A Foundation Course in Reading German, 2017a

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12/8/2017
Ich suche immer stark Überraschendes als Geburtstagsgeschenk für meine
Schwester.
I always look for something really surprising as a birthday present for my
sister. [or:]
I always look for really surprising things as a birthday present for my sister.
Unit: 4: Verbs with prefixes; adjective endings
7. Place Names as Adjectives
German has a very simple way of using place names as adjectives: add the ending
–er. Note that no other adjective endings are added, regardless of case or number.
das Genfer Abkommen
der Hamburger Flughafen
the Geneva Convention
the Hamburg airport
These adjectives can also be used as nouns:
der Berliner
die Berlinerin
the Berliner (male from Berlin)
the Berliner (female from Berlin)
Unit: 4: Verbs with prefixes; adjective endings
8. Verbs as Nouns
You can recognize verbs functioning as nouns by their capitalization and their
grammatical behavior as nouns. All such nouns are neuter. Thus, das Schwimmen
means “the activity of swimming,” das Schreiben “writing,” das Lernen “learning.”
You will often see these words used without an article. Examples:
Im tiefen Schnee ist das Gehen sehr schwierig.
In deep snow, walking is very difficult.
(a more natural translation:) It is very difficult to walk in deep snow.
Wo lernt man Segelfliegen in Deutschland?
Where does one learn hang-gliding in Germany?
(a more natural translation:) Where does one learn to hang-glide in Germany?