G3 Woche 9 Flashcards
3 alternative uses of ‘the’:
1) ‘Das’ can be used as ‘that’
2) ‘Der/die’ can be used as pronouns instead of ‘er/sie’ for smth previously mentioned.
3) ‘Der/die’ can be used fondly before a first name or pejoratively before a surname.
A. A sausage roll here costs six euros.
B. //That// is too much for me.
//Alternative ‘the’ usage//
Ein Wurstbrötchen kostet hier sechs Euro.
//Das// ist mir zu viel.
[Ein Wurstbrötchen]
A. We are waiting for a waiter.
B. //They// don’t come to the table here.
//Alternative ‘the’ usage//
Wir warten auf einen Kellner.
//Die// kommen hier nicht an den Tisch.
[Sie]
This milk is sour.
We have to throw [it] away.
//Alternative ‘the’ usage//
Diese Milch ist sauer. //Die// müssen wir wegwerfen.
[Diese Milch]
Give me the key.
I can’t find //it// at the moment.
//Alternative ‘the’ usage//
Geben Sie mir den Schlüssel.
//Dem// finde ich im Augenblick nicht.
[Dem Schlüssel]
I’m seeing //the Anna// this evening.
[familiar]
Ich sehe die Anna heute Abend.
Schmidt is always keeping his customers waiting.
[pejorative]
Der Schmidt lässt sein Kunden immer warten.
If listing several nouns of different genders…
… omit the der/die/das. This is common in writing and in conversation.
Breakfast is ready. The bread, eggs, coffee and milk are on the table.
Das Frühstück ist fertig. Brot, Eier, Kaffee und Milch stehen auf dem Tisch.
Next month I’m going to Germany (the present works the same in German here as it would in English - a certain continuation of the present)
Nächsten Monat fahre ich in Deutschland.
I’ll help you [present tense, implying ‘at once’]
Ich helfe Ihnen.
I’ll do my best.
Ich werde mein Bestes tun.
it goes
es geht
it drives
es fährt
it grows
es wächst
she reads
sie liest
he sees
er sieht
she eats
sie isst
it helps
es hilft
it gives
es gibt
it takes
es nimmt
he speaks
er spricht
he knows
er weiß
The present perfect =
haben (auxiliary, conjugated in second place in sentence) + past tense (main verb, end of sentence) e.g I have lived.
NB. some verbs use sein.
The past participle in German is usually formed by…
For example: to eat => ate
…adding the prefix ge- and swapping the -en of the infinitive with -t.
Zum beispiel: machen => ge-mach-t
For the sake of pronounciation, if the STEM ends in -d or -t..
For example: to wait => waited
… the past participle adds -et instead of just -t.
Zum beispiel: warten => gewartet
The past participle in german is very broad case-wise.
e.g. Wir haben ein Bild gemacht means…
… ‘We have painted a picture’ but also means ‘we painted/were painting/have been painting a picture’ as these aren’t distinguished in German.
Usually haben is the auxillary for the past tense. Sein is only used when…
1) either motion/ a change of state is implied (i.e. kommen, werden) WITHOUT a direct object (i.e verbs such a bringen, schicken still use haben)
2) counterintuitively to 1, when using the verbs sein or bleiben
I ran to and fro!
Ich bin hin und her gelaufen! (sein - motion without DO)
I went to the doctor.
Ich bin zum Artzt gegangen (sein - motion without DO)
