German Random Questions

Question 1

What is a compound noun?

Answer 1

A compound word is a word that consists of two or more words.

The gender of a compound noun is always determined by its last element.

die Autobahn (das Auto + die Bahn)
der Orangensaft (die Orange + der Saft)
das Hundefutter (der Hund + das Futter)

Sometimes, there’s a connecting sound (Fugenlaut) between two elements.

die Orange + der Saft = der Orangensaft
der Hund + das Futter = das Hundefutter (the dog food)
die Liebe + das Lied = das Liebeslied (the love song)
der Tag + das Gericht = das Tagesgericht (dish of the day)

Question 2

What is a Predicate adjectives?

Answer 2

Predicate adjectives, i.e. adjectives that don’t precede a noun, are not inflected.

Der Mann ist groß.
Die Männer sind groß.
Die Frau ist groß.
Die Frauen sind groß.
Das Haus ist groß.
Die Häuser sind groß.

Question 3

Explain the difference between; Viel vs. viele

Answer 3

These roughly correspond to English “much/many”. Use viel with uncountable nouns, viele with countable ones.

Ich trinke viel Wasser.
Ich habe viele Hunde.

Question 4

Explain the difference between; Alles oder nichts

Answer 4

Just like nicht (not) has a look-alike nichts (nothing), alle (all) has alles (everything) as a counterpart.

Ich esse nicht. (I do not eat.)
Ich esse nichts. (I eat nothing.)
Ich esse alles. (I eat everything.)
Ich esse alle (Orangen). (I eat all (oranges).)

Question 5

Explain the difference between; Ein paar vs. ein Paar

Answer 5

Ein paar (lowercase p) means “a few”, “some” or “a couple (of)” (only in the sense of at least two, not exactly two!).

Ein Paar (uppercase P) means “a pair (of)” and is only used for things that typically come in pairs of two, e.g. ein Paar Schuhe (a pair of shoes).

So this is quite similar to English “a couple” (a pair) vs. “a couple of” (some).

Question 6

what does “immer noch” mean in this sentence; Er lebt immer noch?

Answer 6

He is still alive.

still

Question 7

What does “genug” mean in the sentence; Haben wir genug Milch??

Answer 7

Do we have enough milk?

enough

Question 8

What does “schon” mean in this sentence; Es ist schon fertig.?

Answer 8

It is already finished.

already

Question 9

What does “vielleicht” mean in this sentence; Es ist vieleicht ein Baer?

Answer 9

It might be a bear.

might

Question 10

What does this sentence mean; Bin ich dran?

Answer 10

Is it my turn?

Question 11

What does “wieder” mean in this sentence; Mein Hund schläft wieder.

Answer 11

My dog is sleeping again.

again

Question 12

What does “vielleicht” mean on its own?

What does this sentence mean; “sie ist vielleicht meine Katze”?

Answer 12

Maybe.

It is perhaps my cat.

Question 13

What does this sentence mean; Ich heiße nicht so.:

Answer 13

This is not my name.

Question 14

What does this sentence mean; “Du bist nicht dran!”?

Answer 14

It is not your turn.

Question 15

What does this sentence mean; “Du bist noch nicht dran”?

Answer 15

It is not your turn yet.

Question 16

What does this sentence mean; “Er ist dran.”?

Answer 16

It is his turn.

Question 17

What is difference between gern/gerne?

Answer 17

They’re just variations of the same word. There’s no difference in terms of meaning or style. You can use whichever you like best.

The same goes for allein(e).

Question 18

When talking about what people like, what is “gern” used to describe?

Answer 18

Gern(e) is used for verbs/activities:
Ich trinke gern(e) Bier. (I like to drink beer/I like drinking beer.)

Er spielt gern(e) Fußball. (He likes to play soccer/He likes playing soccer.)

Wir lesen gern(e) Bücher. (We like to read books/We like reading books.)

Sie schreibt gern(e) Briefe. (She likes to write letters/She likes writing letters.)

Question 19

When talking about what people like, what is mögen used to describe?

Answer 19

Mögen is used for things, animals, and people:
Ich mag Bier. (I like beer.)

Sie mag Katzen. (She likes cats.)

Wir mögen dich. (We like you.)

Ihr mögt Bücher. (You like books.)

Question 20

If a noun has the prefix “ge” what gender is it usually?

Answer 20

nouns beginning with Ge- are often neuter. This is the only prefix determining gender. (das Gebäude, Gemüse, Gesicht, Gesetz, …)

In addition, rhyming can often help. If you already know a noun that rhymes with the new one, there’s a good chance they will have the same gender. Go for it :)

der Fisch, der Tisch
der Raum, der Traum, der Baum
der Kopf, der Knopf

Question 21

What does “niemand anderes” mean?

Answer 21

No one else

Question 22

What does “ist es etwas anderes?” mean?

Answer 22

is it something else?

Question 23

What does “ich lese eine andere zeitung”.

Answer 23

I am reading another newspaper.

Question 24

What position does “entlang” take in a sentence?

Answer 24

Entlang is a strange word :) It is commonly used with the accusative case. But then it has to appear after the noun.

Question 25

Name the common accusative prepositions.

Answer 25

common accusative prepositions: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

Question 26

What does “Es geht um die Fans.” mean?

Answer 26

It is about the fans.

Question 27

What is the difference between “es gibt” and “es sind”?

Answer 27

“es gibt” is used to make a general statement about the existance of something.

Example: In dieser Stadt gibt es viele Hunde./In this city there are many dogs.

“es sind/es ist” is an observation about a specific situation.

Example: Heute sind (es) viele Hunde im Park./Today, there are many dogs in the park.