A1 GEMAN PART 1 PREVIEW
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German letters:
At 1st we should learn the alphabet of any language. The alphabets are very similar to our English language as they both emerged from Latin. There are 30 letters in German alphabet and 26 of them are similar to English alphabet. We will discuss the alphabets here with their pronunciation which is a little different from their English counterpart and we will see 1 example for each of them.
Now let’s start with the alphabets.
A
ah
Apfel (apple)
B
bay
Bein (leg)
C
tsay
CD (CD)
D
day
Donnerstag (Thursday)
E
ay
Elefant (elephant)
F
eff
Ferien (vacation)
G
gay
Gehen (to go)
H
hah
Haus (house)
I
eech
Ich (I)
J
yot
Jahr (year)
K
kah
Kinder (children)
L
ell
Lieben (to love)
M
em
Mittwoch (Wednesday)
N
en
Neu (new)
O
oh
Ohr (ear)
P
pay
Papier (paper)
Q
koo
Qualität (quality)
R
ehr
Rot (red)
S
es
Sonne (sun)
T
tay
Tag (day)
U
ooh
Uhr (clock)
V
fow
Vater (father)
W
vay
Woche (week)
X
iks
Xylofon (xylophone)
Y
oopsilohn
typisch (typical)
Z
tset
Zeit (time)
Ä
eh
Mädchen (girl)
Ö
Uuh
möchten (to want)
Ü
ouh
früh (early)
ß
ess-set
Straße (street)
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PHRASES:
Every language has their phrases for social pleasantries. We often learn those just by watching a movie, song etc. you can learn them even without actually speaking the language. Here we will discuss some of them.
Hallo, which means hello.
Auf Wiedersehen. It means goodbye in formal manner.
Tschüss. It means goodbye in informal manner.
Bitte, which means please.
Vielen Dank. It means thank you.
Willkommen , means wellcome.
Guten Morgen, means good morning.
Guten Tag. It means good afternoon.
Guten Abend, which means good evening.
Gute Nacht, means good night.
Bis bald, means see you soon.
Bis später, means see you later.
Guten Appetit. It means have a good meal.
Entschuldigung, means excuse me.
Kein Problem, means no problem.
Natürlich, means of course.
Prost. It means cheers.
Gute Besserung, means get well soon.
Wie geht’s?. It means, how are you?
Mir geht’s gut, means I’m fine.
Gute Reise, means happy journey.
Es tut mir leid. It means I’m sorry.
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TYPES OF SENTENCES:
In German, sentences are classified based on their structure and function. Here we will discuss both in English and in German.
The first one is Declarative Sentence.
Its used to make statements or provide information. the structure is Subject + Verb + Object(s) (SVO)
Example: The dog is sleeping. (Der Hund schläft.)
Next, Interrogative Sentence which isused to ask question.
Some of these questions expect a simple "yes" or "no" answer.
Structure: Verb + Subject + Object(s) (VSO)
Example: Is the dog sleeping? (Schläft der Hund? )
Some of these questions begin with a question word (wer, was, wann, wo, warum, wie) and ask for specific information.
Structure: Question Word + Verb + Subject + Object(s) (QWVS)
Example: Wann schläft der Hund? (When is the dog sleeping?)
Next, Imperative Sentences (Befehlsätze):
Purpose: To give commands, instructions, or requests.
Structure: Verb + (Subject, often omitted) + Object(s)
Example: Schlaf! (Sleep!)
Next, Exclamatory Sentences (Ausrufesätze):
Purpose: To express strong emotions or reactions.
Structure: Often similar to declarative sentences but with a different tone or punctuation (e.g., exclamation mark).
Example: Wie schön der Hund schläft! (How beautifully the dog is sleeping!)
Lastly, Conditional Sentences (Bedingungssätze):
Purpose: To express conditions and their consequences.
Structure: there are three types.
Type 1 (Real Condition): If + Present + Future
(If the dog is sleeping, I will watch TV.)
Type 2 (Unreal Present): If + Past Subjunctive + Conditional
(If the dog were sleeping, I could watch TV.)
Type 3 (Unreal Past): If + Past Perfect + Conditional Perfect
(If the dog had slept, I would have watched TV.)
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GRAMMATICAL CASES:
In German, grammatical cases are essential for understanding the roles of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in sentences. There are four grammatical cases.
1) Nominative Case indicates the subject of the sentence, the person or thing performing the action.
Examples: Der Hund schläft. (The dog is sleeping.) — Der Hund is the subject
2. Accusative Case (Akkusativ) indicates the direct object of the sentence, the person or thing directly affected by the action.
Examples: Ich sehe den Hund. (I see the dog.) — den Hund is the direct object.
3. Dative Case (Dativ) indicates the indirect object of the sentence, the person or thing that benefits from or is affected indirectly by the action.
Examples: Ich gebe dem Hund einen Knochen. (I give the dog a bone.) — dem Hund is the indirect object (the recipient of the bone).
4. Genitive Case (Genitiv) indicates possession or a relationship between nouns.
Examples:Das Buch des Lehrers. (The teacher’s book.) — des Lehrers shows possession.
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Here we will learn parts of speech which are similar to English. The significant parts will be discussed here in a few sentences. It will be discussed in detail in later lessons.
Most of the time you will find words based on theme. But I think its more beneficial to learn them with their category in part of speech. I am going to divide basic German words in different difficulty levels and for each levels we will learn words for different parts of speech.
v 3.1 Nouns (Nomen) :
In the German language, nouns are categorized into three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. This classification affects how nouns are used, including their corresponding articles (der, die, das) and can sometimes complicate the learning process due to its contrasts with English, which lacks such gender distinctions. Also every noun irrespective of their place in a sentence starts with a capitalized letter unlike English.
Natural vs. Grammatical Gender: While many nouns follow natural gender rules (for example, male human beings are typically represented by masculine nouns), there are significant exceptions, such as "das Mädchen" (the girl), which is neuter. Learners should be cautious not to rely solely on natural gender associations. Some tips to remember the grammatical genders:
Feminine Endings:
-a, -ei, -enz, -heit, -ie, -ik, -in, -keit
Masculine Endings:
-ant, -ast, -ich, -ig, -ismus, -ling, -or, -us
Neuter Endings:
-chen, -lein, -ma, -ment, -sel, -tel, -tum, -um
Masculine nouns often making up the highest percentage . This means that guessing "der" for the article may prove to be more accurate than choosing "die" or "das," especially when one is unsure of a noun's gender.
Difficulty level- 1 words
Noun
Grammatical Gender
Pronunciation
Meaning
Plural Form
Kaffee
M
Kah-FAY
Coffee
Kaffees
Tee
M
Tay
Tea
Tees
Milch
F
Milsh
Milk
-
Wasser
N
VAH-Ser
Water
-
Bier
N
Beer
Beer
Biere
Wein
M
Vine
Wine
Weine
Brot
N
Broht
Bread
Brote
Mutter
F
MOO-Ter
Mother
Mütter
Vater
M
FAH-Ter
Father
Väter
Bruder
M
BROO-Der
Brother
Brüder
Schwester
F
SHVES-Ter
Sister
Schwestern
Tochter
F
TOHK-Ter
Daughter
Töchter
Sohn
M
Zone
Son
Söhne
Mann
M
Man
Man/Husband
Männer
Frau
F
Frow
Woman/Wife
Frauen
Junge
M
YOONG-Uh
Boy
Jungen
Knabe
M
KNAH-Buh
Boy
Knaben
Hund
M
Hoont
Dog
Hunde
Katze
F
KAHT-Suh
Cat
Katzen
Eule
F
OY-Luh
Owl
Eulen
Elefant
M
Eh-Leh-FAHNT
Elephant
Elefanten
Maus
F
Mouse
Mouse
Mäuse
Bär
M
Bear
Bear
Bären
Essen
N
ESS-En
Food
-
Haus
N
House
House
Häuser
Geld
N
Gelt
Money
Gelder
Note that some words like “Milch,” “Wasser,” and “Essen” do not typically have plural forms in German.
v 3.2 Article (Artikel) :
Articles precede nouns and specify definiteness or indefiniteness. German articles are categorized into definite articles (der, die, das) and indefinite articles (ein, eine).
They are also categorized based on grammatical genders and grammatical cases.Each case affects the form of articles and sometimes the nouns themselves. Here’s a basic overview of how definite articles change in each case:
Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive
Masculine
Der
den
Dem
des (plus -s or -es ending for singular nouns)
Feminine
Die
die
Der
der
Neuter
Das
das
dem
des (plus -s or -es ending for singular nouns)
Plural
Die
die
den (plus -n ending for plural noun if applicable)
der
v 3.3. Pronouns (Pronomen):
Pronouns are words you substitute for specific nouns when the reader or listener already knows which specific noun you’re referring to. Similar to nouns, they are also categorized in three grammatical genders. Also, In German, pronouns have various forms that correspond to the grammatical case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive).
Pronouns
Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genetive
I
ich
mich
mir
meiner
We
wir
uns
uns
unser
You
du
dich
dir
deiner
You(plural)
ihr
euch
euch
euer
he
er
ihn
ihm
seiner
she
sie
sie
ihr
ihrer
It/ that
es
es
ihm
seiner
They
sie
sie
ihnen
ihrer
You (formal)*
Sie
Sie
Ihnen
Ihrer
* For you (formal) the 1st letter in always capitalized.
3.3.1 Some other pronouns in German Language:
German words
Pronunciation
Meaning
Etwas
ET-vahs
Something
Nichts
niks
Nothing
Jemand
YAY-mahnd
Someone
Niemand
NEE-mahnd
No one
Alle
AH-leh
All
Alles
AH-les
Everything
Jeder
YAY-der
Everyone
Einige
EYE-nee-guh
Some
Beide
BYE-duh
Both
Man
mahn
One/They
3.4. Adjectives (Adjektiv) :
An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun. It gives more information about a noun's quality, quantity, state, or characteristic. Adjectives can tell us what kind (color, size, shape), how many, or which one. In German, adjectives also reflect the gender, case, and number of the noun they describe. Adjectives in German change their endings based on three factors: the gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive), and the number (singular, plural) of the noun they are describing. The rules will be discussed in detail in later lessons.
Adjective
Pronunciation
Meaning
Gut
goot
Good
Schön
shurn
Beautiful
Nett
net
Nice
Groß
grohs
Big/Tall
Klug
klook
Smart
Klein
kline
Small
Wunderbar
VOON-der-bar
Wonderful
Laut
lout
Loud
Aufregend
OWF-ray-gent
Exciting
Interessant
in-ter-eh-SAHNT
Interesting
Now we will discuss the rest of the part of speech in this lesson.
§ 4.1 Verb (Verben):
In German, verbs can change form based on tense, mood, and person, making them a dynamic component of the language. German verbs are often categorized into regular and irregular verbs, with the latter exhibiting unique conjugations that must be memorized.
Difficulty level 1
Verb
pronunciation
Meaning
Other forms
1. ist
ist
is
Bin, sind
Bist, sind
sind
2. Kommt
Komt
come
Komme, kommen
Kommst, kommt
Kommen
3. geht
Gaat
goes
Gehe, gehen
Gehst, gehen
gehen
4. sieht
zeet
see
Sehe, sehen
Siehst, seht
sehen
5. hat
hat
has
Habe, haben
Hast, hat
haben
6. spricht
speak
spreche, sprechen
sprichst, sprecht
sprechen
7. liebt
leebt
love
Liebe, lieben
liebst, liebt
leben
8. lebt
l aibt
live
Lebe, leben
Lebst, lebt
leben
9. braucht
browkh-t
need
brauche, brauchen
Brauchst, braucht
brauchen
10. möchtet
MOHK-tet
Would like
möchte, , möchten
möchtest, möchtet
möchten
11. sitzt
sitst
sit
sitze, sitzen
sitzt, sitzt,
sitzen
12. nimmt
nimmt
take
nehme, nehmen
nimmst, nehmt
nehmen
13. spielt
shpeelt
play
spiele, , spielen
spielst, spielt
spielen
14. malt
malt
paint
male, malen
malst, malt,
malen
15. bringt
bringt
bring
Bringe, bringen
bringst, bringt,
bringen
16. muss
moos
Have to
muss, , müssen
musst, müsst
müssen
17. heißt
hie-st
Is called
heiße, , heißen
heißt, heißt
heißen
4.1.1 A few Grammatical concepts:
Here will we just overview some outlines of these concepts. We will come back to these after a few lessons. Ii is recommended to just go through it get familiar with it. You don’t have to remember them precisely.
1. Tense in German language: Similar to English German language has past, present and, future tense.
Present Tense (Präsens) : The present tense is used for actions happening now or regularly.
Example: Er/Sie/Es spielt <- He/ she/ it plays or is playing.
Past Tense (Präteritum and Perfekt): The past tense can be expressed in two ways- Präteritum (simple past) and Perfekt (present perfect). Präteritum is more common in written German. Perfekt is more common in spoken German and involves a helping verb (haben or sein) + past participle.
Example: a) Er/Sie/Es spielte <- He/ she/ it played
b) Sie hat gespielt. <- she has played.
Future Tense (Futur I): The future tense uses the verb "werden" + infinitive form of the main verb.
Example: Sie wird spielen <- She will play.
§ 4.2 Adverbs (Adverbien):
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs, providing additional information about how, when, where, or to what extent an action occurs. They are not inflected for gender or case.
Adverb
Pronunciation
Meaning
sehr
zair
very
hier
heer
here
zu
tsoo
too
auch
owkh
also
jetzt
yetst
now
wieder
VEE-der
again
wirklich
VEERK-likh
really
schnell
shnell
quickly
manchmal
MAHNCH-mahl
sometimes
oft
oft
often
immer
IM-mer
always
stark
shtark
very much/hardly
heute
HOY-tuh
today
weg
vek
away
nur
noor
only
ein bisschen
ayn BIS-shen
a little bit
gestern
GES-tern
yesterday
morgen
MOR-gen
tomorrow
ja
yah
yes
nein
nine
no
drüben
DROO-ben
there
zusammen
tsoo-ZAH-men
together
jeden Fall
YAY-den fahl
definitely
circa
TSEER-kah
approximately
Adverbs in German can be derived from adjectives, adding flexibility to their use.
§ 4.3. Prepositions (Präpositionen):
Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words in a sentence, indicating relationships of time, place, or direction. German prepositions typically govern specific cases.
Prepositions
Pronunciation
Meaning
zu
tsoo
to
in
in
in
im
im
in the
mit
mit
with
aus
owss
from/out of
für
fyoor
for
da
dah
there
nach
nahkh
after/to
zum
tsoom
to the
auf
owf
on/upon
ohne
OH-nuh
without
P.S- It is not recommended to memorize the specific meanings of the prepositions. It’s more beneficial to learn their meaning from sentence examples which will be discussed soon.
§ 4.4. Conjunctions (Konjunktionen)-
Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses and can be classified into coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber) and subordinating conjunctions (weil, dass, obwohl). Coordinating conjunctions connect elements of equal importance, while subordinating conjunctions introduce dependent clauses.
Examples:
Conjunction
Pronunciation
Meaning
und
oont
and
oder
OH-der
or
aber
AH-ber
but
weil
vile
because
denn
den
because/since
dass
dass
that
seit
zite
since
bevor
be-FOR
before
nachdem
nahk-DEM
after
sondern
ZON-dern
but rather
doch
dokh
yet/however
obwohl
ob-VOHL
although
während
VEHR-end
while
falls
falts
in case
sobald
zo-BAHLT
as soon as
damit
DAH-mit
so that/in order that
ob
ob
whether/if
sobald
zo-BAHLT
as soon as
solange
zo-LAHN-guh
as long as
sonst
zonst
otherwise
P.S.- It is recommended to only remember the first 6 or 7 conjunctions from the above list for now. Others will be discussed in later lessons.
§ 4.5.Some Interrogative words and their meaning-
For easier retention, I have listed them here instead of putting them in their respective category tables.
German
Pronunciation
Meaning
Wer
vair
who
Was
vahs
what
Wie
vee
how
Welche
VEL-chuh
which
Warum
vah-ROOM
why
Wann
vahn
when
Wo
voh
where
Woher
voh-HAIR
from where
Wohin
voh-HIN
to where
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EXMAPLES:
Let’s see some examples for what we have learnt so far.
Kafee oder tee?
Coffee or tea?
Milch, bitte.
Milk please.
Danke, tschuss.
Thank you, bye.
Meine mutter ist klug.
My mother is smart.
Du bist groß.
You are tall.
Meine töchter ist sehr nett.
My daughter is very nice.
Eine mutter und ein vater.
A mother and a father.
Ja, er ist mein sohn.
Yes, he is my son.
Der hund ist groß
The dog is big.
Die katze ist junge.
The cat is young.
Die eule ist schön.
The owl is beautiful.
Guten tag, wie geht’s?
Good afternoon, how are you?
Wo ist meine frau?
Where is my wife?
Es ist kalt.
It is cold.
Ich spiele Volleyball.
I play volleyball.
Hier ist das kind.
Here is the child.
Woher kommst du?
Where do you come from (where are you from)?
Sie kommt auf Amerika.
She is from America.
Ich male jetz.
I am painting now.
Wo ist das essen?
Where is the food?
Wohin gehst du?
Where are you going?
Er ist sehr klug.
He is very smart.
Ich esse kein Brot.
I don’t eat bread.
Wie heißt du?
What is your name?
Komm.
Come.
Da drüben.
Over there.
In der Nähe.
Nearby.
Weit weg.
Far away.
Sag einfach.
Just say.
Was machst du gern?
What do you like to do?
Für mich einen Kaffee.
A coffee for me.
Das geht.
That works.
Um eins!
At once!
Schade.
That's too bad.
Ich freue mich.
I'm looking forward.
Das macht fünf Euro.
That'll be five euros.
Das tut mir leid.
I'm sorry about that.
Warten Sie.
Wait.
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EXAMPLE STORY:
Let’s read a simple story now.
Am Sonntagmorgen sitze ich im Garten. Ich trinke Kaffee und lese ein Buch. Der Hund kommt und legt sich neben mich. Der Junge spielt mit dem Ball, und die Katze jagt eine Maus. Es ist ein schöner, sonniger Tag.
Mein Bruder kommt aus dem Haus und bringt mir Tee. Meine Schwester malt ein Bild von der Eule, die auf einem Baum sitzt. Die Mutter ruft uns zum Frühstück. Das Essen ist wunderbar: Brot, Käse, und frisches Obst. Ich liebe diese ruhigen Morgenstunden.
Am Nachmittag gehe ich mit meinem Vater spazieren. Wir sprechen über den Elefant im Zoo und den Bär im Wald. Meine Mutter und meine Schwester gehen einkaufen. Sie brauchen Milch und Brot für das Abendessen. Wir haben eine nette, aufregende Zeit zusammen.
Now i will read the translation of this.
On Sunday morning, I sit in the garden. I drink coffee and read a book. The dog comes and lies down next to me. The boy plays with the ball, and the cat chases a mouse. It is a beautiful, sunny day. My brother comes out of the house and brings me tea. My sister paints a picture of the owl sitting on a tree. Mother calls us for breakfast. The food is wonderful: bread, cheese, and fresh fruit. I love these quiet morning hours. In the afternoon, I go for a walk with my father. We talk about the elephant in the zoo and the bear in the forest. My mother and my sister go shopping. They need milk and bread for dinner. We have a nice, exciting time together.
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