Grammer

Question 1

In German, the usual sentence structure is:
Subject → Verb → Object

Answer 1

Example:

Ich wohne in Berlin. → I live in Berlin.

Ich = I (subject)
wohne = live (verb)
in Berlin = in Berlin (object).

You always start with the person (subject) and follow it with the action (verb).

Question 2

Questions
Questions in German are a little different because the verb often comes first.

Answer 2

Yes/No Questions:
Start with the verb.
Example:
Kommst du aus Indien? → Are you from India?

Kommst = Are coming (verb)
du = you (subject)
aus Indien = from India (object).

Answer:
Ja, ich komme aus Indien. → Yes, I am from India.

Nein, ich komme nicht aus Indien. → No, I am not from India.

W-Questions (Open Questions):

Use question words (who, what, where, etc.) first.

Examples:
Wie heißen Sie? → What is your name?

Wie = What (question word)
heißen = are called (verb)
Sie = you (subject).

Woher kommst du? → Where are you from?

Woher = Where from
kommst = are coming (verb)
du = you (subject).

Question 3

Negation

To say “no” or “not” in German, you use:

kein = no (used for nouns).
nicht = not (used for verbs or sentences).

Answer 3

Examples:

Ich habe ein Auto. → I have a car.

Ich habe kein Auto. → I don’t have a car.

kein negates the noun Auto.
Ich wohne in Berlin. → I live in Berlin.

Ich wohne nicht in Berlin. → I don’t live in Berlin.

nicht negates the verb or idea of living in Berlin.

Question 4

Verb Conjugations

Verbs change based on who is doing the action.
This is called conjugation.
Let’s take the verb wohnen (to live) as an example:

Answer 4

ich wohne Ich wohne in Berlin.

du wohnst Du wohnst in München.

er/sie/es wohnt Er wohnt in Frankfurt.

wir wohnen Wir wohnen in Hamburg.

ihr wohnt Ihr wohnt in Köln.

sie/Sie wohnen Sie wohnen in Stuttgart.

Question 5

Modal Verbs
Modal verbs add meaning to other verbs. Examples are:

können = can.
müssen = must.
wollen = want.
dürfen = may/allowed to.
They change form but the main verb stays in the infinitive (its unchanged form).

Answer 5

Examples:

Ich kann schwimmen. → I can swim.
kann = can, schwimmen = swim.
Wir müssen lernen. → We must study.
müssen = must, lernen = study.
Er will essen. → He wants to eat.
will = wants, essen = eat.

Question 6

Articles
German has three main articles:

der → masculine nouns.
die → feminine nouns.
das → neutral nouns.

Answer 6

Examples:
der Tisch → the table (masculine).
die Lampe → the lamp (feminine).
das Buch → the book (neutral).
For plurals, it’s always die:

die Bücher → the books.

Question 7

Pronouns
These are words like “I,” “you,” “he,” etc., which replace nouns.

English German

I ich

You (informal) du

He/She/It er/sie/es

We wir

You (plural) ihr

They/You (formal) sie/Sie

Answer 7

Example
Ich bin Student.
Du bist nett.
Er ist Arzt.
Wir sind hier.
Ihr seid laut.
Sie sind Lehrer.

Question 8

Basic Word Order

Main Clauses:
Subject → Verb → Object.

Subordinate Clauses:
The verb moves to the end of the sentence.

Answer 8

Examples:

Ich esse einen Apfel. → I eat an apple.
Wir spielen Fußball. → We play soccer.

Examples:

Ich glaube, dass er kommt. → I believe that he is coming.
dass = that
er = he
kommt = is coming (verb at the end).