Grammar A2 - Nico Weg Flashcards
Compound conjunctions
Compound conjunctions: zwar … aber
Ich komme zwar aus Spanien, aber Deutschland ist mein Zuhause.
Zwar … aber is used to express a qualification: first a statement is made which leads to a particular assumption. Then this statement is qualified. When Yara says that she comes from Spain, one can assume that she considers Spain as her home. Then she says something that does not necessarily fit with this assumption: Germany is her home, not Spain. The word zwar can also be omitted but the qualification is then given less emphasis.
Zwar … aber is an example of a so-called double conjunction or compound conjunction, consisting of at least two parts. These separated conjunctions link sentences or clauses with equal ordination.
Sentences:
Where compound conjunctions link two sentences, each sentence generally has its own subject and its own verb.
Tarek kommt aus der Türkei. – Er spricht meistens Deutsch.
Tarek kommt zwar aus der Türkei, aber er spricht meistens Deutsch.
Clauses:
Where compound conjunctions link two clauses, they often have a common subject and/or a common verb.
Deutschland war für Yara fremd. – Deutschland war für Yara interessant.
Deutschland war für Yara zwar fremd, aber interessant.
Grammatical terms in German:
die Konjunktion: Conjunctions (e.g. und, oder, aber) link sentences or clauses to each other.
Location names without an article
City and country names without an article
Woher kommst du? – Ich komme aus …
The question where you come from can be answered with different information. You would usually say your homeland or hometown.
The preposition aus precedes the name of the country or city.
Ich komme aus Spanien.
Ich komme aus Sevilla.
Wo lebst du? – Ich lebe in …
You answer the question which city or country you live in with the preposition in.
Ich lebe in Spanien.
Ich lebe in Sevilla.
Wohin reist du? – Ich reise nach …
You answer the question which city or country you are traveling to with the preposition nach.
Ich reise nach Spanien.
Ich reise nach Sevilla.
Location names with an article
The names of some countries have an article.
Masculine:
der Irak, der Iran, der Jemen, der Kongo, der Libanon, der Niger, der Oman, der Senegal, der Sudan, der Tschad
Feminine:
die Demokratische Republik Kongo, die Dominikanische Republik, die Elfenbeinküste, die Mongolei, die Schweiz, die Slowakei, die Türkei, die Ukraine, die Zentralafrikanische Republik
Neuter:
das Kosovo
Plural:
die Bahamas, die Kapverdischen Inseln, die Komoren, die Malediven, die Niederlande, die Philippinen, die Salomonen, die Seychellen, die USA / die Vereinigten Staaten, die Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate
*Masculine country names are sometimes also used without the article, especially Irak and Iran.
There are a few things to remember when you are talking about these countries.
Woher kommst du?
After the preposition aus, the article is in the dative:
Ich komme aus dem Irak / aus der Schweiz / aus dem Kosovo / aus den USA.
If you are talking about an island group, you can also use the preposition von + dative:
Ich komme von den Philippinen.
Wo lebst du?
After the preposition in, the article is in the dative. In dem becomes im.
Ich lebe im Irak / in der Schweiz / im Kosovo/ in den USA.
If you live in an island group, you can also use the preposition auf + dative:
Ich lebe auf den Philippinen.
Wohin reist du?
Here the preposition nach is not used; instead the preposition in + accusative is used:
Ich reise in den Irak / in die Schweiz / ins Kosovo (ins = in + das) / in die USA.
If you are traveling to an island, you can also use the preposition auf + accusative:
Ich reise auf die Philippinen.
Overview: country names
Without an article With an article
Woher …? aus aus + dative article
Wo …? in in + dative article
Wohin …? nach in + accusative article
Subordinate clauses: weil
A main clause generally consists of at least a subject and a conjugated verb. It is complete both grammatically and in terms of content and is thus self-contained.
A subordinate clause cannot normally stand alone. It is dependent on a superordinate main clause or subordinate clause. There is a comma between the superordinate main clause and the subordinate clause. The conjugated verb is usually right at the end of a subordinate clause. Many subordinate clauses are connected to the superordinate clause by certain introductory words. One of these introductory words is the conjunction weil. A subordinate clause beginning with weil answers the question “why?”. The interrogatives warum, wieso or weshalb are used to inquire as to a reason.
Grammatical terms in German:
der Hauptsatz: A main clause generally consists of a subject and a conjugated verb. It is a self-contained sentence which may stand alone. In a simple statement sentence the verb is the second idea.
der Nebensatz: A subordinate clause cannot normally stand alone. It is dependent on a superordinate main clause or another subordinate clause. The conjugated verb is normally right at the end of a subordinate clause. Many subordinate clauses are linked to the superordinate clause by certain introductory words.
Subordinate clauses: dass
Tarek versteht, dass Nico mit den Händen arbeiten will.
A subordinate clause cannot normally stand alone. It is dependent on a superordinate main clause or subordinate clause. There is a comma between the superordinate main clause and the subordinate clause. The conjugated verb is nearly always right at the end of a subordinate clause. Many subordinate clauses are connected to the superordinate clause by certain introductory words. One of these introductory words is the subordinating conjunction dass.
Subordinate clauses with dass cannot be linked to any main or subordinate clause. Certain expressions allow construction with dass.
Amongst these expressions are …
… Indirect statement sentences in which what someone has said, heard or read is reported:
Nico sagt, dass er das Studium hasst.
… Verbs of perception, thought, expression of feeling, knowledge and will:
Nico glaubt, dass seine Eltern ihn nicht verstehen.
… Expressions with an adjective + sein:
Nico ist sicher, dass er in Deutschland bleiben will.
… Impersonal expressions:
Es ist wichtig, dass Nico eine Arbeit findet.
Grammatical terms in German:
die Konjunktion: Conjunctions link sentences or clauses to each other. There are two types of conjunction:
- Conjunctions that link sentences or clauses of equal ordination, e.g. und, oder, aber. These are also known as co-ordinating conjunctions.
- Conjunctions that link subordinate clauses to superordinate clauses, e.g. weil, dass. These are also known as subordinating conjunctions.
Indirect interrogatives (1)
Questions can be asked directly or indirectly. In an indirect question, a subordinate clause is formed from a direct question:
Direct question: Wie lerne ich schnell Deutsch?
Indirect question: Ich möchte wissen, wie ich schnell Deutsch lerne.
The subordinate clause, which is introduced by an interrogative, is often the object of the main clause. The subordinate clause in this case is also known as the object clause. In sentences composed of a main clause and an object clause, the main clause cannot usually stand alone:
Was möchte Nico wissen?
Er möchte wissen, wie er schnell Deutsch lernt.
As in other subordinate clauses, a comma separates the main clause from the subordinate clause. The conjugated verb is usually at the end of the sentence.
The main clause can be a declarative clause or an interrogative. Look at the examples. Note the punctuation at the end of the sentence: if the main clause is declarative, it has a full stop at the end. If it is an interrogative, there is a question mark at the end.
Declarative clause + indirect interrogative clause:
Bitte sag mir, wo eine gute Sprachschule ist.
Interrogative + indirect interrogative clause:
Weißt du, was dieses Wort bedeutet?
Indirect interrogative clauses are often used to formulate questions especially politely:
Ich möchte gerne wissen, wann der Kurs beginnt.
Können Sie mir sagen, welcher Bus zur Sprachschule fährt?
Sentence construction: subordinate clauses (1)
Subordinate clauses have the following features:
They cannot normally stand alone but are linked to a superordinate clause.
There is a comma between the main and subordinate clauses.
Subordinate clauses usually begin with an introductory word, e.g. a conjunction or an interrogative.
The conjugated verb in a subordinate clause is usually right at the end. There are only a few exceptions.
The conjugated verb thus “migrates” to the end of the subordinate clause:
You have already encountered three types of subordinate clause in this unit:
Causal clauses with weil:
Nico hat Yara gesucht, weil er ihre Hilfe braucht.
Subordinate clauses with dass:
Nico sagt, dass er jeden Tag Deutsch lernt.
Indirect interrogative clauses:
Yara will wissen, wo Nico jetzt wohnt.
Sentence construction: subordinate clauses (2)
Subordinate clauses with two verbs or two verb parts
In a main clause (declarative clause), the conjugated verb is the second idea. But when we form a subordinate
clause, the conjugated verb “migrates” to the end of the subordinate clause:
… with modal verbs:
The conjugated modal verb is at the end, after the infinitive.
Nicos Eltern sind wütend, weil er nicht mehr studieren will.
… in the present perfect tense:
The conjugated form of haben or sein is at the end, after the past participle.
Nico freut sich, weil Yara ihm ein Fahrrad geschenkt hat.
… for separable verbs:
The prefix of the separable verb is not separated. The complete verb is at the end of the sentence and is conjugated:
Nicos Eltern sind sauer, weil er nicht zurückkommt.
Sentence construction: subordinate clauses (3)
Subordinated clause before the main clause
Subordinate clauses introduced by a conjunction can also usually be placed before the main clause. This does not change the word order in the subordinate clause. In the main clause however, the conjugated verb moves forward and is directly after the comma. The subordinate clause thus assumes the position of the first idea in the whole sentence, and the conjugated verb in the main clause is the second idea of the whole sentence.
If the subordinate clause comes before the main clause, the general rule is as follows: the conjugated verb of the subordinate clause comes directly before the comma, and the conjugated verb of the main clause comes directly after the comma.
Here are some examples of different types of subordinate clause:
Weil Nico mit dem Fahrrad schneller ist, schenkt Yara ihm ein Fahrrad.
Dass Nico das Studium hasst, verstehen seine Eltern nicht.
Wo die Bank ist, weiß Nico schon.
Grammatical terms in German:
der Hauptsatz: In general, a main clause consists of at least a subject and a conjugated verb. It is a self-contained clause which may stand alone. In simple declarative sentences, the verb is the second idea.
der Nebensatz: A subordinate clause cannot normally stand alone. It is dependent on a superordinate main clause or another subordinate clause. The conjugated verb is normally right at the end of a subordinate clause. Many subordinate clauses are linked to the superordinate clause by certain introductory words.
Nouns ending in -ung
Yara muss Geld überweisen. Sie macht eine Online-Überweisung.
Nouns ending in -ung are mostly formed from a verb. Therefore, there is a noun ending in -ung corresponding to many verbs. These nouns are always feminine.
überweisen -> die Überweisung
zahlen -> die Zahlung
rechnen -> die Rechnung
Possessive determiners (3)
Possessive determiners in the accusative and dative case
Der Mann rechts ist mein Vater.
Der Brief ist für meinen Vater.
Possessive determiners in the accusative and dative singular have the same endings as indefinite articles. In the plural, the possessive determiner ends in -e (nominative, accusative) or in -en (dative). Here are all the forms that you have learned up to now:
Singular
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative: -
Nominative: -e
Nominative: -
mein Vater meine Mutter mein Kind
Accusative: -en
Accusative: -e
Accusative: -
meinen Vater meine Mutter mein Kind
Dative: -em
Dative: -er
Dative: -em
meinem Vater meiner Mutter meinem Kind
Plural
Nominative: -
meine Eltern
Accusative: -e
meine Eltern
Dative: -en
meinen Eltern
For euer the second e is omitted if an ending is added.
euer -> eure/euren/eurem/eurer
Dative
Revision: articles and personal pronouns in the dative
Take another look at the various articles and personal pronouns in the dative.
Articles
Dative
Masculine dem
einem
keinem
meinem
Feminine der
einer
keiner
meiner
Neuter dem
einem
keinem
meinem
Plural den
-
keinen
meinen
Personal pronouns
Nominative Dative
ich mir
du dir
er/es ihm
sie ihr
wir uns
ihr euch
sie ihnen
Sie Ihnen
Grammatical terms in German:
der Dativ: In German there are four different forms or categories of nouns (cases) called Fälle or Kasus. As well as nominative and accusative, there is also dative. Nouns take this case, for example, when they follow certain prepositions or they are the object of a verb that takes the dative. The articles have the forms: dem/einem, der/einer, dem/einem, den/-. In the plural, an -n is often added to the noun.
das Personalpronomen: Personal pronouns refer to people or things. The words ich, du and Sie are examples of personal pronouns.
Prepositions: bei, mit
Prepositions with the dative: bei, mit
The prepositions bei and mit always take the dative. The dative can be in the form of a noun with an article or in the form of a personal pronoun after the preposition.
bei:
Nico ist beim Arzt. (beim = bei + dem)
Nico möchte nicht mehr bei seinen Eltern wohnen.
Yara sagt, dass Nico bei ihr wohnen kann.
mit:
Selma fährt mit dem Bus.
Selma geht mit ihrer Mutter einkaufen.
Selma ruft Nico an, weil sie mit ihm sprechen möchte.
Adjective declension (3)
If an adjective directly precedes the noun that it describes, the ending of the adjective changes according to the noun. This change to the adjective is called adjective declension. There are three different declensions. What declension to use depends on the article before the noun: indefinite article, definite article or no article.
Adjective declension after the definite article
If the noun comes after a definite article, the adjective has the ending -e or -en.
You already know the endings of the adjectives in the nominative and the accusative:
Adjectives before nouns in the plural (nominative, accusative) have the ending -en.
In the accusative, adjectives before masculine nouns also have the ending -en.
Other adjectives have the ending -e.
Nominative
der Mantel: der schwarze Mantel
die Hose: die braune Hose
das Hemd: das weiße Hemd
die Schuhe: die neuen Schuhe
Accusative
den Mantel: den schwarzen Mantel
die Hose: die braune Hose
das Hemd: das weiße Hemd
die Schuhe: die neuen Schuhe
Adjective endings in the dative are simple: All adjectives have the ending -en.
Dative
dem Mantel: dem schwarzen Mantel
der Hose: der braunen Hose
dem Hemd: dem weißen Hemd
den Schuhen: den neuen Schuhen
Adjective declension (4)
Declining adjectives when there is no article
Heißer Tee, schöne Musik, leckeres Essen und gute Freunde machen Nico glücklich.
If a noun has no article, the adjective takes the ending of a definite article.
Nominative
der Tee: heißer Tee
die Musik: schöne Musik
das Essen: leckeres Essen
die Freunde: gute Freunde
Accusative
den Tee: heißen Tee
die Musik: schöne Musik
das Essen: leckeres Essen
die Freunde: gute Freunde
Dative
dem Tee: heißem Tee
der Musik: schöner Musik
dem Essen: leckerem Essen
den Freunden: guten Freunden
