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Willkommen!

Welcome to an online Beginners' German course designed by


Paul Joyce of the University of Portsmouth. It currently contains
twelve chapters of dialogue and exercises which have been
designed to give the absolute beginner a grounding in the
rudiments of the German language, as well as providing
background information about life and culture in the German-
speaking countries.

German Course Chapter index

Chapter 1 Chapter 7

Chapter 2 Chapter 8

Chapter 3 Chapter 9

Chapter 4 Chapter 10

Chapter 5 Chapter 11

Chapter 6 Chapter 12

1.1 Saying hello


Vocabulary 1: Saying Hello Formally

"Guten Morgen!"
("Good Morning!")
"Guten Tag!"
("Hello!" (literally "Good
day!"))
"Guten Abend!"
("Good evening!")

1. German speakers say "Hello!" in a number of ways.


This partly depends on the time of day:

• "Guten Morgen!" is said until about 10 a.m.


• "Guten Tag!" is said from about 10 a.m. to 5 or 6 p.m.
(There is no equivalent phrase for "Good afternoon!" in
German.)
• "Guten Abend!" is said after 5 p.m.

All of these greetings are used in formal situations when we


might say "How do you do" in English, or when meeting people
we don't know particularly well. When you expect or are hoping
for service, it could be interpreted as impolite not to say "Guten
Tag!" as an opener.

2. In informal situations however - amongst family, friends or


young people -, the above greetings are often shortened or
other greetings are used:

Vocabulary 2: Saying Hello Informally

"Hallo!" "Hallihallo!"
("Hello!") ("Hello!")
"Hi!" "Morgen!"
("Hi!") ("Morning!")
"Tag!" " 'n Abend!"
("Hello!") ("Evening!")

3. Your greeting will also depend on your geographical location.


In South Germany and Austria, you'll often hear "Grüß Gott!" or
"Servus!" in daylight hours, whilst in Switzerland you'll hear
"Grüezi":

Vocabulary 3: Saying Hello Regionally

"Grüß Gott!"
("Hello!" ("May God greet
you!"))
"Grüß dich!"
("Hello!" (informal: "I greet
you!"))
"Servus!"
("Hello!")
"Grüezi!"
("Greetings!")

Remember to shake hands!


When Germans meet, their greetings can appear quite formal.
Even if they see each other every day at work they will usually
shake hands. If you enter a room full of people, a general
greeting to all of them is usually sufficient, although you will
probably shake hands with some of them at least. Strictly
speaking, the older person should hold out their hand first.

Close acquaintances and friends however frequently greet each


other in Southern European style not with a handshake but with
a kiss on the left cheek and a kiss on the right.

.2 Saying goodbye
Vocabulary 4: Saying Goodbye Formally

"Auf Wiedersehen!"
("Goodbye!")
"Auf Wiederschauen!"
(= South Germany and
Austria)
"Auf Wiederhören!"
("Goodbye!" (telephone))
"Gute Nacht!"
("Good night!")

1. When saying goodbye, it is also necessary to distinguish


between formal and informal registers:

• The standard form for saying goodbye in German is "auf


Wiedersehen!". It means "Until we see each other again",
as does the South German and Austrian variant "auf
Wiederschauen".
• As you obviously can't "see" people on telephones
however, you use the phrase "auf Wiederhören" - "until
we hear from each other again" - when you put down the
receiver.
• When you are saying goodbye at night, you would say
"gute Nacht!".

Vocabulary 5: Saying Goodbye Informally

"Tschüs!" "Bis später!"


("Bye!") ("See you
later!")
"Ciao!" "Servus!"
("Ciao!") (S. Germany &
Austria)

2. When you are saying farewell to friends and young people


the above expressions can also be used. Be aware that:

• The word "tschüs" (sometimes spelled "tschüss") is the


most common farewell phrase amongst friends, having the
sense of "See you!" or "Bye!". It originally comes, like the
Spanish "adiós" and the French "adieu", from the Latin "ad
deum", and means literally "God be with you".
• You might occasionally find "ciao" Germanized as "tschau".
• One should really only use "bis später" to meaning "See
you later the same day".
• The word "servus" can either mean "hello" or "goodbye"
according to context. You will hear it primarily in Southern
Germany and Austria.

German nouns
As you will have noticed, all German nouns - such as "Morgen",
"Tag", "Abend" and "Nacht" - are always written with a capital
letter. This has the advantage for the learner of making them
much easier to spot!

On the other hand, adjectives - such as "guten" in "guten


Abend" - are not capitalized unless they occur at the beginning
of a sentence.

Hello and goodbye: vocabulary quiz and videos

You can test yourself on how to say hello and goodbye in


German by clicking on the bar below:

The LangMedia site gives you the opportunity to see and hear
Germans say hello and goodbye to each other. Watching their
body language as they do so is just as important as listening to
what they say. There are also transcripts of their conversations
in German and English:
1.3 "Sie" or "du?"

1. The German language has different ways of translating the


English pronoun "you":

Grammar 1: "du" and "Sie"

du
The familiar or informal form "du"
is used when talking to relatives,
close friends and children.
It does not start with a capital
letter.
The plural of "du" is "ihr".

Sie
The formal form "Sie" is used when
you need to be more polite.
It is the usual form of address when
talking to an adult whom you don't
know well or at all.
A child would always say "Sie" to
an adult outside his or her own
family.
"Sie" always starts with a capital
letter.
The plural form of "Sie" is also
"Sie".

2. Whether to use "Sie" or "du" can be a terrible dilemma for


native and non-native speakers alike. It is quite possible for two
neighbours to live next door to each other for decades and still
call each other "Herr X" or "Frau Y" and refer to each other
using "Sie"!

It is equally possible for two colleagues to work in the same


office all their life and still call each other "Sie" and not be on
first name terms. As the "Sie" form carries with it great respect,
it thus remains the norm amongst employees, although there is
a growing trend towards work colleagues being on first name
terms with each other and as a consequence using the "du"
form.
When meeting someone in a work environment, you should
always use "Sie". The inappropriate use of "du" to someone in a
position of authority in a German-speaking country can appear
disrespectful and cause a great deal of offence. When getting to
know new friends and colleagues, it is advisable to wait for the
German speaker to ask you to address them with "du", which
should then be interpreted as an offer of friendship.

3. In other areas of social interaction however, you will be


expected to use "du", and may be seen as being cold and aloof
if you do not.

University students invariably call each other "du" even when


they're meeting for the first time, as do members of certain
other groups which place a high value on solidarity (e.g. blue-
collar workers, soldiers, sportsmen).

How are you?


The choice between "du" and "Sie" is not just one of social
niceties. It also affects the grammar of a sentence - and verb
endings in particular. Even an apparently simple construction
like "How are you" needs to be remembered in three ways:

Grammar 2: Wie geht es...?

Pronoun How are you?


Sie "Wie geht es
(formal) Ihnen?"
du "Wie geht es dir?"
(informal)
ihr "Wie geht es
(informal euch?"
plural)

1. You will discover in subsequent chapters that "Ihnen", "dir"


and "euch" are the dative forms of "Sie", "du" and "ihr". "Wie
geht es Ihnen / dir?" literally means: "How goes it for you?"

2. In all three of the above contexts, you might also use "Wie
geht's?" ("How are things?"). This phrase neatly sidesteps the
issue of whether you should refer to the person to whom you
are talking as "du" or "Sie", although it is a quite informal
greeting

1.4 Conversations: Greetings!

In the office
Here are two conversations which practise the difference
between formal and informal greetings. Pay particular attention
to the different greetings which are used in the different
contexts.

In our first conversation, Frau Müller meets her boss Doctor


Schmidt as he comes in for work in the morning. Even though
they have worked together for some time, they still use the
formal "Sie" to address each other. Click here or on the sound
icon below to listen to their conversation.

Conversation 1: Im Büro

Herr Dr. Guten Morgen, Frau Müller.


Schmidt
Frau Müller Guten Morgen, Herr Doktor
Schmidt. Wie geht es Ihnen?
Herr Dr. Sehr gut, danke. Und Ihnen?
Schmidt
Frau Müller Leider nicht sehr gut.
Herr Dr. Oh, das tut mir Leid.
Schmidt
Frau Müller Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Doktor
Schmidt.
Herr Dr. Auf Wiedersehen.
Schmidt

Glossary

das Büro The office


im Büro In the office
Herr Mister
Frau "Frau" is the title used for both
maried and single women and
approximates to the English Ms.,
Mrs. or Miss.
Wie geht "How are you?" As this is an office
es environment, the formal version is
Ihnen? used.
Sehr gut, "Very well, thank you". This is short
danke. for "Mir geht es sehr gut, danke"
("I'm very well, thank you"), which
you could also say at this point.
Und "And you?" This is short for: "Und
Ihnen? wie geht es Ihnen?", which you could
also say in full if you wished.
Leider "Not so good." The word "leider" on
nicht sehr its own means "unfortunately".
gut.
Oh, das "Oh, I'm sorry." As in English, this
tut mir can mean that you are sorry to hear
Leid. something or sorry because of
something that you have done.

1. In German, people greet each other by name more often


than we do in English-speaking countries. If someone is a doctor
of any kind, this title immediately follows "Herr" or "Frau" - e.g.
"Herr Doktor Schmidt", or "Frau Professor Meyer". As a general
rule, you should avoid using first names in formal
circumstances, unless you are speaking to a child.

2. The formal use of Fräulein to translate "Miss" is outdated and


should be avoided, not least because the literal translation of
Fräulein is "little woman"! You should instead use Frau.

3. Asking how someone is is normally a mere conversational


formality, and the correct response is some form of "Fine
thanks!" (see above). Compared to Anglo-Saxon countries
however, asking about somebody's health is a comparatively
private question in Germany, and on a bad day the person
asked may give you a detailed run-down on his or her precise
state of health!

At the station
In our second conversation, schoolfriends Michael and Franz
bump into each at the station and briefly exchange greetings.
They naturally use the informal "du" to address each other.

Conversation 2: Am Bahnhof

Michael Tag, Franz.


Franz Hallo, Michael. Wie geht es dir?
Michael Gut, danke. Und dir?
Franz Prima, danke.
Michael Tschüs.
Franz Tschüs. Bis später.

Glossary

der The station


Bahnhof
am At the station
Bahnhof
Wie geht "How are you?" As these are two
es dir? young friends who are meeting, they
use the informal "du" form.
Gut, Well, thank you
danke
Prima, "Great, thank you". The word
danke "prima" should really only be used in
informal contexts. Again, you could
also say "Mir geht es prima, danke"
at this point.

1.5 Introducing yourself and others

1. When you are introducing yourself to other people, you would


use your first name in informal circumstances i.e. when you
would use "du". Otherwise, you should refer to yourself as "Herr
X" or "Frau Y":

Vocabulary 6: Introducing yourself

I am... "Ich bin..."


I am Mister "Ich bin Herr
Schmidt Schmidt"
I am Ms. Braun "Ich bin Frau
Braun"
I am Thomas "Ich bin Thomas"
I am Ute "Ich bin Ute"
2. When you are introducing other people, you can indicate your
relationship to them either before their name or after it. In both
cases you would start with the words "Und das ist...":

Vocabulary 7: Introducing other people

And this is... "Und das ist..."


...my husband "...Johann, mein
Johann Mann"
...my wife "...meine Frau
Sandra Sandra"
...my son, "...mein Sohn
Markus Markus"
...my daughter "...Britta, meine
Britta Tochter"

You will notice that the German possessive "my" is spelled


"mein" when it refers to a male person, but "meine" when it
refers to a female. This will be explained in subsequent
chapters.

What's your name?


There are two main ways of asking someone their name and
telling them your own. Each of these constructions has two
different forms, depending on whether you are in a formal or
informal context:

Vocabulary 8: What's your name?

What's your My name is...


name?
Wie heißen Sie? ich heiße...
Wie heißt du?
(Literally: "How are you called?")
Wie ist Ihr Name? mein Name
Wie ist dein Name? ist...
(Literally: "How is your name?")

There are thus two versions of the German possessive adjective


"your", just as there are two words for the pronoun "you":

• "Sie" has the pronoun "Ihr". Note the capital letters!


• "du" has the pronoun "dein".
As the word for name (der Name) is masculine, the possessive
"dein" has the same ending as "mein" when it referred to a male
person earlier in this section. We will discuss pronouns and
possessive adjectives in more detail in the next section.

1.6 Pronouns, possessive adjectives and verbs

1. We have already met some of the German pronouns and


possessive adjectives in this chapter. The table below lists them
in full:

Grammar 3: Singular pronouns and possessives

Pronoun Possessive
1st Person ich "I" mein "my"
2nd Person du "you" dein "your"
Sie Ihr
3rd Person er "he" sein "his"
sie "she" ihr "her"
es "it" sein "its"

Grammar 4: Plural pronouns and possessives

Pronoun Possessive
1st Person wir "we" unser "our"
2nd Person ihr "you" euer "your"
Sie Ihr
3rd Person sie "they ihr "their
" "

The following points should be noted:

• The German pronoun "ich" does not start with a capital


letter, unlike its English equivalent "I".
• Note that the pronoun "sie" can either mean "she" or
"they" depending on context. And when it begins with a
capital letter "Sie" is the formal form of "you"! Be very
careful how you use this pronoun.
• The word "ihr" can also pose difficulties. When used as a
pronoun, it is the informal plural pronoun of "you". When
used as a possessive adjective, it either means "her" or
"their". And when it begins with a capital letter "Ihr" is the
formal form of "your"!
• The third person pronouns "er", "sie" and "es" can refer to
persons. However they also substitute for all masculine,
feminine and neuter nouns respectively, regardless of
whether they are persons or things. The gender of German
nouns will be explained fully in the next chapter.

Present tense of German verbs


The present tense of the vast majority of German verbs is
formed from the infinitive of the verb - the part of speech which
equates to the English "to do", "to speak" etc. In German, the
infinitive almost always ends in "-en". To construct the
individual forms, remove the "-en" from the infinitive and add
personal endings to the remaining stem as follows:

Grammar 5: The verb "heißen" (= to be called)

Singular
ich heiße I am called
du heißt You are called
Sie heißen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es heißt He/she/it is called
Plural
wir heißen We are called
ihr heißt You are called
Sie heißen (informal/formal)
sie heißen They are called

The verb "heißen" is an example of a "weak" or "regular" verb in


that it takes the regular personal endings for a verb in the
present tense.

The only distinction is that the verb endings for the "du" person
is usually "-st" and not "-t" as here. The reason why it is "du
heißt" and not "du heißst" is a logical one - if that were the
case, you would have three "s"'s in a row!

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on how to form the verb heißen in German
by clicking on the bar below:
The verb "sein" (= to be)
Unfortunately, by no means all verbs are regular. The other
verb which we have encountered so far - and also the most
commonly used German verb! - is irregular:

Grammar 6: The verb "sein" (= to be)

Singular
ich bin I am
du bist You are
Sie sind (informal/formal)
er/sie/es ist He/she/it is
Plural
wir sind We are
ihr seid You are
Sie sind (informal/formal)
sie sind They are

We will practise German verbs in detail in subsequent chapters,


but you may wish to have our online verb table open to help you
as you progress through the course. If so, click here.

1.7 Conversations: Introductions (1)

Listen to the following conversations in which people introduce


themselves to each other in different contexts.

Conversation 3. Anna Müller, whom we saw earlier in the


office, meets her new neighbour Margarete Schäfer for the
first time. Listen out for the different ways in which Anna talks
first to Frau Schäfer and then to her two children. Click here or
on the sound icon to listen to their conversation:
Conversation 3: Frau Schäfer

Anna Guten Tag. Ich heiße Frau


Müller Müller. Und wie heißen Sie?
Margarete Guten Tag, Frau Müller. Freut
Schäfer mich. Mein Name ist Frau
Schäfer und das ist Natascha,
meine Tochter.
Anna Hallo Natascha!
Müller
Natascha Hallo!
Schäfer
Anna (looking at Frau Schäfer's
Müller pram) Und wie heißt du?
Margarete Das ist mein Sohn Winfried.
Schäfer Darf ich mich verabschieden,
Frau Müller? Auf Wiedersehen!
Schönen Tag noch.
Anna Danke. Ihnen auch. Tschüs,
Müller Natascha!
Natascha Tschüs!
Schäfer

Glossary

Freut mich Pleased to meet you!


Darf ich mich "May I say goodbye?" Used
verabschieden? in formal contexts only.
Schönen Tag noch Have a nice day!
Ihnen auch "The same to you!" This is
of course the formal
version of the pronoun.
Conversation 4. The student Sophie Gerland introduces
herself to Professor Robert Jaspert on her first day at the
Freie Universität Berlin (Free University of Berlin). Click here or
on the mouth icon to listen to their conversation:

Conversation 4: An der Universität

Sophie Guten Tag, Professor Jaspert.


Gerland Darf ich mich vorstellen? Mein
Name ist Gerland. (Gibt ihm die
Hand.)
Professor Guten Tag, Frau Gerland. Bitte
Jaspert nehmen Sie Platz.

Glossary

die The university


Universität
an der At the university
Universität
Darf ich "May I introduce myself?" Used as
mich a polite phrase in a formal
vorstellen? conversation.
(Gibt ihm "She shakes hands with him."
die Hand) Literally: "She gives him the
hand". Not shaking hands in this
highly formal context would
appear rude.
Bitte "Please sit down." Note that
nehmen Sie Professor Jaspert uses the polite
Platz "Sie" form when speaking to
Sophie, even though she is only
18 years old. He also calls her
"Frau Gerland", and not "Fräulein"
or "Sophie".
1.8 Conversations: Introductions (2)

In the following conversations, people introduce themselves to


each other in different contexts.

Conversation 5. Firstly, Sophie Gerland introduces her boyfriend


Marko Tredup to her friend Barbara Zacharias. All three are 18-
year-old students.

Conversation 5: Marko und Barbara

Sophie Hallo Barbara! Darf ich


Gerland vorstellen? Das ist mein
Freund Marko.
Barbara (Gibt ihm die Hand.) Hallo
Zacharias Marko!
Marko Hallo Barbara!
Tredup
Barbara Nett, dich kennen zu lernen.
Zacharias
Marko Danke, gleichfalls.
Tredup

Glossary

"May I introduce?" When


introducing someone else, you
Darf ich
omit the pronoun "mich" which
vorstellen?
you use when introducing
yourself.
(Gibt ihm die Although the fellow students
Hand) naturally use "du" to each other,
they still shake hands on being
introduced to each other.
mein Freund Here: "my boyfriend". It is also
the word which is used for a
"any male friend".
Nett, dich "Nice to meet you". An informal
kennen zu response to being introduced.
lernen. Note that "dich" is the
accusative form of the pronoun
"du".
Danke, "Thank you, likewise". Or: "The
gleichfalls same to you".

Conversation 6. Now Marko Tredup introduces Sophie Gerland


to his mother. It's therefore a more formal conversation. Which
pronouns are used here and why?

Conversation 6: Angenehm, Frau Tredup

Marko Mutter, darf ich dir meine


Freundin Sophie vorstellen?
Frau Freut mich, Sie kennen zu lernen,
Tredup Sophie.
Sophie Angenehm, Frau Tredup. (Sie
geben sich die Hand.)

Glossary

die Mutter Mother


Darf ich "May I introduce ... to you?"
dir ... Marko uses "dir" (the dative form
vorstellen? of "du") because he is talking to
his mother. Were he to be
speaking in more formal
circumstances he would say "Darf
ich Ihnen ... vorstellen?"
meine Here: "my girlfriend". It is also
Freundin the word which is used for a "any
female friend".
Freut mich, "Pleased to meet you." This is a
Sie kennen more formal version of "Freut
zu lernen. mich" which we met in the first
conversation. Note that Frau
Tredup calls Sophie "Sie", even
though the latter is the same age
as her son Marko.
Angenehm "Pleased to meet you". It literally
just means "pleasant". It is
interchangable with "Freut mich"
as a polite response when being
introduced to someone.
(Sie geben They shake hands. Once more,
sich die shaking hands is an essential part
Hand) of social etiquette in this context.

1.9 German first names

We have met a number of German first names in this chapter.


But which are the ones that we are most likely to meet in
everyday life? In 1997, sixteen researchers at the "Kulturbox" in
Berlin collated the frequency of first names in the Berlin
telephone directory. Click here to see the full list. The top
twenty male and female names from their survey are listed
below:

1997 Berlin phone book: most frequent names

Male Female Male Female


1. Hans Ursula 11. Gerhard Gerda
2. Peter Hildegard 12. Joachim Sabine
3. Wolfgang Gertrud 13. Werner Ingrid
4. Heinz Helga 14. Manfred Erika
5. Klaus Renata 15. Andreas Karin
6. Horst Margarete 16. Thomas Ingeborg
7. Jürgen Monika 17. Bernd Petra
8. Dieter Brigitte 18. Karl Gabriele
9. Günter Charlotte 19. Frank Erna
10. Michael Gisela 20. Kurt Elisabeth

These are probably names which the outsider would recognise


as "typically German". Yet recent years have seen parents
choosing quite different names for their children. According to
the German Language Society (GfdS), the ten names most
commonly given to babies in 2006 and 2007 were as follows:

The most popular names given to German babies

2007 Boys Girls 2006 Boys Girls


1. Leon Marie 1. Leon Marie
2. Maximilian Sophie 2. Maximilian Sophie
3. Alexander Maria 3. Alexander Maria
4. Paul Anna/e 4. Lukas Anna/e
5. Luca Leonie 5. Paul Leonie
6. Lukas Lea 6. Luca Lena
7. Felix Johanna 7. Tim Emily
8. Elias Charlotte 8. Felix Johanna
9. David Hanna(h) 9. David Laura
10. Jonas Sophia 10. Elias Lea(h)

Trends
It is true to say that fewer traditional or religious
names are chosen now than at the start of the century.
In an ongoing survey carried out by the German
magazine Familie Online for example, 42% of parents
stated that they chose the name of the offspring
"because they liked it", and 21% "because it was an unusual
name". Names are indeed becoming more individual. The
nineties witnessed the birth of children named Fritzi-Bo,
Sammy-Joy, and Dana-Fee.

Whilst only 9% of parents surveyed chose the name of their


baby because of biblical connotations, it is clear from the above
list that biblical names are by no means dying out - in the mid-
1990's they even experienced a renaissance, as evidenced by
Boris Becker calling his son Noah. German parents are also
increasingly drawing on a broader range of cultures and
backgrounds when naming their children. Italian names are
becoming ever more popular, especially girls' names such as
Chiara and Gina.

Regional variations within Germany


In South Germany it is more common to find children with two
or three first names (such as Franz Josef). In the former East
Germany (GDR), parents still tend to give their sons shorter
names such as Tim or Tom than those in the West. For girls, the
name Michelle is much more common in the East than in the
West. Here is the list of the most popular names given to
children born in 1996 in Eastern and Western Germany:
(Source: Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache e.V. (GfdS))

1996: Names given to babies in West and East Germany

West Boys Girls Eas Boys Girls


t
1. Alexander Maria 1. Maximilian Maria
2. Lukas Julia 2. Lukas Lisa
3. Maximilian Katharina 3. Philipp Laura
4. Daniel Anna/e 4. Florian Anna/e
5. Michael Laura 5. Kevin Sophia
6. Christian Marie 6. Max Julia
7. Philipp Sophie 7. Felix Sara(h)
8. Marcel Lisa 8. Paul Michelle
9. Jan Sara(h) 9. Tom Vanessa
10. Tobias Lena 10. Erik Jessica

Austria
According to Statistik Austria, the top 20 most popular names
given to babies in 2006 are listed below. Lukas has now been
the most popular boys' name in Austria since 1996 and a total
1,131 Austrian boys were given this name in 2006. This year
marks the first time however that Lena has become the most
popular girls' name. It only entered the top ten of names in
1999 and has since gradually become more popular among
Austrian parents. Click here for a fuller table that gives you the
top 60 names for both genders.

2006: Names given to babies in Austria

Boys Girls Boys Girls


1. Lukas Lena 11. Felix Lea
2. Tobias Leonie 12. Jakob Lara
3. David Sarah 13. Elias Viktoria
4. Florian Anna 14. Philipp Selina
5. Simon Julia 15. Daniel Vanessa
6. Maximilian Katharina 16. Jonas Sophia
7. Fabian Hannah 17. Paul Elena
8. Alexander Sophie 18. Michael Nina
9. Sebastian Laura 19. Matthias Johanna
10. Julian Lisa 20. Nico Magdalena

Switzerland
The top 20 names given to babies born in the German-speaking
region of Switzerland (die Deutschschweiz) in 2006 are listed
below. Anna replaced Leonie as the most popular name given to
baby girls. Luca, which had been the most popular boys' name
in German-speaking Switzerland from 1997-2004, regained its
position at the top of the list of male names from David.

2006: Names given to babies in Switzerland

Boys Girls Boys Girls


1. Luca Anna 11. Lukas Elena
2. Noah Lena 12. Jakob Sarah
3. Leon Lara 13. Leandro Chiara
4. David Laura 14. Fabian Mia
5. Joël Léonie 15. Robin Jana
6. Jan Julia 16. Gian Selina
7. Simon Lea 17. Dario Vanessa
8. Tim Sara 18. Fabio Alessia
9. Nico Nina 19. Janis Jessica
10. Jonas Alina 20. Julian Michelle
The difference between the various language groupings
in Switzerland is quite pronounced. In the French-
speaking areas, Léa regained its position in 2006 as the
most popular name given to baby girls from Laura, whereas
Samuel, Noah and Nathan were the most popular names given
to male babies. In the Ticino, the Italian-speaking region of
Switzerland, Luca and Alessandro were the joint most popular
names given to baby boys in 2006; Sofia, Giulia and Giada were
the most popular names given to girls in the Italian-speaking
area. In the Rumantsch-speaking regions, Nico and Anna topped
their respective lists in 2006. Click here for further information
on the names given to Swiss children between 2004 and 2006.

1.10 Spelling your name

To help you in these conversations, you may wish to open our


guide to pronouncing the letters of the German alphabet.

Conversation 7. Anna Müller is uncertain how Natascha


Schäfer spells her Christian name, and decides to ask her.
Click here or on the sound icon to listen to their conversation:

Conversation 7: N-a-t-a-s-c-h-a

Anna Müller Wie heißt du?


Natascha Natascha.
Schäfer
Anna Müller Wie schreibt man das?
Natascha Großes n, a, t, a, s, c, h,
Schäfer a.

Glossary

Wie schreibt How do you write that?


man das?
Großes s "Capital s." Or literally "big s". If
you wanted to say "small s", you
would say "kleines s".

Conversation 8. Maria Strauß goes to the bank to withdraw


some money. She tries to give her details to Herr Klein behind
the counter, but he needs to be certain how to spell her name.
How does he ask her to do this?

Conversation 8: Die Bank

Maria Guten Morgen. Mein Name ist


Strauß Maria Strauß.
Herr Wie buchstabiert man das?
Klein
Maria Das buchstabiert man: großes s,
Strauß t, r, a, u, scharfes s.
Herr Bitte wiederholen Sie das,
Klein langsam.
Maria Großes s, t, r, a, u, scharfes s.
Strauß

Glossary

die Bank the bank


Wie buchstabiert How do you spell that?
man das?
Das buchstabiert It's spelt...
man...
scharfes s "scharfes s" (literally "sharp
s") is the name for the "ß"
symbol. It sounds exactly like
the "ss" sound.
Bitte wiederholen Could you repeat that,
Sie das, slowly?
langsam

The pronoun "man" equates to "on" in French, in that it is used


when talking about what people in general do - i.e. "one",
"you", "they" etc. It takes the third person singular ("er/sie/es")
verb endings.

I didn't quite catch that!


There are a number of other useful phrases which you can use if
you haven't quite understood and would like somebody to
repeat something:

Could you repeat that?

Wie bitte?
("What did you say?")
Noch mal langsam bitte!
("Say that again please, slowly.")
Bitte wiederholen Sie das,
langsam.
("Could you repeat that slowly?")

Exercises

1. Quia
The online testing centre Quia allows us to use Java
exercises such as flashcards, memory games and
hangman as a means of aiding vocabulary-building
and grammar practice. Internet scavenger hunts
mean that you can surf sites offering background information on
Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and answers questions of
our choosing. Click on the buttons below to access the Quia
exercises which we have devised for you for this chapter:
2. Hot Potatoes
Different kind of online exercises have been designed using the
Hot Potatoes software. This can range from jumbled word and
sentence exercises to short quizzes. It is the former type of
questions which we wish you to try for Chapter 1. Click on the
button below to get started.

3. Send each other a German web-card


Our chapters will also contain a number of web-based exercises
which broaden cultural awareness whilst also testing
grammatical elements. Preparing to discover German culture via
the Internet in all its multimedial glory - including radio,
television and e-mail! For this section, we would like you to go
to the homepage of the German children's TV programme
newspaper Die Maus (= The Mouse), which is a German TV
programme for children.

On the Mauskarte page, you will find a variety of animated cards


featuring the cartoon animals featured in the show. Select the
animation that you wish to use for your card by clicking on the
pictures that inetrest you. Some of the cards are for birthday
greetings and general congratulations, others for holidays and
festivals. Use the Mauskarte to send greetings to your friends or
your teacher. In your card you should:
• say hello
• say who you are
• ask how the person to whom you are writing
• say goodbye
(all in German, of course!)

Click on this button to get started:

If you want to watch extracts of the TV programme, click here


for a series of clips taken from the cartoon series Die Maus.

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

• how to ask someone where they come from


• the names of cities and countries in German
• how to express your nationality
• how to ask somebody what their job is
• how to describe your own job
• basic facts and figures about Germany
• about German history
• about the sixteen German Länder

Grammar
1. Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on the gender of
German nouns.
2. We shall also learn when to omit the German definite article
and how to decline the present tense of the verb "arbeiten".
2.1 Where are you from?

Having asked how somebody is and what their name is, you
will then want to find out where they come from. There are
two main phrases that you can employ for this. (You can listen
to them by clicking on the sound icon.)

Vocabulary 1: Woher..?

Where are you I'm from...


from?
Woher kommen ich komme
Sie? aus...
Woher kommst du?
(Literally: "Where do you come
from?")
Woher sind Sie? ich bin aus...
Woher bist du?
(Literally: "Where are you from?")

You might wish to ask somebody where they live. There is


one main phrase for this, but remember to distinguish
between the "Sie" and "du" forms depending on the person to
whom you are talking! Click on the sound icon to hear these
phrases.

Vocabulary 2: Where do you live?

Where do you live? I live in...


Wo wohnen Sie? ich wohne in...
Wo wohnst du?
(Literally: "Where do you live?")

Questions
1. You may have noticed that there are different words for
"where" in German. "Woher" means "from where", whereas
"wo" is the word which is used when no movement is involved.
In subsequent chapters we shall also encounter "wohin" which
means "to where":

2. Note the word order in German when a question is being


asked. The question word comes first, followed by the verb and
then the subject of the sentence. We have now met several
examples of this:

• "Wie geht es Ihnen?" (= "How are you?")


• "Wie heißt du?" (= "What is your name?")
• "Wie ist Ihr Name?" ("What is your name?")
• "Woher kommst du?" ("Where do you come from?")
• "Wo wohnen Sie?" ("Where do you live?")
• "Wie schreibt man das?" (= "How do you write that?")
• "Wie buchstabiert man das?" (= "How do you spell that?")

Present tense of German verbs (2)


You will have noted that the verbs "wohnen" (= "to live") and
"kommen" (= "to come") used above have the same endings as
"heißen" in the previous chapter. To help you get used to a
difficult part of German grammar, we will reproduce the present
tense of these verbs in full below:

Grammar 1: The verb "wohnen" (= to live)

Singular
ich wohne I live
du wohnst You live
Sie wohnen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it lives
wohnt
Plural
wir wohnen We live
ihr wohnt You live
Sie wohnen (informal/formal)
sie wohnen They live

1. Note that the present tense of a German verb has two


possible English translations, e.g. "er wohnt" could either mean
"he lives"or "he is living" depending on context. Unlike English,
German has no separate form to indicate continuing action.

2. You may also have noted that the endings for the "wir", "sie"
(plural) and "Sie" forms are the same for all verbs. Helpfully, in
regular verbs their verb form will be exactly the same as the
infinitive.

Grammar 2: The verb "kommen" (= to come)

Singular
ich komme I come
du kommst You come
Sie kommen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it comes
kommt
Plural
wir kommen We come
ihr kommt You come
Sie kommen (informal/formal)
sie kommen They come

Note however that the verb "kommen" is only a regular verb in


the present tense. In the vast majority of other German tenses
it is irregular and its various forms need to be learned off by
heart!

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on the present tense of the verb
"kommen" by clicking on the bar below:

2.3 The gender of German nouns

Masculine, feminine and neuter


We can put it off no longer. One of the major difficulties
experienced by English speakers when learning German is that
all German nouns, whether they represent persons, things or
ideas have a grammatical gender. Whereas in English gender
virtually always corresponds logically to the sex of the noun,
this is not the case in German. Most nouns denoting male
persons and animals are in fact masculine, and most of those
denoting females are feminine (examples of natural gender);
but names of inanimate objects can be masculine, feminine or
neuter.

Considering the nouns with which we have come into contact so


far for example, a name is masculine in German (der Name), a
city is feminine (die Stadt), whereas the word for a country is
neuter (das Land). Overall, about 45% of German nouns are
masculine, 35% are feminine and 20% are neuter.

Although there is no apparent rationale for this classification,


guidelines for predicting genders do exist. Yet these rules are
far from watertight - indeed there are exceptions to most of
them. Against all natural logic, the word for a girl is neuter in
German (das Mädchen)! The author Mark Twain famously
complained about German nouns: "In German, a young lady
has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought
reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect
for the girl." The unpalatable truth is that whenever you learn a
German noun, you have to learn its gender, just as Germans do.

The definite article


The best way to remember German genders is to learn each
noun not as a single, isolated word, but together with the word
for "the" that goes with it. We call "the" and its German
equivalents the definite article, and unlike English nouns, the
definite article in German is used to make the gender of German
nouns obvious. Here are the genders of some of the nouns that
we have met so far together with the appropriate form of the
definite article:

Grammar 4: Gender and the definite article

Masculine Feminine Neuter


der Mann die Frau das Kind
(= the man) (= the woman) (= the child)
der Sohn die Tochter das
(= the son) (= the daughter) Mädchen
(= the girl)
der Freund die Freundin das Büro
(= the male (= the female (= the office)
friend) friend)
der Tag die Nacht das Land
(= the day) (= the night) (= the
country)

Compound nouns
Many German nouns are a combination of two or more shorter
words - we call them compound nouns. The gender is always
that of the last element in the compound noun:

Grammar 5: Compound nouns

Noun Compound noun


der Name der Vorname
(= the name) (= the Christian
name)
die Frau die Hausfrau
(= the woman) (= the housewife)
das Land das Ausland
(= the (= abroad)
country)

2.4 Countries (2)

Feminine countries
So far all the countries which we have encountered have been
neuter, and are never used with the definite article. A small
number of names for countries however are feminine and are
always preceded by the definite article "die".

Vocabulary 5: Feminine Countries

Das Land Country Das Land Country


die die
Switzerland Slovakia
Schweiz Slowakei
die die
Turkey Ukraine
Türkei Ukraine
die Tschechische
Czech Republic
Republik

When you explain that you come from any of these countries,
you also have to include the definite article with the preposition
- but this article changes from "die" to "der". We shall see in a
subsequent section that this is because it is now in the dative
case.

Grammar 6: Prepositions and feminine countries

Where are you from?


Woher kommen Sie?
ich komme aus der Schweiz
(Trans.: "I come from Switzerland")

Woher ist Andrea?


sie ist aus der Ukraine
(Trans.: "She is from the Ukraine")

Where do you live?


Wo wohnt Mehmet?
er wohnt in der Türkei
(Trans.: "He lives in Turkey")

Plural Countries
A small number of countries are written in the plural in German.
In this case the definite article changes from "die" to "den":

Vocabulary 6: Plural Countries

Das Land Country


die USA USA
die Vereinigten United
Staaten States
die Niederlande Netherlands

Phrases
ich komme aus den USA
(Trans.: "I come from the USA")

sie ist aus den Vereinigten Staaten


(Trans.: "She is from the United States")

er wohnt in den Niederlanden


(Trans.: "He lives in the Netherlands")

Notes
1. Note that "die Niederlande" adds an "-n" when we write "in
den Niederlanden" or "aus den Niederlanden". This again is a
result of the noun now being in the dative case.

2. "Amerika" is often used to translate "the United States",


particularly in conversation. It should really only be used to
translate the continent of America however. It is a neuter noun
and is thus used without a definite article.

3. A few countries are masculine in German, particularly in the


Middle East - "der Libanon" (= Lebanon), "der Irak" (= Iraq)
"der Iran" (= Iran), "der Jemen" (= Yemen). They too are
almost always used with the definite article, which changes from
"der" to "dem" when you are describing where you are from.

2.5 Nationalities

Nouns of nationality
The German construction for saying which nationality you
are is different from in English. Whereas English uses an
adjective - i.e. "I am English" -, German uses a noun without a
different article - "Ich bin Engländer" (literally: "I am
Englishman").

And just as there are different words for "friend" depending on


the gender of the person concerned, you would need to employ
the feminine version of the noun if the person being described is
a woman - "Ich bin Engländerin" (literally: "I am
Englishwoman"):

Grammar 7: Describing your nationality

Where are you I'm from...


from?
Woher kommen
ich bin Brite
Sie?
("I'm British
(male)")
Woher ist Anne? sie ist Britin
("She is British")
Woher kommt
er ist Schweizer
Urs?
("He is Swiss")
Woher bist du? ich bin
Schweizerin
("I am Swiss
(female)")

Nationality table
Listed below are the nouns of nationality for the countries which
we have encountered so far. Note that:

• The vast majority of feminine nouns end in "-in". The


major exception is an important one however - "die
Deutsche" ("the German woman").
• With a few exceptions (der Ungar, der Israeli, der Zypriot),
the names of male inhabitants listed below either end in "-
e" or "-er". This is a little misleading however. For as we
shall see in Chapter 11, the masculine nouns that end in "-
e" can in fact take a number of endings depending on the
case that they are in and whether they are preceded by an
article. For the moment we have given you the endings
that you will need to translate "He is a ..."
• The word for a German man - "der Deutsche" - is an
adjectival noun. This type of noun will also be discussed in
Chapter 11.

Vocabulary 7: Ich bin Engländer(in)

Country Male Female


Inhabitant Inhabitant
Andorra Andorraner Andorranerin
Australien Australier Australierin
Belgien Belgier Belgierin
Brasilien Brasilianer Brasilianerin
Bulgarien Bulgare Bulgarin
China Chinese Chinesin
Dänemark Däne Dänin
Deutschland Deutscher Deutsche
England Engländer Engländerin
Estland Este Estin
Finnland Finne Finnin
Frankreich Franzose Französin
Griechenland Grieche Griechin
Großbritannien Brite Britin
Indien Inder Inderin
Irland Ire Irin
Island Isländer Isländerin
Israel Israeli Israeli
Italien Italiener Italienerin
Japan Japaner Japanerin
Kanada Kanadier Kanadierin
Kolumbien Kolumbianer Kolumbianerin
Kroatien Kroate Kroatin
Lettland Lette Lettin
Liechtenstein Liechtensteiner Liechtensteinerin
Litauen Litauer Litauerin
Luxemburg Luxemburger Luxemburgerin
Malta Malteser Malteserin
Mazedonien Mazedonier Mazedonierin
Mexiko Mexikaner Mexikanerin
Moldawien Moldawier Moldawierin
Monaco Monegasse Monegassin
Neuseeland Neuseeländer Neuseeländerin
die Niederlande Niederländer Niederländerin
Norwegen Norweger Norwegerin
Österreich Österreicher Österreicherin
Polen Pole Polin
Portugal Portugiese Portugiesin
Rumänien Rumäne Rumänin
Russland Russe Russin
Schottland Schotte Schottin
Schweden Schwede Schwedin
die Schweiz Schweizer Schweizerin
die Slowakei Slowake Slowakin
Slowenien Slowene Slowenin
Spanien Spanier Spanierin
Südafrika Südafrikaner Südafrikanerin
Südkorea Südkoreaner Südkoreanerin
die der Tscheche die Tschechin
Tschechische
Republik
Tunesien Tunesier Tunesierin
die Türkei der Türke die Türkin
die Ukraine der Ukrainer die Ukrainerin
Ungarn Ungar Ungarin
die USA (US-)Amerikan (US-)Amerikaner
er in
Wales Waliser Waliserin
Zypern Zypriot Zypriotin

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of German words for
nationalities by clicking on the two bars below:

2.6 Conversation: Im Café

Das Café
An English tourist Peter Withe (standing, left) strikes up a
conversation with a German local Klaus Wagner (seated, right)
whilst sitting outside a café in Bavaria in summer. What sort of
questions do they ask each other, and how do they respond?

Conversation 1: Im Café

Peter Guten Tag.


Withe
Klaus Guten Tag. Sind Sie vielleicht
Wagner Ausländer?
Peter Ja, ich bin Engländer.
Withe
Klaus Woher kommen Sie?
Wagner
Peter Ich komme aus Birmingham.
Withe
Klaus Sie sind also kein Amerikaner?
Wagner
Peter Nein, ich komme nicht aus den USA.
Withe Und Sie?
Klaus Ich bin Deutscher. Ich komme aus
Wagner Norddeutschland. Aber ich wohne hier
in Bayern. Mein Name ist Wagner,
Klaus Wagner. Und wie heißen Sie?
Peter Ich heiße Withe, Peter Withe.
Withe

Glossary

das Café The café


im Café In the café
der Ausländer A male "foreigner". A female
foreigner would be "die
Ausländerin".
Sind Sie vielleicht "Are you a foreigner by any
Ausländer? chance?" Peter's German accent
is not as authentic as he thinks!
Note that "Ausländer" is used in
exactly the same way as all other
nationalities - without a definite
article. The literal translation is
"Are you perhaps foreigner?"
vielleicht In almost all other contexts,
"vielleicht" would be translated as
"perhaps".
also Be very careful of this word in
German! It doesn't mean English
"also" but "therefore" or "so".
Sie sind also kein "So you're not American?" The
Amerikaner? word "kein" literally means "not
an".
Norddeutschland "North Germany". This is one
word only in German - a
compound noun.
Bayern This means "Bavaria". Many
German regions with which we
are familiar turn out to have very
different names in German.

2.7 Conversation: Im Sitzungssaal

Im Sitzungsaal
In a conference room (der Sitzungssaal) at a trade fair in
Hanover, Herr Loss (second from left) introduces Ken McNaught
(left), who has just arrived from Glasgow, to Frau Melzig and
Herr Slomka (right).

Conversation 2: Im Sitzungssaal

Herr Loss Darf ich vorstellen, Herr McNaught


aus Glasgow. Frau Melzig aus
Hannover.
Frau Melzig Guten Tag, Herr McNaught.
Willkommen in Hannover. Sind Sie
Schotte?
Herr Loss Ja, er ist Schotte. Er ist in der Nähe
von Glasgow geboren.
Herr Sind Sie Deutsche?
McNaught
Frau Melzig Nein. Mein Mann ist Deutscher, aber
ich komme aus der Schweiz.
Herr Und wie ist Ihr Name, bitte?
McNaught
Herr Loss Das ist Herr Slomka.
Herr Woher sind Sie, Herr Slomka?
McNaught
Herr Ich bin aus Moskau.
Slomka
Herr Aha! Sie sind Russe! Sind Sie hier
McNaught auf Geschäftsreise?
Herr Loss Nein. Er wohnt hier.

Glossary

der Sitzungssaal The conference room


im Sitzungssaal In the conference room
Willkommen in "Welcome to Hanover". Note that
Hannover German uses a different
preposition to English in this
context.
Sind Sie Schotte? Are you Scottish?
ja / nein "yes / no". But you knew that
already, didn't you?
in der Nähe von This somewhat lengthy
Glasgow construction simply means "near
Glasgow".
Er ist ... geboren "He was born..." Note that the
word "geboren" is always placed
right at the end of the clause,
after the place in which the
person was born.
aber but
hier here
Sind Sie hier auf Are you here on business?
Geschäftsreise?

2.8 Professions

Der Beruf
The German construction for explaining what your job is
involves the German word for profession - "der Beruf". You have
a choice of word order with this construction, and can also
choose whether to say "ich bin Manager von Beruf" or simply
"ich bin Manager".

Grammar 8: What do you do for a living?

What's your job? I'm a... (male)


Was sind Sie von von Beruf bin ich
Beruf? Arzt
Was bist du von ich bin Arzt (von
Beruf? Beruf)

What's her job? She's a...


Was ist sie von von Beruf ist sie
Beruf? Ärztin
sie ist Ärztin (von
Beruf)

You will have noticed that we use exactly the same construction
for professions as we do for nationalities. Whereas in English we
would say "I'm a doctor", in German you would say "Ich bin
Arzt" (literally - "I am doctor"). Once more, the verb which you
will need throughout is the irregular verb "sein".

And just as there are two words for "a friend" or "a German"
depending on the gender of the speaker, there are also two
forms of each profession which need to be learned to employ
the feminine version of the noun if the person being described is
a woman - "Ich bin Ärztin".

Table of professions
Listed below are the names of the most commonly used German
professions with their male and female variants.
Vocabulary 8: Professions

Profession Male Variant Female Variant


Actor Schauspieler Schauspielerin
Artist Künstler Künstlerin
Author Schriftsteller Schriftstellerin
Bank clerk Bankangestellter Bankangestellte
Business(wo)man Geschäftsmann Geschäftsfrau
Car mechanic Automechaniker Automechanikerin
Chemist Chemiker Chemikerin
Civil servant Beamter Beamtin
Doctor Arzt Ärztin
Engineer Ingenieur Ingenieurin
Farmer Landwirt Landwirtin
Hairdresser Friseur Friseurin
Journalist Journalist Journalistin
Lawyer Rechtsanwalt Rechtsanwältin
Lecturer Dozent Dozentin
Nurse Krankenpfleger Krankenpflegerin
Pensioner Rentner Rentnerin
Photographer Fotograf Fotografin
Politician Politiker Politikerin
Postman Briefträger Briefträgerin
Professor Professor Professorin
Salesperson Verkäufer Verkäuferin
Secretary Sekretär Sekretärin
Student Student Studentin
Taxi driver Taxifahrer Taxifahrerin
Teacher Lehrer Lehrerin
Waiter Kellner Kellnerin

Grammar
1) As you will have noted from the above list, the suffix "-in" is
often added in the feminine form - i.e. Kellner + "-in" =
Kellnerin.
2) Sometimes the female equivalent modifies slightly with the
addition of an "Umlaut" - i.e. Arzt + "-in" = Ärztin.

3) Occasionally the male form ends in "-in", and the female


equivalent in "-e" - i.e. Bankangestellter - "-r" =
Bankangestellte.

4) There are sometimes different words for male and female


jobs - i.e. Geschäftsmann (male) and Geschäftsfrau.

2.9 Conversation: Der Beruf

The teacher and the greengrocer


Whilst waiting at the bus-stop, Müslüm Can and Mareike Herda
(pictured below standing with her pupils, at the back on the
right) discuss the jobs to which they are travelling.

Conversation 1: Die Lehrerin und der Gemüsehändler

Müslüm Was sind Sie eigentlich von Beruf,


Can Frau Herda?
Mareike Von Beruf bin ich Lehrerin.
Herda
Müslüm Ach nein! Mein Bruder ist auch Lehrer.
Can
Mareike Das gibt's doch gar nicht! Wo arbeitet
Herda er? Hier in Berlin?
Müslüm Nein, nein. Er ist Deutschlehrer in der
Can Türkei. Wir sind beide in der Türkei
geboren.
Mareike Und was sind Sie von Beruf?
Herda
Müslüm Ich bin Gemüsehändler.
Can
Mareike Arbeiten Sie hier in der Stadt?
Herda
Müslüm Ja. Ich arbeite in einem kleinen
Can Gemüseladen in der Nähe von hier.

Glossary

eigentlich actually; in fact


von Beruf bin Switching the word order around
ich... such that "von Beruf" comes first
places slightly more emphasis on
the profession.
Ach nein! Literally "Oh no!", but the sense is
one of surprise: "Really?!"
mein Bruder my brother
auch "too; also". Not to be confused
with the German word "also"
meaning "therefore" (see below).
also Be very careful of this word in
German! It doesn't mean English
"also" but "therefore" or "so".
Das gibt's doch "Well I never! You don't say!". A
gar nicht! polite expression of great
surprise.
Wo arbeitet er? "Where does he work?". There is
no German equivalent of the
English word "does". "Er arbeitet"
is the sole German translation for
"he works", "he is working" and
"he does work".
Deutschlehrer "German teacher". Note that this
is written as one word in German.
Wir sind ... We were born ....
geboren
wir beide both of us
der greengrocer
Gemüsehändler
in der Stadt in the city
in einem kleinen in a little greengrocer's shop
Gemüseladen
in der Nähe von near here
hier

Test yourself!
Test how well you have understood this passage by doing this
gap-filling exercise. All of the missing words were spoken by
Müslüm and Mareike in this passage!

Present tense of the verb "arbeiten"


We have met a new verb in this section - "arbeiten" (= "to
work"). Although it is a regular verb, some of the endings are
slightly different as the stem of the verb ends in "t". To prevent
a build-up of unpronouncable and teeth-damaging consonants,
an extra "-e" is added before the "du", "er/sie" and "ihr"
endings.

Grammar 1: The verb "arbeiten"

Singular
ich arbeite I work
du arbeitest You work
Sie arbeiten (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it works
arbeitet
Plural
wir arbeiten We work
ihr arbeitet You work
Sie arbeiten (informal/formal)
sie arbeiten They work
2.12 The German Länder

The Federal Republic of Germany is called "Federal" because it


consists of a federation of sixteen Länder or states. There are
ten Länder in the territory of the former West Germany, whilst
the former GDR has been divided into five federal states. The
sixteenth state is Berlin comprising what used to be West and
East Berlin.

Quiz
Once you have looked at the map of the sixteen Länder, you can
test your knowledge of precisely where they are in Germany by
doing the online jigsaw on the homepage of UK-German
Connection:

Facts and figures


As you can see from the table below, Bayern (Bavaria) is the
largest Land in terms of area, whilst Nordrhein-Westfalen (North
Rhine-Westphalia) has the largest population. If you click on the
names of each federal state, you will be taken to the homepage
of the Land. Many of these homepages also have English
versions.

The Sixteen German Länder

Land Capital Population Area


(millions) (km²)
Baden-Württemberg Stuttgart 10.37 35,751
Bayern Munich 12.04 70,554
Berlin --------- 3.45 889
Brandenburg Potsdam 2.55 29,476
Bremen --------- 0.68 404
Hamburg --------- 1.71 755
Hessen Wiesbaden 6.03 21,114
Mecklenburg- Schwerin 1.82 23,421
Vorpommern
Niedersachsen Hanover 7.82 47,348
Nordrhein-Westfalen Düsseldorf 17.95 34,072
Rheinland-Pfalz Mainz 3.88 19,846
Saarland Saarbrücken 1.08 2,570
Sachsen Dresden 4.55 18,408
Sachsen-Anhalt Magdeburg 2.72 20,443
Schleswig-Holstein Kiel 2.74 15,732
Thüringen Erfurt 2.49 16,176

The English translation of the German Länder names


Many of these German Länder have English equivalents -
although the English version of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is no
less of a mouthful! Note in particular the very different German
name for what we call Bavaria.

English translations of German Länder

German English
Bayern Bavaria
Hessen Hesse
Mecklenburg- Mecklenburg
Vorpommern West-
Vorpomerania
Niedersachsen Lower Saxony
Nordrhein- North Rhine-
Westfalen Westphalia
Rheinland-Pfalz Rhineland-
Palatinate
Sachsen Saxony
Sachsen-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt
Thüringen Thuringia

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

• how to ask someone their age


• how to say what belongs to you and other people
• how to count from one to twenty in German
• a range of vocabulary for the family
• a range of vocabulary for the names of pets
• about the love-hate relationship between Germans and
dogs

Grammar
1. Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on the plural of
German nouns.
2. We shall also learn about the difference between subject and
object, and the nominative and accusative cases.
3. The use and formation of the indefinite article will be
discussed.
4. This chapter will also concentrate on the different forms of
the possessive adjective.
3.1 Im Studio (1)

Anna Müller and Müslüm Can have both been invited to the
studios of Radio Eins in Berlin to discuss their lives in Germany.
There they are interviewed by the DJ Claudia Stenzel. You will
be familiar with some of the questions, but what new
information is Anna being asked to give here?

You can listen to the interviews by clicking on the "On air" icon.
Or if you want, you can listen to Radio Eins live on the Internet
by clicking here.

Conversation 1: Interview mit Anna Müller

Claudia Willkommen im Studio! Wie ist


Stenzel Ihr Name, bitte?
Anna Ich heiße Anna Müller.
Müller
Claudia Wie alt sind Sie, Frau Müller?
Stenzel
Anna Ich bin fünfzig Jahre alt.
Müller
Claudia Woher kommen Sie? Sind Sie aus
Stenzel Berlin?
Anna Ich wohne jetzt in Berlin, ich
Müller komme aber aus Linz.
Claudia Wo ist Linz?
Stenzel
Anna Linz liegt in Österreich.
Müller
Claudia Was sind Sie von Beruf?
Stenzel
Anna Von Beruf bin ich Sekretärin.
Müller
Claudia Sind sie verheiratet?
Stenzel
Anna Ja, ich bin verheiratet, Frau
Müller Stenzel.
Claudia Haben Sie auch Kinder?
Stenzel
Anna Ja, wir haben zwei Kinder. Wir
Müller haben einen Sohn und auch eine
Tochter.
Claudia Wie heißt Ihr Sohn, und wie alt
Stenzel ist er?
Anna Unser Sohn heißt Lukas. Er ist
Müller zwanzig Jahre alt.
Claudia Und Ihre Tochter?
Stenzel
Anna Unsere Tochter heißt Julia. Sie ist
Müller siebzehn Jahre alt.
Glossary

das Interview interview


mit with
willkommen! welcome!
das Studio studio
willkommen welcome to the studio!
im Studio!
bitte please
Wie alt sind "How old are you?" This
Sie? construction will be explained in
detail in the next section. Note
that Claudia is using the polite
"Sie" form when addressing Frau
Müller.
ich bin fünfzig "I am 50 years old." See next
Jahre alt section for explanation.
Sind Sie aus "Are you from Berlin?" In many
Berlin? questions, the verb is the first
element followed by the subject
of the sentence.
Wo ist Linz? "Where is Linz?" For questions
which ask "Who?", "Where?" or
"Why?" for example, the
question word comes first,
followed by the verb and then
the subject of the sentence.
Linz liegt in "Linz is in Austria." Literally:
Österreich "Linz lies in Austria." You could
also say: "Linz ist in
Österreich."
die Sekretärin This means "secretary". Note
the feminine "-in" suffix to
describe Anna Müller.
sind Sie "Are you married?" Again note
verheiratet? the word order for questions
without a question word.
ja, ich bin Yes, I am married.
verheiratet
Kinder This is the word for "children".
Whereas English nouns (except
for "children"!) tend to end in "-
s" in the plural, German has a
whole range of plurals which
need to be learned along with
the gender.
haben Sie Do you also have children?
auch Kinder?
Ja, wir haben "Yes, we have two children."
zwei Kinder Although the verb "haben" ("to
have") might look regular, it is
in fact irregular (see next
section).
Wir haben we have a son...
einen Sohn...
... und eine ... and a daughter
Tochter
Ihr Sohn your son
unser Sohn Our son
Wie alt ist er? How old is he?
er ist zwanzig he is twenty years old
Jahre alt
Ihre Tochter your daughter
unsere our daughter
Tochter
sie ist she is seventeen years old
siebzehn Jahre
alt

3.2 How old are you?

Asking how old someone is in German required exactly the


same construction as in English. It is however reliant on the
student knowing the different forms of the irregular verb "sein"
(= "to be") which you should have learned by now!

Vocabulary 1: How old are you?

Singular
wie alt bin ich? (How old am I?)
wie alt bist du? (How old are
wie alt sind you?)
Sie?
wie alt ist (How old is
er/sie? he/she?)
Plural
wie alt sind (How old are
wir? we?)
wie alt seid (How old are
ihr? you?)
wie alt sind
Sie?
wie alt sind (How old are
sie? they?)

And you respond to this question by using the following


constructions:

Vocabulary 2: I am 20 years old

Singular
ich bin 20 Jahre (I am 20 years
alt old)
du bist 20 (You are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
Sie sind 20
Jahre alt
er ist 20 Jahre (He is 20 years
alt old)
sie ist 20 Jahre (She is 20 years
alt old)
Plural
wir sind 20 (We are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
ihr seid 20 (You are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
Sie sind 20
Jahre alt
sie sind 20 (They are 20
Jahre alt years old)
Different types of questions
In the previous chapter we looked at word order in questions
where there are specific question words. If you remember, the
question word comes first, followed by the verb and then the
subject of the sentence:

• "Wie geht es Ihnen?" ("How are you?")


• "Woher kommst du?" ("Where do you come from?")
• "Wo wohnen Sie?" ("Where do you live?")

We have seen from the previous conversation however that if


there is no specific question word in the clause, you should put
the verb first, followed by the subject of the sentence:

• "Sind Sie verheiratet?" ("Are you married?")


• "Haben Sie Kinder?" ("Do you have children?")
• "Darf ich mich verabschieden?" ("May I say goodbye?")

Present tense of the verb "haben"


The German verb "haben" (= "to have") is another common
German verb which is irregular. The "-b-" of the stem
disappears in both the "du" and the "er/sie" forms of the
present tense:

Grammar 1: The verb "haben" (= to have)

Singular
ich habe I have
du hast You have
Sie haben (informal/formal)
er/sie/es hat He/she/it has
Plural
wir haben We have
ihr habt You have
Sie haben (informal/formal)
sie haben They have

3.3 Im Studio (2)


Now it is Müslüm Can's turn to be interviewed by Claudia
Stenzel at Radio Eins in Berlin. How does his situation and
family life differ from that of Anna Müller?

Once again, you can listen to the interviews by clicking on the


"On air" icon. Or if you want, you can listen to Radio Eins live on
the Internet by clicking here.

Conversation 2: Interview mit Müslüm Can

Claudia Willkommen im Studio! Wer sind


Stenzel Sie?
Müslüm Mein Name ist Müslüm Can.
Can
Claudia Was sind Sie von Beruf?
Stenzel
Müslüm Ich bin Gemüsehändler hier in
Can Kreuzberg.
Claudia Sind sie verheiratet?
Stenzel
Müslüm Nein, ich bin nicht verheiratet. Ich
Can habe auch keine Kinder.
Claudia Haben Sie Geschwister?
Stenzel
Müslüm Ja, ich habe einen Bruder und
Can zwei Schwestern. Sie wohnen alle
in der Türkei.
Claudia Haben Sie Haustiere?
Stenzel
Müslüm Ja, meine Eltern haben einen
Can Hund. Und mein Großvater hat
eine Katze.
Claudia Und wie heißen sie?
Stenzel
Müslüm Der Hund heißt Rex und die Katze
Can heißt Mieze. Die Katze mag den
Hund nicht. Und er mag sie auch
nicht!

Glossary

Wer sind Sie? "Who are you?" In this


context this seems to be
quite an abrupt way of asking
somebody's name!
der Müslüm is a greengrocer.
Gemüsehändler Don't you remember?
Kreuzberg Kreuzberg is a region of
Berlin inhabited by people of
many nationalities. Click here
to visit the official homepage
of Kreuzberg.
ich bin nicht "I am not married." Just as in
verheiratet English, the German word for
not - "nicht" - precedes an
adjective.
ich habe keine "I don't have any children."
Kinder Literally: "I have no
children". The German word
"kein(e)" means "not any" or
"no(ne)".
Haben Sie "Do you have any brothers or
Geschwister? sisters?" The useful word
"Geschwister" means
"brothers and sisters".
ich habe einen "I have a brother". The next
Bruder section will explain the
endings on the indefinite
article "einen".
zwei Schwestern "Two sisters"
alle This means "everyone; all of
them". The full sentence
would thus be translated as
"They all live in Turkey".
Haustiere "Pets". One pet would be "ein
Haustier".
meine Eltern "My parents". The word
"Eltern" is only used in the
plural.
der Hund This is the word for a "dog".
The next section will explain
the endings on the indefinite
article "einen".
mein Großvater my grandfather
eine Katze Müslüm's grandfather has "a
cat".
Mieze "Mieze" approximates to the
English "puss" or "pussy".
Die Katze mag "The cat doesn't like the
den Hund nicht dog". Literally: "The cat likes
the dog not." Although the
German word for "not" -
"nicht" - precedes an
adjective (see above), it
follows the object of a
sentence.
er...sie "Er" (= "he") refers back to
the masculine noun "der
Hund", while "sie" (= "she")
refers back to the feminine
noun "die Katze".
3.4 Plurals of German nouns

With the exception of nouns such as "children" and "sheep",


English plurals are invariably formed by adding "-s" to the
singular form. Forming the plural is by no means as simple as
this in German, where there are a number of possible plural
endings. It will thus be necessary for the student to learn the
plural of each noun as well as its gender - and from now on we
will list each noun which we encounter with its plural form and
the correct form of the definite article.

In the table below are the plurals of some of the nouns that we
have encountered so far:

Grammar 2: Plurals of German nouns

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Männer Frauen Kinder
("men") ("women") ("children")
Freunde Freundinnen Büros
("friends") ("friends") ("offices")
Söhne Töchter Mädchen
("sons") ("daughters") ("girls")
Tage Nächte Länder
("days") ("nights") ("countries")

Guidelines for forming the plural


It will later be possible to determine a number of rules as to
which noun takes which plural ending. For the moment, we will
restrict ourselves to pointing out a few general guidelines - but
(as ever!) there are a large number of exceptions to these rules!

1. Feminine nouns

• Feminine nouns are the most predictable in their plural


form. The majority of them add "-en":
i.e. Frau + "-en" = Frauen.
• Feminine nouns which end in "-in" (such as those
describing professions and nationalities) add "-nen" in the
plural:
i.e. Freundin + "-nen" = Freundinnen.
Or: Engländerin + "-nen" = Engländerinnen.
• Yet take care: some feminine nouns also form their plurals
in other ways, such as Nächte and Töchter!

2. Masculine and neuter nouns

• Masculine and neuter nouns form their plural in a number


of ways. Some of them add an "-e":
i.e. Tag + "-e" = Tage.
• Others add an "-e" and also add an "umlaut" to the vowel:
i.e. Sohn + "umlaut" + "-e" = Söhne.
• Other (mainly) masculine and neuter nouns add "-er" in
the plural:
i.e. Kind + "-er" = Kinder.
• Others add "-er" and also add an "umlaut" to the vowel:
i.e. Mann + "umlaut" + "-er" = Männer.
• Some nouns add "-s" in the plural, although there are not
as many of them as there are in English, and they tend to
be words imported from other languages:
i.e. Büro + "-s" = Büros.
• To make matters more complicated, some nouns remain
the same in the plural:
i.e. Mädchen (singular and plural).

3.5 Indefinite articles and "kein"

Indefinite articles
In the last chapter we discovered that German nouns have
genders, and that the gender of a noun affects the form of the
definite article. This is also true of the German equivalents of
"a" and "an" as in "a man" and "an occupation".

The grammatical term for this is the indefinite article. The


different forms of the German indefinite article are listed below
for each gender. Note that both the masculine and neuter forms
are identical when the noun is the subject of the sentence.

Grammar 3: The indefinite article

Masculine Feminine Neuter


ein Mann eine Frau ein Kind
("a man") ("a woman") ("a child")
ein eine ein Büro
Freund Freundin
("a ("a friend") ("an
friend") office")
ein Sohn eine ein
Tochter Mädchen
("a son") ("a ("a girl")
daughter")
ein Tag eine Nacht ein Land
("a day") ("a night") ("a
country")

The plural of definite and indefinite articles


The definite article of a plural noun is always "die", regardless of
gender, as the table below displays:

Grammar 4: Plural of the definite article

Singular
der Mann die Frau das Kind
("the ("the
("the child")
man") woman")
Plural
die
die Frauen die Kinder
Männer
("the ("the ("the
men") women") children")

Just as in English, the indefinite article disappears in the plural


in German. So just as the plural of "a son" in English is "sons",
the plural of "ein Sohn" is "Söhne".

The word "kein"


The simple translation of the German word "kein" is "no" as in
Müslüm Can's statement: "Ich habe keine Kinder" (= I have no
children).

However "kein" is also used to translate "not a". The literal


translation "nicht ein" should be avoided. Thus you could either
translate "Ich habe keine Kinder" as "I don't have any children"
or "I haven't got any children".

As far as endings are concerned, "kein" behaves just like the


indefinite article "ein":

Grammar 5: The word "kein"

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural


kein keine kein keine
Mann Frau Kind Eltern
("no ("no ("no ("no
man") woman") child") parents")
keine kein keine
kein Tag
Nacht Land Länder
("no ("no ("no
("no day")
night") country") countries")

But these are only the endings for "kein" when it is the subject of a sentence i.e. in a
sentence such as "No child was unhappy". But "kein" is used most often to describe the
objects of sentences and takes quite different endings. We will discover what t3.6
The accusative case

Subject and object


Compare the two following English sentences:
1) The dog likes the cat.
2) The cat likes the dog.

The dog is playing a different role in each of the two sentences.


In the first sentence, it is carrying out the action of the verb -
liking the cat. In this instance, we speak of the dog being the
subject of the sentence. We also say that it is in the nominative
case.

In the second sentence, the dog is on the receiving end of the


action - being liked by the cat. In this instance, we speak of the
dog being the object of the sentence. We also say that it is in
the accusative case.
Der Hund mag die Katze

Subject and object in German


The majority of sentences which we have examined so far
involve nouns in the nominative case, carrying out the action of
the verb - e.g. "ich heiße Michael", "Wie alt bist du?". But with
the arrival of verbs such as "haben" (= "to have") which take a
direct object, we need to acquaint ourselves with the accusative
case.

In the English sentences which we have considered above, the


nouns "the dog" and "the cat" are written the same regardless
of whether the noun is the subject or the object of the sentence.
This is not the case in German. The definite article can be
written differently depending on whether the noun to which it
refers is in the nominative or the accusative case.

Look closely at the definite articles in the German equivalents of


the two sentences concerning the dog and the cat:

1) Der Hund mag die Katze.


("The dog likes the cat.")
2) Die Katze mag den Hund.
("The cat likes the dog.")

As the table below indicates however, the definite article only


has a different form in the accusative case in this specific
instance - namely when we are referring to a singular masculine
noun:

Grammar 6: The definite article

Nominative Accusative
Masculine der Mann den Mann
Feminine die Frau die Frau
Neuter das Kind das Kind
Plural die Eltern die Eltern
The accusative of the indefinite article
The same phenomenon came be observed when the indefinite
article is used:

1) Ein Hund mag eine Katze.


("A dog likes a cat.")
2) Eine Katze mag einen Hund.
("A cat likes a dog.")

Grammar 7: The indefinite article

Nominative Accusative
Masculine ein Mann einen
Mann
Feminine eine Frau eine Frau
Neuter ein Kind ein Kind

The accusative of "kein"


Logically enough, the negative "kein" declines in exactly the
same way as "ein" in the accusative:

1) Ein Hund mag keine Katze.


("A dog doesn't like a cat.")
2) Eine Katze mag keinen Hund.
("A cat doesn't like a dog.")

Grammar 8: Declension of "kein"

Nominative Accusative
Masculine kein Mann keinen
Mann
Feminine keine Frau keine Frau
Neuter kein Kind kein Kind
Plural keine keine
Eltern Eltern

Remember in particular that while "nicht" negates a verb (or an


adjective or adverb), "kein" negates a noun. So the opposite of
"Ich habe ein Kind" is not "Ich habe nicht ein Kind" but "Ich
habe kein Kind".
hese are in the next section

3.7 Possessive adjectives

Possessive adjectives are those adjectives which refer to


ownership, such as "your" and "his" in "What is your name?" or
"What is his name?". We have already met some of them in the
German equivalent of these questions "Wie ist Ihr Name?" or
"Wie ist sein Name?". The full list of possessive adjectives is as
follows:

Grammar 9: Nominative of possessive adjectives

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural


My mein meine mein meine
Your dein deine dein deine
(sing.) Ihr Ihre Ihr Ihre
His sein seine sein seine
Her ihr ihre ihr ihre
Its sein seine sein seine
Our unser unsere unser unsere
Your euer eure euer eure
(plural) Ihr Ihre Ihr Ihre
Their ihr ihre ihr ihre
Her ihr ihre ihr ihre
Its sein seine sein seine

Once again, we find that the endings on all possessive


adjectives change when they are in the accusative. We require a
second table to explain these fully:

Grammar 10: Accusative of possessive adjectives

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural


My meinen meine mein meine
Your deinen deine dein deine
(sing.) Ihren Ihre Ihr Ihre
His seinen seine sein seine
Her ihren ihre ihr ihre
Its seinen seine sein seine
Our unseren unsere unser unsere
Your euren eure euer eure
(plural) Ihren Ihre Ihr Ihre
Their ihren ihre ihr ihre
Her ihren ihre ihr ihre
Its seinen seine sein seine

Grammatical points
1) Be very careful to distinguish between Ihr (= "your" (polite))
and ihr (= "their; her"). The capital letter is crucial here!

2) The spelling of the various forms of euer, which means


"your" when you are addressing more than one person
informally, can prove difficult. When an ending is added to
"euer", the second "-e-" of the stem disappears.

So whilst "your child" is "euer Kind", "your children" translates


as "eure Kinder", and "your cat" is "eure Katze".

3.9 German Families

The wedding (die Hochzeit)


A German wedding (die Hochzeit) is as lavish an occasion as it
is in Britain, and one that incorporates a large number of
traditions. Some of them will be familiar to us - for example the
stag night (der Junggesellenabschied) during which the groom
celebrates his last few hours of freedom by drinking himself into
an alcoholic stupor with his friends. Less familiar however is der
Polterabend, a party held at the bride's house on the eve of the
wedding that literally translates as "an evening of making
noise". And this is precisely what happens - wedding guests and
other friends bring ceramic dishes (but no glass, as this brings
bad luck!) and smash them on the ground to ward off evil
spirits. The bride (die Braut) and groom (der Bräutigam) then
clear up the pieces with a broom (see below), preferably
together as this shows that they are willing to work as a team in
bad times as well as good.
Sweeping up after a Polterabend

Other differences to note are that German married couples wear


their wedding ring (der Ehering) on their right hand. Both the
bride and the groom wear simple gold bands that are very
different to the diamond-encrusted wedding rings that are often
found in Britain. The bride often carries salt and bread as an
omen for good harvest, whereas the groom carries grain for
good luck and wealth. Rice is thrown in the air as the happy
couple leave the church and instead of the bride's bouquet, it is
her veil that is passed on to the female guest who is next in line
for marriage.

A traditional German wedding

German wedding celebrations (die Hochzeitsfeier) vary from


region to region and from town to region. In some rural areas,
the bride is "kidnapped" before the marriage by friends and
family and the groom has to search strategic locations to find
her. As these locations invariably include local hostelries, the
groom will buy drinks for any acquaintances that he might meet
on his journey. In parts of North Germany the newlyweds return
to their house to find that the doors have been barricaded shut
and that all the furniture has been placed on the roof! Their first
task as a a married couple is thus to rescue their furniture and
get into their house without any outside help. In other rural
areas, the first task of the bride and groom on leaving the
church is to saw through a log using a 2-man log saw. Not very
practical if you're wearing a wedding dress or a tuxedo...

Given the strenuous and expensive nature of a traditional


wedding, it seems hardly surprising that an increasing number
of Germans forsake the additional chuch ceremony (die
kirchliche Trauung) and make do with a simple civil ceremony
(die zivile Trauung) at a registry office (das Standesamt). This
civil ceremony is required by law. The money thus saved can
then be spent on on the honeymoon (die Flitterwochen).

To marry or not to marry?


As in other European countries, marriage (die Ehe) no longer
holds such a central place in German society as it used to.
Firstly, more marriages now end in divorce (die Ehescheidung)
than ever before. In 1960, only 0.9 out of 1000 Germans had
been part of a marriage that ended in divorce. By 1990 this
figure had more than doubled to 1.9 per thousand inhabitants.
One in three marriages now ends in divorce, with a record
194,408 divorces being registered in the year 2000.

Secondly, fewer Germans choose to get married in the first


place. There were only 442,000 marriages in Germany in 1993
compared to 690,000 marriages in 1960. The decline in the
number of marriages is particularly pronounced in the former
GDR, where the number of marriages dropped by over 50 per
cent between 1990 and 1993. This can be explained partially by
the dramatic social changes in the former East Germany
brought about by reunification and partially by the fact that
under socialism many couples had chosen to marry primarily in
order to secure better accommodation and child-care benefits.

More and more couples are choosing instead to live as non-


married partners (der Partner; die Partnerin) in a so-called
Lebenspartnerschaft (partnership for life), a relationship that is
now recognised and protected by civil law. Between 1972 and
1990, the number of such households increased sevenfold, to
963,000, or 2.7 percent of all households. And by 1999 there
were 2.1 million unmarried (unverheiratet) German couples
living together which meant that one couple in ten did not have
a marriage certificate. In the new German states and in the
eastern part of Berlin, living together outside of marriage is very
common: one couple in eight have no marriage certificate. Many
of these are young couples who are choosing to live together
before getting married. In 1992 the average age at first
marriage had risen to 29.0 for men and 26.5 for women in the
old Länder, compared with 27.1 for men and 25.1 for women in
the new Länder.

To have children or not to have children?


Equally noticeable is the falling birth rate in Germany with more
and more couples choosing not to have children. For about 25
years the birth rate has been one third below the level
necessary to replenish the population. In 1950 the average
number of persons in German households was 3.0. By 1990 this
figure had declined to 2.3. In the early 1990s, only foreign
families were regularly having two or more children, with the
Turkish subgroup being the largest in terms of family size. The
slump in the birth-rate has been particularly pronounced after
reunification in the east of Germany where a combination of
high female unemployment and the dismantling of the GDR's
child-care system has dissuaded women from starting a family.

A German mother and child

The Federal Government has become increasingly aware of the


need to promote family life and as of 1 January 2001 new
legislation governing child-raising benefit came into force,
entitling both parents to apply for child-raising leave
simultaneously and spend up to 30 hours a week in part-time
work. The aim was to redress the traditional role division
between the sexes whereby mothers typically stayed at home to
look after their children, which had an adverse effect on their
professional lives.

The one area in which marriage is on the increase is in the gay


and lesbian communities. From August 2001 onwards, same-sex
couples can marry in registry offices and enjoy all the rights that
heterosexual spouses have in areas such as inheritance and
health insurance. Foreign partners of German gays and lesbians
are also now allowed to join them in Germany.

. 3.10 Vocabulary: The Family

From now on, vocabulary sections will appear at the end of each
chapter to tie in with the topics which have been discussed. For
each noun, both gender and plural will be given, as well as any
peculiarities which the noun possesses. As the definite article of
all plurals is "die", this will not be given with the plural of nouns.
Unless otherwise indicated, you should assume that verbs are
regular - i.e. have the normal endings which we have already
seen.

We will start off with the family, followed by pets on the next
page, such that you can describe your own family and pets to
your friends:

Vocabulary 4: Male family members

Singular Plural
husband der Mann Männer
der Partner
Partner
partner der
Lebenspartner
Lebenspartner
father der Vater Väter
stepfather der Stiefvater Stiefväter
der
father-in-law Schwiegerväter
Schwiegervater
der Großvater Großväter
grandfather
der Opa Opas
brother der Bruder Brüder
stepbrother der Stiefbruder Stiefbrüder
der
twin brother Zwillingsbrüder
Zwillingsbruder
brother-in-
der Schwager Schwäger
law
son der Sohn Söhne
der Enkel Enkel
grandson
der Enkelsohn Enkelsöhne
stepson der Stiefsohn Stiefsöhne
der
son-in-law Schwiegersöhne
Schwiegersohn
uncle der Onkel Onkel
nephew der Neffe Neffen
cousin
der Cousin Cousins
(male)

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:

A German family in Hamburg

Vocabulary 5: Female family members

Singular Plural
wife die Frau Frauen
die Partnerin
Partnerinnen
partner die
Lebenspartnerinnen
Lebenspartnerin
mother die Mutter Mütter
stepmother die Stiefmutter Stiefmütter
die
mother-in-law Schwiegermütter
Schwiegermutter
die Großmutter Großmütter
grandmother
die Oma Omas
sister die Schwester Schwestern
stepsister die Stiefschwester Stiefschwestern
die
twin sister Zwillingsschwestern
Zwillingsschwester
sister-in-law die Schwägerin Schwägerinnen
daughter die Tochter Töchter
granddaughter die Enkelin Enkelinnen
stepdaughter die Stieftochter Stieftöchter
daughter-in- die
Schwiegertöchter
law Schwiegertochter
aunt die Tante Tanten
niece die Nichte Nichten
cousin
die Cousine Cousinen
(female)

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:

Cousins

Vocabulary 6: Neuter family members

Singular Plural
girl das Mädchen Mädchen
child das Kind Kinder
grandchild das Enkelkind Enkelkinder
stepchild das Stiefkind Stiefkinder
only child das Einzelkind Einzelkinder
Vocabulary 7: Plural family members

English German
brothers and
Geschwister
sisters
parents Eltern
grandparents Großeltern
step-parents Stiefeltern
parents-in-law Schwiegereltern
twins Zwillinge

Vocabulary 8: Family phrases

Haben Sie Familie?


Do you have any family?
Haben Sie Kinder?
Do you have any children?
ich habe einen Sohn
I have a son
ich habe keine Kinder
I have no children
Hast du Geschwister?
Do you have any brothers or
sisters?
ich habe eine Stiefschwester
I have a step-sister
ich habe keine Geschwister
I have no brothers or sisters
ich bin Einzelkind
I am an only child
ich bin verheiratet
I am married
ich wohne mit einem Partner
zusammen
ich wohne mit einer Partnerin
zusammen
I live with my partner
ich bin geschieden
I am divorced
ich bin ledig
I'm not married
ich bin verwitwet
I am widowed

3.11 Vocabulary: Pets

Here is a list of pets found in Britain and Germany along with


some birds and farm animals. Practise saying which pets you
have, whether you like them, and whether they like each other!

Vocabulary 9: Pets (masculine)

Singular Plural
bird der Vogel Vögel
budgerigar der Wellensittich Wellensittiche
canary der Kanarienvogel Kanarienvögel
cockerel der Hahn Hähne
cuckoo der Kuckuck Kuckucke
dog der Hund Hunde
donkey der Esel Esel
fish der Fisch Fische
frog der Frosch Frösche
goldfish der Goldfisch Goldfische
hamster der Hamster Hamster
parrot der Papagei Papageien
wolf der Wolf Wölfe
Vocabulary 10: Pets (feminine)

Singular Plural
bee die Biene Bienen
cat die Katze Katzen
cow die Kuh Kühe
crow die Krähe Krähen
goat die Ziege Ziegen
goose die Gans Gänse
hen die Henne Hennen
lizard die Eidechse Eidechsen
mouse die Maus Mäuse
owl die Eule Eulen
pigeon die Taube Tauben
rat die Ratte Ratten
snake die Schlange Schlangen
tortoise die Schildkröte Schildkröten
Vocabulary 11: Pets (neuter)

Singular Plural
animal das Tier Tiere
chick das Küken Küken
guinea- das
Meerschweinchen
pig Meerschweinchen
horse das Pferd Pferde
insect das Insekt Insekten
pet das Haustier Haustiere
rabbit das Kaninchen Kaninchen
sheep das Schaf Schafe

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:

Did you know:

• that "das Haustier" (= "pet") literally means "house


animal"?
• that "das Meerschweinchen" (= "guinea-pig") literally
means "little sea pig"?
• that "das Nilpferd" (= "hippopotamus") literally means
"Nile horse"?

Vocabulary 12: Pet phrases

Haben Sie ein Haustier?


Do you have a pet?
Haben Sie Haustiere?
Do you have any pets?
ich habe keine Haustiere
I have no pets
ich habe einen Hund
I have a dog
ich habe keinen Hund
I don't have a dog
wir haben drei Katzen
we have three cats

3.12 Germans and their dogs

Man(n)'s best friend?


The poster states proudly: "Wir gehören
zusammen!" - "We belong together". And it is
immediately apparent to the outsider that Germans
adore their dogs. Cats are much less visible in
German cities - there is a law which says they have
to be kept in, and this is respected in Germany.
Dogs, on the other hand, are taken everywhere. It's
not unusual to see them in restaurants with their own water
bowls supplied by the proprietor. This is in part because German
dogs have traditionally been well-behaved - they all have to be
registered and vaccinated against rabies (die Tollwut), as this is
prevalent in many areas among wildlife. You will also see signs
in every park pointing out the strict "pooper-scooper" laws and
designating special areas for dogs to swim in so that the rest is
more pleasant for human bathers.

There are however several initiatives to help owners. Some


parks or streets have a special area designated as a "Hundeklo"
(= "doggy loo"). In popular dog-walking areas you will see
vending machines (der Automat) for bags and scoops to get rid
of mess, and bins are also provided. In Vienna, for example,
certain areas are clearly designated as either "dog-free" (das
Hundeverbot), "dog zones" (die Hundezone) or "a suitable place
to walk your dogs" (der Hundeauslaufplatz).
Dog ownership however is one area in which the Germans are
inclined to turn a blind eye to the regulations. John Hooper,
Berlin correspondent for The Guardian wrote: "There are more
dogs in Berlin than in most of Germany's other big cities put
together. And an astonishing number can be found off their
leads, not just rambling in the parks, but ambling along
pavements, lounging in cafes and bars, and even in restaurants
and clubs. Even members of the most popular breed, the pit bull
terrier, roam about unhindered, along with rottweilers,
dobermans and other dogs that look as if they eat a poodle or
two for breakfast."

Until the start of the new millennium, that is. The tragic death of
a six-year-old Turkish boy in Hamburg at the hands of a pit-bull
terrier and a Staffordshire terrier in July 2000 finally provoked
the authorities into action after a growing number of children
had been attacked by fighting dogs (der Kampfhund) ("fighting
dogs"). Since then a number of measures have been introduced
on a regional level to control how dangerous dogs are kept.
These include stricter implementation of "der Leinenzwang", the
requirement that certain dogs are kept on a leash in public, and
the "der Maulkorbzwang", the requirement that certain dogs are
muzzled. Some commentators have gone as far as to suggest
that all dogs, regardless of breed, should be kept on a leash
when out in public. And in Berlin, anyone owning pitbulls,
American Staffordshire terriers, bull terriers or Tosa Inu must
have them sterilised. These measure have proved unpopular
with dog owners, and they are digging their heels in for a long
battle with the authorities.

Web Links
Web sites on pets and other animals

German Visit this site to find out


animal sounds which German animal goes
"wau! wau!", and which goes
"mähh, mähh".
German The German Embassy in
Embassy - London explains what
Dangerous legislation exists concerning
Dogs dangerous dogs in Germany
and why.
Capital letters John Hooper of The Guardian
reports on his experiences of
being a dog owner in Berlin.
German zoos Visit the homepages of zoos
in German-speaking
countries.
Virtual Zoo Visit a "virtual reality" zoo in
Zurich.
Whiskas cat Watch the adverts for
food Whiskas cat food on their
homepage!
Die Tier-Seite A good thematic link-list of
homepages devoted to
German animals from Birgit
Bachmann. In German only.
Exercises

1. Reading comprehension
It's time to test how much you can understand of a
written passage of German! In the following
exercise, click on the "Start Reading" button on the
top right hand side of the page and read the
passage which opens up for you. You will then be required to
answer 12 multiple-choice questions about the passage.
There is one additional difficulty however. You only have five
minutes to read the passage before it disappears! Can you
answer the questions correctly - and in time? (Hint: You might
wish to have either a German-English dictionary and/or our
glossary of vocabulary open in separate windows to help you.)
Click on the bar below to get started.

Overview

In this chapter you will learn:

• how to order food in a restaurant


• how to pay for food in a restaurant
• how to count from 21 to 99 in German
• how to express prices in German
• a range of vocabulary for food and drink
• about eating out in Germany
• about how the introduction of the Euro is proceeding in
Germany

Grammar
Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on asking different
types of questions. We shall also learn about numbers and how
to use them in different contexts.

4.1 Café Einstein

The Scotsman Ken McNaught, whom we first met in Chapter


2, arrives in Berlin for the first time by train. Having arrived
at Berlin's new central station, the Hauptbahnhof, he then takes
the local train to Zoo Station. He gets off and then walks for a
while along the famous Kurfürstendamm street in the city centre
before stopping off at the Café Einstein near the Kaiser-Wilhelm-
Gedächtniskirche (= Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church) for
something to eat and drink.

Listen to his conversation with the waitress in the café by


clicking either here or on the sound icon at the top of the
previous paragraph. You can also:

• click here for a panoramic view of Berlin's Zoo station


taken by Helmut Koelbach.
• click here for a panoramic view of Berlin's famous
Kurfürstendamm thoroughfare at night taken by Helmut
Koelbach.
• click here for a live webcam of the Kurfürstendamm and
the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche.
• click here for a panoramic view of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-
Gedächtniskirche. Requires JavaScript.
(Tip: you can rotate your view of the church through 360°
by placing your mouse in the picture!)
• click here to find the location of Ken McNaught on a map of
Berlin.

Conversation 1: Im Café Einstein

Kellnerin Guten Morgen!


Ken Guten Morgen!
McNaught
Kellnerin Bitte schön? Was bekommen
Sie?
Ken Kaffee, bitte.
McNaught
Kellnerin Eine Tasse oder ein Kännchen?
Ken Eine Tasse.
McNaught
Kellnerin Mit Milch und Zucker?
Ken Mit Milch aber ohne Zucker.
McNaught
Kellnerin Möchten Sie sonst noch etwas?
Ken Und ein Stück Sachertorte.
McNaught
Kellnerin (Sie kommt zurück.) Bitte sehr.
Ein Stück Sachertorte, eine
Tasse Kaffee.
Ken Vielen Dank. Ich möchte gleich
McNaught zahlen.
Kellnerin Das macht neun Euro fünfzig,
bitte.
Ken Zehn Euro. Bitte schön. Stimmt
McNaught so.
Kellnerin Ich danke Ihnen.
Ken Auf Wiedersehen!
McNaught
Kellnerin Auf Wiedersehen!

Café Einstein

Glossary

das Café The café


im Café in the café
die Kellnerin waitress
bitte schön This is essentially an invitation to
speak. We might translate it by
"What can I get you?" "Bitte"
normally means "please".
Was "What can I get you?" This is one
bekommen of many ways of asking in
Sie? German what a customer wants.
der Kaffee coffee
die Tasse cup
das This is the word for a "pot" of
Kännchen coffee. In some cafés you might
be required to order a pot of
coffee rather than a cup.
die Milch milk
der Zucker sugar
ohne without
mit Milch aber "With milk but without sugar." As
ohne Zucker in English, the definite article is
omitted in this context.
Möchten Sie "Would you like anything else?"
sonst noch The waitress naturally uses the
etwas? polite form "Sie" to address her
customers.
das Stück a piece
die This is a variety of chocolate
Sachertorte gateau, invented in 1832 by
Metternich's Viennese cook,
Franz Sacher. See the picture at
the top of the page or click here
for a recipe.
bitte sehr This is a what the waitress says
when she puts your food in front
of you. We might possibly
translate it by "There you go".
(Sie kommt (She comes back)
zurück)
vielen Dank This means "Many thanks". It
expresses more gratefulness
than the word "danke".
gleich immediately
ich möchte I would like to pay immediately
gleich zahlen
das macht... "It comes to...". Literally: "This
makes..."
neun Euro nine euros fifty (cents)
fünfzig
bitte schön Ken gives the waitress the
money and thus uses the same
phrase as she had done when
she brought him the food.
stimmt so Literally: "(That's) correct like
that". We would translate it by
saying "Keep the change!"
ich danke Literally: "I thank you." It is
Ihnen simply another variant of
"Thanks!".

4.2 At the snack bar

At the same time as Ken McNaught is drinking coffee at the


restaurant, elsewhere in Berlin the two friends Sonja
Malchow and Verena Offenberg are ordering something to eat at
a typical Berlin Imbiss - an open stall or kiosk which you will see
on street corners in German-speaking countries - outside the
underground station (der U-Bahnhof) in Pankow.

Listen to their conversation with the snack bar owner Herr


Aksoy by clicking either here or on the sound icon at the top of
the previous paragraph. You can also click here to find the
location of the snack bar and Pankow underground station on a
map of Berlin.

Conversation 2: Der Imbiss

Herr Aksoy Guten Morgen!


Sonja Guten Morgen!
Malchow
Herr Aksoy Bitte schön? Was wünschen
Sie?
Sonja Ich möchte gerne eine
Malchow Bratwurst, bitte.
Herr Aksoy Eine große oder eine kleine?
Sonja Eine kleine, bitte.
Malchow
Herr Aksoy Mit Ketschup und Pommes?
Sonja Mit Ketschup aber ohne
Malchow Pommes.
Herr Aksoy Möchten Sie auch ein
Brötchen?
Sonja Ja, bitte. Gerne.
Malchow
Herr Aksoy Ein Euro achtzig, bitte.
Verena Und ich nehme eine
Offenberg Currywurst.
Herr Aksoy Ein Euro siebzig, bitte.
Verena Zehn Euro. (She hands over a
Offenberg ten euro note.)
Herr Aksoy Danke sehr! Und sechs Euro
und fünfzig zurück. Guten
Appetit!
Verena Danke schön!
Offenberg

Glossary

der Imbiss This is one of several words for a


"snack bar". You might also see
the words "der Schnellimbiss",
"die Imbissbude" or "die
Würstchenbude" ("sausage
stand").
was "What would you like?" Having
wünschen started with "Bitte schön", the
Sie? conventional request for
information, Herr Aksoy chooses
to ask more specifically.
ich möchte "I would like...". "Ich möchte..."
gerne... on its own could be also be used
here without "gerne". Note that
anything that you ask for will be in
the accusative case!
eine "A (fried) sausage". Usually
Bratwurst served with a roll. The German
reputation for eating sausages is
certainly borne out by the choice
offered at their snack bars!
eine a big (sausage)...
große...
...oder eine "...or a small (sausage)?" If the
kleine? noun has already been mentioned
immediately beforehand, it does
not need to be repeated when you
are describing it by means of an
adjective.
bitte please
der Unsurprisingly, this means
Ketschup "ketchup". Until the recent
German spelling reform, it was
spelled the same way as the
English word.
Pommes "Chips". From the French
"Pommes frites". While "Pommes
frites" is the version listed in
German dictionaries, you are just
as likely to hear "Pommes".
möchten Sie "Would you like...?" See the
auch...? conversation in the first section.
das "A bread roll". All nouns ending in
Brötchen "-chen" are neuter - including
"das Mädchen". The suffix "-chen"
means "little" or "small".
gerne Another word that is difficult to
translate. "Gerne" on its own
means "happily" or "willingly". The
combination "Ja, gerne" translates
as a more enthusiastic version of
"Yes please!"
ein Euro "One euro eighty (cents)".
achtzig
eine "A curried sausage". Very few
Currywurst German words begin with "c", and
many of those that do are - as
here - imported from other
languages.
ein Euro "One euro seventy (cents)".
siebzig
danke sehr "many thanks" (literally: "thanks
very")
zurück Literally "back", but here we
would translate it as "in return".
Guten "Enjoy your food!" or "bon
Appetit! appetit".

4.3 Please and thank you

The use of "bitte"


As the dialogues in this section have shown, the German word
bitte and its variants bitte schön and bitte sehr can have a
variety of meanings.

• When you are asking somebody for something, you would


use "bitte" to translate "please" - i.e. "eine Currywurst,
bitte" (= "a curried sausage please").
• "Bitte" is used by a waiter or someone offering a service to
attract the customer's attention. We might translate it by
"Can I help you?".
• You would also say "bitte" when handing things over to
somebody. In this context it would mean "Here you are".
You would expect the person to whom you were handing
over the object to respond by saying "danke" (see below).

"Bitte" is also used as a response to "danke", which is the


German equivalent of "thanks" or "thank you". "Bitte" then
means "You're welcome!" or "Don't mention it!". This
acknowledgement of thanks is not simply a matter of politeness
- it can be impolite not to follow a "danke" with a "bitte", since
to a German speaker you may appear to be refusing their
thanks.

"Danke" is often followed by either "schön" or "sehr". If so, then


the "bitte" response will be similarly modified. The following
table lists the pattern of responses:

Vocabulary 1: "Danke" and "bitte"

Thanks! You're welcome!


danke bitte
danke schön bitte schön
danke sehr bitte sehr
vielen Dank any of the above
ich danke Ihnen/dir any of the above

The other forms of saying thanks - "vielen Dank" (= many


thanks) and "ich danke Ihnen/dir" (= I thank you) have no
specific predetermined answer, but do require some form of
"bitte (schön/sehr)".
4.4 German currency: The Euro

The changeover from the Deutsche Mark


At the stroke of midnight on 1 January 2002, amidst firework
displays across the European mainland, euro notes and coins
were introduced into Germany, Austria and 10 other member
states of the European Union. The old German currency, die
Deutsche Mark (DM) or die D-Mark (but NOT "Deutschmark"!)
was still legal tender until 28 February 2002, after which point
der Euro (€ or EUR) became the only acceptable currency in
Germany. Should you still have any German marks or pfennigs
(the smaller denomination of the old currency), it is still possible
to exchange them at German banks. Postage stamps issued in
D-Marks ceased to be legally valid in June 2002.

As you can imagine, changing the currency


proved to be a huge logistical undertaking which
in itself is estimated to have cost 2.4 billion
Marks. 28.5 billion coins and 2.6 billion notes
from the D-Mark era needed to be taken out of
circulation, whilst at the same time 15.5 billion coins and 2.5
billion euro banknotes needed to be introduced to shops, banks
and cashpoints (see picture).

Yet the changeover passed smoothly, not least because


Germans had been well prepared for it by a Government
information campaign. Furthermore, although the euro notes
and coins were only introduced into circulation at the start of
2002, the new currency could be used from 1 January 1999
onwards in the form of "written money" - that is, by means of
cheques, travellers' cheques, bank transfers and credit cards.
Thus many German employees could choose whether they
wished to be paid in euros or marks. Nevertheless, it was
calculated in May 2005 that coins to the value of 3.72 thousand
million Deutschmarks and notes to the value of 3.94 thousand
million Marks were still in circulation. The German Bundesbank
believes however that much of this is money that has either
been lost or destroyed.

As the pictures below indicate, shops and supermarkets started


to list prices in both marks and euros from 1999 onwards:
But although the advantages of a single European
currency have been widely accepted, many Germans
nevertheless bade farewell to the mark with great
reluctance. The mark had been a symbol of fifty years of
German post-War reliability and economic revival, banishing the
traumatic memories of hyper-inflation in the 1920's, when the
currency was worth that little that people needed to transport it
in wheelbarrows if they needed to buy something substantial.
Since the mark became fully convertible in 1958, no other major
currency, including the Japanese yen or the Swiss franc, had
been stronger. It had become the second-largest currency
component of global monetary reserves, second only to the
United States dollar - which itself lost about two-thirds of its
value against the Deutsche Mark since 1958.

German suspicions about the euro have been increased by


popular fears that manufacturers and shopkeepers took
advantage of the introduction of the new currency to raise
prices on the sly. The price of everyday times staples such as
bread and restaurant meals have been particularly affected,
with price rises of 100% being registered on some consumer
staples. Consumer groups and tabloid newspapers have
rechristened the new currency "der Teuro", which is a play on
the German word for expensive "teuer".

As the alleged price increases were not reflected in the rate of


inflation, the German government was initially slow to react to
popular discontent. Having been overcharged for a sandwich in
May 2002 however, Finance Minister Hans Eichel called for a
consumer boycott of businesses which had tried to cash in on
the currency changeover. Consumer affairs minister Renate
Künast has also convened a meeting with retail and trade
groups to push for "a return to fair prices."

But the overall impression remains that the changeover to the


new currency has been much more successful than Euro-
sceptics had predicted. In 2006, an opinion poll showed that
46% of Germans agreed with the statement: "The Euro is good
for us and makes us stronger for the future". An almost equal
number of Germans (44%) thought however that the Euro
"weakens the country". Yet by the end of 2007, a survey by the
Dresdner Bank found that only 36% of Germans were in favour
of the euro, compared to 43% in a similar survey in 2004.

1. Jan. 2002: The new euro

What's a euro worth?


Since January 1 1999, the euro has had an
irrevocably fixed conversion rate against the national
currencies participating in the Eurozone. From that
date onwards, the value of one euro has been fixed at
1.95583 German marks. This has proved useful in
helping German citizens to come to terms with the new
currency, as one euro is thus roughly equal to two German
marks. One euro is also worth:

• 13.7903 Austrian schillings (ATS)


• 40.3399 Belgian francs (BEF)
• 5.94573 Finnish markka (FIM)
• 6.55957 French francs (FRF)
• 340.750 Greek drachma (GRD)
• 0.787564 Irish pounds (IEP)
• 1936.27 Italian lira (ITL)
• 40.3399 Luxembourg francs (LUF)
• 2.20371 Dutch guilders (NLG)
• 200.482 Portuguese escudos (PTE)
• 166.386 Spanish pesetas (ESP)
4.6 Expressing prices and currencies

Currencies
As currencies are proper nouns in German, they start with a
capital letter. Many international currencies - such as der Euro
and der Cent are masculine, but others are not.

Vocabulary 3: Die Währung (currency)

der Euro der Cent


(euro) (cent)
das Pfund der Dollar
(pound) (dollar)
der Franken der Rappen
(Swiss franc) (Swiss
centime)
der Yen der Rubel
(Japanese (Russian
yen) rouble)
die Mark
die D-Mark
die deutsche Mark
(German mark)

Note therefore that while there are three different ways of


expressing the former German currency, none of them were the
word "Deutschmark" - which only existed in English!

Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of currency vocabulary
by clicking on the bar below:

How to express prices


When we express prices in English, the currency itself will be in
the plural if the number is greater than one e.g. "three euros
and eighty cents", "two pounds fifty" etc.

In German prices however, the currency is always in the


singular in prices regardless of the amount - drei Euro achtzig,
zwei Pfund fünfzig. Similarly, although one euro consists of a
hundred cents, the word "Cent" is only written in the singular in
German prices - i.e. zwölf Euro (und) zehn Cent (= twelve euros
and ten cents).

Note that in written German, a comma is invariably used in


prices where we would put a decimal point in English. Thus €
3,99 (or 3,99 €) means "three euros and ninety-nine cents". In
shops and supermarkets however, price tickets can either
display a comma or a decimal point, as the price tags below
display.

When a price ends in a round number of euros, as in the list of


drinks prices on the board in the picture below, it is most
commonly written as € 5,- etc. The reverse is also true.
Whereas English uses a comma to split up large numbers,
German uses a decimal point. So "€ 2.635" means "two
thousand six hundred and thirty-five euros" - not "two point six
three five euros"!

4.7 Numbers: 21-99

In Chapter 3 we learned how to count from one to twenty in


German. In the dialogues in this section we have discovered
that larger numbers are required when buying things in
Germany.

A list of German numbers from twenty-one to ninety-nine is


given below. Click here or on the sound icon at the top of the
page to listen to them:

Vocabulary 4: Numbers 21-99

21 einundzwanzig 31 einunddreißig
22 zweiundzwanzig 32 zweiunddreißig
23 dreiundzwanzig 40 vierzig
24 vierundzwanzig 45 fünfundvierzig
25 fünfundzwanzig 50 fünfzig
26 sechsundzwanzig 54 vierundfünfzig
27 siebenundzwanzig 60 sechzig
28 achtundzwanzig 70 siebzig
29 neunundzwanzig 80 achtzig
30 dreißig 90 neunzig
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:

Explanation
1. The biggest difficulty which English-speakers experience with
German numbers is that cardinal numbers above twenty appear
to be formed "backwards". Whereas we say "twenty-four",
German says "vierundzwanzig" (= four and twenty) like the
"four-and-twenty blackbirds" in the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song
of Sixpence". This takes a lot of getting used to! Note in
particular the difference between 45 and 54 in the list above.
English-speakers often get such similar pairs of numbers the
wrong way round.

2. Note too that German numbers greater than twelve are


seldom written as words, except on cheques. When they are
written out, each number is one continuous word - i.e.
"achtundsiebzig" whereas we would write "seventy-eight".

3. The German equivalent of the suffix "-ty" (as in "forty", "fifty"


etc.) is "-zig". There is one exception to this however: the
German for "thirty" is "dreißig".

4. Be very careful of endings when using numbers containing


"ein(e)". For example:
- € 1,20 is written as ein Euro zwanzig as "der Euro" is a
masculine noun.
- DM 1,20 however is written as eine Mark zwanzig as "die
Mark" is a feminine noun.
- € 21,00 is written as einundzwanzig Euro. There are no
endings on "ein" here as it appears in the middle of another
number.
- € 21,21 is likewise written as einundzwanzig Euro
einundzwanzig.
4.8 Im Restaurant (1)

Anna Müller and Margarete Schäfer, the two Berlin


neighbours whom we saw meeting for the first time in an
earlier section, have met up at the "Café Lit" restaurant for a
meal. But first they need to find a seat! Click on the sound
graphic at the top of this paragraph or here to listen to their
conversation.

Conversation 3: Im Restaurant (1)

Anna Müller Guten Tag. Ist hier noch frei?


Mann Nein, hier ist leider besetzt.
Anna Müller Entschuldigen Sie bitte. Ist hier
noch frei?
Frau Ja, natürlich. Nehmen Sie
Platz!
Anna Müller Vielen Dank.
Kellner Guten Tag. Sie wünschen
bitte? Tee, Kaffee, Kakao, Cola,
Limonade, Wein?
Anna Müller Ich möchte gerne ein
Kännchen Tee, bitte.
Kellner Mit Milch oder mit Zitrone?
Anna Müller Mit Zitrone, bitte.
Margarete Und ich nehme ein Glas Wein.
Schäfer Nein, ein Bier!
Kellner Ein großes oder ein kleines?
Margarete Ein kleines.
Schäfer
Kellner Ja. Möchten Sie auch die
Speisekarte?
Anna Müller Ja, bitte. Gerne.

Inside the Café Lit

Glossary

das This is written as in English but


Restaurant it is pronounced quite
differently.
im Restaurant in the restaurant
Ist hier noch "Is this seat taken?" Literally:
frei? "Is here still free?"
entschuldigen "Excuse me please". This is the
Sie bitte most polite way of gaining
somebody's attention.
leider unfortunately
hier ist leider "Unfortunately, this seat is
besetzt taken". The word "besetzt" is
also used to translate "engaged"
both for a phone-line and a
toilet cubicle.
natürlich of course; naturally
nehmen Sie "Take a seat". This is a word-
Platz for-word translation of the
English, with the indefinite
article being omitted. Both this
phrase and "Entschuldigen Sie,
bitte" are requests /
instructions. In the "Sie" form,
this means that the subject and
the verb are reversed such that
the verb is the first element in
the sentence.
der Kellner waiter
der Tee tea
der Kakao cocoa
die No need to translate this one,
(Coca-)Cola but note that this is feminine in
German. It is "das Coke"
however!
die Limonade lemonade
der Wein "wine". Most alcoholic drinks
turn out to be masculine.
ein Kännchen "A pot of tea". As with the glass
Tee of wine, the word for "of" is
omitted in German after a noun
of quantity.
die Milch milk
die Zitrone This means "lemon". Tea is
usually drunk in German-
speaking countries with lemon -
and from a glass. If you want
milk rather than lemon you will
need to ask for "Tee mit Milch".
gleich immediately
und ich and I'll have...
nehme....
das Glas glass
ein Glas Wein This means "a glass of wine".
Here too there is no word for
"of" in German after the noun of
quantity.
das Bier The German for "beer" is one of
the few words for alcoholic
beverages which is neuter, not
masculine.
ein großes "a large (beer) or a small
oder ein (beer)". As in the earlier section,
kleines? the noun does not need to be
repeated. We will discuss
adjective endings in a later
section.
Möchten Sie Would you also like...?
auch...?
die "The menu". Literally: "The food
Speisekarte card". You might also hear it
reduced to "die Karte".

4.9 Im Restaurant (2)

Having now found somewhere to sit and ordered a drink,


Anna Müller and Margarete Schäfer are now ready to order
their meal. Click on the sound graphic at the top of this
paragraph or here to listen to their conversation to the waiter
(der Kellner).

Conversation 4: Im Restaurant (2)

Kellner Haben Sie schon gewählt?


Margarete Ja, wir möchten bestellen.
Schäfer
Kellner Was hätten Sie gern?
Margarete Ich hätte gern Hähnchen mit
Schäfer Kartoffeln und Salat, bitte.
Kellner Gerne. Und für Sie?
Anna Müller Ich möchte Schweineschnitzel
mit Pommes frites.
Kellner Ja... Und zu trinken?
Anna Müller Ein Glas Weißwein, bitte.
Margarete Und noch ein Bier!
Schäfer
Kellner Bitte sehr.
Anna Müller Danke.
Inside the Café Lit

Glossary

schon already
Haben Sie schon Have you already chosen?
gewählt?
Wir möchten "We would like to order."
bestellen Note that - as in English -
the infinitive of the verb
"bestellen" comes at the
end of the clause.
das Hähnchen "Chicken". As this noun is
another one which ends in
"-chen", we know that it
must be neuter.
die Kartoffel potato
der Salat salad; lettuce
gerne So far we have seen this
word when a customer is
saying what he or she
would like. When spoken by
a waiter, as here, it means
"Of course!" or "You're
welcome!"
Und für Sie? And for you?
das Schwein pig; pork
das Schnitzel cutlet, chop
das "Pork cutlet, escalope of
Schweineschnitzel pork". This is another
example of those compound
nouns which are so
common in German.
Remember that the gender
of the compound noun will
always be determined by
the last element - here "das
Schnitzel".
Und zu trinken? And to drink?
ein Glas Weißwein "A glass of white wine".
"Weißwein" is another
compound noun, coming
from "weiß", the adjective
for "white" and "der Wein"
(= wine).
noch still; yet
noch ein Bier "Another beer". You would
say "eine" for a feminine
noun. So "another cup of
tea" would be "Noch eine
Tasse Tee".
bitte sehr Yet another nuance of
"bitte"! Although the waiter
isn't actually bringing them
anything, he still says "bitte
sehr" to confirm the
transaction.

4.10 Settling the bill

Having had their main course, the waiter comes round to


see if everything is in order. Anna decides that they don't
want a dessert, but would like the bill instead. Click on the
sound graphic at the top of this paragraph or here to listen to
their conversation to the waiter (der Kellner).
Conversation 5: Settling the bill

Kellner So, hat es Ihnen geschmeckt?


Margarete Ausgezeichnet!
Schäfer
Anna Sehr gut!
Müller
Kellner Möchten Sie noch etwas
bestellen? Darf ich Ihnen einen
Nachtisch bringen? Wir haben
heute Erdbeeren mit Vanilleeis
und Sahne.
Anna Für mich nicht.
Müller
Margarete Nein, danke, die Rechnung,
Schäfer bitte.
Kellner Ja, zusammen oder getrennt?
Anna Zusammen, bitte.
Müller
Kellner Ja, kleinen Moment bitte. Das
macht siebenundzwanzig Euro
sechzig, bitte.
Anna Dreißig. Stimmt so.
Müller
Kellner Ja, danke schön.

Inside the Café Lit

Glossary

so This approximates to "well


then". It never means the
English "so" as in "a logical
conclusion".
Hat es Ihnen "Did you enjoy your
geschmeckt? meal?". The literal meaning
is: "Did it taste to you?"
ausgezeichnet "Excellent!" But then
Margarete has had two
beers by now...
sehr gut very good
noch etwas "Something else". This
always has the sense of an
additional something rather
than "something different".
der Nachtisch "dessert". It literally means
"after-table".
darf ich...? "may I...?" Just like "Ich
möchte...", it is always
followed by the infinitive of
the verb which it governs.
darf ich Ihnen "May I bring you a
einen Nachtisch dessert?". And it is "einen
bringen? Nachtisch", because the
masculine noun "der
Nachtisch" is the object of
the sentence.
heute today
die Erdbeere "strawberry". As we have
seen, many feminine nouns
end in "-e", and form a
plural in "-en".
das Vanilleeis "vanilla ice-cream". This is
another German compound
noun, coming from "die
Vanille" (= "vanilla") and
"das Eis" (= "ice cream").
As "das Eis" is the final
element of the compound
noun, it determines the
gender.
die Sahne cream
für mich nicht "Not for me". Note that the
German word for "not" -
"nicht" - follows the noun to
which it refers.
die Rechnung, bitte (Could we have) the bill,
please?
zusammen... together...
...oder getrennt? "...or separately?" The
waiter is thus asking them
whether they wish to pay
together or separately.
kleinen Moment, "One moment, please".
bitte Literally: "A little moment
please".
das macht... "It comes to....". Literally:
"This makes...".
siebenundzwanzig Twenty-seven euros sixty
Euro sechzig
dreißig Thirty

4.11 Vocabulary - Food and drink

Here is a summary of the vocabulary covered in this section,


together with some other words for food and drink which you
may find useful. Many of these nouns are not used in the plural
- in most cases as in English - and so only the singular form will
be given. Unless otherwise indicated, you should assume that
any verbs given are regular (in the present tense at least).

Vocabulary 5: Food and drink (masc.)

English German
der Kuchen
cake
(plural - Kuchen)
cocoa der Kakao
coffee der Kaffee
dessert der Nachtisch
juice der Saft
- apple juice - der Apfelsaft
- orange juice - der Orangensaft
ketchup der Ketschup
salad der Salat
sugar der Zucker
tea der Tee
wine der Wein
- red wine - der Rotwein
- white wine - der Weißwein

Vocabulary 6: Food and drink (fem.)

Singular Plural
bill die Rechnung Rechnungen
coca-cola die (Coca-)Cola
cream die Sahne
cup die Tasse Tassen
gâteau die Torte Torten
lemon die Zitrone Zitronen
lemonade die Limonade
menu die Speisekarte Speisekarten
milk die Milch
potato die Kartoffel Kartoffeln
sachertorte die Sachertorte Sachertorten
sausage die Wurst Würste
- curried - die -
sausage Currywurst Currywürste
- fried sausage - die Bratwurst - Bratwürste
strawberry die Erdbeere Erdbeeren
Vocabulary 7: Food and drink (neuter)

Singular Plural
beer das Bier
bread roll das Brötchen Brötchen
café das Café Cafés
chicken das Hähnchen Hähnchen
glass das Glas Gläser
ice cream das Eis
- vanilla
- das Vanilleeis
ice cream
piece das Stück Stücke
pig; pork das Schwein Schweine
- pork - das -
cutlet Schweineschnitzel Schweineschnitzel
pot das Kännchen Kännchen
restaurant das Restaurant Restaurants

Vocabulary 8: Food and drink (verbs)


English German
to bringen bringen
to choose wählen
to get; receive bekommen
to order bestellen

Vocabulary 9: Food and drink (phrases)

ist hier noch frei?


Is this seat taken?
hier ist besetzt
this seat is taken
nehmen Sie Platz!
Take a seat!
haben Sie schon gewählt?
Have you already chosen?
was bekommen Sie?
What would you like?
was möchten Sie?
What would you like?
möchten Sie sonst noch etwas?
Would you like anything else?
möchten Sie noch etwas bestellen?
Would you like anything else?
und zu trinken?
And to drink?
ich möchte...
I would like...
ich hätte gerne...
I would like...
guten Appetit!
Bon appetit!
hat es Ihnen geschmeckt?
Did you enjoy your meal?
ich möchte gleich zahlen
I would like to pay now
die Rechnung, bitte
The bill, please
kleinen Moment, bitte!
Just one moment please!
zusammen oder getrennt?
are you paying together or
separately?
das macht 20 Euro
It comes to 20 euros

4.12 Eating out in Germany

Town and country


The choice of restaurants in Germany is broad and varied. This
is particularly the case in large cities where you can find the
cuisine of most countries of the world represented. Even smaller
towns however will have their fair share of Italian, Greek,
Turkish and Chinese restaurants - although Indian cuisine has
yet to catch on to the extent that it has in Great Britain. What
have become popular and very common are take-aways on the
American pattern, delivering pizzas, Chinese and Mexican food
to your home.
In the country you are more likely to come across "eine
Gaststätte", "ein Gasthaus" or "eine Gaststube", a combination
of pub, restaurant and café which invariably offers local
delicacies. Take a look at the menu boards which are hung
outside all German restaurants to see what they are offering!

What you will not find in either town or country is an equivalent


for the British "caff" or "greasy spoon". Cafés in German-
speaking countries are in general more upmarket, with
tablecloths, carpets and upholstered chairs.

Restaurant etiquette
When entering a restaurant in a German-speaking
country, it is customary for the diner to find their own
seat rather than waiting to be designated one. You
should also not be surprised if another party asks if they
may sit at your table. This is common practice on the
European mainland. And do not be offended if the people
in that party do not engage in conversation with you. They are
rarely interested in making friends, just looking for a seat in a
crowded restaurant.

It used to be the case that you would address the waiter as Herr
Ober and waitresses as Fräulein. These forms of address are out
of date nowadays however and should be avoided. If you want
to order or pay you should make a sign with your hand (but do
not click your fingers!) and say something along the lines of
Kann ich bestellen, bitte? (= "May I order, please"?).

Paying and tipping


Credit cards are nearly always accepted in large restaurants
nowadays but in more humble establishments hard cash is still
the usual means of payment. If you want to pay by credit card,
it is always advisable to ask before you order.
Paying for the meal is almost always done at your table with the
waitress or waiter who served you. It is not necessary to tip
15%, because a 15% gratuity is included in the prices as a
service fee (in addition to a 15% value added tax). It is
nevertheless usual to leave a tip in restaurants, cafés and other
places where your bill is brought to your table. This is done by
rounding the bill up. If a bill is under 10 euros you round the
sum up to the next full mark or next but one - i.e. € 11,50
would be rounded up to € 12. If the bill comes to more than 10
euros you should allow 5% for a tip, rising to 10% in a more
upmarket establishment.

Leaving the tip on the table after you have paid is unknown in
Germany. Waiters and waitresses are accustomed to receiving
their tip as part of the bill, not by looking for the tip on the table
after you have left. If you let them give you your full change
(and then leave a tip on the table) they will think that you are
unhappy with their service. Only if you are really dissatisfied
with the quality of service that you have received should you
not leave any tip at all - a token tip of a few cents will have the
same effect.

Snacks
One of the most striking aspects about a German city is the
number of kiosks (der Kiosk), sausage stalls (die
Würstchenbude) or snack bars (der Imbiss, der
Schnellimbiss) on each street corner. They are most well-
known for offering Bratwurst - a fried or grilled sausage - or
curried sausage (Currywurst). In Austria, you may come across
"Steckerlfisch" - grilled fish on a stick. You can also get chips
there (Pommes, Pommes frites), but don't be alarmed if you are
offered mayonnaise along with tomato sauce to put on them!

Such kiosks and snack bars serve beer as well as soft drinks,
and many will offer a very good ground coffee. The preference
for coffee over tea in mainland Europe continues unabated. You
may be offered tea in a café or restaurant, but most Germans
drink it with lemon or just black. Iced tea is becoming
increasingly popular as a summertime beverage.

The traditional German kiosk and snack bar is however under


attack from a variety of overseas food outlets, American fast
food (hamburgers, pancakes et al.) being the most visible
competitor. But you will also find Turkish kebabs, Italian pizzas
and French crêpes doing a roaring trade on street corners.

5.1 Where is the Hotel Ravenna? (1)

Having arrived in Berlin for his conference, Ken McNaught


now needs to find his way around in the big city. He knows
that his hotel - the "Hotel Ravenna" (marked by an "X" in our
diagram) - is in the road called Harbigstrasse which in the
Charlottenburg region of Berlin, but he is having trouble finding
it.

Whilst in Position 1 on our diagram, standing on the corner of


two roads called Waldschulallee and Messedamm, he meets a
passer-by (ein Passant) and asks for directions.

Listen to his conversation with the passer-by by clicking either


here or on the sound icon at the top of the previous paragraph.
You can also click here to find the location of Ken McNaught on
a map of Berlin.

Conversation 1: Wo ist das Hotel Ravenna?

Ken Entschuldigen Sie bitte.


McNaught
Passant Ja bitte?
Ken Wo finde ich das Hotel Ravenna?
McNaught
Passant Ach ja, ich weiß... Da gehen Sie
bitte fünfhundert Meter
geradeaus, und die nächste
Straße rechts, und dann finden
Sie das Hotel Ravenna auf der
rechten Seite.
Ken Wie bitte?
McNaught
Passant Immer geradeaus, dann die
nächste rechts - die
Harbigstraße.
Ken Danke schön!
McNaught
Passant Bitte schön. Viel Spaß in Berlin!

Glossary

der Passant the passer-by


wo ist...? where is...?
das Hotel the hotel
entschuldigen Excuse me please?
Sie bitte
Ja, bitte Another nuance of "bitte"! This
time it approximates to "Yes,
how may I help?"
wo finde "Where can I find...?" The word
ich...? for "can" is omitted in the
German construction.
das Hotel The names of most German
Ravenna hotels follow the word for
"hotel".
ach ja, ich oh yes, I know
weiß
da gehen Sie "You go...". Our old friend
bitte... "bitte" is added for an extra
touch of politeness.
fünfhundert five hundred metres
Meter
geradeaus "Straight on." Later in the
conversation the passer-by will
say "immer geradeaus", which
equates to "keep straight on" -
(literally "always straight on").
die Straße street; road
rechts on the right
die nächste the next road on the right
Straße rechts
dann finden "Then you will find..." There is
Sie... no word here for "will" - the
present tense can be used in
German to translate the
immediate future.
auf der "on the right-hand side". In
rechten Seite practice this is interchangeable
with "rechts".
Wie bitte? This means "Pardon me?".
Never be embarrassed about
asking somebody to repeat
directions, particularly when
you are new to a language!
die nächste The passer-by does not repeat
rechts "Straße" here. As we saw in the
previous section, it is clear that
the adjective refers back to the
feminine noun "street".
viel Spaß "Enjoy yourself!". The literal
meaning is "Much fun!"
5.2 Where is the Hotel Ravenna? (2)

Our passer-by is beginning to curse his luck! No sooner has


he given instructions to Ken McNaught and moved along the
Messedamm to Position 2 on our diagram than he bumps into
Herr Loss, who is also looking for the Hotel Ravenna (which is
again marked by an "X" in our diagram).

Listen to his conversation with the passer-by by clicking either


here or on the sound icon at the top of the previous paragraph.
You can also click here to find the location of the Hotel Ravenna
on a map of Berlin.

Conversation 2: Wo ist das Hotel Ravenna?

Herr Entschuldigen Sie bitte.


Loss
Passant Ja?
Herr Wie komme ich zum Hotel
Loss Ravenna?
Passant Gehen Sie hier geradeaus.
Herr Hier geradeaus?
Loss
Passant Richtig. Nehmen Sie dann die erste
Straße rechts. Das ist die
Jaffeestraße.
Herr Die zweite Straße rechts?
Loss
Passant Nein, nicht die zweite sondern die
erste Straße rechts!
Herr Die erste Straße rechts?
Loss
Passant Ja, ganz richtig. Dann nehmen Sie
bitte die erste Straße links. Das ist
die Harbigstraße.
Herr Die Harbigstraße?
Loss
Passant Ja, genau. Und das Hotel Ravenna
ist auf der linken Seite.
Herr Vielen Dank. Auf Wiedersehen!
Loss
Passant Auf Wiedersehen!

Glossary

Wie komme "How do I get to...?" Literally:


ich...? "How do I come to...?" As there is
only one present tense in German,
the word for "do" is omitted in the
German construction.
... zum Hotel "...to the Hotel Ravenna". The
Ravenna word "zum" is short for "zu dem".
It is only used for masculine and
neuter nouns - for feminine nouns
you would say "zur".
hier straight on here
geradeaus
richtig right; correct
Nehmen "Take...". Note again the inverted
Sie... word order of the polite request.
die erste the first road on the right
Straße
rechts
die zweite the second road on the right
Straße
rechts
nicht... "Not ... but..." In this case, "nicht"
sondern... precedes the noun to which it
refers.
ganz richtig "Quite right". The word "ganz" is
quite tricky in that it can mean
"quite" or very according to
context.
die erste the first road on the left...
Straße
links...
auf der
linken Seite

5.3 Where is the nearest...?

On the previous two pages, we have practised how to get


directions to specific places. The vocabulary and skills are
slightly different when we have to find the nearest shop, station
etc. In this conversation we find Herr McNaught asking a female
passer-by (eine Passantin) where the nearest telephone box and
the nearest chemist's are.

Listen to his conversation with the passer-by by clicking either


here or on the sound icon at the top of the previous paragraph.
Conversation 3: Telefonzelle und Apotheke

Ken Entschuldigen Sie bitte.


McNaught
Passantin Ja?
Ken Wo ist denn hier die nächste
McNaught Telefonzelle?
Passantin Die nächste Telefonzelle ist
gleich hier um die Ecke. In der
Nähe vom Brandenburger Tor.
Ken Und wo gibt es hier eine
McNaught Apotheke?
Passantin Eine Apotheke oder eine
Drogerie?
Ken Eine Apotheke.
McNaught
Passantin Sie gehen geradeaus und dann
die vierte Straße links. An der
Ampel rechts und dann stehen
Sie direkt vor der Apotheke.
Ken Ist das weit?
McNaught
Passantin Nein, nur fünf Minuten zu Fuß.
Glossary

die Passantin passer-by (female)


Wo ist denn "Wo ist...?" is the basic phrase
hier...? used to translate "Where is...?".
The additional words "denn
hier" merely add a sense of
conversational emphasis, and
can be omitted.
die telephone box
Telefonzelle
die nächste "The nearest telephone box."
Telefonzelle The endings of the adjective
"nächst-" depend on the gender
of the noun, and the case - i.e.
whether it is in the nominative
or the accusative case.
gleich hier just here; right here
um die Ecke around the corner
in der Nähe "Near...". When the preposition
von "von" is followed by the definite
article, this becomes "vom" for
a masculine or neuter noun,
and "von der" for a feminine
noun.
das "The Brandenburg Gate" is
Brandenburger probably Berlin's most famous
Tor landmark. We have included a
picture of it in the top left-hand
corner of each page in this
chapter.
Wo gibt es Another variant of "Where
hier...? is...?" Note that in this
construction, the thing which
you are looking for is in the
accusative case, whereas it is in
the nominative case for the
"Wo ist..." construction. This of
course affects the endings on
each noun.
die Apotheke This is a "chemist's shop" which
is staffed by qualified
pharmacists who can prescribe
medication for straightforward
ailments without a doctor's
prescription.
die Drogerie We would also translate this as
a "chemist's shop", but it is one
that merely sells toothpaste,
toilet articles and cough
sweets.
die Ampel "Traffic lights". This is a
singular noun in German.
an der Ampel "Right at the traffic lights". The
rechts definite article "die" becomes
"der" after the preposition "an"
which takes the dative case.
dann stehen "Then you stand...". The verb
Sie... "stehen" is regular in the
present tense.
direkt directly
vor der "In front of the chemists shop".
Apotheke This is another preposition
which takes the dative case.
Ist das weit? Is it far?
nur only
fünf Minuten zu five minutes by foot
Fuß

5.4 Studying the map


Ken McNaught is now positioned "Ecke Singerstraße Neue
Blumenstraße", that is on the corner of Singerstraße and
Neue Blumenstraße in what used to be East Berlin. He asks a
passer-by where he can find the post-office and the
underground station.

Both of these are shown on the map below - the post-office has
the yellow logo of the German post office Deutsche Post with its
trademark horn, and the "U-Bahnhof" (= "underground station")
is indicated by the blue letter "U".

Listen to his conversation with the passer-by by clicking either


here or on the sound icon at the top of the first paragraph.

Conversation 4: Das Postamt und der U-Bahnhof

Ken Entschuldigen Sie bitte.


McNaught
Passant Ja bitte?
Ken Gibt es hier in der Nähe ein
McNaught Postamt?
Passant Ja, hier ganz in der Nähe. In der
Schillingstraße etwa zwei Minuten
von hier.
Ken Und wo ist die Schillingstraße?
McNaught
Passant Sie gehen geradeaus und dann
links. Nehmen Sie die erste
Straße rechts und dann finden
Sie das Postamt auf der linken
Seite.
Ken Und wo gibt es hier einen U-
McNaught Bahnhof?
Passant Da gehen Sie bitte circa
sechshundert Meter geradeaus,
die nächste rechts und dann
gehen Sie ganz einfach die
Schillingstraße entlang, an der
Polizeiwache vorbei, und dann
stehen Sie direkt davor.
Ken Welcher U-Bahnhof ist das?
McNaught
Passant U-Bahnhof Schillingstraße.

Glossary

hier in der near here


Nähe
hier ganz in der very near here
Nähe
das Postamt "Post office". You will often
hear the word "die Post" used
for this, which also means the
post office as an institution.
etwa approximately
zwei Minuten two minutes from here
von hier
Wo gibt es hier "Where is an underground
einen U- station round here?" As "es
Bahnhof? gibt" takes the accusative
case, the masculine noun "ein
U-Bahnhof" becomes "einen
U-Bahnhof".
circa approximately; about
sechshundert six hundred metres
Meter
ganz einfach quite simply
die "Along the Schillingstraße".
Schillingstraße The preposition "entlang"
entlang follows the noun to which it
refers.
die "Police station". It is indicated
Polizeiwache on German maps by a green
star on a white circular
background.
an der past the police station
Polizeiwache
vorbei
direkt davor directly in front of it
Welcher U- "Which underground station is
Bahnhof ist that?" If the noun following
das? "which" was a feminine noun,
it would be "welche" and if it
was a neuter noun, it would be
"welches".

5.5 Prepositions

Prepositions which take the accusative case


Prepositions are words such as "in", "on" and "over" which stand
in front of a noun or pronoun to relate it to the rest of the
sentence. In German, when these prepositions are used, the
words for "the" (der/die/das) and "a" (ein) alter their endings
depending on the case in which they are used.

We are already familiar with the accusative case, and have


explained how "der" changes into "den" in the accusative case,
and "ein" changes into "einen". This same change from "der" to
"den" also happens after certain prepositions - we say that
these prepositions "take" the accusative case. Some of the more
commonly used German prepositions are listed below:

Grammar 1: Accusative prepositions

Preposition Example
durch durch das Hotel
through the hotel
entlang die Straße entlang
along the street
für für den Mann
for the man
um um die Ecke
round the corner

The dative case


Many prepositions however take a case which is new to us - the
dative case. For the definite article, the dative case means that
both the masculine "der" and the neuter "das" change into
"dem", and the feminine "die" changes into "der".

As regards to the indefinite article, the dative case means that


both the masculine and the neuter "ein" change into "einem",
whereas the feminine "eine" changes into "einer".

Some of the most commonly used German prepositions that


take the dative case are:

Grammar 2: Dative prepositions

Prep. Example
an an der Ampel
(at the traffic lights)
in in einem Restaurant
(in a restaurant)
von 5 Minuten von der Apotheke
(five minutes from the
chemist's)
vor vor dem Hotel
(in front of the hotel)
zu Wie komme ich zum Hotel?
(How do I get to the hotel?)

There is an additional difficulty however, in that some


prepositions can either take the accusative or the dative case,
depending on context. The prepositions "an", "in" and "vor" take
the dative case when they are describing a fixed position, but
the accusative case when they are describing movement - "Er
geht in das Hotel". We will look at this in more detail in a
subsequent chapter.

The prepositions "von" and "zu" on the other hand, always take
the dative case.

5.6 The dative case and the articles

Definite article
The endings for the definite article "der" in the dative case are
as follows - singular endings only.

Grammar 3: Definite article in the dative case

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Nominative der Mann die Frau das
Kind
Accusative den Mann die Frau das
Kind
Dative dem Mann der Frau dem
Kind

Merging of prepositions with the definite article


You will already have noted that certain prepositions tend to
merge with the definite article - but never with the indefinite
article. The following contracted forms are almost always
preferred to the non-contracted forms:

Grammar 4: Dative prepositions

Prep. Example
an + dem = am Ich bin am U-Bahnhof
(I am at the underground
station)
in + dem = im Wir sind im Café
(We are in the café)
von + dem = Zehn Minuten vom Bahnhof
vom (Ten minutes from the
station)
zu + dem = Wie komme ich zum Hotel?
zum (How do I get to the hotel?)
zu + der = zur Sie geht zur Bank
(She goes to the bank)

The indefinite article


The endings for the indefinite article "ein" in the three cases
which we have met so far are printed below. Note that "kein"
also declines in the same way.

Grammar 5: Indefinite article in the dative case

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Nom. ein Mann eine Frau ein Kind
Acc. einen eine Frau ein Kind
Mann
Dat. einem einer einem
Mann Frau Kind

Possessive adjectives
The endings for the possessive adjectives are as follows. We
have given "mein" as an example, but the others decline in the
same way.

Grammar 6: Possessive adjectives in the dative case

Masc. Fem. Neut.


Nom. mein meine mein Kind
Mann Frau
Acc. meinen meine mein Kind
Mann Frau
Dat. meinem meiner meinem
Mann Frau Kind

The only exception to this rule is the possessive adjective "euer"


(= your). This possessive loses the "-e-" of its stem when it
adds endings.

Grammar 7: The possessive "euer" in the dative case

Masc. Fem. Neut.


Nom. euer Mann eure euer Kind
Frau
Acc. euren eure eurer
Mann Frau Kind
Dat. eurem eurer eurem
Mann Frau Kind

5.7 Adjectives

When adjectives follow a noun


When an adjective - or "describing word" - follows the verb "to
be" as in the phrase "Ist es weit?" (= Is it far?) in one of the
conversations in this chapter, or in the question "Wie alt bist
du?, adjectives in this position do not have endings in German.

When an adjective is given as a one word response to a


question, there are also no endings. For example, when the
waiter asks the diners in Chapter 4 whether they had enjoyed
their meal - "Hat es Ihnen geschmeckt?" (= Did you enjoy your
meal?), Anna and Margarete reply with adjectives without
endings - "Ausgezeichnet!" (= Excellent!) and "Sehr gut!" (=
Very good!).

Adjectives before a noun


Adjectives standing in front of a noun add endings to show
whether that noun is singular or plural, what its gender is, and
what case it stands in. The endings the adjective adds depend
on what sort of article is standing before it. The endings for an
adjective which follows the definite article "der" are as follows:

Grammar 8: Adjective endings after the definite article

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Nom. der gute Mann die gute Frau das gute
Kind
Acc. den guten die gute Frau das gute
Mann Kind
Dat. dem guten der guten dem guten
Mann Frau Kind

The indefinite article "ein" - along with "kein" - has the following
endings, depending on the gender of the noun which follows it
and the case that this noun is in.
Grammar 9: Adjective endings after the indefinite article

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Nom. ein guter Mann eine gute ein gutes
Frau Kind
Acc. einen guten eine gute ein gutes
Mann Frau Kind
Dat. einem guten einer guten einem guten
Mann Frau Kind

Adjectives after possessive adjectives take exactly the same


endings as those which follow the indefinite article:

Grammar 10: Adjectives after possessive adjectives

Masculine Feminine Neuter


Nom. ihr guter Mann ihre gute ihr gutes
Frau Kind
Acc. ihren guten ihre gute ihr gutes
Mann Frau Kind
Dat. ihrem guten ihrer guten ihrem guten
Mann Frau Kind

Examples
To work out the endings on an adjective you need to know three
things:

• What is the gender of the noun - masculine, feminine or


accusative?
• What case is the noun in in this sentence - nominative,
accusative or dative?
• What type of article precedes the adjective - definite
"ein" or indefinite "ein"? Or is it preceded by a possessive
adjective "mein etc."?

Thus for the sentence "Wo ist die nächste Apotheke?", we know
that the ending on the adjective is "-e" because:

• "die Apotheke" is a feminine noun


• It is in the nominative case in the above sentence - i.e. it
is the subject of the clause
• It is preceded by the definite article "die"
And in the sentence "Wo gibt es hier den nächsten U-Bahnhof?",
we know that the adjective ending is "-en" because:

• "der U-Bahnhof" is a masculine noun


• It is in the accusative case in the sentence - i.e. it is the
object of the clause
• It is preceded by the definite article "den"

Test yourself on adjective endings


Test your ability to add the correct endings to adjectives by
taking

5.8 Ordinal numbers

Ordinal numbers from one to nineteen


We refer to the English words "first", "second", "third" etc as
ordinal numbers. These are formed in German for the numbers
one to nineteen by taking the number itself and adding "-t-" to
the end. Four ordinals are irregular: "erst-" (= "first"), "dritt-"
(= "third"), "siebt-" (= "seventh") and "acht-" (= "eighth").

The important thing to remember is that such numbers are


adjectives, and must therefore take adjective endings when
they precede a noun. They do so according to the rules which
we established in the previous section. Here are the ordinal
numbers from one to nineteen, with the adjective endings for a
masculine noun after a definite article.

Grammar 11: Ordinal numbers 1-19 (def. article)

der erste der elfte

der zweite der zwölfte

der dritte der dreizehnte

der vierte der vierzehnte

der fünfte der fünfzehnte

der sechste der sechzehnte


der siebte der siebzehnte

der achte der achtzehnte

der neunte der neunzehnte

der zehnte

When the ordinal number follows an indefinite article, the


adjective endings must therefore change. For the purposes of
the table below, imagine again that we are dealing with a
masculine noun:

Grammar 12: Ordinal numbers 1-19 (indef. article)

ein erster ein elfter

ein zweiter ein zwölfter

ein dritter ein dreizehnter

ein vierter ein vierzehnter

ein fünfter ein fünfzehnter

ein sechster ein sechzehnter

ein siebter ein siebzehnter

ein achter ein achtzehnter

ein neunter ein neunzehnter

ein zehnter

Test yourself on ordinal numbers


Test your knowledge of the larger ordinal numbers by taking
this jumbled words exercise. Click on the bar below to get
started.

Ordinal numbers from twenty upwards


Ordinal numbers from twenty upwards are formed by adding "-
st-" to the number itself. Adjective endings are then added in
the usual way:

Grammar 13: Ordinal numbers greater than 19 (def. article)

20 der zwanzigste 31 der


einunddreißigste
22 der 32 der
zweiundzwanzigste zweiunddreißigste
23 der 40 der vierzigste
dreiundzwanzigste
24 der 45 der
vierundzwanzigste fünfundvierzigste
25 der 50 der fünfzigste
fünfundzwanzigste
26 der 54 der
sechsundzwanzigste vierundfünfzigste
27 der 60 der sechzigste
siebenundzwanzigste
28 der 70 der siebzigste
achtundzwanzigste
29 der 80 der achtzigste
neunundzwanzigste
30 der dreißigste 90 der neunzigste

Test yourself on ordinal numbers greater than 19


Test your knowledge of the larger ordinal numbers by taking
this multiple choice exercise. Click on the bar below to get
started.

5.9 Berlin: Facts and figures

A brief history
Berlin was founded in the 13th Century and was originally a seat
of the Hohenzollerns royal family. It was initially the capital of
Brandenburg and then became capital of Prussia, which it
remained until 1945. Berlin was also the capital of Germany
between 1871 and 1945. From the end of World War II until the
reunification of Germany in 1990 the city was divided into two
parts: West Berlin (a state of the Federal Republic of Germany,
forming an enclave within the German Democratic Republic) and
East Berlin (the zone of the city that was Soviet-occupied at the
end of the war, and later became capital of the German
Democratic Republic).

Despite being blockaded by the Communists, West Berlin was


successfully supplied by a large-scale Allied 'airlift' in 1949. A
fortified wall separating the two sectors was erected in 1961 by
the Communist authorities to curb the flow of refugees to the
West, and many people were killed or wounded while
attempting to cross.

The Berlin wall was opened in November 1989 after the


collapse of the Communist regime in East Germany, and
subsequently dismantled. It once more became the capital of
Germany after the reunification of October 3, 1990 and the
second half of the 1990's witnessed key government bodies
relocating from Bonn to Berlin.

The new Berlin


The new Berlin is defining itself as a bridge between East and
West. Berlin is situated on the east-west axis from Paris to
Warsaw/Moscow and on the north-south line from Stockholm to
Prague, Vienna and Budapest. It has been transformed from the
symbol of European division to the place where East and West
Europe meet. The growing economy in Central and Eastern
Europe finds a bridge to the western economy in Berlin.
Companies with world-wide operations make use of the many
institutions located in Berlin and the expertise that is
concentrated here. Berlin’s scientific, research and cultural
institutions represent one of the invaluable strengths of the city.

Size and population


Berlin currently has a population of 3.45 million inhabitants. It is
a multicultural city, with more than 430,000 people from 184
different nations living there. Lower rents for residential
accommodation in the eastern boroughs and the greater supply
of jobs in the western boroughs led to a new mixture of the
population soon after unification. It is both a city and a federal
state, fulfils both federal state functions and municipal
functions.

Berlin has an area of around 891 square kilometres - as large as


Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt am Main put together – and
unites a large number of urban districts, centres and boroughs
which are completely different in character. In the inner part of
the city, the buildings of the Kulturforum on the southern edge
of the Tiergarten and the modern office and shopping complex
on Potsdamer Platz link the western city around the
Kurfürstendamm with the eastern city in the historical centre of
Berlin between the Brandenburg Gate and Alexanderplatz. To
the north of the Tiergarten, the government and parliament
buildings are being built in the meander of the River Spree.

Architecture
In addition to the architecture of the 19th and 20th
century, the new cityscape is dominated by
buildings designed by top international architects.
The outstanding example is the Reichstag, which
has been redesigned by Norman Foster and now
has a glass dome which is open to visitors. Architects such as
Helmut Jahn, Renzo Piano, Hans Kollhoff and Richard Rogers
have designed offices, shops and apartments in the restored
Potsdamer Platz. Frank O’Gehry has designed a new building on
Pariser Platz for the DG Bank and Aldo Rossi's residential
complex in the Schützenstraße has also attracted positive
comment.

1. Find out more about Berlin!

Background 1: Berlin information portals

Berlin Online berlin.de


Berlin 1 Berlin-Info.de

2. Berlin Newspapers

Background 2: Berlin newspapers

Berliner Kurier BZ Berlin


Berliner Der Tagesspiegel
Morgenpost
Berliner Zeitung taz, die
Tageszeitung
Berlin News Die Welt - Berlin
3. Berlin Listings Magazines

Background 3: Berlin listings magazines

Zitty Tip-Berlin
030

4. Berlin Radio Stations

Background 4: Berlin radio stations

Berliner Rundfunk RBB Kulturradio


Inforadio Radio Eins
Radio Berlin 88,8 104,6 RTL Berlin

Web Links

General Internet sites about Berlin

Berlin - Past and An overview of the history


Present of the city of Berlin. In
English.
Berlin Airlift An overview of the Berlin
Airlift.
Potsdamer Platz Live pictures from a
WebCam WebCam positioned at the
newly redeveloped
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin.
Berlin Wall See the remains of the
Berlin Wall in these
panoramic pictures taken
by Helmut Koelbach.
Mauermuseum Find out more about the
building and the fall of the
Berlin Wall.

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