unfamiliar groups, or in unfamiliar
and st) is always pronounced z-sounding at the start places in words, can make a written foreign language difficult for the eye
and s-sounding at the end of words and syllables: to grasp. The following combinations contain only sounds that the
z-sounding: sein, Symbol, Absicht (Ablsicht), English speaker can easily pronounce, so it is well worthwhile getting
 13 14

used to seeing the combinations as ‘blocks’ for which the right 4 Vowels and vowel combinations
pronunciation is ready to hand.
Though there are only 8 vowel letters in German (the five of the English
dsch [dj] Like the 7 in jump. Quite rare and only used for
alphabet, plus ä, ö, ü), there are potentially 16, in practice 15, vowel
some foreign words: Dschungel, Dschihad,
sounds, because each vowel letter has two pronunciations, a long and a
Dschunke.
short one. It is vital to note and produce this distinction, as the long-
gd [kt] Pronounced kt, like the end of flicked. Rare, but the short contrast is accompanied by a difference in the nature of the sound.
first example given is much used: Jagd, Magd.
The spelling is sometimes an aid to knowing whether a vowel is long or short:
hd, hi(t), hm(t), Ignore the h, which merely shows that the preceding
hntt), hr(t), ht vowel is pronounced long (see Section 4). Similarly A vowel is Jong if
ignore h between vowels, except in compounds: ® the vowel letter is doubled: Beet, Saat, Boot
Fehde, Mehl, wählt, lahm, rahmt, kühn, e the vowel letter is followed by h: Bahn, Huhn, Lohn
wohnt, wahr, lehrt, weht; sehen, ruhen ® the vowel i is followed by e: fies, mies, Grieß
BUT Seehafen (See |hafen), bleihaltig © the vowel letter is followed by R, which is in turn immediately
(bleilhaltig). followed by a vowel letter in the same word (see Section 2(b)): Füße,
Blöße, Maße.
ng There is no g sound in this combination when it
occurs between vowels, so care is needed with A vowel is short if
words like Anger, Finger, Hunger. ® the vowel letter is followed by a doubled consonant letter or by ck:
Hütte, Affe, Zweck
pf This can come at the beginning or end of words © the vowel letter is followed by ss, which is in turn immediately
and syllables. p + fare spoken in rapid succession, followed by a vowel letter in the same word (see Section 2(b)): Flüsse,
almost simultaneously, often with no more than a wissen, Masse
trace of the p: Pfeil, Pferd, Pfund, Dampfer, ® the vowel letter is followed by ng: Rang, jung, ging.
impfen, Kupfer, Sumpf, Krampf, glimpflich.
All the following vowel descriptions in terms of English sounds are, of
sch, schl, schm, sch is like sh in shut, wish. While sch can start or course, only approximations and no substitute for genuine models of
schn, schr, schw end words and syllables, combinations with the pronunciation. One general, though impressionistic, guideline to help
further consonant letter can only start them: you to know what to aim at in the vowels and vowel combinations is a
Schande, Rausch, Schlampe, schmelzen,
greater tenseness and energy than with those of English. Avoid at all
Schnauze, Schraube, schwitzen. costs substituting English vowel glides, where the nature of the vowel
tsch [ch] This is like (t)ch in chap, much, match. It is found sound changes progressively (as in standard southern English /ane and
less at the start than in the middle or at the end of home, the vowel-glide sounds of which do not exist in German), for any
words: tschüs, Tscheche, Matsch, futsch, of the German single-sound vowels. It is for this reason that we use
Deutschland, Rutsch. northern English vowels as benchmarks, especially for the German long
vowels. Northern English vowels tend to have more of a single-sound
tz [ts] This only occurs in the middle or at the end of
quality than do those of standard southern English.
words. It is like the zs in gers, or like German z:
plötzlich, platzen, sitzen, Fritz, Gesetz. (a) Vowels

zw [tsv] This is like t + s + v spoken in rapid succession long a [ah] Longaasthe vowel in northern English father, barn.
and occurs only at the start of words and syllables: short a [ah] Short a as in northern English fat, track.
Zwang, bezwingen (be Izwingen), Zwerg, zwei, Bahn/Bann, Kahn/kann, Wahn/wann, kam/
inzwischen (in|zwischen), Zweck. Kamm, mahn/Mann, Saatlsatt
 15 16

long e [eh] Long e as the vowel in northern English Jane, drape. (b) Vowel combinations or glides
short e [e] Short e as in standard southern English get, crept.
Vowel combinations are always pronounced long. All three glides
Beet/Bett, wen/wenn, den/denn, hehl/hell,
somewhat resemble sounds from standard southern English, but they
fehl/Fell, gehligell
can be made to sound much more German if you make a special effort
long i(e) [ee] Long i(e) as the vowel in northern English keen, lean. to move the tongue (and jaw) more dramatically than for the matching
short i [] Short i as in standard southern English fit, chip. English sounds.
ihm/im, schief/Schiff, Stil/still, rief/Riff,
ailei [yl Similar to the standard southern English glide in
siech/sich, mies/miß
bribe, guide: Hain, Mai, Kai, weiß, Kleid, weich.
long o [oh] Long o as the vowel in northern English home, bone. au [ow] Similar to the standard southern English glide in
short o [0] Short o as in standard southern English shot, crop. cow, mouth: Raum, Zaun, Maul, Haus, Haut,
Hof/hoff, Ofen/offen, wohne/Wonne, Wohle/ Raub.
Wolle äuleu [oy] Similar to the standard southern English glide in
void, annoy: häuft, läuft, Säume, deutet, freut,
long u [00] Long u as the vowel in northern English moon, doom.
neun.
short u [00] Short u as the vowel in standard southern English
put, foot. (cC) Unstressed syllables containing e or er
Pute/Putte, Ruhm/Rum, Kruke/Krucke,
Mus/muß (e] Unstressed (unaccented) syllables containing the vowel letter e
require a sound similar to that indicated in English property,
long ä Long ä similar to northern English vowel in Jane, relative, anemone, Saturday, but with a trace more of the short e
but more open in the direction of the vowel in described in (a) above: Befund, Gericht, waagerecht, Hilferuf.
standard southern English leg.
The same sound is required ifthe e ends a word, and the sound
short ä Short ä exactly like short German e.
ending English never, weather is undesirable because the jaw
käme/Kämme, stähle/Ställe, Pfähle/Fälle,
drops further, resulting in a sound closer to unstressed er: Hilfe,
wähle/Wälle
welche, Menge, ihre.
long ö [oe] Neither has any parallel in English. For long ö say
Essentially the same sound is required if the e is followed by a
German long e while rounding and protruding the
consonant (other than:r): Hallenbad, Spiegelei, Dankesbrief,
lips.
deutet.
short ö [oe] For short ö say German short e while rounding and
protruding the lips. Both are similar to the tight, [er] Unstressed syllables containing the letters er require a sound
pursed vowel of French oeuf. similar to that in standard southern English huz, clutch, and the r
Höhle/Hölle, Flößel/flösse is NOT pronounced in this particular context: Wiederkehr,
Kinderwagen, Messerkante, besser, heller, ihrer.
long ü [ue] Neither has any parallel in English. For long ü say
German long i(e) while rounding and protruding The same sound, only lengthened, is required if the er is followed
the lips. by n. Again the r is not pronounced: gestern, Brüdern,
short ü [ue] For short ü say German short i while rounding and andernfalls, kentern.
protruding the lips. Both are similar to the tight,
pursed vowel in French zu, une.
Wüste/wüßte, Hüte/Hütte, fühlen/füllen,
führst/Fürst
 17 18

The distinction between e and er, between en and ern, is essential, consonants, when at the end of a word or syllable
since understanding correctly and being correctly understood depend on following any of the vowel and vowel-glide sounds listed
it. The following pairs show the contrast: Ehe/eher, Festel/fester, above. It is thus an alternative to the pronunciation of
Silbe/Silber, Güte/Güter, Lehren/Lehrern, Fischen/Fischern, such gs as ks (see Section 3): Zug, wagt, mag, saugt,
wischen/Wischern, Wäschen/Wäschern. klug, flog, Sog, fragt.
Each English speaker has a range of pronunciations of /
according to its position in a word and the sounds that
surround it. German 1, however, whatever its
5 Consonants environment, is restricted to one type only. The closest
parallels in standard southern English are the / sounds in
You saw in Section 3 that most of the consonants present no intrinsic clean, leek, language (though even these are not totally
difficulty for the English learner. We need now, therefore, consider only right), whereas those in vault, feel, Oliver, culvert, apple are
the three that do: ch, land r.
very different from the German sound. Consequently it is
ch Although always using the same letters, this has two the German 1 in such positions as these that needs the
radically different versions, neither found in English: most care and practice:
lieb, leben, lang, laut, Leute;
) [7] After e, ei, eu, i, ie, ä, äu, ü, and after consonants: Klippe, Klang, Flamme, Klug, Flucht;
The best way to achieve the sound required is to whisper goldig, Walzer, älter, albern, ulkig;
very forcefully words like Hugo, human, and then to use belebt, Brille, Rolle, völlig, fällig;
the initial sound of the A for German ch: Blech, Reich, Esel, fühl, voll, wohl, Stahl;
Seuche, mich, riechen, Bäche, Bäuche, Küche, ‘wedelt, wählt, Silber, Felder, Helm.
Storch, Dolch, durch.
The r sound, when it is needed (and in many cases where
The same sound is used in three common words of foreign there is a letter r it is not pronounced), is best made at the
origin, Chemie, China, Chirurg, and at the start of the back of the throat in the same place as ch (ii), but with
diminutive ending -chen (little ...), no matter what much less breath force. No r sound found in standard
precedes: Mädchen, Riemchen, Häuschen, Küfßchen, southern English is really satisfactory.
Gläschen, Frauchen.
r must be pronounced as the consonant described above
It is also a very common pronunciation of the consonant ® alone at the start of a word: Rand, rund, Rasen, Riese
letter g, either alone or with other consonants, when at ® after another consonant at the start of a word: Frau,
the end of a word or syllable following any of the vowel grün, Gras, Gruß
and vowel-glide sounds listed above. It is thus an alternative © between vowels or vowel glides in the middle of words:
to the pronunciation of such gs as ks (see Section 3): Beere, Fähre, Karre, mürrisch, waren.
wichtig, grantig, Predigt, liegst, Zweig, gütig.
r is not pronounced as a consonant but merely affects the
(i) [X] After a, au, 0, u: preceding vowel sound, often lengthening it or turning it
This is akin to the Scottish pronunciation of ch in loch, into a sort of vowel glide
Pitlochry, and is made by tensing the back of the throat ® alone at the end of a word or syllable: besser, woher,
while forcing plenty of breath through it: auch, Bach,
war, klar, Herr, Meer, mehr, fror, gar, wurde, warte,
Suche, Loch, brauchen, Sucht, machen.
würdig (Narr is an exception and needs the consonant)
The same sound is also a very common pronunciation of ® before another consonant at the end of a word or
the consonant letter g, either alone or with other syllable: Schwert, Wurst, Herz, warnte, horchte.
 19 20

6 The hiatus or stop origin) or words containing specifically unstressed first syllables or
prefixes, explained in Section 47(b):
Whereas in standard southern English the words in a phrase or sentence
Foreign words: kontrollieren, telefonieren, Maschine, Paket,
run into one another, so that a word beginning with a vowel appears to offiziell
borrow the final consonant of the preceding word as a bridge, German unstressed prefixes: belsprechen, miß |brauchen, verraten,
does not allow this. Words beginning with a vowel have to start with the gellingen, erlröten
hiatus or ‘stop’. This is not difficult to do - simply clear your throat
gently in a whisper - but it is difficult to use. It is required even within However, some short words in frequent use are also exceptions, while
a word, when the word is a compound oftwo or more words or contains combinations with da- and wo- (see Sections 40 and 63(a)) are usually
a prefix before a vowel. The stop is also required to separate a vowel not stressed on the da- or wo-:
ending from a vowel beginning. For example: ”

jedöch, sogar, damit, dazu, daneben, worauf, inzwischen

7

mach * aus, im * Auge, hau * ab, Vor*arbeiter, miß*achten, In our imitated pronunciation, the stressed syllable is printed in bold
ge*einigt, im * Ofen, würde * ich * auch type. Good dictionaries give reliable information about stress and also
Compare hau * ab with, say, How are you?, and Vor*arbeiter with for about the length of vowels.
ages.

8 Punctuation

German uses punctuation in a more formal way than English, so that

relating commas to speech pauses and meaning as in the following is
not possible. Commas are always inserted between such word
7 Stressed (accented, emphasised) syllables sequences:
My sister, who hates noise, was sent to a hotel next to a disco.
Effective speech depends on applying the speech rhythms and tunes of The girl who rang yesterday was a friend of my sister’s.
a language, and the rhythms and tunes of phrases and sentences are best
learnt by imitation. However, within the limits of individual words it is In German, commas would follow girl and yesterday.
useful to note that in German the stress usually falls on the first The punctuation used for quoted speech is different from English usage
syllable, though there are many exceptions. One reliable rule is that (see Section 80), and colons are used much more liberally, often to
whereas all English words starting with un- are unstressed on that first
introduce quite short inserts into the middle of sentences. The
syllable, such words in German have stress on the un- exclamation mark is also found more frequently than in English.
unglücklich, unerfahren, ünfreundlich, ungeduldig
German creates many conglomerate words out of smaller word-units. In
such cases the stress is on the normally stressed syllable of the first
word-unit:
kreideweiß, Plattenspieler, Brillenetui, Studentenwohnheim
(kreide weiß, Platten |spieler, Brillen letui,
Studenten wohn heim)
Most of the exceptions to first-syllable stress are either words of foreign
origin (though they do not necessarily keep the stress of the language of
 22

Exerecise 1
Lesson 2
Practise all the sentences in the dialogue below until you know them by
heart.
Two impecunious customers at a refreshment kiosk
Kunde Guten Tag!
9 Word endings and word sequences Customer Hello!
Besitzerin Guten Tag! Bitte schön ...?
There are two surprises in store for the English speaker who is Proprietress Hello! Yes please ...?
beginning to learn German: K Zwei Coca-Cola und eine Wurst mit Brot, bitte.
Two Coca-Colas and one sausage with bread, please.
(a) Words that in English never vary, like ‘the’ and ‘aan’, and simple B Was? Sie wollen zwei Cola aber nur eine Wurst?
invariable suffixes, like ‘-(e)s’ for the plural (dog>dogs, class> What? You want two Colas but only one sausage?
classes) have no single equivalents in German but present us with K Ja ..., das heißt, ja und nein. Wie teuer ist eine Wurst?
sets of equivalents to choose from. Yes ..., I mean yes and no. How much is a sausage?
(b) The sequence in which the words in a sentence appear in German B Nur zwei Mark.
may and often must be different from the sequence in the English Only two marks.
equivalent. ‘I can’t find the key because it’s too dark’ would emerge K Na gut, dann zwei Cola und zweimal Wurst mit Brot.
in German as ‘I can the key not find because it too dark is’ or “The All right, then two Colas and twice sausage with bread.
key can I not find because it too dark is”. B Bitte schön ... Sechs Mark zusammen.
‘Here you are ... Six marks altogether.
These two features in particular mean that you have to think differently
K Danke schön. Auf Wiedersehen!
to speak, write and understand German. To enable you to achieve this in
Thank you. Goodbye!
the most effective way, we separate (a) and (b), first firmly establishing
B Auf Wiedersehen!
the principles behind (a) and introducing (b) gradually from Lesson 7.
Goodbye!

10 Greetings, everyday phrases

11 ‘the’ and gender
However, first note some conversational phrases that you are bound to
need - or at least could use - immediately: German hasa total of six words for ‘the’: der, die, das, den, dem,
All over Germany the commonest greeting during the daytime is des, so it is best to think ofthe word as d.. (like the ‘th.’ of English
Guten Tag! (alternatively, in the morning, Guten Morgen!). In the ‘the’) plus a variable ending. The correct choice of ending depends on
evening Guten Abend! is required. In southern Germany and Austria three factors, one of which is gender.
Grüß Gott! is usual at any time of day. All these are often accompanied All German naming words (or nouns) belong to one of three gender
by a handshake, even within the family. After the greeting one person groups: masculine (m), feminine (f) or neuter (n). Most - but not all -
will often add Wie geht’s? or Wie geht’s Ihnen? (‘How are you?’), to nouns of male/female beings are masculine/feminine respectively, but
which the response is usually Danke, gut, or Gut, danke, or simply this is not very useful as a guide. It is much easier from the start to
Danke. learn each noun with the appropriate der, die or das in front of it, as
shown in the following sentences:
IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: goo-ten tahk; goo-ten moer-gen; goo-ten
ah-bent; grues got; vee gehts ee-nen; dahng-ke goot der Junge (m) ist krank‘(the boy ıs ıll), so der Junge

21
 23 24

der Preis (m) ist hoch (the price is high), so der Preis IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: mahn; fah-ter; zohn; broo-der; viert; tish;
die Tante (f) ist freundlich (the aunt is kind), so die Tante shtool; shrahnk; flooer; hoont; frow; moo-ter; tok-ter; shves-ter;
die Farbe (f) ist dunkel (the colour is dark), so die Farbe vier-tin; kue-he; tueer; tsy-toong; ooer; kaht-se; kint; met-hen; hows;
das Kind (n) ist nett (the child is nice), so das Kind
tsi-mer; fens-ter; bet; vah-ser; ow-toh; book; me-ser
das Haus (n) ist alt (the house is old), so das Haus

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: deer yoong-e ist krahnk; deer prys; hoh%; dee
12 ‘the’ and singular/plural
tahn-te; froynt-lih; dee fah-be; doong-kel; dahs kint; net; dahs hows; ahlt
When the noun is in the plural (i.e. refers to more than one) the distinction
between m, fand n in ‘the’ disappears and die is used for all:
Exercise 2
Preise sind hoch prices are high
Learn the lists of words in (a) about house and family, saying each word die Farben sind dunkel the colours are dark
wırh der, die or das in front of it. Then cover up the lists and say the Häuser sind alt houses are old
Jumbled sequence in (b), providing each word with the correct der, die, das, Summary:
checking that you also know the meaning. Finally cover up (b) as well and
say the German words (preceded by der, die, das) for the jumbled English singular
list ın (c).

(Note: We shall not use this type of exercise again, but it is one that you
will need to devise for yourself with each new set of words, lesson by lesson.)
(a)m Da DE n Rs IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: deer; dee; dahs; dee
Mann man/ Frau woman/ Kind child
husband wife Mädchen girl
Vater father Mutter mother Haus house 13 Plural of nouns
Sohn son Tochter daughter Zimmer room
Bruder brother Schwester sister Fenster window You will have seen in Section 12 that though the plural die is simple,
Wirt landlord _Wirtin landlady Bett bed the noun itself has no single way of showing the plural, like the English
Tisch table Küche kitchen Wasser water “-(e)s”. You must therefore learn each noun not only with der, die, das,
Stuhl _chair Tür door Auto car but also with its plural.
Schrank cupboard Zeitung newspaper Buch book
There are a few rough guidelines for emergency use:
Flur hall Uhr clock Messer _knife
Hund dog Katze cat (a) /nouns usually add -n or -en to the singular:
Küche Küchen but Mutter Mütter
(b) Auto, Fenster, Wirt, Uhr, Tochter, Haus, Flur, Messer, Tür,
Zeitung>Zeitungen Tochter>Töchter
Hund, Küche, Katze, Bruder, Mann, Kind, Zeitung, Sohn,
Frau Frauen Wirtin >Wirtinnen
Schwester, Stuhl, Buch, Wirtin, Schrank, Frau, Bett, Vater,
Zimmer, Mutter, Wasser, Mädchen, Tisch (b) m and n nouns often add
-e (Hund>Hunde)
(c) book, knife, sister, door, newspaper, woman, room, landlord, gar,
-en (Bett Betten)
table, water, clock, house, window, child, cupboard, girl, cat, kitchen,
-er (Kind Kinder)
father, dog, brother, daughter, hall, mother, chair, son, man,
landlady, bed
 25 26

and any of these endings may be accompanied by a change in the (b) Auto, Fenster, Wirt, Uhr, Tochter, Haus, Flur, Messer, Tür, Hund,
sound of the following vowels of the singular: Küche, Katze, Bruder, Mann, Kind, Zeitung, Sohn, Schwester,
-a- (Mann>Männer) Stuhl, Buch, Wirtin, Schrank, Frau, Bett, Vater, Zimmer, Mutter,
-°- (Sohn —Söhne) Mädchen, Tisch
-u- (Stuhl >Stühle)
-au- (Haus Häuser) IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: me-ner; fe-ter; zoe-ne; brue-der;
(c) Some m and n nouns do not change at all: vier-te; ti-she; shtue-le; shreng-ke; floo-re; hoon-de; frow-en;
Zimmer>Zimmer mue-ter; toeh-ter; shves-tern; vierti-nen; kue-hen; tue-ren;
Messer Messer tsy-toong-en; 00-ren; kaht-sen; kin-der; met-hen; hoy-zer; tsi-mer;
fens-ter; be-ten; ow-tohs; bue-her; me-ser
(d) With some m and n nouns the only change is that the vowel sound
of the singular is changed (by adding "):
Vater —Väter
Bruder>Brüder
(e) Some words taken from other languages add -s:
Auto—>Autos

Exereise 3

(a) lists the words you learned in Exercise 2, but they are now shown first
with the plural abbreviation generally used in dictionaries etc. and then in
the full plural form. Learn these, then cover up (a) and try 10 say the plurals
of all the jumbled singular words in (b).
(a) Mann (er) Männer Frau (-en) Frauen
Vater (*) Väter Mutter (?) Mütter
Sohn (e) Söhne Tochter (*) Töchter
Bruder (*) Brüder Schwester (-n) Schwestern
Wirt (-e) Wirte Wirtin (-nen) Wirtinnen
Tisch (e) Tische Küche (-n) Küchen
Stuhl (*e) Stühle Tür (-en) Türen
Schrank (*e) Schränke Zeitung (-en) Zeitungen
Flur (-e) Flure Uhr (-en) Uhren
Hund (-e) Hunde Katze (-n) Katzen
Kind (er) Kinder Bett (-en) Betten
Mädchen (-) Mädchen Wasser No plural
Haus (er) Häuser Auto (-s) Autos
Zimmer (-) Zimmer Buch (er) Bücher
Fenster (-) Fenster Messer (-) Messer
tIn later word lists and in the Vocabulary, the plural of each noun will be
indicated by the appropriate abbreviation in brackets.
 28

15 ‘I, me, we, us, you ... (pronouns)

Lesson 3
a

En
sing. singular
14 ‘the’ and case
case SU
You have seen that the choice of der, die, das, etc. is affected by: ne es
(i) gender (m/f/n) =: rn
(ii) number (singular/plural)
The third factor determining the choice is case, which means the
TExcept Eiir intimates (see Sections 31 and 76)
function of a noun in the idea expressed in the sentence. Compare:
(a) Der Hund ist harmlos. The dog is harmless. IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: dehn; iA; mih; veeer; oons; zee; eer; een;
(b) Der Junge liebt den Hund. The boy loves the dog. zee; es; zee
In (a) it is clearly the dog that is or does something (in this particular
case ıs), while in (b) it is the boy that is or does something (in this case
does), and the dog has become the thing affected by the boy’s doing. In 16 Verbs: p present tense of ‘to be’, ‘to have’ and “to make’
order to refer to these roles easily we can say that the be-er or doer is the
After naming words (nouns) and their substitutes (pronouns), we need -
subject in a sentence, and the thing directly affected, like the dog here, is
the direct object. We shall need to use these terms often, so the to make sentences - process words or verbs. Like ‘to be’ and ‘to have‘,
abbreviations SU and DO will be useful. Returning to the German sein and haben are exceptional but indispensable, while machen (‘to
sentences, we can now say that in (a) der Hund has the subject (SU) make’) is a model for all standard German verbs, just as ‘to work’ would
function; in (b) der Junge has the subject function and den Hund has be for standard English verbs. Here are the verb forms required to
the direct object (DO) function. Note the change from der to den. This denote present-time processes (e.g. ‘I work‘, ‘Iam working’, ‘I do work’).
We call this the present tense.
particular change, required when a m noun is used as DO instead of
SU, does not apply to singular fand n nouns or to plural nouns. (a) to be, sein
Nevertheless, native speakers of German have a strong sense of case
I am ich bin
even when there is no visible change, and this is something you will
also get a feel for. we wir
you are Sie sind
Summary: they sie
he er
singular
she is sie ist
it es

27
 29 30

(b) to have, haben (b) Translate into German:

1 The father loves the landlady.
I have ich habe
It is harmless (harmlos)!
we wir He buys the newspaper.
you have Sie haben
She makes the beds.
they sie
The daughter fetches the car.
he er She calls the cat and the dog.
she has sie hat The cat and the dog come.
it es
The landlady brings water.
1»
so
oo
WWFather, landlady, daughter, dog and cat drink the water.
(c) to make, machen
I make ich mache IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: (16) zyn; bin; zint; ist; hah-ben; hah-be;
we wir haht; mah-ken; mah-ke; mahkt; (Ex. 4) lee-ben; kow-fen; mah-ken;
you make Sie machen hoh-len; roo-fen; ko-men; bring-en; tring-ken
they sie
he er
she makes sie macht CONVERSATION
it es
Practise all the sentences in the following dialogue until you know them by
Verbs are found in a dictionary, and in the Vocabulary, in the form stem heart. Refer to the map for help. These are new words:
+ en, e.g. mach + en > machen. To make the present tense of most
Entschuldigung! Excuse me!
verbs, you simply take the stem and add these endings:
suchen to look for
lst person singular (L:..): -e die Touristeninformation tourist information office
lst person plural (we ...): liegen to be (situated)
singular 1 N am in/on the
. 2nd person 'Be (you ...): en der Theaterplatz Theatre Square
3rd person plural (they ...): wie? how?
-t dahin (to) there
3rd person singular (Hefeic 2): ee nicht not
leicht easy
Moment mal just amoment
Exercise 4 gehen to go
über over, across
(a) Learn the following verbs and then translate the sentences in (b):
die Kreuzung (-en) crossroads
lieben to love
zweite second
kaufen to buy
die Straße (-n) street
machen to make
rechts on the right
holen to fetch
der Marktplatz (‘-e) marketplace
rufen to call
sehen to see
kommen to come
dann then
bringen to bring
die Kirche (-n) church
trinken to drink
 31 32

das Gasthaus (“er) inn P Das ist nicht so leicht ... Moment mal ... Sie gehen über die
die Rose (-n) rose That’s not so easy ... Just a moment ... You go over the
nehmen to take Kreuzung, zweite Straße rechts, über den Marktplatz.
zwischen between crossroads, second street on the right, across the marketplace.
eins one Sie sehen dann die Kirche und das Gasthaus Zur Rose. Sie
zwei two You’l] then see the church and the Rose Inn. You
drei three nehmen die Straße zwischen Gasthaus und Kirche, dann ...
vierte fourth take the street between (the) inn and (the) church, then ...
immer geradeaus straight ahead eins ... zwei ... drei... ja, dann die vierte Straße rechts, dann
für for one ... 1wo ... three... yes, then the fourth street on the right, then
etwa about immer geradeaus für etwa fünfhundert Meter. Sie finden dann
fünfhundert five hundred straight ahead for about five hundred metres. You’ll then find
der Meter (-) metre sofort den Theaterplatz.
finden to find (the) Theatre Square immedhately.
sofort immediately O, das ist furchtbar schwierig!
furchtbar terribly Oh, that’s terribly difficult!
schwierig difficult Es macht nichts, die Touristeninformation ist
es macht nichts it doesn’t matter It doesn’t matter, the information office is
um at (time of day) um diese Zeit sowieso geschlossen.
dieser this closed at this time anyway.
die Zeit (-en) time
sowieso anyway
geschlossen closed

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: ent-shool-di-goonk; zoo-ken; dee

_too-ris-ten*in-foe-mah-tsiohn; lee-gen; ahm; deer teh-ah-ter-plahts; vee;
dah-hin; nikt; lyht; moh-ment mahl; geh-en; ue-ber; dee kroy-tsung;
tsvy-te; dee shtrah-se; rehts; deer mahkt-plahts; zeh-en; dahn; dee
keeer-he; dahs gahst-hows; dee roh-ze; neh-men; tsvi-shen; yns; tsvy;
dry; feeer-te; i-mer ge-rah-de*ows; fueer; et-vah; fuenf-hoon-dert; deer
meh-ter; fin-den; zoh-foert; fooerht-bah; shvee-rih; es mahkt nikts;
oom; dee-zer; dee tsyt; zoh-vee-zoh; ge-shlo-sen

An encounter in the street

Touristin Entschuldigung! ... ich suche die Touristeninformation.

Tourist Excuse me ... I’m looking for the tourist information office.
1 Touristin 6 Gasthaus Zur Rose
Passanıt Ja ... die liegt am Theaterplatz. 2 Passant 7 Theaterplatz
Passer-by Oh... that’s in Theatre Square. 3 Kreuzung 8 Theater
T Und wie komme ich dahin? 4 Marktplatz 9 Touristeninformation
And how do I get there? 5 Kirche
 34

Wir trinken kein Bier.

We don’t drink beer. (We drink no beer.)
Lesson 4 Ich habe keine Ahnung.
I haven’t a clue. (I have no clue/no idea.)
Kein Mensch glaubt so etwas.
Nobody would believe anything like that. (No person believes such a thing.)
Sie hat Angst, aber er hat keine Angst.
She is afraid but he is not. (She has fear but he has no fear.)
17 ‘alan’ Er hat keinen Beruf.
He isn’ı trained for anything. (He has no profession/trade.)
Wir sind keine Anfänger.
German uses the same word for ‘“a/an’ as it does for ‘one’: ein. When
We aren’t beginners. (We are no beginners.)
ein is used to mean ‘a/an’ (or ‘one’ in front of nouns, e.g. ‘one cup’) it
has these endings: Finally, stating someone’s job does not involve ein, while stating what
someone is not is usually done with nicht (‘not’):
Die Mutter ist Lehrerin.
The mother is a teacher.
Er ist nicht Zahnarzt, er ist Kinderarzt.
He’s not a dentist, he’s a paediatrician.

Used thus ein has of course no plural (its meaning is by definition

Exercise 5
singular), and as in English sometimes just the plural noun alone is
used for the plural, or sometimes the noun is preceded by words like
Translate the following into German. You will need these new words:
‘some’ (German einige) or ‘several’ (mehrere) or ‘a few’ (ein paar,
always found in this form, without endings). to build bauen
flat die Wohnung (-en)
Freunde
einige Freunde problem das Problem (-e)
Wir haben hier. to install installieren
mehrere Freunde
ein paar Freunde water system das Wassersystem (-e)
electricity die Elektrizität
ein has a parallel, kein, which means ‘not a/not an’ or ‘no ...‘, and this electrician der Elektriker (-)
naturally does have a plural (cf. ‘no friends’). catastrophe die Katastrophe (-n)
1 They are buying a house and making flats.
2 One flat hasn’t got a kitchen.
3 That’s a problem and they are building a kitchen.
4 One flat hasn’t any water.
5 That’s also a problem but the father is installing a water system.
6 One flat hasn’t got electricity.
Whereas in English we generally say, for example, ‘I haven’t any 7 That’s. no problem. The son is an electrician.
friends’, in German the expression is always on the pattern of Ich habe 8 One flat has a kitchen, water, electricity, and some cupboards, but no
keine Freunde. kein is therefore in constant use, as the following windows.
examples show (the phrases in brackets give the literal meanings): 9 That’s not a problem, it’s a catastrophe.

33
 35 36

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: bow-en; dee voh-noong; dahs prob-lehm; 27 siebenundzwanzig (see above)
in-stah-lee-ren; dahs vah-ser-zues-tehm; dee*e-lek-tri-tsi-tet; deer*e-lek- 28 achtundzwanzig
tri-ker; dee kah-tahs-troh-fe 29 neunundzwanzig
30 dreißig
Next learn to count from 21 to 30, carefully observing the stress on the
18 Numerals: cardinal numbers
first syllable, and noting that the units precede the tens and are joined
to them by und.
null
eins 10 zehn
zwei 20 zwanzig
drei 30 dreißig
vier 40 vierzig
fünf 50 fünfzig
sechs 60 sechzig (note that the -s is lost again!)
sieben 70 siebzig (the -en of sieben is again lopped off!)
SS
oo
WND
vu
oO acht 80 achtzig
\o neun 90 neunzig
10 zehn 100 hundert
First learn to count from 0 to 10. Null is needed mainly when citing Count from 10 to 100 in tens. Then learn the following examples
decimals or reading out single digits (as sometimes in telephone combining units and tens. Because these are isolated numbers the stress
numbers). is always on the penultimate syllable, whereas the sequence counting
from 21 to 29 (above) required it on the first syllable.
ll elf
12 zwölf 31 einunddreißig
13 dreizehn 42 zweiundvierzig
14 vierzehn 53 dreiundfünfzig
15 fünfzehn 64 vierundsechzig
16 sechzehn (note that the -s of sechs disappears!) 66 sechsundsechzig
17 siebzehn (note that the -en of sieben vanishes!) 75 fünfundsiebzig
18 achtzehn 77 siebenundsiebzig
19 neunzehn 86 sechsundachtzig
20 zwanzig 97 siebenundneunzig
Now learn to count from 0 to 20, always stressing the first syllable. Beyond 100, note that, if written in words, any number below the
millions appears as one word. Whereas in English the hundreds are
21 einundzwanzig
linked to the tens and units by ‘and), there is hardly ever an und after
22 zweiundzwanzig
the hundreds in German (and never in sequence counting). The units
23 dreiundzwanzig
and tens continue to appear in the reverse order to English, with und in
24 vierundzwanzig
between, and, however long the number, a number in isolation has the
25 fünfundzwanzig
stress on the normally stressed syllable of the final component (300
26 sechsundzwanzig (note that because this means six-and-twenty
dreihündert, 507 fünfhundertsieben, 629
the -s of sechs has naturally returned!)
sechshundertneunundzwanzig).
 37 38

Practise saying these examples: In (i) the -ein is given the / singular ending -e and the noun is singular;
101 in (ii) the -ein is left without ending, the und can be dropped as in
hunderteins, (or less usually) einhunderteins
sequence counting, and the noun is plural.
212 zweihundertzwölf
323 dreihundertdreiundzwanzig Cardinal numbers usually require a plural noun to follow, but there are
434 vierhundertvierunddreißig common exceptions like units of currency (see Section 19) and of
545 fünfhundertfünfundvierzig measurement etc. (see Section 36).
656 sechshundertsechsundfünfzig
666 sechshundertsechsundsechzig IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: nool, yns, tsvy, dry, feeer, fuenf, zeks,
767 siebenhundertsiebenundsechzig zee-ben, ahkt, noyn, tsehn; elf, tsvoelf, dry-tsehn, feeer-tsehn, fuenf-
777 siebenhundertsiebenundsiebzig tsehn, zeh-tsehn, zeep-tsehn, ahkt-tsehn, noyn-tsehn, tsvahn-tsih;
878 achthundertachtundsiebzig yn*oont-tsvahn-tsih, tsvy*oont-tsvahn-tsih, ...; dry-sih, feeer-tsih,
989 neunhundertneunundachtzig fuenf-tsih, zeh-tsih, zeep-tsih, ahkt-tsih, noyn-tsih, hoon-dert;
hoon-dert*yns; tow-zent; y-ne mi-li-yohn
Now count in hundreds from 100 to 1000 as shown:

100 (ein)hundert
200 zweihundert 19 Prices
300 dreihundert
400 vierhundert The basic unit of German currency is the Deutsche Mark (f), which
500 fünfhundert is divided into 100 Pfennig (m). Though often preceded by cardinal
600 sechshundert numbers, Mark is never and Pfennig hardly ever found in the plural.
700 siebenhundert Price tags are usually written, and the sums spoken, as follows:
800 achthundert
Written: Spoken:
900 neunhundert
1,000 tausend DM 0,55
or fünfundfünfzig Pfennig
1,000,000 is eine Million (-en), so the figure 5,723,926 would be spoken: 55 Pfg.
_ fünf Millionen siebenhundertdreiundzwanzigtausendneun-
eine Mark zwanzig
hundertsechsundzwanzig. A number of more than four figures is (equally common)
DM 1,20 eins zwanzig
separated in thousands by thin spaces, not by commas. Note also
eine Mark und zwanzig Pfennig (less common)
(Section 19) that acomma is used for the decimal point in German.
vier Mark fünfundachtzig
Years are designated, as in English, using only hundreds, so 1992 is DM 4,85 vier fünfundachtzig
neunzehnhundertzweiundneunzig. “The 19205’ is die zwanziger vier Mark und fünfundachtzig Pfennig
Jahre, ‘the 1980s’ die achtziger Jahre, with the ending -er added on
Price tags are sometimes more explicit, e.g.
to the cardinal number. Unlike most endings this one never changes. All
the numbers given here can be used both in sequence counting (1, 2, 3 Written: Spoken, and meaning:
etc.) and as single items in front of nouns (“fifty pages’, fünfzig Seiten),
Pfd. DM 2,40 zwei Mark vierzig das Pfund
without any change. The sole exceptions are any numbers ending in
DM 2.40 per pound (the German pound = 500 grams)
eins, where the -s is dropped before a noun and the choice is as follows:
Stück DM 3.00 das Stück drei Mark or drei Mark das Stück
The book has 201 pages. Stck ? DM 3.00 for one item or each
(i) Das Buch hat zweihundertundeine Seite.
(ii) Das Buch hat zweihundert(und)ein Seiten.
 39 40

You enquire the cost of goods for sale as follows: process and so may be called the indirect object (IO). In English we are
hardly aware ofthe IO as a case, since we generally either use words like
Was kostet das?
How much is that? “to’ or ‘for’ to indicate a recipient or beneficiary, or indeed just let the
Wie teuer ist das? |
noun stand alone and leave the meaning to be understood from the
Was kosten die Kartoffeln?
Wie teuer sind die Kartoffeln?
| How much are the potatoes? context, with possibly some help from the sequence of the words:
I am lending him it.
IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: pfe-nih; y-ne mahk; dahs pfoont; dahs I am lending it to my friend.
shtuek I am lending the book to my friend.
I am lending my friend the book.

German speakers, as already noted in Section 14, have a strong sense of

Exereise 6 case, and the indirect object (IO) has a mostly very distinctive set of IO
words for ‘the’, “(not) a/an’ and ‘no‘, as well as a separate set of pronouns.
1 Ein Buch kostet DM 12,80 (zwölf Mark achtzig).
Zwei Bücher kosten DM 25,60 (fünfundzwanzig Mark sechzig). (a) {t0/for) the, (not) a/an, no’

Now continue the pattern with the following, writing out the missing singular
sentences and giving the prices ın figures and words:
2 Ein Brot kostet DM 4,80 (vier Mark achtzig).
re
dem der dem
Zwei ... (k)einem (k)einer (k)einem ae
3 Eine Wurst kostet DM 3,25 (drei Mark fünfundzwanzig).
Zwei ... (b) IO pronouns
4 Eine Uhr kostet DM 85,00 (fünfundachtzig Mark).
Zwei ...
5 Eine Zeitung kostet DM 2,50 (zwei Mark fünfzig).
Zwei ...
..6 Ein Bett kostet DM 488,00 (vierhundertachtundachtzig Mark).
Zwei ...
7 Ein Schrank kostet DM 505,00 (fünfhundertfünf Mark). IO Ihnen | ihm ihr ihm ihnen
Zwei ... (to/for) you him her it them
8 Ein Messer kostet DM 7,50 (sieben Mark fünfzig).
Zwei ... Summary of SU, DO and IO cases for ‘the’, ‘(not) a/an’ and ‘no’:
9 Eine Rose kostet DM 3,75 (drei Mark fünfundsiebzig).
Zwei ...
10 Ein Auto kostet DM 18000,00 (achtzehntausend Mark).
Zwei ... der die das die
nn ana (k)ein keine
das
20 Another case: indirect object (IO)
ee iz (k)ein

The English sentence ‘I am lending him it’ has not one but two objects: dem der dem den
‘it’ denotes the item directly affected by the process ‘am lending’ and is (k)einem (k)einer (k)einem keinen
the familiar DO, while ‘him’ denotes the recipient or beneficiary of the
 4l 42

Summary of SU, DO and IO cases for pronouns: IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: bring-en; geh-ben; sheng-ken;
vuen-shen; be-gehg-nen; hel-fen; ge-fah-len; glow-ben; fer-tsy-en;
MBRRSHIENG ageNez den;besoyam:gehiunierwlan] rah-ten

2nd
Aer Singular | Exerecise 7
BE NRER Rewrite the following, substituting the nouns in brackets for those that

Sa
precede them and making the other changes required. To help you, the words
that have to be changed are underlined.
10 _[mir | ersehen Ich bringe meiner Mutter (Vater) eine Zeitung (Buch).
It may be a small aid to memory to note that, with d.., (k)ein and the Ich gebe sie ihr in der Küche (Flur).
pronouns, the m and n singular IO case always ends with the letter m, Ich schenke meiner Schwester (Bruder) eine Katze (Hund)
which is unique to this case; that the f singular IO case always ends und wünsche ihr einen guten Tag.
with the letter r; and that the plural IO case of d.. and kein along
with the 2nd person and the 3rd person plural pronouns all end with
the letters en. CONVERSATION

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: deer, yn, kyn; dehn, y-nen, ky-nen; dehm, Study the following dialogue until you know all the sentences (and their
y-nem, ky-nem; dee, y-ne, ky-ne; deer, y-ner, ky-ner; dahs, yn, kyn; ... meaning) by heart. These are new words:
ih, mih, meeer; veeer, 00ns; zee, ee-nen; eer, een, eem; zee, eeer; es, eem
heute abend this evening
eingeladen invited (out)
man one
21 Verbs using the IO case netten nice
die Dame (-n) lady
Apart from verbs like
rote red
bringen to bring (someone something) bestimmt definitely
geben to give (someone something) gut fine
schenken to give (someone something) as a present wieviele? how many?
wünschen to wish (someone something) sollen shall, is to, are to
ach! oh!
which may obviously, as implied by their meaning, relate to two objects,
verheiratet married
a DO and an IO, German has some verbs which, if they have an object vielleicht perhaps
that is human, require this to be an IO, e.g.
nie never
begegnen to meet (someone) wieso denn? why is that?
helfen to help (someone) bedeuten to mean
gefallen to please (someone) gelbe yellow
glauben to believe (someone) die Nelke (-n) carnation
verzeihen to forgive (someone) bitte schön! there you are! you’re welcome!
raten to advise (someone) viel Spaß! (have) a nice time!
 43

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: hoy-te*ah-bent; yn-ge-lah-den; mahn;

ne-ten; dee dah-me; roh-te; beshtimt; goot; vee-fee-le; zo-len; ahk;
fer-hy-rah-tet; fee-lyht; nee; vee-zoh den; be-doy-ten; gel-be; dee nel-ke; Lesson 5
bi-te shoen; feel shpahs

A problem of etiquette at the florist’s

Kunde Ich bin heute abend eingeladen. Was schenkt man einer
netten Dame? 22 Asking questions
Besitzern Moment bitte ... Ich helfe Ihnen sofort. Rote Rosen gefallen
ihr bestimmt. (@) When the answer is expected 10 be ja (‘yes’) or nein (‘no’)
K Wie teuer sind rote Rosen? To ask a question requiring a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, simply begin with
B Sie kosten zwei Mark fünfzig das Stück. the verb and follow immediately with the SU. In English this is
K Gut, ich nehme Rosen. possible only with a handful of verbs, like “be’, ‘have’, ‘can’, ‘must’,
B Wieviele sollen es sein? ... fünf ..., sieben ..., neun ...? while if none of these is present ‘do’ is universally used first, with the
K Geben Sie mir fünf Stück bitte? ... Ach ja, bringe ich ihrem main verb (if there is one) coming after the SU:
Mann auch etwas? Ist er Elektriker? Is he an electrician?
B Was!? Die Dame ist verheiratet!!?? Rote Rosen gefallen ihr Kommt er heute? Is he coming today?
vielleicht, aber ihr Mann verzeiht Ihnen nie, glauben Sie mir. Kommt er oft? Does he come often?
K Wieso denn? Hat sie Geschwister? Has she(go1) (any) brothers and sisters?
B Rote Rosen bedeuten Liebe. Ich rate Ihnen, schenken Sie ihr Arbeiten sie? Are they working?
gelbe Nelken ... Bitte schön ... Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Spaß
(b) When the answer is expected to be a piece of information
heute abend!
To ask a question requiring particular information in the answer,
start with the appropriate question-word -
TRANSLATION
was? what?
Customer I am invited out this evening. What does one give a nice wie? how?
lady? wo? where?
Proprietress Just a moment please ... I’ll help you straightaway. Red wer? who?
roses will definitely please her. wen? who(m)?
C How much are red roses? wem? who(m) to/for?
P They cost two marks fifty each. wann? when?
C Fine, Tl take roses. warum? why?
P How many is it to be? ... five ..., seven ..., nine? - follow it with the verb (any verb, as in (a)), then with the SU,
C Will you give me five please? ... Oh yes, shall I take except when the SU is the question-word itself, as is sometimes the
something for her husband too? case with wer? and was? (e.g. questions marked f below):
P What!? The lady is married!!?? Red roses will perhaps please
her, but her husband will never forgive you, believe me! Was kosten die Kartoffeln? What do the potatoes cost?
C Why is that? Was macht das? How much is that?
P Red roses mean love. I advise you, give her yellow TWas kommt jetzt? What is coming now?
Wie fahren Sie? How are you travelling
carnations ... There you are ... I wish you a pleasant time
(i.e. by what means)?
this evening!

44
 45 46

Wie heißt der Sohn? How is the son called In was für ein? the ein has the ending it would be given in the
(i.e. what is his name)? statement presupposing the question:
Wo wohnt die Freundin? Where does the girlfriend live?
Sie haben ein Auto. Was für ein Auto haben Sie?
TWer wohnt hier? Who lives here?
You have a car. What sort of a car do you have?
Wer ist der Besitzer? Who is the proprietor?
Sie sucht einen Teppich. Was für einen Teppich sucht sie?
Wen kennt der Junge? Who(m) does the boy know?
She’s looking for a carpet. What sort of a carpet is she looking for?
Wem bringt er die Blumen? Who(m) is he taking the flowers 10?
Wann fahren wir? When are we travelling IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: ih vys * es niht; geh-ben zee meeer bi-te
(i.e. when do we leave)? dee tsy-toong; ry-hen zee bi-te dehn tsoo-ker; vahs fueer * yn * ow-toh
This list of question-words is not exhaustive. hah-ben zee; vahs fueer bloo-men bringt * eer; vahs fueer * y-nen te-pih
zookt zee; vahs fueer * yn mensh * ist * eer; zee hah-ben * yn * ow-toh;
IMI TATED PRONUNCIATION: ist * eer * e-lek-tri-ker; komt * eer hoy-te;
vahs fueer * yn * ow-toh hah-ben zee; zee zookt * y-nen te-pih; vahs
komt * eer * oft; haht zee ge-shvis-ter; ah-by-ten zee; vahs; vee; voh; fueer * y-nen te-pih zookt zee
veer; vehn; vehm; vahn; vah-room; vahs kos-ten dee kah-to-feln; vahs
mahkt dahs; vahs komt yetst; vee fah-ren zee; vee hyst deer zohn; voh
vohnt dee froyn-din; veer vohnt heeer; veer * ist deer be-zit-ser; vehn Exercise 8
kent deer yoong-e; vehm bringt * eer dee bloo-men; vahn fah-ren veeer
Insert the correct question-word from the column on the right in the
Notes: following questions:
() If the person asked does not know the answer, a typical response
l ... für ein Auto hat er? Wen
might be:
2 ... kommt er? Wer
Ich weiß (es) nicht. I don’: know. 3 ... [Link]? Was
The use of nicht is explained in Section 23. 4 ... wohnt die Freundin? Wie
5..istusiee Warum
(ii) Questions in German are frequently used as a way of making polite 6 ... heißt sie? Wann
requests. They may take the same form as the English “Would 7 ... liebt er sie? Wo
you ...?’ (Section 69) or they may be more direct, in a form which
would be felt to be rude in English:
Geben Sie mir bitte die Zeitung? 23 Negative sentences
Will you give me the paper, please? (literally: Are you giving me the paper,
please?) Section 17 showed the wide use of kein to make negative sentences.
Reichen Sie bitte den Zucker? Where this is not possible (kein can only be used before nouns and can
Will you pass the sugar, please? only mean ‘not a/an’ or ‘no’, but never ‘not the’) nicht (‘not’) is used.
The most usual way of making a negative sentence in English is to attach
(ii) The phrase was für (ein)? means ‘what sort of (a)?”:
‘n’t’ to one of the small number of verbs mentioned in Section 22(a),
Was für ein Auto haben Sie? e.g. ‘aren’t‘, ‘haven’t', ‘can’t‘, ‘“mustn’t‘, or in the absence of one of these,
What sort of (a) car do you have? to ‘do’ (‘doesn’t/don’t’). If there is a main verb in the sentence, it follows
Was für Blumen bringt er? either immediately or almost immediately, e.g. ‘He doesn’t always swim),
What sort offlowers does he bring? “We don’t know her yet’, ‘It isn’t working well”.
Was für einen Teppich sucht sie?
What sort of (a) carpet is she looking for? nicht cannot combine with the verb in the way ‘n’t’ does, and while
Was für ein Mensch ist er? ‘n’t’ comes early in the sentence, nicht comes late and sometimes last.
What sort of a person is he? It never comes between the SU and the verb in sentences such as you
 47 48

have met so far, and it has no effect on the verb (from which it is Exercise 9
sometimes quite distant), as ‘n’t’ does, requiring ‘swims’ to become
‘doesn’t swim’: Translate the following ‘scene’ into German. Translate only what the
speakers say, not the ‘stage directions! You will need these new words:
Er schwimmt nicht immer. He doesn’ı always swim.
Wir kennen sie noch nicht. We don’ı know her yet. yes please ...? bitte schön ...?
Es funktioniert nicht gut. It isn’t working well. guide der Führer (-)
town guide der Stadtführer (-)
The same principle applies to questions, as the following examples
to ask fragen
derived from Section 22 show:
boss, manager der Chef (-s)
Ist er nicht Elektriker? Isn’ı he an electrician? to look for suchen
Kommt er nicht heute? Isn’t he coming today? such a thing so etwas
Kommt er nicht oft? Doesn’t he come often? certainly sicher
Warum arbeiten sie nicht? Why aren’: they working? drüben
over there
but: to have a look gucken (pronounced kucken)
there dort
Hat sie keine Geschwister? Has she no brothers or sisters? crazy verrückt
Hasn’t she any brothers or sisters?
of von
of course natürlich
to need brauchen
24 Instructions and requests here hier
to know kennen
Begin with the verb, with its -en ending attached, and follow it
town die Stadt (*e)
immediately with Sie:
Kommen Sie sofort! Come at once! IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: bi-te shoen; deer fue-rer; deer shtaht-fue-
rer; frah-gen; deer shef; zoo-ken; zoh * et-vahs; zi-her; drue-ben; koo-
This is generally felt to be nothing like as abrupt as the English
ken; doert; fer-ruekt; fon; na-tueer-lih; brow-ken; heeer; ke-nen; dee
equivalent and can be toned down still further by adding bitte (‘please’).
shtaht
Geben Sie mir bitte die Zeitung! Give me the paper please!
A stranger (Fremde) tries to buy a town guide in a bookshop in
Note the distinction between this sentence and the apparently identical Bunsenheim
one in Section 22. They look the same but sound different.
The only instruction form which is exceptional is that from ‘be’ (sein): Assistant Yes please ...?
seien Sie! So: Stranger Hello. Have you got a guide?
A What sort of a guide?
Seien Sie so nett und bringen Sie mir die Zeitung!
Ss A town guide.
Be so kind and bring me the paper!
4A I don’t know. Please ask the boss.
S (to Manager) Hello. I’m looking for a town guide. Have you got such
a thing?
Manager Yes, certainly. The town guides are over there. Have a
look there.
 49 50

Ten minutes later Der Chef ist gar nicht höflich.

S Iv’s crazy. I find town guides of Frankfurt, Gießen, The boss isn’t at all pohte.
Marburg and Kassel but I don’t find a town guide of Das Kind trinkt die Milch ziemlich schnell.
Bunsenheim. The child drinks the milk pretty quickly.
M Of course not. Why do we need town guides of
IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: zeher; tsoo; zoh; tseem-lih; et-vahs;
Bunsenheim? We live here and know the town!
niht; niht zoh; gah nikt;
After correcting your translation with the help of the Key, learn the dialogue
by hearı. (b) Adjectives and adverbs also share the same methods of making
comparisons:
(i) Comparatives (higher degree)
25 Descriptive and amplifying words: adjectives and
adverbs Das Wetter ist heute schlechter als gestern.
The weather is worse today than yesterday.
Das Kind singt schlecht, aber die Mutter singt schlechter.
You already know something about nouns and verbs in German, and The child sings badly, but the mother sings worse.
will remember how we called them naming words and process words.
Now we introduce descriptive and amplifying words, otherwise known as To make comparatives add -er to the basic adjective or adverb and if you
adjectives and adverbs. need ‘than’ use als. Sometimes - especially in the case of a few much-
used adjectives/adverbs - you must also change the sound ofthe vowel:
Adjectives either precede nouns directly (cf. ‘fine weather’) or follow
them and refer to them by having some form of sein (“be’) sandwiched alt old älter older
in between (cf. ‘the weather was fine’). Adverbs are used much more arm poor ärmer poorer
loosely and embellish or amplify the process indicated by the verb (cf. groß big größer bigger
‘he stumbled badly’) or indeed the process indicated by the sentence as a hart hard härter harder
whole (cf. ‘she thumped the table violently’). In German, unlike English, jung young jünger younger
exactly the same word can generally be used as either adjective or adverb: kalt cold kälter colder
klug clever klüger cleverer
Das Wetter ist schlecht. The weather ıs bad. krank ill kränker more ill
Das Kind singt schlecht. The child sings badly. kurz short kürzer shorter
We shall not just now consider adjectives when they precede the noun. lang long länger longer
This is dealt with separately in Section 29. oft often öfter more often
schwach weak schwächer weaker
(a) Adjectives and adverbs share the use of a small set of words to stark strong stärker stronger
precede them by which their meaning can be enhanced or reduced warm warm wärmer warmer
or negated:
These vowel changes are carried over into the superlative.
sehr very
zu too (ii) Superlatives (highest degree)
so so Das Wetter war vorgestern am schlechtesten.
ziemlich fairly, rather, pretty The weather was worst (of all) the day before yesterday.
etwas rather, somewhat Der Vater singt am schlechtesten.
nicht not The father sings worst (of all).
nicht so not so
gar nicht not at all
 5l 52

Das Wetter war vorvorgestern am schönsten. Exercise 10

The weather was nicest (of all) three days ago (lit. the day before the day
before yesterday). 1 Meine Mutter ist alt, aber mein Vater ist älter.
Die Kusine singt am schönsten.
The (female) cousin sings the most beautifully (of all). Now continue the pattern, writing the sentences in full:

To make superlatives precede the adjective/adverb with am and add 2 Mein Bruder ist groß, aber meine Schwester ist ...
-(e)sten to the word itself. The -(e) is generally used when the word 3 Die Frau ist jung, aber die Wirtin ist ...
(i.e. the stem) ends in -s, -R (but not groß > am größten), -d and -t. 4 Der Sohn ist klug, aber die Tochter ist ...
5 Das Zimmer ist warm, aber das Bett ist ...
However, when a superlative adjective precedes the noun (cf. ‘the 6 Die gelbe Nelke ist lang, aber die rote Rose ist ...
finest weather’), the am is not used and the ending may be other 7 Die Frau ist nett, aber der Mann ist ...
than -en. This is dealt with in Section 29.

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: ahlt, el-ter; ahm, eer-mer; grohs,

CONVERSATION
groe-ser; hahert, heerter; yoong, yueng-er; kahlt, kel-ter; klook,
klue-ger; krahnk, kreng-ker; kooerts, kueert-ser; lahng, leng-er; oft, Translate the following ‘scene’ into English. You will need these words:
oef-ter; shvahk, shve-her; shtahk, steer-ker; vahm, veer-mer
die Hausbesitzerin (-nen) house owner
(c) Like English, German has one or two such words that are a law dies .. this
unto themselves: das Wohnzimmer (-) living room
das Schlafzimmer (-) bedroom
gut good besser better am besten best
der Mieter (-) tenant
viel much mehr more am meisten most
der Flur (-e) hall
hoch high höher higher am höchsten highest
dunk(e)lif dark
nahe near näher nearerr am nächsten nearest die Straße (-n) street
(d) To convey ‘as ... as’, where the gap may represent an adjective or an laut noisy
adverb, German uses so ... wie: eigentlich really, actually
oben upstairs
Das Haus ist so klein wie ein Schuppen. hell light, bright
The house is as small as a shed.
der Raum (*e) 100m, space
Ich komme so schnell wie möglich.
Ill come as quickly as possible.
bestimmt definitely
breit wide
“just as... as’ is ebenso ... wie: unten downstairs
Das Schlafzimmer ist ebenso groß wie das Wohnzimmer.
die Decke (-n) ceiling
The bedroom is just as big as the living room. niedrig low
Der Vetter singt ebenso schön wie die Kusine. winzig tiny
The (male) cousin sings just as beautifully as the (female) cousin. gegenüber opposite
die Aussicht (-en) view
IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: goot, be-ser, ahm bes-ten; feel, meher, wunderschön glorious, splendid
ahm mys-ten; hohk, hoe-er, ahm hoehs-ten; nah-e, ne-er, ahm der Garten (*) garden
nehs-ten; zoh ... vee; eh-ben-zoh ... vee liegen to lie
nämlich you see (in explanation)
 53 54

hinten at the back, rear (c) In the first floor flat at the rear
ruhig quiet
vorn at the front H Diese Wohnung ist am schönsten. Hier sind nur zwei
nehmen to take Schlafzimmer. Sie sind aber etwas größer als die
übrigens by the way Schlafzimmer gegenüber. Die Aussicht ist
der Monat (-e) month wunderschön, der Garten liegt nämlich hinten.
teu(e)rt dear, expensive M Ja, und diese Wohnung ist auch viel ruhiger als die
jetzt now, at present Wohnungen vorn. Ja, ich nehme sie ... Wie hoch ist
zahlen to pay übrigens die Miete?
H Neunhundertfünfzig Mark pro Monat.
T The bracketed letter disappears when another syllable, like -er, is M Was!!?? Nein, das ist mir zu teuer. Das ist viel mehr, als
added to the adjective/adverb. ich jetzt zahle.

IMITATED PRONUNCIATION: dee hows-be-zit-se-rin; dees. .; dahs vohn- Now compare your translation with the translation below. After you have
tsi-mer; dahs shlahf-tsi-mer; deer mee-ter; deer flooer; doong-kel; dee corrected your version, learn the sentences of the dialogue by heart.
shtrah-se; lowt; y-gent-lih; oh-ben; hel; deer rowm; be-shtimt; bryt;
oon-ten; dee de-ke; nee-drih; win-tsih; geh-gen*ue-ber; dee ows-ziht;
voon-der-shoen; deer gah-ten; lee-gen; nem-lih; hin-ten; roo-ih; foern; TRANSLATION
neh-men; ueb-ri-gens; deer moh-naht; toy-er; yetst; tsah-len
(a) In the ground floor flat
Scene: A house owner shows three vacant flats to a prospective tenant: one
on the ground floor at the front of the house, and two situated opposite each House owner This flat is beautifully spacious, two living rooms, four
other on the first floor, one at the front and the other at the rear. bedrooms, two toilets ...
Ienant The hall is too dark, and the street is rather noisy. This
(a) In the ground floor flat flat is really too large for me. I don’t need four bedrooms,
only two really ... Are the flats upstairs smaller?
Hausbesitzerin Diese Wohnung ist schön groß, zwei Wohnzimmer, vier H \es. They’re rather lighter than this one, too.
Schlafzimmer, zwei Toiletten ...
Mieter Der Flur ist zu dunkel, und die Straße ist ziemlich laut. (b) In the first floor flat at the front
Diese Wohnung ist mir eigentlich zu groß. Ich brauche
keine vier Schlafzimmer, eigentlich nur zwei ... Sind die H You/ll definitely like these rooms ... only one living room,
Wohnungen oben kleiner? but wider and longer than the living room downstairs.
H Ja. Sie sind auch etwas heller als diese. T Yes, fine, but the ceiling is lower than downstairs. T’he
three bedrooms are too tiny for me, and it’s just as noisy
(b) In the first floor flat at the front here as downstairs.

H Diese Räume gefallen Ihnen bestimmt ... nur ein (c) In the first floor flat at the rear
Wohnzimmer, aber breiter und länger als das
Wohnzimmer unten. H This flat is the nicest of all. Here there are only two
M Ja, schön, aber die Decke ist niedriger als unten. Die bedrooms. But they’re somewhat larger than the
drei Schlafzimmer sind mir zu winzig, und es ist ebenso bedrooms opposite. The view is glorious. The garden’s at
laut hier wie unten. the back, you see.
 55

T Yes, and this flat is quieter than the flats at the front,
too. Yes, I’ take it ... By the way, how much is the Lesson 6
rent?
H Nine hundred and fifty marks a month.
T What!!?? No, that’s too dear for me. That’s much more
than I’m paying now.

26 Structural words: prepositions

Structural words are the short (often monosyllabic) words which have
little ‘meaning’ in isolation but are used to link together items from the
major word-classes of nouns, adjectives and verbs. They thus enable
more complex structures to be built up, and this is why we call them
structural words, or prepositions, because they usually precede nouns or
pronouns:
going into the house
stolen by a thief
a letter from you
fond of her mother
insist on payment

Whereas in English we can simply place any preposition in front of any

noun or in front of the pronouns ‘me, us, you, him, her, it’ and ‘them’
without complication, in German each preposition requires the noun or
pronoun following to be in a particular case, generally DO or IO. Some
prepositions require DO exclusively, some IO exclusively, and some
require either DO or IO according to the sense. Here are the bulk of
prepositions, grouped according to the cases required. It is impossible to
translate prepositions from one language to another out of context.
However, the commonest English equivalents are given here. You can
only learn prepositions by finding them and learning to use them in
genuine contexts, noting any particularly idiomatic or (apparently)
exceptional usage.

(a) DO prepositions
durch through, by, by means of
für for
gegen against, towards
ohne without
um round, at (time of day)

56
 57 58

Note three contracted forms frequently found when das follows: DO IO

durchs (= durch das) Fenster through the window auf on to (the top of) (a on (the top of) (a horizontal
fürs (= für das) Theater Jor the theatre horizontal surface) surface)
ums (= um das) Feuer round the fire
hinter (to) behind behind
(b) IO prepositions in into in (spatial, and temporal,
though year numbers need
aus out of, from
im Jahre, e.g. im Jahre
bei with, at (so-and-so’s house), near, in (such-and-such 1992); inside, within
conditions or weather), during, in the process/course of
neben (to) next to, (to) alongside next to, alongside, along with
mit with
über across, over (i.e. from one above, over (i.e. on top of)
nach to (certain locations, including one’s own house: nach side to the other), via
Hause), after (time), according to
unter (to) underneath, (to) below, underneath, under
seit since, for (period of time up to now) below, under (from one
side to the other)
von from (place and time), by (indicating agency or authorship),
of (possession) vor (to) in front of, (to) before in front of, before; (in past
time contexts) ago
zu to (certain locations), at (e.g. home: zu Hause)
zwischen (to) in between between
Note these contracted forms when dem follows:
Note these contracted forms when das follows:
beim (= bei dem) Gewitter in/during the thundersiorm
vom (= von dem) Dach from the roof ans (= an das) Feuer up to the fire
zum (= zu dem) Arzt to the doctor aufs (= auf das) Wasser on to the water
ins (= in das) Netz into the net
and when der (f IO case) follows: vors (= vor das) Auto in front of the car
zur (= zu der) Seite to the side, aside
and when dem follows:

(c) DOAO prepositions am (= an dem) Montag on Monday

im (= in dem) Schnee in the snow
The rule is that if the context indicates or implies a change of
location or of condition, these prepositions have to be followed by a The following sentences are designed to illustrate the principle
(pro)noun of DO case; otherwise they are followed by the IO case. underlying the selection of DO or IO:
(Senses which are not spatial or temporal usually need the DO case.) (i) Fritz geht an den Schrank, Liese steht am Schrank.
In the following list we show two ‘meanings’ for each preposition: Fritz goes 10 the wardrobe. Liese stands by the wardrobe.
DO IO (ii) Er legt die Zeitung auf den Schrank, sie liegt jetzt auf dem
Schrank.
an on to (the side of); upto at, by, on (the side of) (a He puts (lays) the newspaper on the wardrobe. It’s now (now lies) on the
(the edge of) non-horizontal surface); on wardrobe.
(with days and dates) (ii) Fritz springt hinter den Schrank, Liese ist schon hinter dem
Schrank.
Fritz jumps behind the wardrobe. Liese is already behind the wardrobe.
 59 60

(iv) Fritz geht jetzt in den Schrank, Liese singt im Schrank. Exercise 11
Fritz now goes into the wardrobe. Liese is singing in the wardrobe.
(v) Die Katze geht neben den Stuhl, der Hund liegt schon neben Complete the story which follows, based on the cartoon, by inserting
dem Stuhl. prepositions in the gaps marked ‘P’ and putting the right case-endings on
The cat goes next 10 the chair. The dog is already Iying next 10 the chair. d.. andein. You will need this information:
(vi) Die Katze springt über den Tisch, die Uhr hängt über dem
Tisch. (i) Prepositions, listed in the order in which they are required: mit, in,
The cat jumps over the table. The clock is hanging above the table. vor, auf, auf, neben, hinter, mit, auf, für, in
(vii) Fritz kriecht unter den Tisch, die Zeitung liegt unter dem
Tisch. (ii) New words, for both meaning and gender, Iısted in the order required:
Fritz creeps under the table. The newspaper is (lies) under the table. der Verbrecher (-) criminal
der Pinsel (-) paintbrush
(d) Two odd prepositions: bis and gegenüber die Palette (-n) palette
(i) bis can be used in two ways: die Hand (*e) hand
das Bild (-er) picture
® in expressing time/numbers, it means ‘until’, ‘up to), ‘by”. die Sache (-n) thing
Note: DO case follows, e.g. bis nächstes Jahr, till next year; die Tischdecke (-n) tablecloth
bis nächsten Montag, till next Monday. das Brot (-e) loaf
® in other expressions, it means ‘up to), ‘as far as”. das Glas (*er) glass
Note: it cannot stand alone, except before place names. It die Flasche (-n) bottle
must also be followed by a preposition like an, auf, in. The der Korken (-) cork
case is determined by this second preposition. das Etikett (-en) label
wichtig important
The following exemplifies both usages: die Feile (-n) file
Fritz kommt nur bis Bunsenheim, findet ein Gasthaus, geht bis an
die Tür, wartet bis fünf Uhr, zählt bis fünfzig, kommt dann bis in
die Gaststube, aber: keiner ist da!
Fritz only gets as far as Bunsenheim, finds an inn, goes up 10 the door, waits
until five o’clock, counts up to fifty, then gets as far as the lounge, but - no one
1s there!

(ii) gegenüber means ‘opposite‘, ‘towards’, ‘compared to”.

Note: it usually follows the (pro)noun to which it relates, and
requires the IO case for that preceding (pro)noun.
Thus:

au
Die Kirche steht am Marktplatz dem Gasthaus Zur Rose
gegenüber, und Sie finden das Theater am Theaterplatz der
Touristeninformation gegenüber.
The church is on the marketplace opposite the Rose Inn, and you’ll find the
theatre on Theatre Square opposite the tourist information office.
 61 62

Der Verbrecher steht P ein.. Pinsel und ein... Palette RB 27 Expressing existence or availability
d.. Hand P ein.. Bild. P d.. Bild sind mehrere
Sachen. P ein... Tischdecke liegt ein Brot. P d.. Brot One ofthe basic requirements in any language is a means of expressing
ist ein Glas, und B d.. Brot ist eine Flasche P ein.. the idea that something exists or does not exist, is available or not
Korken. P d.. Flasche ist ein Etikett. Was ist aber P available. This is done in English with ‘there is/are’ etc. Note how the
d.. Verbrecher am wichtigsten? Die Feile P d.. Brot natürlich! verb changes, not only according to time but also to match the singular
or plural nature of the item(s) referred to:
Exercise 12 There’s a mouse in the larder.
There are rats by the river.
Translate the following sentences, which constitute a mini-“hriller’, into There was cake for tea.
German. You will need some new words, which are given below, and the There were hamburgers for supper.
appropriate prepositions are indicated at the end of each English sentence.
The English is meant 10 elicit the best German, so ignore the words in When (non-)existence or (un)avanlability is the main focus of what is
brackets. being said (as above), German uses es gibt (from geben, ‘to give’). In
this expression es is the SU, and the item(s) being talked about must be
burglar/intruder der Einbrecher (-) in the DO case:
front door die Haustür (-en)
to knock klopfen Es gibt heute einen Film im Fernsehen.
There’s a film on television today.
no one niemand, keiner
Gibt es keinen Kuchen mehr?
to peep gucken
Is there no more cake?
to find finden Es gibt mehrere Fehler in dem Brief.
number plate das Nummernschild (-er) There are several mistakes in the letıer.
garage die Garage (-n) Es gibt einige Ausländer im Hotel.
back zurück There are some foreigners in the hotel.
to put (inside or between) stecken Es gibt jetzt Abendbrot!
frame der Rahmen (.-) Now we’re going to have supper! (literally: There is supper now.)
to open öffnen
You will see from the above examples that es gibt does not change for
stairs (i.e. staircase) die Treppe (-n)
the plural, which is logical since es is the real SU, unlike English
to sit sitzen
‘there’, which merely stands in for the SU itself. The question Was
skeleton das Skelett (-e)
gibt es? (usually spoken Was gibt’s?) means “What is there?’ (eg. for a
axe die Axt (“e)
meal, available in a shop, on television, etc.).
The intruder goes (right) up to the front door. (bis an)
He knocks on the door. (an)
Exerecise 13
No one comes to the door. (zu)
He goes round the house and peeps through the windows. (um, durch)
Translate the following short conversation into German. You will need these
He finds a car without (a) number plate between the house and the words:
garage. (ohne, zwischen)
He goes back to the front door. (an) hotel guest der Hotelgast (“e)
He pushes a file between the door and the frame. (zwischen) television das Fernsehen
He opens the door with the file and goes into the hall. (mit, in) on television im Fernsehen
Opposite him on the stairs sits a skeleton with an axe in the (its) hand. this evening heute abend
(gegenüber, auf, mit, in) waiter der Kellner (-)
 63

TV magazine die Fernsehzeitung (-en)

week die Woche (-n) Lesson 7
this week diese Woche
daily paper die Tageszeitung (-en)
here hier
unfortunately leider
yesterday gestern
28 Words parallelto d.. and ein
In the television lounge of a hotel d.. signals that the following noun means a particular specimen (or
particular specimens) of the class of items mentioned.
Hotel guestWhat is there on television this evening?
ein.. on the other hand signals that the speaker is not concerned to
WaiterI don’t know.
identify any such particular specimen(s).
Look in the TV magazine please. (in+DO)
There is no TV magazine this week. There are a further small number of words that are parallel to d.. and
Is there a daily paper? ein in that they appear in the same position before the noun and have
SUSU
Yes, here is a daily paper ... but it is unfortunately from either the d.. endings or the ein endings. As to their meaning, almost
yesterday. (von) all of them indicate like d.. that particular specimens of the classes of
items mentioned are in the speaker’s mind. The ein endings are
exclusive to words indicating possession (‘my, our, your, his, her, its,
their’). The d.. endings are used on six other, non-possessive, words
including ‘this’, ‘every’, and ‘which?’
(a) Words taking the d.. endings
d..-type word singular plural
dies.. this, (sometimes) that these, (sometimes) those
jed.. each, every, any _
welch. .?/! which? what? what (a)!
jen.. that those
solch.. such
manch.. quite a few, a fair number of
(i) jen.. is little used, except when paired with dies.. (jen..,
dies... ‘the former, the latter’). The usual way of conveying
“that” is either d.. spoken with stress, or dies. .
(ii) solch.. and manch.. in the singular have the alternatives
solch ein and manch ein, where only the ein takes endings,
and to convey the meaning of solch ein there are the further
alternatives ein solch. . (endings as in Section 29(b)) and the
very frequent so ein.

64
 65 66

(iii) manch. . has no one-word equivalent in English. It means (b) Words taking the ein endings
more than ‘some’ and fewer than ‘many’, and whether singular
or plural in form it must be regarded as having a plural en ren
meaning. Du

Summary of d. .-type endings, with dies... as model: singular | plural a gar

in
unser Be sein
your ni
diesest
diesest Summary of ein-type endings, with unser and Ihr as models:
diesem

1 Thed.. nending -as is replaced by -es in all the d. .-type words. er

Bee ee
unser unsere unser
TE |
unsere
Examples:
unseren unsere unser unsere
dies.. Kennen Sie dieses Buch aus der Hugo-Reihe? unserem unserer unserem unseren
Do you know this book from the Hugo series?
jed.. Jedes Kind bekommt ein Ei. It is important not to mistake unser, in which the -er belongs to
Each (or Every) child will get an egg. the stem, for ad. .-type word, in which -er occurs only as an
Ich bin für jeden Vorschlag offen. ending.
I am open to any suggestion.
welch. .?/! Auf welchen Bus warten Sie?
singular
Which bus are you waiting for?
Welchen Druck hat der Reifen?
What pressure does the tyre have?
jen.. Der Film stammt aus jener Zeit vor dem I. Weltkrieg.
The film comes from that period before World War 1.
Wir sprechen oft über dieses und jenes.
We often talk about this and that. All the ein-type words, which indicate possession, can be used not
solch.. Er hat solche Schwierigkeiten mit seinem Vater. only before nouns but on their own, to mean ‘mine, ours, yours, his,
He has such difficulties with his father. hers, its, theirs’. The endings are exactly as above, except that the m
Wir haben solches Glück mit dem Wetter.
singular SU adds -er and the n singular SU and DO add -s:
We’re having such luck with the weather.
manch.. Mancher Polizist trinkt selbst zu viel. Leihen Sie mir bitte Ihren Bleistift. Meiner ist weg.
Quite a few policemen drink too much themselves. Lend me your pencil please. Mine has vanished (iterally: is away).
Mein Fahrrad ist fünf Jahre alt. Wie alt ist Ihrs?
All the d...-type words can be used not only before nouns but on My bicycle is five years old. How old is yours?
their own, with a noun being clearly understood from the context:
Ich trinke aus diesem Glas. Trinken Sie aus diesem?
Il drink from this glass. (Indicating) Will you drink from this one? Exercise 14

jeder (DO jeden, IO jedem) on its own means ‘everybody’ (just as 1 Geht er ohne seine Freundin ins Theater?
keiner (DO keinen, IO keinem) on its own means ‘no one), 'nobody’). Nein, er geht mit seiner Freundin ins Theater.
 67 68

Continue the pattern, writing out your sentences in full. Summary of adjective endings after d. .-type words
2 Ist sie ohne ihre Schwester bei Müllers eingeladen?
Nein, ..
3 Kommt der Vater mit unserem Geschenk für die Mutter?
Nein, ...
4 Esse ich den Kuchen ohne eine Tasse Kaffee?
Nein, ..
5 Geht er ohne seinen Stadtführer durch Frankfurt?
Nein, .. (b) Adjectives after ein-type words
6 Mache ich das Abendbrot mit meiner Tochter? These have -en in all positions except five, but three of these
Nein, ... undergo change compared with (a):
7 Geht sie mit ihrem Bruder zur Tante?
Nein, ... singular
8 Kaufen wir die Wurst mit einer Cola?
Nein, ...
seine arme | ihr armes ihre armen
Frau Kind Kinder
ihr armes ihre armen
29 Adjectives preceding nouns Kind Kinder

When adjectives are not used in isolation after the noun (see the
examples in Section 25), but become part of the group of words directly
preceding the noun, they require special sets of endings similar to - but Summary of adjective endings after ein. .-type words:
not identical with - those of d.. and ein.
There are three sets to learn, according to whether (a) ad. .-type word
FB 0 SIREger ee Fa et
BTmein
is also present, (b) an ein-type word is also present, or (c) neither a d..-

een
type nor an ein-type word is present.
(a) Adjectives after d. .-type words
These have -en in all positions except for five with -e:
(c) Adjectives not preceded by either d. .- or ein-type words
singular All endings are now well differentiated, though easy to learn if you
remember where they come from - see below:

der arme die arme das arme die armen singular

Mann Frau Kind Leute
den armen | die arme das arme die armen ie ne ee
ee
Mann Frau Kind Leute kalte es kalte
dem armen |derarmen |demarmen | denarmen Limonade i Getränke
Mann Frau Kind Leutent kalte es kalte
Limonade i Getränke
tPlural nouns in the IO case always have -n added to the plural form kalter em kalten
unless the plural already ends in -n or is a foreign plural like Autos. Limonade i Getränken
 69 70

Summary of adjective endings without d. .- or ein-type words: The following usage is an extension of the Section 29(c) endings:
Sie benutzen als erster (or erste if person spoken to is female) unsere
neue Maschine.
You’re the first 10 use our new machine.
Ich bin als siebter mit der Prüfung fertig.
I’m the seventh to finish the test.
(b) Apart from ‘half, die Hälfte (-n), fractions are formed by adding
-el to the ordinal number, which then becomes a n noun: for
example, ‘quarter’, das Viertel (-); ‘tenth‘, das Zehntel (-). So
The principle behind the (b) and (c) sets of adjective endings is that any
*two-thirds’ is zwei Drittel; ‘three-eighths’, drei Achtel.
characteristic letters in the endings of d.. which may be lost in the
combination ein-type word + adjective or when there is not even an “half (of) the ...” would often be die Hälfte von ... (or, instead of
ein-type word present MUST be preserved in the adjective ending. Thus, von, the possessor case, Section 50):
with ein, -r is lost with m singular SU case and -s is lost with n singular
Die Hälfte von dem Geld gehört mir.
SU/DO cases. They are therefore transferred to the adjective. In the set (c)
Half (of) the money belongs to me.
situation, allthe d.. endings are lost, so they are all transferred to the
adjective, with the sole modification that n singular SU/DO d + as However, when ‘haif is followed not by ‘the’ (or a similar indicator
becomes -es when transferred (as with the d. .-type words in Section 28). of particularity like ‘this’, ‘my’, ‘each’) but by ‘a/an’, you must use the
adjective halb. Thus ‘half an hour’ is eine halbe Stunde and ‘half
a loaf’ is ein halbes Brot.
30 Numerals: ordinal numbers and fractions Viertel, on the other hand, forms a lot of compounds, like ‘a
quarter of an hour, eine Viertelstunde; ‘a quarter ofa litre‘, ein
(a) The ordinal numbers (irst', ‘second), ‘third’, etc.) are as follows: Viertelliter (m or n, no change in the plural).
(i) first: erst - so, as in English, unconnected with the cardinal ‘one and a half’ is anderthalb or eineinhalb or even einundein-
(‘one’: eins). halb, and “five and a half? is fünfeinhalb or fünfundeinhalb. These
(ii) second to nineteenth: add -t to the cardinal number (Section 18), do not take any adjective endings even when they precede nouns.
so ‘second’ is zweit; ‘ninth’, neunt; and ‘eighteenth‘, achtzehnt.
31 Conversation between intimates
Exceptions: third dritt (-ei- becomes -i-)
seventh siebt (sieben loses the -en) Conversation within the family, or between children, students and some
eighth acht (achtdoesnot get the additional -t) groups of workers, etc. requires the use of familiar 2nd person pronouns
(‘you/your’) and verb forms. These you have not yet met, and for the
(iii) zwentieth onwards: add -st to the cardinal number, so ‘thirty-
moment we shall deal only with the singular construction:
fifth’ is fünfunddreißigst; ‘hundredth), hundertst; and
“thousandth’, tausendst. pronouns ein-type word verbs instructions/
(possession) present tense requests
The ordinals are mostly used as adjectives preceding nouns, so they
take the endings described in Section 29: of sein: bist using sein: sei
dein
of haben: hast using other verbs:
(your)
Die fünfte Person von rechts ist mein Vater. of other verbs: stem only, no
The fifth person from the right is my father. stem + (e)stt pronoun following
Ich nehme gern ein drittes Glas von dem herrlichen Wein. (cf. Section 24)
I’d enjoy a third glass of that splendid wine. tThe (e) is added after stems ending in -t or -d.
 71 12

32 Sequence of words (I) Exereise 15

The sequence of words in German was mentioned in Section 9 as an Insert the correct word from the column on the right in the following
intriguing feature for the English learner. You have already begun to sentences. There may be more than one grammatical possibility, but you will
practise one aspect of this in Lesson 6, probably without being aware of see that not all are equally plausible.
it:
... glaubt einem Verbrecher. Solches
.. Blumen sind für die Freundin? Keiner
location
... Kuchen haben sie für das Kind. Welches?/!
Auf dem Bild mehrere Sachen. .. Mann finde ich nett. Jeder
Auf einer Tischdecke ein Brot. .. Wein schmeckt wunderbar. Dieser
Neben dem Brot ein Glas. .. Glück haben wir mit dem Wetter. Welche?/!
Hinter dem Brot eine Flasche mit einem Korken.
... Buch aus der Hugo-Reihe kennen Sie? Jede
Auf der Flasche ein Etikett.
... Hausbesitzer hat Schwierigkeiten. Keinen
... Katze
»PWwWwN
WW
oo kommt ins Haus./? Diesen
In simple statements of this sort (not questions or instructions) the
‘natural’ sequence of words in German can easily be exactly reflected in
a ‘natural’ English translation, with first the locational (or temporal etc.)
Exercise 16
information, then the verb, and finally the SU.
In German, however, this mechanism of starting statements with Translate the following ‘scene’ into English. You will need these new words:
something other than the standard SU can be taken much further, with
for instance a DO or an IO at the beginning of the statement, to the einkaufen to do the shopping
extent that an English translation in the same sequence is impossible. jawohl! (yes) certainly!
The reason for this is that, whatever part of the statement comes first, die Einkaufsliste (-n) shopping list
Ihe verb must come second. The only condition governing the part that alles everything
comes first, if it is DO or IO, is that it must be or refer to something
erst first (of all)
holen to fetch, bring
previously mentioned, or must at least be associated in the speaker’s
der Bäcker (-) baker
mind with something previously mentioned. Here are some good
das Weißbrot (-e) white loaf
examples derived from sentences you have already met in their “English’
frisch fresh
sequence:
das Brötchen (-) roll
billig cheap
(der) Marktkauf (typical hypermarket name)
zwei Cola wollen aber nur eine Wurst
fahren to go (other than on foot)
den Theaterplatz finden & dann sofort
so etwas glaubt kein Mensch
heute nachmittag this afternoon
viel Spaß wünsche ich Ihnen heute abend dorthin (to) there
einen Stadtführer suche ich na gut! all right (then)!
der Metzger (-) butcher

ihr
ee Te re
gefallen rote Rosen bestimmt
halb
das Pfund (-e)
half
pound
((-) after numbers)
Ihnen wünsche ich viel Spaß heute abend
das Hackfleisch mince
gekocht boiled
 73 74

der Schinken ham Sie Na gut! Vom Gemüsegeschäft brauche ich dann einen Kopfsalat,
bedienen to serve anderthalb Pfund kleine feste Tomaten, eine schöne Gurke, zehn
man one/they/people Pfund Kartoffeln und ein Pfund grüne Bohnen.
immer always Er Die Sachen für den Salat und das andere Gemüse eilen nicht, und
das Fleisch meat morgen ist doch Markt.
lieber rather Sie Na gut, aber ich brauche unbedingt Eier von Edeka.
die Altstadt old town Er Nein, brauchst du nicht. Wir haben noch viele. Eier kriegen wir
müssen to have to dann auch vom Markt.
dahin (to) there Sie Na gut, dann brauchst du nicht einkaufen gehen.
das Gemüsegeschäft greengrocer’s
Practise repeating the above conversation from memory, using the following
der Kopfsalat (-e) lettuce
key words as a guide.
fest firm
Sie einkaufen?
die Gurke (-n) cucumber
Er Einkaufsliste?
die Bohne (-n) bean
Sie sage alles ... Bäcker ... Weißbrot ... Brötchen
grüne Bohnen French beans
Er Marktkauf ... fahren
die Sache (-n) thing, item
Sie Metzger ... Hackfleisch ... Schinken
der Salat (-e) salad
Er schlecht ... Altstadt ... nachmittag
ander.. other
Sie Gemüsegeschäft ... Kopfsalat ... Tomaten ... Gurke ... Kartoffeln ...
das Gemüse vegetables
Bohnen
eilen to be urgent
Er eilen nicht ... Markt
doch after all
Sie Eier .
der Markt (*e) market
Er brauchst nicht ... noch viele ... Markt
unbedingt definitely
Sie nicht einkaufen
das Ei (-er) e88
Edeka (chain of small supermarkets)
noch still
Exerecise 17
viele many/a lot
kriegen to get
Construct a dialogue in which each pair of sentences is based on one of the
pairs of items/locations listed. The first sentence should be an instruction to
‘She’ tries to organise “him? to do the shopping
buy the item(s) somewhere; the second a response preferring (lieber) to buy
the item(s) elsewhere. The first pair is done for you.
Sie Gehst du bitte jetzt einkaufen?
Er Jawohl! Hast du eine Einkaufsliste für mich? l anderthalb Pfund kleine feste Tomaten
Sie Nein, ich sage dir alles ... Erst hol bitte vom Bäcker ein kleines auf dem Markt
Weißbrot und zehn frische Brötchen. Hol bitte anderthalb Pfund kleine feste Tomaten vom Gemüsegeschäft.
Er Sie sind billiger bei Marktkauf, und wir fahren heute nachmittag Die Tomaten kaufe ich lieber auf dem Markt.
dorthin. 2 ein kleines Weißbrot
Sie Na gut! Dann kauf beim Metzger ein halbes Pfund Hackfleisch bei Marktkauf
und zweihundertfünfzig Gramm gekochten Schinken. 3 250 Gramm gekochter Schinken
Er Beim Metzger bedient man mich immer schlecht. Ich kaufe in der Altstadt
Fleisch lieber in der Altstadt, und heute nachmittag müssen wir 4 ein Kopfsalat
auch dahin. auf dem Markt
 75

zwanzig Eier
auf dem Markt Lesson 8
eine schöne Gurke
auf dem Markt
zehn frische Brötchen
bei Marktkauf
ein halbes Pfund Hackfleisch
in der Altstadt 33 Sequence of words (II)
zehn Pfund Kartoffeln
auf dem Markt So far we have referred to ‘the verb’ as if - at least in a simple,
10 ein Pfund grüne Bohnen straightforward sentence - there was no possibility of mistaking ‘the
auf dem Markt verb”. Consider, however, the first sentence of the conversation in
Lesson 7, Exercise 16:
Gehst du jetzt bitte einkaufen?

This group of words - which obviously all belong together, are spoken
without a pause, and therefore constitute ‘a simple sentence’ - clearly
contains two verbs: gehst is a verb matched up with du and so is a sort
of personalised verb (often called a “finite verb’, because it is restricted to
a particular person: Ist or 2nd or 3rd, singular or plural) and einkaufen
is a verb which is not matched up with anything or anybody but
completes the sense of gehst. einkaufen is, then, one of the (three)
non-personalised forms of the verb and we shall call this form the ‘-en
non-finite verb’ and, when it has become familiar, simply the ‘-en
form’. (Of course it is unhelpful that the form einkaufen can frequently
be finite if it is matched up with wir or Sie or sie, which is not the
case here!) The complete verb group means ‘(will you) go do the
shopping? (i.e. ‘go shopping’).
The important point to note is that if a simple sentence contains a finite
verb and a non-finite verb, the non-finite verb stands right at the end.
gehen can be combined with other verbs:
Ich gehe zweimal in der Woche schwimmen.
I go twice in the week swimming (i.e. for a swim).
Gehen wir morgen abend mit der Gruppe essen?
Shall we go tomorrow evening with the group eating (i.e. out for a meal)?
Meine Mutter geht immer früh schlafen.
My mother goes always early sleeping (i.e. to bed).
Manchmal gehen wir stundenlang im Wald spazieren.
Sometimes we go for hours in the forest walking (i.e. for a walk).
 {7 78

34 Finite (auxiliary) verb + -en non-finite verb 35 Use of the auxiliary verbs (present tense)

Finite geh.. + -en non-finite verb (Section 33) is the pattern also (@) dürfen: may/an (permission), (negative) mustn’t
followed when the finite verb is one of the verbs similar to English ‘will, Darf ich hier rauchen?
can, must, may, shall’, which have little specific meaning of their own, Can I smoke here?
but which modify or colour the way in which the meaning of the main Darf ich meinen Freund vorstellen?
(following) verb is to be understood (and are therefore called “auxiliary May I introduce my friend?
verbs’). These include a verb for expressing the future (werden) and In der Kirche darf man nicht laut reden.
another for expressing the idea of causing or permitting something to One mustn’t talk loudly in church.
happen (lassen). Here is the complete set of eight, with all the forms of
the present tense. (These verbs are all irregular in some way.)
(b) können: may/can (possibility), be able to
Für seine sechs Jahre kann er sehr gut schwimmen.
dürfen können He can swim very well considering he’s only six.
may, can may, can Seine Rede kann noch lange dauern.
(permission) (possibility) His speech may go on for a long time yet.
ichlerlsie (she)les darf kann Wir können seine Experimente nicht finanzieren.
wirl/Sielsie (they) dürfen können We aren’t able t0 finance his experimenıs.
du darfst kannst (c= mögen: may (possibility), to like to
Er mag wohl reich sein, er kommt trotzdem nicht in den Klub.
mögen müssen
He may have a lot of money, but he’s still not going to get into the club.
may, can (possibility), must, to have to
Ich mag nicht über alles klagen, aber ...
to like to I don’t like complaining about everything, but ...
ichlerlsie (she)l/es mag muß
wirlSielsie (they) mögen müssen (d) müssen: must, 10 have 10, (negative) needn’t, doesn’t/don’t have 10
du magst mußt Ich muß um zwölf zu Hause sein, sonst kommt das Mittagessen zu
spät auf den Tisch.
sollen wollen I must be home at twelve, or else I shall be late with lunch.
must, to be to, to want to, Dieser Brief ist an dich. Du mußt nicht unbedingt antworten.
to be said to to intend to This letter ıs (addressed) to you. You aren’t absolutely obliged 10 reply.
ichlerlsie (she)les soll will
(e) sollen: must, to be supposed/expected to, to be to, to be said to
wirl/Sielsie (they) sollen wollen
willst Du sollst erst essen und dann ins Kino gehen.
du sollst
You’re to eat first and then go to the cinema.
Ich kann nicht länger auf ihn warten, er soll sofort kommen.
lassen werden I can’t wait for him any longer, he’s to come at once.
to get/allow will Ich kann ihn empfehlen, er soll ein sehr guter Klavierlehrer sein.
(someone to), (future) I can recommend him. He’s said to be a very good piano teacher.
to have
(something done) © wollen: to want to, to be determined to, to intend to

ich lasse werde Er ist vollkommen satt, er will nichts mehr essen.
wir/Sielsie (they) lassen werden He’s completely full. He doesn’t want to eat another thing.
du 1äßt wirst Er will gar nichts mehr von der Sache hören.
1äßt wird He doesn’t want to hear anything more at all about the matter.
er/sie (she)/es
 79 80

Er will seine Ferien in den Bergen verbringen. das Jahr (-e) year
He intends to spend his holidays in the mountains. vernünftig sensible
weiß (from wissen) to know
(g) lassen: zo ger (someone to), 10 make/have (someone do), to have
schneiden to cut
(something done), to let/allow (someone (to) do)
lecker delicious
Der Chef läßt seine Sekretärin unwichtige Briefe unterschreiben. die Sahnesoße cream sauce
The boss gets his secretary to sign unimportant letters. allein on their own
Er läßt seinen Wagen alle zwei Tage waschen. schmecken to taste (good)
He has his car washed every other day. achten (auf) to pay attention (to), keep an eye (on)
Mein Vater läßt grüßen.
der Semmelknödel (-) bread dumpling
My father sends his regards.
das Essen (-) meal
Wir lassen unsere Tochter nicht alleine zur Schule gehen.
We don’: let our daughter walk to school on her own. das Bierchen (-) (nice) little beer
Moment mal! hold on!
(h) werden: shall/will (future), to be going to zunehmen to put on weight
Ich mache es jetzt, ich werde in den nächsten Tagen keine Zeit
haben. At Monday breakfast: discussing the menu for the day’s main
Pl do it now. I shan’t have any time in the next few days. meal
Es ist schrecklich dunkel, es wird bestimmt regnen.
Ir’s terribly dark. It’s going to rain for sure. Mutter Was sollen wir denn heute essen?
Tochter Nach dem Wochenende habe ich bestimmt etwas Übergewicht.
Von heute an muß ich abnehmen. In vier Wochen fahren wir
CONVERSATION
in den Urlaub, da will ich meine Bikinis anziehen können.
(Zu ihrem Bruder) Rudi, du bist Sportler, du mußt auch
Study the following dialogue until you know all the sentences (and their
unbedingt abnehmen.
meaning) by heart. You will need these new words:
Sohn Ich soll bei meiner Figur Sportler sein!? Aber du hast recht,
etwas somewhat ich bin zu schwer. Ich darf in den nächsten Wochen keine
das Übergewicht surplus weight Kartoffeln mehr essen. Und hoffentlich lassen wir kein Bier
abnehmen to slim, lose weight mehr ins Haus bringen!
der Urlaub (-e) holiday(s) Vater Ganz richtig. Mit fünfzig muß ich auch vorsichtiger sein. Der
anziehen to wear, put on Arzt sagt, ich soll nur Fisch oder mageres Fleisch essen, dazu
der Sportler (-) sportsman nur frisches Gemüse, keine Kartoffeln, keinen Reis.
unbedingt absolutely Was soll es denn geben? Ich passe nicht mehr in meine
recht haben to be right Sommerkleidung vom vorigen Jahr. Wir müssen vernünftig
schwer heavy sein. Ich weiß was, ich lasse beim Metzger vier extra magere
hoffentlich hopefully Steaks schneiden.
richtig right, correct Ja, und dann brauchen wir dazu nur eine leckere Sahnesoße.
vorsichtig careful, cautious Fleisch und Sahnesoße allein schmecken nicht.
der Arzt (*e) doctor Das mag sein, aber wir müssen auf die Kalorien achten.
mager lean Vielleicht können wir dann ein paar Semmelknödel und
oOSsoaN
der Reis rice Karotten in Buttersoße dazu essen.
passen to fit Zu so einem Essen muß man ein kaltes Bierchen trinken, nicht?
vorig last, previous Sn Moment mal, werden wir nicht auch von diesem Essen zunehmen?
 8l 82

TRANSLATION 36 Measurements, quantities, other units

Mother Well, what shall we eat today? Whereas English requires ‘of’ in expressions such as
Daughter I’m definitely somewhat overweight after the weekend. I
two metres of string _(measurements)
must slim from today onwards. We’re going on holiday in a big pile of rubbish (quantities)
four weeks, and I want to be able to wear my bikinis. (70 her some cans of beans (other units)
brother) Rudi, you’re a sportsman, you’ve absolutely got to
lose weight too. the corresponding expressions in German place the two nouns together:
Son What, I’m supposed to be a sportsman with a figure like zwei Meter Bindfaden
mine!? But you’re right, I'm too heavy. I mustn’t eat any ein großer Haufen Abfall
potatoes in the next few weeks. And hopefully we won’t be einige Dosen Bohnen
having any more beer brought into the house!
If the first noun is m or n it is always in the singular, even when the
Father Quite right. At fifty I’ve got to be more careful too. The
meaning is plural:
doctor says I must only eat fish or lean meat, and with it
only fresh vegetables; no potatoes and no rice. Ich brauche für dieses Rezept zwei Pfund Mehl.
M Well, what is it to be? I don’t fit into my summer clothes I need two pounds of flour for this recipe.
from last year any more. We’ve got to be sensible. I know, T’ll Ich trinke jeden Abend drei Glas Rotwein.
get four particularly lean steaks cut at the butcher’s. I drink three glasses of red wine every evening.
D Yes, and then we only need a delicious cream sauce with
them.
Meat and cream sauce don’t taste good on their own. 37 ‘there is/are’ + quantity/numberl/location
That may be so, but we’ve got to keep an eye on the calories.
In Section 27 we noted the use of es gibt for ‘there is/are’ when the idea
Perhaps we can also have a few dumplings and some carrots
oma
of existence/availability predominates. When the existence/availability of
in butter sauce with them.
something is taken for granted and the dominant idea is its quantity or
F You have to drink a nice cold beer with a meal like that,
number and its location, ‘there is/are’ is conveyed by es ist/sind:
don’t you?
M Hold on, aren’t we going to put on weight from this meal too? Es ist ein Brief für dich da.
There’s a letter for you (here).
Es sind zwei Zeitungen für meine Mutter da.
Exercise 18 There are two newspapers (here) for my mother.

The es in these sentences is not like the es of es gibt. You will

Insert the correct form of dürfen, können or müssen in the following remember that gibt remains singular in all cases, with the noun to
sentences, choosing the auxiliary verb that best fits the sense: which it relates in the DO case. With es ist/sind the choice of ist or
1 Sie gut Englisch sprechen, ihre Lehrerin ist gut. sind is made according to whether the real SU of the sentence (here
2 Wir den Wein trinken, sonst wird er schlecht. Brief and Zeitungen) is singular or plural. This real subject is of
3 Er ist sechzehn Jahre alt, er nicht Auto fahren. course in the SU case.
4 Ich ins Geschäft gehen und einkaufen, wir haben heute
abend Freunde.
5 Er kein Bier trinken, er will abnehmen. 38 Expressing specific location
6 Die kleine Tochter den Film sehen, es ist Sonntag.
7 Das Mittagessen warten, sie will erst den Sherry In the examples in Section 37 the idea of location was rather weak (da)
trinken. and could indeed be omitted in the translation. When the idea of
 83 84

location is more dominant and the information more precise, German

has three verbs, in addition to sein (‘be’), to express “s/are’. These are in being in a location putting in a location
very common use; there is nothing lofty or poetic about them, as their sein tun
literal English translations might suggest.
stehen stellen
(a) When something is upright: stehen liegen legen
stecken stecken
Auf dem Tisch steht eine alte Vase.
or Eine alte Vase steht auf dem Tisch.
® Generalised ‘put’: tun (to do, put)
or Es steht eine alte Vase auf dem Tisch.
There’s an old vase on the table. ich tue
Der Fernsehapparat steht in der Ecke. wir/Sielsie (they) tun
The television set is ın the corner. du tust
(b) When something is flat: liegen er/sie (she)l/es tut

Auf dem Boden liegt ein schmutziger Teppich. Er tut seine Bücher immer auf das falsche Regal.
or Ein schmutziger Teppich liegt auf dem Boden. He always puts his books on the wrong shelf.
or Es liegt ein schmutziger Teppich auf dem Boden. Sie tut etwas Milch in die Milchkanne.
There’s a dirty carpeı on the floor. She’s putting a httle mılk in the milk jug.
Die Zeitung liegt auf dem Wohnzimmertisch.
The newspaper is on the living-room table. ® ‘put’ so that something stands: stellen

(c) When something is inserted into/berween or concealed: stecken Wir stellen den Nachttisch neben das Bett.
We’ll put [Link] table next to the bed.
Im Schloß steckt ein rostiger Schlüssel. Er stellt die leeren Flaschen vor die Tür.
or Ein rostiger Schlüssel steckt im Schloß. He puts the empty bottles outside the door.
or Es steckt ein rostiger Schlüssel im Schloß.
There’s a rusty key in the lock.
® ‘put’ so that something lies flat: legen
Was steckt hinter dem Vorhang?
What’s behind the curtain? Sie legt einen Fünfzigmarkschein auf die Theke.
She’s putting a fifty-mark note on the counter.
Note that sentences of this type beginning with es are only possible
when the real SU is a noun preceded either by (k)ein or by some
® ‘put’ so that something is inseried into/berween or concealed: stecken
similar indefinite word (e.g. einige) or by nothing.
Er steckt gerade einen Zehnmarkschein in deine Manteltasche!
He’s just putting a ten-mark note in your coat pocket!
39 Expressing ‘put’

Just as ‘to be’ in a location can be indicated in a general way with sein 40 Preposition + ‘it’/‘them’/‘this?/‘these’, etc.
or more precisely with stehen, liegen and stecken, German can
express ‘put’ in a generalised way with tun or more precisely with When any oftthe prepositions you learnt in Section 26 (a)-(c), except
stellen, legen and stecken. Summary of possibilities: ohne and seit, is applied to a 3rd person pronoun standing for
anything except living beings, the pronoun itself is not used but is
represented by da(r)- followed by the preposition, which thus becomes
a postposition. The two bits form one word, with the stress on the
preposition. The -(r)- is used when the preposition begins with a vowel.
 85 86

compare Ich lache über sie. 6 Auf der Tischdecke liegt ein Brot, dazu
I’m laughing at them (e.g. my children, meine Kinder). steht ein Glas.
with Ich lache darüber. 7 Der junge Mann ist zu schwer, muß damit
I’m laughing at them (e.g. my mistakes, meine Fehler). er etwas tun.

The particular case (DO or IO) normally required by the preposition 8 Sie sehen die Kirche und das Gasthaus, Sie nehmen _ dagegen
does not affect the da(r)- construction, which may furthermore stand die Straße
for a singular or a plural, or even for no noun at all (but for a fact or an 9 Das Haus steht direkt an der Straße, der Garten davor
idea): liegt ;
10 Wir wollen einkaufen gehen, müssen dafür
A: Ich höre, er ist arbeitslos. B: Ja, aber er redet nie darüber. wir noch essen.
A: I hear he’s unemployed. B: Yes, but he never talks about it (i.e. about being
unemployed).

Some combinations of da(r)- + preposition have come to acquire Exerecise 20

permanent meanings of their own, independent of anything particularly
evident in a context, though they can naturally also be used in the way Complete the monologue below by filling the spaces with the appropriate
just described: words for ‘be’ and put! Do this exercise twice, first using the generalised
expressions sein and tun, and the second time choosing the more precise
dafür instead, on the other hand
expressions as described in Sections 38 and 39. You will need to know these
dagegen by contrast, on the other hand new words:
daher therefore paRß auf! now look!
damit so that (purpose), in order that der Kühlschrank (*e) refrigerator
darum therefore möglichst as (far/much) as possible
ohne (‘without’) is simply followed by the standard pronouns (Section freihalten to keep clear
15), while to say ‘since that’, ‘since it’ (or ‘since then’) using seit there das Hähnchen (-) chicken
is just one standard word: seitdem. die Himbeertorte (-n) raspberry flan
das Fertigessen (-) oven-ready meal
das Eisfach (“er) freezer compartment
Exereise 19 morgen tomorrow
übermorgen the day after tomorrow
Insert the most appropriate word from the column on the right into the gap der Pflaumenkuchen (-) plum tart
in each of the following sentences. You may need to juggle with the da(r)- die Schüssel (-n) dish
words so as 10 use each one only once and to accommodate all of them. die Schlagsahne (here) whipped cream, (but also)
1 Er hat eine Feile in der Hand, öffnet dazwischen whipping cream
er die Tür. der Becher (-) (here) carton, (but also) beaker, mug
2 Vor dem Einbrecher ist eine Treppe, danach die Packung (-en) pack, packet
sitzt ein Skelett. die Leberwurst (“e) liver sausage
3 Wir trinken ein Glas Wein, gehen darauf einzeln singly, separately
wir schlafen. das Stück piece (but with number can
4 Ich esse eine Wurst, trinke ich eine daneben sometimes be omitted in translation)
Cola. zum Weichwerden to get soft
5 Ich nehme fünf Rosen, muß ich dahinter flach flat
DM 12,50 bezahlen. der Behälter (-) container
 87 88

der Scheibenkäse cheese in slices

der Salat (here) lettuce
die Weintraube (-n) grape
der Beutel (-) bag
die Apfelsine (-n) orange
der Blumenkohl cauliflower
der Rosenkohl brussels sprouts
das Gemüsefach (er) vegetable compartment
das Glas (er) jar
der Honig honey D

die Erdbeermarmelade strawberry jam

meine Güte! my goodness!
STIL m —am
das Obst fruit De a a EZ a E Sr

A mother, about to leave her teenage son on his own for a few days, outlines
to him the contents of the refrigerator, which she is stocking for him. (You
will find the diagram on the next page helpful.)
Paß auf! Ich werde den Kühlschrank möglichst freihalten. Dann kannst
du alles ganz leicht finden. Das Hähnchen für Sonntag, die gefrorene Gr
FTZ

Himbeertorte und die beiden Fertigessen (1) / ich ins Te

a
Fe
AT
Fa
a Be TE IE
EEE SS Ze enhe Zee)

Eisfach. Die Fertigessen kannst du morgen und übermorgen essen. Der

Pflaumenkuchen und die Schüssel mit Schlagsahne (2) /
oben. Da (3) / ich auch die beiden Flaschen
Wein hin ... Ach, da ist gerade noch etwas Platz, den Becher Yoghurt
kann ich dazwischen (4) / . Die vier Flaschen Bier
Exercise 21
(5) / ich unten in die Tür, und zwei Packungen Milch
(6) / daneben. Ich (7) / die Packung
Translate the monologue from Exercise 20.
gekochten Schinken, die Salami und die Leberwurst in die Mitte. Sie
sind natürlich für abends ... Eier? ... Die Eier (8) / ich
natürlich einzeln oben in die Tür, zwölf Stück. Zwei Stück Butter
(9) / ich in das obere Fach in der Tür, das dritte
lasse ich draußen zum Weichwerden. Der flache Behälter mit drei
Sorten Käse (10) / in der Mitte, und dahinter liegen
eine Tube Mayonnaise und der Scheibenkäse. Die Gurke, der Salat, die
Weintrauben und die Tomaten (11) / unten, und den
Beutel Apfelsinen, einen Kopf Blumenkohl und den Rosenkohl
(12) / ich ins Gemüsefach ganz unten. Ein kleines
Glas Honig und ein Glas Erdbeermarmelade (13) /
ich weiter oben in die Tür ... Meine Güte, ist der Kühlschrank wieder voll!
 90

(c) The uses described in (a) and (b) apply also to the DO and IO cases,
Lesson 9 producing the following scheme:

Feen
41 Further uses of der, die, das, etc.
[56 keius,Bed
Mapee (dein 6 Se denen (ihnen)

(a) das not only means ‘the’ before n nouns, but can stand alone Examples:
without a noun to mean ‘that’: A: Geben Sie mir den Schlüssel.
() A: Du sollst heute bezahlen. B: Das weiß ich. Give me the key.
B: Den finde ich im Augenblick nicht. (m DO)
A: You’ve got 10 pay today. B: I know (that).
(ü) A: Zehn Brötchen kosten drei Mark. B: Das ist zu teuer. I can’t find it just at the moment.
A: Ten rolls cost three marks. B: That’s t00 much. A: Der Chef verspricht mir immer wieder mehr Geld.
The boss is always promising me more money.
In the above, das - DO in (i) and SU in (ii) - stands for facts or : Dem kann man gar nichts mehr glauben. (m IO)
ideas and not for identifiable nouns. You can’t believe anything at all that he says.
: Diese Milch ist sauer.
(b) der (m), die (f) and die (plural) can stand alone without a noun to This milk is sour.
mean er (m), sie (f) and sie (plural): : Die müssen wir wegwerfen. (fDO)
We’ll have to throw it away.
(i) A: Der Kellner hat unsere Bestellung seit einer Stunde.
A: The waiter has had our order for an hour.
: Frau Klimpel schwatzt sehr viel.
Frau Klimpel gossips a lot.
B: Der ist aber langsam!
B: My goodness, he’s slow!
: Ja, der erzähle ich nie (et)was. (fIO)
Yes, I never tell her anything.
(ii) A: Ich warte auf die Schwester.
: Er verkauft sein Geschäft.
A: I'm waiting for the nurse.
He’s selling his shop.
B: Die kommt heute nicht.
: Wie bitte? Das glaube ich nicht. (n DO)
B: She’s not coming today.
What! I don’t believe ıt.
(ii) A: Was kosten Bananen?
: Er hat zu viele Probleme mit seinem Geschäft.
A: What’s the price of bananas?
He has too many problems with his business.
B: Die sind diese Woche billig.
: Dem ist er einfach nicht mehr gewachsen. (nIO)
B: They’re cheap this week.
He simply can’: cope (i.e. with the general situation) any more.
This use of der and die so dominates the speech of some Germans : Drüben sitzen die neuen Nachbarn.
as almost to replace er and sie. der and die, when used in this way The new neighbours are sitting over there.
as a substitute for er and sie, tend to be used to szart sentences (and : Die kennen wir leider noch nicht. (plural DO)
Unfortunately we don’ know them yet.
so are less common in questions, when this is not possible), and they
: Ich höre, die Kinder kriegen ein neues Geschwisterchen.
always have some degree of stress (weight or emphasis) when spoken,
I hear the children are going to ger a new little brother or sister.
as compared with their use to mean ‘the.
: Denen wollen wir aber eine Zeitlang noch nichts davon sagen.
(plural IO)
We shan’t tell them anything (about it) for a while, though.

89
 91 92

(d) der and die are often used, particularly in spoken German, before a 6 A Wie alt ist der
Sohn von der Wirtin?
forename or a family name, in referring to individuals. With B 22 2 2er weißiich nicht:
forenames this may - but need not - imply intimacy, and with 7 A Wie alt ist der
Sohn von der Wirtin?
family names it may - but need not - have pejorative overtones: B: za me kenneiichinicht:
8 A Ich lese gern die BILD-Zeitung.
Der Rudi muß abnehmen.
Rudı’s got to lose weight. Bo 17277 feseichsiich gern.
Ich sehe die Anna heute abend. 9 A Meine Eltern sind krank, aber sie wollen nicht zum Arzt.
I’m seeing Anna this evening. B________ kann man aber auch gar nicht helfen!
Dem Thomas schenke ich fünf Mark. 10 A Herr Schmidt verkauft mir saure Milch.
Pl give Thomas five marks. BBei _______ kaufe ich nichts mehr!
Der Schmidt läßt seine Kunden immer warten.
Schmidt is always keeping his customers waiting.

While this usage has no parallel in English, perversely the English 42 Uses of the present tense
‘the’ before a family name in the plural to mean the married couple
(a) There are only two real tenses in German, the present and the past.
or whole family with that name has no parallel in German:
The present tense is the only one you have learnt so far. (The future
Schmidts sind nicht zu Hause. you learnt in Sections 34 and 35 was a combination of the present
The Schmidts are not at home. tense of werden + the -en non-finite form.) The present tense
In a list of nouns there is no question ofa single d.. sufficing, and covers both English ways of expressing ‘present’ ideas, as in:
—o —
certainly not before nouns of mixed gender or mixed singular and I go to my mother’s twice a week.
plural. However, in both conversation and writing the common Don’: delay me, I'm going home.
practice is to omit d.. altogether with groups of two or more nouns,
even if separated by und: (b) It is also very much used, as are the two English constructions in (a)
above, to express ‘future’ ideas where the future is felt to be mapped
Das Frühstück ist fertig. Brot, Butter, Eier, Marmelade, Honig, out so clearly as to be virtually an extension of the present:
Kaffee, Milch, Zucker, Salz und Pfeffer stehen auf dem Tisch.
Breakfast is ready. The bread, butter, eggs, jam, honey, coffee, milk, sugar, I go to the States next month.
salt and pepper are on the table. Nächsten Monat fahre ich in die Vereinigten Staaten.
I’m going on holiday with my brother.
Ich fahre mit meinem Bruder in Urlaub.
Exercise 22
When the future is felt to be open-ended enough to justify the
Insert the correct variant of d. . in the following: sounding of a note of intention or conviction, the future with
1 A Wie geht es den Geschwistern? werden can be used:
BVon _______ hören wir gar nichts. Ich werde nicht mehr so viel trinken.
2 A Wie lange müssen wir auf den Kaffee warten? I’m going to start drinking less.
B______. istschon lange fertig! Bei solcher Inflation wird alles bald viel mehr kosten.
3 Der Junge bekommt immer soviel Geld vonmir. ________ gebe With inflation like this, everything’s going to cost a lot more soon.
ich jetzt nichts mehr.
Sometimes the future with werden is necessary for clarity. The
4 A Bei diesem Wetter kann man gar nicht gut arbeiten.
following request
Bee Ergageichrauch:
5 A Unsere Tochter heiratet nächste Woche. Können Sie mir helfen, ich suche meine Koffer.
B_______ wünsche ich viel Spaß! Can you help me? I’m looking for my suitcases.
 93 94

could have the answer schlafen to sleep schläft

schlagen to beat, strike schlägt
Ich helfe Ihnen.
tragen to carry, wear trägt
Tl help you.
verlassen to leave verläßt
Here the present tense has clear future meaning, the implication wachsen to grow wächst
being sofort or gleich, ‘at once‘, which might be added. But with a
laufen to run läuft
different answer to the same effect the present tense would be
misleading and the future with werden is preferable: lesen to read liest
sehen to see sieht
Ich werde mein Bestes tun.
Ill do my best. stehlen to steal stiehlt

(c) Used together with a time reference - period of time or point in essen to eat Pt
time - the present tense indicates a state of affairs continuing from geben to give gibt
the past into the present. This is quite logical, but English uses not helfen to help hilft
the present tense but the pre-present, and this can lead to mistakes in nehmen to take nimmt
German. sprechen to speak spricht
vergessen to forget vergißt
Ich kenne ihn seit sechs Jahren. werfen to throw wirft
I have known him for six years.
Wie lange wohnen Sie schon hier? One common verb is exceptional throughout the singular:
How long have you been living here?
wissen to know (facts) ichler/sieles weiß
Wir wohnen hier seit 1982.
du weißt
We’ve been living here since 1982.

44 The pre-present
43 Present tense: exceptional forms
You will remember that the auxiliary verbs (Sections 34 and 35)
Apart from the exceptional forms of the present tense described in
function as follows:
Section 16 (haben, sein), Section 31 (familiar 2nd person singular of
haben, sein), Section 34 (auxiliary verbs) and Section 39 (tun), there Start of sentence: End of sentence:
are some common verbs which are exceptional in the 2nd (familiar) and Finite auxiliary verb Non-finite main verb
3rd persons singular. These are easy to learn but must be learnt, and the (close to SU) (-en form)
most important are now listed, grouped according to the sound changes
The pre-present follows a similar pattern. The finite verb is either
that take place. Only the 3rd person singular is given. The 2nd person
haben or sein, which can be used as auxiliaries as well as
is formed by inserting -s- before the final -t (unless the stem ends in -s
independently. (For the choice of which to use, see Section 45.) In
or -ß):
statements this finite verb would usually be the second component of
-en form 3rd person the sentence, and in questions either the first or the second, depending
singular on the type of question.
fahren to go (other than fährt The non-finite main verb is a type you have not met so far. In most
on foot), travel cases it is made by taking the by now familiar -en form, replacing the
fallen to fall fällt -en by -t, and prefixing the stem with ge-: thus machen > mach-en
halten to hold hält > ge-mach-t > gemacht. (This type of non-finite verb stands in
 95 96

relation to the -en form as does English ‘(we have) c/imbed’ to ‘(we can) Ich bin zur Schule gegangen (motion), aber mein Bruder ist zu Hause
climb.) If the stem of the verb itself ends in t or d, it is necessary to geblieben (from bleiben).
insert an -e- before the added -t, simply so that it is pronounceable: I went to school but my brother stayed at home.
thus warten (‘to wait’) > wart-en >ge-wart-et >gewartet. From Meine Großmutter ist vier Wochen krank gewesen (from sein).
now on we shall refer to this as the ge __(e)t form. In use it looks like My grandmother was ill for four weeks.
this: Dann ist sie gestorben (change of state).
Then she died.
Wir haben ein Bild gemalt.
The rule does mean that a few verbs can require either sein or haben,
have painted
have been painting according to the sense in which they are being used:
a picture.
painted Wir sind immer mit dem Zug gefahren. (not implying a DO)
were painting We always went by train.
Wir sind in die Küche gerast. Er hat einen eleganten Sportwagen gefahren. (taking a DO)
have rushed He was driving an elegant sports car.
have been rushing
We into the kitchen.
rushed
were rushing 46 Uses of the pre-present
While the -en form is neutral in its perspective on the process
Getting thoroughly familiar with the pre-present is invaluable, because
represented by any particular verb, doing nothing more than name that
it enables you to talk about almost any past event without ever having to
process, the ge __(e)t form, in addition to naming the process, has the
use the second German tense, the past tense (Sections 59 and 66), which
connotation of completion, and this is why and how it functions in the
involves learning a fairly large number of new forms. For the pre-
pre-present.
present you need only the present tense of haben or sein, which you
are very familiar with already, and one ge _(e)t form for each verb you
wish to use. The great advantage of the pre-present is that its coverage
45 Pre-present auxiliary verb: sein or haben?
encompasses all the four English constructions in:
The rule is quite simple (though remembering to apply it is not!). Use (x) (i) We have bought a house.
sein as the auxiliary if the process denoted by the ge
_(e)t main verb (ii) We have been buying a house.
(y) (i) We bought a house.
(a) denotes a process involving motion or a change of state (e.g. (ii) We were buying a house.
kommen, ‘to come’; springen, ‘to jump’; sterben, ‘to die’;
werden, ‘to become’) without, however taking or implying a The German version for all the above is:
DO (thus excluding such verbs as bringen, ‘to take, bring’; Wir haben ein Haus gekauft.
reichen, ‘to hand’; schicken, ‘to send’; ziehen, ‘to pull’)
There is thus no provision in German for making the choice required in
or (b) is one of the two verbs sein, ‘to be’, and bleiben, ‘to stay, English between (x) and (y), nor is there (as we have already seen with
remain’, which actually seem to imply the exact opposite of the present tense, Section 42(a)) any means in the German verb or verb
motion or a change of state. group for selecting between (i) and (ii) in either case. This does not
Otherwise use haben as the auxiliary. Examples: mean that German cannot make such distinctions; they are simply
accomplished by other means.
Ich bin hin und her gelaufen (motion).
Iran (or walked!) to and fro.
 97 98

47 The ge_ (e)t form halten to hold gehalten

kommen to come gekommen
Most verbs follow the pattern ge_ (e)t, which is to be regarded as the laufen to run gelaufen
standard form. It is, for example, the pattern for most coinages from lesen to read gelesen
non-German sources (e.g. gestartet, gestoppt, gelandet, messen to measure gemessen
geinterviewt, gecheckt), and ge __(e)t will therefore always be used rufen to call (out) gerufen
in this course as the symbol for this particular non-finite verb form, schlafen to sleep geschlafen
regardless of the fact that there are some divergences from it. Here are schlagen to hit, beat geschlagen
some examples of the standard pattern: sehen to see gesehen
stoßen to bump gestoßen
-en form stem ge__(e)t form tragen to carry, wear getragen
kaufen to buy kauf gekauft treten to step getreten
machen to make, do mach gemacht wachsen to grow gewachsen
sagen to say sag gesagt stehen to stand gestanden
zählen to count zähl gezählt
gehen to go gegangen
baden to bathe bad gebadet
blenden to dazzle blend geblendet brechen to break gebrochen
bluten to bleed blut geblutet helfen to help geholfen
leisten to achieve leist geleistet sprechen to speak gesprochen
sterben to die gestorben
(a) Exceptional forms of ge__(e)t treffen to meet getroffen
werden to become geworden
However, a number of verbs, including some of the commonest in
the language, have exceptional forms. A great help here is that you nehmen to take genommen
can often be alerted to the presence of an exceptional form in stehlen to steal gestohlen
German by an exceptional form in the English verb with which it
has a common ancestry (e.g. ‘to swim, swum’: schwimmen, leiden to suffer gelitten
geschwommen). Here are some of the most important exceptional pfeifen to whistle gepfiffen
forms, grouped according to the changes that occur. Try to identify schneiden to cut geschnitten
the changefs) for each group. Any particular oddities are underlined. streiten to quarrel gestritten

-en form ge
_(e)t form bleiben to stay, remain geblieben
leihen to lend geliehen
brennen to burn gebrannt scheinen to seem, shine geschienen
bringen to bring, take gebracht to write
schreiben geschrieben
denken to think gedacht steigen to climb gestiegen
kennen to know (people) gekannt treiben to drive, impel getrieben
wissen to know (facts) gewußt
sitzen to sit gesessen
essen to eat gegessen
fahren to go (not on foot) gefahren schwimmen to swim geschwommen
fangen to catch gefangen
finden to find gefunden
geben to give gegeben sinken to sink gesunken
 99 100

springen to jump gesprungen TYPEE

trinken to drink getrunken
-en form analysed form analysed
bitten to ask, request gebeten
pre- root suf- pre- root suf-
riechen to smell gerochen fix fix fix fix
schließen to shut, close geschlossen bekommen to get be komm en komm
empfinden to feel emp find en emp fund en
liegen to lie (recline) gelegen
entsprechen to correspond ent sprech en ent sproch en
”
bieten to offer geboten erwarten to expect er wart en er wart et
fliegen to fly geflogen gehören to belong ge hör en ge hör t
fliehen to flee geflohen mißlingen to fail miß ling en miß lung en
ziehen to pull, draw gezogen verstehen to understand steh en ver stand en
wider-
lügen to lie (fib) gelogen sprechen to contradict wider sprech en
’
wider sproch en
zerstören todestroy zer stör en zer stör t
sein to be gewesen
TYPEN:
(b) Effect of prefixes on the form of ge__(e)t -en form -en form analysed ge__(e)t form analysed
Many German words are composite words consisting of a central pre- root suf- | pre- root suf-
core (or root) with a distinctive meaning, to the front or rear of fix fix | fixes fix
which are attached (or affixed) further syllables of more generalised ankommen to arrive an komm en |an ge komm en
meaning. In the case of verbs the structure looks like this: aufstehen to get up auf steh en |auf ge stand en
affıx (prefix because affıx (suffix because ausmachen to switch off | aus mach en | aus ge mach t
beitreten to join bei tret en | bei ge tret en
attached to the front): attached to the rear):
root: provides einladen to invite ein lad en | ein ge lad en
combines with root ; carries present or past gegen- to countersign| gegen zeichn en | gegen ge zeichn et
+ core ofmeaning + P Be
to produce overall tense personal, i.e. zeichnen r i
meaning of verb en finite, \ ending or non 5 mithelfen to assist mit helf en | mit ge holf en
stem finite form ending nachholen to catch up nach hol en | nach ge hol t
vorbeugen to avert vor beug en | vor ge beug t
The nearest analogy in English would be a word like returned:
zuhören _tolisten zu hör en | zu ge hör t
re- (prefix), -turn- (root), -ed (suffix). The following now shows in a
comprehensive way how the presence of a prefix affects the ge_ (e)t If you study the two tables carefully, you will see that the TYPE I
non-finite form. The stressed (accented) syllables are marked with ’, verb prefixes, which are unstressed, do not permit the ge_(e)t form
since observing the correct stress is the key to understanding the prefix ge- to be inserted between themselves and the root, i.e. they
prefixes and their effects. are inseparable from the root, and verbs with such inseparable
prefixes do not take the ge- at all. The type II verb prefixes, which
are stressed, allow the additional prefix ge- to be inserted before the
root, and so are said to be separable. The ge _(e)t forms of both
types are written as single words, e.g. verstanden, ausgemacht.
The suffix variations of both types of prefixed verbs (-(e)t, -en)
result from what was explained in (a). That is, if the unprefixed verb
is exceptional (e.g. gestanden), so are any prefixed forms derived
 101 102

from it (e.g. aufgestanden, ‘got up‘, verstanden, ‘“understood’). 48 Time information

The two tables contain the main prefixes used exc/usively as
inseparable or inseparable prefixes, but they are not exhaustive, and Learning a useful range of expressions for conveying time information is
there are some prefixes (e.g. über, um, unter) which can appear in made easier by thinking of such expressions in groups:
TYPE Ior TYPE II verbs, producing in each case two verbs of (a) Information about frequency
completely different meaning (e.g. umbauen, ‘to build around,
enclose’; umbauen, ‘to rebuild, convert’). nie never
je (jemals) ever
To help you use prefixed verbs correctly, all prefixed verbs are selten rarely
labelled I or II in the Vocabulary and word lists. einmal once
zweimal (usw.) twice (etc.)
(c) Verbs ending in -ieren ab und zu occasionally
All verbs ending in (note the stress) -ieren (e.g. telefonieren, manchmal sometimes
kontrollieren, interessieren, informieren) make the ge _(e)t regelmäßig regularly
form without the ge- but with the -t (e.g. telefoniert, etc.). immer wieder again and again
immer always
(b) Indeterminate information related to now’
Exercise 23
jetzt now (pure and simple: as in English
For each sentence, insert the correct auxiliary verb for the pre-present (1.e. the can refer to what :s happening or
correct form of sein or haben) in the first gap, and the ge _(e)t form of what is imminent)
the given main verb in the second gap. nun now (seen as the final step in a
l Er _______ mir den Schlüssel . (bringen) series: also has non-temporal sense
2 Mein Freund _________ heute in die Vereinigten Staaten of ‘well now’)
. (fliegen) im Augenblick
3 Unsere Eltern _______ vor einigen Jahren augenblicklich
at the moment
(sterben) im Moment
4 Meine Mutter _________ die Erdbeermarmelade in den momentan
Kühlschank ______ . (stellen) eben | just now (a moment ago); (exactly)
5 [Link]..u... „4: +» »vom,Tisch- u = .: (springen) gerade now, just (at the moment); now
6 Ich ________ heute den ganzen Tag zu Hause : (presently), just (in a moment) (as
(bleiben) with English ‘just’, eben and
7 Dieses Jhnr________ die Miete für unsere Wohnung sehr gerade often have additional non-
. (steigen) temporal connotations such as
8 Ich ________ meiner Wirtin einen Brief ‘simply’ or ‘barely’)
(schicken) vorhin a little time ago
9 Wir _________ von meiner Schwester Geld neulich recently (but only in the sense of a
(bekommen) particular recent occasion in the
10 Dun => sje-swirklichsehr groß _ ______ . . (werden) speaker’s mind)
 103 104

letztens morgen tomorrow

in letzter Zeit ready übermorgen the day after tomorrow
vor einiger Zeit some time ago heute in drei Wochen three weeks today
sofort : > e morgen in acht Tagen tomorrow week
gleich straight away, immediately, at once
(g) Named time information
bald soon
nachher afterwards () Years: see also Section 18
® NO preposition! (or preceded, more formally, by im Jahre)
(c) Indeterminate information related to ‘then’
1992 werde ich zwanzig. Il be twenty in 1992.
dann then or
damals at that time Er hat im Jahre 1980 geheiratet. He got married in 1980.
seit/vor/nach 1980 since/before/after 1980
danas ‘ before that
vorher
kurz davor shortly before that (üi) Seasons:
® preposition: in (all are m nouns, so usually im)
danach after that, afterwards
kurz danach shortly afterwards Frühling spring
früher formerly im Sommer in J Summer
Herbst autumn
(d) Measured time information related to now’ Winter winter
vor einem Monat a month ago (iii) Months:
vor einer Woche a week ago ® preposition: in (all are m nouns, so usually im)
seit fünf Sekunden for five seconds (i.e. starting five
seconds ago, before ‘now’) Januar Juli
in drei Tagen in three days (i.e. after three days) Februar August
März 5 September :
im April im Okkäher in (month)
(e) Measured time information related to ‘then’
Mai November
none auror. | a month before, previously Juni Dezember
einen Monat zuvor
seit vier Jahren for four years (i.e. starting four years (iv) Days:
previously, before ‘“then’) ® preposition: an (all are m nouns, so usually am)
nach zwei Wochen Sonntag Sunday
zwei Wochen danach two weeks later Montag Monday
zwei Wochen später Dienstag Tuesday
am ( Mittwoch on { Wednesday
0 Information related to ‘today’
Donnerstag Thursday
heute today Freitag Friday
gestern yesterday Sonnabend or Samstag Saturday
vorgestern the day before yesterday
2) Dates:
heute vor einer Woche | a week ago today ® without preposition:
heute vor acht Tagen
gestern vor zwei Wochen Heute ist der 1. März. (erste) Today is the first of March.
igh ago yesterday
a fortnight terd
gestern vor vierzehn Tagen Donnerstag ist der 3. Mai. (dritte)
 105 106

Morgen ist der 7. November. (siebte) Exercise 24

Freitag ist der 19. Juli. (neunzehnte)
Übermorgen ist der 20. Oktober. (zwanzigste) Establish in each case which of the sentences (a), (b) or (c) is most compatible
with the initial statement.
e dating a letter or document:
1 Im Augenblick habe ich keine Zeit.
den 2. Januar 1985 (zweiten) (DO case!) (a) Ich spiele in zwei Stunden Tennis.
den 30.8.1986 (dreißigsten achten) (DO case!) (b) Ich habe jetzt viel Arbeit.
(c) Ich schlafe im Augenblick.
® preposition: an
2 In zwei Wochen fahre ich in die Vereinigten Staaten.
Am 15. Juni fahren wir in Urlaub. (fünfzehnten) (a) Ich bin für zwei Wochen in den Vereinigten Staaten.
We’re going on holiday on 15th June. (b) Der Urlaub in den Vereinigten Staaten ist zwei Wochen.
(c) Ich fahre heute in vierzehn Tagen in die Vereinigten Staaten.
(vi) Time of day:
3 Übermorgen muß ich beim Metzger einkaufen.
© preposition: um
The principles behind everyday time-telling will be apparent (a) In zwei Tagen kaufe ich ein Pfund Hackfleisch.
from the following: (b) Übermorgen verkauft der Metzger sein Geschäft.
(c) Übermorgen verkaufe ich Gemüse.
8.00 acht Uhr 4 Seit gestern vor vierzehn Tagen ist seine Mutter krank.
8.05 fünf nach acht (a) Seine Mutter ist in vierzehn Tagen krank.
8.08 acht Minuten nach acht (b) Seine Mutter ist schon zwei Wochen krank.
8.10 zehn nach acht
(c) Vor vierzehn Tagen ist seine Mutter im Bett geblieben.
8.15 Viertel nach acht
5 Frau Schmidt ist eben in die Stadt gegangen.
8.20 zwanzig nach acht
8.25 fünf vor halb neun (a) Frau Schmidt ist momentan in der Stadt.
8.30 halb neun (b) Gerade ist Frau Schmidt in die Stadt gefahren.
8.32 zwei Minuten nach halb neun (c) Frau Schmidt will gleich in der Stadt spazierengehen.
8.35 fünf nach halb neun 6 Früher hat Herr Kegel Bücher geschrieben.
8.40 zwanzig vor neun (a) Neulich hat Herr Kegel Bücher geschrieben.
8.45 Viertel vor neun (b) Nachher schreibt Herr Kegel Bücher.
(c) Herr Kegel hat damals gute Bücher geschrieben.
Um Viertel nach eins kommt der Arzt.
The doctor’s coming at a quarter past one.

e The 24-hour clock, which is in very widespread use for all 49 Reassurance tags
sorts of formal purposes, is straightforward:
14.30 vierzehn Uhr dreißig
In English there is a range of reassurance tags, the choice being
22.27 zweiundzwanzig Uhr siebenundzwanzig determined by the finite verb in each particular sentence ended bya tag:
He likes the painting, doesn’t he?
So he likes the painting, does he?
He won’t buy it, will he?
We shan’ı pay, shall we?
We’re not going to pay, are we?
 107 108

In German, on the other hand, the tag is extremely simple. One tag wie gesagt as (I) said
does for all sentences, though it does vary from region to region and also erst mal first of all
according to the degree of casualness required. untersuchen I to examine
allgemein generally
In formal situations the tag would be , nicht wahr?, and this might das Herz (-en) heart
well be found in writing. Most frequently used is the form , nicht? The abhören II to check (heart, lungs)
initial comma is essential, otherwise the sentence itself becomes der Blutdruck blood pressure
negative! Most casual of all is , ne? (pronounced as an English child messen to measure
might say the letter ‘n’ when spelling phonetically). die Blutprobe (-n) blood test
Regional variants are , woll? and , gell? behandeln I to treat
überweisen I to transfer, hand over
When the degree of reassurance being sought is stronger, the tag , oder? schütteln to shake
may be used, especially with negative sentences. However, this is much
less common than the standard tag. A doctor receives a new patient

Patient Guten Tag, Frau Doktor!

CONVERSATION Ärztin Guten Tag, Sie sind zum ersten Mal bei mir, nicht?
P Ja, ich bin jahrelang bei keinem Arzt gewesen.
Study and learn the dialogue below. You will need these new words: Ä Und was haben Sie denn jetzt so plötzlich?
die Ärztin (-nen) (female) doctor P Vor einigen Tagen habe ich sehr unangenehme Schmerzen im
zum ersten Mal for the first time rechten Handgelenk bemerkt, und das Gelenk ist auch ganz
jahrelang for years steif geworden.
plötzlich suddenly Ä Bei welcher Gelegenheit ist das passiert?
unangenehm unpleasant P Ich habe neulich meiner Schwester und meinem Schwager
der Schmerz (-en) pain beim Umzug geholfen und sehr schwere Sachen getragen.
das Handgelenk (-e) wrist Sofort danach habe ich es gemerkt. Die haben gemeint, ich soll
bemerken I to notice zum Arzt gehen.
das Gelenk (-e) joint (here: wrist) Ä Haben Sie einen manuellen Beruf? ... mit anderen Worten,
steif stiff benutzen Sie Ihre Hände viel?
die Gelegenheit (-en) occasion D Früher bin ich Maurer gewesen, aber seit etwa einem Jahr bin
passieren to happen ich Fliesenleger.
der Schwager (-) brother-in-law Spielen Sie etwa Handball oder Tennis?
der Umzug (*e) removal Ja, ab and zu beides.
meinen to say (give one’s opinion) Haben Sie schon mal Probleme mit dem Handgelenk gehabt?
II Ja, vor etwa zwei Monaten, aber es ist von selbst besser
:y
8:
der Beruf (-e) job
benutzen I to use geworden. Diesmal sind die Schmerzen viel stärker als vor zwei
der Maurer (-) bricklayer Monaten.
etwa (1) about; (2) perhaps (conjectural) Hat man Ihnen das Handgelenk je geröntgt?
der Fliesenleger (-) tiler Nein, wie gesagt, ich bin lange nicht mehr zum Arzt gegangen.
schon mal ever Ny
N:
8: Ich werde Sie erst mal allgemein untersuchen ... Herz abhören
von selbst by itself ... Blutdruck messen ... Urin untersuchen ... eine Blutprobe
röntgen to X-ray machen ...
 109

Warum denn das alles?

Sie waren doch so lange nicht beim Arzt ...... und dann das Lesson 10
Handgelenk röntgen ...
... und dann werden Sie das Handgelenk behandeln, nicht?
N: O nein! Dann überweise ich Sie an meinen Kollegen
NY
N:
Henschel. Der ist Orthopäde!
P (Schüttelt den Kopf!)
50 Indicating possession: the possessor (PO) case
TRANSLATION
In English there are two ways of linking two nouns to indicate that one
Patient Hello, doctor. is the possessor of the other:
Doctor Hello. This is the first time you’ve come to see me, isn’t it?
Yes, I haven’t seen a doctor for years. (i) Friday’s paper
And what’s the matter with you now all. of a sudden? John’s wife’s aunt
A few days ago I noticed some very unpleasant pains in my both companies’ profits
right wrist, and my wrist also got quite stiff. women’s rights
On what occasion did that happen? (ii) the tip of the iceberg
BIO I was helping my sister and brother-in-law with their house- the opinion of the judge
moving recently and carrying very heavy things. I noticed it the end of the matter
immediately afterwards. They said I must go to the doctor. brother of the deceased
Do you have a manual job? ... in other words, do you use your
hands a lot? In (i) the possessor is marked by ’(s) and precedes the possessed item. In
I used to be a bricklayer, but I’ve been a tiler for about a year. (ii) the nouns are linked by of, with the possessed item preceding the
Do you play, say, handball or tennis? possessor.
Yes, both now and again. In German the usual sequence is that of (ii) (possessed item +
Have you ever had problems with your wrist before? possessor), but the method is like that of (i), i.e. marking the possessor
Yes, about two months ago, but it got better by itself. This noun and associated words in some way. Possessor status is expressed by
time the pains are much worse than two months ago. case features similar to those for the SU, DO and IO cases, i.e.
Has your wrist ever been X-rayed? distinctive forms of d..., of ein, of the adjective and - for m and n
No. As I said, I haven’t been to the doctor for a long time. singular nouns only - ofthe noun itself:
5
U
Sya First P’ll give you a general examination ... check your heart ...
OB
WW
die Schwägerin meines Freundes my friend’s sister-in-law
measure your blood pressure ... check your urine ... do a blood
die Ansichten beider Rechtsanwälte the views of both lawyers
test ...
der Ruf des ehemaligen Politikers the former politician’s reputation
Why all those things? der Wagen einer alten Dame an old lady’s car
Well, you said you hadn’t seen a doctor for such a long time ...
... and then X-ray your wrist ...
Yu
eg ... and then you’ll give me some treatment for the wrist, won’t
you?
Oh no! Then I'll transfer you to my colleague Dr Henschel.
He specialises in orthopaedics!
= (Shakes his head!)

110
 111 112

All the required forms will be apparent from the following: use after PO prepositions. Instead there are a number of idiosyncratic
forms, of which these are the commonest:

stattdessen instead (of it)

ee |m. | Amehnzken trotzdem in spite of this, nevertheless
währenddessen in the course of it/this

ein|(eines |(einer |(eines | keiner | deswegen

meinetwegen
because of this, consequently
on my account, as far as Iam
due dies.. dieses dieser dieses concerned
jed.. jedes jeder jedes on our account
unseretwegen
h unser unseres unserer unseres deinetwegen on your account
ein-t
er Beer re usw. etc.
adjecti Also very commonly heard is wegen followed by the IO pronouns:
wegen mir because of me
djecti
wegen uns because of us
wegen dir because of you
adjective wegen dem because of him
alone
usw. etc.
noun
ending el
52 [Link] masculine nouns
The (e) ofthe m and n singular noun endings is frequently inserted
after monosyllabic noun stems. (a) We saw in Section 50 that m and n nouns add -(e)s for the singular
PO case. However, a number of m nouns, including some very
common ones, do not add -(e)s for the PO case, but do add -(e)n
51 Prepositions requiring the PO case for all cases, singular and plural, except the SU singular, which is
naturally the form in which they are now given:
As mentioned in Section 26, each preposition in German requires the
selection of a particular case for the noun or pronoun following. A few der Automat machine (e.g. vending) (and other ‘imported’
common prepositions require the PO case. To help you remember to nouns ending in -at)
associate them with the PO case, the English equivalents given here are der Bauer
all made to end with ‘of’: der Franzose (and other m nationality
designations ending in -e
außerhalb outside of
like der Pole, but NOT
innerhalb inside of
der Deutsche, which
jenseits on the far side of (beyond)
follows different rules;
statt instead of
see Section 61)
trotz in spite of der Held
während in the course of (during) der Herr Mr, gentleman (adds only -n in singular,
wegen because of, on account of -en in plural)
Though these prepositions are frequently used before nouns, there is no der Junge (the colloquial plural
complete set of pronouns parallel to the SU, DO and IO pronouns for adds -ns throughout)
 114
113

der Kollege colleague Er schlägt ein kaltes Mittagessen mit Brot, Käse und Wein vor.
der Kunde customer (vorschlagen)
He suggests a cold lunch with bread, cheese and wine. k
der Mensch person, human being,
Ich helfe bei den Vorbereitungen für die Konferenz nicht mit. (mithelfen)
(plural) people I’m not helping with the preparations for the conference.
der Nachbar neighbour
der Präsident president (and many other Note that even nicht, which usually comes very late in a sentence, must
“imported’ nouns ending precede the separated prefix.
in -ent) TYPE I (inseparable prefix) verbs naturally remain intact under the
der Soldat soldier (see Automat)
circumstances just described:
der Student student (see Präsident)
der Tourist tourist (and other ‘imported’ Ich empfinde gar kein Mitleid mit dieser Frau. (empfinden)
nouns ending in -ist) I can feel no sympathy at all with this woman.

Many other nouns, particularly other categories of ‘imported’

nouns, behave in the same way as the above. All such nouns are 54 zu + -en form
followed in the Vocabulary not by the usual plural information but
by ‘(PO -n)’ or ‘(PO -en)’: e.g. der Tourist (PO -en) tourist. You know already that if a simple sentence contains both a finite verb
and an -en form, the -en form must stand right at the end of the
(b) A small but significant group of m nouns ending in -e add -ns for
sentence (Section 33):
the singular PO case and -n in all other cases. Here is the singular
SU case: Ich gehe zweimal in der Woche schwimmen.

der Buchstabe letter (of the alphabet) Many constructions require the -en form to be accompanied by zu, like
der Gedanke thought the ‘to’ which often accompanies the parallel English non-finite verb.
der Glaube belief Whereas in English the complete verb group (finite verb + ‘to’ + non-
der Name name finite verb) tends to stick together, usually somewhere near the start of
der Wille will (determination) the sentence, zu clings to the -en form at the end of the sentence.
Consequently there is no debate about the ‘split infinitive’ in German!
These are marked in the Vocabulary with “(PO -ns)).
It is simply not possible to insert anything between zu and the -en
form, with even stressed prefixes being pushed out of the way:
53 TYPE II verbs used as finite verbs Er hofft, morgen zu kommen.
He hopes to come tomorrow.
We have seen (Section 47(b)) that TYPE II verbs (those with separable Wir versuchen, ein neues Haus zu finden.
prefixes) require the ge- ofthe ge __(e)t form to be inserted between the We are trying to find a new house.
separable, stressed prefix and the root. The same principle applies if the Ich habe vor, meine Freunde für Sonnabend einzuladen.
I intend to invite my friends for Saturday.
-en form is preceded by zu (‘to’), which is also inserted between the
prefix and the root. (In both these cases the resultant sequence is spoken Consider now some slightly more complex examples:
and written as one word; ausgegangen, auszugehen.)
(a) (i) Er wird immer zögern, mir seine Sorgen zu erzählen.
However, if a TYPE II verb is the finite verb of the sentence, the prefix is He will always hesitate to tell me his worries.
split off completely and appears Jast of all in the sentence:
Ich lade meine Freunde für Sonnabend ein. (einladen)
I’m inviting my friends for Saturday.
 115 116

(ii) Ich habe neulich versucht, den Chef für Montag 55 Expressing purpose: um ... zu
einzuladen.
I recently tried to invite the boss for Monday. To express a purposive relationship between the two portions of a
(b) (i) Ich werde meine Mutter bitten, uns ein Picknick sentence - ‘(in order) to, (so as) to’ - a modified version of the bi-partite
vorzubereiten. pattern from Section 54 is used: the word um is placed at the beginning
I shall ask my mother to prepare a picnic for us.
of the second portion of the sentence. Here are the second portions of
(ii) Der Arzt hat mich überredet, wegen des Handgelenks zum
the sentences from Section 54 modified in this way, with new first
Orthopäden zu gehen.
The doctor persuaded me to go to the orthopaedic specialist portions to make sense:
with my wrist. Er wird mich morgen besuchen, um mir seine Sorgen zu erzählen.
(Sentences (a) (ii) and (b) (i) show again how a TYPE II (separable prefix) He’s visiting me tomorrow (in order) to tell me his worries.
Ich bin zur Chefsekretärin um den Chef für Montag
verb opens up to allow the zu to slip between prefix and root.)
gegangen, einzuladen.
Each of the above sentences divides into two clear portions. No bits of I’ve been to the boss’s secretary (in order) to invite the boss for Monday.
either portion may stray across the division, so though the ge_ (e)t or Ich werde etwas Aufschnitt um uns ein Picknick vorzubereiten.
-en form of the first portion is required to stand last, this means last in kaufen,
the relevant portion. I’m going to buy some sliced meat (so as) to prepare a picnic for us.
Ich muß besonders früh um wegen des Handgelenks zum
As with the English versions, in the (a) sentences the SU of the first aufstehen, Orthopäden zu gehen.
portion becomes the (implied) SU of the second portion (er - zögern - I have to get up particularly early (so as) to go to the orthopaedic specialist
erzählen; ich - versuchen - einladen). This is NOT the case in the with my wrist.
(b) sentences, however, where the implied SU of the second portion is It would be idiomatic English to drop ‘in order’ or ‘so as’ and say only
the DO from the first portion (ich - bitten - meine Mutter - “to', but if the second portion is the purpose of the first, the um is
vorbereiten; der Arzt - überreden - ich - gehen). essential in German. Unlike the sentences without um and with only
zu, the (implied) SU of the second (um) portion must always be the
SU of the first portion. Also unlike the sentences without um, the order
Exercise 25 of the two portions can be reversed:

Complete the following by filling each double gap with the correct TYPE II Um den Chef für Montag bin ich zur Chefsekretärin
verb from the column on the right. The short gap in each case is for the einzuladen, gegangen.
separable prefix, the long one for the rest of the verb. Um mir seine Sorgen zu wird er mich morgen besuchen.
erzählen,

Ich „eine
Party zu geben. Wir anrufen Note that in reverse order the former second portion, now coming first,
sind so viele, also ich meine Wohnung einladen has an effect on the sequence of words. As we noted in Section 32,
anders ___ .Ich nur meine besten einrichten whatever part of a statement comes first, the verb must come second, and
Freunde ___,aber wir sind fünfzig. Diesmal mithelfen the um portion counts as such a part, so that the verb, or more
meine Freunde
malnicht _ _ .Ich vorhaben precisely the finite verb (here bin and wird) comes next, followed by
Um 8 Uhr
will alles alleine machen. vorschlagen the SU (here ich and er).
ichsie ___. Dann können sie kommen. Aber
was sagen meine Freunde, sie stattdessen
‚gar nicht zu essen, sondern den ganzen
Abend lang zu trinken.
 118
117

56 ohne ... zu (without ...-ing); statt ... zu (instead of 57 Obverse process

ing)
You have seen in Section 44 how haben and sein are used as auxiliary
Like um in the construction described in Section 55, ohne and statt finite verbs along with the ge _(e)t form to make the pre-present. You
can be used to start the second portion of a sentence, with the meaning have also seen in Sections 34 and 35 (h) how werden is used as an
‘without (...-ing)’ and “instead of (...-ing)’ respectively. Like the sentences auxiliary finite verb in combination with the -en form to make the
containing um, ohne and statt sentences must have the same SU or future. There is also a further combination, of the auxiliary finite verb
implied SU in both portions, and the sequence of the portions can be werden and the ge _(e)t form:
reversed. Because these two constructions are more remote from the Das Haus wird in diesen Tagen eingerichtet.
equivalent English than is um ... zu, a more deliberate effort has to be The house is being furnished at present.
made to get them right. Ich werde oft mitten in der Nacht angerufen.
I’m often rung up in the middle of the night.
Ich kann kein Picknick ohne etwas Aufschnitt zu kaufen.
vorbereiten, This is used to express the obverse process, where the process denoted by
I can’t prepare a picnic without buying some sliced meat. the verb, which logically proceeds from the ‘doer’ to things or persons
Er wird mich morgen besuchen, statt mir seine Sorgen am Telefon affected (generally the DO), is turned upside down, so that the affected
zu erzählen. person or thing (‘the house’ and ‘T’ in the above sentences) becomes the
He’s going to visit me tomorrow instead of telling me his worries on the SU of the obverse process (‘is being furnished’ and ‘am rung up’). (The
telephone.
term passive, normally used for this construction, refers to the change
whereby the affected item becomes the SU, but, apart from the
difficulty of relating its everyday meaning to its grammatical meaning, it
Exercise 26 does not fit German since, as we shall show, there are obverse process
constructions in German that have no SU, whether derived from a DO
1 Die Dame geht in die Stadt. Die Dame geht in die Stadt, or anywhere else.)
Sie kauft ein. um einzukaufen.
The following shows the usual connection between the logical process
The following pairs of sentences make up a mini-story. Link the two and the obverse process:
sentences in each pair with um ... zu, ohne ... zu or statt ... zu, as
appropriate, on the lines of the above model. su DO My father is showing the slides.
2 Fräulein Schmidt steht früh auf.
Sie geht mit ihrem Hund spazieren. sU _ı The slides are being shown (by my father).
3 Mittags kommt sie nach Hause und arbeitet im Garten.
Sie ißt nicht. As in English, the obverse process is useful either when it is desired to
4 Am Nachmittag geht sie ins Kino. draw particular attention to the doer (‘by my father’ is more striking
Sie fragt ihre Mutter nicht. than ‘my father’ as SU) on the one hand, or when the doer is unworthy
5 Sie sieht gerne Filme. of attention (or even unidentifiable) on the other hand. These two
Sie kommt auf andere Gedanken. situations appear in the following examples:
6 Am Abend kommt ihr Freund.
Er will sie ins Restaurant einladen. (i) The slides are being shown by my father (and not, say, by my brother).
7 Sie verläßt das Restaurant während des Essens. Die Dias werden von meinem Vater gezeigt.
(ii) The slides are now being shown.
Sie bezahlt nicht.
Jetzt werden die Dias gezeigt.
8 Er bleibt im Restaurant sitzen und ißt beide Portionen.
Er läuft nicht zu seiner Freundin.
 120
119

However, the use of the obverse process in German differs radically Wir werden nächste Woche in Französisch geprüft {werdem)
from English in two respects: We’re going 10 be examined in French next week.

(a) In English not only a DO (pro)noun can be transformed into the SU

of an obverse process: 58 The pre-present of some auxiliary verbs
The slides are being shown.
To form the pre-present of the sentence
but also an IO (pro)noun can:
Ich muß den Nachbarn helfen.
The guest is being shown the slides. I have to help the neighbours.

Although this same sequence of words is (almost) possible in it is of course the auxiliary finite verb muß that has to become pre-
German, any IO (pro)noun must stay in the IO case: present. However, the ge_ _(e)t form of müssen is not used, but
instead the -en form:
Dem Gast werden die Dias gezeigt.
Ich habe den Nachbarn helfen müssen.
and the SU remains what in the logical process would be the DO,
I had to help the neighbours.
i.e. die Dias, as can be seen from the plural finite verb werden.
Note that the -en form of the auxiliary stands right at the end, even
(b) In English only verbs that can have DOs can be used in the obverse
after the -en form of the main verb (here helfen). The same applies to
process, but in German the obverse process is possible with verbs
dürfen, können, mögen, sollen, wollen and lassen. So, for
that need only a ‘doer”. If the ‘doer’ cannot be identified or consists
instance, ‘I got my car washed’ would in the pre-present be:
of a collective, the obverse process can be used without a SU (or
with only the impersonal es as SU): Ich habe meinen Wagen waschen lassen.

Heute abend wird gesungen. All of these verbs have an alternative ge_(e)t non-finite form which is
or Eswird heute abend gesungen. used when they are not auxiliaries. Examples:
There’s some singing this evening.
Jetzt wird schnell gegessen! A: Kannst du geduldig warten? B: Nein, das habe ich nie gekonnt.
or Es wird jetzt schnell gegessen! A: Are you able to wait patiently? B: No, I’ve never been able (to do) that.
Now you’re going 10 eat fast! Wir haben unser Gepäck am Bahnhof gelassen.
We left our luggage at the station.
A combination of the rules contained in (a) and (b) means that sentences
All these ‘independent’ ge _(e)t forms begin with ge- and (except
like
lassen) end with -t: gedurft, gekonnt, gemocht, gemußt, gesollt,
The children are now being forgıven. gewollt and gelassen.
The students are being helpeda lot.
When werden is used as an auxiliary to form the obverse process, the
which contain verbs which in German use the IO case (see Section 21) ge __(e)t form is simply worden, but when werden is used
must be translated: independently (‘to become’) the ge __(e)t form is geworden:
Den Kindern wird jetzt verziehen. Die Dias sind von meinem Vater gezeigt worden.
or Eswird den Kindern jetzt verziehen. The slides were shown by my father.
Den Studenten wird sehr geholfen. Die Kunden sind heutzutage sehr frech geworden.
or Es wird den Studenten sehr geholfen. Customers have become very cheeky these days.
Because both the future and the obverse process are made with werden,
it is not usual to include werden twice in the future obverse process:
 122
121
sollen wollen
59 The past tense (I)
ichlerlsie (she)les sollte wollte
wirl/Sielsie (they) sollten wollten
Apart from the advantages for the learner of using the pre-present as a
du solltest wolltest
means of referring to the past (Section 46), it is what Germans
themselves are most likely to use in everyday conversation. However, its lassen werden
disadvantage is that it involves using at least two verbs, sometimes three ichler/sie (she)les ließ wurde
(as in Section 58) and occasionally four. wir/Sielsie (they) ließen wurden
The alternative is to use the second of the German true tenses, the past
du ließest wurdest
tense, which allows reference to the past to be made using one verb A look at the 1st and 3rd persons singular (which are always identical in
fewer than the equivalent pre-present. The past tense is frequently used, the past tense) reveals four patterns in the above, of which two are
even colloquially, when the main verb is sein or haben, thus avoiding significant for learning German past tenses in general (Section 66),
two forms of the same verb in one sentence (e.g. er ist ... gewesen; while a third is typical of a further small group:
ich habe ... gehabt). The past tense of the auxiliary verbs, too, is
(a) sein, lassen A new stem (war, ließ) appears
often preferred to the pre-present, so reducing the number of verbs in
and is used without any ending.
the sentence from a minimum of three to a minimum of two. Compare
the following: (b) sollen, wollen The same stem as that of the -en
form is used, followed by -t- and
pre-present
the ending -e.
Ich bin vier Wochen krank gewesen. Ich war vier Wochen krank.
I was/have been ill for four weeks. (c) haben, dürfen, können, A new stem (hat-, durf-, konn-,
Wir haben viel Pech gehabt. Wir hatten viel Pech. mögen, müssen moch-, muß-) appears and is
We were/have been very unlucky. followed by -t- and the ending -e.
Ich habe den Nachbarn helfen Ich mußte den Nachbarn helfen.
(d) werden This is an oddity. A new stem
müssen.
Die Dias sind von meinem Vater Die Dias wurden von meinem (wurd-) appears and is followed by
gezeigt worden. Vater gezeigt. the ending -e.

Here are the past tenses of haben, sein and the auxiliary verbs: Pattern (a) is the one followed by the large number of verbs that take
new stems for the past tense (like ‘come/came‘, ‘know/knew’, ‘see/saw’).
haben sein We shall call these new stem verbs. Pattern (b) is the model for the bulk
ichlerl/sie (she)les hatte war of verbs, which simply take the stem of the -en form and add -t-, always
wir/Sielsie (they) hatten waren followed by an ending. These are same stem verbs, and are like ‘rush/
du hattest warst rushed), “blame/blamed’”. Pattern (c) is a mixture of (a) and (b), taking a
dürfen können new stem yet adding -t- always followed by an ending, somewhat akin to
ichlerlsie (she)les durfte konnte ‘kneel/knelt’, ‘buy/bought’.
wir/Sielsie (they) durften konnten
du durftest konntest
mögen müssen
ichlerl/sie (she)les mochte mußte
wir/Sielsie (they) mochten mußten
du mochtest mußtest
 123 124

CONVERSATION nicht in Frage kommen to be out ofthe question

die Veranstaltung (-en) item of entertainment, event
Study and learn the dialogue below. You will need these new words: einbegriffen included
der Geschmack (°e) taste
die Freundin (-nen) girlfriend tagsüber during the daytime
die Silvesterfahrt (-en) New Year’s Eve trip tanzen to dance
der Winterprospekt (-e) winter brochure gesellig sociable
anbieten II to offer das Beisammensein being with other people
preiswert reasonably priced der Gesellschaftsraum (*e) lounge
das Allgäu (mountainous area in Southern genießen I to enjoy
Bavaria) die Möglichkeit (-en) opportunity
der Preis (-e) price das Skifahren skiing
reichhaltig varied das Festessen (-) banquet
der Ausflug (*e) excursion der Tanz (*e) dance
die Abendveranstaltung (-en) evening entertainment, event veranstalten to arrange, put on
das Neujahrsfrühstück (-e) New Year’s Day breakfast nach Wunsch as required, to order
der Sonderpreis (-e) special price das Feuerwerk fireworks
die Unterkunft (*e) accommodation loslassen II to set off
das Doppelzimmer (-) double room das Sektfrühstück champagne breakfast
das Einzelzimmer (-) single room klingen to sound
das Silvesterfestessen (-) New Year’s Eve banquet beschränken I to limit
die Skimöglichkeit (-en) opportunity for skiing anstrengend energetic, strenuous
hin und zurück there and back, i.e. return der Teilnehmer (-) participant
(of a journey) die Leute people
sorgen für to see to das Gegenteil opposite
die Übernachtung (-en) overnight stay die Gruppe (-n) group
der Hinweg (-e) outward journey die goldene Hochzeit (-en) golden wedding
das Gleiche the same feiern to celebrate
die Rückfahrt (-en) return journey besprechen I to discuss, talk over
unterwegs on the way
genügend sufficiently
anhalten II to stop, pull up
jeweils each time Enquiring at a coach tour company about a short New Year
einnehmen Il to eat, take, consume holiday
die Erfrischung (-en) refreshment
der Gasthof (*e) inn Junger Meine Freundin und ich sind daran interessiert, eine
der Löwe (PO -n) lion Mann Silvesterfahrt zu machen.
unterbringen II to accommodate Fräu- Gut, ich zeige Ihnen unseren Winterprospekt. Wir bieten dieses
der Grundpreis (-e) basic price lein Jahr eine sehr preiswerte Fahrt mit Luxusbus nach Oberstdorf
enthalten I to contain, include im Allgäu an, sieben Tage vom 28. Dezember bis zum 3.
die Dusche (-n) shower Januar inklusiv.
der Zuschlag (*e) additional charge JM (Liest aus dem Winterprospekt.)
 125 126

IM Das klingt alles sehr schön. Und sind noch Plätze frei?
Ja, wir haben noch sechs Plätze frei. Wir mußten die Zahl der
7 Tage Silvesterfahrt mit Teilnehmer wegen der Größe unseres Busses auf dreißig
Luxusbus ins Allgäu
beschränken.
5 Nächte in Oberstdorf IM Bei solch einem anstrengenden Programm sind die anderen
Teilnehmer doch bestimmt alles junge Leute ...
reichhaltiges Programm mit
F O nein, ganz im Gegenteil! Sechzehn der Teilnehmer fahren als
Ausflügen, Abendveranstaltungen Gruppe, um Silvester eine goldene Hochzeit zu feiern.
und Neujahrssektfrühstück
IM O! Das muß ich doch noch mal mit meiner Freundin
Sonderpreis DM 950,- besprechen ...

Unterkunft in Doppelzimmern
TRANSLATION
Einzelzimmer DM 50,- extra
Silvesterfestessen DM 25,- extra
Young My girlfriend and I are interested in doing a New Year’s
Skimöglichkeiten
Man Eve trip.
Assıs- Right, Ill show you our winter brochure. This year we’re
3M Was wird da alles für den Preis angeboten? tant offering a very reasonable trip by luxury coach to Oberstdorf in
Ja, da ist erst mal die Fahrt hin und zurück im Luxusbus. Für the Allgäu, seven days from 28th December to 3rd January
alles wird gesorgt ... eine Übernachtung in einem netten Hotel inclusive.
auf dem Hinweg und das Gleiche auf der Rückfahrt ... YM (Reads from the winter brochure.)
3M Wie wird unterwegs gegessen?
Es wird natürlich genügend oft angehalten, und das
7 day New Year’s Eve trip
Mittagessen wird jeweils während einer längeren Pause in
to the Allgäu by luxury coach
einem Gasthof eingenommen. Andere Erfrischungen werden
im Bus serviert ... Ja, und in Oberstdorf selbst wird man im 5 nights in Oberstdorf
Gasthof Zum Löwen untergebracht. Der Grundpreis enthält
Varied programme with
die Unterbringung in Doppelzimmern mit Dusche und
excursions, evening entertainments
Toilette, aber es werden auch Einzelzimmer angeboten für
and New Year’s Day champagne breakfast
einen Zuschlag von DM 50,.. Aber das kommt für Sie wohl
nicht in Frage ...? Special price DM 950.-
IM Was für Veranstaltungen sind im Preis einbegriffen?
Accommodation in double rooms
Für jeden Geschmack wird gesorgt ... Tagsüber werden drei
Single rom DM 50.- extra
kleinere Ausflüge gemacht, und jeden Abend wird getanzt, oder
New Year’s Eve banquet DM 25.- extra
man kann das gesellige Beisammensein in der Bar oder im
Opportunities for skiing
Gesellschaftsraum genießen. Es gibt auch Möglichkeiten zum
Skifahren, aber das muß extra bezahlt werden.
IM Und zu Silvester und am Neujahrstag selbst ...? YM What sort of things do you get for the price?
Silvester gibt es Tanz, und um elf Uhr wird eine besondere Show Well, first of all there’s the outward and return journey in a
veranstaltet. Silvester wird auch um acht Uhr ein Festessen luxury coach. Everything is taken care of... an overnight stop
nach Wunsch serviert für einen Zuschlag von DM 25,. Um in a nice hotel on the way out and the same on the return
Mitternacht wird dann das Feuerwerk losgelassen. Am 1. journey ...
Januar wird ab neun Uhr ein Sektfrühstück eingenommen. YM How are the meals provided on the journey?
 127

There are sufficient stops, of course, and lunch is always taken

in an inn during a fairly long break. Other refreshments are Lesson 11
served in the coach ... Well, and in Oberstdorf itself you’re
accommodated in the Lion Inn. The basic price includes
accommodation in double rooms with shower and toilet, but
single rooms are also available at an extra charge of DM 50...
But you wouldn’t be interested in that, I suppose ...?
YM What sort of entertainments are included in the price? 60 Quantifiers and identifiers
Every taste is catered for ... In the daytime there are three In addition to the d. .- and ein-type words of Section 28, there is a set
shortish excursions, and there’s dancing every evening, or you of common expressions used before the (adjective +) noun which serve
can enjoy the company in the bar or the lounge. There are also to quantify or identify the following noun. These are now arranged
opportunities to ski, but you have to pay extra for that. according to whether they are used (i) before any type of noun, (ii) before
YM And on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day themselves ...? uncountable nouns (e.g. ‘flour‘, ‘anger’), (iii) before countable nouns in
On New Year’s Eve there’s a dance, and at eleven o’clock a the singular (e.g. ‘shop‘, ‘mistake’) or (iv) before countable nouns in the
special show is put on. And on New Year’s Eve there’s also a plural (e.g. ‘shops’, ‘mistakes’).
banquet served to order at eight o’clock at an extra charge of
DM 25... Then at midnight the fireworks are set off. On Ist As these expressions vary in their requirements for endings, information
January from nine o’clock onwards you can have a champagne is given for each, referring where necessary to the sets of endings (a), (b)
breakfast. and (c) from Section 29 (supplemented by Section 50 for the PO case).
YM That all sounds very nice. And are there still places available? As with the units of measurement and quantity in Section 36, where
Yes, we still have six places vacant. We have had to restrict the there is an ‘of’ in English there is usually nothing in German.
number of participants to thirty because of the size of our (i) Before any type of noun
coach.
the same d..selb..* Written as one word, d..
YM With such a strenuous programme I suppose the other
(identical) with its usual endings,
participants are all young people ...
selb.. with set (a) endings.
Oh no, just the opposite! Sixteen of the participants are going
the same (alike) d.. gleich* Two separate words, gleich
as a group to celebrate a golden wedding on New Year’s Eve.
having set (a) endings.
YM Oh! T’Il have to talk that over again with my girlfriend after all ...
all (of) the, d.. ganz ganz means ‘entire‘, so it can
the whole (of also follow ein, mein, etc. It
the) takes set (a) or (b) endings as
required.
* In practice there is a lot of overlap between d..selb.. and
d.. gleich
Ich bin in derselben Gruppe wie du.
I’m in the same group as you.
Ich habe das gleiche Kleid wie du gekauft.
I’ve bought the same dress as you.
Die ganze Arbeit hat er alleine geschafft.
He’s managed all the work on his own.
Meine ganzen Bücher sind naß geworden.
All my books have got wet.

128
 129 130

Ein ganzes Jahr hat er dafür gebraucht. irgendein

He took a whole year for it. Heute kommt noch ein Vertreter von der Versicherung.
ein anderer
(ii) Before uncountable nouns
Some representative or other
| from the insurance is coming today.
little wenig No ending required. Another representative
a little etwas No ending.
some einig.. Takes set (c) endings.
(iv) Before countable nouns in the plural

a bit of ein bißchen Really a n noun, so ein a pair of ein Paar announ, so ein has its usual
has its usual endings. endings, and the following
a drop of ein Tropfen A m noun, so ein has noun has the same case.
its usual endings. the two d.. beid.. beid.. takes set (a) endings.
enu : both beid.. Takes set (c) endings.
enough |Enge d No ending. a few ein paar No endings, though a
much, alotof viel No ending required. following IO noun may
all (of)the,the (d.. ganz See (i) above. need -(e)n.
whole (of the) (all.. Has the sense of ‘all (the)”. some einig.. Takes set (c) endings.
Takes set (a) endings, but PO several mehrer.. Takes set (c) endings.
-en before m and n nouns many viel.. Takes set (c) endings.
with PO ending -(e)s. genug
See (ii) above.
all that/this, |alld../dies.. | enden. Rouen |genügend
all my, etc. all mein, usw. all (of) the all.. Takes set (c) endings, but any
following adjective adds -en
für wenig Geld for little money
in all cases.
mit etwas Salz with a little salı
vor einiger Zeit some time ago von einem Paar alten Schuhen from an old pair of shoes
mit einem bißchen Papier with a bit of paper wegen der beiden Damen because of the two ladies
mit einem Tropfen Öl with a drop of oil mit beiden Händen with both hands
Wir haben genug Wein. We have enough wine. vor ein paar Wochen a few weeks ago
bei viel Arbeit with a lot of work einige some
bei allem guten Willen with the best will in the world für { mehrere gute Freunde for $ several }good friends
trotz allen Komforts in spite of all the comfort viele many
wegen all der Unruhe because of all that noise für alle guten Freunde for all the good friends
(iii) Before countable nouns in the singular
the same d..selb.. See (i) above.
any, some Or irgendein Endings of ein.
other
another (one noch ein ein has usual endings.
61 Converting adjectives into nouns
more)
To a much greater extent than in English, adjectives in German are
another (a ein.. ander ander takes set (b) endings.
regularly converted into nouns. In English this is limited to denoting
different one)
collective categories of people (‘the disabled’, ‘the sick’) and some
the whole (0f d.. ganz See (i) above.
abstracts, especially in set phrases (“the good, the bad and the
the)
indifferent’), but in German the usage is almost unrestricted - singular
 132
131

or plural; animate, inanimate, abstract. In the last Conversation there

was the phrase 62 Attached sentences

das Gleiche auf der Rückfahrt We have seen (Sections 54, 55, 56) how a sentence can contain a phrase
the same on the return journey which is attached to its core and yet has a separate and distinct identity.
The first such phrases we looked at ended simply with zu + -en form.
Here the adjective gleich, given an initial capital letter, has become a n
Other phrases enclosed their contents between link-words or joiners like
noun, the automatic gender for all adjectival nouns that do not refer
um, ohne and statt and the zu + -en form. The meaning of these
specifically to male or female beings. Adjectival nouns take the
more elaborate phrases is given a particular slant by the joiner (‘in order
appropriate adjective endings as described in Section 29. For instance, ‘a
to’, “without ...-ing), ‘instead of ...-ing’), and they can follow or precede
German’ is ein Deutscher if a man, but eine Deutsche if a woman,
the core of the sentence.
because the noun is derived from the adjective deutsch.
While we shall call the above ‘attached phrases’, we shall use the term
Adjectival nouns can be created as required. Many of them, whether
“attached sentences’ for various types of word-sequences which differ
well-established words that can be found in a dictionary as nouns or
from attached phrases in that, while they are also attached in some way
new creations required by a particular situation, are based on two non-
to a central or core sentence, they contain a finite verb of their own.
finite forms of the verb: the ge _(e)t form, already familiar to you, and
the -end form. Whereas the ge _(e)t form, as was noted in Section 44, (a) The simplest way of linking an attached sentence to a core sentence
has the connotation of completion, the -end form has the connotation of in such a way that the two are genuinely interdependent is to place
incompleteness, concurrence and simultaneity. So whereas gefangen the attached sentence directly next to the core sentence with nothing
means something like ‘caught‘, ‘captured’, überlebend means (except a comma) in between - and with no effect on the sequence of
something like ‘surviving’. These two particular non-finite forms, used words (SU - verb - remainder) of either. Here are two examples
as adjectival nouns, become der Gefangene (or die Gefangene), from earlier lessons:
“prisoner, and der Überlebende (or die Überlebende), ‘survivor”.
Der Arzt sagt, ich soll nur Fisch oder mageres Fleisch essen.
Any such nouns listed in the Vocabulary are marked ‘adj’, to show that
The doctor says I must only eat fish or lean meat.
they must be given adjective endings. Die haben gemeint, ich soll zum Arzt gehen.
Another common use of adjective as noun is in combination with They said I must go to the doctor.
etwas, ‘something‘, and nichts, “nothing”. In these cases the adjective Reverse the sequence of the sentences (the attached sentence remains
has the endings given in Section 29 set (c). the attached one even if it comes first) and the sequence of words in
Die Stunde soll mit etwas Einfachem anfangen. the core sentence changes:
The lesson must start with something simple. Ich soll nur Fisch oder mageres Fleisch essen, sagt der Arzt.
Alles war ruhig, nichts Wesentliches ist geschehen.
Everything was quiet; nothing important happened. The explanation is an extension of what was said in Section 32: the
entire attached sentence constitutes the DO of the core sentence.
On the other hand alles, ‘everything‘, having the n -es already
incorporated, is followed by an adjective-noun using the Section 29 set However, the scope offered by this method of linking is rather
(a) endings: limited. It is widened immeasurably by the use of various categories
of link-words or joiners to introduce the attached sentence.
Ich wünsche dir alles Gute zum Geburtstag.
I wish you all the best for your birthday. (b) A small set of joiners:
In allem Praktischen war er der Klassenbeste.
und and
In everything practical he was the best in the class.
aber but
 134
133

63 Joiners affecting word sequence in the attached

oder or
sondern but (on the contrary)
sentence
sondern ... auch but... also
(a) d.. joiners
which can be used to join any comparable bits of language to each
other (pronoun or noun to pronoun or noun, adjective to adjective,
finite verb to finite verb and so on) can also link sentence to
Er geRerEwee
sentence. Because they function very much like their English
equivalents, most of them have already been used in this course SU Ider Idie Tas Idie I whonnichst
who(m), which, that
without comment. They generally have no effect of their own on the
(sometimes omitted in
expected sequence of words:
English but never in German)
Es gibt auch Möglichkeiten zum Skifahren, aber das muß extra
bezahlt werden.
[10|dem |der |dem |denen| tofor whom, offer which
It follows that if any of this small group of joiners are used to link
sentences whose sequence of words has already been affected by These joiners are identical with the SU, DO and IO d.. words
some other factor (see Section 63 below) the altered sequence will be described in Section 41(a) - (c), plus dessen and deren for the PO
retained for the sentence attached by und, aber, etc. case. They enable the attached sentence to relate to a particular noun
in the core (or a preceding) sentence. The choice of d.. joiner is
Particular care is required when choosing between aber and either singular, and if so m, for n, or plural, exactly to match the
sondern, both of which can translate English “but”. If the sense is intended noun in the core sentence, but the choice of case is
‘not only ... but also, the German must be nicht nur ... sondern determined by the role ofthe d.. joiner in the atzached sentence,
auch. If the sense is ‘not ... but (on the contrary), the German must where it may stand by itself as SU, DO, IO or PO, or be in tandem
be nicht (or another form of the negative, like kein) ... sondern:
with a preposition. The following examples, which include both
Er schickt keinen Brief, sondern er will mit mir persönlich arrangements, show the principles involved:
sprechen.
Case
He’s not sending aletter but intends to speak to me personally.
SU Ich bringe meinen Sohn, der nach Berlin fährt, zum Bahnhof.
(c) The joiner denn is in a class all by itself. Though like the joiners in I’m taking my son, who’s going to Berlin, to the station.
(b) it does not affect the sequence of words, it cannot link anything Das Fleisch, das auf dem Tisch liegt, kannst du für den Hund
except sentences. Though like the joiners described in Section 63 (c) nehmen.
it gives a quite special slant to the attached sentence it introduces, You can take the meat that’s on the table for the dog.
such an attached sentence is not free to stand either after or before DO Mein Chef, für den ich seit zehn Jahren arbeite, ist sehr
the core sentence, but must stand after it: unsympathisch.
My boss, for whom I’ve been working for ten years, is very unpleasant.
Er kann mir nicht böse sein, denn er hat selbst Schuld daran. Wir haben den Urlaub, den wir auf Zypern verbracht haben,
He can’t be cross with me, since it’s his own faulı. ganz toll gefunden.
The meaning of denn is, therefore, explanatory, and it may be We found the holiday (that) we spent in Cyprus quite fantastic.
translated by ‘as’, ‘since’ or “for”. IO Meine Schwiegertochter, der ich gestern Blumen geschenkt
habe, hat sie zum Blumengeschäft zurückgebracht.
My daughter-in-law, to whom I gave some flowers yesterday, took them
back to the florist’s.
 135 136

Der Verwandte, bei dem ich wohne, ist wie ein Vater zu mir. may not appear to be the object of the core sentence (although it
The relative (who(m)) I live with is like a father to me. really is):
PO Hans, dessen Frau aus Ägypten kommt, lernt Chinesisch! Ich bin froh (darüber), daß er endlich zu Hause ist.
Hans, whose wife comes from Egypt, is learning Chinese! I’m glad (about the fact) that he’s home at last.
Die Frau, deren Auto falsch geparkt ist, versucht mit dem
Polizisten zu flirten.
In this example “about the fact’ sounds artificial, but the inclusion of
The woman whose car is illegally parked is trying 10 flirt with the the optional darüber would sound natural. This way of producing
policeman. a ‘complete’ core sentence uses da(r)- to stand for the object, not
directly of a verb, but of a preposition (here über). The full object is
The crucial point to note is that as in all the above examples the then stated in the attached sentence introduced by daß. When the
finite verb of the attached sentence, i.e. the sentence introduced by preposition is essential to the sense of an idiom the construction
the d.. joiner (sometimes accompanied by a preposition), must with da(r)- in the core sentence is not optional but mandatory, as in
stand ar the end of the attached sentence. This rule is valid for all the the following:
types of attached sentences described in this section.
Wir sind dafür, daß das Licht ausgemacht wird.
Finally, when the attached sentence is related via a preposition to a We are for the Iıght being switched off.
noun in the core sentence, and that noun is not a living being, the Mein Vater ist dagegen, daß ich den Führerschein mache.
d.. joiner has the alternative wo(r)-. (This is parallel to the da(r)- My father is against me (/my) taking my driving test.
described in Section 40.)
Here the sense depends entirely on für and gegen, but there are
über die
Die Fehler, |ich gerade lache, sind eigentlich überhaupt also many combinations of verb + preposition and adjective +
worüber
preposition where, though the sense is clear from the verb or
nicht witzig.
The mistakes I’m just laughing about aren’: really funny at all. adjective, usage requires the preposition to be stated (and therefore
da(r)- in the core sentence), e.g. bestehen auf, ‘to insist on’;
(b) daR, ob and w.. joiners einverstanden mit, ‘agreeable to’:
The w.. joiners are: wann, warum, was, welch. ., wer, wen Ich bestehe darauf, daß er sofort bezahlt.
(‘whom’), wessen (‘whose’), wem (‘to whom’), wie and wo. The I insist on him (/his) paying immediately.
joiners in this group enable the entire contents of the attached Er ist damit einverstanden, daß sie den Führerschein macht.
sentence to be the SU or DO of the core sentence: He’s agreeable 10 her taking her driving test.

SU Daß wir heute abend kein Essen im Haus haben, ist nicht Nor is the da(r)- + preposition construction limited to cases where
meine Schuld. the attached sentence is introduced by the joiner daß. The
or Es ist nicht meine Schuld, daß wir heute abend kein Essen im expression abhängen von, ‘to depend on), is often followed by
Haus haben. attached sentences introduced by ob, wo, wie, etc:
Ir’s not my fault that we’ve no food in the house this evening.
DO Kannst du mir sagen, ob er morgen kommt? Meine Entscheidung hängt davon ab, ob der Versuch gelingt.
Can you tell me whether he’s coming tomorrow? My decision depends on whether the attempt succeeds.
SU Wann er morgen aufsteht, ist vollkommen egal.
Do not confuse daß with the d.. word das; daß is always a joiner!
or Es ist vollkommen egal, wann er morgen aufsteht.
It’s completely immaterial when he gets up tomorrow.
DO Weißt du zufällig, wessen Regenschirm hier liegt?
Do you happen to know whose umbrella this is here?

This category of attached sentences includes cases where, because of

ellipsis (the omission of an optional word), the attached sentence
 138
197
Trotz meiner Erkältung ... (trotz preposition)
Exercise 27
In spite of my cold ...
Obwohl ich erkältet bin, ... (obwohl joiner)
Revise the following mini-story by using the joiner daß to introduce each Although I have a cold ...
attached sentence. The first one is done for you.
1 Fritz schlägt vor, Ernst soll ihm helfen. Most prepositional joiners relate either to (i) time or to (ii) causality
Fritz schlägt vor, daß Ernst ihm helfen soll. (or the absence of the latter). Here are the most important ones:
2 Ernst bittet darum, Fritz soll solche Vorschläge nicht machen. (i) Time:
3 Fritz besteht darauf, Ernst soll endlich mal etwas tun. als when (single period or point of time in the past)
4 Ernst findet die Arbeit so anstrengend, er verletzt sein Handgelenk bevor before
plötzlich. bis till, until
5 Jetzt hat Fritz solches Mitleid, er schickt Ernst zum Arzt. nachdem after
6 Der Arzt sieht sofort, Ernst ist einfach faul! seitdem since
sobald as soon as
während while
(c) Prepositional joiners wenn whenever (repeated periods or points of time in
These function at the beginning of an attached sentence exactly as a the past or present)
preposition functions in front of a noun, and one or two are (ii) Causal connection (or specific absence of causal connection):
identical or nearly identical with the equivalent prepositions: da as, since
Bis fünf Uhr ... (bis preposition)
damit so that, in order that (purpose)
Till five o’clock ... obwohl although
Bis er kommt, ... (bis joiner) ohne daß without
Tıll he comes ... so daß so that (effect), with the result that
statt daß instead of
Während des Konzerts ... (während preposition)
während whereas
During the concert ...
Während das Orchester spielt, ... (während joiner) weil because
While the orchestra is playıng ... wenn if
wo seeing that
Nach dem Essen ... (nach preposition)
After the meal ... It is important not to use so daß for every ‘so that’, but only where
Nachdem wir gegessen haben, ... (nachdem joiner) a consequence is being referred to:
After we have dined ...
Ich habe meinen Hausschlüssel verloren, so daß ich nicht ins
Vor Weihnachten ... (vor preposition) Haus komme.
Before Christmas ... I’ve lost my front door key, so (that) I can’: get into the house.
Bevor wir anfangen, ... (bevor joiner)
Before we begin ... Where purpose or intention is meant, damit is the joiner to use:

Others are more remote from the preposition with equivalent Er hat das Schloß ausgetauscht, damit ich mit meinem
Hausschlüssel nicht ins Haus komme.
meaning:
He’s changed the lock so that I can’ı get into the house with my front door key.
Wegen des schlechten Wetters ... (wegen preposition) (i.e. in order to prevent me)
Because of the bad weather ...
ohne daß and statt daß are used when the SU of the attached
Weil das Wetter schlecht ist, ... (weil joiner)
Because the weather is bad ...
sentence is different from the SU of the core sentence (cf. Section 56):
 139 140

Ich kann kaum anfangen zu lesen, ohne daß mich eins der Kinder Du siehst furchtbar müde aus, du mußt dich mehr schonen. (DO)
stört. You look terribly tired. You’ve got to spare yourself more.
I can barely start reading without one of the children disturbing me.
Meine Eltern haben mir den Englischkurs bezahlt, statt daß ich A special form is necessary for the 3rd person, both singular and plural,
mein eigenes Geld dafür nehmen mußte. ER
and for the 2nd person ‘plural’ (which is of course a polite form based
My parents paid for the English course for me instead of my having 10 use my on the 3rd person plural), because it has to be clear that the pronoun
own money for it. relates back to the SU and not to some other 3rd person.

DO/IO
Exercise 28 2nd plural
singular sich
Rewrite the following so that each contains an attached sentence introduced 3rd
by one of the joiners bevor, bis, nachdem, obwohl, während, weil, plural
as appropriate. The first one is done for you.
Meine Eltern haben mir den Brief nicht gegeben, sondern ihn für sich
1 Vor dem Essen muß man die Hände waschen. behalten. (DO)
Bevor man ißt, muß man die Hände waschen. My parents didn’t give me the letter but kept it for themselves.
2 Nach dem Essen soll man eigentlich nicht schlafen. Mein Bruder hat sich einen neuen Sportwagen angeschafft. (IO)
3 Während des Essens darf man nicht zu viel reden. My brother has got himself (lit. acquired for himself) a new sports car.
4 Trotz des vielen Redens hat er eigentlich nicht viel gesagt. Wenn Sie sich nicht etwas mehr schonen, machen Sie sich kaputt.
5 Wegen des schönen Wetters müssen wir endlich im Garten arbeiten. (DO)
6 Bis zum Anfang des Programms kannst du noch schön in der Küche If you don’t spare yourself a bit more you’ll wear yourself out.
helfen! Notes:
7 Wegen deines hohen Blutdrucks mußt du weniger arbeiten. (i) The plural reflexive pronouns, as well as meaning ‘ourselves,
8 Trotz seines hohen Blutdrucks läuft er jeden Tag. yourselves, themselves’, can also mean ‘each other, one another’:

Weil wir im selben Alter sind, haben wir uns sofort geduzt.
64 Reflexive pronouns Because we’re the same age we addressed each other with du’ immediately.

(ii) The reflexive pronouns are used in all cases where the required
Ifthe SU of a sentence needs to become also the DO (or IO) ofthe
pronoun relates to the SU of the sentence, even when English
same sentence, i.e. to be turned back on itself (hence the term reflexive),
would not use a ‘-self” pronoun. This requires particular care to use
English uses ‘(to/for) myself, yourself, themselves’, etc.
the special reflexive pronoun sich and not the usual DO/IO
For the Ist person, both singular and plural, and for the 2nd person pronouns for the 2nd plural and 3rd singular and plural:
singular, German quite logically - no confusion can arise from doing so
Er hat nicht genug Geld bei sich (NOT ihm).
- uses the DO and IO pronouns you learnt in Sections 15, 20 and 31: He hasn’t got enough money on him.
Jetzt haben Sie Ihren besten Freund gegen sich (NOT Sie).
Now you’ve got your best friend against you.
singular
lst > (iii) The German equivalent of English ‘myself’ etc. used as a reinforcer
plural uns is selbst:
Probier diesen Kuchen, ich habe ihn selbst gemacht.
Wir kaufen uns für nächsten Sommer einen Wohnwagen. (IO) Try this cake - I made it myself.
We’re buying (for) ourselves a caravan for next summer.
 142
141
Er bittet seine Mutter nicht um Geld, weil er sich geniert.
65 Reflexive verbs He’s not asking his mother for money because he’s embarrassed.
Er findet die Ferien langweilig, denn er interessiert sich für nichts.
There are parallels between the use of reflexive pronouns in He finds the holidays boring, since he’s not interested in anything.
combination with verbs in English and in German: Ich gratuliere, ich freue mich sehr über Ihren Erfolg.
I congratulate (you). I’m very pleased at your success.
Er hat sich verletzt und muß zum Arzt (gehen).
Ich wundere mich, daß du bei so schönem Wetter im Haus bleibst.
He’s hurt himself and has to go to the doctor.
I’m surprised that you’re staying inside the house in such lovely weather.
However, there are also in German several categories of the combination
(c) A range of miscellaneous English expressions, some referring to
verb + reflexive pronoun (or reflexive verb) where the English equivalent mental states or processes, of which the following are the
would not lead one to expect a reflexive verb.
commonest:
(a) English ‘get + -ed’ non-finite verb, where the SU experiences a
to apologise sich entschuldigen I
process which may be either deliberately brought about by the SU
to approach sich nähern
or be involuntary. Some common examples:
to be, be situated sich befinden I
to get annoyed sich ärgern to catch a cold sich erkälten I
to get dressed (to dress) sich anziehen Il to complain sich beklagen I
to get drunk sich betrinken I to feel (e.g. sad) sich fühlen
to get excited sich aufregen II to hurry sich beeilen I
ei: Den verirren I h i (delusion) sich (IO) einbilden II
to imagine :
sich verlaufen I (mental image) sich (IO) vorstellen II
to get ready sich vorbereiten II to long (for) sich sehnen (nach)
to get shaved (to shave) sich rasieren to look forward (to) sich freuen (auf)
to get undressed sich ausziehen Il to remember sich erinnern (an) I
to get used/accustomed (to) sich gewöhnen (an) I to say thank you, express sich bedanken I
to get washed (to have a wash) sich waschen one’s thanks

Während mein Bruder sich wäscht, Der Junge ist noch so klein, ich habe ihn mir größer vorgestellt.
ziehe ich mich an.
Während sich mein Bruder wäscht, The boy is still so small. I imagined him taller.
While my brother’s having a wash, I’ll get dressed. Ich habe Hunger, ich freue mich sehr auf das Essen.
I’m hungry. I’m looking forward to the meal (lit. to the food).
Note that in attached sentences, where the finite verb stands last, the
reflexive pronoun is quite likely to stand immediately after the (d) Some ideas which are conveyed in German by impersonal reflexive
joiner, thus coming before the SU it relates to. constructions with the SU es. These include

(b) English ‘be + -ed’ non-finite verb (or an adjective with similar to be
meaning), where the process indicated is often a state of mind. The to be about sich handeln um
commonest examples are: to be a matter of

to be ashamed sich schämen which is very much used. Such constructions may, in spite of the
to be embarrassed sich genieren presence of the reflexive pronoun, involve verbs that do not
to be frightened (of) sich fürchten (vor) normally take a DO (or IO) and are therefore similar to the
to be interested (in) sich interessieren (für) impersonal obverse process construction (Section 57(b)):
to be pleased (at) sich freuen (über)
to be surprised sich wundern
 143 144

Ich muß Sie leider stören, es handelt sich um Ihren Sohn ... A young (female) customer returns an apparently faulty audio
I’m sorry to have to trouble you; it’s about your son ... cassette to the shop
Bei der Silvesterfahrt handelt es sich um eine Siebentagestour.
The New Year’s Eve trip is (a matter of) a seven-day tour. VerkäuferJa, bitte schön?
Im Allgäu lebt es sich sehr angenehm. Kundin Guten Tag! Ich habe mir vorgestern bei Ihnen eine Kassette
Life is very pleasant in the Allgäu. mit Popmusik gekauft, die leider einige Fehler hat. Da die
Kassette ziemlich teuer war, wollte ich mich jetzt beschweren.
V Um was für eine Kassette handelt es sich denn?
CONVERSATION K Es ist das neueste Konzert von den Twen-Iops, das gerade
erst erschienen ist.
Study and learn the dialogue below. You will need these new words: Darf ich mal den Kassenbon sehen, den Sie beim Kauf
der Fehler (-) fault bekommen haben, denn ohne Bon gibt es keine Reklamation.
sich beschweren I to complain Das Dumme ist, daß ich den Bon einfach nicht finden kann,
erscheinen I to appear aber Sie sehen, der Aufkleber mit dem Preis befindet sich
der Kassenbon (-s) till receipt noch auf der Kassette.
der Kauf (*e) buying, purchase Ja, aber trotzdem ... Also, um welche Fehler handelt es sich
die Reklamation (-en) complaint (here implying denn?
replacement or refund) Also, am Anfang gibt es einen hohen Pfeifton, der immer
der Aufkleber (-) sticker wieder auftaucht. Und dann hat das Tonband Stellen, wo
der Anfang (*e) beginning man überhaupt nichts hört. Und wenn mal die Musik da ist,
pfeifen to whistle liegt das Ganze viel zu hoch im Ton.
der Pfeifton whistling " Das hört sich nicht gut an, aber ist Ihr Gerät denn
auftauchen II to turn up, appear überhaupt in Ordnung?
das Tonband (”er) (audio) tape O ja, das Gerät ist einwandfrei. Das weiß ich ganz genau,
der Ton (*e) sound weil mein Bruder, der Musik studiert, seine Kassetten
sich (DO) anhören Il to sound gespielt hat, nachdem ich es mit dieser versucht habe.
das Gerät (-e) (piece of) equipment Na gut. Ich kann allerdings kein Geld ersetzen, sondern
überhaupt (here) actually Ihnen nur ein neues Exemplar derselben Kassette geben,
die Ordnung order wenn wir sie noch vorrätig haben. Sonst muß ich sie
einwandfrei perfect bestellen ... Aber erst muß ich mir selbst die Kassette
genau precisely, for certain anhören.
versuchen I to try Bitte schön. (Sie reicht ihm die Kassette, und er macht sie auf.)
allerdings though, mind you Sa Aber das ist doch kein Twen-Iops-Konzert, sondern das
ersetzen I to refund Klarinettenquintett von Mozart!
das Exemplar (-e) copy O, da muß ich mich aber entschuldigen, ich habe mich
vorrätig in stock vertan! Ich habe die Falsche mitgebracht!
bestellen I to order
sich (ID) anhören II to listen to TRANSLATION
reichen to hand
sich vertun I to make a mistake, slip up Assistant Yes please?
Customer Hello! The day before yesterday I bought a cassette of pop
music here, which unfortunately has some faults. As the
 145

cassette was rather expensive I wanted to complain now.

What sort of cassette is it? Lesson 12
It’s the latest concert by the Twen-Tops, which has only just
come out.
Can I see the till receipt that you got at the time of
purchase, since we can’t do anything about complaints
without a receipt.
The stupid thing is that I just can’t find the receipt, but you 66 The past tense (II)
can see that the sticker with the price on it is still on the
cassette. This tense (already introduced for ten verbs in Section 59) is usually a
Yes, but still ... Well, what were the faults? genuine - and freely interchangeable - alternative to the pre-present for
Well, at the beginning there’s a high-pitched whistling sound expressing past time. The choice of which to use depends on, for
that keeps coming back. And then there are places on the example, (i) the need to keep a sentence short by using one word fewer
tape where you can’t hear anything at all. And when the (the past tense instead of the pre-present), (ii) the usefulness or
music actually is there, everything is pitched much too high. otherwise of having the main verb where otherwise only an auxiliary
That doesn’t sound good, but is your equipment actually in verb would stand, (iii) the advantage of variety in longer structures
order? containing core sentences and attached sentences, (iv) the feel or speech
Oh yes, the equipment is perfect. I know that for certain, rhythm of a sentence, and (v) regional speech habits. The choice is
because my brother, who’s a music student, played his NOT (or very rarely) determined by whether the particular instance of
cassettes after I had been trying with this one. past time concerned is viewed as isolated from the present (for which
Oh, all right. Mind you, I can’t refund cash but only give English must use the past tense) or as somehow involving the present
you a fresh copy ofthe same cassette, if we still have it in (for which English must use the pre-present). German typically mixes
stock. Otherwise I’ll have to order it ... But first I’ve got to the pre-present with the past tense, even within the scope of a core
listen to the cassette. sentence with an attached sentence:
Here you are. (She hands him the cassette and he opens ıt.)
Als ich ankam, hat sie mich zu einer Tasse Kaffee eingeladen.
But this isn’t a Twen-Tops concert, it’s Mozart’s Clarinet nn mt N A

Quintet! past tense pre-present

When I arrived she invited me 10 (have) a cup of coffee.
Oh, I really must apologise. I’ve made a mistake! I’ve
brought the wrong one! As indicated in Section 59, two sets of endings are used, (i) one for past
tenses having the same stem as the -en form, (ii) the other with past
tenses having new stems:

(i) (ü)
same-stem verbs new-stem verbs

-(e)te$
singular

$ e is inserted when the * e is inserted when the

stem ends in -d or -t stem ends in -s or -ß

146
 148
147

Was du lasest, kam von der Kirche. bleiben to stay, remain blieb
What you were reading came from the church. leihen to lend lieh
Die Kinder machten ziemlich viel Krach, während er redete. scheinen to seem, shine schien
The children were making rather a lot of noise while he was speaking. schreiben to write schrieb
steigen to climb stieg
While making the past tense of same-stem verbs is simple, the past tense
treiben to drive, impel trieb
stems of new-stem verbs have to be learnt (see Section 67 below).
riechen to smell roch
There are a few new-stem verbs which take the same-stem verb endings
schließen to shut, close schloß
(ii):
bieten to offer bot
-en form past tense fliegen to fly flog
stem fliehen to flee floh
brennen to burn brann- ziehen to pull, draw zog
bringen to bring, take brach- lügen to lie (fib) log
denken to think dach- (b) New stems NOT shared with the ge_ _(e)t form, which is therefore
kennen to know (people) kann-
also given for comparison. It is very useful for learning new past
wissen to know (facts) wuß-
tense stems to note that if the main vowel in the stem ofthe -en
Daß du ihn kanntest, wußte ich nicht. form is either -e- or -i- (but not the two together), the past tense
I didn’t know that you used 10 know him. stem is virtually certain to contain the vowel -a-. Though this is not
true of wissen (wuß-) or gehen (ging), it works for all the other
verbs in group (ili) of Section 66, for stehen in (a) of this section,
67 Past tense new stems and for the verbs in the following list.
past tense
Like the ge_ _(e)t form of exceptional verbs (Section 47(a)), these have -en form stem ge
_(e)t form
to be learnt, and a good dictionary is useful. It can be a help to note that
essen to eat aß gegessen
some past tense new stems are identical with the stem ofthe ge__(e)t
fahren to go (not on foot) fuhr gefahren
form, while some change yet again. Here are most of the commonly
fangen to catch fing gefangen
used verbs listed in Section 47, now also grouped according to whether
geben to give gab gegeben
or not the stem is shared with the ge _(e)t form. The subgrouping is as
halten to hold hielt gehalten
in Section 47.
kommen to come kam gekommen
laufen to run, walk lief gelaufen
(a) New stems shared with ge
_(e)t form:
lesen to read las gelesen
-en form past tense messen to measure maß gemessen
stem rufen to call (out) rief gerufen
schlafen to sleep schlief geschlafen
stehen to stand stand
schlagen to hit, beat schlug geschlagen
leiden to suffer litt sehen to see sah gesehen
pfeifen to whistle pfiff stoßen to bump, push stieß gestoßen
schneiden to cut schnitt tragen to carry, wear trug getragen
streiten to quarrel stritt treten to step, kick trat getreten
wachsen to grow wuchs gewachsen
 149 150

gehen to go ging gegangen 6 Die Eltern streiten sich oben im Haus.

Die Kinder halten unten im Haus eine Party.
brechen to break brach gebrochen 7 Anton spricht mit den Eltern.
helfen to help half geholfen Susanne stößt den Hund ins Wasser.
sprechen to speak sprach gesprochen
sterben to die starb gestorben
treffen to meet traf getroffen 68 The pre-past
nehmen to take nahm genommen
This runs parallel to the pre-present (Section 44) and is formed with the
stehlen to steal stahl gestohlen past tense of sein or haben plus the ge _(e)t form. (For the choice of
sitzen to sit saß gesessen sein or haben see Section 45.)

schwimmen to swim schwamm geschwommen The pre-past is used as in English (e.g. ‘had walked/had been walking’)
to make clear the precise sequence of events:
finden to find fand gefunden
When I arrived they had (already) eaten.
singen to sing sang gesungen
When I arrived they had (already) been eating.
sinken to sink sarık gesunken
Als ich ankam, hatten sie (schon) gegessen.
springen to jump sprang gesprungen
trinken to drink trank getrunken as against:
bitten to ask, request bat gebeten When (i.e. After) I arrived they ate.
Sobald ich ankam, aßen sie.
liegen to lie (recline) lag gelegen
and:

When I arrived they were (already/just) eating.

Exerecise 29 Als ich ankam, aßen sie (schon/gerade).

Rewrite the following pairs of sentences, turning the first one in each pair It is also used to refer to situations or events preceding a particular point
into an attached sentence introduced by the joiner während, “while; and or period of time which is already in the past and which is often stated
using the second as the core sentence. Use the past tense in the attached explicitiy but sometimes left implicit:
sentence and the pre-present in the core sentence. The first pair is rewritten Bis vorgestern hatten wir keine Briefe von ihm bekommen.
for you. Up to the day before yesterday we hadn’ı received any letters from him.
1 Ich laufe durch die Stadt.
Meine Schwester schläft.
Während ich durch die Stadt lief, hat meine Schwester geschlafen. 69 The oblique past tense (I)
2 Fritz arbeitet im Garten.
Sein Bruder hört sich Pop-Musik an. Most - but not all - English auxiliary verbs are available in non-
3 Hanna schreibt einen Brief. oblique/oblique pairs (e.g. ‘will/would‘, ‘may/might’, ‘can/could’), where
Ihre Freundin geht schwimmen. the non-oblique member of the pair comes over as direct, even blunt, by
4 Otto trinkt Milch. comparison with the oblique member, which suggests deference,
Sein Bruder Bruno trinkt Schnaps. hesitation, tentativeness, politeness.
5 Frau Krause spricht mit ihrem Nachbarn.
Ein Einbrecher stiehlt ihr Geld vom Küchentisch. Oblique verbs, which in English are distinguishable in only a handful
of auxiliary verbs (‘could’, ‘might’, ‘ought‘, ‘should’, ‘would’, ‘were’ instead
 152
151

of ‘was’ in the singular, and old-fashioned ‘be’ instead of ‘am, is, are’),
70 The oblique past tense (Il)
are abundant in German. We begin here with the oblique past tense of
Apart from its idiomatic use with the auxiliary verbs, the main use of
eight of the ten auxiliary verbs (already treated as special cases
the oblique past tense is in some types of conditional statements (see
previously), because these eight oblique past tenses are in constant
Section 71 below), and for this it is necessary to know how to make the
idiomatic use. Such use includes these verbs not just as auxiliaries (in
oblique past of all verbs, not just auxiliaries.
tandem with a main verb in -en or ge __(e)t form) but also as main
verbs in their own right. Note that, although the oblique past tense is Same-stem verbs (see Section 66) certainly have an oblique past, but
obviously based on the past tense, its meanıng is NOT past but vaguely because it is identical with the past itself it tends to be avoided and to be
present/future. replaced by würde (-st, -n), ‘would’, plus the -en form of the verb
required:
The Ist/3rd singular is given; for the 2nd singular add -st, for the plural
add -n. : baute
Wenn er ein neues Haus Bauen würde eu) |a
oblique nearest If he built a new house ...
past tense past tense English equivalents
New-stem verbs, among which are some of the most commonly used
hatte hätte would have, might have words in the language, are a different matter. The 1st and 3rd singular
war wäre would be, were (as in ‘if I oblique past is always distinguishable, and if the main vowel in the new
were you...)
stem is a or 0 or u, all forms are distinguishable from those of the past
wurde würde would tense, because these vowels become ä, ö and ü respectively. The new-
durfte dürfte might; (negative) shouldn’t stem verbs with same-stem endings behave similarly if the vowel is
konnte könnte could, might, would be able to capable [Link].
mochte möchte would like (to)
mußte müßte ought to, should, would have to -en form bleiben kommen ziehen | wissen
sollte sollte ought to past tense new stem blieb kam zog wußte
ur Ist/3rd (*)e bliebe käme zöge wüßte
Hättest du etwas dagegen?
5 2nd (7)est | bliebest kämest zögest wüßtest
Would you have any objection?
plural Ist/2nd/3rd (“)en | blieben kämen zögen wüßten
An deiner Stelle wäre ich böse.
In your place I would be cross.
Würden Sie bitte warten?
Would you please wait? 71 Conditional statements
Er dürfte eigentlich nicht Auto fahren.
He shouldn’t really be driving. A conditional statement consists of an attached sentence, usually - but
Er könnte sich verletzen. not always - beginning with a joiner (wenn, ‘if’, or less commonly
He might hurt himself. falls, “in case’), to express the condition, and a core sentence to express
Ich möchte bitte eine Tasse Kaffee. the consequence if the condition is met. The sequence of attached
Id like a cup of coffee, please. sentence and core sentence is reversible.
Dieser Brief müßte übermorgen schon ankommen.
This letter should arrive the day after tomorrow. Wenn sie zu Hause bleibt, bringen wir ihr etwas Schönes mit.
Du solltest nicht so schnell fahren. Wir bringen ihr etwas Schönes mit, wenn sie zu Hause bleibt.
You oughtn’t to drive so fast. If she stays at home we’ll bring her something nice.
We’ll bring her something nice if she stays at home.
 154
153

If the attached (condition) sentence comes first: Wenn wir so einen Mann in den Klub aufnehmen würden, würden
wir in Schwierigkeiten kommen.
(i) There is an alternative to using a joiner and placing the finite verb Wenn wir so einen Mann in den Klub aufnähmen, kämen wir in
last (see Section 63). This is to start the attached sentence with the finite Schwierigkeiten.
verb, followed immediately by the SU: If we accepted a man like that in the club we’d get into difficulties.

Bleibt sie zu Hause, bringen wir ihr etwas Schönes mit. There is no need for consistency between the attached and core
sentences, and indeed inconsistency is often preferred. würde (-st,
It is important not to mistake this structure for a question (see Section
-n) is, however, very common in everyday speech and also very
22), but the presence of the core sentence precludes this.
handy for two reasons. First, many verbs have no distinguishable
(ii) The core sentence can start optionally with so or dann: oblique past tense (Section 70) and sound faintly unsatisfactory in
conditional statements. Second, if you are unsure of the (oblique)
Wenn sie zu Hause bleibt, | so
& z bringen wirihr et ö it. past tense of a new stem verb, you can get round it by using würde
Bleibt sie zu Hause, dann | 8 hretwasSchöneszuit
(-st, -n).
There are three types of conditional statement in German,
(c) The condition cannot be met, because ıt relates to an ‘opportunity’ now
corresponding roughly to three similar types in English.
past, so hypothetical
(a) Odds are even on the condition being met, so neutral Here both the attached condition sentence and the core sentence
Here the attached condition sentence hasa finite verb in the present contain the oblique pre-past (see Section 68 for the pre-past). This
tense, and the core sentence a finite verb in the present tense or the means using hätte (-st, -n) or wäre (-st, -n) as appropriate (Section
future. 45) with the ge __(e)t form of the main verb required. Both hätte
and wäre incorporate the idea of ‘would’ (Section 69), which is
Wenn die Bäume schnell wachsen, bekommen wir in zwei Jahren
present only in the core sentence in English but not in the attached
die ersten Früchte.
condition sentence, so care is needed.
If the trees grow fast well ger the first fruit in two years.
Wenn man ihm die Wahl eines Instruments überläßt, wird er Wenn wir das gewußt hätten, wären wir nicht gekommen.
bestimmt Klavier lernen. If we had known that, we wouldn’: have come.
If the choice of an instrument is left to him he’ll definitely learn the piano.

(b) Odds are against the condition being met, so remote Exercise 30
Here the finite verbs of both the attached condition sentence and the
(a) Write out the condition sentences from the left-hand column, adding to
core sentence can be
each the correct core sentence from the right-hand column.
- either the oblique past tense of the main verb required (Section 70) (b) Write out the completed sentences a second time, deleting the joiner
- or the oblique past tense of werden (würde, -st, -n) plus the -en wenn and starting with the finite verb. The first is done for you in each
form of the main verb required. case.
1 Wenn Emil in den Film .. dann wird es zu kalt für uns
There is an absolutely free choice between those two options, in
geht, ... alle.
contrast with English, which requires the condition sentence always
(a Wenn Emil in den Film geht, dann sehe ich ihn mir auch an.
to have the past tense and the core sentence always to contain
‘would’ (the equivalent of würde). Since German is freer here than
(b) Geht Emil in den Film, dann sehe ich ihn mir auch an.
English, you need to concentrate only on incorporating one form or 2 Wenn du die Fahrkarte ... dann wäre sie schwierig.
besorgen würdest, ...
other of the oblique past tense in both sentences.
3 Wenn Peter nicht das Fenster ... dann wird es Krach geben.
schließt, ...
 155 156

4 Wenn dieser Mann nicht den ... dann sehe ich ihn mir auch an. This structure needs special care, because the parallel English one - ‘to’
Klub verläßt, ... + base form of verb - does not express the obverse process, but only the
5 Wenn die kleine Tochter nicht ... dann wirst du am Sonntag future, or obligation, or both:
fernsehen dürfte, ... morgen schlafen können.
The meeting is to reconvene at 7.20.
6 Wenn der Vater in die ... dann hätten wir die Möglichkeit,
(the meeting is going to/must reconvene)
Gaststube geht, ... am Wochenende in die Berge zu
fahren.
7 Wenn du jetzt das Essen für ... dann trinkt er immer zu viel. 73 Affective words
Sonntag kochst, ..
There are in German a number of short, generally (but not always)
unstressed words, which are sometimes translatable into English,
72 zu + -en form expressing obverse process sometimes not, and which are not strictly necessary to the “factual’
meaning of a sentence. So far these have scarcely appeared in the
You already know zu + -en form constructions in which the true or dialogues, but it is essential to get to know them in order to be able not
“logical’ SU of the -en form in the attached phrase is derived from the only to speak idiomatic German but also to understand the fu// meaning
core of the sentence (Section 54): of what is being expressed.
Wir haben vor, morgen in die Berge zu fahren. The functioning of affective words in German can best be illustrated by
We intend to drive into the mountains tomorrow. some English expressions such as “(un)fortunately’, ‘sadly’, ‘clearly’ and
(we ... drive) (nowadays) ‘hopefully’, which are included in a sentence not as part of
Ich möchte dich bitten, mir die Fahrkarte zu besorgen. its “factual’ meaning, but in order to show how the speaker feels about
Id like 10 ask you to obtain the ticket for me.
that “factual’ meaning (and, often, how he hopes to make the listener
(you ... obtain)
feel about it); hence the term affective.
Wir helfen ihnen, den Weg zu finden.
We’ll help them to find the way. Our friends clearly can’t finance the undertaking.
(they ... find)
means that the fact stated is ‘clear’ to the speaker, and ‘clearly’ here is
However, when this same zu + -en construction is in tandem with different from the same word in
sein, the force of the resulting expression is that of the obverse process,
with, in addition, an overlay of obligation or permission or possibility: She stated her intentions clearly.

Die Ergebnisse sind sofort nach der Wahl bekannt zu machen. where it is part of the factual meaning. The same is true of the two
The results are to be made known immediately after the election. different uses of ‘hopefully’ in the following pair.
(the results must be made known)
Hopefully he’ll pass his driving tesı this time.
Dieser Wein ist in jedem Supermarkt zu bekommen.
He embarked hopefully on his third attempt at a balloon crossing of the Channel.
This wine is to be obtained at any supermarket.
(this wine can be obtained) The range of such expressions extends to words like ‘probably',
Dem Patienten ist nicht mehr zu helfen. (cf. Section 57(a)) ‘possibly’, ‘certainly’, etc., by which the speaker gives his assessment of
The patient is not to be helped any further. [Literal translation is misleading.] the likelihood his proposition has of being realised. Such expressions,
(the patient cannot be helped) then, are the speaker’s own comment on the content of what he is
Sogar über den Direktor ist Kritik zu hören.
saying, and German has equivalent expressions like wahrscheinlich,
Criticism is even to be heard of the director.
‘probably‘, offensichtlich, ‘clearly’, and hoffentlich, “hopefully’,
(criticism can be heard)
which do the same job and present no difficulty for the English-
speaking learner.
 157
158

However, German has in addition some much used short words of more CONVERSATION
generalised affective meaning than those with which we have illustrated
the principle. They have scarcely any counterparts in English, except Study and learn the dialogue below. You will need these new words:
‘even, which conveys an attitude of generalised surprise.
der Film (-e) film
Here are the commonest affective words in approximate descending der Fotoapparat (-e) camera
order of frequency of use. It is impossible to illustrate their use out of nämlich you see
context, so we give here only a rough description of the attitude each voll full
expresses. However, you will find most of them used and underlined in die Sommerferien (plural) summer holidays
the next Conversation. das Bild (-er) photo, picture
doch contradiction; objection; protest; persuasion vorig last
das Taschengeld pocket money
ja acknowledgement by the speaker that the ‘fact’ to save
sparen
he is stating is well-known, accepted, obvious school outing
der Schulausflug (*e)
wohl belief that the ‘fact’ being stated, though not na gut (oh,) all right
definite, is highly probable; assumption verschieden various
das Dia (-s) slide
mal minimalisation of the ‘fact’ stated (cf. ‘just’)
richtig proper
denn impatience/urgency for an answer/explanation der Augenblick (-e) moment
im Augenblick at present
etwa vagueness; uncertainty; disbelief; incredulity
überreden I to persuade
auch _ mark or expectation of surprise at the inclusion hinterher afterwards
of something in some notional category or other der Abzug (“e) print
(cf. ‘even’) der Klassenkamerad (PO -en) classmate
die Aufnahme (-n) exposure, photo
schon mark or expectation of surprise at the relative
vierundzwanziger with twenty-four
prematurity of something on some notional scale
reintun Il to putin
or other (cf. ‘even’)
so was that sort of thing
noch mark or expectation of surprise at the relative überhaupt at all, in general
‘overdue-ness’ of something on some notional der Zähler (-) counter
scale or other (cf. ‘even’) sich bewegen I to move
weiterdrehen II to wind on
eben (N. German) | acceptance, acquiescence, resignation in face of der Auslöser (-) shutter release
halt (S. German) the inevitability of the “fact” being stated
drücken to press
The above ‘definitions’ are not to be understood in a literal sense and egal ob regardless of whether
are only meant to assist you to home in on the force of affective words. abgesehen davon quite apart from that
Note, too, that all these affective words have other, non-affective, senses, mach dir nichts daraus don’t worry about it
some of which you will recognise (e.g. (je)doch, ‘however’; ja, ‘yes’; kriegen to get
wohl, ‘well’; (ein)mal, ‘once’; denn, ‘for’; etwa, ‘about’; auch, ‘also’;
schon, ‘already’; noch, ‘still’; eben, ‘just (now)').
 159 160

A teenager with a camera problem

TRANSLATION
Mädchen Vati, sag mal, könntest du mir wohl bitte einen Film für Daddy, (tell me,) could you give me a film for my camera,
Girl
meinen Fotoapparat geben? Meiner ist nämlich voll. Ich habe please? (You see,) mine’s full. I’ve had it in since the summer
ihn schon seit den Sommerferien darin und habe die letzten holidays, and I took the last photos last week at Marianne’s
Bilder vorige Woche auf der Hochzeit von Marianne gemacht. wedding.
Vater Ich verstehe, du möchtest wohl dein Taschengeld sparen! Father I see, you want to save your pocket money! If I give you a
Wenn ich dir einen Film gebe, brauchst du natürlich keinen film you won’t need to buy one, of course.
zu kaufen. No, it’s not (like) that, but we’ve got a school outing today,
Nein, so ist das nicht, aber wir haben heute einen and I’d like to be able to take some photographs.
Schulausflug, und ich möchte gern fotografieren können. All right. I’ve got various films. What sort did you want (to
Na gut. Ich habe verschiedene Filme. Was für einen wolltest have): for slides or proper photos?
du haben - für Dias oder richtige Bilder? At present I’ve got a slide film in. (You) remember, you’d
Im Augenblick habe ich einen Diafilm drin. Du weißt, du persuaded me to take slides. But I prefer proper photos, and
hattest mich überredet, Dias zu machen. Aber ich habe they’re better for a school outing. Then I’d be able to get
richtige Bilder lieber, und die sind auch für einen prints made for my classmates afterwards.
Schulausflug besser. Ich könnte dann hinterher auch Abzüge Fine. How many exposures would you like (to have)? Do you
für meine Klassenkameraden machen lassen. want a film with twenty-four or one with thirty-six?
Gut. Wieviele Aufnahmen möchtest du denn haben? Let me have one with twenty-four. (Then) the film will be
Möchtest du einen vierundzwanziger Film haben oder einen finished more quickly, (since) I only need about ten for a
sechsunddreißiger? school outing.
Gib mir doch einen vierundzwanziger, dann ist der Film (He hands her a film.) Well, there’s your film ...
schneller zu Ende, denn für einen Schulausflug brauche ich > ... and daddy, could you please just take the old film out and
doch bloß zehn oder so. put the new one in? You know I’m no good at that sort of
(Er reicht ihr einen Film.) So, da hast du deinen Film ... thing ...
x ... und Vati, könntest du mal bitte den alten Film Oh, all right ... (He opens the camera.) But there isn’t any old
herausnehmen und den neuen reintun? Du weißt ja, ich kann film (at all) in here! Surely you haven’t been taking
so was gar nicht gut ... photographs all this time without a film in?!
Na gut ... (Er öffnet den Fotoapparat.) Aber hier ist doch What??!! Oh, my lovely photos ofthe wedding, and from all
überhaupt kein alter Film drin! Hast du etwa die ganze Zeit these weeks since the summer holidays! And all the time I
ohne Film fotografiert?! thought there was a film in it! But the counter kept moving
Was??!! O meine schönen Aufnahmen von der Hochzeit und on.
überhaupt aus den ganzen Wochen seit den Sommerferien! In your camera the counter does move on when you wind on
Und ich dachte die ganze Zeit, es wäre ein Film drin! Der and press the shutter release, regardless of whether there’s a
Zähler bewegte sich doch immer weiter. film in or not. Quite apart from that, I couldn’t have
Bei deinem Apparat geht der Zähler eben weiter, wenn man imagined how a film could have been in your camera. (You
weiterdreht and den Auslöser drückt, egal ob ein Film drin see,) I took the old film out myself at the end of the holidays.
ist oder nicht. Abgesehen davon wüßte ich nicht, wie ein But don’t worry about it! You’ll get prints of my photographs
Film überhaupt in deinem Apparat hätte sein können. Ich of the wedding!
habe nämlich den alten Film am Ende der Ferien selbst
herausgenommen. Aber mach dir nichts daraus! Du kriegst
Abzüge von meinen Hochzeitsbildern!
 162

These constructions make it easy for the core and attached sentences to
Lesson 13 have different subjects:
Wir konnten viel Geld sparen, indem du Überstunden gemacht hast.
We were able to save a lot of money by your doing overtime.

74 by ...-ing; in spite of ...-ing 75 Line-of-thought pointers

The last Conversation contained two examples of nämlich, ‘you see’:

There are very few direct German equivalents for the various uses of the
“-ing’ non-finite form in English. The only major exception is the -end Meiner ist nämlich voll.
form, referred to in Section 61, used as an adjective in front ofthe noun: Ich habe nämlich den alten Film ... selbst herausgenommen.

der lachende Polizist the laughing policeman nämlich is a line-of-thought pointer, indicating that the sentence
containing it is an explanation of a previous sentence.
The extension of this usage is explained in Section 82(b) and (e).
Whereas the joiners you learnt in Section 63 enable attached sentences
Most other English ‘-ing’ forms have to be rephrased before they
to be connected to core sentences (or other attached sentences), line-of-
correspond to what is possible in German, and usually there is a simple thought pointers enable sentences of all kinds to be bound into bigger
alternative:
chunks of German by pointing to the way a train or line of thought is
After talking to him I changed my mind. developing.
After I talked to him I changed my mind.
Below are the most common line-of-thought pointers, grouped
Nachdem ich mit ihm gesprochen hatte, habe ich meine Meinung
geändert. according to function and with the nearest English equivalents. They
Before leaving I gave them my phone number. are given without examples, because they can only be properly
Before I lefı I gave them my phone number. illustrated in longer ‘texts’. You will, however, find many examples in
Bevor ich wegging, habe ich ihnen meine Telefonnummer gegeben. the Conversation at the end of this lesson.

However, ‘by ... -ing’ and ‘in spite of ....-ing’ do not have obvious Most of these expressions can stand at the start or in the middle of a
alternatives corresponding to the German, which requires constructions sentence, but any restrictions are noted.
like those in Section 63(c/(ii).
(a) Consequential
(a) by ...-ıng also
Use the joiner indem to introduce an attached sentence. darum
deshalb 2
Ich konnte viel Geld sparen, indem ich Überstunden gemacht habe. thus
daher
I was able to save a lot of money by doing overtime (“in that I did overtime‘). therefore
deswegen ı
a, consequently
(b) in spite of ...-ing
infolgedessen
Use the joiner trotzdem to introduce an attached sentence.
Note: German also NEVER means ‘also’, and German so on its
Ich konnte nicht viel Geld sparen, trotzdem ich Überstunden
own usually means ‘in this way’ (though in front of an adjective it
gemacht habe.
I wasn’t able 10 save much money in spite of doing overtime (“in spite of that I means ‘so’).
did overtime’).

161
 163 164

(b) Explanatory
(i) Provocative
denn (start only) for trotzdem |nevertheless
nämlich (middle only) | you see dennoch nonetheless
(c) Additive
(j) Alternative
außerdem besides nst 3
überdies | furthermore = fer | otherwise
anson
zudem moreover : unless
ebenfalls es sei denn
likewise except (that)
gleichfalls |
Note: es sei denn is very close in sense to the joiner wenn (‘if’)
(d) Dismissive followed by a negative (nicht or kein).
ohnehin |anyway
ansel (middle only)
in any case
Exercise 31
(e) Remonstrative
immerhin Add to the second sentence of each pair an appropriate line-of-thought
after all pointer from the list below. Some sentences allow of more than one possibility,
schließlich
wenigstens at least and in such cases the Key gives the most apt one, with the others ın brackets.
jedenfalls at any rate Try putting the line-of-thought pointers at the start and in the middle,
making any other necessary or desirable changes. The first is done for you.
(f) Reservational
allerdings immerhin
jedoch andererseits jedoch
however
doch (start only) außerdem trotzdem
(g) Contrastive deshalb

andererseits on the other hand 1 Emil weiß, daß Karl kommt.

dagegen in contrast Er plant eine Busfahrt mit ihm.
hingegen by comparison Deshalb plant er eine Busfahrt mit ihm.
nn
m
Er plant deshalb eine Busfahrt mit ihm.
(h) Concessive 2 Karl möchte zur Nordsee.
admittedly Emil bucht eine Fahrt nach Berlin.
allerdings | to be sure 3 Berlin ist eine schöne Stadt.
freilich though (final only) Es gibt sehr viele Touristen.
mind you 4 Die Nordsee ist ruhig.
zwar ... aber true ... but In Berlin gibt es viel zu sehen.
5 Das Brandenburger Tor ist sehr attraktiv.
Note: zwar in this sense is always followed by aber, jedoch or Es ist historisch und politisch wichtig.
some similar reservational pointer in a subsequent sentence. 6 Warum ist es historisch und politisch wichtig?
Vor einiger Zeit war es das Tor zwischen Westen und Osten.
7 Karl wollte an die Nordsee.
Er hat Berlin sehr interessant gefunden.
 166
165

76 Conversation between intimates: the plural Ich kam zu spät, weil ich den Nachbarn habe helfen müssen.
I came late because I had to help the neighbours.
In Section 31 the mode of addressing intimates was given only in the Obwohl ich meinen Wagen habe waschen lassen, sah er hinterher
singular, i.e. for addressing just one person in that category. If you are immer noch schmutzig aus.
addressing more than one person you know intimately, or a group Although I got my car washed, ıt still looked dirty afterwards.
containing a significant proportion of people in that category, these
forms are required:
78 Impersonal expressions
Ppronouns possessive
(ein-type, cf. unser) An impersonal expression comprises a process (i.e. a verb) in
SU ihr combination with the SU es (not standing for an identifiable » noun).
euer German and English impersonal expressions often coincide, but
DO
euch German has a range of impersonal idioms outside the scope of English
IO
usage, so if you cannot account for an es expression you should bear in
mind the ‘impersonal’ possibility. You already know es gibt (Section 27)
and es handelt sich (um) (Section 65(d)). Here are some further
present oblique instructions/
examples to illustrate the principle:
tense past requests Bei Nacht ging es über die Grenze.
tense I [or whoever the context indicates] crossed the frontier by nıght.
haben hattet hättet Während der Revolution kam es zu gefährlichen Unruhen.
sein wart wäret During the revolution some dangerous disturbances occurred.
dürfen durftet dürftet Bei unseren Exportplänen geht es nur um den Kurs.
sollen solltet solltet As regards our export plans, it’s solely a matter of the rate of exchange.
lassen ließt ließet
In the above the es is obligatory, whereas with other idioms it is
sehen saht sähet
machen machtet machtet
optional and more commonly omitted in everyday usage.
reden redetet redetet Es ist mir zu warm,
|mach bitte das Fenster auf!
Mir ist zu warm,
I’m too hot. Please open the window!
Es graut mir
77 Attached sentences with two -en forms |vor dem Schulanfang nach den Ferien.
Mir graut
I hate (the thought of) the start of school after the holidays.
Attached sentences where the finite verb must stand last (Section 63)
will contain two -en forms if the pre-present (or pre-past) of certain
auxiliary verbs is used (see Section 58). If we take two examples from
79 The oblique present tense
Section 58:
Ich habe den Nachbarn helfen müssen. This has a far more restricted use than the oblique past tense but is
Ich habe meinen Wagen waschen lassen. indispensable for producing and understanding the type of language
described in Section 80. However, for all practical purposes (for reasons
and turn them into attached sentences, where the finite verb (here
which will be apparent from that section) all you need to learn is the 3rd
habe) would normally stand last, the finite verb stands instead person singular. This is extraordinarily straightforward. Simply take the
immediately before the two -en forms:
stem of the -en form and add -e. (The sole exception is sein, which has
 167 168

the oblique 3rd person singular sei.) This means that those verbs which
The big difference, therefore, between indirect citation in English and
are exceptional in the 3rd (and 2nd) person singular of the present tense
German lies in what happens to the verbs, and the best plan is to forget
are not so in the oblique present tense. The only plural form frequently
altogether what you would do with the verbs in English and to observe
used and therefore worth noting is seien (from sein). Some examples:
the following guidelines:

-.en 3rd person singular (a) Every present tense verb in the speaker’s actual words (thus including
form
present oblique the present tenses of haben and sein used as part of the pre-
present, and of werden as part of the future or obverse process) is
haben hat habe replaced by EITHER the oblique present tense OR the oblique past
sein i i tense. It does not in principle matter which, though it may do so in
dürfen practice.
sollen The prime aim is that the replacement verb should if at all possible
lassen demonstrably be an oblique tense. Consequently, many oblique
sehen present tense forms are no use, because they are identical with the
machen non-oblique present tense itself. In these cases the oblique past tense
reden (even if it is the same as the non-oblique past tense) is preferable.
tun
However, the oblique present tense does have one form that is much
used for indirect citation, the 3rd person singular (Section 79),
which is always distinct from the 3rd person non-oblique present
80 Indirect citation of speech
because it ends in -e instead of -t. This form constantly occurs in
Directly quoted speech in German is no different from that in English, newspapers and on radio and TV, much less so in everyday
with the speaker’s actual words placed within quotation marks. conversation. Examples:
However, particularly in newspapers, direct quotation is used less than Actual Der Minister: ‚Ich nehme die ganze Verantwortung auf
indirect citation along the lines of ‘He said (that) ...’, which is also, of words mich, denn der Fehler wird schwere Folgen haben“
course, much used in everyday conversation. Citation Der Minister sagte, er nehme die ganze Verantwortung
aufsich, denn der Fehler werde schwere Folgen haben.
In indirect citation the original words actually spoken undergo certain
The Minister said he was taking the whole responsibility upon
changes in both English and German. Some of these are self-evident. himself, for the error would have grave consequences.
For instance, if the speaker says “I ... ”, this becomes ‘he’ or ‘she’ in the
citation, while “here” will either remain ‘here’ or become ‘there, Actual Monika: „Ich nehme keinen Regenschirm mit, sonst lasse
words ich ihn bestimmt irgendwo liegen.“
depending on the location of the citer.
nehme
Citation Monika sagte, sie ' |keinen Regenschirm mit, sonst
However, some changes are more problematical. If, for example, the nähme
lasse
speaker says ‘The repairs are going to be expensive”, do we cite this as | sie ihn bestimmt irgendwo liegen.
ließe
‘He said the repairs were going to be expensive’ or as ‘He said the Monika said she wasn’t taking an umbrella. Otherwise she would be
repairs are going to be expensive’? The answer is that it may depend certain to leave it somewhere.
partly on the citer’s time-location in relation to the timing of the repairs,
Actual Die Freunde: ‚Wir sind heute zu euch gekommen, weil
and partly on the extent to which the citer identifies with the speaker’s
words wir euch seit langem nicht gesehen haben““
opinion. The same sorts of dilemma arise in German, but in the context
of the way German handles citation, which is to use the oblique tenses
throughout for recounting what someone else has said.
 169 170

(seien) If the speaker’s actual words already contain the past tense of haben
Citation Unsere Freunde sagten, sie | heute (/gestern?/
wären or sein as part of the pre-past (see Section 68), these are simply
am ...tag?) zu uns gekommen, weil sie uns seit langem
replaced by their oblique past tenses:
nicht gesehen hätten.
Our friends said they had come to (see) us today (/yesterday?/ on Actual Die Gäste: ‚Wir waren zum Strand gegangen, und als wir
...day?) because they hadn’t seen us for a long time. words uns zum Sonnen hingelegt hatten, fing es plötzlich an zu
regnen.“
Notes:
Citation Die Gäste sagten, sie wären zum Strand gegangen, und als
(i) Other things being equal, the oblique past tense is preferred in h
everyday conversation. sie sich zum Sonnen hingelegt hätten, 'u |e
(ii) Just as the oblique past tense of werden - würde (-st, -n, -t) - plötzlich angefangen zu regnen.
plus the -en form of the main verb was shown to be a useful The guests said they had gone to the beach and when they had lain
alternative to the oblique past tense of the main verb in remote down to sunbathe it suddenly started rainıng.
conditional statements (Section 71(b)), so it is a very handy sub-
(c) When a speaker’s actual words contain one of the instruction/request
stitute in indirect citations in colloquial German. It is particularly
forms of the verb, there is no hard and fast rule about how to cite
valuable when no demonstrably oblique form is available:
this indirectly. The natural and instinctive way is to use either the
Actual Die Nachbarn: ‚Wir erwarten unsere Tochter mit Mann oblique past tense möchte or some form of sollen, oblique or non-
words und Kindern aus Würzburg für die Weihnachtsferien‘ oblique, as seems to fit the case. Thhe first examples are reconstructed
Citation Unsere Nachbarn sagten, sie würden ihre Tochter mit from sentences you have met already:
Mann und Kindern aus Würzburg für die
Weihnachtsferien erwarten. Actual Arzt: „‚Essen Sie nur Fisch oder mageres Fleisch!‘‘
Our neighbours said they were expecting their daughter with her words
husband and children from Würzburg for the Christmas holidays. Citation Der Arzt sagt, ich soll nur Fisch oder mageres Fleisch
essen.
(b) Every past tense verb in the speaker’s actual words is replaced by the The doctor says I must only eat fish or lean meat.
ge __(e)t form of that verb together with EITHER the oblique
present tense OR the oblique past tense of haben or sein, whichever is Actual Schwester und Schwager: ‚‚Geh zum Arzt!‘
appropriate. The rule for the choice of auxiliary is the same as for words
Citation Die haben gemeint, ich soll zum Arzt gehen.
the pre-present (Section 45):
They said I must go 10 the doctor.
Actual Peter: ‚Ich fand nur drei Kunden vor, als ich das Geschäft
Actual Sprechstundenhilfe: ‚Herr Doktor, schauen Sie bitte doch
words aufmachte‘
words noch einmal bei Herrn Sinke vorbei.‘
sek: habe 2
Citation Peter sagt, er |lade |nur drei Kunden vorgefunden, Citation Meine Sprechstundenhilfe hat gesagt, ich sollte bei Ihnen
noch einmal vorbeischauen.
e habe.
als er das Geschäft aufgemacht hane. My receptionist told me to visit you again.

Peter said he found only three customers (waiting) when he opened the Actual Hempels: „Bitte besuchen Sie uns doch, sobald wir das
shop. words Haus eingerichtet haben!‘
Citation Hempels haben gesagt, wir möchten sie besuchen, sobald
Actual Die Zwillinge: ‚Wir gingen zusammen bis zum Markt, wo
sie das Haus eingerichtet hätten.
words wir uns dann trennten“
seien The Hempels said we must visit them as soon as they had furnished
Citation Die Zwillinge sagten, sie |zusammen bis zum the house.
wären
Markt gegangen, wo sie sich dann getrennt hätten.
The twins said they went together as far as the market, where they
then separated.
 171 172

81 Sequence of words in indirect citation 3 Die Freunde sagen, sie hätten uns lange nicht gesehen und würden
uns gern besuchen.
Most of the examples in Section 80 required no change in the sequence (a) Die Freunde besuchen uns.
of words when actual speech was cited indirectly. This is because no (b) Die Freunde möchten uns besuchen.
joiners were used to introduce the attached citation sentences. This is (c) Die Freunde möchten uns nicht sehen.
only possible with stazements and instructions. Even these are often 4 Die Nachbarn sagen, ihre Tochter spiele im Orchester die Klarinette
introduced by the joiner daß, and all cited questions must start with und ginge bald auf eine Reise nach England.
one of the joiners from Section 63(b). In all such cases the finite verb of (a) Die Tochter geht auf Ferien nach England.
the attached citation sentence must stand at the end: (b) Die Tochter spielt Klarinette in England.
(c) Die Nachbarn fahren nach England.
Actual Mann: ‚Ich halte gar nichts von den Freunden unserer
words Kinder“ 5 Peter sagt, er habe nur zwei Kunden am Morgen gehabt; am
Citation Mein Mann sagt, daß er gar nichts von den Freunden Nachmittag seien noch vier schwierige Kunden gekommen, und er
halte. sei deshalb am Abend sehr müde gewesen.
unserer Kinder
hielte. (a) Peter hat sechs nette Kunden gehabt.
My husband says that he doesn’t think much of our children’s friends. (b) Peter ist froh, daß es Abend ist.
Actual Er: ‚Wie lange wirst du noch einkaufen?“
(c) Peter bedient seine Kunden freundlich.
words 6 Die Zwillinge sagen, sie seien auf den Markt gegangen und hätten
sicl. rullover gekauft; einer von ihnen habe noch ein T-Shirt gekauft.
Citation Er fragte sie, wie lange sie noch einkaufen Werge: (a) Die Zwillinge haben zwei Pullover und zwei T-Shirts gekauft.
würde.
He asked her how long she would go on shopping. (b) Die Zwillinge haben sich auf dem Markt getrennt.
Actual Ich: ‚‚Geben Sie meinem Sohn noch eine Chance?“
(c) Einer der Zwillinge hat einen Pullover und ein T-Shirt.
7 Die Gäste sagen, sie hätten sich erst am Strand sonnen wollen; sie
words
Citation Ich fragte ihn, ob er meinem Sohn noch eine hätten dann einen Ausflug machen wollen, aber die Sonne sei für
gebe. alles zu heiß gewesen.
Chance
gäbe. (a) Die Gäste haben einen Ausflug gemacht.
I asked him whether he would give my son another chance. (b) Die Gäste haben sich gesonnt.
(c) Die Gäste konnten das alles nicht machen.

Exercise 32
82 Enclosed attached sentences
For each example of indirect citation, say which of the statements (a), (b) or
(c) comes closest to the situation described. Section 63(a) on d.. joiners showed how such joiners relate the attached
1 Der Minister sagt, er habe den Brief vor drei Wochen zwar gesehen, sentence which they introduce to a particular noun in a preceding
aber er sei nicht überzeugt gewesen. sentence. Certain attached sentences can, in modified form, be placed
(a) Es gibt einen Brief. directly :n front of the noun to which they relate instead of after it.
(b) Es gibt keinen Brief. The first condition is that attached sentences placed in front of the
(c) Ein Brief ist angekommen. noun must have that noun as their SU. That is, in their more familiar
2 Monika sagt, sie habe ihren Regenschirm zuerst an der Schule place after the noun they would start with a d.. joiner in the SU case.
liegengelassen, ihn dann aber später abgeholt. The principles underlying enclosed attached sentences will be clear if
(a) Sie hat ihren Regenschirm verloren. we take one of the examples from Section 63(a) where the d... joiner is
(b) Sie bringt ihren Regenschirm zur Schule. in the SU case:
(c) Sie hat ihren Regenschirm noch.
 173 174
Das Fleisch, das auf dem Tisch liegt, kannst du für den Hund nehmen.
Here the verb war from the original attached sentence has
You can take the meat that’s on the table for the dog.
disappeared in the enclosed attached sentence, which is not
The attached sentence here can appear alternatively as follows: surprising since sein as a finite verb shows tense and person (Ist
singular, etc.) but has no ‘meaning’.
Das [auf dem Tisch liegende] Fleisch kannst du für den Hund nehmen.
(b) -end form of almost any verb except sein and the auxiliary verbs (in
Three things have happened to the attached sentence: 4
De

their auxiliary function)

(i) the joiner das has gone,
(ii) the finite verb liegt has changed into the -end non-finite form Teilnehmer, die bis morgen auf ihre Ergebnisse hier warten,
liegend (see Sections 61 and 74 for this form), and werden eingeladen, im Hotel zu übernachten.
(iii) liegend has acquired the ending needed by adjectives after d.. Participants who are waiting here until tomorrow for their results are invited to
words (Section 29(a)), since although liegend is not an adjective it has spend the night in the hotel.
[Bis morgen auf ihre Ergebnisse hier wartende] Teilnehmer
to be treated like one on the analogy das frische Fleisch > das ...
werden eingeladen, im Hotel zu übernachten.
liegende Fleisch.
This particular example shows that an enclosed attached sentence
Otherwise the sequence of words is exactly as in the original attached
may not appear to be enclosed at the front end if the noun it relates
sentence, with liegend occupying the position of the finite verb liegt.
to has no d. .- or ein-type word. Here, only the d.. joiner and the
The change from finite verb to non-finite verb means that the feature
finite features of warten (i.e. tense and person) disappear.
tense has disappeared, so that any ‘time’ associated with liegend is
simply concurrent with the ‘time’ suggested by the core sentence (since (c) ge_(e)t form of any verb capable of having a DO
this is the connotation of the -end form (Section 61)). The enclosed
Das östliche Mittelmeer, das oft von meinen Bekannten als
attached sentence would be the same if'the ‘time’ of the whole changed: Lieblingsreiseziel ausgesucht wird, werde auch ich mir dieses
Das Fleisch, das auf dem Tisch lag, konntest du für den Hund nehmen. Jahr’ vornehmen.
Das [auf dem Tisch liegende] Fleisch konntest du für den Hund This year I’m also going to visit the eastern Mediterranean, which is often
nehmen. chosen by my friends as a favourite destination.
You were able to take the meat that was on the table for the dog. Das [oft von meinen Bekannten als Lieblingsreiseziel ausgesuchte]
östliche Mittelmeer werde auch ich mir dieses Jahr vornehmen.
There are restrictions on the types of word which may appear as the last
Zündkerzen, die zu selten ausgewechselt wurden, können einen
word in enclosed attached sentences (which we call ‘enclosed’ because
dann im Stich lassen.
they fit between any d. .- or ein-type word and the noun they relate to).
Spark plugs that have been changed too infrequently can (then) leave you in
Each type of final word corresponds to a different type of original the lurch.
sentence with its own particular characteristics. [Zu selten ausgewechselte] Zündkerzen können einen dann im
Stich lassen.
Here are the five permissible categories with examples (always showing
first the original attached sentence from which the enclosed attached Here, the attached sentence loses not only the d... joiner, but also
sentence is derived) and notes: the finite auxiliary verb werden, one of the two components of the
obverse process, when it becomes an enclosed attached sentence.
(a) Adjective
Der Verlust der Reisepässe war eine Angelegenheit, die dem
(d) ge_(e)t form of any verb making the pre-present with sein
Reiseleiter äußerst unangenehm war. Die Stadt wird von einer Krankheit bedroht, die in der Gegend
The loss of the passports was a matter that was extremely embarrassing 10 the noch nie vorgekommen ist.
courier. The town is threatened by a disease that has never before appeared in the area.
Der Verlust der Reisepässe war eine [dem Reiseleiter äußerst Die Stadt wird von einer [in der Gegend noch nie vorgekommenen]
unangenehme] Angelegenheit. Krankheit bedroht.
 175 176

This type of enclosed sentence loses the d.. joiner and the finite vorschießen II to advance (money)
auxiliary verb sein from the original attached sentence. The process meines Erachtens in my opinion
represented by the ge_ (e)t form has here NO connection with the wahnsinnig crazy
obverse process of (c). It has the connotation of completion (Sections umgehen (mit) II to deal (with)
44, 61). das Verhältnis (-se) (plural) means
(e) zu + -end form of any verb capable of having a DO ausgeben II to spend
grillen to grill
To understand this properly you shouid first look again at Section geeignet suitable
72, from which the following examples are derived: je each
Die Ergebnisse, die sofort nach der Wahl bekannt zu machen sind, besorgen I to obtain
werden im Rathaus ausgehängt. so (et)was things like that
The results, which are to be made known immediately after the election, will die Tiefkühltruhe (-n) (chest) freezer
be posted in the town hall. toll great
Die [sofort nach der Wahl bekannt zu machenden] Ergebnisse sich verschulden I to get into debt, go into the red
werden im Rathaus ausgehängt. überübermorgen the day after the day after tomorrow
Die Kritik, die über den Direktor zu hören war, war unberechtigt. übernachten I to stay the night
The criticism that was to be heard about the director was unfounded. aufkommen Il to (be liable to) pay
Die [über den Direktor zu hörende] Kritik war unberechtigt. was = etwas something
übrigens by the way
Here, the d.. joiner and the finite verb sein disappear when the
der Eintritt admission
attached sentence becomes an enclosed one.
dabei wegkommen (mit) II to get away (with)
With all the above types (a) to (e) it is essential first to isolate the nicht in Frage kommen to be out ofthe question
enclosed attached sentence (which is why it is shown in [ ] in all our der Vorschuß ((ss)e) advance
examples), then to establish which type of standard attached sentence it gewiß certainly
is akin to, finally to understand it along the same lines as our translations anspruchslos undemanding
ofthe ‘source’ attached sentences. Any attempt to understand or die Unterhaltung (-en) entertainment
translate without following this method will end in confusion, and since in die Tasche greifen to dip into one’s pocket
enclosed attached sentences are found in profusion in all types of losfahren II to set out, come out
writing (and not rarely in speaking), there is a great incentive to face the abholen II to collect, pick up
challenge they pose. die Erziehung education, bringing up
die Sparsamkeit thrift
CONVERSATION
A family controversy over the expenditure requirements of the
Study the conversation below, trying 10 relate each step in the discussion 1o younger generation
what you have learnı. You will need these words:
Vater Was habt ihr denn heute abend vor?
vorhaben II to have planned, have (got) on
Sohn Das wissen wir noch nicht ganz genau. Hier in Voßdorf ist
genau precisely
heute nichts los, aber in Wunsdorf soll es eine große Disko
hier ist nichts los nothing’s going on here
geben. Die wäre allerdings ziemlich teuer, so um die zwanzig
um ... herum about
Mark herum pro Person, hat uns die Brigitte erzählt ...
erzählen to tell
Mutter ... und deswegen wollt ihr also nicht hin ...
zustehen II to be due
 177 178

Tochter ... O doch, wenn ihr uns das uns für die nächsten vier Wochen It’s pretty expensive though, about twenty marks per person,
zustehende Taschengeld vorschießen würdet. so Brigitte told us ...
v Ihr habt eine meines Erachtens wahnsinnige Art, mit Geld Mother ... and so therefore you’re not intending to go ...
umzugehen. Ihr lebt total über euere Verhältnisse. So viel Daughter Oh we are, if you’d advance us the pocket money that’s due
braucht ihr doch wohl nicht für einen einzigen Abend to us for the next four weeks.
auszugeben! F You’ve got a way of dealing with money that’s crazy in my
Ja, Vater hat ganz recht! opinion. You’re living completely beyond your means. You’re
Es geht leider nicht nur um heute abend! Morgen gibt’s not telling me that you need to spend that much onasingle
nämlich ein Barbecue bei Eckels, und der Franz hat gesagt, evening!
wir möchten doch etwas zum Grillen geeignetes Fleisch und je Yes, father’s absolutely right!
zwei Liter Bier besorgen. OS Unfortunately it’s not just a matter of this evening. You see,
So was braucht ihr doch nicht zu kaufen! Ich werde für euch tomorrow there’s a barbecue at the Eckels, and Franz said
ein paar Sachen aus der Tiefkühltruhe holen, und Bier könnt could we get some meat that’s suitable for grilling and two
ihr auch von hier mitnehmen. litres of beer each.
O, das wäre toll! Ich glaube, wir müssen uns trotzdem But you don’t need to buy things like that! I’ll take a few
verschulden, denn überübermorgen gibt die Brigitte eine tolle things out of the freezer for you, and you can take some beer
Party bei sich, und da wir auch dort übernachten dürfen, from here, too.
müssen wir ihrer Mutter natürlich ein Geschenk mitbringen. Oh, that would be great! I think we’ll have to go into the red
Wenn es sich um ein Geschenk für die Mutter handelt, even so. You see, the day after the day after tomorrow
braucht ihr doch nicht dafür aufzukommen! Ich besorge Brigitte’s putting on a fantastic party at her house, and as
morgen was Schönes in der Stadt. we’re allowed to stay the night there we’ve obviously got to
Was möchtest du denn sonst noch finanzieren, Ilse? take her mother a present.
Übrigens brauchen wir für heute abend nicht nur den Eintritt If it’s a present for the mother, you don’t have to spend your
sondern auch das Geld für ein Taxi hinterher von Wunsdorf money on it! Tl get something nice in the town tomorrow.
bis nach Hause. Das sind immerhin fünfzehn Kilometer, und And what else were you thinking of underwriting, Ilse?
mit weniger als vierzig Mark kommen wir nicht dabei weg. By the way, for this evening we don’t only need the
Das kommt zusammen auf etwa achtzig Mark. Das kommt admission but also the money for a taxi home from
überhaupt nicht in Frage, mit oder ohne Vorschuß! Wunsdorf afterwards. After all, that’s fifteen kilometres, and
Was Vater sagt, ist ganz gewiß richtig, ihr müßtet viel we shan’t get away with less than forty marks.
anspruchsloser sein. Andererseits, für eine harmlose That comes to about eighty marks. That’s quite out ofthe
Unterhaltung mit Freunden einmal in der Woche braucht ihr question, with or without an advance!
nicht in euere eigene Tasche zu greifen. Den Eintritt können What father says is certainly right. You ought to be alot less
wir bezahlen. Außerdem sagt Vater immer, er führe nachts demanding. On the other hand you don’t need to dip into
ganz gern los, um euch von irgendwo abzuholen. Also könnt your own pockets for a bit of harmless entertainment with
ihr auch das Taxigeld sparen! friends once a week. We can pay the admission charge.
V Und das soll nun Erziehung zu Sparsamkeit sein! Moreover, father’s always saying how he’s happy to come out
at night to pick you up from somewhere or other. So you’ll
TRANSLATION even be able to save the taxi fare!
And that’s what you call bringing them up to be thrifty!
Father So what have you got on this evening?
Son We don’t quite know yet. Thhere’s nothing going on here in
Voßdorf, but there’s supposed to be a big disco in Wunsdorf.
 180

Chef Ja sicher. Die Stadtführer sind drüben. Gucken Sie dort.

Key to Exercises
F Es ist verrückt. Ich finde Stadtführer von Frankfurt, Gießen,
Marburg und Kassel, aber ich finde keinen Stadtführer von
Bunsenheim.
C Natürlich nicht. Warum brauchen wir Stadtführer von
Bunsenheim? Wir wohnen hier und kennen die Stadt!
LESSON 3 Exercise 10: 2 größer 3 jünger Aklüger 5 wärmer 6 länger 7 netter
Exercise 4: 1 Der Vater liebt die Wirtin. 2 Es ist harmlos! 3 Er kauft die
Zeitung. 4 Sie macht die Betten. 5 Die Tochter holt das Auto. 6 Sie ruft LESSON 6
die Katze und den Hund. 7 Die Katze und der Hund kommen. 8 Die Exercise 11: Der Verbrecher steht mit einem Pinsel und einer Palette in der
Wirtin bringt Wasser. 9 Vater, Wirtin, Tochter, Hund und Katze trinken das Hand vor einem Bild. Auf dem Bild sind mehrere Sachen. Auf einer
Wasser. Tischdecke liegt ein Brot, neben dem Brot ist ein Glas, und hinter dem Brot
ist eine Flasche mit einem Korken. Auf der Flasche ist ein Etikett. Was ist aber
LESSON 4 für den Verbrecher am wichtigsten? Die Feile in dem/im Brot, natürlich!
Exercise 5: 1 Sie kaufen ein Haus und machen Wohnungen. 2 Eine Exercise 12: Der Einbrecher geht bis an die Haustür. Er klopft an die Tür.
Wohnung hat keine Küche. 3 Das ist ein Problem, und sie bauen eine Küche. Niemand kommt zur Tür. Er geht um das Haus und guckt durch die Fenster.
4 Eine Wohnung hat kein Wasser. 5 Das ist auch ein Problem, aber der Vater Er findet ein Auto ohne Nummernschild zwischen dem Haus und der Garage.
installiert ein Wassersystem. 6 Eine Wohnung hat keine Elektrizität. 7 Das Er geht zurück an die Haustür. Er steckt eine Feile zwischen die Tür und den
ist kein Problem. Der Sohn ist Elektriker. 8 Eine Wohnung hat eine Küche, Rahmen. Er öffnet die Tür mit der Feile und geht in den Flur. Ihm gegenüber
Wasser, Elektrizität und (einige) Schränke, aber keine Fenster. 9 Das ist kein auf der Treppe sitzt ein Skelett mit einer Axt in der Hand.
Problem, es ist eine Katastrophe.
Exereise 13:
Exercise 6: 2 Zwei Brote kosten DM 9,60 (neun Mark sechzig). 3 Zwei Hotelgast Was gibt es im Fernsehen heute abend?
Würste kosten DM 6,50 (sechs Mark fünfzig). 4 Zwei Uhren kosten Kellner Ich weiß es nicht.
DM 170,00 (hundertsiebzig Mark). 5 Zwei Zeitungen kosten DM 5,00 (fünf H Gucken sie bitte in die Fernsehzeitung.
Mark). 6 Zwei Betten kosten DM 976,00 (neunhundertsechsundsiebzig K Esgibt keine Fernsehzeitung diese Woche.
Mark). 7 Zwei Schränke kosten DM 1 010 ((ein)tausendzehn Mark). 8 Zwei H Gibt es eine Tageszeitung?
Messer kosten DM 15,00 (fünfzehn Mark). 9 Zwei Rosen kosten DM 7,50 K Ja, hier ist eine Tageszeitung ... aber sie ist leider von gestern.
(sieben Mark fünfzig). 10 Zwei Autos kosten DM 36 000,00
(sechsunüdreißigtausend Mark). LESSON 7
Exercise 7: Ich bringe meinem Vater ein Buch. Ich gebe es ihm im Flur. Ich Exercise 14: 2 Nein, sie ist mit ihrer Schwester bei Müllers eingeladen.
schenke meinem Bruder einen Hund und wünsche ihm einen guten Tag. 3 Nein, der Vater kommt ohne unser Geschenk für die Mutter. 4 Nein, ich
esse den Kuchen mit einer Tasse Kaffee. 5 Nein, er geht mit seinem
LESSON 5 Stadtführer durch Frankfurt. 6 Nein, ich mache das Abendbrot ohne meine
Exercise 8 1Was 2Wann 3Wen AWo 5Wer 6Wie 7 Warum Tochter. 7 Nein, sie geht ohne ihren Bruder zur Tante. 8 Nein, wir kaufen
die Wurst ohne eine Cola.
Exereise 9:
Exercise 15: 1 Keiner, (Jeder) 2 Welche 3 Keinen, Diesen 4 Keinen,
Verkäufer Bitte schön...?
Fremde Guten Tag. Haben Sie einen Führer? Diesen 5 (Jeder), Dieser 6 Solches, Welches 7 Welches 8 Jeder, Dieser
9 Welche, Jede
Was für einen Führer?
Einen Stadtführer. Exercise 16:
Ich weiß es nicht. Fragen Sie bitte den Chef. She Will you please go and do the shopping?
ZU
NS Guten Tag. Ich suche einen Stadtführer. Haben Sie so etwas?
NIIT He Certainly! Have you got a shopping list for me?

179
 181
182
She No, I’Il tell you everything... First please bring a small white loaf and ten
bottom of the door, and two cartons of milk are next to them. I’m putting the
fresh rolls from the baker.
packet of boiled ham, the salami and the liver sausage in the middle. They’re
He They’re cheaper at Marktkauf, and we’re going there this afternoon.
for evenings, of course ... Eggs? ... I'm putting the eggs singly in the top of the
She Allright. Then buy halfa pound of mince and 250 grams of boiled ham
door, of course, twelve ofthem. I’m putting two pieces of butter in the top
at the butcher’s.
compartment in the door. I’Il leave the third one out to get soft. The flat
He "They always serve me badly at the butcher’s. I would rather buy meat in
container with three sorts of cheese is in the middle, and a tube of mayonnaise
the old town, and we also have to go there this afternoon.
and the sliced cheese are behind it. The cucumber, the lettuce, the grapes and
She All right. Then I need lettuce, one and a half pounds of small, firm
the tomatoes are at the bottom, and I’m putting the bag of oranges, one
tomatoes, a nice cucumber, ten pounds of potatoes and a pound of French
cauliflower and the sprouts in the vegetable compartment right at the bottom.
beans from the greengrocer’s.
IP’ put a little jar of honey and a jar of strawberry jamalittle higher in the
He The things for the salad and the other vegetables aren’t urgent, and after
door ... My goodness, how full the refrigerator is again!
all there’s (a) market tomorrow.
She All right, but I definitely need eggs from Edeka.
LESSON 9
He No, you don’t need (them). We still have a lot. We’ll (then) get eggs from
the market, too. Exercise 22: 1ldenen 2der 3dem 4Adas 5der 6das 7den 8die
She All right, then you don’t need to go shopping. 9 denen 10 dem

Exercise 17: 2 Hol bitte ein kleines Weißbrot vom Bäcker. Das Weißbrot Exercise 23: 1 hat/gebracht 2ist/geflogen 3 sind/gestorben 4 hat/gestellt
kaufe ich lieber bei Marktkauf. 3 Hol bitte 250 Gramm gekochten Schinken 5 ist/gesprungen 6 bin/geblieben 7 ist/gestiegen 8 habe/geschickt 9 haben/
vom Metzger. Den gekochten Schinken kaufe ich lieber in der Altstadt. 4 Hol bekommen 10 bist/geworden
bitte einen Kopfsalat vom Gemüsegeschäft. Den Kopfsalat kaufe ich lieber auf
Exercise 24: 1(b) 2(c) 3(a) 4(b) 5(a) 6(c)
dem Markt. 5 Hol bitte zwanzig Eier von Edeka. Die Eier kaufe ich lieber auf
dem Markt. 6 Hol bitte eine schöne Gurke vom Gemüsegeschäft. Die Gurke
LESSON 10
kaufe ich lieber auf dem Markt. 7 Hol bitte zehn frische Brötchen vom Bäcker.
Die Brötchen kaufe ich lieber bei Marktkauf. 8 Hol bitte ein halbes Pfund Exercise 25: Ich habe vor, eine Party zu geben. Wir sind so viele, also richte
Hackfleisch vom Metzger. Das Hackfleisch kaufe ich lieber in der Altstadt. ich meine Wohnung anders ein. Ich lade nur meine besten Freunde ein, aber
9 Hol bitte zehn Pfund Kartoffeln vom Gemüsegeschäft. Die Kartoffeln kaufe wir sind fünfzig. Diesmal helfen meine Freunde mal nicht mit. Ich will alles
ich lieber auf dem Markt. 10 Hol bitte ein Pfund grüne Bohnen vom alleine machen. Um 8 Uhr rufe ich sie an. Dann können sie kommen. Aber
Gemüsegeschäft. Die grünen Bohnen kaufe ich lieber auf dem Markt. was sagen meine Freunde, sie schlagen stattdessen vor, gar nicht zu essen,
sondern den ganzen Abend lang zu trinken.
LESSON 8
Exercise 26: 2 Fräulein Schmidt steht früh auf, um mit ihrem Hund
Exercise 18: lkann 2 müssen 3darf Amuß 5darf 6darf 7 kann spazierenzugehen. 3 Mittags kommt sie nach Hause und arbeitet im Garten,
statt zuessen. 4 Am Nachmittag geht sie ins Kino, ohne ihre Mutter zu
Exercise 19: 1 damit 2darauf 3danach 4dazu 5dafür 6 daneben
fragen. 5 Sie sieht gerne Filme, um auf andere Gedanken zu kommen. 6 Am
7dagegen 8dazwischen 9 dahinter 10 davor
Abend kommt ihr Freund, um sie ins Restaurant einzuladen. 7 Sie verläßt
Exercise 20: 1tue/stelle 2sind/liegen 3tue/lege 4 tun/stellen 5 tue/ das Restaurant während des Essens, ohne zu bezahlen. 8 Er bleibt im
stelle 6sind/stehen 7 tue/lege &tue/stecke 9 tue/lege 10 ist/liegt Restaurant sitzen und ißt beide Portionen, statt zu seiner Freundin zu laufen.
ll sind/liegen 12 tue/lege 13 tue/stelle
LESSON 11
Exercise 21: Now look! I’ll keep the refrigerator clear as far as possible.
Then you’ll be able to find everything quite easily. I’m putting the chicken for Exercise 27: 2..., daß Fritz solche Vorschläge nicht machen soll. 3 ..., daß
Sunday, the frozen raspberry flan and the two oven-ready meals into the freezer Ernst endlich mal etwas tun soll. 4 ..., daß er sein Handgelenk plötzlich
compartment. You can eat the oven-ready meals tomorrow and the day after. verletzt. 5..., daß er Ernst zum Arzt schickt. 6 ..., daß Ernst einfach faul ist!
The plum tart and the dish with cream are at the top. I’m also putting the two
Exercise 28: 2 Nachdem man gegessen hat, soll man eigentlich nicht
bottles of wine there ... Oh, there’s just a little space there still, I can put the
schlafen. 3 Während man ißt, darf man nicht zu viel reden. 4 Obwohl er
carton of yoghurt in between. I’m putting the four bottles of beer in the
viel geredet hat, hat er eigentlich nicht viel gesagt. 5 Weil das Wetter schön
 183

ist, müssen wir endlich im Garten arbeiten. 6 Bis das Programm anfängt,
kannst du noch schön in der Küche helfen!
mußt du weniger arbeiten.
7 Weil du hohen Blutdruck hast,
8 Obwohl er hohen Blutdruck hat, läuft er jeden
German - English vocabulary
Tag. Numbers are not included in the Vocabulary. The cardinal numbers are to be found in
Section 18 and the ordinal numbers in Section 30. I indicates TYPE I (inseparable
LESSON 12 prefix) verbs; II indicates TYPE Il (separable prefix) verbs.

Exercise 29: 2 Während Fritz im Garten arbeitete, hat sich sein Bruder Pop- anfangen II to begin, start
ab und zu occasionally, now and
Musik angehört. 3 Während Hanna einen Brief schrieb, ist ihre Freundin again der Anfänger (-) beginner
schwimmen gegangen. 4 Während Otto Milch trank, hat sein Bruder Bruno der Abend (-e) evening die Angelegenheit (-en) matter, affair,
Schnaps getrunken. 5 Während Frau Krause mit ihrem Nachbarn sprach, hat das Abendbrot (-e) supper business
ein Einbrecher ihr Geld vom Küchentisch gestohlen. 6 Während sich die abends in the evenings angenehm pleasant
Eltern oben im Haus stritten, haben die Kinder unten im Haus eine Party die Abendveranstaltung (-en) evening die Angst (*e) fear, anxiety, worry
gehalten. 7 Während Anton mit den Eltern sprach, hat Susanne den Hund entertainment/event anhalten II to stop, pull up
ins Wasser gestoßen. aber but anhören Il sich to listen to, sound
der Abfall (*e) rubbish, waste, garbage ankommen II to arrive
Exercise 30: 2(a) Wenn du die Fahrkarte besorgen würdest, dann hätten wir abgesehen (davon) apart (from that) anrufen II to ring up, call, telephone
die Möglichkeit, am Wochenende in die Berge zu fahren. (b) Würdest du die abhängen II (von) to depend (on) anschaffen II to get, acquire, obtain,
Fahrkarte besorgen, dann hätten wir die Möglichkeit, am Wochenende in die abholen II to collect, pick up buy
Berge zu fahren. 3 (a) Wenn Peter nicht das Fenster schließt, dann wird es zu abhören II to listen to, check (e.g. die Ansicht (-en) view, opinion
kalt für uns alle. (b) Schließt Peter nicht das Fenster, dann wird es zu kalt für heart) ansonsten otherwise, apart from that
abnehmen II to lose weight anstatt instead (of)
unsalle. 4 (a) Wenn dieser Mann nicht den Klub verläßt, dann wird es Krach
der Abzug (*e) print, copy anstrengend strenuous, energetic
geben. (b) Verläßt dieser Mann nicht den Klub, dann wird es Krach geben.
ach! oh! antworten to answer
5 (a) Wenn die kleine Tochter nicht fernsehen dürfte, dann wäre sie schwierig. achten (auf) to pay attention (to), anziehen II to put on (clothes)
(b) Dürfte die kleine Tochter nicht fernsehen, dann wäre sie schwierig. 6 (a) keep an eye (on) anziehen Il sich to get dressed
Wenn der Vater in die Gaststube geht, dann trinkt er immer zu viel. (b) Geht (das) Ägypten Egypt die Apfelsine (-n) orange
der Vater in die Gaststube, dann trinkt er immer zu viel. 7 (a) Wenn du jetzt die Ahnung (-en) idea, clue, notion der April April
das Essen für Sonntag kochst, dann wirst du am Sonntag morgen schlafen all all arbeitslos unemployed
können. (b) Kochst du jetzt das Essen für Sonntag, dann wirst du am alle zwei Tage every other day ärgern sich to get annoyed
Sonntag morgen schlafen können. allein(e) alone arm poor
allerdings admittedly, mind you, der Arzt (*e) doctor (male)
... though die Ärztin (-nen) doctor (female)
LESSON 13
alles everything auch also, too, even
Exercise 31: 2 Jedoch bucht Emil eine Fahrt nach Berlin. Emil bucht das Allgäu (mountainous area in auf on, on top of, on to
jedoch eine Fahrt nach Berlin. (trotzdem, allerdings) 3 Allerdings gibt es sehr Southern Bavaria) der Aufkleber (-) sticker
viele Touristen. Es gibt allerdings sehr viele Touristen. (deshalb, jedoch, allgemein general, in general aufkommen II to (be liable to) pay
außerdem) 4 Andererseits gibt es in Berlin viel zu sehen. In Berlin gibt es als than, as, when aufmachen II to open
also so, therefore, well die Aufnahme (-n) exposure, photo, shot
andererseits viel zu sehen. (jedoch) 5 Außerdem ist es historisch und politisch
alt old aufnehmen II to accept, admit
wichtig. Es ist außerdem historisch und politisch wichtig. (andererseits) das Alter (-) age aufpassen II to pay attention, take
6 Immerhin war es vor einiger Zeit das Tor zwischen Westen und Osten. Es die Altstadt old (part of) town note, watch
war immerhin vor einiger Zeit das Tor zwischen Westen und Osten. am = andem aufregen Il sich to get excited/
7 Trotzdem hat er Berlin sehr interessant gefunden. Er hat trotzdem Berlin an at, on, to, by, on to, up to worked up
sehr interessant gefunden. (jedoch, allerdings, andererseits) anbieten II to offer der Aufschnitt sliced (cold) meat
ander.. other, different aufstehen II to get up
Exercise 32: 1(a) 2(c) 3(b) 4(b) 5(b) 6(c) 7(ec) andererseits on the other hand auftauchen II to turn up, appear
ändern to change, alter der Augenblick (-e) moment, instant
anderthalb one and a half im Augenblick at the moment
der Anfang (*e) beginning, start augenblicklich at the moment

184
 185 186

der August August bekannt known, well-known, die Blutprobe (-n) blood test dazwischen between them
aus out of, from acquainted der Boden (“) floor, ground die Decke (-n) ceiling
der Ausflug (*e) excursion, outing der Bekannte (adj) acquaintance, friend die Bohne (-n) bean denken to think
ausgeben II to spend beklagen I sich to complain grüne Bohnen French beans denn for, as, since, then
ausgehen II to go out bekommen Ito get, obtain böse angry, naughty, wicked dennoch nevertheless, yet
aushängen II to post, put up, display bemerken I to notice brauchen to need deren whose, of whom
der Ausländer (-) foreigner benutzen I to use brechen to break deshalb therefore
der Auslöser (-) shutter release der Berg (-e) mountain, hill breit wide dessen whose, of whom
ausmachen II to put out, switch off der Beruf (-e) job, trade, profession, brennen to burn deswegen on account of it, therefore
aussehen II to look, appear occupation der Brief (-e) letter der Deutsche (adj) German
außerdem besides, moreover, beschränken I to limit, restrict bringen to bring, take der Dezember December
furthermore beschweren I sich to complain das Brot (-e) bread, loaf das Dia (-s) slide
außerhalb outside (of) der Besitzer (-) proprietor, owner das Brötchen (-) roll dich you
äußerst extremely besonder.. special der Bruder (*) brother der Dienstag Tuesday
die Aussicht (-en) view, prospect besonders especially das Buch (*er) book dies.. this
aussuchen II to choose, select besorgen I to get, obtain der Buchstabe (PO -ns) letter (of the dir to/for you
austauschen II to exchange besprechen I to discuss, talk over alphabet) der Direktor (-en) director
auswechseln II to replace besser better der Bus (-se) bus, coach doch but, however, after all
ausziehen II sich to get undressed bestehen I (auf) to insist (on) die Butter butter der Donnerstag Thursday
das Auto (-s) car bestellen I to order die Buttersoße butter sauce das Doppelzimmer (-) double room
der Automat (PO -en) machine (e.g. die Bestellung (-en) order die Chance (-n) chance dort there
vending) am besten best of all checken to check dorthin (to) there
die Axt (”e) axe bestimmt definite der Chef (-s) boss die Dose (-n) can, tin, jar
besuchen I to visit, attend die Chefsekretärin (-nen) boss’s draußen outside
der Bäcker (-) baker betrinken I sich to get drunk secretary, personal assistant das Drittel (-) third
baden to bathe, swim das Bett (-en) bed chinesisch Chinese drüben over there
der Bahnhof (*e) station der Beutel (-) bag die Coca-Cola (-) Coca-Cola der Druck (*e) pressure
bald soon bevor before drücken to press
die Banane (-n) banana bewegen I sich to move d.. the du you
die Bar (-s) bar bezahlen I to pay for d..selb.. the same dumm silly, stupid
bauen to build das Bier beer da there, then, as dunkel dark
der Bauer (PO -n) farmer das Bierchen (-) (nice) little beer das Dach (er) roof durch through, by
der Baum (*e) tree bieten to offer dafür for it, instead dürfen may, to be allowed/able
der Becher (-) cup, mug, carton das Bild (-er) picture, photograph dagegen against it, on the other hand die Dusche (-n) shower
bedanken I sich to say ‘thank you’, billig cheap, inexpensive daher from there, therefore duzen to say ‘du’
express one’s thanks der Bindfaden string dahin (to) there
bedeuten I to mean bis until, up to dahinter behind it eben just, just now, simply
bedienen I to serve ein bißchen abit damals then, at that time ebenfalls likewise
bedrohenI to threaten bist (you) are die Dame (-n) lady ebenso just as
beeilen I sich to hurry (up) bitte please damit with it, in order that, so that die Ecke (-n) corner
befinden I sich to be, be situated bitten (um) to ask (for), request danach after that, afterwards Edeka (chain of small supermarkets)
begegnen I to meet bitte schön? yes please? daneben next to it egal all the same, immaterial,
behalten I to keep bitte schön! here you are! danke (schön)! thank you! regardless
der Behälter (-) container der Bleistift (-e) pencil dann then ehemalig former
behandeln I to treat blenden to dazzle darüber over it, above it, about it das Ei (-er) egg
bei with, at, in die Blume (-n) flower darum round it, therefore, so eigen own
beid.. both, two das Blumengeschäft (-e) florist’s das that eigentlich really, actually
das Beisammensein being with people, der Blumenkohl cauliflower dauern to last eilen to be urgent
get-together der Blutdruck blood pressure davor before it ein a, one
bluten to bleed dazu to it, with it einbegriffen included
beitreten II to join
 187 188

einbilden II sich to imagine das Etikett (-en) label der Fotoapparat (-e) camera geeignet suitable, suited
der Einbrecher (-) burglar etwa about, perhaps, say die Frage (-n) question gefährlich dangerous
einfach simple etwas something in Frage kommen to be possible gefallen I to please
eingeladen invited soetwas something/anything like that nicht in Frage kommen to be out der Gefangene (adj) prisoner
einig.. some, a few euch you ofthe question gefroren frozen
einkaufen II to do the shopping euer your fragen to ask gegen against, towards
die Einkaufsliste (-n) shopping list das Exemplar (-e) copy der Franzose (PO -n) Frenchman die Gegend (-en) area, region,
einladen II to invite das Experiment (-e) experiment französisch French neighbourhood
einmal once der Export (-e) export die Frau (-en) woman, wife, Mrs das Gegenteil opposite
einnehmen II to eat, take, consume extra extra, on purpose, deliberately frech cheeky gegenüber opposite
einrichten II to furnish, arrange frei free, vacant gegenzeichnen II to countersign
der Eintritt (-e) admission das Fach (“er) compartment, subject freihalten Il to keep clear gehen to go, walk
einverstanden agreed fahren to go (not on foot), travel freilich admittedly, to be sure es geht um it’s about
einwandfrei perfect, faultless, flawless die Fahrkarte (-n) ticket der Freitag Friday wie geht’s (Ihnen)? how are you?
einzeln separate, one by one, single das Fahrrad (*er) bicycle freuen sich auf to look forward to gehören I to belong
das Einzelzimmer (-) single room die Fahrt (-en) journey, trip freuen sich (über) to be pleased (at)/ gekocht boiled, cooked
das Eisfach (*er) freezer compartment fallen to fall glad (about) gelb yellow
elegant elegant falls in case der Freund (-e) friend das Geld money
der Elektriker (-) electrician falsch wrong die Freundin (-nen) girlfriend die Gelegenheit (-en) opportunity
die Elektrizität electricity fangen to catch freundlich kind, friendly das Gelenk (-e) joint
empfehlen I to recommend die Farbe (-n) colour, paint frisch fresh gelingen I to succeed
empfinden I to feel der Februar February froh glad das Gemüse vegetables
endlich finally, at last feiern to celebrate die Frucht (*e) fruit das Gemüsefach (*er) vegetable
der Englischkurs (-e) English course die Feile (-n) file früh early compartment
enthalten I to contain, include der Fehler (-) mistake, error früher earlier, former(ly) das Gemüsegeschäft (-e) vegetable shop
die Entscheidung (-en) decision das Fenster (-) window der Frühling, spring genau exact, precise
entschuldigen I sich to apologise die Ferien (plural) holiday(s) das Frühstück breakfast genieren sich to be embarrassed
Entschuldigung! excuse me! der Fernsehapparat (-e) television set fühlen sich to feel genießen I to enjoy
die Entschuldigung (-en) excuse, apology das Fernsehen television der Führer (-) guide genug enough
entsprechen I to correspond die Fernsehzeitung (-en) TV magazine der Führerschein (-e) driving licence genügend enough, sufficient
er he fertig ready, finished der Fünfzigmarkschein (-e) fifty mark das Gepäck luggage
meines Erachtens in my opinion das Fertigessen (-) oven-ready meal note gerade just, just now
die Erdbeermarmelade strawberry jam fest firm funktionieren to work, function gerade erst only just
der Erfolg (-e) success das Festessen (-) banquet für for geradeaus straight ahead
die Erfrischung (-en) refreshment das Feuer (-) fire furchtbar terrible, frightful, fearful immer geradeaus (gehen) to keep
das Ergebnis (-se) result das Feuerwerk fireworks fürchten sich (vor) to be afraid (of) (going) straight ahead
erinnern I sich (an) to remember die Figur (-en) figure das Gerät (-e) machine, (piece of)
erkälten I sich to catch a cold der Film (-e) film ganz all, whole equipment
erkältet sein to have a cold finanzieren to finance gar nicht not at all gern gladly
die Erkältung (-en) cold finden to find gar nichts nothing at all das Geschäft (-e) business, shop
erscheinen I to appear der Fisch (-e) fish die Garage (-n) garage geschehen I to happen
ersetzenI to replace flach flat, shallow der Garten (*) garden geschlossen closed
erst first, only die Flasche (-n) bottle der Gast (*e) guest, visitor der Geschmack (*e or *er) taste
erwarten | to expect, await das Fleisch meat das Gasthaus (*er) inn die Geschwister (plural) brother(s)
erzählen I to tell, relate fliegen to fly die Gaststube (-n) lounge (of inn) and/or sister(s)
die Erziehung education, bringing up, fliehen to flee geben to give gesellig sociable
upbringing der Fliesenleger (-) tiler es gibt there is/are der Gesellschaftsraum (*e) lounge
es it flirten to flirt der Geburtstag (-e) birthday gestern yesterday
essen to eat der Flur (-e) hall der Gedanke (PO -ns) thought das Getränk (-e) drink
das Essen (-) food, meal die Folge (-n) consequence geduldig patient gewachsen sein to beabletocope with
 189 190

gewiß certainly nach Hause (to) home ihn him kaputt broken (down), exhausted
das Gewitter (-) thunderstorm zu Hause at home ihnen to/for them die Karotte (-n) carrot
gewöhnen I sich (an) to get used/ die Hausbesitzerin (-nen) house owner Ihnen to/for you die Kartoffel (-n) potato
accustomed (to) (female) ihr her, their, to/for her der Käse cheese
das Glas (*er) glass, jar der Hausschlüssel (-) house key, front Ihr your der Kassenbon (-s) till receipt, sales slip
der Glaube (PO -ns) belief door key immer always die Kassette (audio) cassette
glauben to believe, think die Haustür (-en) front door immerhin after all die Katastrophe (-n) catastrophe
gleich straight away, immediately, at heiraten to marry immer wieder again and again, die Katze (-n) cat
once, same, similar heiß hot repeatediy der Kauf (*e) purchase
das Glück luck, happiness heißen to be called in in, into kaufen to buy
golden gold, golden das heißt that is (to say) indem by kaum scarcely, hardly
das Gramm (-e) gram der Held (PO -en) hero die Inflation inflation kein not a, no, not any
gratulieren to congratulate helfen to help infolgedessen consequently der Kellner (-) waiter
esgrautmir(vor) I have a horror (of) hell light, bright informieren to inform kennen to know (people, things)
die Grenze (-n) frontier, border herausnehmen II to take out inklusiv inclusive das Kind (-er) child
grillen to grill der Herbst autumn innerhalb inside (of) der Kinderarzt (*e) paediatrician
groß big, large, tall der Herr (PO -n, plural -en) gentleman, installieren to install das Kino (-s) cinema
die Größe (-n) size Mr das Instrument (-e) instrument die Kirche (-n) church
die Großmutter (*) grandmother herrlich splendid, glorious interessant interesting klagen to complain
der Grundpreis (-e) basic price das Herz (PO -ens, plural -en) heart interessieren to interest die Klarinette (-n) clarinet
die Gruppe (-n) group heute today interessieren sich (für) to be der Klassenbeste (adj) best in the class
grüßen to greet, wave heute abend this evening interested (in) der Klassenkamerad (PO -en) classmate
grüß Gott! hello! heutzutage nowadays, now interessiert (an) interested (in) das Klavier (-e) piano
gucken to look, peep hier here interviewen to interview der Klavierlehrer (-) piano teacher
gut good, well die Himbeertorte (-n) raspberry tart/flan irgendein some or other, any das Kleid (-er) dress
na gut! (oh) all right! hin und her backwards and irgendwo somewhere, anywhere klein small, little
guten Abend! good evening! forwards, to and fro ist is klingen to sound
guten Morgen! good morning! hin und zurück there and back, return klopfen to knock
guten Tag! hello! hingegen on the other hand ja yes, of course der Klub (-s) club
meine Güte! my goodness! good hinlegen Il sich to lie down das Jahr (-e) year klug clever
heavens! hinten at the back, behind jahrelang for years der Koffer (-) suitcase
hinter behind der Januar January der Kohl cabbage
haben to have hinterher afterwards, later jawohl! certainly! der Komfort comfort
das Hackfleisch minced meat der Hinweg (-e) outward journey je each, ever kommen to come
das Hähnchen (-) chicken historisch historic, historical jed.. every, each, any kommen zu to happen
halb half hoch high jedenfalls at any rate die Konferenz (-en) conference
die Hälfte (-n) half am höchsten highest jedoch however können can, to be able
hallo! hello! die Hochzeit (-en) wedding jemals ever kontrollieren to check
halt just, simply hoffen to hope jen.. that das Konzert (-e) concert
halten to hold hoffentlich hopefully jenseits on the far side (of), beyond der Kopf (*e) head
halten (von) to think (of/about) höflich polite jetzt now der Kopfsalat lettuce
die Hand (*e) hand holen to fetch, bring jeweils each time der Korken (-) cork
der Handball handball der Honig honey der Juli July kosten to cost
handeln sich um to be about hören to hear jung young der Krach noise, racket, quarrel, row
das Handgelenk (-e) wrist das Hotel (-s) hotel der Junge (PO -n, plural often -ns) boy krank ill, sick
harmlos harmless, innocuous der Hund (-e) dog der Juni June die Krankheit (-en) illness, sickness,
hart hard der Hunger hunger disease
hast (you) have der Kaffee coffee die Kreuzung (-en) crossroads, junction
der Haufen (-) heap, pile ich I die Kalorie (-n) calorie kriechen to creep, crawl
das Haus (*er) house ihm to/for him/it kalt cold kriegen to get
 191 192

die Kritik (-en) criticism machen to make, do mit with das Neujahrsfrühstück (-e) New Year’s
die Küche (-n) kitchen machen sich nichts daraus not to mitbringen II to bring (with one) (Day) breakfast
der Kuchen (-) cake worry about it mithelfen II to assist, help, der Neujahrstag (-e) New Year’s Day
der Kühlschrank (*e) refrigerator es macht nichts it doesn’t matter co-operate neulich recently
der Kunde (PO -n) customer das Mädchen (-) girl das Mitleid sympathy, pity nicht not
die Kusine (-n) cousin (female) mager lean, thin das Mittagessen (-) lunch nichts nothing
der Kurs (-e) course, rate of exchange der Mai May die Mitte (-n) middle nichts los nothing happening/doing
kurz short mal just das Mittelmeer Mediterranean nichts mehr no more, nothing more
kurz danach shortly afterwards das Mal (-e) time, occasion mitten in the middle nie never
kurz davor shortly before malen to paint die Mitternacht (*e) midnight niedrig low
man one, you, people der Mittwoch Wednesday niemand no one, nobody
lachen to laugh manch.. quite afew, a fair number of mögen may, to like noch still, yet, even, nor
landen to land manchmal sometimes die Möglichkeit (-en) possibility, die Nordsee North Sea
lang(e) long der Mann (*er) man, husband opportunity der November November
langsam slow manuell manual möglichst as far as possible na gut! all right (then)!
langweilig boring die Manteltasche (-n) coat pocket der Moment (-e) moment null nought, zero, nil
lassen to let, make, leave die Mark (-) mark im Moment at the moment das Nummernschild (-er) number plate
laufen to run, walk die Deutsche Mark (D-Mark,) (-) Moment mal! just amoment! nun now, well (now)
laut loud, noisy German mark momentan at the moment nur only
die Leberwurst (*e) liver sausage der Markt (“e) market der Monat (-e) month
lecker tasty, delicious der Marktkauf (typical hypermarket der Montag Monday ob whether
leer empty name) morgen tomorrow oben upstairs, at the top
legen to put, lay (flat) der Marktplatz (“e) marketplace müde tired ober.. top, upper
die Lehrerin (-nen) teacher (female) der März March die Musik music obwohl although
leicht easy die Maschine (-n) machine, plane müssen must, to have to oder or
leiden to suffer der Maurer (-) bricklayer die Mutter (*) mother offen open
leider unfortunately, (to be) sorry die Mayonnaise mayonnaise offensichtlich obvious, evident, clear
(that) das Mehl flour nach after, to, according to öffnen to open
leihen to lend, borrow mehr more der Nachbar (PO -n) neighbour oft often
leisten to achieve, manage, accomplish mehrer.. several nachdem after ohne without
lesen to read mein my nachher afterwards ohnehin anyway, as it is
letztens recently, lately meinen to think, mean, say nachholen II to catch up der Oktober October
die Leute (plural) people meinetwegen on my account, as far der Nachmittag (-e) afternoon das Öl oil
das Licht (-er) light as Iam concerned nächst next, nearest das Orchester (-) orchestra
die Liebe (-n) love die Meinung (-en) opinion am nächsten nearest of all die Ordnung order
lieben to love am meisten most of all die Nacht (*e) night der Orthopäde (PO -n) orthopaedics
lieber rather der Mensch (PO -en) person, human der Nachttisch (-e) bedside table specialist
das Lieblingsreiseziel (-e) favourite being, (plural) people nahe near der Osten east
destination merken to notice nähern sich to approach östlich east, eastern
liegen to lie, recline, be (situated) messen to measure nämlich for, you see
liegenlassen II to leave (lying) das Messer (-) knife naß wet das Paar (-e) pair, couple
about/behind der Meter (-) metre natürlich naturally, of course ein paar a few
die Limonade (-n) lemonade der Metzger (-) butcher neben next to, alongside die Packung (-en) pack, packet
losfahren II to set out, come out, mich me, myself nehmen to take die Palette (-n) palette
drive off die Miete (-n) rent nein no das Papier (-e) paper
loslassen II to set off der Mieter (-) tenant die Nelke (-n) carnation parken to park
der Löwe (PO -n) lion die Milch milk nett nice, kind, good passen to fit, suit
lügen to lie (fib) die Milchkanne (-n) milk jug das Netz (-e) net passieren to happen
der Luxus luxury der Minister (-) minister neu new der Patient (PO -en) patient
mißlingenI to fail das Neujahr New Year die Pause (-n) break, interval, pause
 193 194

das Pech bad luck regnen to rain schließen to shut, close Sie you
Pech haben to be unlucky reich rich, wealthy schließlich finally, after all die Silvesterfahrt (-en) New Year(’s
die Person (-en) person reichen to pass, hand, reach das Schloß (”sser) lock, stately home Eve) trip
persönlich personal reichhaltig varied, comprehensive, der Schlüssel (-) key das Silvesterfestessen (-) New Year’s
der Pfeffer pepper extensive schmecken to taste (good) Eve banquet
pfeifen to whistle der Reifen (-) tyre der Schmerz (-en) pain, ache sind are
der Pfeifton (*e) whistling sound die Reihe (-n) row, series schmutzig dirty, filthy singen to sing
der Pfennig (-e) pfennig reintun II to put in schneiden to cut sinken to sink
der Pflaumenkuchen (-) plum tart der Reis rice schnell quick, fast sitzen to sit
das Pfund (-e) pound der Reiseleiter (-) courier schon already, even das Skelett (-e) skeleton
das Picknick (-s) picnic der Reisepaß (*sse) passport schön nice, lovely, pretty, beautiful das Skifahren skiing
der Pinsel (-) brush die Reklamation (-en) complaint, refund schonen to spare, save die Skimöglichkeit (-en) opportunity
der Plan (*e) plan die Revolution (-en) revolution der Schrank (*e) cupboard, wardrobe for skiing, (plural) skiing facilities
planen to plan das Rezept (-e) recipe, prescription schrecklich terrible, awful so so, like this/that
der Platz (“e) place, room, space, seat, riechen to smell schreiben to write so (et)was something/anything like
square richtig correct, right, proper der Schuh (-e) shoe that
plötzlich sudden röntgen to X-ray der Schulanfang (*e) start of school So ... wie as... a8
der Politiker (-) politician die Rose (-n) rose die Schuld (-en) fault, debt sobald as soon
politisch political der Rosenkohl brussels sprouts die Schule (-n) school sofort immediately, straight away
der Polizist (PO -en) policeman rostig rusty die Schüssel (-n) dish der Sohn (*e) son
die Popmusik pop music rot red schwach weak solch.. such
praktisch practical, handy der Rotwein red wine der Schwager (*) brother-in-law der Soldat (PO -en) soldier
der Präsident (PO -en) president die Rückfahrt (-en) return journey die Schwägerin (-nen) sister-in-law sollen must, ought to, is/are to
der Preis (-e) price der Ruf (-e) call, reputation schwatzen gossip, chatter somit therefore, thereby
preiswert reasonably priced rufen to call (out) schwer heavy, serious, grave, difficult der Sommer (-) summer
pro per ruhig quiet, calm die Schwester (-n) sister, nurse sondern but
probieren to try die Schwiegertochter (7) daughter-in-law der Sonderpreis (-e) special price
das Problem (-e) problem die Sache (-n) thing, item schwierig difficult, awkward der Sonnabend (-e) Saturday
das Programm (-e) programme sagen to say, tell die Schwierigkeit (-en) difficulty die Sonne sun
prüfen to test die Sahnesoße (-n) cream sauce schwimmen to swim sonnen sich to sunbathe
die Prüfung (-en) test, examination die Salami salami sehen [Link] der Sonntag (-e) Sunday
der Pullover (-) pullover der Salat (-e) salad sehnen sich (nach) to long (for) sonst otherwise, at other times, or else
das Salz salt sehr very die Sorge (-n) worry, concern
das Quintett (-e) quintet der Samstag Saturday sein to be, his, its sorgen (für) to see (to), take care (of)
satt full, satisfied seit since, for die Sorte (-n) sort, type, kind
der Rahmen (-) frame sauer sour seitdem since (then) sowieso anyway
rasen to rush schaffen to manage, do, make, create die Seite (-n) side, page sparen to save
rasieren sich to shave, get shaved schämen sich to be ashamed die Sekretärin (-nen) secretary (female) die Sparsamkeit thrift, economy
raten to advise, guess der Scheibenkäse cheese in slices, das Sektfrühstück (-e) champagne der Spaß (*e) joke, fun
das Rathaus (*er) town hall sliced cheese breakfast viel Spaß! enjoy yourself!
rauchen to smoke scheinen to seem, shine die Sekunde (-n) second (zu) spät late
der Raum (e) room, space schenken to give (as a present) d..seib.. the same später later, afterwards
recht haben to be right schicken to send selbst -self, even spazierengehen II to go for a walk
rechts to/on the right der Schinken (-) ham selten seldom, rarely spielen to play
der Rechtsanwalt (*e) lawyer schlafen to sleep der Semmelknödel (-) dumpling der Sportler (-) sportsman
die Rede (-n) speech, talk das Schlafzimmer (-) bedroom der September September der Sportwagen (-) sports car
reden to speak, talk schlagen to hit, beat servieren to serve sprechen to speak, talk
das Regal (-e) shelf die Schlagsahne whipped cream, die Show (-s) show die Sprechstundenhilfe (-n) (doctor’s,
regelmäßig regular whipping cream sicher sure, certain, reliable dentist’s, etc.) receptionist
der Regenschirm (-e) umbrella schlecht bad, poor sie she, her, they, them springen to jump
 195 196

die Stadt (*e) town der Tennis tennis um... zu in order to, so as to vernünftig sensible
der Stadtführer (-) town guide der Teppich (-e) carpet umgehen II mit to handle, deal with verrückt mad, crazy
stammen (von/aus) to originate teuer dear, expensive der Umzug move, removal verschieden different, various
(in), come (from) wie teuer? how much? unangenehm unpleasant, verschulden I sich to get into debt,
stark strong das Theater (-) theatre embarrassing go into the red
starten to start, take off der Theaterplatz Theatre Square unbedingt absolute, really, without versprechen I to promise
statt instead of die Theke (-n) counter fail verstehen I to understand
stattdessen instead (of that) die Tiefkühltruhe (-n) (chest) freezer unberechtigt unjustified der Versuch (-e) attempt
das Steak (-s) steak die Tischdecke (-n) tablecloth und and versuchen I to try
stecken to be (situated), put (inside), die Tochter (*) daughter die Unruhe (-n) disturbance, noise vertun Isich to make a mistake,
insert die Toilette (-n) toilet uns (to/for) us slip up
stehen to stand die Tomate (-n) tomato unser our der Verwandte (adj) relative
stehlen to steal der Ton (*e) sound, tone unsympathisch unpleasant, verzeihen I to forgive, pardon
steif stiff das Tonband (*er) (audio) tape uncongenial der Vetter (-) cousin (male)
steigen to climb das Tor (-e) gate, gateway, goal unten downstairs, at the bottom, viel much, a lot
di ® Stelle (-n) place der Tourist (PO -en) tourist below viel.. much, many
stellen to put, place (upright) die Touristeninformation (-en) tourist unter under, below, beneath vielleicht perhaps
sterben to die information office unterbringen II to accommodate das Viertel (-) quarter
im Stich lassen to leave in the lurch tragen to carry, wear die Unterhaltung (-en) entertainment, die Viertelstunde (-n) quarter ofan hour
stoppen to stop, halt treffen to meet conversation voll full
stören to disturb treiben to drive die Unterkunft (*e) accommodation vollkommen perfect
stoßen to bump trennen to separate unterschreiben I to sign von from, of, by
der Strand (*e) beach die Treppe (-n) stairs, staircase untersuchenI to examine vor before, in front of, ago
die Straße (-n) street, road treten to step, kick unterwegs on the way vorbeischauen II to look in
streiten to quarrel trinken to drink unwichtig unimportant vorbereiten II to prepare
das Stück (-e) piece, item der Tropfen (-) drop der Urin urine die Vorbereitung (-en) preparation
der Student (PO -en) student trotz in spite of der Urlaub (-e) holiday(s) vorbeugen II to avert
studieren to study trotzdem in spite of (that), nevertheless vorfinden II to find, discover
die Stunde (-n) hour das T-Shirt (-s) T-shirt die Vase (-n) vase vorgestern the day before yesterday
stundenlang for hours die Tube (-n) tube der Vater (*) father vorhaben II to intend, have
suchen to look for tun to do, put veranstalten I to arrange, put on planned, have (got) on
der Supermarkt (*e) supermarket die Tür (-en) door die Veranstaltung (-en) item of der Vorhang (*e) curtain
entertainment, event vorher before (that)
der Tag (-e) day über over, across, about die Verantwortung responsibility vorhin a little/short time ago
guten Tag! hello! überdies besides der Verbrecher (-) criminal vorig.. last
die Tageszeitung (-en) daily (news)paper das Übergewicht excess weight verbringen I to spend (time) vorkommen II to happen, occur
tagsüber during the daytime überhaupt in general, at all, die Vereinigten Staaten (plural) the vornehmen Il to undertake
die Tante (-n) aunt altogether United States vorn at the front
der Tanz (*e) dance überlassenI to leave vergessenI to forget vorrätig in stock, to hand
tanzen to dance der Überlebende (adj) survivor das Verhältnis (-se) relationship, vorschießen II to advance (money)
die Tasche (-n) pocket übermorgen the day after tomorrow (plural) means, circumstances der Vorschlag (*e) suggestion, proposal
in die Tasche greifen to dip into die Übernachtung (-en) overnight stay verheiratet married vorschlagen II to propose
one’s pocket überreden I to persuade verirren I sich to get lost der Vorschuß (*sse) advance
das Taschengeld pocket money die Überstunde (-n) (plural) overtime verkaufen I to sell vorsichtig careful, cautious
die Tasse (-n) cup überweisenI to transfer verlassenI to leave vorstellen II to introduce
der Teilnehmer (-) participant übrigens by the way, incidentally verlaufen I sich to get lost vorstellen Il sich to imagine
das Telefon (-e) telephone überübermorgen the day after the verletzen I to injure, hurt
telefonieren to phone day after tomorrow verletzen I sich to get hurt wachsen to grow
die Telefonnummer (-n) telephone die Uhr (-en) clock, watch, o’clock, time verlierenI to lose der Wagen (-) car
number um round, about, at der Verlust (-e) loss die Wahl (-en) choice, election
 197 198
wahnsinnig crazy wesentlich essential, significant,
während in the course of, during, der Zehnmarkschein (-e) ten mark note der Zug (*e) train, draught, procession
substantial
while zeigen to show zuhören II to listen
wessen? whose?
währenddessen during that die Zeit (-en) time die Zündkerze (-n) spark plug
der Westen west
wahrscheinlich probably vor einiger Zeit some time ago zunehmen II to put on weight
das Wetter weather
der Wald (*er) wood, forest in letzter Zeit recently zurück back
wichtig important
wann(?) when(?) eine Zeitlang for a time zusammen (al)together
widersprechen I to contradict
warm warm, hot die Zeitung (-en) newspaper der Zuschlag (*e) additional charge,
wie(?) how(?)
warten (auf) to wait (for) zerstören I to destroy surcharge
wie (bitte)? pardon?
warum? why? ziehen to pull, move zustehen II to be due
wieder again
was(?) what(?) ziemlich fairly, rather, pretty zwar to be sure, admittedly, though
auf Wiedersehen! goodbye!
was = etwas das Zimmer (-) room und zwar namely
wieso (denn)? how’s that?
was für (ein)? what sort of (a)? zögern to hesitate zweimal twice
wieviel? how much?
waschen to wash zu to, at, too der Zwilling (-e) twin
wieviele? how many?
waschen sich to wash, have a wash,
der Zucker sugar zwischen between
der Wille (PO -ns) will
get washed zudem besides (das) Zypern Cyprus
der Winter (-) winter
das Wasser water zufällig by (any) chance
der Winterprospekt (-e) winter brochure
das Wassersystem (-e) plumbing, water winzig tiny, minute
system wir we
weg away, gone der Wirt (-e) landlord
der Weg (-e) way, path die Wirtin (-nen) landlady
wegen on account of, because of
weggehen II to go away
wissen to know (facts)
witzig funny, amusing Index
dabei wegkommen II (mit) to get wo(?) where(?)
away (with) die Woche (-n) week The numbers refer to sections, not pages.
wegwerfen II to throw away das Wochenende (-n) week-end
“alan’ 17 -end non-finite verb (-end form) 61, 74,
weich soft wohl well, probably, no doubt adjectives 25, 29 82(b), 82(e)
das Weihnachten (-) Christmas wohnen to live, reside as nouns 61
die Weihnachtsferien (plural) die Wohnung (-en) flat, dwelling finite verb 33, 53
adverbs 25
Christmas holiday(s) der Wohnwagen (-n) caravan future 33(h), 42
affective words 73
weil because das Wohnzimmer (-) living room, lounge alphabet 2 ge __(e)t non-finite verb (ge
_(e)t form)
der Wein (-e) wine der Wohnzimmertisch (-e) living-room attached phrases 54, 55, 56, 62 44, 46, 47
die Weintraube (-n) grape table attached sentences 62, 63 gender 11
weiß white enclosed 82 es gibt 27
wollen to want, intend
auxiliary verbs 34, 35, 45 greetings 10
weiß knows das Wort (“er or -e) word
das Weißbrot (-e) white bread/loaf worüber over/about which ‘to be’ 16, 27, 37, 38 ‘to have’ (haben) 16(b), 31, 59, 76
weiter further wundern sich to be surprised ‘by ...-ing’ 74
identifiers 60
weiterdrehen II to turn on/further wunderschön beautiful, lovely, case 14, 17, 20, 50 impersonal expressions 78
welch. .(?)(!) which(?), what(?)(!) glorious, splendid comparison of adjectives/adverbs 25(b), indirect citation of speech 80, 81
der Weltkrieg (-e) world war der Wunsch (*e) wish 25(c) indirect object (IO) case 20, 21, 26, 29, 41(c)
wem? (to/for) whom? wünschen to wish, desire conditional sentences 71 inseparable prefixes 47
wen? who(m)? die Wurst (?e) sausage consonants 5 instructions 24
wenig little d.. and related words 11, 12, 14, 20, 28, intimates, addressing 31, 76
wenig... little, few der Yoghurt (-s) yoghurt 41,50 joiners 62(b), 62(c), 63
wenigstens at least da(r)- 40
dates 48
line-of-thought pointers 75
wenn if, when, whenever die Zahl (-en) number location, expressing 37, 38
wer? who? zahlen to pay days ofthe week 48
zählen to count direct object (DO) case 14, 17, 26, 29, 4l(c) measurements 36, 60
werden will, shall, to be going to, to
der Zähler (-) counter ein and related words 17, 28, 50 months ofthe year 48
become
werfen to throw der Zahnarzt (*e) dentist -en non-finite verb (-en form) 34, 54, 72, 77 negative sentences 23
enclosed attached sentences 82 non-finite verbs 33, 34, 47, 53, 54, 72, 74, 82
 199

nouns 11 quantities 36 re a %) u
exceptional masculine 52 questions 22 ; & ge ir Denn: Pr Kulsren Bi u:
IO case plural ending 29(a) Be Let l-en) DRS
reflexive pronouns 64, 65 D zreaise synlie le Zur arrn
plural 13 |
reflexive verbs 65 iger Zrie erde zumebs
PO case singular ending 50 f fi
requests 24 En ars Di : I # ziaups1
numerals 18, 30, 37 zur ce "
- . e be
sein 16, 31, 37, 45, 59, 69 Kr arm de ai ia» i Take En |
oblique tenses
separable prefixes 47(b), 53 Se BEER A0FBr a a ey ("a
past 69, 70, 71, 80 Set
present 79, 80
sequence of words 9, 32, 33, 53, 54, 63 Bee Ten No Sanauspee snscksge pr RY
statt... zu 56 ehe %7 I wu SHE... Niae
obverse process (‘passive’) 57, 72
stop (hiatus) 6 len $; = + a altante Eva:
ohne ... zu 56 v3
7 rar erh
Erz: 2: u be Ye, Arge:Be
subject (SU) case 14 En &es IE; meine x
z und ir abi
past tense 59, 66, 67 superlatives of adjectives/adverbs 25(b), 3 vi az
25(c), 29 9 ee ME
were har. "TODD LE Her
Br:
=
oblique 69, 70, 71, 80
P2 =; e ü =

E
26

era
an 2.
. fi
,
possessor (PO) case 50, 51 de3 on
tags, reassurance 49 # ER 3 teen Eu.
HR
pre-past 68 a
‘the’ 11, 12, 14, 20, 50 Sara SET ee
lee?Ds Gert = a. ?
prepositions 26, 40, 51, 63(c)
‘there is/are’ 27, 37 ag j le ar
De
pre-present 44, 45, 46, 47, 58 ul a ge 2 FEÄRTEN DEac ge
time, expressions of 48 EB NEPTEERENEG
BE ;1r „0B.,03 SE Is g
present tense 16, 31, 35, 42, 43, 76 "OT ER SE RE TED
trotzdem 74 % HT sbnion OL 1ER SE BE ie
oblique 79, 80 ie

prices 19 um ...zu55 e Zrhsgher: = FE BR...

dB OTSup
ii
, Be | a 77
pronouns 15, 20, 31, 76
reflexive 64, 65
verbs 16 an 38 21 veong
reflexive 65
pronunciation 1-7
requiring IO case 21
consonants 3, 5
vowels 4 werden 34, 35(h), 57
punctuation 8, 80 ‘without ...-ing’ 56
‘to put’ 39 wo(r)- 63(2)
quantifiers 60

er EA a
£ 14:77 Fr 47 ah Le
ze. eo Mi a u
insirenes, wiIirewir im;
£ m ru
vos» ch, oe Par
Inkaftbogphr pönlere ng "Sl
kecanianıBe Pa rw 7
Make your language studies even Re 8 \\[e18/.\e]Zeiell] 12135
easier...! Hugo’s world-famous method of teaching, which has helped
countless students to master a foreign language, is designed to take
Before you buy this ‘Three Months’ book with its clear absolute beginners through to a good working knowledge, enabling‘
them to understand and be understood, in a remarkably short time.
and concise explanations, just consider how much The essence of this Course is simplicity; it is also extremely
simpler the job of teaching yourself might be if you practical, being designed both to facilitate steady and rapid progress
could hear the language too. There’s a set of four as well as to make language learning enjoyable. Students who are
cassettes available in a special pack with the book, on already fairly proficient will find the Course to be invaluable for
review and advancement, and it is also a very useful reference book
which you'll hear first the examples of correct in support of class teaching and an excellent introduction to first-
pronunciation and then selected extracts from the level examinations.
lessons . . . important words, verb conjugations, This Course begins with guidance on German pronunciation and
example sentences, conversations and general then goes on to explain in simple terms the basic elements of
vocabulary. These Audio Courses are very reasonably grammar. Each lesson contains a number of these instructional
paragraphs, which are illustrated by model sentences and supported
priced and include a copy of the “Three Months’ book; by exercises (with answers) and word lists. Plenty of idiomatic
ask your bookseller, or write to us for full details. language is to be found in the Course, particularly in the
conversation pieces which usually round off each lesson. Hugo’s
‘Three Months’ books and audio courses in: unique System of ‘imitated pronunciation’ is a feature of the earlier
lessons and greatly helps those who are unable to use our special
French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, AUDIO CASSETTES.
Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Russian, Greek,
The book has been compiled as a complete course of study in itself,
Turkish, Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Latin-American but you will find that learning the language is made even easier if
Spanish. you use it in conjunction with the-tapes. HUGO’S GERMAN
CASSETTE COURSE is available (packed together with a copy of
Among our other publications: this book) from your bookseller, and we recommend that. you
consider the full package.
Verb books
Invaluable reference books with complete lists of
verbs, with their formation explained. ISBN 0-85285-160-X

The ‘Speak Today’ series

One cassette and a book for improving your colloquial
ability in a foreign language, once you’ve grasped the
basic rules of construction and can form your own
9 780852'851609
sentences.
LE
Distributed in the U.S.A. by
Hugo’s Language Books Ltd., Old Station Yard, Hunter Publishing Inc., 300 Raritan Center Parkway, CN 94, Edison, N.J. 0£
Marlesford, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 0AG.
Tel: 0728-746546.
LILLERT Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 0AG. ero-Ee9L-ON
NI 5
INN)
RE