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GERMAN GRAMMAR

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Grammar of German

A. Nouns and noun modifiers B. Pronouns C. Verbs, Present tense D. Word order E. Prepositions F. Adjectives and adverbs G. Conjunctions H. Verbs, Other tenses I. Verbs, Subjunctive mood J. Verbs, Passive voice

Reference

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Nouns and noun modifiers

A. Gender B. Case

1. Nominative case 2. Accusative case 3. Dative case 4. Genitive case

C. Der-word noun modifiers D. Ein-word noun modifiers E. Plurals of nouns

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Gender :

The grammatical gender of a German noun, together with its case, determines the article, and

the endings on the modifiers and adjectives preceding the noun. German has three

grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.


Masculine Feminine Neuter

People

Objects

Possessives

Adjectives

der Sohn

der Stuhl

mein Sohn

mein junger Sohn

die Tochter

die Tr

meine Tochter

meine junge Tochter

das Kind

das Buch

mein Kind

mein junges Kind

Summaries

Definite and indefinite

articles

der-word noun modifier

endings

ein-word noun modifier

endings

Case:

The function of a noun in a German sentence determines its case, which together with its

gender determines the article, and the endings on modifiers and adjectives preceding the noun

(or on the noun itself).

Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

Der junge Mann sitzt hier.

Kennen Sie den jungen Mann?

Ich gebe es dem jungen Mann.

Wie ist der Name des jungen Mannes?

The young man is sitting here.

Do you know the young man?

I give it to the young man.

What is the young man's name?

Summaries

Definite and indefinite

articles

der-word noun modifier

endings

ein-word noun modifier

endings

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Nominative Case - Functions

Nouns and pronouns use the nominative case:

1. when they are the subject of the verb 2. when they are a predicate nominative, i.e., complete a linking verb (e.g., sein or

werden)

1) Der Mann bleibt hier.

2) Das ist eine Bank.

The man is staying here.

That is a bank.

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Nominative Case - Forms


The definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case are:

Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural

Definite

Indefinite

der Mann

ein Mann

die Frau

eine Frau

das Kind

ein Kind

die Leute

keine Leute

Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern:


der-words

ein-words

dieser Mann

mein Mann

welche Frau

seine Frau

jedes Kind

ihr Kind

manche Leute

deine Leute


Accusative Case - Functions

Nouns and pronouns use the accusative case:

1. when they are the direct object of a verb 2. when they are the object of an accusative preposition 3. when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition 4. when they are used in an expression of definite time 5. when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions.

1) Ich sehe den Mann.

2) Wir gehen durch das Haus.

3) Sie geht in einen Laden.

4) Er macht das jeden Abend.

5) Wir sind ihn endlich los!

I see the man.

We go through the house.

She goes into a store.

He does that every evening.

We finally are rid of him!

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Accusative Case - Forms

The definite and indefinite articles in the accusative case are:


Definite

Indefinite

den Mann

einen Mann

die Frau

eine Frau

das Kind

ein Kind

die Leute

keine Leute

Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern:



der-words

ein-words

diesen Mann

meinen Mann

welche Frau

seine Frau

jedes Kind

ihr Kind

manche Leute

deine Leute

Note that these articles differ from the nominative case articles only for masculine nouns.

Some masculine nouns, primarily those which denote a male person, add an -(e)n ending to

the noun itself in the accusative case. These are called masculine N-nouns. They are listed in

the dictionary as with an extra -en ending before the plural ending, e.g., der Mensch, -en, -en.


Dative Case - Functions

Nouns and pronouns use the dative case:

1. when they are the indirect object of a verb 2. when they are the object of a dative preposition 3. when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition 4. when they are the object of a verb which requires the dative 5. when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions.

1) Er gibt ihr zehn Mark.

2) Was hren Sie von ihm?

3) Das liegt auf dem Stuhl.

4) Ich danke Ihnen sehr.

5) Sei mir nicht bse!

He gives her ten marks.

What do you hear from him?

That is lying on the chair.

I thank you very much.

Don't be angry with me!


Der-word noun modifiers

The following noun modifiers use the same endings as the definite article. (das= -es, die= -e

):

dieser (with singular and plural nouns) = this, these

mancher (primarily with plural nouns) = many

jeder (only with singular nouns) = every, each

solcher (primarily with plural nouns) = such

welcher (with singular and plural nouns) = which?

Mit welcher Gruppe fhrt er?

Sie kennt diesen Mann.

Ich habe jeden Film gesehen.

Solche Leute machen mich irre.

With which group is he travelling?

She knows this man.

I have seen every film.

Such people drive me crazy.

Summary of der-word noun modifier endings

The endings on der-word noun modifiers for all genders and cases are as follows:


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

dieser

diesen

diesem

dieses

diese

diese

dieser

dieser

dieses

dieses

diesem

dieses

diese

diese

diesen

dieser

Ein-word noun modifiers

The following noun modifiers use the same endings as the indefinite article:

Possessive adjectives

mein = my

dein = your (from du)

sein = his, its

ihr = her, its

uns(e)r = our

eu(e)r = your (from ihr)

ihr = their

Ihr = your (from Sie)

and

kein = no, not any

Suchst du deine Handtasche?

Ja, ich brauche meinen Lippenstift.

Are you looking for your

purse?


Haben eure Eltern kein Auto?

Er hat seine Wsche gewaschen.

Yes, I need my lipstick.

Don't your parents have a

car?

He washed his laundry.

Summary of ein-word noun modifier endings

The endings on ein-word noun modifiers for all genders and cases are as follows:


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

mein

meinen

meinem

meines

meine

meine

meiner

meiner

mein

mein

meinem

meines

meine

meine

meinen

meiner

These are the same endings as those on der-word noun modifiers, except for the three forms

with no ending.

Plurals of nouns

German noun plurals follow one of the following patterns:

- no ending (stem vowel may change to Umlaut form):

das Fenster, die Fenster

der Garten, die Grten

-e ending (stem vowel may change to Umlaut form):

der Tisch, die Tische

der Stuhl, die Sthle

-er ending (a , o , u , and au stem vowels change to Umlaut form):

das Kind, die Kinder

das Buch, die Bcher

-en , -n , or -nen ending (stem vowel does not change):

die Frau, die Frauen

die Studentin, die Studentinnen

-s ending (stem vowel does not change):

das Auto, die Autos

das Radio, die Radios

While some rules may help you predict how a specific noun forms its plural, you must

generally memorize the plural form with the noun and its gender.


Pronouns

A. Personal pronouns 1. du and ihr vs. Sie 2. Possible meanings of sie 3. Gender agreement 4. The non-specific pronoun man

B. Interrogative pronouns C. Demonstrative pronouns D. Relative pronouns E. Reflexive pronouns

Personal pronouns - nominative case

The personal pronouns in the nominative case are:

Singular Plural Singular & Plural

ich = I wir = we

du = you (informal) ihr = you (informal plural) Sie = you (formal)

er = he, it (masculine)

sie = she, it (feminine)

es = it (neuter)

sie = they

du and ihr vs. Sie

The proper German pronoun for "you" depends upon your closeness to the person you are

addressing:

Sie and its related forms are used when addressing one or several persons whom you

would normally call by the last name.

Du and its related forms are used when addressing one person (ihr more than one

person) whom you normally would call by the first name.

Herr Schmidt, kennen Sie meine Frau?

Robert, hast du meinen Hut?

Kinder, ihr seid zu laut!

Mr. Schmidt, are you acquainted with my wife?

Robert, do you have my hat?

Children, you are too loud!

Possible meanings of sie


Depending upon its context, the pronoun sie can have various meanings.

1. When it is capitalized and does not begin a sentence, it always means "you" (formal - singular or plural).

2. When it is not capitalized and appears as the subject of a singular verb, it means "she" ("it" if it refers to an object of feminine grammatical gender).

3. When it is not capitalized and appears as the subject of a plural verb, it means "they". 4. When it is used as the direct object of a verb, it can mean "her" ("it" if it refers to an object

of feminine grammatical gender), or "them".

1) Was meinen Sie dazu?

2) Was meint sie dazu?

3) Ich fahre sie durch die Stadt.

What do you think of that?

What does she think of that?

I drive her (or them) through the town.

Gender agreement

In English, only pronouns referring to people show gender differentiation (the woman -

she/her, the man - he/him). In German, pronouns referring to objects also show gender

differentiation. Thus er / ihn / ihm are used to refer to masculine nouns, sie / sie / ihr to refer

to feminine nouns, and es / es / ihm to refer to neuter nouns. All translate into English as "it."

Ich mchte diese Jacke,

aber ich kann sie mir nicht leisten.

Er braucht einen Wagen,

aber er kann ihn sich nicht leisten.

I would like this jacket, but I can't afford it.

He needs a car, but he can't afford it.

The non-specific pronoun man

The pronoun man can be translated as "one, they, you (in an unspecified reference), people,

someone," etc. It is used for generalized assertions or questions, and in substitutes for passive

voice expressions. It only appears as the subject of a singular verb. The corresponding

accusative and dative forms are einen and einem.

Man lernt viel durch Lesen.

Man sagt, es soll heiss werden.

Man hat das schon erklrt.

One learns a lot through reading.

They say it's supposed to get hot.

Someone already explained that.


Man tut, was einem gefllt. People do whatever pleases them.

Interrogative pronouns

Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. In the various cases, their forms are as follows:

For persons For things

Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

wer = who

wen = whom

wem = whom

wessen = whose

was = what

was (or wo-compound) = what

was (or wo-compound) = what

Wer hat das gesagt?

Was hast du gesagt?

Wem hast du das gesagt?

Who said that?

What did you say?

To whom did you say that?

Demonstrative pronouns

Demonstrative pronouns emphasize the thing or person being referred to. In German, they

have the same form as the definite articles, except for the dative plural and genitive singular

and plural and plural forms.


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

der

den

dem

dessen

die

die

der

deren

das

das

dem

dessen

die

die

denen

deren

Welchen Bleistift mchtest du?

Ich mchte den.

Mit welchem Auto fhrst du am liebsten?

Ich fahre am liebsten mit dem.

Which pencil would you like?

I would like that one.

In which car do you like best to ride?

I like best to ride in that one.

Relative pronouns - function


Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which specify a fact about an object or a person.

The gender of the relative pronoun is determined by the gender of the word to which it refers,

and its case is determined by its function in the relative clause. Relative clauses use

dependent word order.

Der Mann, den wir heute getroffen haben, arbeitet in

Berlin.

Ich kenne seine Frau, die oft mit ihm reist.

The man whom we met today works in

Berlin.

I know his wife, who often travels with

him.

Reflexive pronouns - function

Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. They are used most frequently

with reflexive verbs in either the accusative or dative case, depending upon the meaning of

the verb.

Ich ziehe mich schnell an.

Ich ziehe mir schnell Schuhe an.

Sie wscht sich.

Sie wscht sich die Haare.

I get (myself) dressed quickly.

I put my shoes on quickly.

She washes (herself).

She washes her hair.

Verbs, present tense

A. Regular verbs B. Verbs with stem vowel change C. Present tense verb form - meanings D. The verb sein (to be) E. The verb haben (to have) F. The verb werden (to become, get) G. The verb lassen (to let, have done) H. Verbs with separable prefixes I. Modal auxiliary verbs J. Command forms K. Reflexive verbs L. Verbs with special objects M. The verb expressions for "like, not like, would like" N. es gibt (there is, are)


Regular verbs

The regular verbs in the present tense follow the pattern: infinitive stem + personal ending

Personal pronouns


ich gehe wir gehen

du gehst ihr geht Sie gehen

er geht

sie geht

es geht

sie gehen

Verbs with stem vowel change

A number of verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er / sie / es forms of the present

tense. The stem vowel changes are a > , e > ie, and e > i.

Personal pronouns


ich sehe wir sehen

du siehst ihr seht Sie sehen

er sieht

sie sieht

es sieht

sie sehen

Present tense verb form - meanings

The one-word present tense form in German can correspond to one- or multi-word present

tense verb forms in English.

Er arbeitet bis zehn Uhr. He is working until ten o'clock.


Hast du meinen Bleistift?

Warum fragt sie ihn nicht?

Sie glauben das, nicht?

Do you have my pencil?

Why doesn't she ask him?

You do believe that, don't you?

The verb sein (to be)

The present tense forms of the verb sein are:

Personal pronouns


ich bin wir sind

du bist ihr seid Sie sind

er ist

sie ist

es ist

sie sind

The verb haben (to have)

The present tense forms of the verb haben are:

Personal pronouns


ich habe wir haben

du hast ihr habt Sie haben

er hat

sie hat

es hat

sie haben

The verb werden (to become, get)


The present tense forms of the verb werden are:

Personal pronouns


ich werde wir werden

du wirst ihr werdet Sie werden

er wird

sie wird

es wird

sie werden

The verb lassen (to let, have done)

The present tense forms of the verb lassen are:

Personal pronouns


ich lasse wir lassen

du lsst ihr lasst Sie lassen

er lsst

sie lsst

es lsst

sie lassen

Verbs with separable prefixes

Many German verbs have a prefix in their infinitive form, which separates from the verb in

certain sentence structures and appears at the end of the phrase. If the sentence structure

requires that the whole verb appear at the end of the phrase (e.g., in dependent clauses), the

two parts are unified; if not, they are separated.


List of separable prefix verbs

Erich macht das Fenster auf.

Eric hat das Fenster aufgemacht.

Eric, mach das Fenster auf!

Eric will das Fenster aufmachen.

Erich sagt, dass er das Fenster aufmacht.

Eric is opening the window.

Eric has opened the window.

Eric, open the window!

Eric wants to open the window.

Erich says that he is opening the window.

Modal auxiliary verbs - function

Modal auxiliary verbs express relations (such as permission, obligation, ability, etc.) between

the doers of actions and the actions themselves. The singular forms of German modal

auxiliary verbs use special stems.

Infinitive Singular stem Meaning

drfen

knnen

mgen

mssen

sollen

wollen

darf

kann

mag

muss

soll

will

to be permitted to, may

to be able to, can

to like to

to have to, must

to be supposed to, should

to want to

Modal auxiliary verbs - forms

The present tense forms of the modal auxiliary verbs use the special stem in the singular and

the infinitive stem in the plural. The ich- and er / sie / es-forms take no personal ending.

Personal pronouns


ich kann wir knnen

du kannst ihr knnt Sie knnen

er kann

sie kann sie knnen


es kann

Command forms

The form of a command depends upon the speaker's relationship to the person(s) being

addressed. Three forms are possible:

1. the du form, for one person whom one calls by the first name, 2. the ihr form, for several people whom one calls by the first name, 3. the Sie form, for one or several people whom one calls by the last name.

1) Franz, komm herein!

2) Jens und Petra, kommt herein!

3) Herr Braun, kommen Sie herein!

Herr und Frau Schmidt, kommen Sie herein!

Come in!

The du command form

Commands to persons whom the speaker addresses with du use the verb stem associated with

du in statements and questions, but with no ending or with an optional -e ending. This means

that verbs with 1) an e > i or 2) an e > ie vowel change use the changed vowel in the

command form. Verbs with 3) an a > or au > u vowel change, however, use the original

vowel in the command form. 4) Some irregular forms occur.

1) Gib uns etwas Geld!

2) Lies diesen Artikel!

3) Laufe nicht so schnell!

4) Werde nicht bse auf mich!

Give us some money!

Read this article!

Don't run so fast!

Don't get angry at me!

The ihr command form

Commands to a group of persons whom the speaker addresses individually with du use the

same verb form as that associated with ihr in statements and questions.

Freunde, helft mir!

Kinder, seid ruhig, bitte!

Macht das noch einmal!

Friends, help me!

Children, be quiet, please!

Do that once more!


The Sie command form

Commands to a person or group of persons whom the speaker addresses with Sie use the

same verb form as that associated with Sie in statements and questions. The pronoun Sie is

included in the command. The command form for sein (to be) uses an irregular form.

Bleiben Sie etwas lnger!

Fahren Sie mit uns!

Seien Sie vorsichtig!

Stay a little longer!

Ride with us!

Be careful!

Reflexive verbs

A reflexive verb requires a reflexive pronoun when it refers to an action affecting the subject

of the sentence. Generally, the same verb can also be used non-reflexively, if it refers to an

action affecting someone or something other than the subject. The reflexive pronoun can be

either in the accusative or dative case, depending upon its function in the sentence.

List of reflexive verbs

Ich wasche mich schnell.

Ich wasche mir schnell das Gesicht.

Ich wasche schnell das Auto.

I wash (myself) quickly.

I wash my face quickly.

I wash the car quickly.

Verbs with special objects

Some verbs take dative, rather than accusative objects. Even though they translate into direct

object expressions in English, they can often be interpreted as a giving of something to

somebody, and this implies that the object is really an indirect object.

Sie hilft mir mit meiner Arbeit. She helps (gives assistance to) me with my work.


Other German verbs take genitive objects. They belong more to a literary than a

conversational style, and usually translate into English expressions containing "of".

Ich entsinne mich dessen nicht. I don't remember (have no recollection of) that.

Expressions meaning "to like"

"To like doing something" is expressed by:

1. gern + verb 2. gefallen + zu + verb infinitive

1) Wir spielen gern Tennis.

2) Es gefllt uns, Tennis zu spielen.

We like to play tennis.

We like playing tennis.

"To like somebody or something" is expressed by:

1. gern haben + object 2. subject + gefallen + dative object.

1) Wir haben Tennis gern.

2) Tennis gefllt uns.

We like tennis.

We like tennis.

Expressions meaning "to not like"

"To not like doing something" is expressed by:

1. nicht gern + verb 2. nicht gefallen + zu + verb infinitive

1. Er spielt nicht gern Tennis.

2. Es gefllt ihm nicht, Tennis zu spielen.

He doesn't like to play tennis.

He doesn't like to play tennis.

"To not like somebody or something" is expressed by:


1. nicht gern haben + object 2. subject + nicht gefallen + dative object 3. nicht mgen + object

1. Er hat Tennis nicht gern.

2. Tennis gefllt ihm nicht.

3. Er mag Tennis nicht.

He doesn't like tennis.



Expressions meaning "would like"

"Would like to do something" is expressed by: mchten + verb

Ich mchte Tennis spielen.

Sie mchte Wein bestellen.

I would like to play tennis.

She would like to order wine.

"Would like something" is expressed by:

1. mchten + object 2. htten gern + object

Ich mchte ein Glas Wein.

Ich htte gern ein Glas Wein.

I would like a glass of wine.

I would like a glass of wine.

Es gibt (there is, are)

To make a general statement or question about the existence of something, German uses the

expression es gibt. Since the thing referred to is the direct object of the verb geben, it appears

in the accusative case. The verb is always singular, because its subject is always es.

Es gibt viele Autos in den USA.

Gibt es eine Bckerei in der Nhe?

Hier gibt es keinen Spielplatz fr die Kinder.

There are lots of cars in the U.S.

Is there a bakery in the vicinity?

There is no playground here for the children.

Word order

A. Statements B. Questions


C. Commands D. Negation with nicht E. Negation with kein F. Dependent clauses G. Direct and indirect objects of verbs H. Time, manner and place expressions I. Infinitive phrases with zu

Statements

In statements, the conjugated verb always constitutes the second component of the sentence.

1. The subject may precede it, as in English, or 2. some other component which normally follows the verb may precede it, in which case

the subject immediately follows the conjugated verb.

1) Das Wetter ist heute kalt.

2) Heute ist das Wetter kalt.

The weather is cold today.

Today the weather is cold.

Questions

In questions which ask for a specific piece of information, the word order follows the pattern:

Question word(QW) - verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate components(PC)

Was(QW) machen(V) Sie(S) heute abend(PC)? What are you doing this evening?

In questions which ask for a yes or no response, the word order follows the pattern:

Verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate components(PC)

Gehen(V) Sie(S) in die Stadt(PC)? Are you going into the city?

Commands

In commands, the verb is the first component.


1. In the Sie command form, it is followed by the subject pronoun. 2. The du and ihr command forms omit the subject pronoun.

1) Bleiben Sie noch ein paar Minuten, Frau Petersen!

2) Lass mich in Ruhe, Markus!

Macht eure Hausaufgaben, Kinder!

Stay a few minutes more, Mrs. Petersen!

Leave me in peace, Markus!

Do your homework, children!

Negation with nicht

Nicht negates 1) verbs, 2) adjectives, 3) adverbs, 4) prepositional phrases, and 5) nouns

preceded by a definite article or 6) a possessive.

1) Die Sonne scheint nicht.

2) Der Winter war nicht kalt.

3) Wir fahren nicht schnell.

4) Ich gehe nicht ins Bro.

5) Er ist nicht der Chef.

6) Sie ist nicht meine Frau.

The sun is not shining.

The winter was not cold.

We're not driving fast.

I'm not going to the office.

He is not the boss.

She is not my wife.

Position of nicht

The position of nicht in a negative sentence varies, but generally follows these rules:

Nicht follows 1) the verb in second position in a declarative statement, 2) the subject in a

question, 3) objects of the verb (especially pronoun objects), and 4) adverbs of specific time.

1) Ich kann nicht gehen.

2) Wollen Sie nicht gehen?

3) Sie gibt ihm das Buch nicht.

4) Wir fahren heute abend nicht.

I can't go.

Don't you want to go?

She won't give him the book.

We're not travelling this evening.

Nicht precedes 1) predicate adjectives (i.e., those which complete the meaning of a linking

verb, such as sein or bleiben), 2) predicate nouns (same definition as for predicate adjectives),

3) adverbs (except for those denoting specific time), 4) prepositional phrases.

1) Es bleibt nicht warm.

2) Ich bin nicht Herr Grn.

It won't stay warm.

I'm not Mr. Grn.


3) Er fhrt nicht zu schnell.

4) Wir gehen nicht nach Hause.

He isn't driving too fast.

We won't go home.

Since there is considerable flexibility in the position of nicht, one should simply place it

where it sounds right after some practice.

Negation with kein

Kein negates nouns preceded by 1) an indefinite article, or 2) no article.

1) Kaufst du eine Batterie?

Nein, ich kaufe keine Batterie.

2) Hat das Geschft Aspirin?

Nein, es hat kein Aspirin.

Are you buying a battery?

No, I am not buying a battery.

Does the store have aspirin?

No, it has no aspirin.

The endings added to kein are determined by the gender and case of the noun following it.

Dependent clauses

Dependent clauses are sentence parts which contain the components of a complete sentence

(subject - verb - predicate), but require another (independent) clause to complete their

meaning. They can be introduced in a number of ways:

1. by a subordinating conjunction 2. by a relative pronoun.

1) Wir bleiben zu Hause, weil es regnet.

2) Der Mann, der dort sitzt, ist Amerikaner.

We are staying at home, because it is raining.

The man who is sitting there is an American.


Dependent clauses - word order

In a dependent clause, the conjugated verb appears at the end of the clause. All other

elements of the clause remain in their normal position.

Ich weiss nicht, ob er schon zu Hause ist.

Das Auto, das vor der Bank steht, gehrt

meinem Vater.

I don't know if he is already at home.

The car that is standing in front of the bank

belongs to my father.

Dependent, independent clauses - word order

When a dependent clause precedes an independent clause, the conjugated verbs are the last

component of the first clause and the first component of the second clause. Thus the two

verbs always appear on either side of the comma which separates the clauses.

Wenn ich ihn sehe, grsse ich ihn von Ihnen.

Dass sie das gesagt hat, berrascht mich.

When I see him, I'll give him your greetings.

That she said that, surprises me.

Direct and indirect objects of verbs

When a verb has a direct and an indirect object, the direct object is

1. the second of the two if it is a noun, 2. the first of the two if it is a pronoun.

1) Wir geben dem Mann das Buch.

2) Wir geben es dem Mann.

We give the man the book.

We give it to the man.

Time, manner and place expressions


In sentences containing expressions relating to the time(T), manner(M), or place(P) of an

action, these expressions generally appear in that order. Also, more general time

expressions(GT) usually precede more specific ones(ST). Any of these expressions can be

emphasized by placing it first in a sentence.

Sie fhrt heute(T) mit dem Bus(M) in die Stadt(P).

Sie fhrt morgen(GT) um zwei Uhr(ST) mit dem

Zug(M) nach Frankfurt(P).

She is travelling by bus to the city today.

She is travelling by train to Frankfurt

tomorrow at two o'clock.

Infinitive phrases with zu

Many German expressions require an infinitive phrase with zu to complete them. The zu +

infinitive construction appears at the end of its phrase, rather than at the beginning.

Wir versuchen, das Auto zu reparieren.

Es gelingt uns aber nicht, das zu tun.

We are trying to repair the car.

But we are not successful in doing so.

Prepositions

A. Introduction to prepositions B. Accusative prepositions C. Dative prepositions D. Accusative/dative prepositions E. Genitive prepositions F. Da- and wo-compounds G. Introduction to prepositions

H. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, an object of the preposition (either a noun or pronoun), and other words (such as articles and adjectives). German

prepositions may be classified according to the case of their object, Some take

accusative objects, some dative objects, some accusative or dative objects, and some

genitive objects. The following screens show which prepositions use which kinds of

objects.

I.


J.

Accusative prepositions

The accusative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

durch - through, by (with passive verb)

fr - for

gegen - against

ohne - without

um - around, at (in time expressions)

Sie kommen ohne die Kinder.

Er ist gegen den Plan.

Wir machen das fr dich.

Ich fahre um die Stadt.

They are coming without the children.

He is against the plan.

We are doing that for you.

I drive around the city.

Dative prepositions

The dative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

aus - from, out of

ausser - besides

bei - near, at the home of

mit - with

nach - after (time), to (space)

seit - since (time)

von - from, of, by (with passive verb)

zu - to (space), to the place of


Er kommt aus dem Haus.

Sie wohnt bei ihrer Schwester.

Ich spreche morgen mit ihm.

Gehen Sie zu Ihrem Professor!

He is coming out of the house.

She is living at her sister's.

I'll talk with him tomorrow.

Go to your professor!

Accusative/dative prepositions

The accusative / dative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

an - to, close by (something vertical)

auf - onto, on top of (something horizontal)

hinter - behind

in - into, inside of

neben - next to

ber - over, above

unter - below, under

vor - in front of

zwischen - between

Sein Bleistift liegt auf dem Tisch.

Wir gehen in den Laden.

Du stehst hinter ihnen.

Meine Mutter wohnt neben uns.

His pencil is lying on the table.

We are going into the store.

You are standing behind them.

My mother lives next to us.

Accusative/dative prepositions (cont.)

These prepositions use the accusative case to indicate:

1) Motion in a specific direction.

They use the dative case to indicate:

2) Position at a location

3) Undirected motion within an area.


1) Die Frau geht an die Tr.

2) Ein Mann steht vor ihr.

3) Sie bummeln in der Stadt herum.

The woman goes to the door.

A man is standing in front of her.

They stroll around in the city.

Genitive prepositions

The most common genitive prepositions are:

statt, anstatt - instead of

trotz - in spite of

whrend - during, in the course of

wegen - because of

Er kommt statt seines Bruders.

Wir spielen trotz des Wetters.

Ich arbeite whrend der Woche.

Sie schreiben wegen der Probleme.

He comes instead of his brother.

We play in spite of the weather.

I work during the week.

They write because of the problems.

Da- and wo-compounds

When a preposition has a pronoun object, and the pronoun does not refer to a person, the

prepositional phrase often takes the form of a da-compound (in statements) or a wo-

compound (in questions). Prepositions beginning with a vowel require an -r- in the middle of

the compound. Some prepositions do not form such compounds.

Worber sprechen Sie?

Ich denke nicht daran.

Womit schreibt er?

Ich kann ohne sie nicht leben.

What are you talking about?

I don't think about it.

With what is he writing?

I can't live without her.

Adjectives and adverbs

A. Form of Adjectives and Adverbs B. Endings on adjectives

1. Significant (strong) endings


2. Non-significant (weak) endings C. Special adjective and adverb expressions D. Comparison of adjectives and adverbs

Form of Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs have the same form in German. The context in which they are used

indicates how to interpret them.

Dieser Ksekuchen ist sehr gut.

Sie bckt den Kuchen sehr gut.

Ich fahre gern schnelle Autos

Ich fahre gern schnell.

This cheesecake is very good.

She bakes the cake very well.

I like to drive fast cars.

I like to drive fast.

Endings on adjectives

When an adjective precedes the noun it modifies, it takes an ending. The form of the ending

depends upon several factors: the gender and case of the noun, and the type of word which

precedes the adjective-noun combination.

Sie sehen das schne Haus an.

Sie wollen ein schnes Haus haben.

Sie bauen schne Huser.

They look at the beautiful house.

They want to have a beautiful house.

They build beautiful houses.

Predicate adjectives do not take an ending.

Das Haus ist schn. The house is beautiful.


Significant (strong) endings

Significant or "strong" adjective endings correspond to those of the der-word noun modifiers.

These endings indicate the gender and case of the noun the adjective modifies.


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

-er

-en

-em

-en

-e

-e

-er

-er

-es

-es

-em

-en

-e

-e

-en

-er

For the genitive masculine and neuter, the adjective ending is -en rather than -es, because the

noun carries a "strong" ending.

Significant (strong) endings (cont.)

These endings are used when the word preceding the adjective carries no ending, or the

adjective is unpreceded.

Sie trinken deutschen Wein.

Wir bauen ein neues Haus.

Mein kleiner Junge sitzt da.

Der Geruch gebratener Bratwurst war berall.

They are drinking German wine.

We are building a new house.

My little boy is sitting there.

The smell of grilled sausage was everywhere.

They are also used after the words viele, mehrere and einige.

Wir sahen viele junge Leute.

Ich kaufte einige gute Bcher.

We saw many young people.

I bought some good books.

Non-significant (weak) endings

Non-significant, or "weak" endings are either -e or -en. They indicate nothing about the

gender or case of the noun the adjective modifies.



Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

-e

-en

-en

-en

-e

-e

-en

-en

-e

-e

-en

-en

-en

-en

-en

-e

Non-significant (weak) endings (cont.)

These endings are used when the word preceding the adjective carries a significant ending.

Kaufen Sie dieses interessante Buch?

Es gibt keine grossen Kaufhuser hier.

Welcher bekannte Mann hat das gesagt?

Mit solchen schlechten Mitarbeitern kann man

nichts erreichen.

Are you buying this interesting book?

There are no large department stores here.

What famous man said that?

With such bad colleagues, you can't

accomplish anything.

Special adjective and adverb expressions

Adjectives and adverbs often appear in conjunction with special 1) accusative, 2) dative or 3)

genitive expressions.

1) Ich bin solches Wetter nicht gewohnt.

2) Das ist mir bekannt.

3) Es war nicht der Mhe wert.

I am not accustomed to such weather.

That is familiar to me.

It wasn't worth the effort.

Comparison of adjectives and adverbs

Adjectives and adverbs can express three levels of comparison:

1) Positive

2) Comparative

3) Superlative


Although German and English are somewhat similar in the way they form adjective and

adverb comparisons, there are a number of significant differences. For example, the German

forms add adjective endings where required.

1) Ich habe ein schnelles Auto.

2) Martin hat ein schnelleres Auto.

3) Beate hat das schnellste Auto.

I have a fast car.

Martin has a faster car.

Beate has the fastest car.

Positive forms of adjectives and adverbs

Positive comparisons in German use the expression so...wie (as...as), or genauso...wie (just

as...as) with the adjective or adverb.

Dieses Buch kostet genauso viel wie jenes.

Heute ist es nicht so warm wie gestern.

Ich habe einen genauso schnen Mantel wie du.

This book costs just as much as that one.

Today it is not as warm as yesterday.

I have just as pretty a coat as you.

Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs

In German, all adjectives and adverbs form their comparative by adding an -er to the positive

form. None use the equivalent of "more," as for multi-syllable English adjectives and

adverbs. Most one-syllable German adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u change

that vowel to its Umlaut equivalent.

Das Wetter wird immer heisser.

Die Menschen leben lnger.

Er will ein neueres Auto haben.

Beate ist intelligenter als ich.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter.

People are living longer.

He wants to have a newer car.

Beate is more intelligent than I.

As the last example shows, German uses als as the connecting word for comparisons ("than"

in English).


A number of irregular forms exist.

Superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs

German adjectives and adverbs form their superlative with -(e)st + adjective ending. The -e-

is used after a t, d, or an s sound.

The one-syllable adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u which change that vowel

to its Umlaut equivalent in the comparative do so in the superlative as well.

Adjectives preceding the nouns they modify use the form definite article + adjective +(e)st +

adjective ending. Adverbs and predicate adjectives use the form am + adjective +(e)st +

adjective ending.

Hans ist der intelligenteste Junge in der Klasse.

Wie heisst der lngste Fluss der Welt?

Ich finde diese Frage am schwierigsten.

Hans is the most intelligent boy in the class.

What is the name of the longest river in the world?

I find this question to be the most difficult.

A number of irregular forms exist.

Verbs, other tenses

A. Simple past tense B. Compound past tense C. Past perfect tense D. Principal parts of verbs E. Future tense F. Future perfect tense

Simple past tense

The simple past tense, sometimes called the narrative past, is used to relate a sequence of

events. It appears primarily in written German, e.g., in newspapers, novels, etc.


Ich kam, ich sah, ich siegte.

Der Morgen war schn, aber es regnete am

Nachmittag.

Der Politiker versprach viel, und machte

wenig.

I came, I saw, I conquered.

The morning was beautiful, but it rained in the

afternoon.

The politician promised a lot, but did little.

Simple past tense - regular verbs

Regular verbs form the simple past by inserting an -(e)t- tense marker between the verb stem

and the personal ending.

Personal pronouns

kaufen = to buy


ich kaufte wir kauften

du kauftest ihr kauftet Sie kauften

er kaufte

sie kaufte

es kaufte

sie kauften

Verbs whose stem ends in -d, -t, or a consonant combination such as -gn use the -e- as part of

the tense marker. Example: ich arbeitete.

Simple past tense - regular verbs with altered stem

Some regular verbs form the simple past by inserting the -(e)t- tense marker between an

altered verb stem and the personal ending.


Personal pronouns

denken = to think


ich dachte wir dachten

du dachtest ihr dachtet Sie dachten

er dachte

sie dachte

es dachte

sie dachten

The simple past forms for the regular verbs with altered stem may be found in the list of

principal parts of verbs.

Simple past tense - modal auxiliary verbs

The modal auxiliary verbs form their past tense by inserting the -t- tense marker between a

stem without an Umlaut and the personal ending.

Infinitive Simple past Meaning

drfen

knnen

mgen

mssen

sollen

wollen

durfte

konnte

mochte

musste

sollte

wollte

was permitted to

was able to, could

liked to

had to

was supposed to

wanted to

Simple past tense - irregular verbs


Irregular verbs form the simple past by using a verb stem unique to each verb. The personal

endings differ slightly from those of the regular verbs in the simple past.

Personal pronouns

singen = to sing


ich sang wir sangen

du sangst ihr sangt Sie sangen

er sang

sie sang

es sang

sie sangen

The simple past forms for specific irregular verbs may be found in the list of principal parts

of verbs.

Compound past tense

The compound past tense, sometimes called the conversational past, is used to refer to

unconnected events, and is the most common past tense form in conversational German. It is

formed with a helping verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of the main verb.

Ich habe ihn nicht gesehen.

Wir sind nach Berlin gefahren.

Haben Sie das Buch gekauft?

Das Wetter ist warm geworden.

I haven't seen him.

We travelled to Berlin.

Did you buy the book?

The weather has become warm.

Notice from the translations that this tense can correspond either to the simple or the

compound past in English.


Compound past tense - sein as helping verb

Sein appears as the helping verb for any verb whose meaning designates a change of location,

1) if it does not have a direct object.

2) The same verb with a direct object uses haben as its helping verb.

1) Wir sind nach Frankfurt gefahren.

2) Wir haben das Auto nach Frankfurt gefahren.

We drove to Frankfurt.

We drove the car to Frankfurt.

Sein also appears as the helping verb

1) for any verb whose meaning designates a process or development,

2) for two other verbs which fit neither category - sein and bleiben.

1) Wann ist das Wetter kalt geworden?

2) Er ist zu Hause geblieben.

When did the weather turn cold?

He stayed at home.

The verbs which use sein as a helping verb may be found in the list of principal parts of

verbs.

Past participle - regular verbs

Regular verbs form their past participle according to the following pattern:

ge + stem + (e)t.

Ich habe das nicht gesagt.

Haben Sie viel gearbeitet?

I didn't say that.

Did you work a lot?

If the verb begins with an unaccented syllable the ge- prefix is not used.

Sie hat das schon erklrt. She has already explained that.

Past participle - regular verbs with altered stem

Some verbs form their past participles like a regular verb, but use the same altered stem as for

the simple past:

ge + altered stem + (e)t.


Er hat das schon gewusst.

Ich habe sie lange gekannt.

Hast du Wein gebracht?

He knew that already.

I have been acquainted with her for a long time.

Did you bring wine?


Wir haben euch nicht erkannt. We didn't recognize you.

The past participle forms for the regular verbs with altered stem may be found in the list of

principal parts of verbs.

Past participle - modal auxiliary verbs

Modal auxiliary verbs form their past participle using the same stem as for the simple past:

ge + stem without Umlaut + t.

Unsere Kinder haben das nie gedurft. Our children were never permitted (to do) that.

This form of the past participle appears only when the modal auxiliary is used alone, which is

infrequent.

More often, the modal is used in conjunction with another verb, and the past participle

becomes part of a double infinitive construction.

Unsere Kinder haben nie fernsehen drfen. Our children were never permitted to watch television.

Past participle - irregular verbs

Irregular verbs form their past participles by using a verb stem unique to each verb, according

to the following pattern:

ge + verb stem + en


Wir haben den Film nicht gesehen.

Du bist sehr schnell gelaufen.

We haven't seen the film.

You ran very fast.


Kurt hat gestern einen Brief bekommen. Kurt received a letter yesterday.

The past participle forms for specific irregular verbs may be found in the list of principal

parts of verbs.

Past perfect tense

The past perfect tense refers to a past event which occurred before another past event. It

consists of the simple past form of the helping verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of

the main verb.

Sie hatten uns schon gesehen.

Wir waren bis acht geblieben.

They had seen us already.

We had stayed until eight.

Principal parts of verbs

The principal parts of a verb are its infinitive form, present tense er / sie / es-form, simple

past form, and past participle with helping verb. For irregular verbs, these must be learned

individually.

Future tense

The future tense is formed with the helping verb werden and the infinitive of the main verb.

Wir werden bald abfahren.

Wird er seine Kinder mitbringen?

Ich werde an Sie schreiben.

We will leave soon.

Will he bring along his children?

I will write to you.


If it is clear from the context (for example, through an adverb or prepositional phrase) that the

future is intended, German tends to use the present rather than the future tense.

Wir kommen morgen an.

Wir kommen in einer Stunde an.

We will arrive tomorrow.

We will arrive in an hour.

Future perfect tense - function

The future perfect tense is used to refer to an event that will have happened before another

future event.

Bis Ende dieser Woche wird er sein Examen

bestanden haben.

By the end of this week, he will have

passed his exam.

With the adverbs wohl or schon, it refers to a probable event in the past.

Er wird sein Examen schon bestanden haben. He probably has already passed his exam.

Future perfect tense - form

The future perfect tense is formed with the future tense helping verb werden and the perfect

infinitive (past participle + infinitive of its compound past helping verb) of the main verb.

Du wirst das wohl gehrt haben.

Bis morgen werde ich alles gelernt haben.

Bis nchste Woche werden wir nach Italien

gefahren sein.

You have probably heard that.

By tomorrow, I will have learned

everything.

By next week, we will have travelled to

Italy.


Verbs, subjunctive mood

A. The general subjunctive 1. Present time 2. Past time

B. The conditional with wrde C. The special subjunctive

The general subjunctive

The general subjunctive is used:

1) to make a conjecture or hypothetical statement,

2) to express a wish that is not likely to be fulfilled,

3) to make polite requests,

4) to quote indirectly what another person has said.

1) Sie shen diesen Film gern.

2) Wenn ich nur mehr Zeit htte!

3) Knnten Sie mir bitte helfen?

4) Er sagte, er kme morgen.

You would like to see this movie.

If only I had more time!

Could you please help me?

He said he was coming tomorrow.

Present time subjunctive - regular verbs

The present time subjunctive of a regular verb has exactly the same form as the simple past

tense of that verb (1). Thus the conditional with wrde is generally used instead (2).

1) Ich lebte gern in Mnchen. I liked living in Munich.

or


2) Ich wrde gern in Mnchen leben.

I would like to live in Munich.

I would like to live in Munich.

Present time subjunctive - regular verbs with altered stem

The present time subjunctive of a regular verb with altered stem uses the simple past tense

form of the verb, but with an Umlaut over the stem vowel. However, the verbs kennen,

nennen, and rennen use e rather than as their stem vowel.

Wenn er nur daran dchte!

Wenn wir uns besser kennten, wrden wir mehr

Spass haben.

If only he would think of it!

If we knew each other better, we would

have more fun.

Present time subjunctive - modal auxiliary verbs

The present time subjunctive of a modal auxiliary verb uses the simple past tense form of the

verb, with an Umlaut over the stem vowel, except for sollen and wollen. Subjunctive modal

auxiliary verbs are especially important for making polite requests.

Ich mchte zwei Glas Bier.

Drfte ich eine Frage stellen?

Sollten wir sie einladen?

Knntest du mir helfen?

I would like two glasses of beer.

Might I ask a question?

Shouldn't we invite them?

Could you help me?


Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs

The present time subjunctive of an irregular verb uses as its base the simple past tense verb

stem, but with an Umlaut over the stem vowel, if it is a, o, or u. The subjunctive also uses

different endings from the simple past for most forms. Thus even verbs with an i, e, or ie

stem vowel in the simple past, which can carry no Umlaut, are nevertheless nearly always

recognizable as subjunctive forms.

Ich fhre lieber nach Spanien.

Wenn sie nur schneller liefe!

Wenn wir flgen, wrden wir frher ankommen.

I would rather travel to Spain.

If only she would run faster.

If we flew, we would arrive earlier.

Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs (cont.)

The pattern for the present time subjunctive of irregular verbs is:

subjunctive stem + subjunctive ending

Personal pronouns


ich snge wir sngen

du sngest ihr snget Sie sngen

er snge

sie snge

es snge

sie sngen


Past time subjunctive

The past time subjunctive consists of the subjunctive form of haben or sein as the helping

verb, and the past participle of the main verb.

Ich htte Ihnen geholfen.

Wren Sie mitgekommen?

Wir htten euch besucht.

Sie wre gern nach Deutschland gereist.

I would have helped you.

Would you have come along?

We would have visited you.

She would like to have travelled to Germany.

Past time subjunctive with modal auxiliaries

When a sentence contains a modal auxiliary verb in combination with a main verb, the past

time subjunctive consists of the subjunctive form of haben, and the modal auxiliary and main

verbs as a "double infinitive" at the end of the clause.

Ihr httet mich anrufen sollen.

Ich htte ihm alles erklren knnen.

Wir htten in London umsteigen mssen.

You should have called me.

I could have explained everything to him.

We would have had to transfer in London.

The conditional with wrde

The subjunctive form of werden, in combination with the infinitive of the main verb, is often

used instead of the present time subjunctive of the main verb, particularly when the

subjunctive of the main verb looks the same as its simple past tense. This wrde construction

is also generally used in the "then" clause of an "if...then" statement.

Wrdest du mir bitte erklren, was das Would you please explain to me, what that


bedeutet?

Wenn ich Sie wre, wrde ich das rote Kleid

kaufen.

means?

If I were you, I would buy the red dress.

The special subjunctive - function

The special subjunctive is used primarily in written and oral news reports for indirect quotes

(1). It also appears in directives or expressions of good will (2).

1) Der Politiker sagte, er sei nicht mit dem

Gesetz zufrieden, aber er habe doch dafr

gestimmt.

2) Lang lebe der Knig!

The politician said he wasn't satisfied with

the law, but he had voted for it anyway.

Long live the king!

The special subjunctive - form

The special subjunctive uses the infinitive stem of the verb for all of its forms, with the same

personal endings as those of the general subjunctive. Often it looks exactly the same as the

present tense, in which case the general subjunctive is used instead. Its er / sie / es form is

always distinctive, however, and thus appears most frequently.

Personal pronouns


ich spreche wir sprechen

du sprechest ihr sprechet Sie sprechen


er spreche

sie spreche

es spreche

sie sprechen

The verb sein does not use an -e ending on the ich and er / sie / es forms.


ich sei wir seien

du seiest ihr seiet Sie seien

er sei

sie sei

es sei

sie seien

Verbs, passive voice

A. Function of the passive voice B. Present tense C. Other tenses D. The impersonal passive E. Substitutes for the passive

1. The man construction 2. Reflexive constructions 3. The sich lassen construction 4. The sein...zu + infinitive constru

Function of the passive voice

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the receiver rather than the doer of the

action expressed by the verb. In German, the passive voice is used primarily to describe

situations where the activity or process is emphasized, rather than the doer or cause of the


activity. If mentioned at all, the doer appears as the object of von (by), and the cause as the

object of durch (by means of).

Nur Deutsch wird von den Studenten gesprochen.

Das Haus wurde durch Feuer vllig zerstrt.

Only German is being spoken by the students.

The house was completely destroyed by fire.

Passive voice, present tense

The present tense passive uses the present tense of the verb werden as a helping verb, with

the past participle of the main verb.

Heute wird alles ausgerumt.

Die Milch wird langsam gekocht.

Diese Probleme werden nicht leicht gelst.

Today everything is being cleared out.

The milk is boiled slowly.

These problems are not easily solved.

Passive voice, other tenses

The other tenses in the passive voice use the tense forms of the helping verb werden, together

with the past participle of the main verb. The past participle form of werden in the passive

voice is worden, rather than geworden.

Simple past

Das Problem wurde schnell gelst. The problem was quickly solved.

Compound past

Das Problem ist schnell gelst worden. The problem has been quickly solved.

Past perfect

Das Problem war schnell gelst worden. The problem had been quickly solved.

Future

Das Problem wird schnell gelst werden. The problem will be quickly solved


Passive modal auxiliary forms

Passive constructions with modal auxiliary verbs take the following form:

modal auxiliary + past participle of main verb + infinitive of werden

Das Badezimmer muss noch geputzt werden.

Diese Tatsache soll in Betracht gezogen werden.

The bathroom must still be cleaned.

This fact should be taken into account.

The modal auxiliary verb itself changes tense to form the other tenses of these constructions.

Das Badezimmer musste noch geputzt werden.

Das Badezimmer wird noch geputzt werden mssen.

The bathroom still had to be cleaned.

The bathroom will still have to be cleaned.

The impersonal passive

In German, the passive voice can appear without any subject of the verb, or with an

impersonal subject es. This grammatical structure places emphasis upon the action itself,

rather than upon the doer or receiver of the action. It is frequently used in official directives.

Hier wird nicht geparkt.

Im Gang wird nicht geraucht.

Es wurde viel getanzt und gesungen.

No parking here.

No smoking in the corridor.

There was lots of dancing and singing.


Substitutes for the passive

In conversational German, the passive voice is not used as frequently as in English. Instead, a

number of substitute structures can be used:

1) man as a non-specific subject of an active verb

2) a reflexive verb construction

3) sich lassen + infinitive of the main verb

4) sein + zu + infinitive of the main verb.

1) Man lernt Deutsch leicht.

2) Deutsch lernt sich leicht.

3) Deutsch lsst sich leicht lernen.

4) Deutsch ist leicht zu lernen.

German is easily learned.

German is easily learned.

German can be easily learned.

German can be easily learned.

The man construction

An active voice man construction can be used as a substitute for almost any passive verb

structure, with or without a modal auxiliary, in any tense.

Diese Themen werden oft diskutiert.

Man diskutiert diese Themen oft. These topics are often discussed.

Die Arbeit muss gemacht werden.

Man muss die Arbeit machen. The work must be done.

Der Bericht ist schon geschrieben worden.

Man hat den Bericht schon geschrieben. The report has already been written.

Reflexive constructions

Many normally non-reflexive verbs can be used reflexively as a substitute for a passive

construction.


Diese Sache wird bald erklrt.

Diese Sache erklrt sich bald. This matter will be cleared up soon.

Die Tore wurden geffnet.

Die Tore ffneten sich. The gates were being opened.

Das wird schwer verstanden werden.

Das wird sich schwer verstehen. That will be hard to understand.

Reflexive constructions

Many normally non-reflexive verbs can be used reflexively as a substitute for a passive

construction.

Diese Sache wird bald erklrt.

Diese Sache erklrt sich bald. This matter will be cleared up soon.

Die Tore wurden geffnet.

Die Tore ffneten sich. The gates were being opened.

Das wird schwer verstanden werden.

Das wird sich schwer verstehen. That will be hard to understand.

The sein...zu + infinitive construction

sein (to be), used in conjunction with zu + the infinitive of a verb, translates literally as "is to

be" (done, understood, seen, etc.). Thus it can serve as a substitute for a passive construction

with knnen (can be), sollen (should be), or mssen (must be).

Das muss bis morgen gemacht werden.

Das ist bis morgen zu machen. That must be done by tomorrow.


Dieses Buch kann schnell gelesen werden.

Dieses Buch ist schnell zu lesen. This book can be read quickly.

Reference

List of masculine N-nouns Summary of definite and indefinite articles Summary of pronouns Present tense verb forms

o Some common verbs with stem vowel change a > o Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > ie o Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > i

List of verbs with separable prefixes


List of reflexive verbs List of verbs with dative objects List of verbs with genitive objects Adjectives and adverbs

o Comparative and superlative adjectives/adverbs with Umlaut vowel o Irregular comparative and superlative adjectives/adverbs o Accusative adjective and adverb expressions o Dative adjective and adverb expressions o Genitive adjective and adverb expressions

Verbs - other tenses o Principal parts of irregular verbs

List of masculine N-nouns

Affe -n, -n

Agent, -en, -en

Akrobat, -en, -en

Alchimist, -en, -en

Analphabet, -en, -en

Anarchist, -en, -en

Architekt, -en, -en

Aristokrat, -en, -en

Asiat, -en, -en

Asket, -en, -en

Assistent, -en, -en

Astronaut, -en, -en

Astronom, -en, -en

Atheist, -en, -en

Athlet, -en, -en

Automat, -en, -en

Br, -en, -en

Barbar, -en, -en

Beamte,- n, -n *

Bhme, -n, -n

Bote, -n, -n

Brite, -n, -n

Bube, -n, -n

Buchstabe, -n, -n @


Bulle, -n, -n

Brge, -n, -n

Bursche, -n, -n

Cellist, -en, -en

Chinese, -n, -n

Chirurg, -en, -en

Christ, -en, -en

Demagoge, -n, -n

Despot, -en, -en

Dilettant, -en, -en

Diplomat, -en, -en

Drache, -n, -n

Egoist, -en, -en

Ehegatte, -en, -en

Eidgenosse, -n, -n

Eilbote, -n, -n

Elefant, -en, -en

Enthusiast, -en, -en

Erbe, -n, -n

Evangelist, -en, -en

Fabrikant, -en, -en

Faschist, -en, -en

Fels, -en, -en

Franzose, -n, -n

Frst, -en, -en

Gatte, -en, -en

Geck, -en, -en

Gefhrte, -n, -n

Gehilfe, -en, -en

Geograph, -en, -en

Germane, -n, -n

Geselle, -n, -n

Gespiele, -n, -n

Girant, -en, -en

Girat, -en, -en

Gtze, -n, -n

Graf. -en, -en

Grieche, -n, -n

Hase, -n, -n

Heide, -n, -n

Held, -en, -en


Herr, -n, -en

Hirt, -en, -en

Hirte, -n, -n

Humanist, -en, -en

Humorist, -en, -en

Hydrant, -en, -en

Idiot, -en, -en

Industrielle, -n, -n

Infanterist, -en, -en

Inserent, -en, -en

Internist, -en, -en

Invalide, -n, -n

Ire, -n, -n

Isolationist, -en, -en

Israelit, -en, -en

Jesuit, -en, -en

Journalist, -en, -en

Jude, -n, -n

Jugoslawe, -n, -n

Junge, -n, -n

Junggeselle, -n, -n

Jurist, -en, -en

Kadett, -en, -en

Kamerad, -en, -en

Kandidat, -en, -en

Kannibale, -n, -n

Katholik, -en, -en

Klassenkamerad, -en, -en

Klient, -en, -en

Knabe, -n, -n

Kollege, -n, -n

Komet, -en, -en

Kommandant, -en, -en

Kommunikat, -en, -en

Kommunist, -en, -en

Komdiant, -en, -en

Komplize, -n, -n

Komponist, -en, -en

Konkurrent, -en, -en

Konsonant, -en, -en

Konsument, -en, -en


Kontorist, -en, -en

Korrespondent, -en, -en

Kronprinz, -en, -en

Kunde, -n, -n

Laie, -n, -n

Leopard, -en, -en

Lieferant, -en, -en

Linguist, -en, -en

Lotse, -en, -en

Lwe, -n, -n

Luftpirat, -en, -en

Lump, -en, -en

Magnat, -en, -en

Magnet, -en, -en #

Maschinist, -en, -en

Matrose, -n, -n

Maure, -n, -n

Mensch, -en, -en

Mitmensch, -en, -en

Mohr, -en, -en

Monarch, -en, -en

Moralist, -en, -en

Musikant, -en, -en

Nachbar, (-n), -n

Nachkomme, -n, -n

Narr. -en, -en

Naturalist, -en, -en

Neffe, -n, -n

Nomade, -n, -n

Ochse, -n, -n

konom, -en, -en

Page, -n, -n

Papagei, -en, -en

Paragraph, -en, -en

Parteigenosse, -n, -n

Partisan, -en, -en %

Passant, -en, -en

Pate, n, -n

Patient, -en, -en

Patriot, -en, -en

Pazifist, -en, -en


Pedant, -en, -en

Philosoph, -en, -en

Photograph, -en, -en

Pianist, -en, -en

Pilot, -en, -en

Planet, -en, -en

Plutokrat, -en, -en

Poet, -en, -en

Pole, -n, -n

Polizeiprsident, -en, -en

Polizist, -en, -en

Portugiese, -n, -n

Postbote, -n, -n

Prsident, -en, -en

Preue, -n, -n

Prinz, -en, -en

Produzent, -en, -en

Prokurist, -en, -en

Prophet, -en, -en

Protestant, -en, -en

Psychologe, -n, -n

Rabauke, n, -n

Rabe, -n, -n

Realist, -en, -en

Rekrut, -en, -en

Reprsentant, -en, -en

Riese, -n, -n

Satellit, -en, -en

Schimpanse, -n, -n

Schotte, -n, -n

Schurke, -n, -n

Schtze, -n, -n

Schwede, -n, -n

Sekundant, -en, -en

Semit, -en, -en

Siamese, -n, -n

Sklave, -n, -n

Slawe, - n, -n

Slowake, -n, -n

Soldat, -en, -en

Sozialist, -en, -en


Spatz, -en, -en

Spezialist, -en, -en

Spielgefhrte, -n, -n

Statist, -en, -en

Student, -en, -en

Telegraph, -en, -en

Theologe, -n, -n

Tor, -en, -en

Tourist, -en, -en

Trabant, -en, -en

Transvestit, -en, -en

Tschechoslawake, -n, -n

Trke, -n, -n

Tyrann, -en, -en

bermensch, -en, -en

Ungar, -n, -n

Unmensch, -en, -en

Vagabund, -en, -en

Violinist, -en, -en

Virtuose, -n, -n

Volksgenosse, -n, -n

Vorfahr, -en, -en

Zar, -en, -en

Zeuge, -n, -n

Zivilist, -en, -en

Masculine N-nouns with

-ens ending in genitive case

Friede

Gedanke

Wille

Funke

Glaube

Name

Note also:

das Herz, das Herz, dem Herzen, des Herzens and pl die Herzen


Summary of definite and indefinite articles

The endings of definite and indefinite articles are the same, except for those indicated by ,

where the indefinite article takes no ending. The indefinite article examples for the plural use

the ein-word kein, since ein appears only with singular nouns.

Definite articles


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

der

den

dem

des

die

die

der

der

das

das

dem

des

die

die

den

der

Indefinite articles


Nominative

Accusative

Dative

Genitive

ein

einen

einem

eines

eine

eine

einer

einer

ein

ein

einem

eines

keine

keine

keinen

keiner

Summary of personal pronouns

Nominative Accusative Dative

Genitive (rarely used)

I, me

you (informal)

he, him, it

she, her, it

it

we, us

you (informal)

ich

du

er

sie

es

wir

ihr

mich

dich

ihn

sie

es

uns

euch

mir

dir

ihm

ihr

ihm

uns

euch

meiner

deiner

seiner

ihrer

seiner

unsrer

eurer


they, them

you (formal)

sie

Sie

sie

Sie

ihnen

Ihnen

ihrer

Ihrer

Some common verbs with stem vowel change a >

du er/sie/es

anfangen fngst an fngt an to begin

backen bckst bckt to bake

einladen ldst ein ldt ein to invite

fahren fhrst fhrt to travel, drive

gefallen gefllst gefllt to please

halten hltst hlt to stop, hold

lassen lsst lsst to let, leave

laufen lufst luft to walk, run

schlafen schlfst schlft to sleep

tragen trgst trgt to wear, carry

wachsen wchst wchst to grow

waschen wschst wscht to wash

Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > ie

du er/sie/es

lesen liest liest to read

sehen siehst sieht to see

Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > i

du er/sie/es

brechen brichst bricht to break

essen isst isst to eat

geben gibst gibt to give

helfen hilfst hilft to help


nehmen nimmst nimmt to take

sprechen sprichst spricht to speak

treffen triffst trifft to meet

vergessen vergisst vergisst to forget

werden wirst wird to become

List of verbs with separable prefixes

Infinitive Principal parts

(if irregular) English

abbiegen bog ab, ist abgebogen to turn (in a vehicle)

abbrechen bricht ab; brach ab, hat abgebrochen to break off

abfahren fhrt ab; fuhr ab, ist abgefahren to depart; to drive off

abfallen fllt ab; fiel ab, ist abgefallen to fall off

abfliegen flog ab, ist abgeflogen to take off

abflieen flo ab, ist abgeflossen to flow away

abgeben gibt ab; gab ab, hat abgegeben to deliver; to give up

abgehen ging ab, ist abgegangen to depart, leave

abholen to fetch; to pick up

abhngen hing ab, hat abgehangen von to depend upon

ablaufen luft ab; lief ab, ist abgelaufen to run off; to drain

abschaffen to get rid of; abolish

abschicken to send off

abschlieen schlo ab, hat abgeschlossen to close; to conclude

abschneiden schnitt ab, hat abgeschnitten to cut off

abtrocknen to dry off; to dry dishes

abwaschen wscht ab; wusch ab, hat abgewaschen to wash dishes

abwischen to wipe off

abziehen zog ab, hat abgezogen to take off, deduct

anbieten bot an, hat angeboten to offer

anerkennen erkannte an, hat anerkannt to recognize; to

acknowledge

anfangen fngt an; fing an, hat angefangen mit to start, begin with

anfassen to touch; to take a hold of,

seize

angeben gibt an; gab an, hat angegeben to indicate; to provide

anhaben to be wearing, to have on

anhalten hlt an; hielt an, hat angehalten to stop in a vehicle


anklagen to accuse

anklopfen to knock

ankommen kam an, ist angekommen to arrive

anmalen to paint

anmelden to announce; to notify; to

register

annehmen nimmt an; nahm an, hat angenommen to accept; to assume

anrufen rief an, hat angerufen (bei) to call up, telephone

anschaffen to purchase, acquire

anschauen to look at, contemplate

anschlieen schlo an, hat angeschlossen to connect, attach

ansehen sieht an; sah an, hat angesehen to look at

ansprechen spricht an; sprach an, hat angesprochen to speak; to please; to

address

anstarren to stare at

anstellen to turn on (e.g., the radio)

anziehen zog an, hat angezogen to put on; to attract

anznden to light, set on fire

aufbauen to erect; to set up; to build

up

auffallen fllt auf; fiel auf, ist aufgefallen to be noticeable, attract

attention

auffordern to order, command

auffhren to perform; to stage

aufgeben gibt auf; gab auf, hat aufgegeben to give up

aufheben hob auf, hat aufgehoben to pick up; to cancel

aufhren to stop, quit

aufmachen to open

aufnehmen nimmt auf; nahm auf, hat aufgenommen to take a picture

aufpassen pat auf; pate auf; hat aufgepat to pay attention

aufschlieen schlo auf, hat aufgeschlossen to open; to unlock

aufschreiben schrieb auf, hat aufgeschrieben to write down

aufstehen stand auf, ist aufgestanden to get out of bed, to rise

aufsteigen stieg auf, ist aufgestiegen to rise

aufstellen to put up; to arrange

aufteilen to divide up

aufwachen ist aufgewacht to wake up

aufwachsen wchst auf, wuchs auf, ist aufgewachsen to grow up

ausbilden to educate, train

ausbreiten to spread out

ausdenken dachte, hat gedacht to imagine, to think up

ausdrcken to express, utter


ausfhren to take out; to carry out; to

execute

ausfllen to fill out

ausgeben gibt aus; gab aus, hat ausgegeben to spend; to give out

aushelfen hilft aus, half aus, hat ausgeholfen to help out

ausmachen to settle; to agree; to

amount to

ausnutzen to exploit

ausreichen to suffice

ausrufen rief aus, hat ausgerufen to exclaim; to call out

ausschlieen schlo, hat geschlossen to exclude

aussehen sieht aus; sah aus, hat ausgesehen to look, appear

aussetzen to expose; to abandon

aussteigen stieg, ist gestiegen to get out/off of a vehicle

austauschen to exchange

ausverkaufen to sell out

auswhlen to choose, select

ausziehen zog aus, ist ausgezogen to move out

ausben to practice; to pursue; to

carry on

dabeisein to be there, participate

darstellen to represent; to depict,

portray

durchfhren to execute, carry out

durchlassen lt durch; lie durch, hat durchgelassen to let through

durchlesen liest durch; las durch, hat durchgelesen to read through, peruse

durchsehen sieht durch; sah durch, hat durchgesehen to see through

durchsetzen to prevail, succeed

einbauen to build in

einfallen fllt ein; fiel ein, ist eingefallen

(+ dat.) to occur to

einkaufen to shop

einladen ldt ein; lud ein, hat eingeladen to invite

einschalten to turn on

einschenken to pour

einschlafen schlft ein; schlief ein, ist eingeschlafen to fall asleep

einsehen sieht ein; sah ein, hat eingesehen to understand

einsteigen stieg, ist eingestiegen to get into a vehicle

einzahlen to deposit

fernsehen sieht fern; sah fern, hat ferngesehen to watch television

festlegen to establish; to determine

feststellen to find out; to declare; to


determine

fortfahren fhrt fort; fuhr fort, ist fortgefahren to continue; to drive away

herausfinden fand heraus, hat herausgefunden to find out

herkommen kam her, ist hergekommen to come here; to come

from

herstellen to produce; to establish

hervorbringen brachte hervor, hat hervorgebracht to bring out; to produce

hervorrufen rief hervor, hat hervorgerufen to call forth

hinfallen fllt hin; fiel hin, ist hingefallen to fall down

hinwegsehen sieht hinweg; sah hinweg, hat hinweggesehen to look away

hinzufgen to add

kennenlernen to meet; to become

acquainted with

mitarbeiten to cooperate

mithelfen hilft; half, hat geholfen to assist

mitkommen kam mit, ist mitgekommen to come along

mitmachen (bei) to participate in

mitteilen to communicate; to inform

nachdenken dachte nach, hat nachgedacht ber (+ acc.) to think about, to reflect

nachschlagen schlgt nach; schlug nach, hat

nachgeschlagen to look up

radfahren fhrt rad; fuhr rad, ist radgefahren to ride a bike

saubermachen to clean up

sich dat. einbilden to imagine

sich dat. vorstellen to imagine

sich anhren to listen

sich anpassen (+ dat.) to conform; adapt to

sich anziehen zog an, hat angezogen to get dressed

sich aufregen to get excited; to get

alarmed

sich ausziehen zog aus, hat ausgezogen to undress

sich hinsetzen to sit down

sich umziehen zog sich um, hat sich umgezogen to change clothes

sich zusammentun tat zusammen, hat zusammengetan to get together

spazierengehen ging spazieren, ist spazierengegangen to go for a walk

stattfinden fand statt, hat stattgefunden to take place, happen

staubsaugen to vacuum

staubwischen to dust

stehenbleiben blieb stehen, ist stehengeblieben to stop; to remain standing

teilnehmen nimmt teil; nahm teil, hat teilgenommen an (+

dat.) to take part in

umkehren to turn around, reverse


umsteigen stieg um, ist umgestiegen to change, switch bus,

train

umziehen zog um, ist umgezogen to move, change residence

voraussehen sieht voraus; sah voraus, hat vorausgesehen to foresee

vorbeigehen ging vorbei, ist vorbeigegangen to go by

vorbereiten to prepare

vorhaben to intend

vorkommen kam vor, ist vorgekommen to occur, happen often

unexpectedly

vorlesen liest vor; las vor, hat vorgelesen to read aloud; to lecture

vorschlagen schlgt vor; schlug vor, hat vorgeschlagen to propose, suggest

vorstellen to introduce

vortragen trgt vor; trug vor, hat vorgetragen to lecture

vorwrtskommen kam vorwrts, ist vorwrtsgekommen to get ahead

vorziehen zog vor, hat vorgezogen to prefer

wegfahren fhrt weg; fuhr weg, ist weggefahren to drive; go away

weggehen ging weg, ist weggegangen to go away

weglaufen luft weg; lief weg, ist weggelaufen to run away

wegnehmen nimmt weg; nahm weg, hat weggenommen to take away

wegwerfen wirft weg; warf weg, hat weggeworfen to throw away

weiterfahren fhrt weiter; fuhr weiter, ist weitergefahren to drive on

wiederfinden fand wieder, hat wiedergefunden to find again

wiederkommen kam wieder, ist wiedergekommen to come back

zugeben gibt zu; gab zu, hat zugegeben to admit; to confess

zuhren to listen to

zulaufen luft zu; lief zu, ist zugelaufen auf (+ acc). to run toward

zumachen to close

zunehmen nimmt zu; nahm zu, hat zugenommen to increase, gain

zurckbleiben blieb zurck, ist zurckgeblieben to stay behind

zurckkehren ist zurckgekehrt to return

zurcklassen lt zurck; lie zurck, hat zurckgelassen to leave behind

zurckrufen rief zurck, hat zurckgerufen to call back

zusammenarbeiten to cooperate

zusammenbringen brachte zusammen, hat zusammengebracht to bring together

zusammenfallen

Documents

Gramatica GERMANA Uzuala