an Accompanying Guide to Any First-Year German Course
an Accompanying Guide to Any First-Year German Course
an Accompanying Guide to Any First-Year German Course
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A LINGUISTIC INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN FOR THE NON-LINGUIST:<br />
AN ACCOMPANYING GUIDE TO ANY FIRST-YEAR GERMAN COURSE<br />
By<br />
JONATHAN C. BUSEY<br />
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL<br />
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT<br />
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF<br />
MASTER OF ARTS<br />
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA<br />
2001
For Julia, my soon-<strong>to</strong>-be wife
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS<br />
I would like <strong>to</strong> th<strong>an</strong>k Chris Overstreet <strong>an</strong>d Prof. Keith Bulliv<strong>an</strong>t for patiently<br />
teaching me Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d putting up with questions, <strong>an</strong>d Prof. Fr<strong>an</strong>z Futterknecht<br />
for the motivation necessary <strong>to</strong> conceptualize <strong>an</strong>d design yet <strong>an</strong>other introduction <strong>to</strong><br />
Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
Motivation came from Prof. David Young’s unpublished introduction <strong>to</strong> Ancient<br />
Greek <strong>an</strong>d Dr. Robert Underhill’s dissertation, Turkish Grammar. Cambridge,<br />
Mass.: MIT Press, 1976.<br />
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS<br />
page<br />
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii<br />
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .<br />
vii<br />
LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix<br />
ABSTRACT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi<br />
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1<br />
CHAPTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2<br />
1 WORD ORDER AND THE GERMAN CASE SYSTEM . . . . . . 3<br />
1.1 Word order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3<br />
1.2 Nominative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5<br />
1.3 The Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6<br />
1.4 The Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8<br />
1.5 The Genitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11<br />
1.6 Appositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11<br />
2 NOUN FORMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15<br />
2.1 Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15<br />
2.2 Pronoun Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16<br />
2.3 Word Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17<br />
2.3.1 N-nouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18<br />
2.3.2 Composita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19<br />
3 ARTICLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21<br />
4 PRONOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24<br />
4.1 Personal Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24<br />
4.2 Possessive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25<br />
4.3 Reflexive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26<br />
4.4 Demonstrative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27<br />
4.5 Relative <strong>an</strong>d Interrogative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28<br />
iv
5 ADJECTIVES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31<br />
5.1 Predicative Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32<br />
5.2 Attributive Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32<br />
5.2.1 Comparative <strong>an</strong>d Superlative Forms . . . . . . . . . . 33<br />
5.2.2 Possessive Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35<br />
5.2.3 Ordinal Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35<br />
6 ADVERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37<br />
7 VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39<br />
7.1 Verb Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39<br />
7.1.1 The Infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39<br />
7.1.2 Conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40<br />
7.1.3 Irregular Verb Endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41<br />
7.1.4 Verb Prefixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42<br />
7.1.5 Prefix or Preposition? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45<br />
7.2 Mood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46<br />
7.2.1 Indicative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46<br />
7.2.2 Imperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46<br />
7.2.3 Subjunctive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51<br />
7.3 Modal Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54<br />
7.3.1 Conjugation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55<br />
7.4 Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58<br />
7.4.1 Present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61<br />
7.4.2 Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62<br />
7.4.3 Imperfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65<br />
7.4.4 Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65<br />
7.4.5 Future Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66<br />
7.4.6 Past Perfect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66<br />
7.5 Verb Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67<br />
7.5.1 Full Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67<br />
7.5.2 Auxiliary Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67<br />
7.5.3 Reflexive Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67<br />
7.5.4 Phrasal Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68<br />
7.6 Voice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72<br />
7.6.1 Active . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72<br />
7.6.2 Passive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72<br />
8 PREPOSITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74<br />
8.1 A Visual Overview of the Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76<br />
8.1.1 Prepositions of Movement <strong>an</strong>d Motion . . . . . . . . . 76<br />
8.1.2 Prepositions Exhibiting a Static State . . . . . . . . . 76<br />
8.2 Prepositions Governing Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81<br />
8.2.1 Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81<br />
v
8.2.2 Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81<br />
8.2.3 Dative <strong>an</strong>d Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82<br />
8.2.4 Genitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84<br />
9 CONJUNCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87<br />
9.1 Coordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87<br />
9.2 Subordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87<br />
9.3 Infinitive Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91<br />
9.4 Proportionate Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92<br />
10 NEGATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93<br />
11 QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98<br />
APPENDICIES<br />
A PRONUNCIATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100<br />
A.1 <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> Germ<strong>an</strong> Pronunciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100<br />
A.2 Book Cover <strong>Guide</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106<br />
B IRREGULAR VERB LIST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108<br />
REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110<br />
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112<br />
vi
LIST OF TABLES<br />
Table<br />
page<br />
1.1 <strong>Guide</strong>lines for Germ<strong>an</strong> Word Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4<br />
1.2 The Nominative Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6<br />
1.3 The Nominative dummy-es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7<br />
1.4 M<strong>an</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8<br />
1.5 Uses of the Accusative Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9<br />
1.6 The Accusative Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10<br />
1.7 Possessive <strong>an</strong>d Personal Prounouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12<br />
1.8 The Dative Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13<br />
1.9 The Genitive Case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14<br />
1.10 The Genitive Declension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14<br />
2.1 Endings Which Give Away the Gender . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16<br />
2.2 Sounds That Join Words in Composita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20<br />
3.1 Differences in Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d English Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22<br />
3.2 The Germ<strong>an</strong> Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23<br />
4.1 Personal Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25<br />
4.2 Pronoun Word Order <strong>Guide</strong>lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29<br />
4.3 The Possessive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30<br />
4.4 Reflexive Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30<br />
4.5 Demonstrative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30<br />
5.1 Primary Adjectival Endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31<br />
5.2 Secondary Adjectival Endings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32<br />
5.3 The Ordinal Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36<br />
vii
6.1 Adverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38<br />
7.1 Conjugation of Regular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40<br />
7.2 Conjugation of Some Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43<br />
7.3 Inseparable Prefixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44<br />
7.4 Formation of Imperatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48<br />
7.5 The Main Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48<br />
7.6 The Two Types of Subjunctive in Germ<strong>an</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53<br />
7.7 Conjugation of Modal Verbs <strong>an</strong>d möchten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56<br />
7.8 When One C<strong>an</strong> Leave Out the Infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57<br />
7.9 Imperfect Forms of sein <strong>an</strong>d haben . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65<br />
7.10 Phrasal Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68<br />
8.1 An Overview of the Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74<br />
8.2 The ‘Two Way Verbs’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82<br />
8.3 Some Two-way Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83<br />
8.4 Some Genitive Prepositions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85<br />
9.1 The Coordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88<br />
9.2 Subordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90<br />
9.3 Uses of the Infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92<br />
10.1 Kein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95<br />
10.2 Nicht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96<br />
A.1 Germ<strong>an</strong> Pronunciation <strong>Guide</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100<br />
A.2 Short Pronunciation <strong>Guide</strong> for Germ<strong>an</strong> . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106<br />
viii
LIST OF FIGURES<br />
Figure<br />
page<br />
3.1 For <strong>an</strong> Indefinite Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22<br />
3.2 For a Definite Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22<br />
7.1 A Visual Representation of Germ<strong>an</strong> Tense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59<br />
8.1 <strong>an</strong> with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77<br />
8.2 auf with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77<br />
8.3 bis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77<br />
8.4 durch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77<br />
8.5 gegen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.6 hinter with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.7 in with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.8 neben with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.9 über with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.10 um . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78<br />
8.11 unter (i.e. beneath) with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.12 unter (i.e. among) with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.13 vor with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.14 zwischen with Accusative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.15 <strong>an</strong> with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.16 auf with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.17 in with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.18 neben with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79<br />
8.19 über with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80<br />
ix
8.20 von . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80<br />
8.21 unter (i.e. beneath) with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80<br />
8.22 unter (i.e. among) with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80<br />
8.23 vor/hinter with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86<br />
8.24 zwischen with Dative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86<br />
A.1 ich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105<br />
A.2 Radfahren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105<br />
x
Abstract of Thesis Presented <strong>to</strong> the Graduate School<br />
of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the<br />
Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts<br />
A LINGUISTIC INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN FOR THE NON-LINGUIST:<br />
AN ACCOMPANYING GUIDE TO ANY FIRST-YEAR GERMAN COURSE<br />
By<br />
Jonath<strong>an</strong> C. Busey<br />
December 2001<br />
Chair: Keith Bulliv<strong>an</strong>t<br />
Major Department: Germ<strong>an</strong>ic <strong>an</strong>d Slavic Studies<br />
This papers aims <strong>to</strong> complement other beginning Germ<strong>an</strong> l<strong>an</strong>guage courses at<br />
different levels: it is setup both for students searching for easier ways <strong>to</strong> remember the<br />
basics <strong>an</strong>d successfully complete what is required of them in the initial introduc<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
sequence <strong>an</strong>d for the curious student who seeks a deeper expl<strong>an</strong>ation of grammar,<br />
thereby making a stronger foundation <strong>an</strong>d long-term success possible. The target<br />
students r<strong>an</strong>ge from beginners with no experience, <strong>to</strong> those who are at more adv<strong>an</strong>ced<br />
levels <strong>an</strong>d search for a reference documenting the basics, <strong>to</strong> those have had<br />
<strong>an</strong> introduc<strong>to</strong>ry course <strong>an</strong>d desire a refresher.<br />
The grammar is org<strong>an</strong>ized in a non-cumulative fashion so that it is not necessary<br />
<strong>to</strong> read from beginning <strong>to</strong> end. Rather, it is me<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> be used <strong>to</strong> look up the desired<br />
information one w<strong>an</strong>ts from each <strong>to</strong>pic. This is enh<strong>an</strong>ced by copious hyperlinks in<br />
the electronic version <strong>an</strong>d cross-references in the printed version.<br />
xi
Reading the thesis through from beginning <strong>to</strong> end is designed <strong>to</strong> be beneficial <strong>to</strong><br />
the students who have taken Germ<strong>an</strong> before, but is suggested <strong>to</strong> the beginning learner<br />
only in conjunction with <strong>an</strong>other course which includes dialogues <strong>an</strong>d exercises.<br />
The main goal of this paper is <strong>to</strong> provide <strong>an</strong> additional resource <strong>to</strong> students<br />
interested in learning Germ<strong>an</strong> at a deeper level th<strong>an</strong> is required in a college level<br />
introduc<strong>to</strong>ry sequence.<br />
xii
INTRODUCTION<br />
There is no universal perfect system for learning <strong>an</strong>y l<strong>an</strong>guage or even <strong>an</strong>y one<br />
l<strong>an</strong>guage, but by deciding what one w<strong>an</strong>ts from the experience, one c<strong>an</strong> be more<br />
successful. Only a few will truly master a new l<strong>an</strong>guage in their adult life; most w<strong>an</strong>t<br />
either <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> read Germ<strong>an</strong>, speak enough for travel, or merely pronounce the<br />
words (such as radio <strong>an</strong>nouncers or music his<strong>to</strong>ri<strong>an</strong>s). One goal this paper attempts<br />
<strong>to</strong> achieve is <strong>to</strong> enable the student <strong>to</strong> be more successful learning Germ<strong>an</strong> by making<br />
her/him define what s/he w<strong>an</strong>ts from the knowledge. The flexibility <strong>an</strong> instructional<br />
text requires for this is achieved in a number of ways: the summary in the table in<br />
each section should meet the needs of most looking for a quick refresher or the general<br />
guidelines for a specific point.<br />
In addition, the list of tables <strong>an</strong>d list of figures are more specific tables of contents<br />
which the student c<strong>an</strong> use <strong>to</strong> locate information quickly. Within each section, the<br />
information becomes increasingly more specific, so that the general, most relev<strong>an</strong>t<br />
information is presented first, <strong>an</strong>d the more specific comes afterwards. The benefit of<br />
this scheme is twofold: the most import<strong>an</strong>t points are stressed as one sees them most<br />
often, <strong>an</strong>d the student is able <strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p reading whenever s/he has gone far enough in<strong>to</strong><br />
detail.<br />
This is written for the curious <strong>an</strong>d thorough student who wishes <strong>to</strong> start with a<br />
good foundation.<br />
No linguistic knowledge is required. The concepts are based on linguistic fundamentals,<br />
but this will not burden <strong>an</strong> inexperienced student since no attention is<br />
drawn <strong>to</strong> this.
2<br />
As units such as counting, telling time, describing the weather, <strong>an</strong>swering Wie<br />
geht’s? are covered in the first days of every course, they are beyond the scope of this<br />
document. Furthermore, there are no dialogues or exercises, but copious examples.<br />
The somewhat unconventional approach <strong>to</strong> the basic word categories is <strong>an</strong> attempt<br />
<strong>to</strong> make the material as relev<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d comprehensible as possible. For example, word<br />
order with dative <strong>an</strong>d accusative pronouns are only referenced with word order <strong>an</strong>d<br />
h<strong>an</strong>dled in detail under Section 4.1.
CHAPTER 1<br />
WORD ORDER AND THE GERMAN CASE SYSTEM<br />
1.1 Word order<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> word order is more flexible th<strong>an</strong> English word order. Since every word<br />
has some sort of identifying marker that identifies its function in a given sentence,<br />
(the case endings reflect the gender, number, <strong>an</strong>d whether the nouns are subjects<br />
or objects), most of the words c<strong>an</strong> be rearr<strong>an</strong>ged according <strong>to</strong> what needs <strong>to</strong> be<br />
stressed. For example, the following sentences all have the same me<strong>an</strong>ing, but different<br />
connotations:<br />
1. Jochen hat dem Fahrradhändler die 15 DM gegeben.<br />
(both the default for “Jochen gave the bike salesm<strong>an</strong> fifteen marks” <strong>an</strong>d a possibility<br />
<strong>to</strong> stress the fact that it was Jochen <strong>an</strong>d not someone else)<br />
2. Dem Fahrradhändler hat Jochen die 15 DM gegeben.<br />
(for example in <strong>an</strong>swer <strong>to</strong> the question: “To whom did Jochen give money?”)<br />
3. 15 DM hat Jochen dem Fahrradhändler gegeben.<br />
(when doubt about the amount exists <strong>an</strong>d is being clarified, for example in<br />
<strong>an</strong>swer <strong>to</strong> the question: “How much money did he pay for the bike?”)<br />
4. <strong>an</strong>d, in spoken:<br />
Gegeben hat Jochen dem Fahrradhändler die 15 DM.<br />
(gave as opposed <strong>to</strong> lo<strong>an</strong>ed)<br />
Not only does this freedom of placement make it easier <strong>to</strong> stress certain aspects<br />
of a sentence in written Germ<strong>an</strong> (where in<strong>to</strong>nation is not possible), it also calls for<br />
a more strict adherence <strong>to</strong> word endings since they are what carry the grammatical<br />
me<strong>an</strong>ing of each word in the sentence. Word order in Germ<strong>an</strong> principally conforms<br />
3
4<br />
Table 1.1: <strong>Guide</strong>lines for Germ<strong>an</strong> Word Order<br />
For the impatient:<br />
1. the verb is always in second position in declarative<br />
sentences<br />
2. coordinating conjunctions do not count as first position<br />
words (aber, denn, oder, und = Position ∅)<br />
3. verb in second position in questions with interrogatives<br />
(i.e. wer wen wo etc.)<br />
4. verb in first position in questions without interrogatives<br />
5. ‘second’ refers <strong>to</strong> position <strong>an</strong>d not number–a clause<br />
c<strong>an</strong> count as one position (i.e. in a subordinate<br />
clause), in which case the verb comes next.<br />
<strong>to</strong> one basic pattern:<br />
In <strong>an</strong> indicative declarative sentence the verb always takes second position.<br />
The verb is underlined in each sentence below.<br />
Katrin geht nach München.<br />
[Katrin is going <strong>to</strong> Munich.]<br />
Übrigens besucht sie auch den Thomas. [ By the way, she is also visiting Thomas.]<br />
Note that questions are different (inversion is used–see Chapter 11) <strong>an</strong>d that<br />
second position is different from being the second word in a sentence. Words that<br />
are not placed at the beginning for emphasis, for inst<strong>an</strong>ce coordinating conjunctions,<br />
do not count – that is, they take position ∅.<br />
Aber ich arbeite gar nicht so viel.<br />
Oder vielleicht fährt sie in die Schweiz.<br />
[But I don’t work all that much.]<br />
[ Or maybe she’ll be going <strong>to</strong><br />
Switzerl<strong>an</strong>d.]
5<br />
Also, a clause c<strong>an</strong> be in position 1 all by itself, in which case the next word<br />
after the clause will be the predicate in the main clause, as is the case in subordinate<br />
clauses. For example:<br />
Wenn du es ihr nicht sagst, muss ich ihr es wohl sagen.<br />
[ If you don’t tell her,<br />
I’ll have <strong>to</strong>.]<br />
There are also guidelines for imperative sentences (see Section 7.2.2), negation<br />
(see Chapter 10), <strong>an</strong>d interrogative sentences (see Chapter 11).<br />
There are tricks for word order when replacing nouns with pronouns in sentences<br />
containing both direct <strong>an</strong>d indirect objects in Section 4.1.<br />
An examination of the cases follows one by one Sections 1.2–1.5.<br />
Another import<strong>an</strong>t difference from English that Germ<strong>an</strong> sentences follow is the<br />
time before place concept. In Germ<strong>an</strong> one says: Sie geht um 8 nach Hause; Er<br />
fliegt nächste Woche nach München; etc. for the English: She’s going home at eight<br />
<strong>an</strong>d He’s flying <strong>to</strong> Munich next week.<br />
1.2 Nominative<br />
The nominative is the case one usually learns first because it occurs in nearly<br />
every sentence. The noun in the nominative case is what determines the<br />
declension of the verb, since it is the subject.<br />
When one says Ich heiße, the<br />
ending -e matches the first person singular of the nominative case, because ich is the<br />
subject. When the subject ch<strong>an</strong>ges <strong>to</strong> sie (singular), the verb ending becomes heißt<br />
<strong>to</strong> match the person <strong>an</strong>d number of the subject, which is always in the nominative<br />
case. This is exactly the same in Germ<strong>an</strong> as in English.<br />
M<strong>an</strong><br />
Something one sees <strong>an</strong>d hears very often both in spoken <strong>an</strong>d written Germ<strong>an</strong> is<br />
the pronoun m<strong>an</strong>. It is always the subject of the sentence <strong>an</strong>d is most often tr<strong>an</strong>slated
6<br />
Table 1.2: The Nominative Case<br />
For the impatient:<br />
The nominative case has 2 uses:<br />
1. as the subject of a sentence<br />
2. as the complement of subject when using the verbs<br />
sein, werden, heißen<br />
Other noteworthy characteristics:<br />
• The form is similar <strong>to</strong> the accusative case (Section<br />
1.3) for the neuter, feminine, <strong>an</strong>d plural forms.<br />
• It is never the object of a preposition.<br />
• A pattern worth noting is the -er ending of the<br />
masculine forms:<br />
er<br />
also, the strong adjectival<br />
endings (Table 5.1):<br />
der<br />
wer<br />
dieser<br />
welcher<br />
einer<br />
as “one, people, or they. In English when one says things such as They say. . . , People<br />
do that all the time, it would be m<strong>an</strong> in Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
1.3 The Accusative<br />
There are only three different declensions one has <strong>to</strong> know in order <strong>to</strong> master<br />
the accusative case in Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
One is for der, die, das, a second is for the einwords,<br />
which includes all the demonstratives (this, that, these, those), interrogatives<br />
(which), negatives (none, not <strong>an</strong>y, no), adjectival endings (there are none in English),<br />
possessives (mine, yours, his, hers, its, theirs, our), <strong>an</strong>d, of course, the indefinite article<br />
a, <strong>an</strong>. The third set is the set of pronouns (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they). These<br />
three declensions are in Table 1.6.<br />
Notice that there are no plurals for the indefinite articles, just as in English<br />
(which uses some), <strong>an</strong>d that the same endings are used for all of the word classes
7<br />
Table 1.3: The Nominative dummy-es<br />
Aside from the uses of the nominative as a subject, there is also<br />
the dummy-es just as in English:<br />
Es regnet/schneit/donnert.<br />
It is raining/snowing/thundering.<br />
Es gibt . . . . [There are . . . ]<br />
Es ist Zeit, . . . . It is time (<strong>to</strong>) . . .<br />
listed above. One only needs the word stems <strong>to</strong> form them, for example, the possessive<br />
pronouns are in Table 1.7.<br />
Accusative with Infinitives<br />
One of the inst<strong>an</strong>ces in which the infinitive (see Section 7.1.1) occurs without zu<br />
is with the accusative. This occurs only in conjunction with a few verbs <strong>an</strong>d exhibits<br />
the following characteristics:<br />
1. In the first inst<strong>an</strong>ce, the accusative object is <strong>an</strong> agent <strong>an</strong>d the sentence describes<br />
how the subject is cogniz<strong>an</strong>t of the action of this accusative agent. This is a<br />
common occurrence <strong>an</strong>d is limited <strong>to</strong> the verbs sehen, hören, fühlen, <strong>an</strong>d spüren.<br />
This construction is used <strong>to</strong> describe <strong>an</strong> inst<strong>an</strong>ce in which one sees, hears, feels,<br />
or senses someone doing some thing. The someone is in the accusative <strong>an</strong>d<br />
the thing is the infinitive.<br />
Examples:<br />
Das habe ich kommen sehen. (I saw that coming.)<br />
Sie hat ihren Sohn Salat essen sehen. (She saw her son eating salad.)<br />
M<strong>an</strong> hat mich schnarchen hören. (They/People heard me snoring.)<br />
2. In the second inst<strong>an</strong>ce the accusative is in its more conventional role, namely<br />
as that of <strong>an</strong> object, <strong>an</strong>d has the same value as it does in modal sentences (see<br />
Section 7.3) but c<strong>an</strong> be used with other, non-modal verbs:<br />
Sie läßt die Studenten früher gehen. (She lets the students go early.)
8<br />
Table 1.4: M<strong>an</strong><br />
For the impatient:<br />
• m<strong>an</strong> is neither masculine, feminine, or neuter, is<br />
only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
always takes the masculine forms of reference.<br />
M<strong>an</strong> muss seine Hausaufgaben machen.<br />
• When ch<strong>an</strong>ging active sentences whose subject is<br />
m<strong>an</strong> in<strong>to</strong> passive sentences, m<strong>an</strong> drops completely<br />
since it c<strong>an</strong>not become the object of the preposition<br />
von.<br />
• The accusative form of m<strong>an</strong> is einen, the dative is<br />
einem. M<strong>an</strong> k<strong>an</strong>n einen nicht glauben machen, . . . .<br />
Es gibt einem das Gefühl, . . . .<br />
Ich heiße dich willkommen. (roughly: I welcome you.)<br />
1.4 The Dative<br />
The Dative case <strong>an</strong>swers the question “<strong>to</strong> whom?” <strong>an</strong>d, just like the accusative<br />
<strong>an</strong>d nominative, has endings that are added <strong>to</strong> the ein -words, the definite articles,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d personal pronouns. Most of the time, the dative case is just a re-naming of the<br />
indirect object. It is used <strong>to</strong> convey the idea that something is doing something <strong>to</strong><br />
something else, which is the part of the sentence which will appear in the dative case:<br />
Why don’t you buy me a new dictionary?<br />
J<strong>an</strong>ice w<strong>an</strong>ted me <strong>to</strong> lo<strong>an</strong> her my Germ<strong>an</strong> book.<br />
Notice that all verbs of giving, telling, showing, <strong>an</strong>d the like c<strong>an</strong> take indirect objects<br />
<strong>an</strong>d, likewise, c<strong>an</strong> have dative objects in Germ<strong>an</strong>, but not every sentence has <strong>to</strong> have<br />
one–just as in English: I showed my stuff.
9<br />
Table 1.5: Uses of the Accusative Case<br />
For the impatient:<br />
The accusative has 3 uses:<br />
1. the direct object of a sentence or complement<br />
thereof (apposition–see Section 1.6).<br />
2. the object of preposition. For prepositions that always<br />
govern the accusative case see Section 8.2.1,<br />
for prepositions that sometimes govern the accusative,<br />
sometimes the dative see Section 8.2.3.<br />
3. <strong>an</strong> adverbial phrase, such as with time <strong>an</strong>d durations<br />
of time <strong>an</strong>d length: heute Morgen, den g<strong>an</strong>zen<br />
Tag, einen Meter l<strong>an</strong>g<br />
Other noteworthy characteristics:<br />
• A pattern worth noting is the -(e)n ending of the<br />
masculine forms.<br />
For this reason the accusative<br />
case is often called the Wen-case:<br />
ihn<br />
also, the strong adjectival<br />
endings (Table 5.1):<br />
den<br />
wen<br />
diesen<br />
welchen<br />
einen<br />
The principle differences in the English indirect objects <strong>an</strong>d Germ<strong>an</strong> dative objects<br />
are:<br />
1. English objects do not have endings which reflect their case <strong>an</strong>d must therefore<br />
use prepositions <strong>an</strong>d word order <strong>to</strong> show their function. Germ<strong>an</strong> has certain<br />
endings, articles, <strong>an</strong>d pronouns <strong>to</strong> display this:<br />
I am giving him my homework OR I am giving my homework <strong>to</strong> him.<br />
Ich gebe ihm meine Hausaufgaben.<br />
You c<strong>an</strong> tell the judge your s<strong>to</strong>ry OR You c<strong>an</strong> tell your s<strong>to</strong>ry <strong>to</strong> the judge.
10<br />
Table 1.6: The Accusative Case<br />
Remember: different persons <strong>an</strong>d numbers are designated in the following way:<br />
number<br />
singular<br />
1st person<br />
plural<br />
1st person<br />
person 2nd person 2nd person<br />
3rd person<br />
3rd person<br />
masc fem neut pl a<br />
nominative der die das die<br />
accusative den die das die<br />
masc fem neut<br />
nominative ein eine ein<br />
accusative einen eine ein<br />
a all genders!<br />
Sie können Ihre Geschichte dem Richter erzählen.<br />
2. The English word order is what determines the function of each sentence element.<br />
It is very strict. Since in Germ<strong>an</strong> nouns c<strong>an</strong> be identified either by their<br />
endings, articles, or context, word order is much freer <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong> be moved around<br />
at will <strong>to</strong> ch<strong>an</strong>ge emphasis. Word order of objects <strong>an</strong>d pronouns are discussed<br />
Section 4.1.<br />
The following sentences have the same sem<strong>an</strong>tic me<strong>an</strong>ing <strong>an</strong>d differ only in<br />
emphasis:<br />
Er sagt dem Lehrer, wo er sein Buch vergessen hatte. OR<br />
Dem Lehrer sagt er, wo er sein Buch vergessen hatte. AND<br />
Er erzählte mir die Geschichte von seiner Reise. OR<br />
Mir erzählte er die Geschichte von seiner Reise. OR<br />
Die Geschichte von seiner Reise erzählte er mir.
11<br />
3. Since one c<strong>an</strong> usually tell in which case <strong>an</strong> object is by its form, there is a<br />
differentiation between <strong>an</strong> accusative, a dative, or a genitive object after a<br />
preposition (see Section 8.2.2 for more information about prepositions with the<br />
dative.) Additionally, there are several prepositions that c<strong>an</strong> take accusative or<br />
dative objects, depending on whether the preposition is stationary (dative) or<br />
expresses motion (accusative). This is explained in Section 8.2.3.<br />
1.5 The Genitive<br />
The genitive case is the possessive case. Its use is becoming less <strong>an</strong>d less frequent<br />
<strong>an</strong>d is often replaced by a preposition <strong>an</strong>d the dative (usually von). Also, there are<br />
m<strong>an</strong>y prepositions (listed below) which, strictly speaking, govern the genitive but are<br />
used increasingly often with the dative case. The genitive case is slowly dying out.<br />
1.6 Appositions<br />
Appositions are <strong>an</strong>other example of the efficiency <strong>an</strong>d precision of the Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
case system. An apposition is a noun phrase, usually separated from the rest of the<br />
sentence by commas, which serves <strong>to</strong> modify <strong>an</strong>other noun or phrase. It is in the<br />
same case as the noun it modifies.<br />
I <strong>to</strong>ld Tom, my uncle, that I would be visiting him in June.<br />
Ich habe Tom, meinem Onkel erzählt, dass ich ihn in Juni besuchen würde.<br />
M<strong>an</strong>y castles <strong>an</strong>d park facilities were built by Louis the Fourteenth.<br />
Viele Schlösser und Park<strong>an</strong>lagen wurden von Ludwig dem Vierzehnten gebaut.<br />
Notice in these examples that it is exactly the same as in English. However, since<br />
this is a paradigm which carries over from one sentence <strong>to</strong> the next, rather th<strong>an</strong><br />
having <strong>to</strong> clarify questions by adding prepositions or even repeating entire sentences,<br />
in Germ<strong>an</strong> one c<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>swer the question with a noun or noun phrase in the correct<br />
case, thus there is a loss of ambiguity in Germ<strong>an</strong>.
12<br />
Table 1.7: Possessive <strong>an</strong>d Personal Prounouns<br />
1st person<br />
2nd person<br />
masculine feminine neuter masc fem neut<br />
mein meine mein unser unsre unser<br />
dein deine dein Ihr Ihre Ihr<br />
sein, ihr, sein seine, ihre, seine sein, ihr, sein ihr ihre ihr<br />
Add the same endings for singular, plural, nominative, <strong>an</strong>d accusative as with ein.<br />
Note that for all words in all three of these tables the feminine, neuter,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d plural are the same in the nominative as in the accusative, <strong>an</strong>d that<br />
the masculine accusative always ends in ‘n’.<br />
Singular<br />
Plural<br />
nominative accusative nominative accusative<br />
ich mich wir uns<br />
du dich ihr euch<br />
Sie<br />
Sie<br />
er<br />
ihn<br />
sie sie sie sie<br />
es<br />
es
13<br />
Table 1.8: The Dative Case<br />
For the impatient:<br />
The dative has 2 uses:<br />
1. the indirect object of a sentence or complement<br />
thereof (apposition–see Section 1.6).<br />
2. the object of preposition. For prepositions that<br />
ein-words<br />
always govern the dative case see Section 8.2.2,<br />
for prepositions that sometimes govern the dative,<br />
sometimes the accusative see Section 8.2.3.<br />
der-words<br />
masc fem neut<br />
nom ein eine ein<br />
acc einen eine ein<br />
dative einem einer einem<br />
masc fem neut plural<br />
nom der die das den<br />
acc den die das die<br />
dative dem der dem den<br />
Personal pronouns<br />
singular plural<br />
mir<br />
uns<br />
dir<br />
euch/Ihnen<br />
ihm, ihr, ihm ihnen<br />
Patterns worth noting:<br />
• the masculine <strong>an</strong>d neuter forms end in ‘m’ in<br />
the singular–this is why the dative is often<br />
called the Wem-case<br />
• the feminine form is characterized by ending<br />
in ‘r’<br />
• the accusative forms for the 1st <strong>an</strong>d 2nd person<br />
familiar in the plural are identical <strong>to</strong> the<br />
dative forms (uns, euch)<br />
• the second person formal form is identical<br />
<strong>to</strong> the third person plural form
14<br />
Table 1.9: The Genitive Case<br />
For the impatient:<br />
The genitive case has 3 uses:<br />
1. for possession-the word or word phrase in the genitive is<br />
the possessor<br />
2. with certain prepositions (see Section 8.2.4)<br />
3. with certain verbs<br />
It is recognizable either by its -s suffix for masculine <strong>an</strong>d neuter<br />
nouns, pronouns, <strong>an</strong>d adjective; or its -er suffix for feminine<br />
(where it looks just like the dative) <strong>an</strong>d nouns, pronouns, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
adjectives in the plural.<br />
Table 1.10: The Genitive Declension<br />
masc. fem. neut. pl.<br />
nominative der die das den<br />
accusative den die das die<br />
dative dem der dem den<br />
genitive des der des der<br />
masc fem neut<br />
nominative ein eine ein<br />
accusative einen eine ein<br />
dative einem einer einem<br />
genitive eines einer eines
CHAPTER 2<br />
NOUN FORMS<br />
This chapter covers only the genders <strong>an</strong>d plurals. For information on the case<br />
declensions see the section for the respective case beginning with Chapter 1.1.<br />
It is difficult <strong>to</strong> stress how import<strong>an</strong>t it is <strong>to</strong> learn the correct gender of every word<br />
one learns. One c<strong>an</strong>not consider a word <strong>to</strong> belong <strong>to</strong> his or her lexicon (vocabulary)<br />
without knowing the gender <strong>an</strong>d plural <strong>an</strong>d should therefore learn every word with<br />
its article. Without the gender one c<strong>an</strong>not put the word in<strong>to</strong> context. That being<br />
said, the next step is <strong>to</strong> develop a method for learning the genders <strong>an</strong>d plurals.<br />
2.1 Gender<br />
There are absolutely no concrete rules about which objects have which gender.<br />
There are however a few endings which c<strong>an</strong> give you clues listed in Table 2.1.<br />
All other plurals must be basically learned with the vocabulary entry, although<br />
some other patterns appear.<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> has natural <strong>an</strong>d grammatical genders. The natural gender is determined<br />
by what it is, i.e. der M<strong>an</strong>n or die Tochter, <strong>an</strong>d the grammatical gender is usually<br />
based on his<strong>to</strong>rical usage <strong>an</strong>d does not reflect in <strong>an</strong>y way what the natural gender<br />
of the object is. Examples include both die Sonne <strong>an</strong>d der Stuhl–which do not have<br />
<strong>an</strong>y sort of inherent feminine or masculine characteristics in the minds of Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
speakers–as well das Fräulein <strong>an</strong>d das Mädchen, which are neuter because of the<br />
dimunitive endings (the come from die Frau <strong>an</strong>d the <strong>an</strong>tiquated die Magd).<br />
In contrast <strong>to</strong> the Rom<strong>an</strong>ce <strong>an</strong>d Slavic l<strong>an</strong>guages, the gender of Germ<strong>an</strong> subst<strong>an</strong>tives<br />
are not marked by their ending. The genders must be learned with each<br />
15
16<br />
Table 2.1: Endings Which Give Away the Gender<br />
1. All nouns ending in -tät, -schaft, -heit, -keit,<br />
-ion, <strong>an</strong>d -ung a<br />
are feminine <strong>an</strong>d have plurals<br />
formed by adding the prefix -en.<br />
2. All nouns ending in -chen, -lein, <strong>an</strong>d -tum are<br />
neuter. The plural looks <strong>an</strong>d is pronounced exactly<br />
the same as the singular.<br />
3. All nouns ending in -ismus, -ist, -<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d m<strong>an</strong>y<br />
ending in -er are masculine. Their plurals are:<br />
-ismen, -isten, -<strong>an</strong>ten, <strong>an</strong>d ∅ respectively.<br />
Additionally, the plurals of m<strong>an</strong>y feminine subst<strong>an</strong>tives<br />
ending in -e in the singular are formed by adding the<br />
suffix -n.<br />
a except for words which have it as a part of the stem<br />
<strong>an</strong>d not as a suffix, such as Sprung <strong>an</strong>d its derivates<br />
word as a vocabulary entry. This c<strong>an</strong>not be overemphasized. A more complete list<br />
would include:<br />
masculine -ich, -ig, -ling, -s, -<strong>an</strong>d, -är, -ast, -eur/ör, -ent, -ier, -iker, -ikus, -or<br />
feminine -ei, -a, -ade, -age, -aille, -aise/-äse, -<strong>an</strong>ce, -äne, -<strong>an</strong>z, -elle, -ette, -euse, -ie,<br />
-enz, -ere, -ik, -ille, -ine, -isse, -itis, -ive, -ose, -sis/se, -ur, -üre<br />
neuter -le, -cht, -tel, -eau, -ett, -ing, -(i)um, -ma, -ment<br />
2.2 Pronoun Agreement<br />
The definite articles (Eng.: the) are der, die, das in the nominative. The indefinite<br />
articles are ein, eine, ein in the nominative. The pronouns are er, sie, es in the<br />
nominative. These three groups apply <strong>to</strong> every subst<strong>an</strong>tive <strong>an</strong>d are interch<strong>an</strong>geable,
17<br />
depending on the intended me<strong>an</strong>ing. This is why it is import<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> know the gender:<br />
the pronoun will often take the place of the subject:<br />
• Meine T<strong>an</strong>te wohnt in der Nähe. → Sie wohnt in der Nähe.<br />
• Friederike muss einen Computerkurs machen. → Sie muss einen Computerkurs<br />
machen.<br />
• Das Fenster ist offen. → Es ist offen.<br />
In the same m<strong>an</strong>ner, wir, ihr <strong>an</strong>d Sie c<strong>an</strong> replace plural subjects:<br />
Laura und ich = wir, du und Thomas = ihr, Sie und Ihre Frau = Sie<br />
Likewise, direct objects, indirect objects, <strong>an</strong>d the objects of prepositions c<strong>an</strong> be<br />
replaced by pronouns, just as in English:<br />
• Julia und Friederike müssen einen Computerkurs machen. → Sie müssen ihn<br />
machen.<br />
• Du und Thomas sollt mit dem Au<strong>to</strong> fahren. Ihr seid mit ihm in zwei Stunden<br />
dort.<br />
• Ich habe von diesem Au<strong>to</strong>r noch nichts gelesen. Er soll aber sehr gut sein.<br />
• K<strong>an</strong>nst du mir mein Deutschbuch morgen mitbringen?<br />
Ich brauche es jeden<br />
Tag.<br />
2.3 Word Formation<br />
The main classes of subst<strong>an</strong>tives usually defined are<br />
concrete nouns concreta – these words describe objects<br />
abstract nouns abstracta – these words are used <strong>to</strong> describe concepts, thoughts,<br />
ideas, etc. (everything else)<br />
Since the concept of each is the same as in English nothing more will be said about<br />
these two general categories. The focus will instead lie on the forms of two groups of<br />
words which are composed of members from both categories: the masculine N-nouns<br />
<strong>an</strong>d compound words (composita).
18<br />
2.3.1 N-nouns<br />
There is a group of masculine nouns that ends in ‘-(e)n’ in the plural <strong>an</strong>d every<br />
case but the nominative:<br />
der Mensch die Menschen<br />
den Menschen<br />
dem Menschen<br />
die Menschen<br />
den Menschen<br />
des Menschen der Menschen<br />
A very simple phenomenon, however m<strong>an</strong>y l<strong>an</strong>guage learners seem <strong>to</strong> forget it exists,<br />
especially in the genitive (which is described in Section 1.5). Also note that some<br />
books calls these Studenten-nouns.<br />
One c<strong>an</strong> recognize these words as the ones that are followed by -en, -en or -n -n in<br />
<strong>an</strong>y dictionary. There are also certain endings that fall in<strong>to</strong> this category:<br />
-<strong>an</strong>d: Dok<strong>to</strong>r<strong>an</strong>d-en, Habilit<strong>an</strong>d-en, Konfirm<strong>an</strong>d-en<br />
-<strong>an</strong>t:<br />
-(k)at:<br />
-ent:<br />
-et:<br />
-ist:<br />
-oge:<br />
-nom:<br />
Demonstr<strong>an</strong>t-en, Fabrik<strong>an</strong>t-en, Musik<strong>an</strong>t-en, -Praktik<strong>an</strong>t-en<br />
Demokrat-en, K<strong>an</strong>didat-en, Soldat-en<br />
Absolvent-en, Delinquent-en, Student-en<br />
Athlet-en, Poet-en, Prophet-en<br />
Artist-en, Faschist-en, Jurist-en, Kommunist-en<br />
Geolog-en, Pädagog-en<br />
Agronom-en, Astronom-en<br />
-soph: Anthroposoph-en, Philosoph-en<br />
One that does not fall in<strong>to</strong> the category but appears <strong>to</strong> except in the genitive<br />
singular is der Name, die Namen:
19<br />
der Name die Namen<br />
den Namen<br />
dem Namen<br />
die Namen<br />
den Namen<br />
des Namens der Namen<br />
Also note that one word der Herr, die Herren has a different singular <strong>an</strong>d plural:<br />
den Herrn<br />
die Herren<br />
dem Herrn<br />
den Herren<br />
des Herrn der Herren<br />
2.3.2 Composita<br />
Note that this is above <strong>an</strong>d beyond what <strong>an</strong>y first year course should require<br />
of students. Nonetheless, for the curious, Table 2.2 contains some guidelines for the<br />
patterns. There are so m<strong>an</strong>y different inst<strong>an</strong>ces that one c<strong>an</strong>not speak of “rules” (the<br />
list of “exceptions” would be much longer th<strong>an</strong> Table 2.2), but the tendencies are<br />
worth noting.<br />
Although it is not a very hard concept <strong>to</strong> master, m<strong>an</strong>y learners do not make<br />
the effort necessary, <strong>an</strong>d it is therefore often <strong>an</strong> easy way <strong>to</strong> distinguish a very good<br />
non-native speaker from a true native. There are very few words in Germ<strong>an</strong> compared<br />
with English, but the word formation is much more active th<strong>an</strong> in English. This is<br />
also what makes Germ<strong>an</strong> such a production l<strong>an</strong>guage–speakers have the ability <strong>to</strong><br />
be very creative. Sonntagsnachmittagsspazierfahrtstunde (the hour during which one<br />
takes a walk on a Sunday afternoon), Donaudampfschifffahrtskapitän (the captain of a<br />
steam ship on the Donau), <strong>an</strong>d the like.
20<br />
Table 2.2: Sounds That Join Words in Composita<br />
possible word joints a : –(e)n-, –(e)s-, -e-, -er-, -ens-, ∅<br />
• The first element in the word is the determining element. Do not confuse<br />
this with the element which determines the gender, which is always the<br />
last element.<br />
• Indeclinable words (such as prepositions <strong>an</strong>d adverbs) <strong>an</strong>d adjectives take<br />
-∅-. Adjectives ending in -e drop the -e. (e.g. Blödsinn).<br />
• When the first member is a subst<strong>an</strong>tive:<br />
1. -∅- follows the suffixes -bold, -chen, -en, -ei, -ler, -ner, ge-. . . -e, -i,<br />
-ich(t), -ig, -lein, -nis, -rich, <strong>an</strong>d all nouns whose plural end in -s<br />
2. -s- follows -en, -heit, -keit, -ling, -sal, -schaft, -tum, -ung, -ion, -ität<br />
3. -en- follows -in, masculine nouns <strong>an</strong>d most feminine ending in -e<br />
4. -en- follows the nouns with -en- in the genitive singular <strong>an</strong>d plural;<br />
feminine <strong>an</strong>d neuter nouns ending in -a, <strong>an</strong>d the neuter nouns ending<br />
in -it, -on, the plural forms of all three groups of which end in -en.<br />
• When the first member is a verb:<br />
1. -∅- follows verbs that end in a vowel sound <strong>an</strong>d after the sounds [p],<br />
[pf], [s], [r], [x] b , usually [m], [l], [S], <strong>an</strong>d [ts] conson<strong>an</strong>ts + [s]<br />
2. -e- follows almost exclusively the voiced conson<strong>an</strong>ts b, d, g <strong>an</strong>d the<br />
sounds [z], [t], but there are m<strong>an</strong>y inst<strong>an</strong>ces in which -∅- follows these<br />
sounds<br />
a this information is condensed exclusively from [Fleischer, 136-145]<br />
b the sound at the end of ach
CHAPTER 3<br />
ARTICLES<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> articles <strong>an</strong>d their use are very similar <strong>to</strong> English articles, so this should<br />
not pose Americ<strong>an</strong> students <strong>to</strong>o much trouble. The main differences are listed in<br />
Table 3.1.<br />
When talking about articles in this section, the two forms definite (der, die,<br />
das) <strong>an</strong>d indefinite (ein, eine, ein) are me<strong>an</strong>t, <strong>an</strong>d not the entire spectrum of words<br />
belonging <strong>to</strong> or sometime belonging <strong>to</strong> both this class <strong>an</strong>d others. They are discussed<br />
in Chapter 4 on Pronouns.<br />
The complete forms for the two words in this class are listed in Table 3.2. Note<br />
that most words declined this way–see Chapter 5 on Adjectives for more details.<br />
For negation, see Chapter 10 on page 93. Note that the indefinite forms are the same<br />
but preceded by a k, <strong>an</strong>d that there is a plural.<br />
The uses are generally the same as in English; that is: one uses definite articles <strong>to</strong><br />
specify something <strong>an</strong>d distinguish it from others <strong>an</strong>d indefinite articles <strong>to</strong> point out<br />
one of m<strong>an</strong>y (that is why there is no plural). Notice that the negative does has a<br />
plural because one is talking about none or zero, which is plural in Germ<strong>an</strong> as well<br />
as in English.<br />
M<strong>an</strong>y books introduce the indefinite article as the article <strong>to</strong> use when something<br />
is introduced for the first time <strong>an</strong>d the definite article hereafter. This may work when<br />
on <strong>an</strong>alyzes children’s s<strong>to</strong>ries, but take a look at the example in Figure 3.1.<br />
There is only one viable choice between the comm<strong>an</strong>ds:<br />
Zeig auf einen/den Kreis! [Point <strong>to</strong> a/the circle.]<br />
Likewise, there is only one possibility for the same comm<strong>an</strong>d for the Figure 3.2.<br />
21
22<br />
Table 3.1: Differences in Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d English Articles<br />
1. there is no plural indefinite article except when<br />
negated (English: some/<strong>an</strong>y)<br />
2. articles are not mentioned with professions (this includes<br />
students) or nationalities a .<br />
3. sometimes the article is not present when <strong>an</strong> English<br />
speaker would expect it <strong>to</strong> be or is present<br />
when <strong>an</strong> English speaker w<strong>an</strong>ts <strong>to</strong> omit it. This is<br />
due <strong>to</strong> the difference in number <strong>an</strong>d the characteristic<br />
‘mass’ or ‘count’ in some words.<br />
4. often articles are added <strong>to</strong> names of people. This<br />
usually has a positive me<strong>an</strong>ing.<br />
a surely by now everyone has heard of the famous<br />
Kennedy blunder: Ich bin ein Berliner.<br />
Figure 3.1: For <strong>an</strong> Indefinite Article<br />
Figure 3.2: For a Definite Article
23<br />
Table 3.2: The Germ<strong>an</strong> Article<br />
Indefinite article:<br />
Singular<br />
Plural<br />
masculine feminine neuter<br />
nominative ein eine ein<br />
accusative einen eine ein ∅<br />
dative einem einer einem<br />
genitive eines einer eines<br />
Definite article:<br />
Singular<br />
Plural<br />
masculine feminine neuter<br />
nominative der die das die<br />
accusative den die das die<br />
dative dem der dem den<br />
genitive des der des der
CHAPTER 4<br />
PRONOUNS<br />
4.1 Personal Pronouns<br />
Pronouns are used in the place of nouns. They conform <strong>to</strong> the same patterns as<br />
nouns in regards <strong>to</strong> agreement <strong>an</strong>d case. Table 4.1 is <strong>an</strong> exhaustive list–notice that<br />
the gentive are in parentheses because they are uncommon.<br />
For more information about pronouns <strong>an</strong>d agreement, see Section 2.2<br />
Strictly speaking, pronouns do not replace nouns since they c<strong>an</strong> of course be used<br />
before the nouns are even mentioned, depending on context. Essentially, pronouns<br />
have the following function:<br />
Since people w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> save time whenever possible, they shorten everything context<br />
allows.<br />
One thing one needs <strong>to</strong> remember is that pronouns c<strong>an</strong> replace long<br />
noun phrases or even entire clauses since m<strong>an</strong>y modifiers need not be repeated. For<br />
example:<br />
1. Ich möchte mit deiner Schwester in die Schweiz fahren. . . Sie weiß, wo m<strong>an</strong><br />
gut essen k<strong>an</strong>n.<br />
I would like <strong>to</strong> go <strong>to</strong> Switzerl<strong>an</strong>d with your sister. . . She knows good places <strong>to</strong> eat.<br />
2. Der M<strong>an</strong>n mit dem roten Pulli neben der Treppe. . . Er. . .<br />
The m<strong>an</strong> with the red sweater next <strong>to</strong> the stairs. . . He. . .<br />
3. Weisst du noch, als wir dieses Sofa gesehen haben, das so l<strong>an</strong>g war, dass es<br />
nicht in meiner Eltern Wohnzimmer gepasst hätte? Meine T<strong>an</strong>te hat es gekauft!<br />
24
25<br />
Table 4.1: Personal Pronouns<br />
1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person<br />
familiar formal masc. fem. neut.<br />
Singular Nom. ich du Sie er sie es<br />
Acc. mich dich Sie ihn sie es<br />
Dat. mir dir Ihnen ihm ihr ihm<br />
Gen. (meiner) (deiner) (Ihrer) (seiner) (ihrer) (seiner)<br />
Plural Nom. wir ihr Sie sie<br />
Acc. uns euch Sie sie<br />
Dat. uns euch Ihnen ihnen<br />
Gen. (unser) (euer) (Ihrer) (ihrer)<br />
Do you still remember when we saw that couch that was so long that it wouldn’t<br />
have fit in my parents’ living room? My aunt bought it!<br />
Word order in sentences with more th<strong>an</strong> one object<br />
The only inconsistency in Table 4.2 is the third item, in which two noun phrases<br />
appear <strong>an</strong>d the dative comes before the accustive. This sentence illustrates why:<br />
Andreas gibt seiner Schwester einen Teller.<br />
[Andreas gives his sister a plate.]<br />
Notice that since the feminine dative <strong>an</strong>d genitive forms are the same, the incorrect<br />
order would be confusing <strong>an</strong>d leave the listener expecting the sentence <strong>to</strong> continue:<br />
∗Andreas gibt einen Teller seiner Schwester.<br />
[Andreas is giving the plate of his<br />
sister. . . ]<br />
4.2 Possessive Pronouns<br />
The possessive adjectives in Table 4.3 are used just like they are in English.<br />
Forgetting about gender <strong>an</strong>d cases for now, think about the actual forms themselves<br />
(i.e. the roots) <strong>an</strong>d how they correspond <strong>to</strong> the people whose “possessions” they
26<br />
describe:<br />
Tommy <strong>to</strong>ld his gr<strong>an</strong>dmother that her new car was a lemon. He said its paint was<br />
bubbling up.<br />
Regardless of the gender <strong>an</strong>d case of gr<strong>an</strong>dmother, the root of the Germ<strong>an</strong> possesive<br />
adjective used will be sein , which refers back <strong>to</strong> the <strong>an</strong>tecedent, Tommy. The same<br />
will be true with ihr <strong>an</strong>d gr<strong>an</strong>dmother <strong>an</strong>d sein <strong>an</strong>d car (das Au<strong>to</strong>).<br />
The difference then lies only in the endings, which English does not have.<br />
4.3 Reflexive Pronouns<br />
Reflexive pronouns are used in a reciprocal fashion, such as with reflexive verbs<br />
(see Section 7.5.3), <strong>an</strong>d illustrate a reference from the subject <strong>to</strong> the accusative or dative<br />
object. The forms are identical <strong>to</strong> those of the personal pronouns (see Table 4.1)<br />
except for the obviously missing nominative forms. In addition, the 2nd person formal<br />
all 3rd person forms, singular <strong>an</strong>d plural, are sich, as illustrated in Table 4.4.<br />
The English equivalent is myself, yourself, himself, itself, herself, ourselves, themselves<br />
respectively. The two notable differences from English are:<br />
1. sich is usually used for each other, such as in<br />
They congratulated each other. [Sie haben sich gratuliert.]<br />
2. The dative reflexive pronoun is used <strong>to</strong> show possession instead of the possessive<br />
pronoun in reflexive sentences.<br />
Examples:<br />
• Er putzt sich die Zähne. [He is brushing his teeth.]<br />
• Sie waschen sich die Hände.] [They are washing their h<strong>an</strong>ds.]<br />
Also note that this avoids the confusion that often arises in English with regards<br />
<strong>to</strong> the possessor:<br />
Justin was playing soccer <strong>to</strong>gether with I<strong>an</strong>. He pushed I<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d then broke his arm.<br />
Whose arm did Justin break?
In Germ<strong>an</strong>: Er hat sich das Bein gebrochen me<strong>an</strong>s he broke his own leg, while<br />
Er hat sein Bein gebrochen me<strong>an</strong>s he broke the leg of someone else.<br />
27<br />
4.4 Demonstrative Pronouns<br />
Demonstratives are the pronouns used <strong>to</strong> demonstrate, or point out something.<br />
English examples are this, that, these, those.<br />
At the beginning of Chapter 3, Table<br />
3.2 shows how the definite <strong>an</strong>d indefinite articles are declined. These are also the<br />
declensions for the ein - <strong>an</strong>d der-words respectively. The notation in the parentheses<br />
next <strong>to</strong> each of the following word groups in this section <strong>an</strong>d the next refers <strong>to</strong> the<br />
declension as depicted in Table 3.2 concerning indefinite <strong>an</strong>d definite articles.<br />
der, die, das 1<br />
(der–see Table 4.5) Similarly <strong>to</strong> the personal pronouns, these are<br />
used in place of the subst<strong>an</strong>tive + article. Das k<strong>an</strong>n m<strong>an</strong> nicht. Das weiss ich<br />
nicht. Das wirst du morgen erfahren. Den brauche ich. Der konnte ich nicht<br />
helfen. etc.<br />
Notice that the demonstrative (<strong>an</strong>d relative–see Section 4.5) pronouns der, die,<br />
das have their own conjugation, as depicted in Table 4.5.<br />
dieser, diese, dieses 2<br />
(der) Similar <strong>to</strong> articles, these are used with <strong>an</strong>d preceeding<br />
the subst<strong>an</strong>tive. One might say that dies is used instead of the article in order<br />
<strong>to</strong> more clearly emphasize that particular subst<strong>an</strong>tive’s import<strong>an</strong>ce.<br />
Diesen<br />
Tisch finde ich am schönsten. Sehen Sie dieses Haus dort. . . ? Diesem M<strong>an</strong>n<br />
konnte ich doch nicht helfen.<br />
selbst, selber (not declined) Selbst <strong>an</strong>d selber are used as appositions (see Section<br />
1.6) in order <strong>to</strong> exclude <strong>an</strong>y other object which might have come in<strong>to</strong><br />
question. Ich habe das Buch selbst gelesen. Mein Neffe k<strong>an</strong>n sich jetzt selber<br />
1 also derjenige, diejenige, dasjenige, derselbe, dieselbe, dasselbe<br />
2 also jener, jene, jenes
28<br />
waschen. Der Präsident selbst hat es zugegeben.<br />
Do not confuse this usage selbst with the one used at the beginning of sentences<br />
<strong>to</strong> me<strong>an</strong> even such as in: Selbst der Fahrer hat ihn gesehn. Selbst wenn ich nicht<br />
gekommen wäre. . . . [Even the driver saw it. Even if I had not come. . . ].<br />
4.5 Relative <strong>an</strong>d Interrogative Pronouns<br />
Relative pronouns are pronouns which introduce relative clauses, such as the<br />
underlined which in this sentence. Because they are pronouns, they must replace a<br />
noun or noun phrase, <strong>an</strong>d because they govern relative clauses, they are found in<br />
dependent clauses only. Interrogative pronouns are question words used <strong>to</strong> elicit a<br />
specific piece of information. For more information on interrogative pronouns <strong>an</strong>d<br />
questions see Chapter 11.<br />
der, die, das (der–see Table 4.5) These represent the relative counterpart <strong>to</strong> the<br />
demonstrative pronouns der, die, das above. The conjugation is the same as in<br />
Table 4.5. These are used only relatively <strong>an</strong>d not interrogatively.<br />
welcher, welche, welches (der) These c<strong>an</strong> be used both relatively <strong>an</strong>d interrogatively.<br />
As a relative pronoun they are used identically as der, die, das<br />
(above), but are more formal. As interrogative pronouns they correspond <strong>to</strong><br />
the English: which.<br />
was für ein (not declined) Used interch<strong>an</strong>geably with welch but less formal; note<br />
that für is not a preposition here <strong>an</strong>d that ein is therefore not necessarily in<br />
the accusative case. Was für ein Vater würde seine Kinder im Einkaufzentrum<br />
vergessen!<br />
wer, was (not declined) correspond <strong>to</strong> English who <strong>an</strong>d what.
29<br />
Table 4.2: Pronoun Word Order <strong>Guide</strong>lines<br />
For the impatient:<br />
1. In sentences with 2 noun phrases, the dative pronoun<br />
comes first.<br />
2. In sentences with one pronoun <strong>an</strong>d one noun<br />
phrase, the pronoun comes first.<br />
Examples:<br />
3. In sentences with 2 pronouns, the accusative pronoun<br />
comes first. a<br />
1. Horst erzählt den Kindern eine Geschichte.<br />
2. Horst erzählt sie den Kindern. / Horst erzählt ihnen<br />
die Geschichte.<br />
3. Horst erzählt sie ihnen.<br />
a In shorter terms: Where P is pronoun, N is noun<br />
phrase, A is accusative, D is dative <strong>an</strong>d < me<strong>an</strong>s “comes<br />
first in sentence”<br />
(a) 2P < D<br />
(b) 1P < P<br />
(c) 2N < A
30<br />
Table 4.3: The Possessive Pronouns<br />
1st pers<br />
mein, dein, etc.<br />
2nd pers<br />
masc fem neut masc fem neut<br />
mein meine mein unser unsre unser<br />
dein deine dein Ihr Ihre Ihr<br />
sein, ihr, sein seine, ihre, seine sein, ihr, sein ihr ihre ihr<br />
Table 4.4: Reflexive Pronouns<br />
1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person<br />
familiar formal masc. fem. neut.<br />
Singular Acc. mich dich sich sich<br />
Dat. mir dir sich sich<br />
Plural Acc. uns euch sich sich<br />
Dat. uns euch sich sich<br />
Table 4.5: Demonstrative Pronouns<br />
Singular<br />
masc fem neut<br />
Nom der die das<br />
Plural<br />
die<br />
Acc den die das die<br />
Dat dem der dem denen<br />
Gen dessen deren dessen deren
CHAPTER 5<br />
ADJECTIVES<br />
Adjectives are used <strong>to</strong> describe nouns. They c<strong>an</strong> be used in two ways: predicatively<br />
<strong>an</strong>d attributively, as described in Sections 5.1 <strong>an</strong>d 5.2 respectively. The<br />
endings are only for attribute adjectives.<br />
The strong endings are there <strong>to</strong> signify the gender, number, <strong>an</strong>d case, <strong>an</strong>d the<br />
weak endings are there for all subsequent modifiers.<br />
There are two sets of endings for two different contexts:<br />
1. strong or primary endings-adjectives following indefinite articles (ein , kein )<br />
or no article at all<br />
2. weak or secondary endings-adjectives following definite articles (der, die, das),<br />
demonstrative <strong>an</strong>d interrogative pronouns (dies /jen , welch )<br />
Remember: ein guter M<strong>an</strong>n, der gute M<strong>an</strong>n<br />
Table 5.1: Primary Adjectival Endings<br />
Primary endings:<br />
Singular<br />
masculine feminine neuter<br />
Plural<br />
nominative -er -e -es -e<br />
accusative -en -e -es -e<br />
dative -em -er -em -en<br />
genitive -en -er -en -en<br />
31
32<br />
Table 5.2: Secondary Adjectival Endings<br />
Secondary endings:<br />
Singular<br />
masculine feminine neuter<br />
Plural<br />
nominative -e -e -e -en<br />
accusative -en -e -e -en<br />
dative -en -en -en -en<br />
genitive -en -en -en -en<br />
Note: the primary endings are the same as the definite article except in the<br />
genitive singular masculine <strong>an</strong>d neuter: Juni letzten Jahres (June of last year).<br />
M<strong>an</strong>y books seem <strong>to</strong> forget this point.<br />
5.1 Predicative Adjectives<br />
These are not the type that usually cause students problems. Used predicatively,<br />
<strong>an</strong> adjective is not declined (i.e. just as in English) <strong>an</strong>d appears in the form as<br />
one finds it in a dictionary. Predicate adjectives generally come after the verb.<br />
Unlike in English, where most adverbs end in -ly <strong>an</strong>d thus have different forms from<br />
their adjectival counterparts, predicate adjectives in Germ<strong>an</strong> look exactly as their<br />
adverbial counterparts <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong> be differentiated only by their context. One basic<br />
difference between adjectives <strong>an</strong>d adverbs is that adjectives c<strong>an</strong> be compared (see<br />
Section 5.2.1).<br />
Der Kaffe schmeckt gut.<br />
Deine Hose sieht rot aus.<br />
Der Hund ist braun.<br />
5.2 Attributive Adjectives<br />
Attributive adjectives are declined. They modify nouns <strong>an</strong>d must agree in case,<br />
number, <strong>an</strong>d gender. One c<strong>an</strong> tell <strong>to</strong> which noun the adjective belongs by its ending,
33<br />
since adjectives are declined. Apart from the case, number, <strong>an</strong>d gender, there are<br />
two different categories of endings <strong>an</strong> adjective takes, as indicated above: primary<br />
<strong>an</strong>d secondary. The primary endings indicate the case, number, <strong>an</strong>d/or gender of the<br />
noun wherever possible. If the case of the noun is clear through <strong>an</strong> article or other<br />
modifier (<strong>an</strong>ything which is declined <strong>an</strong>d describes something else), the secondary or<br />
weak endings are used on all subsequent modifiers.<br />
Examples:<br />
ein schönes Haus, dieser grosse M<strong>an</strong>n<br />
Notice that since ein is the same form for both the masculine <strong>an</strong>d neuter in the<br />
nominative, the following adjective must have a strong ending in order <strong>to</strong> show that<br />
the following noun is neuter.<br />
In other words, if <strong>an</strong> article is missing or does not clarify what the case <strong>an</strong>d<br />
gender of a noun is, the adjective takes on this responsibility in the form of primary<br />
endings, <strong>an</strong>d whenever the primary endings begin the noun phrase, all other modifiers<br />
take the secondary endings. If <strong>an</strong> indefinite article introduces the noun phrase (such<br />
as in ein guter Vater), all subsequent adjectives take the primary endings: ein guter,<br />
hilfsbereiter, liebenswerter Vater.<br />
The gender, number, <strong>an</strong>d case of a noun c<strong>an</strong> almost always be ascertained from<br />
its modifiers. Likewise, it is almost always apparent whenever one uses <strong>an</strong>y type of<br />
modifier without knowing the gender or case.<br />
Also note that participles are really just adjectives directly derived from verbs<br />
<strong>an</strong>d follow all of the patterns above. See Section 7.4.2 for more information.<br />
5.2.1 Comparative <strong>an</strong>d Superlative Forms<br />
The basic form of <strong>an</strong> attributive adjective is called the positive. In comparisons,<br />
one must use the comparative form, which is formed in in English either by adding<br />
-er <strong>to</strong> the adjective or preceeding it with more, depending on how m<strong>an</strong>y syllables it<br />
has. In Germ<strong>an</strong>, most adjectives take the -er ending <strong>an</strong>d add <strong>an</strong> umlaut <strong>to</strong> the first
34<br />
vowel where possible. For the superlative form, which in English is characterized by<br />
most or the ending -est, Germ<strong>an</strong> takes the umlaut as in the comparative <strong>an</strong>d adds<br />
-st- instead of -er. The endings come after the -er in the comparative <strong>an</strong>d after the<br />
-st in the superlative forms.<br />
Examples:<br />
• l<strong>an</strong>g, länger, längste<br />
• schnell, schneller, schnellste<br />
• weit, weiter, weiteste<br />
• groß, größer, größte<br />
• modern, moderner, modernste<br />
Here are some examples of declined adjectives in context. Notice that with positves<br />
one often uses the expression so wie (English: as as), in comparison the expression<br />
als. . . (English: -er th<strong>an</strong>. . . or more th<strong>an</strong>. . . ), <strong>an</strong>d with superlatives<br />
der -ste (English: the -est or the most ).<br />
• Dieses Au<strong>to</strong> ist schneller als das <strong>an</strong>dere. Aber das blaue ist das schnellste.<br />
• Euer Haus ist größer als unseres.<br />
• Die längste Stunde meines Lebens war meine mündliche Prüfung in Deutsch.<br />
Naja, m<strong>an</strong>chmal ist Klavierunterricht länger.<br />
• Es gibt eine sehr moderne Grundschule neben dem noch modereren Apartmenthaus.<br />
• Das häßlichste Haus in unserem Wohnviertel liegt südlich von dem Stadthaus.<br />
Sometimes one might see a superlative form when no comparison is being drawn.<br />
This is called the elative form <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong> usually be tr<strong>an</strong>lated as very<br />
. E.g.: Besten<br />
D<strong>an</strong>k, höchst intelligent, größtes Lob etc. Another use of the superlative is with am<br />
-sten, which me<strong>an</strong>s the<br />
of all: am längsten, am besten, am überraschendsten<br />
etc.<br />
Some irregularities:
35<br />
1. • hoch, höher, höchste<br />
• gut, besser, beste<br />
• nahe, näher, nächste<br />
• viel, mehr, meiste<br />
• wenig, minder, mindeste or: wenig, weniger, wenigste<br />
(but regular in the latter form)<br />
2. beide acts as a definite article, so the secondary endings follow:<br />
beide alten Computer<br />
3. viel- <strong>an</strong>d wenig- appear alternately declined <strong>an</strong>d undeclined, depending on<br />
whether the noun is a mass or a count noun<br />
viel Geld - viele Leute<br />
wenig Geduld - wenige Menschen<br />
4. adjectives ending in -en <strong>an</strong>d -er often omit the comparative <strong>an</strong>d superlative<br />
-e- in order <strong>to</strong> ease pronunciation:<br />
• ungeheuer - ein ungeheurer Zufall<br />
• teuer - ein teures Spiel<br />
• vorh<strong>an</strong>den - ein vorh<strong>an</strong>d(e)nes Problem<br />
• sauer - eine saure Miene<br />
5. adjectives ending with -el omit the vowel when <strong>an</strong> ending is added:<br />
dunkel - ein dunkler Wald<br />
5.2.2 Possessive Adjectives<br />
Possessive adjectives is <strong>an</strong>other name for possessive pronouns (see Section 4.2).<br />
They are often called ‘adjectives’ because they are declined as adjectives are.<br />
5.2.3 Ordinal Numbers<br />
Ordinal numbers are attribute adjectives, hence they are declined.
36<br />
Table 5.3: The Ordinal Numbers<br />
erst- first siebt- seventh dreizehnt- thirteenth fünfzigst- fiftieth<br />
zweit- second acht- eighth vierzehnt- fourteenth siebzigst- seventieth<br />
dritt- third neunt- ninth fünfzehnt- fifteenth sechzigst- sixtieth<br />
viert- fourth zehnt- tenth zw<strong>an</strong>zigst- twentieth hunderts- hundredth<br />
fünft- fifth elft- eleventh dreißigst- thirtieth tausentst- thous<strong>an</strong>dth<br />
sechst- sixth zwölft- twelfth vierzigst- fortieth millionst- millionth<br />
The pattern is fairly simple compared with English. One need only remember:<br />
The root is the cardinal number with -(s)t + the ending, except in the cases of eins,<br />
zwei <strong>an</strong>d drei. This is just as in English (<strong>an</strong>d most Indo-Europe<strong>an</strong> l<strong>an</strong>guages). The<br />
-s is only necessary when the word would otherwise be unpronounceable.
CHAPTER 6<br />
ADVERBS<br />
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, <strong>an</strong>d other adverbs. They c<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>swer one of<br />
the the questions How? When? How much? In what way? Where? <strong>an</strong>d<br />
often have the ending -ly in English, although this must not always be the case. In<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong>, m<strong>an</strong>y adverbs look exactly like predicate adjectives (see Section 5.1), since<br />
they remain uninflected.<br />
A good examples of the difference between adjectives <strong>an</strong>d adverbs c<strong>an</strong> be illustrated<br />
with the often misused adjective good <strong>an</strong>d the adverb well.<br />
• *I’m doing good.<br />
This happens in English often:<br />
• *You are driving <strong>to</strong>o slow.<br />
Schön c<strong>an</strong> be <strong>an</strong> adverb or <strong>an</strong> adjective, depending on how it is used:<br />
• Das Wetter ist schön.<br />
• Dein Wagen fährt sich schön.<br />
Adverbs are written in the lower case unless they begin a sentence–the convention<br />
is what differentiates them from m<strong>an</strong>y subst<strong>an</strong>tives:<br />
Abend/abends, Morgen/morgens, etc.<br />
Aside from the wo-, da- compounds mentioned in Table 6.1, some common endings<br />
are: -s, -eise, -wärts, -fach, -mal.<br />
37
38<br />
Table 6.1: Adverbs<br />
Type Question word Examples<br />
place wo, woher dort, hin, draußen, irgendwo<br />
time w<strong>an</strong>n morgens, gestern, jetzt, m<strong>an</strong>chmal,<br />
heute, früher<br />
qu<strong>an</strong>tity wieviel viel<br />
conjunctional<br />
notfalls, dennoch, trotzdem, somit,<br />
deshalb, deswegen<br />
interrogative – wo, woher/wohin/w<strong>an</strong>n, wie,<br />
wieviel, warum, weswegen, weshalb,<br />
wieso<br />
pronominal or<br />
prepositional<br />
worüber, wonach<br />
darin, darüber, d<strong>an</strong>ach, hiermit, hierzu
CHAPTER 7<br />
VERBS<br />
7.1 Verb Forms<br />
7.1.1 The Infinitive<br />
An Infinitive is the word or group of words which is built from the predicate <strong>an</strong>d<br />
contains the full me<strong>an</strong>ing of the predicate. The present infinitive is the unconjugated<br />
form of the verb as one finds it in a dictionary. This corresponds <strong>to</strong> the English <strong>to</strong> .<br />
The particle zu (<strong>to</strong>) is also used in Germ<strong>an</strong> in specific inst<strong>an</strong>ces as illustrated below.<br />
The commonest use of the infinitive in Germ<strong>an</strong> is with modal verbs (see Section 7.3),<br />
where the particle zu is not used. When zu is used with <strong>an</strong> infinitive, one will find it<br />
directly in front the infinitive. If it is in front of <strong>an</strong> adjective it is in adverb (such as<br />
zu teuer) <strong>an</strong>d in front of a noun or pronoun in the dative it is a preposition (zu ihm,<br />
zum Mitnehmen, zu der Frau.<br />
Also, the infinitive has other tenses: future perfect, present perfect. The present<br />
perfect infinitive formed with the present infinitive of the correct helping verb (haben<br />
or sein) with the past participle of the main verb: bezahlt haben for bezahlen, gefahren<br />
sein for fahren. The future perfect infinitive is formed with the present infinitive of<br />
werden + the past participle of the main verb + the present infinitive of the helping<br />
verb (haben or sein): werden gefahren sein for fahren, werden gegessen haben for<br />
essen.<br />
Note that all three forms of infinitives mentioned also have passive forms.<br />
The uses of the infinitive are covered under each appropriate section, such as<br />
Section 9.3 for infinitive conjunctions <strong>an</strong>d Section 7.3 for modal verbs.<br />
39
40<br />
7.1.2 Conjugation<br />
Almost all verbs are conjugated as in Table 7.1.<br />
Where the [e] in the 2nd <strong>an</strong>d 3rd sing, 2nd informal Plural is only present when<br />
the stem ends in a hard conson<strong>an</strong>t (such as d or t, as in the example).<br />
One<br />
basically hears about starke/schwache/gemischte Verben (strong/weak/mixed verbs),<br />
besondere Verben (special verbs), <strong>an</strong>d verbs with a stem vowel ch<strong>an</strong>ge (Ablaut).<br />
Additionally, there are prefix verbs, which may have a separable or inseparable prefix.<br />
Here is how one c<strong>an</strong> recognize them:<br />
1. Strong verbs – past participle ends in -en<br />
2. weak verbs – these are the regular verbs; they comprise most of the Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
verbs. Their past participles end in -t <strong>an</strong>d they have no stem vowel ch<strong>an</strong>ge<br />
(Ablaut)<br />
3. mixed verbs – neither strong nor weak, their past participles end in -t but they<br />
have a vowel stem ch<strong>an</strong>ge in the past participle.<br />
4. ‘special’ verbs (-eln, -ten, -zen, -s/ßen, -ien, -ern)<br />
They are only special because the endings are not pronounceable without ch<strong>an</strong>ging<br />
the order or adding/removing <strong>an</strong> ‘e’<br />
5. Ablaut – This is a ch<strong>an</strong>ge in the vowel of the stem of the verb. It may occur in<br />
the present tense (as in laufen-läuft) or in the past tense (denken-hat gedacht –<br />
see item ‘mixed verbs’ above).<br />
Table 7.1: Conjugation of Regular Verbs<br />
For the impatient:<br />
-e -en<br />
ich arbeite<br />
wir arbeiten<br />
-[e]st<br />
-[e]t, -en<br />
du arbeitest<br />
ihr arbeitet, Sie arbeiten<br />
-[e]t<br />
-en<br />
er/sie/es arbeitet<br />
sie/Sie arbeiten
41<br />
6. inseparable prefixed verbs (see Section 7.1.4)<br />
7. separable prefixed verbs (see Section 7.1.4)<br />
8. outright irregular (see Appendix B) verbs such as sein, werden, <strong>an</strong>d sometimes<br />
haben, all of which must be examined individually<br />
Note that the only categories which are mutually exclusive are strong, weak, or<br />
mixed verbs <strong>an</strong>d inseparable or separable verbs–i.e. a verb must be strong, weak, or<br />
mixed but c<strong>an</strong>not be <strong>an</strong>y two of those, <strong>an</strong>d a verb c<strong>an</strong> be inseparable or separable,<br />
but c<strong>an</strong>not be both <strong>an</strong>d must not be either.<br />
There are, of course, other groups <strong>an</strong>d forms of verbs, such as modal verbs <strong>an</strong>d<br />
imperatives, but these are not conjugations <strong>an</strong>d h<strong>an</strong>dled separately in their respective<br />
sections. For mood see Section 7.2; for imperatives see Section 7.2.2.<br />
There are no traditional conjugations (as in Latin, French, or Greek), but one c<strong>an</strong><br />
define Germ<strong>an</strong> verbs in terms of one or more of the eight aforementioned categories.<br />
7.1.3 Irregular Verb Endings<br />
As mentioned above, there are two types of verbs in Germ<strong>an</strong>: weak <strong>an</strong>d strong<br />
(schwach <strong>an</strong>d stark). They both take the same endings–being strong or weak only<br />
has <strong>to</strong> do with the form of the verb, not with the endings. An irregular or strong verb<br />
takes the same endings as the weak or regular verbs, but either the other verb forms<br />
(i.e. the different tenses–see Section 7.4) are different or the stem has <strong>an</strong> ablaut.<br />
There are, however, verbs that have special endings because of the stem. The<br />
endings of these verbs differ because otherwise they would not be pronounceable.<br />
• infinitives with stems ending in ‘t’, ‘d’, <strong>an</strong>d ‘ß’<br />
arbeiten, scheiden, heißen<br />
• a few other (much rarer) letters combinations occurring in the infinitive stem<br />
such as ‘z’, ‘gn’, ‘r’, <strong>an</strong>d ‘l’<br />
beizen, regnen, hetzen, t<strong>an</strong>zen, ändern, rudern, sammeln, segeln are examples<br />
• haben <strong>an</strong>d the irregular (strong) verbs sein <strong>an</strong>d werden.
42<br />
7.1.4 Verb Prefixes<br />
The fact that not every verb in Germ<strong>an</strong> is unique <strong>an</strong>d made of similar parts<br />
that m<strong>an</strong>y other words use should not be surprising.<br />
In English there are m<strong>an</strong>y<br />
prefixes common <strong>to</strong> dozens of words. One need only think about how m<strong>an</strong>y words<br />
are built with prefixes.<br />
Notice that the me<strong>an</strong>ings the prefixes denote are relative<br />
<strong>an</strong>d not absolute. Thus teaching a non-native speaker the morpheme -tract would<br />
not ensure that s/he could deduce the me<strong>an</strong>ings of attract, detract, subtract, extract.<br />
Unfortunately, the same is true of Germ<strong>an</strong>. But luckily, there are not nearly as m<strong>an</strong>y<br />
affixes as there are in English (there are just as m<strong>an</strong>y suffixes). Just as in English,<br />
there are inseparable prefixes <strong>an</strong>d separable prefixes (cf. English phrasal verbs such<br />
as <strong>to</strong> go/put/eat/work out, <strong>to</strong> beat/think/look up, <strong>to</strong> work/think through etc.).<br />
in-separable prefix verbs<br />
These are the commonest ones.<br />
be- emp- ent- er- ge- ver- zer-<br />
Two import<strong>an</strong>t things <strong>to</strong> know about inseparable prefixes are:<br />
1. the syllable directly after the prefix receives the stress, never the prefix itself<br />
2. in the strictly inseparable prefix category there are no prefixes that are<br />
words in <strong>an</strong>d of themselves<br />
Table 7.3 summarizes the separable prefixes <strong>an</strong>d me<strong>an</strong>ings which beginning learners<br />
need <strong>to</strong> know.<br />
sep-arable prefix verbs<br />
The other type of prefixes are separable. They have three import<strong>an</strong>t characteristics:<br />
1. they are independent words <strong>an</strong>d have a me<strong>an</strong>ing when they st<strong>an</strong>d by themselves<br />
2. they always come at the end of the clause; sometimes the body of the verb<br />
remains at the head <strong>an</strong>d they are therefore separated, sometimes, as in modal<br />
sentences <strong>an</strong>d subordinate clauses, the rest of the verb also must go <strong>to</strong> the end
43<br />
Table 7.2: Conjugation of Some Irregular Verbs<br />
For the impatient:<br />
a regular verb:<br />
lieben<br />
ich lieb-e<br />
du lieb-st<br />
er,sie,es lieb-t<br />
wir lieb-en<br />
ihr lieb-t/Sie lieb-en<br />
sie lieb-en<br />
examples of irregular endings:<br />
beizen<br />
arbeiten<br />
ich reiz-e<br />
wir reiz-en<br />
ich arbeit-e<br />
wir arbeit-en<br />
du reiz-t<br />
ihr reiz-t<br />
du arbeit-est<br />
ihr arbeit-et<br />
er,sie,es reiz-t<br />
sie reiz-en<br />
er,sie,es arbeit-et<br />
sie arbeit-en
44<br />
Table 7.3: Inseparable Prefixes<br />
be- tr<strong>an</strong>sitive marker, it ch<strong>an</strong>ges a<br />
beschreiben, befahren, befinden,<br />
etc.<br />
emp-<br />
verbs me<strong>an</strong>ing from <strong>to</strong> do something<br />
<strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong> do something <strong>to</strong> X<br />
empf<strong>an</strong>gen, empfinden, empfehlen<br />
ent- gives the sense of away from entfernen, entleeren, entnehmen,<br />
etc.<br />
er- <strong>to</strong> do something for the first time erlernen, erdenken, eröffnen,<br />
erfinden, etc.<br />
ge-<br />
internalizes the verb, makes it personal<br />
ver-<br />
as inseparable prefix idiomatic; no<br />
pattern<br />
1. connecting, opposite of ent-<br />
2. <strong>to</strong> ch<strong>an</strong>ge or use up something<br />
3. <strong>to</strong> do something incorrectly<br />
4. a type of intensifier<br />
gedenken, gefallen, gebrauchen,<br />
gebühren, etc.<br />
1. verheiraten, verbinden, etc.<br />
2. verarbeiten, verspeisen,<br />
verspielen, verändern, verbrauchen,<br />
etc.<br />
3. verschlucken, verfärben, etc.<br />
4. verhelfen, verbleiben, etc.<br />
zer-<br />
1. <strong>to</strong> divide up<br />
2. <strong>to</strong> harm or destroy<br />
1. zerteilen, zergliedern, etc.<br />
2. zerstören, zerreden, etc.
45<br />
of the clause <strong>an</strong>d they are reunited again<br />
Example: Ich stehe dir bei. → Ich möchte dir beistehen.<br />
3. the prefix takes the stress<br />
some of the commonest separable prefixes are:<br />
<strong>an</strong>- ab- auf- über- weg- <strong>an</strong>d m<strong>an</strong>y more!<br />
The concept is so prevalent <strong>an</strong>d the examples so numerous that one should not have<br />
<strong>an</strong>y trouble picking up the flow of sentences with verbs that “break apart”<br />
Geh doch mal weg! Warum willst du denn nicht einfach weggehen?<br />
Ich stehe gewöhnlich um 2 Uhr mittags auf, weil ich abends arbeiten muss. Ich muss<br />
doch so früh aufstehen!<br />
Ich kaufe Ihnen gerne die g<strong>an</strong>zen<br />
Äpfel ab. Ich möchte alle Ihre Äpfel abkaufen.<br />
7.1.5 Telling the difference between a separable prefix <strong>an</strong>d a preposition<br />
Since the separable prefixes are also words with <strong>an</strong>other grammatical function<br />
whose me<strong>an</strong>ings vary greatly from prepositional uses, it is import<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> know which<br />
is me<strong>an</strong>t. Luckily, it is not difficult <strong>to</strong> differentiate <strong>an</strong>d there are not m<strong>an</strong>y cases<br />
which pose problems.<br />
The rules of thumb are:<br />
1. Separable verbs are separated in the present <strong>an</strong>d past tense, in indicative <strong>an</strong>d<br />
imperative mood but not in subordinate clauses.<br />
2. They are not separated in the infinitive, such as when <strong>an</strong> auxiliary verb is<br />
used <strong>an</strong>d the infinitive appears at the end of the sentence (as is the case with<br />
modals–see Section 7.1.1), or when used as participles (Section 7.4.2).<br />
3. Prepositions have objects, <strong>an</strong>d must therefore be followed by a noun in the respective<br />
case (see Section 8.2). Separable prefixes are not followed by <strong>an</strong>ything.<br />
Examples:<br />
• Sie sprach mir Mut zu. [prefix]<br />
• Ich habe l<strong>an</strong>ge zwischen den Bäumen gesessen. [preposition]
46<br />
• Ich möchte das aufschreiben. [prefix]<br />
• Könnten Sie das auf die Karte schreiben? [preposition]<br />
• Legen Sie die Lebensmittel auf den Tisch. [preposition]<br />
• Meine Mutter war heute echt gut aufgelegt. [prefix in adjectival participle]<br />
• BUT: Hör auf mit der Fragerei! [prefix] (Section 7.2.2)<br />
7.2 Mood<br />
Mood is a vari<strong>an</strong>t of the word mode <strong>an</strong>d denotes the m<strong>an</strong>ner or way in which<br />
a verb expresses its action. As in English, Germ<strong>an</strong> has three moods: indicative,<br />
imperative, <strong>an</strong>d subjunctive.<br />
Each mood is divided in<strong>to</strong> tenses, but most books<br />
present the tenses of the indicative mood, then mention the other moods without<br />
even presenting their tenses.<br />
7.2.1 Indicative<br />
This is the mood of regular speech <strong>an</strong>d writing. Nearly every sentence in this<br />
paper, including this one, is written in the indicative mood.<br />
If one is not telling<br />
someone else what <strong>to</strong> do or supposing what may or might be but is not, ch<strong>an</strong>ces are<br />
he or she is speaking in the indicative mood.<br />
7.2.2 Imperatives<br />
The imperative, sometimes also called the hortative mood, is used for giving<br />
comm<strong>an</strong>ds.<br />
For the most part, one encounters only 4 types of imperatives:<br />
1. 1st Person Plural<br />
2. 2nd Person Singular familiar<br />
3. 2nd Person Singular polite<br />
4. 2nd Person Plural
47<br />
In proper written Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong> imperative sentence is always ended with <strong>an</strong> exclamation<br />
point. This is why the instructions in some Germ<strong>an</strong> tests written by native<br />
speakers seem harsh for Americ<strong>an</strong> students. Remember that!<br />
Formation<br />
Tables 7.4 <strong>an</strong>d 7.5 explain the formation of imperatives <strong>an</strong>d the forms of the<br />
imperatives for the irregular forms of sein, werden <strong>an</strong>d haben.<br />
Use <strong>an</strong>d his<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
Argued <strong>to</strong> be the first appear<strong>an</strong>ces of real l<strong>an</strong>guage, imperatives are verbal<br />
thoughts believed <strong>to</strong> be the original forms of each verb. Some examples might be:<br />
look out! help! leave!. Since these forms were at one point the commonest <strong>an</strong>d were<br />
undoubtedly the first <strong>to</strong> originate, it should be no surprise comm<strong>an</strong>ds both greatly<br />
resemble the verbs which spr<strong>an</strong>g forth from them <strong>an</strong>d are the most “stubborn”–that<br />
is, they do not always correspond <strong>to</strong> the conjugated indicative forms with respect <strong>to</strong><br />
stem ch<strong>an</strong>ges (Ablaut).<br />
Sage doch, was du wirklich willst!<br />
Lies dein Buch für Morgen!<br />
Schlaf gut!<br />
The basic verb form in even the most dissimilar of the imperatives, namely the 2nd<br />
person singular, c<strong>an</strong> easily be recognized. In foreign l<strong>an</strong>guage learning we usually<br />
become familiar with the indicative mood first, as those are the forms used in declarative<br />
sentences such as Wie geht es dir? <strong>an</strong>d Mein Name ist Götz George. Hence the<br />
imperative forms are said <strong>to</strong> be built from the indicative present. Since these are the<br />
forms one usually learns first <strong>an</strong>d the ones with which you are already most familiar,<br />
we are following this tradition.<br />
While the English imperative has only two forms, the Germ<strong>an</strong> has four: one for<br />
the 1st person plural (cf. Let’s go swimming)–Gehen wir schwimmen, <strong>an</strong>d one for<br />
each of the 2nd person forms, du, ihr, <strong>an</strong>d Sie. The 2nd person singular imperative
48<br />
Table 7.4: Formation of Imperatives<br />
• In the first person plural <strong>an</strong>d 2nd Person formal forms the pronoun<br />
is not dropped but the order is ch<strong>an</strong>ged in comparison with<br />
the indicative form. The imperatives look exactly as questions<br />
do. In the 2nd person familiar forms the pronoun is dropped.<br />
• The first person plural looks exactly as it does in the infinitive:<br />
essen → Wir essen. → Essen wir!<br />
• The 2nd person singular familiar is formed by dropping the ‘t’<br />
from the stem (the 3rd Person singular form) <strong>an</strong>d removing <strong>an</strong>y<br />
umlaut that do not occur in the infinitive a :<br />
lesen → Er liest. → Lies!<br />
• The 2nd person plural familiar form is identical <strong>to</strong> the indicative<br />
present:<br />
Lest! Esst! Glaubt!<br />
a such as in schlafen or laufen; Er schläft → Schlaf!; Sie läuft →<br />
Lauf!<br />
Table 7.5: The Main Irregular Verbs<br />
sein<br />
werden a<br />
haben b<br />
sei<br />
seien wir<br />
werde<br />
werden wir<br />
habe<br />
haben wir<br />
seid<br />
werdet<br />
habt<br />
seien Sie<br />
werden Sie<br />
haben Sie<br />
a a very uncommon imperative<br />
b Notice that haben follows the regular pattern of verbs.
is formed by dropping the ‘t’ from the 3rd person singular form <strong>an</strong>d removing <strong>an</strong>y<br />
umlaut that doesn’t occur in the infinitive:<br />
49<br />
Trink[e]! Wasch[e]! Geh[e]! Lies! Iss! Sprich! Lern[e]!<br />
Whether or not the ‘e’ is added depends on the last conson<strong>an</strong>t:<br />
1. if the stems ends in ‘d’ or ‘t’ the ‘e’ must be there:<br />
Warte mal! Arbeite fleißiger! Binde deine Schuhe zu!<br />
2. if the stem ends in ‘m’ or ‘n’, the ‘e’ must be there, unless the ‘m’ or ‘n’ is<br />
preceded by m,n,r,l or ‘h’, in which case it is optional:<br />
Atme l<strong>an</strong>gsam! Widme mir ein Buch! Rechne es doch mal aus! BUT:<br />
Kämm[e] dich! Qualm[e] nicht so! Lern[e] fleißig! Rühm[e] dich nicht selbst!<br />
3. verbs whose infinitives end in -eln or -ern do take <strong>an</strong> ‘e’ on the end but may<br />
lose the one before the l/r, depending on style:<br />
H<strong>an</strong>d[e]le! Samm[e]le! Förd[e]re!<br />
With the ‘e’ is more formal <strong>an</strong>d almost always used in written Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
4. verbs whose 2nd person singular form ch<strong>an</strong>ges the central vowel <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong> ‘i’ do not<br />
have the final ‘e’:<br />
Lies! Wirf! Stirb! Verdirb! Iss! Miss! Friss! Sprich!Vergiss! Nimm! Hilf!<br />
Quill! Gib! Schilt! Wirb! Sieh!<br />
Word Order<br />
1. when used with a subordinate clause–just as in English:<br />
Pass auf, wenn du etwas über Radfahren lernen willst!<br />
2. regarding flavoring particles – see next Section<br />
3. negation – nothing unusual here. Follows patterns described in Chapter 10<br />
More comparable <strong>to</strong> English that French: Passt nicht auf! Schaut nicht her. . . !<br />
Mach keine Ausreden! etc.
50<br />
4. <strong>an</strong>omaly: aufhören: hör auf mit. . . ! instead of hör mit . . . auf!<br />
Flavoring particles in imperative sentences<br />
In normal speech there are m<strong>an</strong>y words which nearly every native speakers uses<br />
but which students do not usually learn. In most books they are called “flavoring<br />
particles” for lack of a more descriptive term. Examples of a similar English phenomenon<br />
are like, sort of, you know, you see. In Germ<strong>an</strong> they are much more common<br />
<strong>an</strong>d occur not only in speech, but also <strong>to</strong> some extent in formal writing. One must<br />
remember that people rarely give straight comm<strong>an</strong>ds, as they are much <strong>to</strong>o harsh<br />
<strong>an</strong>d usually do not result in the speaker obtaining what s/he w<strong>an</strong>ts. Take a look at<br />
the following sentences:<br />
Bob, cle<strong>an</strong> your room.<br />
Alice, try harder this time.<br />
Just wait!<br />
Most would agree, these comm<strong>an</strong>ds would sound a lot gentler if they were a little<br />
less direct. Alice <strong>an</strong>d Bob be more compli<strong>an</strong>t if one said something like:<br />
Bob, why don’t you cle<strong>an</strong> your room?<br />
Alice, try just a little harder this time.<br />
Wait just a second!<br />
Naturally, the in<strong>to</strong>nation also plays a big role here.<br />
One should not be surprised <strong>to</strong> hear that Germ<strong>an</strong> has the same tendencies.<br />
Luckily the imperative form does not ch<strong>an</strong>ge at all, rather, two words (the so-called<br />
“flavoring particles”) are added, usually right after the imperative form (i.e. including<br />
the pronoun in the plural forms): doch <strong>an</strong>d mal. This gives a very similar effect <strong>to</strong><br />
the Why don’t. . . :<br />
Räume doch dein Zimmer auf!<br />
Bemühe dich doch!<br />
Warte mal kurz!
51<br />
Although some instruc<strong>to</strong>rs tell their students <strong>to</strong> avoid using such particles in the<br />
beginning stages, one will rarely hear real Germ<strong>an</strong> comm<strong>an</strong>ds without them, <strong>an</strong>d it<br />
is therefore the opinion of the author that even beginning learners try <strong>to</strong> use them.<br />
7.2.3 Subjunctive<br />
The subjunctive mood (Konjuntiv) belongs <strong>to</strong> the more adv<strong>an</strong>ced <strong>to</strong>pics <strong>an</strong>d<br />
may be only briefly mentioned in some first year courses. Nonetheless, it may be in<br />
the first sentence one hears when one arrives in a Germ<strong>an</strong>-speaking country <strong>an</strong>d is of<br />
utmost import<strong>an</strong>ce for <strong>an</strong> introduc<strong>to</strong>ry Germ<strong>an</strong> course.<br />
Uses:<br />
1. when something did not happen or is not going <strong>to</strong> happen, or is not true (contrary<br />
<strong>to</strong> fact):<br />
as if, almost, I wish. . .<br />
2. politeness: möchte (gern), hätte (gern), würde (also in questions)<br />
3. if, when clauses<br />
4. when reporting something that may or not be true–her the speaker/author is<br />
dist<strong>an</strong>cing him/herself from the content of the statement <strong>an</strong>d withholding a<br />
judgment concerning its factuality (indirect speech)<br />
Formation:<br />
1. for weak verbs, it is the same as the imperfect (praeteritum) form<br />
2. for strong verbs, one takes the praeteritum form ch<strong>an</strong>ges the first vowel <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong><br />
umlaut where possible. The first person singular also adds <strong>an</strong> -e as a suffix.<br />
There are m<strong>an</strong>y common verbs that are particularly old <strong>an</strong>d therefore particularly<br />
stubborn, such as helfen (hülfe), sterben (stürbe)<br />
3. the auxiliary verb würden (Eng.: would) is often used with the main verb as <strong>an</strong><br />
infinitive instead of forming the subjunctive of the main verb. This is particularly<br />
common in polite forms.
52<br />
4. m<strong>an</strong>y verbs have two subjunctive forms for the two different types of subjunctive<br />
(see Table 7.6) one is always not built from the praeteritum <strong>an</strong>d must be learned<br />
separately<br />
For the subjunctive forms of modal verbs, see page 57.
53<br />
Table 7.6: The Two Types of Subjunctive in Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
There are actually two types of subjunctive in Germ<strong>an</strong>:<br />
• one for comm<strong>an</strong>ds <strong>an</strong>d indirect speech<br />
• one for politeness <strong>an</strong>d one for conditions that are contrary <strong>to</strong> fact or that<br />
could be true but are not<br />
They are usually called Subjunctive or Konjunctive I <strong>an</strong>d II. One c<strong>an</strong> tell them<br />
apart by:<br />
• their usage: see above<br />
• their form: subjunctive II is the form described above or würden + infinitive;<br />
subjunctive I is characterized by the fact that the 3rd person<br />
singular form looks like the indicative 1st person singular (habe, verstehe,<br />
sehe, mache, etc.)–if the form c<strong>an</strong>not be differentiated from the indicative<br />
form (such as with haben), the form for subjunctive II is used or würden<br />
+ infinitive<br />
• no book should call these rules, as one c<strong>an</strong>, at best, speak of tendencies<br />
in usage a<br />
involving the varying forms<br />
a [Duden, 163]
54<br />
Examples:<br />
Indirect speech:<br />
1. Er sagt, ich sei sein Bruder.<br />
2. Er sagt, ich soll sein Bruder sein.<br />
3. In der Zeitung steht es, er habe sie nicht gek<strong>an</strong>nt.<br />
4. M<strong>an</strong> behauptet, sie hätten sich früher gek<strong>an</strong>nt.<br />
Comm<strong>an</strong>ds:<br />
1. M<strong>an</strong> möge dich herzlich willkommen heissen.<br />
2. Es lebe der König.<br />
3. M<strong>an</strong> nehme 2 Eier. . .<br />
Polite forms:<br />
1. Könnten Sie mir helfen?<br />
2. Würdet ihr die Tür offen lassen?<br />
3. Dürfte ich ein bißchen bleiben?<br />
Conditions contrary <strong>to</strong> fact:<br />
1. Fast hätte er es geschafft!<br />
2. Wenn ich nur mehr Geld hätte . . .<br />
3. Wenn du nicht so laut wärest, könntest du in der Küche spielen.<br />
4. Am Telefon hörst du dich so <strong>an</strong>, als stündest du im nächsten Zimmer!<br />
7.3 Modal Verbs<br />
A modal verb is a sort of helping verb that expresses a wish, intention, or–on<br />
a more basic level–a relation <strong>to</strong> the action in the sentence.<br />
This action is shown<br />
by <strong>an</strong>other verb in the sentence, which must be in the infinitive. In Germ<strong>an</strong>, this<br />
infinitive comes at the end of the sentence in main clauses (but not in subordinate<br />
clauses). There are, however, m<strong>an</strong>y cases where the intent is so obvious that the<br />
infinitive c<strong>an</strong> be omitted-some examples are below in Table 7.8.
55<br />
7.3.1 Conjugation<br />
The 1st <strong>an</strong>d 3rd singular forms are always the same in modal verbs; there is <strong>an</strong><br />
ablaut in the singular in all but sollen (<strong>an</strong>d möchten); <strong>an</strong>d the plural forms of 1st,<br />
2nd formal, <strong>an</strong>d 3rd always identical <strong>to</strong> the infinitive.<br />
Notice that patterns: all the 1st <strong>an</strong>d 3rd person singular forms are identical <strong>an</strong>d<br />
the infinitive is identical <strong>to</strong> the 1st, 3rd persons plural <strong>an</strong>d the 2nd person formal. No<br />
vowel ch<strong>an</strong>ges occur in the plural but in every person in the singular in all verbs but<br />
sollen. There is <strong>an</strong>other verb, mögen, whose subjunctive form is very similar <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong>d<br />
often used as as modal verb. As sollen, it <strong>to</strong>o has no Ablaut (stem vowel ch<strong>an</strong>ge).<br />
Modal verbs are auxiliary verbs which are usually accomp<strong>an</strong>ied by <strong>an</strong> infinitive.<br />
They are sollen, wollen, möchten (special case), dürfen, müssen, können.<br />
things <strong>to</strong> look out for.<br />
• verbs or subjunctive forms of verbs that usually act like modals: möchten,<br />
lassen<br />
• verbs that have the me<strong>an</strong>ings similar <strong>to</strong> modal verbs:<br />
mögen (see möchten above), gern haben, vermögen.<br />
Past tenses of modal verbs.<br />
There are two ways <strong>to</strong> indicate modal actions<br />
in the past:<br />
1. with the present perfect tense–in this case the past participle of the modal verb<br />
is only used when the infinitive c<strong>an</strong> be ellided (see Table 7.8), otherwise the<br />
auxiliary form of haben is used <strong>an</strong>d the modal auxiliary is moved <strong>to</strong> the end of<br />
the clause, i.e. after the infinitive complement:<br />
Das habe ich nicht machen dürfen.<br />
2. with the imperfect–the shorter <strong>an</strong>d more common way is <strong>to</strong> use the imperfect<br />
form of the modal auxiliary (sollten, durften, konnten, mussten, wollten,<br />
mochten) <strong>an</strong>d leave the rest of the sentence as it is:<br />
Das durfte ich nicht machen.
56<br />
Table 7.7: Conjugation of Modal Verbs <strong>an</strong>d möchten<br />
For the impatient:<br />
dürfen<br />
können<br />
ich darf<br />
wir dürfen<br />
ich k<strong>an</strong>n<br />
wir können<br />
du darfst<br />
ihr dürft/Sie dürfen<br />
du k<strong>an</strong>nst<br />
ihr könnt/Sie können<br />
er,sie,es darf<br />
sie dürfen<br />
er,sie,es k<strong>an</strong>n<br />
sie können<br />
müssen<br />
wollen<br />
ich muss<br />
wir müssen<br />
ich will<br />
wir wollen<br />
du musst<br />
ihr müsst/Sie müssen<br />
du willst<br />
ihr wollt/Sie wollen<br />
er,sie,es muss<br />
sie müssen<br />
er,sie,es will<br />
sie wollen<br />
sollen<br />
möchten<br />
ich soll<br />
wir sollen<br />
ich möchte<br />
wir möchten<br />
du sollst<br />
ihr sollt/Sie sollen<br />
du möchtest<br />
ihr möchtet/Sie möchten<br />
er,sie,es soll<br />
sie sollen<br />
er,sie,es möchte<br />
sie möchten
57<br />
Table 7.8: When One C<strong>an</strong> Leave Out the Infinitive<br />
direction When the intended infinitive expresses movement,<br />
such as is the case with laufen, fahren,<br />
fliegen, etc. it may be omitted:<br />
Ich möchte nach Fr<strong>an</strong>kreich.<br />
Ich muss in die<br />
Schweiz. Morgen wollen wir zu dir.<br />
ellipses When the intended infinitive is clear enough<br />
without being stated, it is usually omitted:<br />
Ich will das aber nicht [machen].<br />
Er k<strong>an</strong>n gut<br />
Deutsch [sprechen].<br />
Note that the present perfect with main verbs (i.e. when the infinitive c<strong>an</strong>not be<br />
ellided) is used infrequently with the indicative mood, <strong>an</strong>d that the construction is<br />
mostly used with subjunctive forms. A careful student of Germ<strong>an</strong> will not mistake<br />
the imperfect use of modals with the irreal use of the subjunctive:<br />
1. Das durfte ich nicht machen.<br />
2. Das hätte ich nicht machen dürfen.<br />
In sentence one, the speaker was not allowed <strong>to</strong> do whatever is being spoken about,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d in sentence two the speaker did do it but should not have. See Section 7.2.3 for<br />
more information.<br />
subjunctive forms.<br />
There are two main uses for the subjunctive forms of<br />
modal verbs: contrary <strong>to</strong> fact <strong>an</strong>d forms of politeness.<br />
1. As mentioned above in the previous section, the present perfect subjunctive is<br />
just the present perfect indicative with the subjunctive form of haben. Thus:<br />
(a) Das habe ich nicht tun sollen.<br />
(b) Das hat sie nicht sagen können.<br />
(c) M<strong>an</strong> hat mir nicht helfen können.
58<br />
2. In order <strong>to</strong> make requests more polite, Germ<strong>an</strong> uses the subjunctive forms of<br />
the modal verbs. This is consistent both with the tendency <strong>to</strong> use würden with<br />
other verbs as well as with the English practice: would, c<strong>an</strong>/could, may/might.<br />
Note that, as mentioned above, möchten is not a true modal verb but the<br />
subjunctive form of mögen. It is already a polite form.<br />
7.4 Tenses<br />
The time in which <strong>an</strong> action takes place is defined by the tense of the verb. Since<br />
tense is within the verb itself, forms using auxiliary verbs put <strong>to</strong>gether are not tense.<br />
Thus English does not have a future tense, since the auxiliary verb will rather th<strong>an</strong><br />
word endings is used <strong>to</strong> signify actions which take place in the future.<br />
Although<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> has its own set of tenses <strong>an</strong>d expresses things in a much different way th<strong>an</strong><br />
English, this is one thing they have in common. When we speak of tense here, as<br />
is done in most books <strong>an</strong>d courses, we will be focusing on the time expressed <strong>an</strong>d<br />
not on the strict rules of form; therefore “future” is h<strong>an</strong>dled in its own section just<br />
as the other tenses. This section explains the me<strong>an</strong>ings <strong>an</strong>d uses of the concept of<br />
tense, while some more in depth remarks <strong>an</strong>d the formation of each tense is h<strong>an</strong>dled<br />
individually in Sections 7.4.1–7.4.6.<br />
It must also be pointed out that tense is not influenced by nor directly related<br />
<strong>to</strong> mood or voice, <strong>an</strong>d that each tense has different forms for the different moods <strong>an</strong>d<br />
voices.<br />
The two import<strong>an</strong>t pieces of information in regards <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong>alyzing tense are the<br />
spoken time <strong>an</strong>d point of reference. The spoken time is now, or whenever the<br />
sentence is uttered, <strong>an</strong>d the point of reference is the time at which the said event<br />
takes place.<br />
Examples of when <strong>to</strong> use which tense.<br />
• It is 3:00 pm, <strong>an</strong>d our speaker is going <strong>to</strong> eat dinner <strong>to</strong>night at 6:00 pm.<br />
Ich esse heute Abend um 18 Uhr. or Ich werde (heute Abend) um 18 Uhr essen.
59<br />
past perfect imperfect present present/future I future II<br />
present perfect<br />
Figure 7.1: A Visual Representation of Germ<strong>an</strong> Tense<br />
Without the adverbial phrase heute Abend, the first sentence has a habitual<br />
as opposed <strong>to</strong> a one-time me<strong>an</strong>ing. The second sentence is in <strong>an</strong>y event more<br />
resolute or unwavering th<strong>an</strong> the first.<br />
Likewise, if one were <strong>to</strong> be asked When are you going <strong>to</strong> be finished? two possible<br />
<strong>an</strong>swers are Ich bin um 19 Uhr fertig <strong>an</strong>d Ich werde um 19 Uhr fertig sein, where<br />
the second gives the impression that the speaker w<strong>an</strong>ts <strong>to</strong> dispell <strong>an</strong>y doubts<br />
that s/he might not be finished by then.<br />
• If someone were <strong>to</strong> invite the speaker <strong>to</strong> make pl<strong>an</strong>s for a time after this scheduled<br />
dinner, the <strong>an</strong>swer might be: Ich werde um 19 Uhr (schon) gegessen haben.<br />
A sample sentence in which the spoken time is 4:00 pm, the pl<strong>an</strong>ned time <strong>to</strong><br />
eat is 6:00 pm, <strong>an</strong>d the point of reference (underlined in this sentence) is 8:00<br />
pm:<br />
Bis ich dich wiedersehe, werde ich schon gegessen haben.<br />
• Ich stehe (gewöhnlich) um 7 Uhr auf.<br />
displays habitual behavior which is<br />
strengthened by gewöhnlich, whereas the sentence:<br />
Ich bin um 7 Uhr aufgest<strong>an</strong>den me<strong>an</strong>s the speaker got up one time at 7:00 am.<br />
Without a point of reference, it will be assumed that this morning is me<strong>an</strong>t.<br />
• The following sentence illustrates how the time was longer in the past:<br />
Ich mußte um 10 Uhr nach Wien, also bin ich um 7 aufgest<strong>an</strong>den.<br />
• The sentence: Ich st<strong>an</strong>d um 7 Uhr auf most likely refers <strong>to</strong> a general action in<br />
the past, such as While in college, I got up at 10:00, [but after I beg<strong>an</strong> working. . . ]
60<br />
• At 3:00 pm, one describes what he did this morning–he will use the present<br />
perfect, except with the few verbs which almost always are used in the imperfect<br />
form (see Section 7.4.3).<br />
• Ich bin um 7 Uhr aufgest<strong>an</strong>den und habe mir die Zähne geputzt. D<strong>an</strong>n habe ich<br />
gefrühstückt und Nachrichten gehört. . .<br />
Using imperfect is more appropriate when telling a s<strong>to</strong>ry (the his<strong>to</strong>rical past)<br />
which <strong>to</strong>ok place this morning but is <strong>to</strong>ld as a s<strong>to</strong>ry with a removed point of reference:<br />
• Ich sah den Polizisten, und er sah mich. Er konnte nicht glauben, dass ich vor<br />
der gebrochenen Fensterscheibe st<strong>an</strong>d, und er sagte “Halt!”. . .<br />
Note that the imperfect is not used with a concrete point of reference in the<br />
future–it must always be a completed action or a habitual action in the past which<br />
no longer takes place. However, the present perfect tense is used <strong>to</strong> describe completed<br />
actions, even if they have not taken place yet:<br />
• Bis. . . [By the time. . . ] <strong>an</strong>d nach. . . [after. . . ]<br />
• Bis wir uns wieder sehen, habe ich die Karten schon gekauft.<br />
• Nach 19 Uhr habe ich schon gegessen.<br />
In these sentences, the point of reference is in the future (Bis wir uns wieder<br />
sehen, Nach 19 Uhr), but the action will be completed by then.<br />
Note that both of these sentences are impossible with the imperfect:<br />
• *Bis wir uns wieder sehen, kaufte ich die Karten schon.<br />
• *Nach 19 Uhr aß ich schon.<br />
This is what the past perfect (or plusquamperfect) is used for. For example:<br />
• Nachdem du aus dem Kino gekommen warst, sah ich dich gleich.<br />
For simult<strong>an</strong>eous actions in the past, als is used.<br />
• Als du aus dem Kino kamst, sah ich dich gleich.
61<br />
Note that this sentence would be impossible with the present perfect because<br />
it does not refer <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong> exact point in time, but rather <strong>to</strong> the fact that the action is<br />
completed:<br />
• *Als du aus dem Kino gekommen bist, habe ich dich gleich gesehen.<br />
On the order of tenses in Germ<strong>an</strong>:<br />
• in present - present the events take place at the same time<br />
• in imperfect - imperfect the events take place at the same time<br />
• in past perfect - past perfect the events take place at the same time<br />
• in past perfect - imperfect the imperfect event <strong>to</strong>ok place after the past perfect<br />
event, <strong>an</strong>d both are in the past<br />
Ich sah dich erst, nachdem du schon gewunken hattest. (winken=<strong>to</strong> wave)<br />
• in present perfect - present the present event <strong>to</strong>ok place after the present perfect<br />
event, <strong>an</strong>d the present perfect event is completed<br />
• in present - future the event in the future has not yet happened<br />
• in present perfect - future perfect the event in future perfect will be completed<br />
after the event in the present perfect has been completed, but exactly when<br />
that is in reference <strong>to</strong> the spoken time depends up the context or the point of<br />
reference.<br />
7.4.1 Present<br />
The present tense is the tense used in this sentence <strong>an</strong>d <strong>an</strong>y sentence in which<br />
the verb is in the present tense form <strong>an</strong>d the point of reference is the same as the<br />
spoken time. Examples are below:<br />
English<br />
I am eating, I eat, I do eat<br />
I sleep, I do sleep, I am sleeping<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
Ich esse<br />
Ich schlafe<br />
Notice that in addition <strong>to</strong> tense,<br />
English verbs also have aspect, which is used <strong>to</strong> determine if something is habitual,
62<br />
a one time action, or is happening at this moment right now. Germ<strong>an</strong> uses adverbs<br />
<strong>an</strong>d context <strong>to</strong> achieve this. For example,<br />
The English sentences: I am sleeping, I do sleep, <strong>an</strong>d I sleep would all be tr<strong>an</strong>slated<br />
in<strong>to</strong> Germ<strong>an</strong> as Ich schlafe without context, but within a conversation <strong>an</strong> effort should<br />
be made <strong>to</strong> make sure that every nu<strong>an</strong>ce possible is tr<strong>an</strong>slated as well. In order <strong>to</strong><br />
illustrate that the event is happening right now, such as the case is with the English<br />
present progressive (I am sleeping), Germ<strong>an</strong> uses the adverb gerade: Ich schlafe gerade.<br />
In order <strong>to</strong> convey that <strong>an</strong> action is habitual, the present tense often uses the adverb<br />
gewöhnlich:<br />
• I get up at six. → Ich stehe (gewöhnlich) um sechs auf.<br />
Because Germ<strong>an</strong> does not have aspect, the “present tense” refers <strong>to</strong> a broader<br />
possible time sp<strong>an</strong> th<strong>an</strong> the English “present tense” does (which is broken down in<strong>to</strong><br />
aspect). In Germ<strong>an</strong>, the present tense is the tense used most often <strong>to</strong> refer <strong>to</strong> actions<br />
in the future. See Section 7.4.4.<br />
7.4.2 Perfect<br />
Formation of the Perfect<br />
The present perfect tense in Germ<strong>an</strong> looks a lot like the English present perfect<br />
but usually has a different me<strong>an</strong>ing. It is formed with <strong>an</strong> auxiliary (either haben<br />
or sein, depending on the verb–see page 64) <strong>an</strong>d the past participle of the verb.<br />
Just as with modal verbs (which are also auxiliaries), the conjugated form of haben<br />
or sein appears in its expected position in the sentence, <strong>an</strong>d the participle appears<br />
at the end, just like the infinitive in a modal predicate. For example:<br />
Ich habe meine Hausaufgaben schon gemacht.<br />
Notice the prefix on the past participle <strong>an</strong>d ‘t’ ending of this regular (Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
schwach or ‘weak’) verb. This is the default form, but there are several reasons why<br />
m<strong>an</strong>y of the verbs you encounter do not match this pattern:<br />
1. the verb has a prefix, either separable or inseparable
63<br />
2. the verb is stark (‘strong’), i.e. it just does not follow the pattern<br />
Also, combinations of the two possibilities above are not uncommon. The reason why<br />
most of the first verbs one learns in a foreign l<strong>an</strong>guage are irregular is because they<br />
are usually the oldest <strong>an</strong>d most stubborn. Instead of resembling the patterns words<br />
fell in<strong>to</strong> when the l<strong>an</strong>guage originated (i.e. became different enough <strong>to</strong> be called a<br />
l<strong>an</strong>guage <strong>an</strong>d no longer just a dialect), the common words were so deep-rooted in the<br />
speakers’ minds that a replacement would have been impossible. Compare the past<br />
participle of English words such as sleep, drink, think, see, go, etc. <strong>to</strong> newer <strong>an</strong>d more<br />
common ones such as tr<strong>an</strong>spire, type, configure, etc.<br />
Learning past participles<br />
There are two keys guidelines for learning all the past participles of all the verbs:<br />
For weak verbs take the infinitive of the verb, drop the ‘-en’ ending <strong>an</strong>d add a ‘-t’;<br />
add a ‘ge-’ <strong>to</strong> the beginning of the non-prefixed verbs or between the prefix <strong>an</strong>d<br />
the root <strong>to</strong> the verbs with sep-arable prefixes. Verbs with insep-arable prefixes<br />
as well as those ending in -ieren take no prefix whatsoever.<br />
stellen → gestellt<br />
aufstellen → aufgestellt<br />
verstellen → verstellt<br />
For strong verbs <strong>an</strong>d the so-called mixed verbs there are several patterns which<br />
c<strong>an</strong> help you remember the forms but <strong>to</strong> make ‘rules’ of these would be simply<br />
<strong>to</strong>o abstract at this point. For now it is best <strong>to</strong> simply memorize them.<br />
Note that the rules for the absence of ‘ge-’ still apply.<br />
What makes them<br />
strong/mixed is the fact that the vowel ch<strong>an</strong>ges (Ablaut). The final ‘-en’ is not<br />
dropped <strong>an</strong>d replaced by a ‘-t’ in the strong verbs but is in the mixed.<br />
ausziehen → ausgezogen [stark]<br />
versehen → versehen [stark]
64<br />
denken → gedacht [gemischt]<br />
bringen → gebracht [gemischt]<br />
sein or haben?<br />
As mentioned above, the auxiliary verb for the present perfect c<strong>an</strong> be either<br />
haben or sein, depending on the verb in question–or better: depending on whether<br />
the verb indicates a ch<strong>an</strong>ge in motion or condition or does not. If the verb is a<br />
motion verb–such as <strong>to</strong> run, <strong>to</strong> go–or a verb indicating a ch<strong>an</strong>ge in condition–such as<br />
<strong>to</strong> become, <strong>to</strong> die, <strong>to</strong> happen, <strong>to</strong> break–the auxiliary is the form of sein that agrees<br />
with the subject (i.e. bin, bist, etc., depending on number <strong>an</strong>d person of the subject).<br />
If not, it is conjugated with the correct form of haben. There are almost no verbs that<br />
do not conform <strong>to</strong> this pattern (other th<strong>an</strong> sein itself. Note also that all tr<strong>an</strong>sitive<br />
verbs are conjugated with haben.<br />
Me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
As mentioned above, there is a difference in me<strong>an</strong>ing between the English <strong>an</strong>d<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> present perfect tenses. There are several uses in Germ<strong>an</strong> for this tense, but<br />
all but one are relatively obscure <strong>an</strong>d unimport<strong>an</strong>t for beginners:<br />
Its commonest use is <strong>to</strong> signify that the action has taken place <strong>an</strong>d has already been<br />
completed at the time the sentence is uttered. The time the act was completed c<strong>an</strong><br />
be given by adverbs:<br />
Ich habe gestern ein Fahrrad gekauft<br />
Ich habe schon gegessen.<br />
Notice that in English this me<strong>an</strong>ing c<strong>an</strong> represented by several different forms (aspects)<br />
of the past tense:<br />
• I have bought a bike.<br />
• I was buying a bike [when. . . ].<br />
• I bought a bike.<br />
• I did buy a bike.
65<br />
7.4.3 Imperfect<br />
Often referred <strong>to</strong> as the ‘simple past,’ the ‘praeteritum,’ or the ‘his<strong>to</strong>ric past,’<br />
the imperfect tense consists either of a different verb form (strong <strong>an</strong>d mixed verbs)<br />
or <strong>an</strong> inserted -t- <strong>an</strong>d refers <strong>to</strong> events that <strong>to</strong>ok place in the past tense. It is used<br />
both for habitual <strong>an</strong>d one time actions in the past, but not for actions which beg<strong>an</strong> in<br />
the past <strong>an</strong>d are still continuing. It is more often used in written th<strong>an</strong> spoken except<br />
with the verbs in Table 7.9, for which it is also used in spoken Germ<strong>an</strong> because the<br />
verbs occur so often <strong>an</strong>d are shorter th<strong>an</strong> the present perfect forms.<br />
In addition the the verbs sein <strong>an</strong>d haben, the following verbs are used in the<br />
imperfect more often th<strong>an</strong> the present perfect in spoken Germ<strong>an</strong> because of their<br />
short forms: denken, finden, einsehen<br />
7.4.4 Future<br />
As mentioned in Sections 7.4 <strong>an</strong>d 7.4.1, there is no “future tense” in Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
just as there is none in English, <strong>an</strong>d the present tense with adverbs of time is often<br />
used <strong>to</strong> express the sense of future actions.<br />
Examples:<br />
I’ll meet you at 8 <strong>to</strong>night.<br />
I think I’ll go <strong>to</strong> the concert with you<br />
next week.<br />
Ich treffe dich um 8 heute Abend.<br />
Ich glaube, ich gehe nächste Woche mit<br />
dir aufs Konzert.<br />
Table 7.9: Imperfect Forms of sein <strong>an</strong>d haben<br />
sein<br />
haben<br />
singular<br />
plural<br />
singular<br />
plural<br />
ich war<br />
wir waren<br />
ich hatte<br />
wir hatten<br />
du warst<br />
ihr wart/Sie waren<br />
du hattest<br />
ihr hattet/Sie hatten<br />
er,sie,es waren<br />
sie waren<br />
er,sie,es hatte<br />
sie hatten
66<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> the present tense with adverbs of time, the verb werden + infinitive<br />
is used <strong>to</strong> express events in the future. It is not used interch<strong>an</strong>geably with the present<br />
tense <strong>to</strong> express the future tense because it is less dependent on context or time<br />
adverbs <strong>to</strong> exhibit its futurity.<br />
In addition, it has a more resolute <strong>to</strong>ne th<strong>an</strong> the<br />
present tense + a time adverb.<br />
In addition <strong>to</strong> the futurity werden + infinitive, it c<strong>an</strong> also exhibit <strong>an</strong> assumption<br />
on the part of the speaker. In this case, the said even may still be happening or not<br />
have even happened yet.<br />
Der Thomas wird kr<strong>an</strong>k sein. Thomas is probably sick.<br />
Often, adverbs such as wohl, vermutlich, wahrscheinlich, vielleicht are used <strong>to</strong><br />
enh<strong>an</strong>ce the fact that the speaker sees this only as a possibility <strong>an</strong>d not as fact or<br />
that the speaker casts doubt on the statement:<br />
• Das wirst du wohl am besten können, nicht wahr?<br />
• Mein Vater wird vermutlich das Essen bezahlen.<br />
7.4.5 Future Perfect<br />
The future perfect, also known as ‘future II,’ is the future counterpart <strong>to</strong> the<br />
present perfect. It not only exhibits all the characteristics of the present perfect in<br />
relation <strong>to</strong> when it takes place, it also has the possibility aspect the future tense has<br />
as explained above. In this case, the event is complete, <strong>an</strong>d the speaker is speculating<br />
about the outcome or <strong>an</strong>other aspect of the event:<br />
• Mein Vater wird für das Au<strong>to</strong> bezahlt haben.<br />
• Ich werde dich wohl gewarnt haben?!<br />
It is formed with werden + present perfect infinitive (see Section 7.1.1).<br />
7.4.6 Past Perfect<br />
The past perfect, or ‘plusquamperfect,’ is used <strong>to</strong> refer <strong>to</strong> events that were completed<br />
before <strong>an</strong> event in the past <strong>to</strong>ok place. For example, if it is now 3:00 pm <strong>an</strong>d
67<br />
Herr Schmidt called his wife at 11:30 am <strong>an</strong>d then ate lunch at 12:00 pm, one might<br />
say:<br />
Er hatte seine Frau schon <strong>an</strong>gerufen, bevor er Mittag gegessen hat.<br />
Notice that it looks exactly as the present perfect, but the auxiliary verb haben,<br />
which would be sein if the verb exhibited motion or a ch<strong>an</strong>ge of condition, is in the<br />
perfect. The same is true for all verbs:<br />
1. M<strong>an</strong> war schon geg<strong>an</strong>gen, als Sie gekommen sind.<br />
2. Wir hatten ihn schon sehen können, ehe er die Fahne trug.<br />
3. Ihr seid erst zu Hause gewesen, nachdem wir <strong>an</strong>gerufen hatten.<br />
7.5 Verb Types<br />
7.5.1 Full Verbs<br />
A full verb is a verb that c<strong>an</strong> st<strong>an</strong>d on its own as a predicate in a sentence <strong>an</strong>d<br />
has a lexical (as opposed <strong>to</strong> just a grammatical) worth. These are the normal main<br />
verbs one me<strong>an</strong>s most of the time when referring the predicate of a sentence. If it is<br />
not <strong>an</strong> auxiliary verb, a reflexive verb, a function verb, a modal verb, or <strong>an</strong> infinitive,<br />
it is a full verb.<br />
7.5.2 Auxiliary Verbs<br />
Auxiliary verbs, also known as helping verbs, are the verbs haben, sein, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
werden when they are used in conjunction with main verbs <strong>to</strong> perform a grammatical<br />
function in a sentence. The functions include building the passive, modal constructions,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d perfect constructions.<br />
7.5.3 Reflexive Verbs<br />
Reflexive verbs are verbs that have reflexive pronouns as their objects (see Section<br />
4.3). There are few verbs which are truly reflexive, that is, verbs that must be<br />
used with reflexive pronouns, although this number is much higher th<strong>an</strong> in English.
68<br />
Usually when one speaks of reflexive verbs in Germ<strong>an</strong>, one me<strong>an</strong>s <strong>an</strong>y predicate that<br />
has a reflexive pronoun as <strong>an</strong> object. The three most import<strong>an</strong>t characteristics of<br />
reflexive verbs are:<br />
1. they are tr<strong>an</strong>sitive, which me<strong>an</strong>s they form their perfect tenses with haben<br />
2. they are all active, since the object acted upon is acted upon by the subject<br />
(itself)<br />
3. as mentioned in Section 4.3, reflexive verbs are often used in Germ<strong>an</strong> when<br />
English would use possessive pronouns <strong>to</strong> show possession:<br />
• Ich putze mir die Zähne.<br />
• Er hat sich das Bein gebrochen.<br />
• Hast du dir den Finger geschnitten?<br />
7.5.4 Phrasal Verbs<br />
There are m<strong>an</strong>y verbs in Germ<strong>an</strong> which take on a different me<strong>an</strong>ing when they<br />
are used <strong>to</strong>gether with certain prepositional phrases.<br />
These are <strong>an</strong>alogous <strong>to</strong> the<br />
phrasal verbs in English, <strong>an</strong>d although they are not a separate grammatical category,<br />
they should be h<strong>an</strong>dled as a class of their own. Table 7.10 contains several examples<br />
of the commonest <strong>an</strong>d most import<strong>an</strong>t function verbs. It is import<strong>an</strong>t that one know<br />
not only the verb <strong>an</strong>d its conjugation but also the preposition <strong>an</strong>d the case which it<br />
governs (see Chapter 8).<br />
Table 7.10: Phrasal Verbs<br />
verb preposition + case<br />
[perfect infinitive]<br />
abhängen von + dat<br />
[abgeh<strong>an</strong>gen haben]<br />
English me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
<strong>to</strong> depend on someone or<br />
something<br />
sample sentence<br />
Es hängt alles von deiner<br />
Einstellung ab.
69<br />
verb preposition + case<br />
[perfect infinitive]<br />
<strong>an</strong>f<strong>an</strong>gen mit + dat<br />
[<strong>an</strong>gef<strong>an</strong>gen haben]<br />
aufhören mit + dat<br />
[aufgehört haben]<br />
beginnen mit + dat<br />
[begonnen haben]<br />
jem<strong>an</strong>den bitten um + acc<br />
[gebeten haben]<br />
denken <strong>an</strong> + acc<br />
[gedacht haben]<br />
nachdenken über + acc<br />
[nachgedacht haben]<br />
jem<strong>an</strong>dem d<strong>an</strong>ken für +<br />
acc<br />
[ged<strong>an</strong>kt haben]<br />
jem<strong>an</strong>den fragen nach +<br />
dat<br />
[gefragt haben]<br />
glauben <strong>an</strong> + acc<br />
[geglaubt haben]<br />
Table 7.10–Continued<br />
English me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
<strong>to</strong> start, <strong>to</strong> beginn with<br />
someone or something<br />
<strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p with someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> start, <strong>to</strong> begin with<br />
someone or something<br />
<strong>to</strong> ask someone for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> think about someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> think about someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> th<strong>an</strong>k someone for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> ask someone about<br />
someone or something<br />
<strong>to</strong> believe in someone or<br />
something<br />
sample sentence<br />
Der Arzt hat mit der<br />
Prozedur noch nicht <strong>an</strong>gef<strong>an</strong>gen.<br />
Hören Sie mit der Fragerei<br />
auf!<br />
Mein Bruder hat letztes<br />
Jahr mit der Schule begonnen.<br />
M<strong>an</strong> hat mich um<br />
Verständnis gebeten.<br />
M<strong>an</strong> muss oft <strong>an</strong> seine<br />
Kinder denken.<br />
Ich habe l<strong>an</strong>ge über deine<br />
Erklärung nachgedacht.<br />
Ich möchte Ihnen g<strong>an</strong>z herzlich<br />
für Ihre Hilfe.<br />
Habt ihr sie nach einer<br />
zweiten Serviette gefragt?<br />
Ich glaube <strong>an</strong> Gott.
70<br />
verb preposition + case<br />
[perfect infinitive]<br />
jem<strong>an</strong>den halten für + acc<br />
[gehalten haben]<br />
hoffen auf + acc<br />
[gehofft haben]<br />
lachen über + acc<br />
[gelacht haben]<br />
leiden <strong>an</strong> + acc<br />
[gelitten haben]<br />
geraten in + acc<br />
[geraten sein]<br />
sich entschuldigen bei +<br />
dat für + acc<br />
[sich entschuldigt haben]<br />
sich fürchten vor + dat<br />
[sich gefürchtet haben]<br />
sich freuen über + acc<br />
[sich gefreut haben]<br />
sich freuen auf + acc<br />
[sich gefreut haben]<br />
sich interessieren für + acc<br />
[sich interessiert haben]<br />
Table 7.10–Continued<br />
English me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
<strong>to</strong> take someone for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> hope for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> laugh about someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> suffer from something<br />
<strong>to</strong> get in<strong>to</strong> something<br />
<strong>to</strong> apologize <strong>to</strong> someone for<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> tell someone <strong>to</strong> be sorry<br />
for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> be afraid of someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> be pleased with someone<br />
or something<br />
<strong>to</strong> look forward <strong>to</strong><br />
(+ gerund)<br />
<strong>to</strong> be interested in someone<br />
or something<br />
sample sentence<br />
Ich habe ihn für einen<br />
Lügner gehalten.<br />
Sie hoffen auf gutes Wetter.<br />
Sie lachten alle über mich.<br />
Sie leidet oft <strong>an</strong> dem Lärm<br />
der Flugzeuge.<br />
Er geriet oft in Wut, wenn<br />
ich meine wahre Meinung<br />
dazu äußere.<br />
Ich habe mich bei ihnen für<br />
die Un<strong>an</strong>genehmlichkeiten<br />
entschuldigt.<br />
Ich fürchte mich vor Spinnen.<br />
Ich habe mich sehr über<br />
Ihren Anruf gefreut.<br />
Sie freut sich auf ein<br />
baldiges Wiedersehen.<br />
Er interessiert sich nur für<br />
Au<strong>to</strong>s.
71<br />
verb preposition + case<br />
[perfect infinitive]<br />
sich kümmern um + acc<br />
[sich gekümmert haben]<br />
sich konzentrieren auf +<br />
acc<br />
[sich konzentriert haben]<br />
sich sorgen um + acc<br />
[sich gesorgt haben]<br />
sich verlieben in + acc<br />
[sich verliebt haben]<br />
sich vorbereiten auf + acc<br />
[sich vorbereitet haben]<br />
sorgen für + acc<br />
[gesorgt haben]<br />
sprechen mit + dat über +<br />
acc<br />
[gesprochen haben]<br />
sterben <strong>an</strong> + acc<br />
[ges<strong>to</strong>rben sein]<br />
teilnehmen <strong>an</strong> + dat<br />
[teilgenommen haben]<br />
vertrauen auf + acc<br />
[vertraut haben]<br />
Table 7.10–Continued<br />
English me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
<strong>to</strong> take care of someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> focus on someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> worry about someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> fall in love with someone<br />
<strong>to</strong> prepare for something<br />
<strong>to</strong> take care someone or<br />
something<br />
<strong>to</strong> talk with someone about<br />
someone or something<br />
<strong>to</strong> die from something<br />
<strong>to</strong> take part, <strong>to</strong> participate<br />
in something<br />
<strong>to</strong> have trust in someone or<br />
something<br />
sample sentence<br />
Sie kümmert sich um ihn<br />
nicht.<br />
Sie konzentriert sich auf<br />
ihre Hausaufgaben.<br />
Wir sorgen uns um seine<br />
Fin<strong>an</strong>zschwierigkeiten.<br />
Sie hat sich in ihn verliebt.<br />
Ich bereite mich auf die<br />
Deutschprüfung vor.<br />
Wir sorgen für ihn.<br />
Ich habe mit ihm über den<br />
Pl<strong>an</strong> gesprochen.<br />
Er ist <strong>an</strong> einem gebrochenen<br />
Herzen ges<strong>to</strong>rben.<br />
Ich möchte am Sommerkurs<br />
in M<strong>an</strong>nheim<br />
teilnehmen.<br />
Ich vertraue auf meine Freunde<br />
und Familie.
72<br />
verb preposition + case<br />
[perfect infinitive]<br />
Table 7.10–Continued<br />
English me<strong>an</strong>ing<br />
sample sentence<br />
verzichten auf + acc.<br />
[verzichtet haben]<br />
<strong>to</strong> do without something Ich habe auf den Preis<br />
verzichtet.<br />
warten auf + acc <strong>to</strong> wait for someone or<br />
Er wartet auf euch.<br />
something<br />
7.6 Voice<br />
7.6.1 Active<br />
A sentence is in the active voice when the subject of that sentence is the agent.<br />
In other words, if the noun in the nominative is committing the action or if the<br />
predicate has sein as its main verb, it is <strong>an</strong> active sentence.<br />
7.6.2 Passive<br />
In passive sentences, the agent is not the subject of the sentence. Sometimes it<br />
is the object of the preposition von or durch, but often it is not even mentioned. The<br />
subject is acted upon by some named or unnamed force, <strong>an</strong>d the verb werden builds<br />
the predicate as <strong>an</strong> auxiliary verb.<br />
To convert from active <strong>to</strong> passive.<br />
One takes the direct object <strong>an</strong>d makes<br />
it the subject, paying attention <strong>to</strong> the new word order <strong>an</strong>d remembering <strong>to</strong> conjugate<br />
the verb accordingly. The indirect object does not ch<strong>an</strong>ge. If there is <strong>an</strong> active<br />
agent (i.e. not m<strong>an</strong>), it becomes the object of von <strong>an</strong>d declined for the dative case<br />
accordingly; if m<strong>an</strong> is the subject of the active sentence, it is simply left out as it is<br />
implied.<br />
Examples:<br />
• M<strong>an</strong> besucht diesen Tempel oft. → Dieser Tempel wird von Leuten oft besucht.<br />
• M<strong>an</strong> schreit. → Es wird geschrieen. (no agent c<strong>an</strong> be named here)
73<br />
• Andreas schenkt Angelika das Buch.<br />
→ Buch wird (von Andreas) Angelika<br />
geschenkt.<br />
To convert from passive <strong>to</strong> active.<br />
For ch<strong>an</strong>ging passive sentences in<strong>to</strong><br />
active ones, one need only reverse the process described above: Objects of the prepositions<br />
von <strong>an</strong>d durch will usually be the subject unless there is not subject named, in<br />
which case it will usually be m<strong>an</strong>. Special attention must be given <strong>to</strong> tense, number,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d mood.<br />
Telling the difference between passive <strong>an</strong>d future.<br />
In passive, the participle<br />
is in the past tense (for future in the infinitive), cf.<br />
Er wird es machen – Es wird gemacht. Sie wird essen – Sie wird gegessen.<br />
Often the passive has the von + agent (in dative).<br />
Telling the difference between passive <strong>an</strong>d future perfect.<br />
In future<br />
perfect the past participle is present but the infinitive haben must also be present.<br />
cf.:<br />
Es wird gegessen – Er wird bis d<strong>an</strong>n gegessen haben.<br />
The future perfect is a relatively seldom occurrence, so one should not really<br />
have much trouble with it.
CHAPTER 8<br />
PREPOSITIONS<br />
Table 8.1 is <strong>an</strong> overview of the most commonly used prepositions.<br />
Table 8.1: An Overview of the Prepositions<br />
Prep. Cases Definitions<br />
(nom) acc dat gen most often: special:<br />
<strong>an</strong> + + - dat.: at, next <strong>to</strong> (on)<br />
see below<br />
acc.: <strong>to</strong>wards, at<br />
auf + + - dat.: on (<strong>to</strong>p of), at<br />
acc.: <strong>to</strong>wards<br />
in place of zu, in:<br />
e.g. auf die B<strong>an</strong>k<br />
aus - + - out of, from “made of X”<br />
außer - 1 + - besides, apart from with exception <strong>to</strong><br />
bei - + - at the house of X<br />
while + gerund<br />
bis + - 2 - temporal: until, by<br />
spatial: as far as<br />
durch + - - through passive: from, by +<br />
agent<br />
1 see Section 8.2.2<br />
2 see Section 8.2.1<br />
74
75<br />
Table 8.1–Continued<br />
Prep. Cases Definitions<br />
für + - - for time limit, comparison,<br />
or substitution<br />
gegen + - - against, <strong>to</strong>wards both spatial <strong>an</strong>d<br />
comparative<br />
hinter + + - behind<br />
in + + - (dat/acc:) in, (acc:)<br />
in<strong>to</strong><br />
mit - + - with<br />
nach - + - <strong>to</strong>, after according <strong>to</strong> (person)<br />
neben + + -<br />
ohne + - - without<br />
seit - + - since (temporal)<br />
über + + - over, above<br />
um + - - around, at temporal: at<br />
spatial: around<br />
unter + + - under, beneath<br />
von - + - of, from passive + agent: by<br />
vor + + - temporal: before, in<br />
front of<br />
c<strong>an</strong> be used temporally<br />
<strong>an</strong>d spatially<br />
wegen - + 3 + because/on account of<br />
zu - + - <strong>to</strong> see Section 8.2.2<br />
zwischen + + - between<br />
3 see Section 8.2.4
76<br />
Prepositions are very difficult <strong>to</strong> tr<strong>an</strong>slate <strong>an</strong>d therefore cause m<strong>an</strong>y students<br />
problems, mainly because there is never a one <strong>to</strong> one correspondence in me<strong>an</strong>ing.<br />
So m<strong>an</strong>y contexts make wrote memorization impossible. The main difficulties arise<br />
when the student:<br />
1. does not know which case follows the preposition <strong>an</strong>d therefore has trouble<br />
locating the object<br />
2. is not aware of the difference in me<strong>an</strong>ing arising from the difference cases some<br />
prepositions c<strong>an</strong> govern<br />
3. forgets the common me<strong>an</strong>ing or encounters a usage new for him/her <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong>not<br />
surmise the me<strong>an</strong>ing from the context<br />
4. mistakes a separable prefix for a preposition or vice versa<br />
The first two problems are easily resolved by studying the sections 8.2.1, 8.2.2, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
8.2.3 <strong>an</strong>d learning the me<strong>an</strong>ings with the proper cases. The third <strong>an</strong>d fourth problems<br />
are also resolvable but take a little more effort. Grappling with section 8.1 will help<br />
a great deal in conceptualizing the spatial qualities of the prepositions, <strong>an</strong>d with the<br />
sections 7.5.4 on function verbs <strong>an</strong>d 7.1.5 on separable verb prefixes one should be<br />
well on the way <strong>to</strong> dealing with most prepositional problems one may encounter.<br />
8.1 A Visual Overview of the Prepositions<br />
A picture is worth a thous<strong>an</strong>d words. The pictures of prepositions on the next<br />
five pages are me<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> display the spatial me<strong>an</strong>ing of each preposition <strong>an</strong>d <strong>an</strong>d draw<br />
attention <strong>to</strong> what it me<strong>an</strong>s rather th<strong>an</strong> how <strong>to</strong> tr<strong>an</strong>slate it.<br />
8.1.1 Prepositions of Movement <strong>an</strong>d Motion<br />
See Figures 8.1–8.14.<br />
8.1.2 Prepositions Exhibiting a Static State<br />
See Figures 8.15–8.24.
77<br />
¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢ ¥¡¥¡¥¡¥ ¦¡¦¡¦¡¦<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
Figure 8.1: <strong>an</strong> with Accusative<br />
Figure 8.2: auf with Accusative<br />
Figure 8.3: bis<br />
Figure 8.4: durch
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
78<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.5: gegen<br />
Figure 8.6: hinter with Accusative<br />
(movement <strong>to</strong>wards or in<strong>to</strong>)<br />
Figure 8.7: in with Accusative<br />
Figure 8.8: neben with Accusative<br />
(over, above, across)<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
Figure 8.9: über with Accusative<br />
Figure 8.10: um
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¦ ¥<br />
¥ ¦<br />
¦ ¥<br />
79<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.11: unter (i.e. beneath) with<br />
Accusative<br />
Figure 8.12: unter (i.e. among) with<br />
Accusative<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.13: vor with Accusative<br />
Figure 8.14: zwischen with Accusative<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤<br />
£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£¡£<br />
¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.15: <strong>an</strong> with Dative<br />
Figure 8.16: auf with Dative<br />
(in a place)<br />
(within a space)<br />
Figure 8.17: in with Dative<br />
Figure 8.18: neben with Dative
80<br />
(over, above)<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.19: über with Dative<br />
Figure 8.20: von<br />
(among)<br />
(auf)<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
unter<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡<br />
¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢¡¢<br />
Figure 8.21: unter (i.e. beneath) with<br />
Dative<br />
Figure 8.22: unter (i.e. among) with<br />
Dative
81<br />
8.2 Prepositions Governing Case<br />
Because English does not have a case system, one normally does not take note of<br />
the differences in the nouns in prepositional phrases. But in sentences with predicates<br />
such as <strong>to</strong> give <strong>an</strong>d <strong>to</strong> tell, the difference becomes obvious:<br />
I gave him the book.<br />
I <strong>to</strong>ld her not <strong>to</strong> eat <strong>an</strong>y more of my d<strong>an</strong>delion stems.<br />
The him <strong>an</strong>d the her clearly have different functions th<strong>an</strong> the book <strong>an</strong>d the phrasal<br />
object not <strong>to</strong> eat <strong>an</strong>y more of my d<strong>an</strong>delion stems. We c<strong>an</strong> test this by asking the<br />
questions:<br />
What did you give him? To whom did you give the book?<br />
What did you tell her? Whom did you tell not <strong>to</strong> eat <strong>an</strong>y more of your d<strong>an</strong>delion stems?<br />
Since Germ<strong>an</strong> does have four distinct cases <strong>an</strong>d prepositions that are always<br />
followed by certain ones, one has <strong>to</strong> know which ones <strong>to</strong> use for which preposition.<br />
8.2.1 Prepositions governing the Accusative<br />
The prepositions whose objects are always in the accusative are:<br />
bis durch für gegen ohne um<br />
8.2.2 Prepositions governing the Dative<br />
The following prepositions are followed by dative objects:<br />
aus außer bei mit nach seit von zu<br />
(nehmen Dativ, das weißt Du!)<br />
außer is a special case. Occasionally it fulfills the function of a conjunction, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
in rare inst<strong>an</strong>ces, it c<strong>an</strong> also govern the accusative or genitive case. For now, the<br />
author recommends that beginner learners treat it as a dative preposition since the<br />
other inst<strong>an</strong>ces are so rare.
82<br />
8.2.3 Two-way prepositions<br />
Apart from the two groups of prepositions which govern the accusative <strong>an</strong>d<br />
dative, there is <strong>an</strong>other group of prepositions which take objects in the accusative or<br />
dative depending on the me<strong>an</strong>ing of the sentence. This me<strong>an</strong>ing is described below.<br />
Sem<strong>an</strong>tics<br />
The second major function of the dative <strong>an</strong>d accusative cases, next <strong>to</strong> distinguishing<br />
the direct objects from the indirect objects, is <strong>to</strong> distinguish between objects<br />
showing motion (accusative) <strong>an</strong>d those which are stationary (dative). English<br />
does not have <strong>an</strong>ything even similar <strong>to</strong> this, but it is a necessary part of Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
In English this motion is expressed simply by using different verbs, as illustrated in<br />
Table 8.2. Note that the past participles are different for stationary verbs <strong>an</strong>d verbs<br />
of motion–verbs of motion have weak past participles, while stationary verbs have<br />
strong past participles. Fortunately, there is not a large number of prepositions that<br />
c<strong>an</strong> govern either the dative or accusative in this fashion, so memorizing them should<br />
be quite easy:<br />
<strong>an</strong> auf hinter in neben über unter vor zwischen<br />
To learn how <strong>to</strong> correctly use them, one need only <strong>to</strong> think of the two different types<br />
of contexts they could appear in, as illustrated in Table 8.3.<br />
Table 8.2: The ‘Two Way Verbs’<br />
English<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
stationary with motion stationary with motion<br />
<strong>to</strong> st<strong>an</strong>d <strong>to</strong> put/place stehen stellen<br />
<strong>to</strong> lie <strong>to</strong> lay liegen legen<br />
<strong>to</strong> sit (be sitting) <strong>to</strong> sit down sitzen sich (hin)setzen<br />
<strong>to</strong> sit <strong>to</strong> set sitzen setzen<br />
<strong>to</strong> h<strong>an</strong>g <strong>to</strong> h<strong>an</strong>g up hängen hängen
83<br />
Table 8.3: Some Two-way Prepositions<br />
Prep. with accusative–wohin? with dative–wo?<br />
<strong>an</strong> Er geht <strong>an</strong> die Tafel. Er steht <strong>an</strong> der Tafel.<br />
auf Leg es auf den Tisch. Es liegt auf dem Tisch.<br />
hinter<br />
Stellen Sie die Stühle hinter das<br />
Haus.<br />
Er schläft hinter dem Haus.<br />
in Schaut in das Fenster hinein. Ich habe ihn in dem Bahnhof<br />
gesehen.<br />
neben Hänge das Bild neben den<br />
Spiegel.<br />
Georg sitzt neben dem Fernseher.<br />
über<br />
unter<br />
vor<br />
zwischen<br />
Er hat über das Buch und aus<br />
dem Fenster gesehen.<br />
Ich habe die Zeitung unter den<br />
Tisch gelegt.<br />
M<strong>an</strong> geht nicht vor ein Au<strong>to</strong>, das<br />
gerade fährt.<br />
Laufen wir zwischen die Bäume<br />
und über den Hügel.<br />
Über jedem Haus ist ein Dach.<br />
Ich habe sie schon unter einem<br />
Baum gelesen.<br />
Vor der Mauer waren auch viele<br />
Leute unglücklich.<br />
Deine Milch steht zwischen den<br />
Flaschen auf dem Tisch.
Note that the prepositions retain this property whether they are used with time<br />
(zeitlich) or place (örtlich).<br />
84<br />
8.2.4 Prepositions governing the Genitive<br />
None of the prepositions governing the genitive case belong <strong>to</strong> the group of<br />
twenty commonest preposition. Nonetheless, Table 8.4 illustrates several of the most<br />
import<strong>an</strong>t ones one may encounter. For written purposes, one should nearly always<br />
see them with the genitive case, also the the dative is slowly replacing the genitive.<br />
In the feminine <strong>an</strong>d plural one c<strong>an</strong>not tell whether the genitive or dative case is being<br />
used, but it is evident with masculine <strong>an</strong>d neuter singular nouns. For learners of<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> as a foreign l<strong>an</strong>guage it is best <strong>to</strong> still stick <strong>to</strong> the genitive, as using a dative<br />
form will only draw a correction from a native speaker.
85<br />
Table 8.4: Some Genitive Prepositions<br />
Preposition<br />
wegen<br />
English<br />
equivalent<br />
because of, on account<br />
of<br />
Characteristics<br />
also built with possessive pronouns seinetwegen,<br />
ihretwegen<br />
während during also as a subordinating conjunction, see Table 9.2<br />
trotz despite, in spite of also trotzdem<br />
<strong>an</strong>stelle instead of not <strong>to</strong> be confused with verb <strong>an</strong>stellen, <strong>to</strong> hire<br />
aufgrund due <strong>to</strong> from Grund, reason<br />
kraft by virtue of, in<br />
pretty seldomly used<br />
laut<br />
<strong>an</strong>gesichts<br />
d<strong>an</strong>k<br />
virtue of<br />
according <strong>to</strong>, as<br />
per<br />
in view of, in the<br />
face of<br />
th<strong>an</strong>ks <strong>to</strong><br />
also: laut=loud (adj.), lauter=m<strong>an</strong>y (adj)<br />
from Gesicht, face<br />
zufolge as a result of from Folge, result<br />
zwecks for the purpose of from Zweck, purpose, intention
86<br />
(hinter)<br />
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vor<br />
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Figure 8.23: vor/hinter with Dative<br />
Figure 8.24: zwischen with Dative
CHAPTER 9<br />
CONJUNCTIONS<br />
Conjunctions are the words that connect two word groups or clauses. Grammari<strong>an</strong>s<br />
divide conjunctions in<strong>to</strong> four different groups according <strong>to</strong> their function, but<br />
one usually learns about two groups for beginning purposes <strong>an</strong>d then discovers that<br />
two other constructions he is familiar with <strong>an</strong>d uses are actually also conjunctions.<br />
In this paper all four groups will be presented <strong>to</strong>gether:<br />
1. coordinating conjunctions<br />
2. subordinating conjunctions<br />
3. infinitive conjunctions<br />
4. proportional conjunctions<br />
Although each group c<strong>an</strong> be further broken down in<strong>to</strong> m<strong>an</strong>y sub groups, each group is<br />
presented by itself over the next four sections <strong>an</strong>d, with the exception of subordinating<br />
conjunctions, no attempt is made <strong>to</strong> categorize its members.<br />
9.1 Coordinating Conjunctions<br />
There is a limited number of coordinating conjunctions. They are und, aber,<br />
oder, denn, nur, sowohl . . . als auch, entweder . . . oder, sondern, allein, doch, jedoch.<br />
Their me<strong>an</strong>ings are elucidated in Table 9.1.<br />
9.2 Subordinating Conjunctions<br />
The number of subordinating conjunctions is much larger th<strong>an</strong> the number of<br />
coordinating conjunctions <strong>an</strong>d they will not all be listed here. The two characteristics<br />
that subordinating conjunctions exhibit which differentiate them from coordinating<br />
conjunctions are<br />
87
88<br />
Table 9.1: The Coordinating Conjunctions<br />
• The coordination conjunctions do not ch<strong>an</strong>ge the order of the sentences <strong>an</strong>d<br />
do count as position words when determining the location of the verb (see<br />
Section 1.1).<br />
Conjunction<br />
English<br />
Characteristics<br />
equivalent<br />
und <strong>an</strong>d no comma before is subject is the same in both<br />
clauses<br />
aber but equivalent <strong>to</strong> Eng. ‘however’<br />
sondern but (rather) requires a substitute–Eng.: not X but (rather) X<br />
oder<br />
or<br />
denn because cf. denn in Section 9.4–that one me<strong>an</strong>s th<strong>an</strong><br />
nur<br />
sowohl . . .<br />
als auch<br />
entweder . . .<br />
oder<br />
only<br />
both . . . <strong>an</strong>d<br />
either . . . or<br />
sometimes tr<strong>an</strong>slated as not only . . . but also although<br />
nicht nur . . . sondern auch is more accurate<br />
in that case<br />
not used for negatives–that requires weder . . . noch–<br />
see Chapter 10<br />
allein alone, only more strengthening/alienating nur–do not confuse<br />
with the adjective allein–here it has no object <strong>an</strong>d<br />
does not influence the case of the following words<br />
doch but, however contradicts whatever was just said or believed <strong>to</strong> be<br />
thought; c<strong>an</strong> st<strong>an</strong>d on its own as a contradic<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
sentence–then it is <strong>an</strong> interjection<br />
jedoch however infrequently used as the first word in a sentence
89<br />
1. they introduce subordinate clauses, <strong>an</strong>d subordinate clauses are characterized<br />
by verb-last<br />
2. subordinate clauses are dependent clauses, which me<strong>an</strong>s they c<strong>an</strong>not st<strong>an</strong>d on<br />
their own as sentences <strong>an</strong>d their content is subordinated <strong>to</strong> the main clause on<br />
which they are dependent.<br />
A comparison of the two conjunctions denn <strong>an</strong>d weil is a good way <strong>to</strong> demonstrate<br />
the difference between coordinating <strong>an</strong>d subordinating conjunctions, the former being<br />
a coordinating, the latter a subordinating conjunction, both me<strong>an</strong>ing because.<br />
1. Ich muss zum Bahnhof, denn mein Zug fährt um fünf.<br />
2. Ich muss zum Bahnhof, weil ich den Zug um fünf bekommen möchte.<br />
Sentence one illustrates that denn does not influence the word order of the clause.<br />
The two independent clauses Ich muss zum Bahnhof <strong>an</strong>d mein Zug fährt um fünf are<br />
connected at <strong>an</strong> equivalent level–in other words coordinated–by denn, but neither is<br />
dependent the other; one could just have used other coordinating conjunctions such<br />
as aber, und, or <strong>an</strong>other with only a slight me<strong>an</strong>ing in difference.<br />
Sentence two illustrates that a clause introduced by weil subordinates <strong>to</strong> the<br />
main clause, causing the verb <strong>to</strong> move <strong>to</strong> the end of the clause. The reasoning for<br />
the main clause is explained in this dependent clause: Why do I have <strong>to</strong> go the train<br />
station? Because I would like <strong>to</strong> catch the 5 o’clock train. The clause weil ich den Zug<br />
um fünf bekommen möchte is not a complete thought <strong>an</strong>d c<strong>an</strong> therefore not exist on<br />
its own.<br />
All of the subordinating conjunctions in Table 9.2 exhibit these characteristics.<br />
Groups:<br />
1. während, indem, sol<strong>an</strong>ge, sobald, sooft, als, wenn<br />
2. nachdem, seit, als, wenn, sobald, sowie<br />
3. bis, bevor, ehe<br />
4. dass
90<br />
5. wie, als (ob), als/wie wenn<br />
6. weil, zumal, da<br />
7. je . . . des<strong>to</strong>, je . . . um so<br />
8. obwohl (also obgleich, obschon, obzwar), wenn auch<br />
9. damit<br />
Table 9.2: Commonest Subordinating Conjunctions<br />
Conjunction<br />
English<br />
equivalent<br />
Temporal<br />
Characteristics<br />
während while, whilst also a preposition usually used with the<br />
genitive, see Table 8.4<br />
indem<br />
as, while<br />
sol<strong>an</strong>ge 1 as long as often followed by als<br />
sobald<br />
sooft<br />
as soon as, once<br />
whenever<br />
als when used for one time actions in the past<br />
wenn when used for habitual actions in the past<br />
nachdem<br />
after<br />
seit since Germ<strong>an</strong> Ich X seit Y is I have been Xing<br />
for Y<br />
X is verb <strong>an</strong>d Y is time<br />
bis<br />
bevor; ehe<br />
by (the time), until<br />
before<br />
Comparative<br />
wie<br />
as
91<br />
Conjunction<br />
als (ob)<br />
als wenn<br />
wie wenn<br />
English<br />
equivalent<br />
as if<br />
as if<br />
Table 9.2–Continued<br />
Causal<br />
Characteristics<br />
weil because for a comparison of weil <strong>an</strong>d denn, see<br />
page 89<br />
(zumal) da<br />
since<br />
Showing correlation<br />
je . . . des<strong>to</strong><br />
je . . . um so<br />
the more X the more Y or<br />
The Xer the Yer<br />
Concessive<br />
obwohl 2<br />
wenn auch<br />
although, even though<br />
even though<br />
Finite<br />
damit<br />
dass<br />
so that, therewith<br />
that<br />
a also sofern<br />
b also obgleich, obschon, obzwar<br />
9.3 Infinitive Conjunctions<br />
Strictly speaking, um zu should be tr<strong>an</strong>slated in<strong>to</strong> English as in order <strong>to</strong>, but in<br />
speech one usually simplifies this construction <strong>to</strong> <strong>to</strong>. Example:
92<br />
Table 9.3: Uses of the Infinitive<br />
1. um zu . . . in order <strong>to</strong> . . . I lese die Zeitung jeden Tag<br />
um die Welt besser zu verstehen.<br />
2. ohne zu . . . without . . . -ing Ohne gesünder zu essen<br />
wirst du nicht richtig gesund.<br />
• Ich kaufe die teuersten Boxen, um Musik laut spielen zu können. I am buying<br />
the most expensive speakers (in order) <strong>to</strong> be able <strong>to</strong> play music loud.<br />
Note that um zu is most often used in conjunction with modals, whereas sentences<br />
such as: I w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> work late <strong>to</strong>day so that I c<strong>an</strong> leave early <strong>to</strong>morrow. do not<br />
use the infinitive in English or Germ<strong>an</strong>. cf. I w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> work late <strong>to</strong>day in order that I<br />
might be able <strong>to</strong> leave early <strong>to</strong>morrow.<br />
Ohne zu is rendered as a gerund <strong>an</strong>d not as <strong>an</strong> infinitive in English, i.e. Ohne<br />
dich zu kennen . . . is Without knowing you . . . .<br />
9.4 Proportionate Conjunctions<br />
A fourth set of conjunctions are the proportionate conjunctions. They are rarely<br />
taught as such <strong>an</strong>d for that reason alone cause beginning students trouble. Their<br />
name describes their function: they describe relations. In English, as <strong>an</strong>d th<strong>an</strong> are<br />
sometimes used <strong>to</strong> unite two parts of a sentence when making comparisons. These<br />
are proportionate conjunctions in Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
They are umso, des<strong>to</strong>, als, als, wie, denn, denn, als
CHAPTER 10<br />
NEGATION<br />
There are three basic things one might w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> negate in a sentence: a noun, <strong>an</strong><br />
adjective/adverb, or the whole sentence–i.e. the verb.<br />
Notice that English basically only has “no” <strong>an</strong>d its forms (“none, not <strong>an</strong>y, no<br />
one, nobody” etc.) for nouns <strong>an</strong>d “not” for verbs <strong>an</strong>d adjectives. This is exactly the<br />
same in Germ<strong>an</strong>. It uses “kein ”, which is declined just like “ein ”, for the nouns<br />
<strong>an</strong>d “nicht” for the adjectives, adverbs, <strong>an</strong>d verbs. Without even underst<strong>an</strong>ding a<br />
sentence, one c<strong>an</strong> easily pick out the negated part of sentence. The forms of “kein ”<br />
come directly before the nouns they negate, <strong>an</strong>d “nicht” is found:<br />
• directly before the predicate adjectives <strong>an</strong>d predicate nominatives:<br />
Das ist nicht mein Hund. Der Hund ist nicht grün.<br />
• before adverbs of indefinite time, place, <strong>an</strong>d m<strong>an</strong>ner:<br />
Ich k<strong>an</strong>n nicht oft Fußball spielen.<br />
Ich darf nicht bald wieder in die Schweiz.<br />
Herr Reinhold ist nicht zu Hause.<br />
Er fährt nicht mit dem Bus von Amerika nach Europa.<br />
• before prepositions that express a direction or position:<br />
Er fliegt nicht in die Schweiz.<br />
Frau Hedewig möchte nicht nach Mainz.<br />
Jacek ist nicht zu Hause.<br />
Jurek wohnt nicht in Polen.<br />
• before the infinitives in modal sentences:<br />
M<strong>an</strong> darf sie nicht sehen.<br />
93
94<br />
Ihr sollt ihn nicht <strong>an</strong>schreien.<br />
• after adverbs of definite time:<br />
Er joggt am Samstag nicht.<br />
Wir sehen euch um 18:00 heute Abend nicht.<br />
It becomes more difficult when several elements appear in a sentence at once. This<br />
might lead <strong>to</strong> confusion regarding the position of nicht. There are two additional<br />
rules of thumb <strong>to</strong> keep in mind:<br />
if nicht refers <strong>to</strong> a specific element in the sentence <strong>an</strong>d is me<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong> negate just it,<br />
then it comes directly before this element, as in: Ich liebe nicht dich. (i.e. I<br />
love someone, but not you)<br />
if nicht is negating <strong>an</strong> entire sentence or clause, it tends <strong>to</strong> come <strong>to</strong>ward the end of<br />
the sentence: Ich fliege am Mittwoch nach Berlin nicht. (i.e. I’m not going <strong>to</strong><br />
say when I am flying <strong>to</strong> Berlin or where I’m flying on Wednesday)<br />
This the way most sentences in Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d English are, sometimes one may w<strong>an</strong>t<br />
<strong>to</strong> negate one noun <strong>an</strong>d then suggest <strong>an</strong>other in its place:<br />
Not the green ones, but rather the. . . ; Not your bike, mine.<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> has this same feature. For inst<strong>an</strong>ce:<br />
. . . der zwar nicht mein Vater war, der mich jedoch [however]. . .<br />
The difference between these two English sentences:<br />
“I don’t w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>y money”, “I don’t w<strong>an</strong>t that [your/his/etc.] money”<br />
is paralleled by the Germ<strong>an</strong>:<br />
“Ich will kein Geld”, “Ich will das Geld nicht”<br />
is that the first states the speaker does not w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>y Geld of <strong>an</strong>y kind, whereas the<br />
second me<strong>an</strong>s that only the Geld in question is being referred <strong>to</strong>.<br />
The negation c<strong>an</strong> also be strengthened by using überhaupt or gar. They essentially<br />
have the same me<strong>an</strong>ing, but überhaupt is slightly stronger.<br />
Instead of nicht, the negating particle nie, me<strong>an</strong>ing “never” may appear.
95<br />
Table 10.1: Kein<br />
kein comes before indefinites.<br />
indefinite articles are preceeded by a k:<br />
• Ich will eine Wurst essen → Ich will keine Wurst essen.<br />
• Er möchte einen neuen Stuhl besitzen. → Er möchte keinen neuen Stuhl<br />
besitzen.<br />
plurals with no articles take keine:<br />
• Ihr seht Stühle vor euch. → Ihr seht keine Stühle vor euch.<br />
• Ich brauche Bücher. → Ich brauche keine Bücher.<br />
zero article indefinites (mass nouns, e.g.: Geld, Milch, Gemüse, etc.)<br />
are<br />
preceded by kein<br />
with the appropriate endings which match in case, number,<br />
<strong>an</strong>d gender:<br />
• Ich habe Geld. → Ich habe kein Geld.<br />
• Ich trinke morgens Milch. → Ich trinke morgens keine Milch.<br />
Negating schon, noch<br />
Some sentences will not be able <strong>to</strong> be directly negated because of their unusual<br />
structure. For example, in English one says:<br />
• I already know what he’s going <strong>to</strong> say <strong>an</strong>d I still claim he’s the murderer.<br />
but not:<br />
• *I already don’t know what he’s going <strong>to</strong> say.<br />
or<br />
• *I don’t still claim he’s the murderer.<br />
rather:<br />
• I don’t know what he’s going <strong>to</strong> say yet. <strong>an</strong>d I no longer claim he’s the murderer.<br />
These are irregularities. Germ<strong>an</strong> has the same thing for schon <strong>an</strong>d noch:<br />
• Ich weiß ja schon, was sie glaubt. → Ich weiß noch nicht, was sie glaubt.<br />
• Ich esse noch Karotten. → Ich esse keine Karotten mehr.
96<br />
Table 10.2: Nicht<br />
nicht negates everything else: verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases,<br />
predicate nominatives nicht comes before: adjectives Der Berg ist steil → Der<br />
Berg ist nicht steil. predicate nominatives Das ist Herr Schwarz → Das ist<br />
nicht Herr Schwarz. adverbs of m<strong>an</strong>ner, indefinite time <strong>an</strong>d place:<br />
• Margit geht zu Fuß. → Margit geht nicht zu Fuß.<br />
• Er besucht mich oft. → Er besucht mich nicht oft.<br />
• Er wohnt hier. → Er wohnt nicht hier.<br />
prepositional phrases expressing destination or location:<br />
• Sie geht nach Hause. → Sie geht nicht nach Hause.<br />
• Er arbeitet in Berlin. → Er arbeitet nicht in Berlin.<br />
infinitives of modal verbs Er k<strong>an</strong>n mich sehen. → Er k<strong>an</strong>n mich nicht sehen.<br />
nicht comes after:<br />
verbs, personal pronouns, <strong>an</strong>d definite subjects <strong>an</strong>d direct objects:<br />
• Ich esse. → Ich esse nicht.<br />
• M<strong>an</strong> besucht mich. → M<strong>an</strong> besucht mich nicht.<br />
• Wer geht mit ins Kino? Ich nicht.<br />
• Ich kenne deinen Freund. → Ich kenne deinen Freund nicht.<br />
expressions of definite time:<br />
• Wir sehen uns heute Abend. → Wir sehen uns heute Abend nicht.<br />
• Ich lese jetzt. → Ich lese jetzt nicht.
97<br />
• Sebasti<strong>an</strong> spielt noch Golf. → Sebasti<strong>an</strong> spielt Golf nicht mehr.<br />
Note that the use of kein<br />
or nicht is determined by the element which is being<br />
negated in the sentence, as described above.
CHAPTER 11<br />
QUESTIONS<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> is a verb-second-l<strong>an</strong>guage. This me<strong>an</strong>s that, as stated in Table 1.1,<br />
the verb is always in the second position in declarative sentences. In interrogative<br />
sentences (questions), that is not always the case.<br />
There are two basic types of<br />
interrogative sentence:<br />
1. yes/no questions<br />
2. questions using interrogative adverbs<br />
Yes/no questions use inversion; in the first person plural <strong>an</strong>d second person formal<br />
forms look like imperatives, otherwise they are identical <strong>to</strong> declarative sentences.<br />
Questions of the first type are essentially looking for one-element <strong>an</strong>swers <strong>an</strong>d<br />
often elicit one-word responses:<br />
• Wer hat das get<strong>an</strong>?<br />
• Was hast du gesagt?<br />
• W<strong>an</strong>n bist du zurückgekommen?<br />
• Mit wem warst du gestern?<br />
• Wo habt ihr geparkt?<br />
This is no different from English, e.g.:<br />
• How far did you travel?<br />
• Whom did you meet along the way?<br />
Additionally, Germ<strong>an</strong> has wo- compounds in which wo- combines with a preposition<br />
<strong>to</strong> form a question particle:<br />
• Worauf wartet ihr? (What are you waiting on?)<br />
• Womit schreibst du? (What are you writing with?)<br />
98
99<br />
Note that this is only for objects–people <strong>an</strong>d forms of wer are formed as in the<br />
previous sentences.<br />
Some interrogatives:<br />
wer, was, w<strong>an</strong>n, wo, wie, warum, wieso, wieviel, wessen, wenn, wo- (such as<br />
worauf, womit, wozu, etc.)
APPENDIX A<br />
PRONUNCIATION<br />
A.1 <strong>Guide</strong> <strong>to</strong> Germ<strong>an</strong> Pronunciation<br />
These are the basic sounds of Germ<strong>an</strong>. One should be able <strong>to</strong> use these general<br />
guidelines <strong>to</strong> correctly pronounce most Germ<strong>an</strong> words one encounters. Notice that<br />
the third column contains examples of the sound occuring in initial, middle, <strong>an</strong>d final<br />
position where available.<br />
Table A.1: Germ<strong>an</strong> Pronunciation <strong>Guide</strong><br />
Vowels 1<br />
a a as in Am. Eng.: father Achtung, Ventila<strong>to</strong>r, da<br />
e similar <strong>to</strong> the e in English: bet eng, Hexe, Bäume<br />
i short: similar <strong>to</strong> the vowel in English: if ich, wolkig, Zwirn<br />
‘ie’<br />
long: similar <strong>to</strong> the initial vowel in Eng.:<br />
even<br />
Mikroskop, studieren, U<strong>to</strong>pie<br />
1 Two primary differences <strong>to</strong> be noticed in the Germ<strong>an</strong> vowel system are<br />
1. In English, we tend <strong>to</strong> slur or glide vowels at the beginnings of words, while all<br />
vowels beginning syllables begin with glottal s<strong>to</strong>ps (the ‘-’ in English ‘uh-oh’)<br />
in Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
2. Most of the vowels in Americ<strong>an</strong> English are not pure, but rather diphthongs;<br />
we move our mouths <strong>to</strong> ch<strong>an</strong>ge from one vowel sound <strong>to</strong> a related one (feel this<br />
by saying the word “ape” or “idle” slowly), while the vowels in this section are<br />
pure <strong>an</strong>d therefore involve no lip or jaw movement for their duration.<br />
100
101<br />
o a very pure o sound-no lip movement! oberflächlich, obwohl, Situation<br />
also, Bote, Boot<br />
u a very pure, comparatively long u sound unglaublich, Abrundung, du<br />
ä<br />
ö<br />
ü<br />
y<br />
very similar <strong>to</strong> the vowel sound in Americ<strong>an</strong><br />
English bet, but the jaw is opened a little<br />
wider <strong>an</strong>d the <strong>to</strong>ngue is down just a bit<br />
the <strong>to</strong>ngue <strong>an</strong>d jaw are in the same position<br />
as in e, but the lips are rounded<br />
the <strong>to</strong>ngue is in the same position as in the<br />
long i, but the lips are very rounded; same<br />
as French ‘u’<br />
same as long ü, but some pronounce it<br />
(dialectically) like the short i<br />
äffisch, Schläge, –<br />
Ökonomie, obszön, (Friseur)<br />
short: y (üppsilon), Hütte, –<br />
long: über, Besitztümer, –<br />
–, Syntax, –<br />
ei<br />
Diphthongs<br />
composed of the two vowels a <strong>an</strong>d i. Similar<br />
<strong>to</strong> the Eng. diphthong (the long i in in prize),<br />
but the first vowel is formed a little further<br />
back in the mouth in Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
Eisberg, schmeicheln, Prahlerei<br />
äu/<br />
the Germ<strong>an</strong> version of the Am.<br />
Eng. ‘oi’<br />
äußerst, Teufel, Efeu<br />
eu<br />
sound as in boy<br />
au like the Am. Eng. ouch without nasality auch, unglaublich, genau
102<br />
Conson<strong>an</strong>ts<br />
b just as in English 2 bringen, [But!:]absagen, Staub<br />
c 3<br />
usually a ‘k’ sound when found at the beginning<br />
of words otherwise found in the combination<br />
‘ch’<br />
Clou/Clique, –, –<br />
ch<br />
either:<br />
1: Chemie 2: acht 3: Ch<strong>an</strong>ce<br />
4: Chor<br />
1. the ending sound in ‘ich’ [see Figure A.1]<br />
after front vowels (i, e, ö, ä, ü)<br />
2. as in Loch after back vowels (u, o, a)<br />
3. the ‘sh’ sound we have in English<br />
4. ‘k’ 4<br />
d just as in English dahin [But!:] radfahren, Bad<br />
f just as in English fahren, Affe, Graf<br />
g just as in English grau, [But!:] Wegweiser, Tag<br />
h 5<br />
just as in English + lengthens vowel before<br />
it in combinations with a o ö u ü<br />
helfen, –, – ; Mal → Mahl<br />
Wolle → wohl; Müller → Mühle<br />
2 but note that all conson<strong>an</strong>ts lose their voicing at the end of words <strong>an</strong>d syllables<br />
3 the rules for this conson<strong>an</strong>t are not as difficult <strong>to</strong> deal with as they at first<br />
appear. In a dictionary of 16,000 words, only about 60 begin with ‘c’ or ‘ch’, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
the me<strong>an</strong>ings of more th<strong>an</strong> half of them c<strong>an</strong> be guessed because they are spelled<br />
exactly as in English. This is because nearly all Germ<strong>an</strong> words beginning with ‘c’ are<br />
lo<strong>an</strong>words<br />
4 the deciding fac<strong>to</strong>r of which of these last two vari<strong>an</strong>ts is used is based on the<br />
word’s origin: the French words are often pronounced ‘sh’ <strong>an</strong>d the Greek ones ‘k’<br />
5 in the middle <strong>an</strong>d at end of words ‘h’ lengthens the immediately preceding vowel
103<br />
k just as in English kaufen, abkriegen, stark<br />
j<br />
almost always pronounced just like the English<br />
‘y’, except in: Jargon, Job, Jazz<br />
Julia/jem<strong>an</strong>d, –, –<br />
l<br />
very similar <strong>to</strong> Americ<strong>an</strong> English ‘l’ but with<br />
Linguistik,<br />
unglaublich/Tollwut,<br />
the <strong>to</strong>ngue contacting a bit closer <strong>to</strong> the<br />
jawohl<br />
front of the mouth (teeth)<br />
m just as in English Mutter, kommen, am<br />
n just as in English Nu<strong>an</strong>ce, T<strong>an</strong>te, Ton<br />
p just as in English Privileg, Knorpel, Typ<br />
q<br />
r<br />
followed by ‘u’, <strong>to</strong>gether they make a sound<br />
like English: ‘kv’<br />
there are three Germ<strong>an</strong> rs:<br />
• one produced with the tip of the<br />
<strong>to</strong>ngue–usually in song, on stage, <strong>an</strong>d<br />
as a vari<strong>an</strong>t in certain regions–note<br />
that it is only rarely used in normal<br />
speech except in certain dialects<br />
• the “high Germ<strong>an</strong>” uvular ‘r’, which<br />
is like the sound you make when you<br />
gargle–it is not very common other<br />
th<strong>an</strong> in very formal speeches<br />
• the most widespread <strong>an</strong>d what is considered<br />
“st<strong>an</strong>dard” in Germ<strong>an</strong>y, the<br />
velar ‘r’ is formed just a hair closer<br />
<strong>to</strong> the back of the mouth th<strong>an</strong> the ‘k’<br />
<strong>an</strong>d ‘g’; see Figure A.2; this is the one<br />
most foreign l<strong>an</strong>guage learners w<strong>an</strong>t <strong>to</strong><br />
emulate<br />
quietschen/qualmen, –, –<br />
Frau/rechts, fahren, Tor<br />
s<br />
between Eng. ‘s’ <strong>an</strong>d ‘z’; semi-voiced beginning<br />
a syllable <strong>an</strong>d unvoiced after unvoiced<br />
conson<strong>an</strong>ts <strong>an</strong>d at syllable-end<br />
Sonne, [But!:] tagsüber, nachts
104<br />
t<br />
v<br />
just as in English, except in -tion, where it<br />
is pronounced ‘⁀ts’–see following section<br />
except for a few exceptions (Vase, Vulk<strong>an</strong>)<br />
pronounced like English ‘f’<br />
tausend/trinken/stinken,<br />
achtzehn, spät<br />
verfahren, –, –<br />
w just like English ‘v’ Wasser, –, –<br />
x like the English ‘ks’ Xenophobie, Xerxes, –<br />
z almost always like English ‘⁀ts’ Zeit, entnazifizieren/Pizza, Kreuz<br />
More Troublemakers<br />
-er<br />
-ion<br />
-ung<br />
-ig<br />
this halbvokal (semi-vowel) is pronounced<br />
halfway between the e <strong>an</strong>d a vowels. At a<br />
normal speech rate the r is not heard!<br />
sounds like how Germ<strong>an</strong>s would pronounce<br />
‘Jon’, ie with a ‘y’ initial conson<strong>an</strong>t <strong>an</strong>d a<br />
pure vowel ‘o’<br />
there are about 30,000 (feminine!) Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
subst<strong>an</strong>tives that carry this ending. Just<br />
remember that the ‘g’ is pronounced as a<br />
soft ‘k’ (i.e. voiceless!)<br />
this is not pronounced as a normal final<br />
g (which is [k]) as one would expect, but<br />
rather the ch vari<strong>an</strong>t which follows front<br />
vowels ([ç], Figure A.1), which me<strong>an</strong>s it is<br />
pronounced just as ich<br />
er, –, Träumer<br />
–, national, Inflation<br />
–, –, Regierung<br />
–, –, wolkig/König
105<br />
Figure A.1: ich<br />
Figure A.2: Radfahren
106<br />
A.2 Book Cover <strong>Guide</strong><br />
Table A.2: Short Pronunciation <strong>Guide</strong> for Germ<strong>an</strong><br />
Vowels<br />
a a as in Americ<strong>an</strong> Eng.: father Achtung, Ventila<strong>to</strong>r, da<br />
e similar <strong>to</strong> the e in Eng.: bet eng, Hexe, Bäume<br />
i short: similar <strong>to</strong> the vowel in: if ich, wolkig, Zwirn<br />
‘ie’ long: similar <strong>to</strong> the 1st vowel in: even Mikroskop, studieren, U<strong>to</strong>pie<br />
o pure o sound-no lip movement! oberflächlich, obwohl, Situation<br />
u pure, relatively long u sound unglaublich, Abrundung, du<br />
ä similar <strong>to</strong> -e in: bet–jaw wider äffisch, Schläge, –<br />
ö like e with rounded lips Ökonomie, obszön, (Friseur)<br />
ü long i with rounded lips<br />
(French ‘u’)<br />
short: y (üppsilon), Hütte, –<br />
long: über, Besitztümer, –<br />
y same as long ü –, Syntax, –<br />
Diphthongs<br />
ei a + i; (long i in prize) Eisberg, schmeicheln, Prahlerei<br />
äu/eu the Germ<strong>an</strong> version of the Americ<strong>an</strong> Eng. ‘oi’ äußerst, Teufel, Efeu<br />
sound as in boy<br />
au like the Americ<strong>an</strong> Eng. ouch auch, unglaublich, genau<br />
Conson<strong>an</strong>ts<br />
b just as in Eng.‘p’ at syllable end bringen, [But!:]absagen, Staub<br />
c ‘k’ sound at the beginning of words; otherwise Clou/Clique, –, –<br />
in ‘ch’<br />
continued on back cover
107<br />
ch 1: as in ‘ich’ after i, e, ö, ä, ü<br />
2: as in Loch after (u, o, a)<br />
1: Chemie 2: acht 3: Ch<strong>an</strong>ce<br />
4: Chor<br />
3: the ‘sh’ sound in Eng. 4: ‘k’<br />
d just as in Eng.‘t’ at syllable end dahin [But!:] radfahren, Bad<br />
f just as in Eng. fahren, Affe, Graf<br />
g just as in Eng.‘k’ at syllable end grau, [But!:] Wegweiser, Tag<br />
h just as in Eng.lengthens preceding vowel with<br />
a o ö u ü<br />
helfen, –, – ; Mal → Mahl;<br />
Wolle → wohl; Müller → Mühle<br />
k just as in Eng. kaufen, abkriegen, stark<br />
j usually like Eng. ‘y’ (but: lo<strong>an</strong> words) Julia/jem<strong>an</strong>d, –, – (Job, Jazz)<br />
l very similar <strong>to</strong> Americ<strong>an</strong> Eng. ‘l’ Linguistik, unglaublich/Tollwut<br />
m just as in Eng. Mutter, kommen, am<br />
n just as in Eng. Nu<strong>an</strong>ce, T<strong>an</strong>te, Ton<br />
p just as in Eng. Privileg, Knorpel, Typ<br />
q followed by ‘u’, sounds like Eng.: ‘kv’ quietschen/qualmen, –, –<br />
r usually: velar – formed a bit closer <strong>to</strong> the back Frau/rechts, fahren, Tor<br />
of the mouth th<strong>an</strong> the ‘k’/‘g’<br />
s usually ‘z’ ; ‘s’ at end of syllables Sonne, [But!:] tagsüber, nachts<br />
t just as in Eng. (but: -tion=‘⁀ts) tausend/trinken/stinken, achtzehn<br />
v usually like Eng. ‘f’ (but: lo<strong>an</strong> words) verfahren, –, – (Vase, Vulk<strong>an</strong>)<br />
w just like Eng. ‘v’ Wasser, –, –<br />
x just like Eng. ‘ks’ Xenophobie, Xerxes, –<br />
z almost always like Eng. ‘⁀ts’ Zeit, Pizza, Kreuz<br />
continued on back cover
APPENDIX B<br />
IRREGULAR VERB LIST<br />
Table B.1: Irregular verbs arr<strong>an</strong>ged according <strong>to</strong> patterns<br />
English Germ<strong>an</strong> 3rd singular Praeterite Perfect<br />
<strong>to</strong> pull ziehen er zieht zog er hat gezogen<br />
<strong>to</strong> smell riechen er riecht roch er hat gerochen<br />
<strong>to</strong> lie (tell a lie) lügen er lügt log er hat gelogen<br />
<strong>to</strong> speak sprechen er spricht sprach er hat gesprochen<br />
<strong>to</strong> close schließen er schließt schloß er hat geschlossen<br />
<strong>to</strong> take nehmen er nimmt nahm er hat genommen<br />
<strong>to</strong> begin, start beginnen er beginnt beg<strong>an</strong>n er hat begonnen<br />
<strong>to</strong> begin, start <strong>an</strong>f<strong>an</strong>gen er fängt <strong>an</strong> fing <strong>an</strong> er hat <strong>an</strong>gef<strong>an</strong>gen<br />
<strong>to</strong> call (up) <strong>an</strong>rufen er ruft <strong>an</strong> rief <strong>an</strong> er hat <strong>an</strong>gerufen<br />
<strong>to</strong> give geben er gibt gab er hat gegeben<br />
<strong>to</strong> wash waschen er wäscht wusch er hat gewaschen<br />
<strong>to</strong> read lesen er liest las er hat gelesen<br />
<strong>to</strong> sleep schlafen er schläft schlief er hat geschlafen<br />
<strong>to</strong> see sehen er sieht sah er hat gesehen<br />
<strong>to</strong> carry tragen er trägt trug er hat getragen<br />
<strong>to</strong> stay, remain bleiben er bleibt blieb er ist geblieben<br />
<strong>to</strong> decide entscheiden er entscheidet entschied er hat entschieden<br />
<strong>to</strong> be called heißen er heißt hieß er hat geheißen<br />
<strong>to</strong> seem; <strong>to</strong> shine scheinen es scheint schien es hat geschienen<br />
<strong>to</strong> write schreiben er schreibt schrieb er hat geschrieben<br />
108
109<br />
Table B.1–Continued<br />
English Germ<strong>an</strong> 3rd singular Praeterite Perfect<br />
<strong>to</strong> be sein er ist war er ist gewesen<br />
<strong>to</strong> die sterben er stirbt starb er ist ges<strong>to</strong>rben<br />
<strong>to</strong> become werden er wird ward er ist geworden<br />
<strong>to</strong> swim schwimmen er schwimmt schwamm er ist geschwommen<br />
<strong>to</strong> come kommen er kommt kam er ist gekommen<br />
<strong>to</strong> go gehen er geht ging er ist geg<strong>an</strong>gen<br />
<strong>to</strong> walk/run laufen er läuft lief er ist gelaufen<br />
<strong>to</strong> fly fliegen er fliegt flog er ist geflogen<br />
<strong>to</strong> flow fließen er fließt floß er ist geflossen<br />
<strong>to</strong> drive fahren er fährt fuhr er ist gefahren<br />
<strong>to</strong> drink trinken er trinkt tr<strong>an</strong>k er hat getrunken<br />
<strong>to</strong> stink stinken er stinkt st<strong>an</strong>k er hat gestunken<br />
<strong>to</strong> force zwingen er zwingt zw<strong>an</strong>g er hat gezwungen<br />
<strong>to</strong> sing singen er singt s<strong>an</strong>g er hat gesungen<br />
<strong>to</strong> find finden er findet f<strong>an</strong>d er hat gefunden<br />
<strong>to</strong> leave verlassen er verläßt verließ er hat verlassen<br />
<strong>to</strong> forget vergessen er vergißt vergaß er hat vergessen<br />
<strong>to</strong> own besitzen er besitzt besaß er hat besessen<br />
<strong>to</strong> eat essen er isst aß er hat gegessen<br />
<strong>to</strong> do tun er tut tat er hat get<strong>an</strong><br />
<strong>to</strong> st<strong>an</strong>d stehen er steht st<strong>an</strong>d er hat gest<strong>an</strong>den<br />
<strong>to</strong> lie (past=lay) liegen er liegt lag er hat gelegen<br />
<strong>to</strong> s<strong>to</strong>p (tr<strong>an</strong>s.) halten er hält hielt er hat gehalten
REFERENCES<br />
[Dreyer] Dreyer, Hilke <strong>an</strong>d Richard Schmidt. A Practice Grammar of Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
Leipzig: Verlag für Deutsch. 1999.<br />
[Wahrig] dtv-Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. Hrsg. v. Gerhard Wahrig.<br />
München: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag. 14. Auflage 1994.<br />
[Duden] Duden Grammatik der deutschen Gegenwartssprache. Hrsg. v.<br />
Günther Drosdowski. Der Duden; Bd. 4. M<strong>an</strong>nheim: Dudenverlag, 1995.<br />
[Fleischer] Fleischer, Wolfg<strong>an</strong>g <strong>an</strong>d Irnhild Barz. Wortbildung der deutschen<br />
Gegenwartssprache. 2. Aufl. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1995.<br />
[Helbig] Gerhard Helbig, <strong>an</strong>d Joachim Buscha Deutsche Grammatik. Ein H<strong>an</strong>dbuch<br />
für den Ausländerunterricht. Leipzig: Verlag Enzyklopädie. 10. Auflage<br />
1987.<br />
[Rausch] Rausch, Rudolf <strong>an</strong>d Ilka: Deutsche Phonetik für Ausländer. Leipzig:<br />
Verlag Enzyklopädie. 4. Auflage 1995.<br />
[Quirk] Quirk, R<strong>an</strong>dolph <strong>an</strong>d Sidney Greenbaum: A Concise Grammar of Contemporary<br />
English. New York: Harcourt Brace Jav<strong>an</strong>ovich, 1973.<br />
[Zorach] Zorach, Cecile <strong>an</strong>d Charlotte Melin. English Grammar for Students of<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong>, 3rd ed. Ann Arbor, Michig<strong>an</strong>: The Olivia <strong>an</strong>d Hill Press, 1994.<br />
110
[Dreyer] is something everyone should have by the end of the first semester. It<br />
is 360 pages long, has lots of exercises (with key). Audio cassettes/cds also available.<br />
111<br />
[Wahrig] is a Germ<strong>an</strong>/Germ<strong>an</strong> dictionary.<br />
The author strongly recommends<br />
everyone who ever pl<strong>an</strong>s <strong>to</strong> learn Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>to</strong> buy a copy. There are m<strong>an</strong>y examples<br />
of different usages given, which makes it indispensable for <strong>an</strong>y student of Germ<strong>an</strong>.<br />
[Duden] is indispensable for <strong>an</strong>yone who speaks or writes Germ<strong>an</strong>. It is the 4th<br />
of 12 volumes of books describing m<strong>an</strong>y aspects of Germ<strong>an</strong>. Roughly 850 pages in<br />
Germ<strong>an</strong> is difficult for most students, but after a short period abroad it is certainly<br />
worth it.<br />
[Helbig] is international st<strong>an</strong>dard for adv<strong>an</strong>ce learners of Germ<strong>an</strong>. In conjunction<br />
with or after [Dreyer], it is very useful.<br />
[Rausch] is a pronunciation <strong>an</strong>d phonology/phonetics book. It is <strong>to</strong>o difficult for<br />
most beginners as it is in Germ<strong>an</strong> <strong>an</strong>d of a technical nature, but it is good for serious<br />
students further along in their studies.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH<br />
After his first year as a student of Germ<strong>an</strong> at the University of Florida in 1995,<br />
Jon Busey spent a year abroad at the Universität M<strong>an</strong>nheim studying Germ<strong>an</strong> Literature<br />
<strong>an</strong>d Linguistics. The Department of Germ<strong>an</strong>ic <strong>an</strong>d Slavic studies was then generous<br />
enough <strong>to</strong> help him acquire full fin<strong>an</strong>cial support for a second year in M<strong>an</strong>nheim,<br />
during which time he also studied Classics at the Universität Heidelberg. He earned<br />
a B.A. in Germ<strong>an</strong> Studies <strong>an</strong>d Linguistics from the University of Florida in 1999. He<br />
then taught two semesters solo of Beginning Germ<strong>an</strong> at the University of Florida <strong>an</strong>d<br />
helped the department develop <strong>an</strong> online introduc<strong>to</strong>ry Germ<strong>an</strong> course which beg<strong>an</strong><br />
in Fall 2001.<br />
After finishing <strong>an</strong> M.A. in Germ<strong>an</strong> Literature in 2001 he will begin working on a<br />
degree in Applied Mathematics at Florida State University. His hobbies include computer<br />
assisted learning technologies, chess, home supercomputing, <strong>an</strong>d cryp<strong>to</strong>graphy.<br />
His perm<strong>an</strong>ent E-mail address is: jcbusey@yahoo.com<br />
112