The alphabet

Letter Pronunciation German word

A Ah Arm (arm)
B Beh Baby (baby)
C Tseh Celsius (celsius)
D Deh Debatte (debate)
E Eh Eskimo (eskimo)
F Eff Fuchs (fox)
G Geh Garten (garden)
H Hah Hase (rabbit)
I Ih Idee (idea)
J Yott Juni (june)
K Kah Kaffee (coffee)
L Ell Licht (light)
M Emm Mama (mom)
N Enn Nase (nose)
O Oh Orange (orange)
P Peh Papa (dad)
Q Kuh Quiz (quiz)
R Err Regen (rain)
S Ess Sonne (sun)
T Teh Tee (tea)
U Uh Uhr (clock)
V Fau Vogel (bird)
W Veh warum (why)
X Iks x-Beine (knock knees)
Y Ypsilon Yoga (yoga)
Z Tzett Zug (train)
ß Esszett Ich heiße (I'm called)

Umlaut Approximate English sound German word

Ä cat Mädchen (girl)
Ö turn Öffnung (opening)
Ü Jerusalem Fünf (five)
 Pronunciation tips
Letter Symbol Tip Example
Say ay as in day, and then round your lips so that they are shaped König,
Ö [œ]
like an o. Voilá! möglich,
Say ee as in see, and then again round your lips so that they are
Ü [y] Tür, Schüler,
shaped like an o.

Definite articles
Usage of the definite article:

• Indicates a specific thing, person.

• Indicates the general sense of the noun.

der (masculine)
die (feminine)
das (neuter)
die (plural)

NB! The articles change depending on the case.

Indefinite articles
Usage of the indefinite article:

• Refers to an unspecified person, thing.

• Indicates that there is just one of something.
• There is no plural for the indefinite article.

ein (masculine)
eine (feminine)
ein (neuter)

NB! The articles change depending on the case.

Gender
German nouns are divided into three groups: masculine (der), feminine (die), and neuter (das).

Yes, unfortunately you have to remember the gender of every noun you learn. The ending of the
word will help you recognize the gender.

Ending Example
• -ling • Frühling (spring)
• -ismus • Tourismus (tourism)
der
• -ner • Rentner (pensioner)

• -ung • Zeitung (newspaper)

• -heit • Freiheit (freedom)
die
• -keit • Sauberkeit (tidiness)

• -chen • Mädchen (girl)

• -lein • Fräulein (miss)
das
• -um • Zentrum (centre)

Sein (to be)

Sein (to be) is a very important verb in German and also the most irregular one. It's good to
memorise this one by heart!

ich bin I am
du bist you are
er/sie/es ist he/she/it is
wir sind we are
ihr seid you are
sie sind they are

And in the past:

ich war I was

du warst you were
er/sie/es war he/she/it was
wir waren we were
ihr wart you were
sie waren they were
NB! Please note that the verb sein is used both as a verb and as an auxiliary verb.

Haben (to have)

Haben (to have) is another important word in German.

ich habe I have

du hast you have
er/sie/es hat he/she/it has
wir haben we have
ihr habt you have
sie haben they have

And in the past:

ich hatte I had

du hattest you had
er/sie/es hatte he/she/it had
wir hatten we had
ihr hattet you had
sie hatten they had

Sometimes, haben is translated as to be in English, e.g.:

• Ich habe Durst. (I'm thirsty.)

Adjectives
German adjectives have the same position in the sentence as the English ones - they usually
stand in front of the noun they are describing:

• das alte Haus (the old house)

• der neue Weg (the new way)

But unlike English adjectives, German ones change their endings. How do you know which
ending to use? It depends on the gender and case.

If a word is in a nominative case and has a definite article (der, die, das), we just add -e to the
adjective.
 • After the definite article

•
masc Neut fem plur

Nom der neue Wagen das neue Haus die neue Karte die neuen Karten
Gen des neuen Wagen des neuen Hauses der neuen Karte der neuen Karten
Dat dem neuen Wagen dem neuen Haus der neuen Karte den neuen Karten
Acc den neuen Wagen das neue Haus die neue Karte die neuen Karten

• After the indefinite article

•
masc Neut fem plur

Nom ein neuer Wagen ein neues Haus eine neue Karte meine neuen Karten
Gen eines neuen Wagen eines neuen Hauses einer neuen Karte meiner neuen Karten
Dat einem neuen Wagen einem neuen Haus einer neuen Karte meinen neuen Karten
Acc einen neuen Wagen ein neues Haus eine neue Karte meine neuen Karten

Comparatives
interessant interesting
interessanter more interesting

How to form comparatives?

1. Take an adjective ... interessant
2. Add an -er to the end ... interessant|er
3. Use it in a sentence! Das Buch ist interessanter.

Please note that when you're mentioning both things you are comparing in the sentence, you
should use the word als (than).

alt → älter:

• Tom ist älter als Mia. (Tom is older than Mia.)

Short adjectives often form the comparative with an umlaut:

kurz → kürzer short → shorter

jung → junger young → younger

Some adjectives have irregular forms, which you should learn by heart:
hoch → höher high → higher
viel → mehr much → more
gut → besser good → better
nah → näher close → closer
groß → größer big → bigger

Superlatives
Das Auto ist billiger. This car is cheaper.
Das Auto ist am billigsten. This car is the cheapest.

How to form superlatives?

1. Take an adjective ... neu

2. Add am in front of the word and -sten to the end ... am neusten
3. Use it in a sentence! Das Buch ist am neusten.

Please note that to aid pronunciation, an additional -e- is added if the adjective ends in -d, -t, -s, -
ß, -sch, -x or -z.

süß → am süßesten:

• Der Saft ist am süßesten. (The juice is the sweetest.)

Short adjectives often form the superlatives with an umlaut:

kurz → am kürzesten short → the shortest

jung → am jüngsten young → the youngest

As you already know, some adjectives have irregular forms, which you should learn by heart:

hoch → am höchsten high → the highest

viel → am meisten much → the most
gut → am besten good → the best
nah → am nächsten close → the closest
groß → am größten big → the biggest

Looks simple? Still, there is one tricky part - a frequent concern is when to use am and when not
to. If a noun comes after the adjective, we skip am and use an article instead:

• Das ist das billigste Auto. (This is the cheapest car.)

 • Das ist der beste Film. (This is the best film.)

Plurals
The most common way to form the plural in German is to simply add an -e to the end of the
word, similar to how an “s” is added in English! This is how most masculine nouns (about 89%
in fact) form their plurals.

About 3/4 of feminine nouns also form the plural by adding an -e.

If this rule of thumb doesn't satisfy your plural needs, here is a brief overview of what plural
endings go with which word endings. But be careful, there are many exceptions.

Plural ending Gender of noun / word ending(s)

• masculine / -e, -ent, -and, -ant, -ist
-n/-en • feminine / -e, -in, -ion, -ik, -heit, -keit, -schaft, -tät, -ung

• masculine / -eur, -ich, -ier, -ig, -ling, -ör

-e • many single-syllable feminine nouns (plural takes an umlaut)

• masculine / -eur, -ich, -ier, -ig, -ling, -ör

-r/-er • many single-syllable feminine nouns (plural takes an umlaut)

• masculine, feminine, and neuter / -a, -i, -o, -u, -y

-s • family names

• masculine / -el, -en, -er

∅ • neuter / -chen, -lein

And lastly remember that although most nouns can be used in both the singular and the plural,
some nouns are only used in singular and some only in plural.

• Only singular: das Geld, der Hunger, die Milch

• Only plural: die Eltern, die Leute, die Ferien

Nominative case
German has four cases: nominative, genitive, dative and accusative.

Why is it important to learn them? They indicate the role of the words in a sentence and change
the endings of words.
Nominative denotes a person or a thing that is doing something in the sentence, e.g.

• Das Buch ist neu. (The book is new.)

Nominative is easy to learn - words stay in their dictionary form. Nothing is changed. Just take
the word and use it!

Genitive case
Usage:

The genitive case shows possession. It is expressed in English by an apostrophe or by the

possessive “of”:

• der Beruf des Mannes (the man's profession)

• das Buch meiner Mutter (my mother's book)

This case is also used with the genitive prepositions ...

• außerhalb der Stadt (outside of the city)

• trotz des Regens (despite the rain)

... and some verb idioms:

• bedürfen einer besonderen Pflege (is in need of special care)

Declination:

singular plural
masc des Mannes der Männer
fem der Frau der Frauen
neut des Mädchens der Mädchen

Dative case
Usage:

The dative case denotes a person or a thing to whom or for whom something is being done. This
word needs the dative case in German. Luckily, there is only a small group of verbs after which
you have to use this case, e.g.:

geben

• Ich gebe den Kindern Schokolade. (I'm giving chocolate to kids.)

helfen

• Bitte hilf deinem Bruder! (Please help your brother.)

Dative is also used after some prepositions: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu.

• Wir fahren mit der Bahn. (We're going by train.)

• Sie arbeitet bei einer kleinen Firma. (She works at a small company.)

• With the definite article

masc dem neuen Wagen

neut dem neuen Haus
fem der neuen Karte
plur den neuen Karten

• After the indefinite article

masc einem neuen Wagen

neut einem neuen Haus
fem einer neuen Karte
plur meinen neuen Karten

• Without an article

masc neuem Wagen

neut neuem Haus
fem neuer Karte
plur neuen Karten

Accusative
The accusative case is the case of the direct object and is, along with the nominative case, the
most important and frequently used case in the German language.

• Certain fixed expressions always take the accusative case:

Es gibt einen Kuchen. There is a cake.

• Certain prepositions are only used in the accusative case. Remembering those will be
very helpful:

durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

 Sie müssen durch den Tunnel gehen. You have to go through the tunnel.

• And finally, some verbs also use the accusative:

bestellen (to order), bezahlen (to pay), kaufen (to buy), verkaufen (to sell), besuchen (to
visit), kennen (to know), hören (to hear), sehen (to see), fragen (to ask), lesen (to read),
essen (to eat), haben (to have), suchen (to search), finden (to find)

Ich verkaufe den Tisch. I am selling the table.

Hanna bestellt einen Kaffee. Hanna is ordering a coffee.
Wir gehen durch den Park. We are going through the park.

• With the definite article

masc den neuen Wagen

neut das neue Haus
fem die neue Karte
plur die neuen Karten

• After the indefinite article

masc einen neuen Wagen

neut ein neues Haus
fem eine neue Karte
plur meine neuen Karten

• Without an article

masc neuen Wagen

neut neues Haus
fem neue Karte
plur neuen Karten

Accusative prepositions
Sie arbeitet für eine kleine Firma. (She works for a small company.)

The usage of German prepositions is similar to the English ones, but you have to keep in mind
that the noun which comes after the preposition should be used in a particular case.

5 most important accusative prepositions:

• für • Das ist für dich.

 • (for) • (This is for you.)

Wir sind gegen den Plan.

• gegen
• (against)
• (We are against the plan.)

• durch • Sie müssen durch den Tunnel gehen.

• (through) • (You have to go through the tunnel.)

Ohne dich werde ich nicht gehen.

• ohne
• (without)
• (Without you I will not go.)

Er kommt erst um 10 Uhr.

• um
• (around, for)
• (He won't be coming until 10 o'clock.)

You can also use a mnemonic O, FUDGE (ohne, für, um, durch, gegen, entlang) to memorize the
prepositions used with accusative.

Prepositions with accusative and dative

Wir gehen ins Theater. (We're going to the theatre.)
Wir sind im Theater. (We're in the teatre.)

Take a look at these two sentences and think about how they are different. Yes - the first one
shows that we are moving towards the theatre and the second one states that we are in the
theatre. Did you also notice, that the preposition in looks different in both cases? Why is that?

So which of the prepositions can be used both in accusative and dative?

• Ist jemand an der Tür?

• an • (Is someone at the door?)
• (at, on) • Susi schreibt einen Brief an ihre Mutter.
• (Susi is writing a letter to her mother.)

• Martin freut sich auf den Balkon.

• auf • (Martin is looking forward to (sitting) on the balcony.)
• (at, to, on) • Martin freut sich auf dem Balkon.
• (Martin is excited on the balcony.)

• Sie stand hinter mir.

• hinter
• (She was standing behind me.)
 • (behind) • Bitte, fahre das Auto hinter das Haus.
• (Please park the car behind the house.)

• In der Küche gibt es frischen Kaffee.

• in • (In the kitchen there is fresh coffee.)
• (in, into) • Wir setzen uns in die Küche.
• (We are sitting down in the kitchen.)

• Dichte Wolken hängen über dem Feld.

• über • (Thick clouds are over the field.)
• (about, above) • Dichte Wolken ziehen über das Feld.
• (Thick clouds are drifting across the field.)

• Der Junge schläft unter dem Baum.

• unten • (The boy is sleeping under the tree.)
• (under, among) • Die Katze läuft unter den Baum.
• (The cat is running under the tree.)

Present Perfect
Present perfect is the tense we are using in the spoken language when talking about things, which
happened in the past.

What is the difference between the simple past and present perfect? The latter one is more
focused on the result of the action, denoting that the action has been completed in the past:

• Ich habe eingekauft. (I went shopping.)

How do we form this tense?

We need the present tense form of haben or sein and the third form of the verb (e.g. lesen - las -
gelesen):

• Ich habe das Buch schon gelesen. (I've already read that book.)
• Wir sind gestern ins Kino gegangen. (We went to the movies yesterday.)

As you've probably noticed, we use sein and haben as auxiliary verbs. Don't worry, there's a rule
which will help you. We use the verb sein with:

• verbs sein, bleiben, gehen, reisen, and werden:

o Max ist nach Italien gereist. (Max travelled to Italy.)
• verbs that denote a change of place:
o Ich bin heute geschwommen. (I was swimming today.)
• verbs that denote a change in condition:
o Die Blume ist erblüht. (The flower has begun to bloom.)
In all the other cases, it's haben. Here are some more examples:

• Ich bin heute geschwommen. (I've been swimming today.)

• Hast du das schon gemacht? (Have you already done that?)
• Er hat gestern eingekauft. (He went shopping yesterday.)
• Wir sind am Montag ins Kino gegangen. (We went to the movies on Monday.)
• Seid ihr mit dem Bus gefahren? (Did you come by bus?)

Regular verbs in present

How to use a German verb in a sentence? It's very simple - just drop the ending -en and add the
appropriate ending!

ich mache I make

du machst you make
er/sie/es macht he/she/it makes
wir machen we make
ihr macht they make
sie machen you make
NB! Please note that German has no present progressive tense (“am buying”, “is walking”). Ich
mache can be “I make” or “I am making”.
Simple Past
The German past tense, or Präteritum, can be translated as “I had” or “I was having” into
English.

The tense is more used in writing than in conversation. A tense called ‘present perfect’ is used
more in conversation, which you will learn about soon.

Usually, the simple Past indicates that the action is completed.

What happens to a verb in the simple past form?

• In case of a regular verb, delete the ending -en and add -te, -test, -ten, or -tet.

ich sagte I said

du sagtest you said
er/sie/es sagte he/she/it said
wir sagten we said
ihr sagtet they said
sie sagten you said
 • In case of irregular verbs, which act like those in English and undergo a change of vowel
(schwimmen - schwamm (swim - swam), geben - gab (give - gave) there is mostly the
same pattern of endings:

ich schwamm I swam

du schwammst you swam
er/sie/es schwamm he/she/it swam
wir schwammen we swam
ihr schwammt they swam
sie schwammen you swam

Numbers from 0 to 20
0 null
1 eins
2 zwei
3 drei
4 vier
5 fünf
6 sechs
7 sieben
8 acht
9 neun
10 zehn
11 elf
12 zwölf
13 dreizehn
14 vierzehn
15 fünfzehn
16 sechzehn
17 siebzehn
18 achtzehn
19 neunzehn
20 zwanzig

Numbers: Tens
10 zehn
20 zwanzig
30 dreißig
40 vierzig
50 fünfzig
60 sechzig
70 siebzig
80 achtzig
90 neunzig
100 hundert

Fractions
To form fractions in German, we take the word-stem of the ordinal number and add the ending -
tel. The form of fractions doesn’t change.

Examples:

• vier → ein viertel = 1/4

• sechs → fünf sechstel = 5/6
• drei → ein Drittel = 1/3

NB: Note that the first three fractions are irregular:

• Ein Ganzes = a whole

• Ein Halbes = a half
• Ein Drittel = a third

The word halb is treated just like a normal adjective. Its ending matches the corresponding
noun/pronoun and is declined:

• In einer halben Stunde. (In half an hour.)

Expressing date
There are several ways to express the date in German.

1. Writing the date in a letter

Stadt/city, den (acc.) 19.6.16

München, den 19.6.16

Read as: München, den neunzehnten sechsten zweitausendsechszehn.

2. Stating the day of the week along with date:

 Am Samstag, dem 5. Juni, wurde er geboren.

Samstag, den 5. Juni.

3. Not stating the day of the week:

Heute haben wir den 25. Juni. (fünfundzwanzigsten)

Heute ist der 25. Juni (fünfundzwanzigste)

4. Stating from one date to another without indicating day of the week:

Vom 18. Mai bis zum 21. Mai.

5. Stating from one date to another while indicating day of the week:

Von Montag, dem 18. Mai, bis Donnerstag, dem 21. Mai.

Also note that:The separating symbol between the month, year and day in English is the slash “/”
while in German it is the period “.”

Forming questions
Spielt sie oft Poker? Does she play poker often?
Wer ist hier der Geschäftsführer? Who is the manager here?
Wen haben Anne und Georg besucht? Whom did Anne and Georg visit?

You've probably noticed that the first question is formed just like yes or no question in English -
it starts with a verb.

As you see, the second question is formed with the help of the question-word, which usually
comes at the beginning of the sentence. Let's take a look at the structure of the question:

Gestern habe ich eingekauft. I went shopping yesterday.

Wann habe ich eingekauft? When did I go shopping?

Notice that the part of the sentence we're asking about is left out and replaced by the
question-word.

Question words:
Was? What? Was ist das? What's that?
Wer? Who? Wer ist da? Who is there?
Wo? Where? Wo bist du? Where are you?
Wann? When? Wann kommt er? When is he coming?
Wie? How? Wie mache ich das? How should I do that?

The German word wer (who) changes its form depending on the case. Here's how:

Nom wer who

Gen wessen whose
Dat wem whom
Acc wen whom
Warum, wieso, weshalb

The question words warum, wieso, weshalb all mean “why” in English and can cause a lot of
confusion for learners of German.

In general, they are synonyms with very subtle differences.

Here is a quick breakdown:

Warum?

• asks for the reason

• sounds a bit reproachful or criticizing

• Warum hast du das noch nicht gemacht? (Why haven't you done this yet?)

Wieso?

• asks for the cause

• is rather colloquial
• sounds a bit more polite

• Wieso kommst du zu spät? (Why are you coming late?)

Weshalb?

• asks for the purpose

• is formal
• is used in professional conversations

• Weshalb kommst du zu spät? (Why are you coming late?)

Welcher, welche, welches (which)
Welches Buch soll ich kaufen? Which book should I buy?

We use welcher/welche/welches to ask about a specific person or thing. The question words are
declined (changed) just like the definite articles. They come right before the noun instead of the
article.

Welchen Zug müssen wir nehmen? Which train do we have to take?

In welchem Laden warst du? In which store were you?
Mit welcher Freundin warst du unterwegs? With which friend were you out?
Welche Lebensmittel brauchen wir noch? Which groceries do we still need?

Haben vs sein
You may wonder how to know when to use haben and when to use sein in the present perfect
tense.

The short answer is:

• use sein if the action involves movement

• use haben in all other cases

The long answer is a bit more complicated.

Use haben if:

• the verb takes the accusative case:

• Die Frau hat einen Apfel gegessen. (The woman ate an apple.)
• it is a reflexive verb:
• Ich habe mir die Zähne geputzt. (I brushed my teeth.)
• it is a modal verb like können, dürfen, sollen, etc.:
• Die Kinder haben Schokolade essen dürfen. (The kids were allowed to eat chocolate.)
• the verb is ongoing or describing an unlimited process:*
• Der Igel hat den ganzen Winter geschlafen. (The hedgehog slept all winter.)

Use sein if:

• the verb is describing a limited process, movement or change of state:*

• Helen ist eingeschlafen. (Helen fell asleep.)
• Wir sind in Berlin angekommen. (We arrived in Berlin.)

* Exception: sein and bleiben are conjugated with sein, although they describe an ongoing state:

• Ich bin in der Stadt gewesen. (I was in the city.)

 • Ihr Mann ist zuhause geblieben. (Her husband stayed at home.)

Contractions
Prepositions and articles are often combined into one word.

Here are the most frequent examples:

von + dem = vom

an + dem = am
bei + dem = beim
in + dem = im
in + das = Ins
zu + dem = Zum
zu + der = Zur

Das vs dass
Er hat gesagt, dass er um 8 kommt. He said (that) he will come at 8.
Das Haus, das sie sich kauften, war wunderschön. The house (that) they bought was beautiful.

Das and dass are often confused both by German learners and native speakers. The source of the
confusion is that both words can be translations of ‘that’.

Let’s take an example in English:

• I think that that dress is pretty.

• The first “that” acts as a conjunction and links the two clauses.
• The second “that” refers to the dress.

So in German:

• Ich finde, dass das Kleid schön ist.

• Dass acts as the conjunction here ...

• ... and das is just the article of the dress.

• das • Ich weiß das.

• (this, which, that thing) • (I know that.)

• dass • Ich weiß, dass ich nichts weiß.

• (that) • (I know that I know nothing.)
At least you don't have to worry about the difference between das and dass while speaking,
because they are pronounced the same way.

Reflexive pronouns
Pro Acc Dat
ich mich mir
du dich Dir
er/sie/es sich Sich
wir uns Uns
ihr euch Euch
sie/Sie sich Sich

These pronouns are used with reflexive as well as reciprocal verbs. They always refer to the
subject. (I.e. Ich dusche mich. → mich refers to ich.)

• Ich dusche mich.

• I am showering. (Lit: I shower myself.)
• Ich putze mir die Zähne.
• I am brushing my teeth. (Lit: I clean my the teeth.)

As you see, reflexive verbs use the reflexive pronouns, meaning “oneself”. We use the reflexive
pronoun in the dative if there is also an accusative object.

Reciprocal verbs use the reflexive pronouns with the meaning “each other”. We can therefore
only use these verbs in the plural.

Examples of such verbs:

sich kennen to know each other

sich sehen to see each other
sich streiten to fight with each other
sich einigen to agree with each other
Ich glaube, wir kennen uns. I think that we know each other.
Lukas und Tom streiten sich. Lukas and Tom are arguing with each other.

Man (one)
Man kauft Dinge, die man nicht braucht. One buys things that one doesn't need.
Darf man hier rauchen? May one smoke here?
This pronoun can best be translated to ‘one’ in English. It is used when the person doing the
action is not important.

Man is not declined (doesn’t change) and can only be used in the nominative case singular.

• Man sagt, dass die Zeit alle Wunden heilt. (They say that time is a great healer.)
• So etwas tut man nicht. (One shouldn’t do that.)

Phrase: Weder ... noch

Thomas möchte weder einen Kaffee noch einen Thomas wants neither a coffee nor a piece of
Kuchen. cake.

Weder … noch is used to reject two or more things and it is the German version of neither …
nor.

Now if you want to reject more than two things simply add nochs to your sentence:

• Ich mag weder “Fußball”, noch “Basketball”, noch “Tischtennis”, noch … .

Phrase: Entweder ... oder

Karin möchte entweder nach Italien oder nach Karin wants to go to either Italy or
Frankreich fahren. France.

Entweder …. oder is used when you want to talk about a decision between two things, much like
either … or is used in English.

One thing to be careful of is that entweder translates to “either” in this case, but take a look at the
following example:

• I don’t drink. - Me neither.

• Ich trinke nicht. - Ich auch nicht.

In this case either translates to auch nicht.

Phrase: Sich freuen auf/über

Ich freue mich auf die Sommerferien. I am looking forward to summer vacation.
Ich freue mich über dein Geschenk. I am happy about your gift.

• sich freuen auf - expresses that you are excited about or looking forward to some event in
the future
• sich freuen über - expresses that you are happy or excited about something in the present
Phrase: Je ... desto
Je früher, desto besser. The earlier, the better.
Je öfter wir laufen gehen, desto leichter wird es. The more we go running, the easier it becomes.

Je … desto can best be translated as ‘the … the …’.

Phrase: Halten für/von/auf

Ich halte viel auf deinen Vater. I hold your father in high regards.
Ich halte diese Lösung für falsch. I think this solution is wrong.
Ich halte nichts von diesem Mann. I don’t like this man.

Note the difference between halten auf, halten für, and halten von.

“etwas … jemanden/etwas halten”

… auf … to think highly or proudly of smth/sb
… für … to take smth/sb for smth/sb
… von … to feel a certain way about smth/sb

Und, oder, aber, denn

und (and)

• Es regnet. Es ist kalt. (It is raining. It is cold.)

• Es regnet und es ist kalt. (It is raining and it is cold.)

aber (but)

• Ich möchte gehen. Sie will bleiben. (I want to go. She wants to stay.)
• Ich möchte gehen, aber sie will bleiben. (I want to go, but she wants to stay.)

denn (then, because)

• Ich kann heute nicht mitkommen. Ich muss noch arbeiten. (I can't join you today. I have
to work.)
• Ich kann heute nicht mitkommen, denn ich muss arbeiten. (I can't come today, because I
have to work.)

oder (or)

• Willst du zu Hause bleiben? Sollen wir ausgehen? (Do you want to stay at home? Should
we go out?)
• Willst du zu Hause bleiben oder sollen wir ausgehen? (Do you want to stay at home or
should we go out?)
These words join together two parts of a sentence just like they do in English.

Wann vs wenn
Wann fährt der nächste Zug? When does the next train leave?
Wenn du Zeit hast, komm heute Abend zu mir. If you have time, come to my place tonight.

Remember:

Wann:

• is related to time
• is usually translated as “when”
• Wann kommt er? (When is it coming?)
• Ich weiß nicht, wann der Zug ankommt. (I don't know when the train is arriving.)

Wenn:

• is translated as “if” or “when”

• is used in present:
• Wenn du Zeit hast, kannst du mich gerne besuchen. (When you have time, you are
welcome to visit me.)
• in future:
• Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin, gehe ich laufen. (When I have finished the work I will
go running.)
• about repeated events:
• Wenn Ana nervös ist, macht sie Fehler. (When Ana is nervous, she makes mistakes.)

Countries and articles

Most countries are neuter and don't use an article. But a few of countries are always preceeded
by the definite article:

• die Schweiz, die Türkei

• die Vereinigten Staaten, die USA
• der Irak, der Libanon, der Sudan
• das Baltikum, das Elsass

Compare:

• Deutschlands höchster Berg ist die Zugspitze.

• Germany’s highest mountain is the Zugspitze.

• Die Dufourspitze in der Schweiz ist mit 4634 Metern aber deutlich höher.
• The Dufourspitze in Switzerland, however, is significantly higher at 4634 metres.
 • Die Niederlande ist stolz auf ihren 322 Meter hohen Hügel.
• The Netherlands is proud of its 322-metre-tall hill.

Intensifiers: Wohl, sicher, bestimmt

Hannes wird wohl sein Zimmer aufräumen. Hannes is likely picking up his room.
Sie wird sicher bald kommen. She will surely come soon.
Es hört bestimmt bald auf zu regnen. It will certainly stop raining soon.

These words reinforce an assumption.

• Sicher and bestimmt are interchangeable and mean “surely” or “certainly”.

• Wohl is a bit more timid and means “likely” or “probably”.

They are usually placed directly after the conjugated verb.

Diese, jene (this one or that one)

Welche Jacke möchten Sie kaufen, diese or Which Jacket would you like to buy? This one or
jene? that one?
Welchen Tee soll ich nehmen? – Diesen. Which tea should I take? – This one.

We use these words to distinguish or emphasise something. They can also be used as a
placeholder for a previously mentioned noun:

• Wer ist der Junge dort? Den kenne ich nicht.

• (Who is the boy over there? I don’t know him.)

With dieser/diese/dieses and jener/jene/jenes, we choose something specific out of a group, like
the jacket or tea in the examples above.

Note, however, that in colloquial language we often use der/die/das da or der/die/das dort
instead of jener/jene/jenes.

• Möchten Sie diese Stiefel anprobieren? – Nein, lieber die dort.

• (Would you like to try on these boots? – No, I’d prefer those over there.)

To emphasise something in particular, derjenige/diejenige(n) or derselbe/dieselbe/dasselbe is

used.

• Diejenige die das Rätsel löst, bekommt den Preis.

• (The one who solves the puzzle will receive the prize.)

• Derjenige der zuerst fertig ist, gewinnt.

• (The one who finishes first, wins.)
 • Hast du eine neue Tasche? – Nein es ist dieselbe wie letztes Mal.
• (Do you have a new bag? – No, it is the same one as last time.)

Regular verbs
Most verbs, both in English and in German, simply add a suffix to form the past tense. In English
this suffix is -ed. In German it is -te. To form the past participle a -t is added.

Inf. Past Past p. Meaning

machen machte hat gemacht to make
spielen spielte hat gespielt to play
sagen sagte hat gesagt to say

• Die Kinder spielen im Schnee. (The children are playing in the snow.)
• Die Kinder spielten im Schnee. (The children played in the snow.)
• Die Kinder haben im Schnee gespielt. (The children played in the snow.)

Compare this to an irregular or strong verb:

Inf. Past Past p. Meaning

finden fand hat gefunden to find

• Susan findet ihren Schlüssel. (Susan finds her key.)

• Susan fand ihren Schlüssel. (Susan found her key.)
• Susan hat ihren Schlüssel gefunden. (Susan found her key.)

For more info on strong verbs, see the grammar hint about irregular verbs!

Irregular verbs
The irregular or strong verbs actually use their stem-vowel to show the change in tense. As these
verbs are irregular you will just have to memorise them.

Inf. Past Past p. Meaning

denken dachte hat gedacht to think
Wir denken an dich. We are thinking about you.
Wir dachten an dich. We thought about you.
Wir haben an dich gedacht. We thought about you.

Here is a short list of common irregular verbs:

 Inf. Past Past p. Meaning
bleiben blieb ist geblieben to stay
essen aß hat gegessen to eat
fahren fuhr ist gefahren to drive
geben gab hat gegeben to give
gehen ging ist gegangen to go, to walk
kommen kam ist gekommen to come
lesen las hat gelesen to read
wissen wusste hat gewusst to know

Modal verbs
Darf ich gehen? May I go?

Modal verbs in German are used the same way they are in English (must, have to, etc.).

• dürfen • Du darfst gehen.

• (to be allowed) • (You may go.)

• können • Kannst du mir bitte helfen?

• (to be able to) • (Can you please help me?)

• mögen • Ich möchte einen Tisch reservieren.

• (to like) • (I would like to book a table.)

• müssen • Wir müssen gehen.

• (must, have to) • (We have to go.)

• sollen • Du sollst mehr schlafen.

• (should, be supposed to) • (You should sleep more.)

• wollen • Willst du Tee oder Kaffee?

• (to want) • (Would you like tea or coffee?)

Please note that the modal verb usually takes a second place in the sentence and the infinitive
goes to the end. (Not like in English, where they come after one another.)
Sollen vs sollten
Wir sollen um 8 Uhr da sein. We have be there at 8 o’clock.
Wir sollten mehr Sport We should really do more sports. (Implied: but haven’t yet or
machen. may not).

You may wonder why you sometimes see sollen and other times sollten.

Sollen is a modal verb that you already learned a bit about. It can be translated as “have to”.

Sollten, on the other hand, is not used in the past tense here, but in the subjunctive mood
(Konjunktiv 2). It can be translated as “should”.

• Die Kinder sollten im Haus bleiben, wenn es regnet.

The kids are supposed to stay in the house if it’s raining.

This leaves some room for them not following the rule and still going outside.

• Die Kinder sollen im Haus bleiben, wenn es regnet.

The kids have to stay in the house if it’s raining.

This expresses more of a fact.

Separable verbs
anfangen: (to begin)
• Der Film fängt um 19 Uhr an. (The film begins at 19 o'clock.)

In German, you can create new verbs by adding prefixes. (A prefix is a group of letters, which
you can add to the beginning of a word to change its meaning, e.g. mis + understand =
misunderstand).

Some of the prefixes are separable, which means that they are detached from the verb when we
use the verb in a sentence:

einkaufen:
• Ich kaufe jetzt ein. (I'm doing shopping now.)

abfahren:
• Der Zug fährt um neun Uhr ab. (The train departs at 9 o'clock.)
teilnehmen:
• Wir nahmen immer daran teil. (We always took part in that.)

As you have probably noticed, when using the verb in the present or simple past, the prefix is
detached and goes to the end of the sentence, whereas the second part acts like a normal verb.

Now, please compare these two sentences:

anfangen fing an angefangen

begin Began begun
• Der Film fängt um 19 Uhr an. (The film begins at 19.)
• Der Film hat schon angefangen. (The film has already begun.)

abfahren fuhr ab abgefahren

depart Departed departed
• Der Zug fährt um 9 Uhr ab. (The train departs at 9 o'clock.)
• Der Zug ist abgefahren. (The train has departed.)

Can you see the difference? Correct! Whenever we need to use the third form of the verb, we
leave the prefix connected to the verb and add -ge between a prefix and a verb.

Some other verbs with separable prefixes:

• abnehmen (to take off)

ab- • abholen (to pick up)

• anrufen (to call,

telephone)
an-
• anziehen (to put on, dress)

• aufhören (to stop)

auf- • aufräumen (to clean up)

• anrufen (to call,

telephone)
an-
• anziehen (to put on, dress)

• ausgehen (to go out)

• aussehen (to look,
aus-
appear)
 • mitbringen (to bring
along)
mit- • mitkommen (to come
along)

Past Perfect
Als Tom ankam, waren alle schon gegangen. Everyone had already left when Tom arrived.

If we are talking about the past and want to link two events that happened in the past, we use past
perfect.

How do we form this tense?

We need the past tense form of haben or sein and the third form of the verb (e.g. lesen - las -
gelesen):

• Anna hatte schon gefrühstückt, als wir kamen.

• Anna had already eaten breakfast when we came.
• Er war in die Stadt gegangen.
• He had gone to town.

Future Simple
• Er hilft mir. (He is helping me.)
• Er wird mir helfen. (He will help me.)

• Ich suche ein Hotel. (I'm looking for a hotel.)

• Ich werde ein Hotel suchen. (I will look for a hotel.)

Futur I is quite easy to understand and form, because it uses the verb werden the same way
English uses will. The only difference is that in German the main verb (not werden) goes to the
end of the sentence, whereas in English the verb comes just after “will”.

• Ich werde am Wochenende nach Berlin fahren. (I will go to Berlin on the weekend.)
• Wann wirst du gehen? (When will you go?)

Remember that German doesn't distinguish between 'going to' and 'will'!

ich werde I will

du wirst you will
er/sie/es wird he/she/it will
wir werden we will
ihr werdet you will
sie werden they will

Imperative
Komm mit! Come with!
Sag was! Say something!
Gehen wir! Let's go!

Just like in English, the imperative mood is used to express an order. It is easy to learn, because
it occurs only in three forms: du, ihr und Sie.

• just drop the ending -st

du
•
geben –> du gibst –> gib
• Gib mir das Buch!
• Give me the book!

• use the present tense form

ihr
•
geben –> ihr gibt –> gibt
• Gibt mir die Bücher!
• Give me the books!

• use the present tense form

Sie • is often softened with bitte to sound more polite

•
geben –> sie geben –> geben
• Geben Sie mir bitte das Buch!
• Please give me the book!

Also note that:

• modal verbs don't have an imperative form

• verb sein has irregular imperative forms:

du Sei still! Be quiet!

ihr Seid still! Be quiet!
Sie Seien Sie bitte still! Please be quiet!

Subjunctive I Present tense

The subjunctive mood I (Konjunktiv I) is:

• used in newspaper articles to convey indirect speech

• usually not used in conversation

So how is the Konjunktiv I formed? The only verb that is used in all forms in the subjunctive I is
sein (to be).

ich sei I be
du sei(e)st you be
er/sie/es sei he/she/it be
wir seien we be
ihr seiet you be
sie seien they be

Direct:

• Tim und Hannah sind im Kino.

• Tim and Hanna are at the movies.

Indirect:

• Er sagt, sie seien im Kino.

• He says that they are at the movies.

All other verbs usually only use the subjunctive form in the 3rd person singular (er, sie, es). Take
the -n off the infinitive! That’s it!

haben (to have)

Direct:

• Er hat ein rotes Auto.

• He has a red car.

Indirect:

• Er sagt, er habe ein rotes Auto.

• He says that he has a red car.

We like to use this subjunctive mood to distance ourselves from the claim or perhaps assert our
own neutrality towards what is being said.

For example, Hans might say:

 • Ich bin den Marathon in unter 2 Stunden gelaufen.
• I ran the marathon in under 2 hours.

A reporter might write:

• Hans sagt, er sei den Marathon in unter zwei Stunden gelaufen.

• Hans says that he ran the marathon in under two hours.

Subjunctive II present tense

The subjunctive mood II (Konjunktiv II) is used much more often than the subjunctive I in
everyday conversation in order to:

• talk about what we imagine or what we wish for but what is not possible right now
• be especially polite when asking questions or making statements

So how is the Konjunktiv II formed?

Take the stem of the simple past tense form of the verb (e.g. finden - fand - gefunden) + add the
subjunctive ending.

finden (to find)

present, indicative present, subj. II
ich finde Fände
du findest Fondest
er/sie/es findet Fände
wir finden Fänden
ihr findet Fändet
sie finden Fänden

Do you notice big differences? Yes, the forms are very similar except that the 3rd person
singular ends in -e and irregular verbs add an umlaut if the root vowel is a (ä), o (ö), or u (ü).

Let’s look at a few more examples:

Ich finde diese Haus sehr schön. I think this house is very nice.
Wäre das Haus renoviert, fände ich es If the house would be renovated, I would think that it
sehr schön. was very nice.

Note: If you don’t know the subjunctive form of a verb, you can also use würde + infinitive:

Ich wünschte, Thomas würde endlich kommen. I wish Thomas would come already.
Subjunctive II:
Ich wünschte, Thomas käme endlich. I wish Thomas would come already.

The würde + infinitive construction is also used frequently colloquially and in particular with
irregular verbs. You may also have noticed that the subjunctive of regular verbs is in fact
identical to the past tense. The würde + infinitive construction can be used here as well to point
out that we want to use the subjunctive.

Subjunctive mood II past tense

Er wäre gekommen, wenn ich ihn eingeladen He would have come, if I would have invited
hätte. him.

In order to talk about a situation in the past, take the subjunctive form of sein or haben and add
the past participle:

sein > er ist > er wäre > er wäre gekommen

Ich hätte ihm gesagt wie ich mich fühle, hätte I would have told him how I felt, if he would
er gefragt. have asked.

Word order
Sentence structure and its word order is quite flexible in German due to the cases.

We will first look a main clause, meaning it can stand alone as a complete sentences and usually
consists of at least a subject, a verb and an object.

Laura trinkt Wein. Laura drinks wine.

Keep these three things in mind when building a sentence:

• The conjugated verb comes in second place:

o reisen --> Max reist viel. (Max travels a lot.)
• Infinitives are placed at the end:
o Ich gehe heute schwimmen. (I'm going swimming today.)
• If the sentence does not start with the subject, then the subject comes right after the verb.
o Morgen gehen wir in die Stadt. (We are going to town tomorrow.)

Martin nimmt die Tasse. Martin takes the cup.

Der Junge isst einen Apfel. The boy is eating an apple.
Wir wollen Essen bestellen. We want to order food.
Morgen gehen wir ins Kino. Tomorrow we are going to the movies.
Subconjunctions
Ich brauche einen neuen Pass. Meiner läuft bald
I need a new passport. Mine expires soon.
ab.
Ich brauche einen neuen Pass, weil meiner bald I need a new passport, because mine expires
abläuft. soon.

The primary thing you need to remember about subordinate conjunctions is that the verb goes to
the very end of the subordinate clause.

• bevor • Was machst du, bevor du in die Arbeit gehst?

• (before) • (What do you do before you go to work?)

Wir müssen uns beeilen, damit wir pünktlich sind.

• damit
• (so that)
• (We have to hurry so that we will be on time.)

• falls • Frau Müller kauft ein paar extra Flaschen Wein, falls doch mehr Gäste
• (in kommen.
case) • (Mrs Müller buys a few extra bottles of wine in case more guests come.)

Verbs with and without "zu"

Ich habe heute viel Zeit zu lesen. Ich have a lot of time to read today.
Lena hat vergessen, einkaufen zu gehen. Lena forgot to go shopping.
Erik möchte tanzen. Erik would like to dance.
Sie wollen in die Oper gehen. They want to go to the opera.

In a regular German sentence the conjugated verb usually comes in second place, while the
infinitive is placed at the end of the sentence.

Some infinitives in German have a zu in front of them while others do not:

• if the conjugated verb is a modal verb

Wir können leider nicht kommen. Unfortunately we can’t come.

• perception verbs such as sehen (to see), hören (to hear), fühlen (to feel), spüren (to sense)

Ich sehe nichts. I don't see anything.

• movement verbs such as gehen (to go), kommen (to come), fahren (to drive)

Wir gehen Brötchen holen. We are going to get roles.

 Hanna bestellt einen Kaffee. Hanna is ordering a coffee.
Wir gehen durch den Park. We are going through the park.

• lassen (to let) and bleiben (to stay)

Ich lasse mir die Haare schneiden. I am getting my haircut.

Der Hund bleibt auf seiner Decke liegen. The dog will stay on his blanket.

In most other cases, zu must be used with the infinitive:

Tina versucht zu schlafen. Tina is trying to sleep.

Du brauchst morgen nicht zu kommen. You don't have to come tomorrow.

In case of separable verbs, note that the zu is placed between the two parts of the verb:

aushalten —> auszuhalten

(to endure)

Wir müssen das aushalten. We have to endure that.

Das ist ja nicht auszuhalten. That’s unbearable. (Expression)