Thursday, October 8, 2009

Lesson 7: Forming Questions in German and Interrogatives

In German, questions can be formed in two ways depending upon what kind of answer you are looking for. If you're looking to elicit some information, questions begin with an interrogative. A list of them can be seen below:
Wann when
Was what
Wo where
Wie how
Welche + noun which
Wieviel + singular noun how much
Wie viele + plural noun how many
If your question seeks to elicit a yes or no response, then the question starts with a verb:
Hast du Zeit?
Do you have time?

Spielen sie heute Golf?
Are they playing golf today?
Lesson 7: Forming Questions in German and InterrogativesSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Lesson 6: Haben -- to have

The German verb, haben, translates as to have in English. It is one of the most important German verbs and should be memorized in all its tenses. It is presented below in the present tense -- study it, learn it, and memorize it.

This verb is important in early conversational German. In the upcoming lessons, I'll post some basic conversations that will showcase the use of this verb as a way of learning and using important expressions. Also, this verb is used in many idiomatic expressions where in English one might use "to be" -- for example:
Ich habe Hunger.
I'm hungry
.
See the chart below for its conjugation in the present tense:


ich habe I have
du hast you have (familiar, singular)
er hat he has
sie hat she has
es hat it has

wir haben we have
ihr habt you have (familiar, plural)
sie haben they have

Sie haben you have (formal, singular or plural)
Lesson 6: Haben -- to haveSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Lesson 5: Sein -- to be

The German verb, sein, translates as to be in English. It is one of the most important German verbs and should be memorized in all its tenses. It is presented below in the present tense -- study it, learn it, and memorize it.

This verb is important in early conversational German. In the upcoming lessons, I'll post some basic conversations that will showcase the use of this verb as a way of learning and using important expressions.

See the chart below for its conjugation in the present tense:

ich bin I am
du bist you are (familiar, singular)
er ist he is
sie ist she is
es ist it is

wir sind we are
ihr seid you are (familiar, plural)
sie sind they are

Sie sind you are (formal, singular or plural)
Lesson 5: Sein -- to beSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Lesson 4: Use of the Eszett (ß) in German

This funny little "B" looking character is really two s's together and can sometimes be troubling for students learning German. This character is called the Eszett.

In 1996, Germany enacted some spelling reforms with respect to the Eszett. The usage is as follows:
  1. ß is used after diphthongs
    example: heißen = to be called: Ich heiße Thomas. | My name is Thomas.

  2. ß is used after long vowels
    example: grüßen = to greet: Grüß Gott! | Good day

  3. ss is used after short vowels
    example: wissen = to know, but ich weiß which follows rule #1

The Eszett is still used for proper place names so it's important to understand what it is and how it is used. If you can't make it on your keyboard (the ASCII code is ALT + 0223 or use the Character Map in Windows), the ss is permissible.
Lesson 4: Use of the Eszett (ß) in GermanSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Lesson 3: Gender in German

German nouns have three genders:
  • masculine
  • neuter
  • feminine
Nouns in German are identified by their definite (or indefinite article) or declension (an inflected form of a pronoun or adjective that precedes the noun which identifies its gender and or number).

Below is the nominative forms for the definite article (der, das, die, die) in German (the nominative will be discussed in greater detail in a future lesson, but for now, memorize the forms below), the indefinite article (ein, ein, eine) as well as kein/keine (I'll explain that, too):

Remember, that in German the indefinite article (ein, eine) has no plural form, just like English.

Note that nouns in German have two forms: a singular form, that is either masculine, neuter or feminine, as well as a plural form:
der Bleisfift, die Bleistifte | the pencil, the pencils
das Kind, die Kinder | the child, the children
die Kusine, die Kusinen | the cousin, the cousins
In German textbooks, the plural form is generally abbreviated after the singular form. When learning nouns, remember to learn its gender and its plural form. Below are some examples of the possible noun endings:
der Bleistift, -e (adds an -e to the ending)
der Stuhl, -¨e (adds an umlaut over the stressed vowel with the ending -e)
der Junge, -n (adds an -n to the ending)
der Mann, -¨er (adds umlauts over the stressed vowel with ending -er)
der Onkel, - (no ending, simply change the definite article to die)
das Kind, -er (adds an -er to the ending)
die Mutter, -¨ (adds umlauts over the stressed vowel)
die Uhr, -en (adds an -en to the ending)
die Studentin, -nen (adds a -nen to the ending)
der Kuli, -s (adds a -s to the ending)

NB: In most books the umlauts hover over the dash, but I don't know how to make those on my computer. If anyone knows, please leave a comment!
Lesson 3: Gender in GermanSocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Lesson 2: Useful Expressions in German (I)

Below are some expressions that you should learn as they are quite common in German:

Guten Morgen Good morning
Guten Abend Good evening
Gute Nacht Good night.
Guten Tag! Hello! Good day!
Tag! Hi! (informal)

Wie heißen Sie? What is your name? (formal)
Mein name ist... My name is
Ich heiße... My name is
Freut mich. Pleased to meet you.

Wie geht es Ihnen? How are you? (formal)
Wie geht's? How are you (informal)

Es geht mir gut. I'm fine.
Es geht mir nicht schlecht. I'm not bad.
Es geht mir schlecht. I'm unwell.

Ja. Yes
Nein. No

Danke. Thank you.
Bitte. Please (or Thank you -- be careful, this word can be tricky)

Bis später. See you later.
Auf Wiedersehen! Good-bye
Tschüss Bye or Good-bye (informal)
Lesson 2: Useful Expressions in German (I)SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Friday, September 18, 2009

Lesson 1: Subject Pronouns in German (nominative)

The subject pronouns, as in English, are generally always required in German sentences. Subject pronouns are part of the nominative case in German. More about that later, but for now, here are the subject pronouns:

ich I (FYI: ich is always lowercase in German unless it is the first word in a sentence)

du you (second person, singular)

er he
sie she
es it

wir we
ihr you (second person, plural)
sie they


There is also the polite form, Sie, which is always capitalized and is both singular and plural. It means "you" and is used to address one or more persons in a formal setting. Below is a regular German verb conjugated, using the verb, sagen (to say):

ich sage
du sagst
er/sie/es sagt

wir sagen
ihr sagt
sie sagen

Sie sagen
Lesson 1: Subject Pronouns in German (nominative)SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

Willkommen!

At University, I studied German for a number of years. As a budding art historian, it was a language that I needed to be able to read and speak in order to be able to conduct research efficiently. Over the years, I stopped using my German so I have endeavored to try to get it back. And what better way than to write a blog. I figured that since my efforts in improving and learning Italian were so successful by blogging, that perhaps I would have the same success with German.

I can't make any promises about how often I will update this blog, but I am hoping for a post a week. I'm going to start at the beginning and work my way forward. As I (re)learn things, I hope to be able to communicate my knowledge to you as well as give you advice on web sites, books, and other materials and media.

As always, leave comments or email me.
Willkommen!SocialTwist Tell-a-Friend

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