1. Create a sense of fear or foreboding.
2. Uses a periodic sentence as the first sentence.
3. Includes four participial phrases.
4. Includes four appositive phrases.
5. Includes four adjective clauses.
6. Limited to five sentences.
7. Include an appropriate picture.

Waiting in the study, darkness, an ominous cloud which mercilessly swallows the light, has  filled up the empty space of the window, reflecting a singular face whose eyes show an undeniable expression of terror, undoubtedly produced by the eyes of another certain being who has found himself on the outside of this window,  a bank of light when viewed from within the darkness. From either side of the thin glass, whose shatter could easily grant the horror of confrontation, the two individuals hold a solid stare contributed to by both, originating from a pair of insatiable curiosities, and driven by four compulsive needs to seek the unknown and dwell there within, that of darkness, and of  light, and of  the two individuals. Out of this curiosity turned compulsion, staggers a realization, the understanding of a hideous truth, that the two staring pairs of eyes is only one and the threat whose eyes engendered so much fear is yourself.

For this post though, I want to give you a new grammatical form that will allow you to tackle those hypothetical situations and also allow you to be polite: Konjunktiv II (the subjunctive). I’ve touched on this before, but never really gone into details. So here we go:

If you speak even the slightest bit of German, you’ve probably been using Konjuntiv II. Remember: “Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee.” and “Möchten Sie etwas trinken?” Yes, simple sentences use Konjuntiv II. (Read about hätten gern and möchten)

All verbs have a Konjuntiv II form, which you can look up on sites like Canoo or in books like 501 German Verbs: Fully Conjugated in All the Tenses (ISBN: 0812044339). That said, they are not all useful, as some are the same as the Präteritum (Simple Past) from of the verb and others are just hard to remember. The way you build the verb is to put the verb in its Präteritum form and add an umlaut (¨) to the stem vowel if it’s an a, o or u. The more important verbs are:

The modals are also very good to know, as it will save you from having to use three verbs in a sentence. Note here that wollen and sollen do not take an umlaut in the Konjuntiv II form.

For other verbs we generally use the würde + Infinitiv construction, which is essentially the “would + infinitive form” in English. Here are the conjugations of würden again:

Important to remember is that we do not use the würde construction with haben and sein

würde + haben = hätte

würde + sein = wäre

Let’s see how we can use these verbs in Konjuntiv II.

Politeness:

If you’re already recieving e-mails from German colleagues, you might think that they are rather direct. When I say German, I really mean from Germany Germans. Austrians and Swiss tend to be a little less direct, which causes a bit of a culture conflict between German speakers from the alps and those from up north. Directness for Germans isn’t impolite, it’s just business. Swiss and Austrians are a little more English and will write things with the Konjunktiv II and make requests sound more polite.

Direct:

• Rufen Sie mich bitte um elf Uhr an.(Imperativ)
  • Please call me at 11 o’clock.

Indirect:

• Könnten Sie mich bitte um Uhr anrufen.(Konjunktiv II)
  • Could you please call me at 11 o’clock.

Direct:

• Ich bekomme einen Kaffee und Croissant, dank.
  • I get a coffee and croissant. (Literally) Better: Give me a coffee and croissant.

Indirect:

• Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee und ein Croissant, bitte.
  • I would like a coffee and a croissant, please.

I the second variation is indirect, because it is a request in the form of a question or wish, but you know that it will be fulfilled. You know you’re getting a coffee when you order one at a café, just like you are almost 100% certain the person you ask to call you at 11 will do so.

*Note: The direct “Ich bekomme + what you’re ordering” is a frowned upon form in Switzerland and Austria. Some Germans, especially in the South, may also have issues with it.

Hypothetical cases or the Second Conditional in German:

I had a professor at the University of British Columbia and he told me in a seminar on teaching German as a foreign language that he loves Konjuntiv II because it allows students to be creative and describe the impossible, improbable, as well as hope and aspirations, which forces them to increase their vocabulary with words that are important to them.

Because oral offers and agreements are binding in German-speaking countries, many business people will use the Konjuntiv II to make hypothetical offers or ask for information, but indicate that no formal agreement has been reached. The Konjunctiv II form of the verbs are then purposefully stressed, so that everyone is clear that it is hypothetical.

The easiest way to use the Konjuntiv II then is the German “if-clause” (Wenn-Sätze). In English the verb tenses tend to be different on each side of the comma separating the dependent and independent clauses in conditional sentences. This is not the case in German — Konjunktiv II on both sides. You’ll also hear this when German speakers build conditionals in English. They will say things like: “If I would be rich, I would buy me a Ferrari.”**

Just to make this 100% clear again: conditional sentences using Konjunktiv II imply something that is not real — contradictory to reality. Please, please, please remember this!

The basic German structure is thus:

German conditionals can also be inverted, in which case the “wenn-clause” comes in the second position. The first clause is then a Hauptsatz and follows regular word order. See belowNote that if you are using the Konjuntiv II form of a verb and not the würde construction, then you might only have one verb in the clause.

If you keep these structures in mind, you’ll be able to write and say conditional sentences correctly and with ease — it just takes a little practice. Try the exercises below.

Millionär von den Prinzen

Here’s a song by the German group Die Prinzen entitled “Millionär”. They use the Konjunktiv II (Ich wär’ so genre Millionär…). I’ve also put the literal translation below.

Millionär in English. Translation by: Hyde Flippo

I’d really like to be a millionaire
Then my account would never be empty
I’d really like to be a millionaire
Worth millions
I’d really like to be a millionaire

(Money, money, money…)

I have no money, have no clue, but I do have a big mouth
I’m neither a doctor nor a professor, but I’m terribly lazy
I have no rich girl friend and no rich male friend
Unfortunately, up to now I’ve only dreamed of having dough

What should I do, what should I try? I’m half sick with worry
A few times before I thought: Perhaps you could rob a bank
But unfortunately that’s very dangerous; I’d get caught for sure
And besides I’m actually honest and I don’t want to go to jail

I’d really like to be a millionaire…

There are so many rich widows who want me badly
They’re hot for my body, but I won’t give it to them
I don’t think I could handle that for any price in the world
That’s why I’d rather become a pop star and swim in my money

I’d really like to be a millionaire…

Exercises:

Combine these sentences into conditional sentences using Konjuntiv II.

1. Martin ist sehr faul. Er kann die schwere mündliche Prüfung nicht bestehen.
2. Ich werde befördert. Ich suche mir keinen neuen Job.
3. Der Schiedsrichter pfeift nicht. Es gibt keinen Elfmeter.
4. Heute regnet es. Ich gehe nicht spazieren.
5. Der Zug ist mal wieder unpünklich. Herr Leuenberger kommt wieder zu spät ins Büro.
6. Die Autofahrerin fährt zu schnell. Er muss eine Geldstrafe zahlen.
7. Frau Hess sieht Herrn Müller nicht. Sie grüsst ihn nicht.
8. Max ist noch sehr klein. Er kann nicht über den Zaun klettern.
9. John macht seine Hausaufgaben nicht. Deshalb darf er heute nicht ins Kino gehen.
10. Es regnet seit Wochen. Es gibt Überschwemmungen.

**I made the sentence reflexive on purpose. Read more here.

An intercutrural issue often experienced by English speakers working with Germans is that they find them very direct. Even the Swiss and Austrians find Germans quite direct (Don’t use “Ich bekomme einen Kaffee.” in Zurich, if you don’t want a lecture on politeness).

All of the above said, Germans and other German speakers aren’t always that direct. When it comes to questions, you may not want to be so direct, as not to come off rude or show genuine interest in the coming answer. For this reason there is a grammatical form called the indirect question (Indirekte Frage).

There are two types of Indirekte Frage, just like there are two types of questions. Those that ask a question requiring a yes/no answer and questions that ask for information (in which case yes/no is not an answer).

German Yes/No Questions:

Remember how yes/no questions start?

Yes, just like the question above: with a verb.

z.B

• Liebst du deinen neuen Freund? (Do you love your new boyfriend?)
• Wollen die bayrischen Kunden Bier bestellen? ((Do the Bavarian customers want to order beer?)
• Interessiert sich Frau Langenegger für den roten Sportwagen? (Is Ms. Langenegger interested in the red sports car?)
• Warten die Besucher auf Herrn Nägeli? (Are the visitors waiting for Mr. Nägeli?)

How do we turn these simple direct yes/no questions into indirect questions?

First we need an introductory clause. Some common ones are:

z.B.

• Ich möchte wissen, … (I would like to know …)
• Wissen Sie, … (Do you know …)
• Ich wüsste gern, … (I would like to know …)
• Können Sie mir bitte sagen, … (Can you please tell me …)
• Darf ich Sie fragen, … (May I ask you …)

Once you have a nice way to introduce your question, you’re ready to get started. You can also change the subject from ich to another person if, say, you’re asking a question for someone else like your boss or partner.

To pose the above questions indirectly, you need the conjuction “ob” (if). Remember when we use ob as a conjunction that the verb goes at the end of the clause. An ob clause is a dependent clause.

z.B.

German Information Questions:

Remember that information questions start with interrogatives (questions words: wer, wann, wo, warum, wie, usw.)

z.B.

• Woher kommt die neue Studentin? (Where is the new student from?)
• Was suchen Sie hier in meinem Büro? (What are you looking for here in my office?)
• Worauf warten die bayrischen Touristen? (What are the Bavarian tourists waiting for?)
• Welcher Wein schmeckt unseren Gästen besser? (Which wine tastes better to our guests?)

Again here we build a complex sentence and use our introductory clauses and then add a dependent clause that starts with out interrogative.

Here are a few more common introductory clauses that you can use when asking indirect information questions in German:

• Mich würde interessieren, … (I’d be interested to know …)
• Ich habe keine Ahnung, … (I have no idea …)
• Wenn ich nur wüsste, … (If I only knew …)
• Mich interessiert brennend, … (I’m dying to know …)
• Es ist mir schleierhaft, … (It’s a mystery to me …)

z.B

And there we have it — any easy way to be a little indirect in German and still come across as serious, yet polite.

Exercises

Try re-writing these direct questions into indirect questions.

1. Wie heisst die Frau da drüben?
2. Hat sie eine Wohnung in Zürich gefunden?
3. Kennt Ihre Tochter Winterthur gut?
4. Ist das Büro des Direktors noch in der fünfen Etage?
5. Wie viel kostet der Wagen in Deutschland?
6. Hätten Sie Feuer?
7. Wie spät ist es?
8. Kennen Sie Herrn Schmidt?
9. Worum geht es? (What’s it about?)
10. Unter welchen Umständen haben die beiden sich kennen gelernt?

vor (Preposition)

Pronunciation:

[foːɐ̯]

Meaning:

1. Used in time sequences to mean before. For time meanings it is a dative preposition.
2. For spacial sequence it is used to place an object in front of another object. The object appearing in the dative after the preposition vor comes afterwards.
3. To move to a position in front of something (here with the accusative)
4. To give a reason for a circumstance

das Altertum kam vor dem Mittelalter.

Usage:

1. Das Altertum kam vor dem Mittelalter. (Antiquity came before the Middle Ages.)
1. Vor einer Stunde hat es noch geregnet. (It was raining an hour ago.)
1. Es ist Viertel vor neun. (It’s quarter to nine.)
2. Die Schuhe stehen vor der Tür. (The shoes are standing in front of the door.)
2. Die Kinder stehen vor ihren Eltern. (The children are standing in front of their parents.)
3. Stell deine Schuhe vor die Tür. (Place your shoes in front of the door.)
3. Die Kinder stellen sich vor ihre Eltern. (The children are placing themselves in front of their parents.)
4. Vor lauter Aufregung kaut Peter immer an den Fingern. (Peter always bites his finger nails when he get’s excited.)
4. Christine kann vor Angst nicht schlafen. (Due to her fear, Christine can’t sleep.)

**Note: vor is a two-way preposition. When we use it for time, it takes the dative. It also means “ago” like in the second example.

bevor (Subordinating Conjunction)

Pronunciation:

[bəˈfoːa̯]

Meaning:

1. Temporal subordinating conjunction used to express a subsequent event. The content of the dependent clause occurred after the actions in the independent clause.

German Synonym:

ehe

German Antonym:

nachdem, danach

Usage:

1. Du musst dich noch umziehen, bevor wir ins Theater gehen. (You have to change before we go to the theatre.)
1. Bevor wir in den Urlaub fahren, müssen wir die Blumen giessen. (Bofore we go on vacation, we have to water the flowers.)

Sentence structure when using bevor:

We can turn dependent clauses using bevor into sentences using the preposition vor through nominalization. When we do this it is usually always the verb from the dependent which we turn into a noun (the meaning usually being the “the act of” or the equivalent of the gerund (-ing form) in English). Some verbs have regular noun derivatives and you need to ask if you are talking about the noun form (küssen —> der Kuss (the kiss) or das Küssen (the act of kissing))

Here are our above examples:

vorher (Adverb)

Pronunciation:

[ˈfoːɐ̯heːɐ̯]

Das Stufenalter des Mannes

Meaning:

1. before this point in time

German Synonyms:

davor, früher, eher, zuvor

German Antonyms:

nachher

Usage:

1. Wenn ich das nur vorher gewusst hätte! (If I’d only know that earlier.)
1. Hannes darf nur mit seinen Freunden spielen, wenn er vorher seine Hausaufgaben gemacht hat. (Hannes may only play with his friends, if he has done his homework before hand.)

Let’s try a sentence in it’s many variations:

Vor dem Theater haben sie in einem Restaurant gegessen. (Before the theatre, they ate in a restaurant.)

=

Bevor sie ins Theater gegangen sind, haben sie im Restaurant gegessen. (Before they went to the theatre, they ate in a restaurant.)

=

Sie sind ins Theater gegangen, aber vorher haben sie in einem Restaurant gegessen. (They went to the theatre, but before that they ate in a restaurant.)

Exercises:

Complete these sentences with either vor, bevor, or vorher

1. _____ Markus kommt, esse ich noch ein bisschen.
2. _____ Markus’ Kommen esse ich noch ein bisschen.
3. _____ esse ich noch ein bisschen.
4. Er fährt noch _____ Beginn der Weihnachtsferien nach Zermatt.
5. Er fährt nicht erst im Januar, er fährt schon _____ weg.
6. Er hat _____ der Diskussion mit Margrit lange im Büro gearbeitet.
7. _____ sie diskutierten, hatte er lange gearbeitet.
8. Er hatte _____ gearbeitet und dann mit ihr gesprochen.
9. Henriette und Guido waren in Hamburg und _____ noch in Berlin.
10. Das war noch, _____ sie sich kennen lernten.

Let’s take a look at what these words mean and how we can use them in sentences.

nach (Preposition)

Zuerst: Sie haben im Restaurant gegessen.

Pronunciation:

[naːχ]

Meaning:

1. In the direction of, to, (for cities and countries without articles)
2. for showing the target of an action in a sentence
3. for showing the spacial or temporal relation (after)
4. For quoting someone, something. (according to)

German Synonyms:

hinter (behind)

gemäß, laut

Usage:

1. Ich muss nach Hause. (I have to go home.)
1. Wir fliegen nach Tokyo. (We’re flying to Tokyo.)
2. Adam griff nach dem Apfel. (Adam reached for the apple.)
3. Es ist Viertel nach sieben (7:15). (It’s quarter past seven.)
3. Nach der Haltestelle Kanonengasse kommt die Langstrasse. (After the stop Kononengasse is the Langstrasse.)
3. Nach dem Essen sind sie weiter ins Theater gegangen. (After the meal, they went to the theatre.)
4. Nach seinem Wunsch wurde auf der Feier nur Bordeaux serviert. (In accordance with his wish only Bordeaux was served at the party.)

**Note. nach takes the dative case after it.

nachdem (Subordinating Conjunction)

Danach: Sie sind ins Theater gegangen.

Pronunciation:

[naːχˈdeːm]

Meaning:

1. Temporal subordinating conjunction used to express a prior event. The content of the dependent clause occurred before the actions in the independent clause.
2. More specifically it can be used as a causal subordinating conjunction to express the reason for the action in the independent clause.

German Synonyms:

weil, zumal

German Antonyms:

bevor, ehe

Usage:

1. Nachdem sie gegessen hatten, gingen sie weiter ins Theater. (After they had eaten, they went to the threatre.)
1. Sie gingen weiter ins Theater, nachdem sie gegessen hatten. (They went to the theatre after they had eaten.)
1. Sie gingen, nachdem sie gegessen hatten, weiter ins Theatre. (They went, after they had eaten, to the theatre.)
2. Nachdem es offenbar ein Problem für ihn ist, ziehe ich den Antrag zurück. (As it is obviously a problem for him, I am withdrawing the motion.)

Sentence structure when using nachdem:

If the main clause is in the present, the dependent clause must be in the perfect. If the main clause is in the perfect or simple past tense, then the dependent clause must be in the pluperfect.

Note here that the variations of the first usage are essentially just another way of expressing the last example for the third usage form of nach.

Nach dem Essen sind sie weiter ins Theater gegangen. (After the meal, they went to the theatre.)

=

Nachdem sie gegessen hatten, gingen sie weiter ins Theater. (After they had eaten, they went to the threatre.)

What you need to remember here is that nach is a preposition and nachdem is a subordinating conjunction. That means that nach comes before a noun (dem Essen) and nachdem introduces a dependent clause.

We can turn dependent clauses using nachdem into sentences using the preposition nach through nominalization. When we do this it is usually always the verb from the dependent which we turn into a noun (the meaning usually being the “the act of” or the equivalent of the gerund (-ing form) in English). Sometimes though the noun from the dependent clause is taken, when the verb can be understood — here for example nach den Hausaufgaben (after the homework) is understood to have the meaning “after the homework was done”.

Here are our above examples:

nachher (Adverb)

Pronunciation:

[ˈnaːχˈheːɐ̯]

Meaning:

1. Relating to a point in time in the future
2. After a specified occurrence
3. Later, when an action/occurrence is over

German Synonyms:

1. später
2. danach, hinterher
3. nachträglich, im Nachhinein

German Antonyms:

2. vorher

Usage:

1. Ich gehe nachher schwimmen. (I’m going swimming afterwards.)
2. Zuerst hatten sie gegessen und nachher gingen sie weiter ins Theater. (First they ate and afterwards they went to the theatre.)
3. Die Bedeutung wurde mir erst nachher klar. (I only understood the meaning afterwards.)

**Note here again that we can reformulate our sentence about eating and going to the theatre. This is helpful for adding variation to your writing and speaking in German.

Nach dem Essen sind sie weiter ins Theater gegangen. (After the meal, they went to the theatre.)

=

Nachdem sie gegessen hatten, gingen sie weiter ins Theater. (After they had eaten, they went to the threatre.)

=

Zuerst hatten sie gegessen und nachher gingen sie weiter ins Theater. (First they ate and afterwards they went to the theatre.)

Exercises:

Combine these sentences using the given word. For the ones with nach, I have given you the word that is nominalized. If you want to add in the rest of the detail you should use the genitive:

Ex. Zuerst: Er hat die vergammelte Bratwurst gegessen. Danach: Es ist ihm schlecht geworden. (Nach) (das Essen)
Nach dem Essen der vergammelten Bratwurst ist es ihm schlecht geworden.

Ex. Zuerst: Er hat die Bratwurst gegessen. Danach: Er ist krank geworden. (Nachdem)
Nachdem er die vergammelte Bratwurst gegessen hatte, wurde es ihm schlecht.

1. Zuerst: Markus arbeitete spät im Büro. Danach: Er telefonierte mit seiner Freundin. (Nachdem)
2. Zuerst: Markus arbeitete spät im Büro. Danach: Er telefonierte mit seiner Freundin. (Nach) (die Arbeit)
3. Zuerst: Frau O’Neill bereitete eine Präsentation vor. Danach: Sie ging zu einem Meeting. (Nachdem)
4. Zuerst: Frau O’Neill bereitete eine Präsentation vor. Danach: Sie ging zu einem Meeting. (Nach) (die Vorbereitung)
5. Zuerst: Sie unterschrieben den Vertrag. Danach: Sie feierten den Abschluss in einem Restaurant. (Nachdem)
6. Zuerst: Sie unterschrieben den Vertrag. Danach: Sie feierten den Abschluss in einem Restaurant. (Nach) (das Unterschreiben)
7. Zuerst: Er besteht die Deutschprüfung. Danach: Er beginnt mit seinem Studium. (Nachdem)
8. Zuerst: Er besteht die Deutschprüfung. Danach: Er beginnt mit seinem Studium. (Nach) (das Bestehen)

The good news is that German grammar isn’t that difficult in the big scheme of things. The start is hard, because there are more rules, but there are fewer exceptions to those rules. And again, I want to emphasize that you simply try. Speak whenever and wherever you can.

One of the questions I get asked on a regular basis even from students at A2 and B1 levels coming from other language schools is:

“I know I can already do quite a bit in German, but I still don’t understand this nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive stuff. We don’t have this in English. Can you explain it to me?”

I always answer with, yes. Yes, these grammatical cases exist in English, and yes, I can explain them.

When you understand these cases, you’ll be better able to understand German sentences and construct better ones.

Let’s look at deconstructing a German sentence to get a better understanding. This is a 5 step process. We’ll use this example sentence below:

Die nette junge Mutter gibt dem guten Freund ihres ältesten Sohnes ein neues Buch.

1. VERB

Identify the verb in the independent clause (der Hauptsatz). Why do we need to do this? Because if you don’t know where the verb is you can’t find the subject. Where do you find the verb in a German independent clause? In the second position. Remember here that the second position doesn’t mean second word, but second grammatical position.

VERB = gibt = geben 3rd person singular (to give)

2. SUBJECT (Nominative/Nominativ)

Once you’ve identified the verb, you’re close to finding the subject (das Subjekt). Where is the subject in a German Hauptsatz? It’s either on the right or the left of the verb. Therefore in position one (1) or position three (3). Again a position is not simply a word.

The question you need to ask, and this is why you isolated the verb first is:

• “Wer oder was + VERB?” (Who or what + is VERBing?)
  • The answer to that question is the subject. Your subject is in the nominative.

• Wer oder was gibt? (Who or what is giving?)
  • die Mutter (the mother) = SIMPLE SUBJECT
    • die nette junge Mutter (the nice young mother) = COMPLETE SUBJECT

3. DIRECT OBJECT (Accusative/Akkusativ)

So now you have the subject and the verb. You know who is doing what. What is the direct object though? The direct object is the thing that the verb is being done on to. Not all verbs and therefore not all sentences have a direct object. Remember also the accusative prepositions (bis, durch, entlang, für, gegen, ohne, um)

To find the direct object you need to ask this question:

• “Wen oder was + VERB + SUBJEKT?” (Who or what is the SUBJECT + VERBing?)
  • The answer to this question is the direct object, which is in the accusative case.

• Wen oder was gibt die Mutter? (Who or what is the mother giving?)
  • ein Buch (a book) = SIMPLE OBJECT
    • ein neues Buch (a new book) = COMPLETE OBJECT

4. INDIRECT OBJECT (Dative/Dativ)

Now that we know who is doing what and have also identified the direct object we’re well on our way to understanding the complete sentence. Now geben (to give) usually has an indirect object, that is a recipient of the thing being given (the book). Not all verbs need an indirect object and, therefore not all sentences will have a dative component. Because German still has a clear signal for the dative (declination of articles, adjectives, and nouns) often the preposition which may be present in English can be left out. Prepositions are also often used to convey other information regarding time, manner and place. Remember our German dative prepositions (aus, ausser, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu).

To find the indirect object you need ask yourself this question:

• “Wem oder was + VERB + SUBJEKT + DIREKTES OBJEKT?” (To whom or what is the SUBJECT + VERBing + the OBJECT?)
  • The answer to this question is the indirect object, which is in the dative case.

• Wem oder was gibt die Mutter ein Buch?(To whom or what is the mother giving a book?)
  • dem Freund (the friend) = SIMPLE INDIRECT OBJECT
    • dem guten Freund (the good friend) = COMPLETE INDIRECT OBJECT

5. POSSESSIVE CASE (Genitive/Genitiv)

The genitive the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun. It often marks a noun as being the possessor of another noun. This is a fascinating case as it is starting to die out of usage and is being replaced by the dative preposition von. This is why so many German speakers will say in English “The mother from/of my wife…” for instance instead of “My wife’s mother…” And there you have an English example of the genitive “wife’s”. Of course there are also genitive prepositions that can add more information to sentences and there are also genitive adverbs. In the above example though we are dealing with a possessor relationship. Generally not every piece of a sentence is in a possessive relationship. By the time you get to this stage you’ll see that there are pieces that you haven’t labelled yet, so this is what you’re looking for.

To find the possessor (genitive) you need to ask yourself this question:

• “Wessen + SUBJEKT / OBJEKT / INDIREKTES OBJEKT ist das?” (Whose SUBJECT / OBJECT / INDIRECT OBJECT is this?)
  • The answer to this question will be the genitive.

• Wessen Freund ist das? (Whose friend is this?)
  • ihres Sohnes (her son’s) = GENITIVE
    • ihres ältesten Sohnes (her oldest son’s) = COMPLETE GENITIVE

*Masculine and neutral Nouns generally take an -s/-es ending when they are in the genitive.

General German Sentence Structure:

If we look at standard German sentence structure in cases it looks like this:

SUBJECT + VERB + INDIRECT OBJECT + OBJECT

German is a Time Manner Place (TMP) language so if we want to add more information the general structure may look like this:

SUBJECT + VERB + INDIRECT OBJECT + OBJECT + TIME + MANNER + PLACE.

I wrote general, because German is a very flexible language. You can place any of the 6 pieces in position 1 as long as the verb stays in position 2 and the subject stays next to the verb. The piece you place in position 1 is being emphasized. As German-is-easy commented, the rule for TMP at the end after the Object is not a fix rule. It can be changed and often TIME comes between the INDIRECT OBJECT and the OBJECT.  The more you practice and learn, the more natural the word order will come to you as well.

Exercises:

Let’s practice asking for specific pieces of information and isolating specific

Der Schweizer Akrobat Freddy Nock mag spektakuläre Dinge — zum Beispiel Weltrekorde.

1. find the verb.
2. find the subject.
3. write the question asking for the object.

Ein guter Ort dafür ist natürlich Deutschlands höchster Berg, die Zugspitze.

1. find the verb
2. does this verb take an object?
3. which cases are used in this sentence?

In fast 3000 Metern Höhe ist Nock auf dem Seil der Gletscherbahn gelaufen — ohne Balancierstange.

1. find the verb
2. find the subject
3. find the place

Für die 995 Meter vom Zugspitzplatt bis zur Bergstation hat er fast eineinhalb Stunden gebraucht.

1. find the verb
2. find the subject
3. write the question asking for the object

Warum der 47-Jährige diese extremen Dinge tut?

1. find the verb
2. find the subject
3. write the question asking for the object

Sie machen ihm Spass.

1. find the verb
2. find the subject
3. write the question asking for object
4. write the question asking of the indirect object

Freddy Nock

Sein Motto: “Das Unmögliche möglich machen.” Mit seiner Aktion möchte Nock auch Geld für ein UNESCO-Projekt in Bangladesch sammeln. Der Weltrecord an der Zugspitze war nur der erste von vielen: In sieben Tagen wollte der Akrobat sieben Rekorde machen, auch in Österreich und in der Schweiz. Funktioniert hat das Projekt nicht ganz: In Thörishaus bei Bern konnte er am fünften Tag nicht mit einem Fahrrad auf einen Seil fahren: Es war zu fettig. Aber Nock kann improvisieren: Ganz in der Nähe, am Jungfraujoch, hat er dann spontan zwei Rekorde gemacht. Leider war dann am siebten Tag am Thunersee im Berner Oberland das Wetter zu schlecht. Nock musste warten. Am Ende waren es sieben Weltrekorde — in acht Tagen.

Text from Deutsch Perfekt, 11/2011 pg. 6

Ein englischer Bericht mit vielen Bildern: NewlySwissed.

————

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This week we’ll look at some key formulations that will be helpful for writing the body of your letter in German. I’ve broken this up according to the purpose of the letter.

Bedauern — Regret

Never a please to write, but often you need to express regret for an action, for someone being inconvenienced or for having to deliver bad news. It is a good idea to start with the regret and then give a justification introduced with the conjunction aber. Here are some good German formulations:

z.B.

• Es tut mir Leid, dass wir noch immer keine definitive Aussage über unser weiteres Vorgehen treffen oder konkrete Aussagen machen können.
  • I regret that we still cannot give a more definite position as to how we will proceed or be more specific.
• Es tut mir sehr leid, aber wir haben diese Aktion bereits vor sechs Wochen angekündigt, also handelt es sich nicht um eine spontane Aktion.
  • I am very sorry but we did announce this action six weeks ago – it has not exactly appeared out of the blue.

Take note of the German conjuctions being used in the examples. Dass is a subordinating conjunction, which means that the verb goes at then end of the sentence. Aber on the other hand is a coordinating conjunction and does not cause any change in sentence structure.

Useful Vocabulary:

Leid tun – to be sorry

aufrichtig – truly, genuinely, honestly

bedauern – to regret

Ärger, der – irritation, annoyance, anger, troubles

Entschuldigung — Apology

Sometimes you may wish to express an apology for something. You’ve probably already used the German word Entschuldigung before when travelling on a bus or trying to make your way through a crowd. Let’s see some handy German formulations you can use when writing apologies in letters and e-mails.

z.B. 

• Wir bitten für die Unannehmlichkeiten um Entschuldigung und informieren Sie zeitnah über das Erscheinen der Änderungen.
  • We apologize for any inconveniences that may occur as a result of these changes and will keep you informed about related developments.
• Wir möchten uns für die Unannehmlichkeiten entschuldigen und danken für euer Verständnis.
  • We would like to apologise for any disappointment and thank you for your understanding.

The variations here are a bit more complex than in our first example.

Useful Vocabulary:

Verzeihung, die — forgiveness, pardon,

verveihen — to forgive, to pardon

Unannehmlichkeit, die — discomfort, unpleasantness, inconvenience

unangenehm — awkward, objectionable, unpleasant

jemanden um etwas bitten — to ask someone for something

peinlich — awkward, embarrassing, mortifying

Einladung — Invitation

Much nicer than writing apologies and having to deliver bad news, is writing invitations to celebrations. German speaking people people love to celebrate things with friends and family. Not just anyone will receive an invitation, so if you get one consider yourself special. Here are a few formulations you might want to use when writing your next invitation in German:

z.B.

• Hiermit laden wir Sie herzlich auf unseren Messestand E27 ein.
  • We would like to invite you to visit our exhibition stand E27.
• Mit dieser Webseite möchten wir Sie einladen, uns etwas besser kennenzulernen.
  • With this website we would like to invite you to get to know us better.

Note that the invitations may not always be for birthday parties, but often also to visit businesses and for marketing purposes, like in the examples above. In the second example we see a good use of a zu-construction.

Useful Vocabulary:

hiermit — hereby, herewith

hierdurch — hereby

einladen — to invite (separable prefix)

Dank — Thanks

German speaking people are big on giving thanks. It is customary to write a thank you letter or card for people that have come to your party, a wedding, or a funeral. Sometimes they do not know when to stop sending thanks — “Thank you for the card thanking me for coming to your birthday party.” An extreme example, but I’m sure it has happened more than once. Try using these formulations for expressing your gratitude in German:

z.B.

• Vielen Dank für Ihre schnelle Antwort und die sehr professionelle Erledigung meiner Anfrage!
  • Thank you for your fast answer and the very professional completion of my inquiry!
• Ich möchte mich bedanken, und zwar bei allen MitarbeiterInnen der Swisscom, für die Leistungen, die sie in den letzten Jahren erbracht haben.
  • I would like to say a personal “thank you” to all Swisscom employees, for everything they have contributed over the past years.

Thanks are often used in business to acknowledge the work of others.

Useful Vocabulary:

sich freuen über — to be happy about something

sich bei jemanden für etwas bedanken — to thank someone for something

Glückwünsche — Congratulatory Wishes

Whether it’s a birthday, an anniversary or a retirement party, congratulatory wishes are something that should be expressed when the occasion presents itself. Here are some typical German congratulatory formulations:

z.B.

• Zu ihrem 58. Geburtstag gratuliere ich Ihnen recht herzlich.
  • Congratulations on your 58th birthday.

Useful Vocabulary:

Geburt, die — birth

Hochzeitstag, der — wedding anniversary

Jubiläum, das — anniversary

Geschäftsjubiläum, das — anniversary of a business

Unternehmen, das — business

Wünsche — Wishes

It is often nice to wish people all the best for their career or in business. This is especially true when it comes to writing recommendation letters. Look at these formulations for expressing wishes in written German communication:

z.B.

• Wir wünschen Ihnen für die Zukunft alles Gute!
  • We wish you all the best for your future.

Note here that wünschen is a dative verb.

Useful Vocabulary:

Zukunft, die — future

hoffen auf — hope for

Geschäft, das — business

Grüsse — Greetings

Maybe you’ve done an exchange to Switzerland, Austria or Germany and you stayed with a family. You keep regular contact with them and you want to tell them to say “hi” or give your regards to another family member or person you got to know. Here are some useful German formulations for passing on your regards:

z.B.

• Viele Grüsse an Hanspeter.
  • Give my regards to Hanspeter.

Useful Vocabulary:

Grüsse — greetings, regards

grüssen — to greet, to give regards

bestellen — literally to order, but used with Grüsse to mean “give my regards to”

Beileid — Condolences

This is perhaps the letter topic no one likes to write. When someone passes away, it is appropriate to send your condolences in a letter or card. Here too, you will probably receive a thank you card. For expressing your condolences to the remaining family try using these German expressions:

z.B.

• Zum Verlust Ihres Grossvaters möchten wir Ihnen unser aufrichtiges Beileid aussprechen.
  • We’d like to offer you our sincere condolences on the passing of your grandfather.

Useful Vocabulary:

zum Tode — on the passing, on the death

zum Verlust + Genitiv — on the loss of

zum plötzlichen Ableben von — on the sudden passing of

Beileid, das — sympathy, condolence

Anteilnahme, die — sympathy

aussprechen — to express

versichern — to assure

These expressions are a good guideline for composing your future communications, or for better understanding any German letters, e-mails, and cards that you may receive. Writing is one of the best things that you can do to improve your German. You might try finding a digital “pen pal” to practice your written German. The more contact you have with these collocations, the more familiar you’ll become with them and the easier you’ll be able to use them.

Now even though you can buy plenty of English cards to congratulate people at the office or friends and family on their new child in Zurich, a German card is often nicer for German speakers. Or maybe your in-laws are German speakers and you want to send them a card from wherever it is that you live in German or at least with a little German wish. So with that in mind, here are a few things you can say. I think you’ll find one of them very funny, if you were to translate it directly into English.

Just a quick grammatical note on wishes. The German verb “wünschen” is often called a dative verb. This means that you need an indirect object z.B. Ich wünsche Dir alles Gute zum Geburtstag (I wish you all the best on your birthday). Often the subject (nominative) is not stated. Let’s illustrate a typical examples of this:

Notice that in the first clause there is no verb and no subject. They are both implied. The “herzliche Glückwünsche” are that, which you are wishing the recipients. “Zur Geburt” is in the dative because of the preposition “zu” and “Geburt being “die”. “Eures Stammhalters” is in the genitive, literally meaning “of your son and heir”. The second sentence has the standard nominative (subject) in the first position followed by the verb (reflexive verb in this case). Then comes the da-compound and the accusative “ihn” (who you will meet) and then a zu + infinitive.

If we translate the above greeting we’ll literally get: “Congratulations on the birth of your son and heir. We’re looking forward to seeing him soon.“

Of course not everyone is having sons and you might feel odd using the term Stammhalter. So you might just want to say (also in the genitive):

• deines Sohn(e)s / eures Sohn(e)s (of your son)
• deiner Tochter / eurer Tochter (of your daughter)
• deines Kind(e)s / eures Kind(e)s (of your child)
• deiner Zwillinge / eurer Zwillinge (of your twins)

In this second example we see the dative case (the people you are gibing your congratulations to) circled in orange. The direct objects (accusative) is circled in blue. The underlined parts are in the dative and/or accusative because of the prepositions that start the phrase (für = accusative, zu = dative). If we translate the above we’ll literally get: “Congratulations to you and your wife on your twins. All the best for the future.“

As you can see there is a lot happening in what seems to be a very simple expression. From this example, you should see part of the value of learning some expressions as complete sentences and not trying to build them from scratch.

Let’s take a look at some other things you could write:

• Nach neun Monaten Wartezeit ist es nun soweit. Herzliche Glückwünsche! (After nine months of waiting, the wait is finally over. Congratulations!)
• Bisher wart’ Ihr glücklich und allein, jetzt zu Dritt wird das Glück noch größer sein. (Up till now you’ve been happy as a pair, now as a threesome your happiness will be even greater.)

One of the words you’ll find German speakers often use with Glückwunsch / Glückwünsche is herzlich z.B. herzlichen Glückwunsch / herzliche Glückwünsche

Remenber here that this is the wish (the direct object of the sentence) and must therefore be in the accusative. Glückwünsch is masculine and the plural is Glückwünsche so the adjective endings on herzlich needs to change. It is difficult to translate into English and is often left out and simply translated as congratulations, though something like “Heartfelt congratulations” would be a more literal translation.

Glückwunsch zum Nachwuchs!

On top of the above case Germans also the term Nachwuchs (offspring) when congratulating people on the birth of their child. In English this would be completely unheard of, but this is normal in German. Here are two examples:

• Es lächelt die Mutter, es strahl der Papa – endlich ist der Nachwuchs da. Herzliche Glückwünsche. (The mother smiles, the father beams — the offspring is finally here. Congratulations.)
• Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum Nachwuchs. (Congratulations on your offspring.)

The other week I had one such situation with a B1 level student. My student wanted to reschedule a lesson and suggested two times. Unfortunately, neither of the suggested times worked for me, as they were already booked by other lessons. In my e-mail response I used the two-part conjunction “weder…noch” (neither…nor). My student on the other have understood “entweder…oder” (either…or) and e-mailed me asking me to please choose the time from the two suggested.

This week I’d like to look at negation again. We’ve looked at negation using nicht already, but there are other ways of expressing a negative in German.

Just to make sure you remember, we can use nicht for:

1. Clause-level negation. The negation of an entire sentence:

• z.B. Johannes macht seine Hausaufgaben nicht. (Johannes is not doing his homework.)

2. Element-level negation. When you only want to negate a certain element of the sentence.

• z.B. Helena möchte nicht den Sylvaner, sondern den Riesling mit ihrer Suppe. (Helena doesn’t want the Sylvaner, but rather the Riesling with her soup.)

3. Negation of verbal compliments like “Rad fahren” and “auswendig lernen”.

• z.B. Frau Schneider fährt nicht Rad. (Ms. Schneider doesn’t ride a bike.)
• z.B. Markus hat seinen Wortschatz nicht auswendig gelernt. (Markus hasn’t memorized his vocabulary.)

4. Negation of prepositional phrases:

• z.B. Wir wollen nicht ins Kino gehen. (We don’t want to go to the cinema.)

So how else can we express the negative in German? We’ll we’ve already seen that there is an expression for “neither…nor”. Let’s take a closer look:

Kein-:

One of the first rules that you learn early in most A1-level German courses is that the the negation of words with an indefinite article (ein/eine) is done with kein. A simple way to remember this is: nicht + ein = kein.

If we want to negate a word without an article we also use kein. Don’t forget that because kein is taking the place of an article here its ending changes.

Ist das ein Auto? — Nein, das ist kein Auto, sondern ein Fahrrad.

Here are some example sentences:

• Ist das ein Auto? — Nein, das ist kein Auto, sondern ein Fahrrad. (Is that a car? — No, that’s not a car, but rather a bicycle.)
• Ist das ein Tisch? — Nein, das ist kein Tisch, sondern eine Lampe. (Is that a table? — No, that’s not a table, but rather a lamp.)
• Sind das Tische? — Nein, das sind keine Tische, sondern Stühle. (Are those tables? — No, those are not tables, but rather chairs.)
• Hat er eine Tochter? — Nein, er hat keine Tochter, sondern einen Sohn. (Does he have a daughter? — No, he doesn’t have a daughter, but rather a son.)

Where you’ll need to watch out here is if the ein- is being used to mean literally “one”. In this case we negate it with nicht. In this case though you’ll have to provide more information with a sondern-clause. The same goes for any number (zwei, drei, vier …).

z.B.

• Herbert hat nicht einen Bruder, sondern fünf. (Herbert doesn’t have one brother, but five.)
• Alois hat nicht ein Glas Bier getrunken, sondern elf Gläser. (Alois didn’t drink one glass of beer, but eleven glasses.)

Negative Indefinite Pronouns and Adverbs:

We’ve discussed indefinite pronouns and adverbs in past posts, but just to remind you, most of them have a negative form. The chart below clearly shows the positive and negative forms as well as provides examples.

Conjugations that express negation:

weder Arbeit noch Geld

We’ve already encountered “weder…noch” above. We use weder…noch to negate two parallel sentences or elements.

z.B.

• Der neue Freund von Sonja ist nicht reich. Er ist auch nicht gut aussehend. (Sonja’s new boyfriend is not rich. He’s also not attraktive.)
  • Der neue Freund von Sonja ist weder reich noch (ist er) gut aussehend. (Sonja’s new boyfriend is neither rich nor (is he) attractive.)

• Michi hat keine Arbeit. Er hat auch kein Geld. (Michi doesn’t have a job. He also doesn’t have any money.)
  • Michi hat weder Arbeit noch (hat er) Geld. (Michi has neither a job nor (does he have) any money.)

• Der alte Mann kann nicht lesen. Er kann nicht schreiben. (The old man cannot read. He cannot write.)
  • Der alte Mann kann weder lesen noch schreiben. (The old man can neither read nor write.)

**Note here that you do not need to repeat the subject as long as it is the same.

To express the idea of “without doing ‘something’” we can use the conjunction couplet “ohne…zu”. Remember the post on “zu”? The verb after zu is always in the infinitive! If there is an object or additional information in the second clause it goes between the ohne and the zu like in the second example.

z.B.

• Gustav geht zur Arbeit. Er frühstückt nicht. (Gustav is going to work. He doesn’t eat breakfast.)
  • Gustav geht zur Arbeit ohne zu frühstücken. (Gustav is going to work without eating breakfast.)

• Der Gast ist nach Hause gegangen. Er hat die Rechnung nicht bezahlt. (The guest went home. He didn’t pay the bill.)
  • Der Gast ist nach Hause gegangen ohne die Rechnung zu bezahlen. (The guest went home without paying the bill.)

One final note here though. See how we are combining two simple sentences into a complex sentence? If you’re not that advanced yet, or when you’re speaking and not everything is coming to mind, just say two simpler sentences. The more you speak, the more you listen and the more you read the faster you’ll be able to make these complicated sentences.

Prepositions for negation:

schwarzer Kaffee ohne Zucker

If you live in the German speaking world or have ever visited you’ll be familiar with this preposition from your visit to restaurants — ohne (without). Remember ohne takes the accusative.

z.B.

• Ich trinke meinen Kaffee immer schwarz. Ich nehme auch keinen Zucker. (I always drink my coffee black. I also don’t use sugar.)
  • Ich trinke meinen Kaffee immer ohne Milch und Zucker. (I always drink my coffee without milk and sugar.)

• Amanda sonnt sich. Sie trägt keinen Bikini. (Amanda is sunbathing. She’s not wearing a bikini.)
  • Amanda sonnt sich ohne Bikini. (Amanda is sunbathing without a bikini.)

We also have preposition ausser (except / outside of). We use this for exclusion. Remember ausser takes the dative.

z.B.

• Fast alle Studenten haben die Prüfung bestanden. Nur Martin nicht. (Almost all of the students passed the test. Only Martin didn’t.)
  • Alle Studenten ausser Martin haben die Prüfung bestanden. (All oft he students except Martin passed the test.)

• Im Urlaub hatten wir nur schönes Wetter. Aber am letzten Tag hat es geregnet. (We only had nice weather during our vacation. But on the last day it rained.)
  • Im Urlaub hatten wir ausser dem letzten Tag nur schönes Wetter. (Except for the last day, we only had nice weather on our vacation.)

Negative prefixes and suffixes:

This is perhaps one of the easiest ways to increase your German vocabulary. Like in English there are prefixes and suffixes to express the negative form of many words. These are generally similar to the English. Also note that these words are adjectives and adverbs.

Prefixes:

• a- (a-)

apolitisch, asozial, atypisch

Viele glauben, dass die heutige Jugend sich ziemlich apolitisch verhält. (Many believe that today’s youth are quite apolitical.)

• des- (dis-)

desillusioniert, desinfiziert, desinteressiert, desorganisiert, desorientiert

Das Kind sitzt desinteressiert in der Ecke. (The child is sitting disinterestedly in the corner.)

• in- (in-)

indiskutabel, indiskret, inkompetent, instabil, intolerant

Die Zustände im Irak sind immer noch instabil. (The situation in Iraq is still unstable.)

• ir- (ir-)

irrational, irregulär, irreal, irrelevant, irreligiös, irreparabel

Das iPad ist total kaputt. Es ist irreparabel. (The iPad is totally broken. It’s irreparable.)

• un- (un-)

unbeliebt, unbewusst, unehrlich, unfähig, unendlich, unfreundlich, ungeduldig, ungeeignet, ungerecht, unhöflich, unkompliziert, unsicher, unschön, unschuldig, unverständlich, unzufrieden, …

In diesem Restaurant gibt es nur unhöfliches Personal. (There is only unfriendly staff in this restaurant.)

Suffixes:

• -los (-less)

anspruchslos, arbeitslos, erfolglos, ergebnislos, freudlos, hilflos, humorlos, leblos, sinnlos, sprachlos, taktlos, verantwortungslos, …

Der Verletzte lag stundenlang hilflos am Berghang, bevor er gerettet wurde. (The injured laid helplessly on the mountainside before he was rescued.)

And there we have it: five more ways for you to express the negative in German:

1. using kein
2. the negative form of indefinite pronouns and adverbs
3. conjunctions
4. prepositions
5. the negative form of words with prefixes and suffixes.

Need to practice? Try these activities:

A. Antworten Sie negativ:

1. Haben Sie einen Sohn? — Nein, ich habe keinen Sohn.
2. Möchten Sie eine Tasse Kaffee?
3. Hat Martin eine Schwester?
4. Hat Hannes ein Kind?
5. Sucht das Restaurant einen neuen Koch?
6. Trinkt ihr jetzt ein Glas Wein?
7. Isst Henry einen Teller Birchermüsli?
8. Hast du Geld dabei?
9. Hat Wilma heute Geduld?
10. Hast du ein Problem damit?
11. Sprichst du Norwegisch?

B. Antworten Sie negativ:

1. Siehst du jemanden? — Nein, ich sehe niemanden.
2. Gehört das jemandem?
3. Kommt jemand?
4. Hast du etwas gesehen?
5. Machen Sie alles allein?
6. War Philipp schon mal in Paris?
7. Waren deine Eltern jemals auf dem Jungfraujoch?
8. Du findest den Brief sicherlich irgendwo in deinem Büro!

C. Kombinieren Sie diese Sätze mit weder…noch:

1. Der Hund ist nicht brav. Er ist auch nicht klug. — Der Hund ist weder brav noch klug.
2. Michael war nicht in Paris. Er war auch nicht in London.
3. Meine Eltern haben mein Studium nicht bezahlt. Sie haben das Studium meiner Schwester auch nicht bezahlt.
4. Heute ist das Wetter nicht schön. Es ist auch nicht warm.
5. Die Asylbewerber bekommen keine Unterkunft. Sie bekommen auch keine Hilfe.
6. Mein Handy ist nicht im Büro. Es ist auch nicht im Auto.

D. Kombinieren Sie diese Sätze mit ohne…zu:

1. Olivia läuft am Sonntag einen Marathon. Sie trainiert nicht. — Olivia läuft am Sonntag einen Marathon, ohne zu trainieren.
2. Simon fliegt zu seiner Freundin in Wien. Er meldet sich vorher nicht.
3. Meine Schwester hat sich selbstständig gemacht. Sie hat sich keine Gedanken darüber gemacht.
4. Am Freitag schreibt Natalie eine Prüfung. Sie lernt dafür aber nicht.
5. Die Bewohner wurden plötzlich gekündigt. Sie haben vorher keinen Bescheid bekommen.

Still need more practice? Live in Zurich or the surrounding area? Contact us to get into a class. We always have courses starting tailored to meet your needs.

It is often useful in German to use a zu-construction when writing or speaking. We use it when we want to have a second clause that adds information to the preceding clause, but does not repeat the subject.

Why do you want to learn to use zu-constructions? They add variety to your language and by learning the some of the common introductory phrases you are learning German collocations, which will increase your speaking and writing fluency.

Let’s take a look at some of the characteristics of the zu-construction.

1. Zu-constructions don’t have a subject. It’s left out.
2. The zu-construction can relate back to either the subject or the object of the preceding main clause.
3. Because zu-constructions don’t have a subject the verb cannot be conjugated. Therefore, the verb is always in the infinitive. For this reason many German grammar books call this construction the Infinitivkonstruktion.
4. The infinitive verb is always placed at the end of the sentence.
5. Zu and the infinitive are written as two words.
6. If the verb has a separable prefix the zu is placed between the prefix and the verb and written together. (z.B. Er versucht, das Fenster aufzumachen. Er versucht, das Fenster wieder zuzumachen.)
7. If the supplementary clause has a modal verb, it is placed after the zu and the other verb before it.

So there we have it, the seven rules of zu-constructions.

Sometimes a zu-construction can be used to replace a dass-construction, if you are trying to add more variety to your writing or speaking. Let’s compare.

z.B.

• Ich hoffe, dass ich meine Jugendliebe bald wiedersehe.
  • I hope that I will soon see my childhood sweetheart again.
• Ich hoffe, meine Jugendliebe bald wiederzusehen.
  • I hope to see my childhood sweetheart again soon.

As long as the introductory clause and verb allow for further information to be given either a dass-construction or zu-construction are possible. If the supplementary clause deals with the same subject or object as in the introductory clause, a zu-construction is possible. It is recommended to separate the two clauses using a comma.

There are a few verbs that are often used to introduce zu-constructions like hoffen (to hope) and versuchen (to try), which we have already seen above. Let’s take a look at some other common verbs that often used to introduce the zu-constructions. A vertical line separating a prefix from the verb means that the verb has a separable prefix.

There are also adjectives and participles that are often used to introduce a zu-construction. The adjectives must be used in combination with the verb sein. Often the subject es is used in the introductory clause, as a general statement is being made.

There are also several noun-verb combinations that are often used to introduce zu-constructions.

In conclusion, zu-constructions are a useful and common way of adding additional information to a sentence without the need to repeat the subject. The introductory clauses are very useful to learn, so that you have set phrases for speaking German.

Exercises:

Complete these sentences with your own information:

1.  Ich finde es schwer…
2. Ich versuche…
3. Es ist Zeit…
4. Ich habe vergessen…
5. Es ist zu spät…
6. Es macht mir Spass…

Practice speaking German enough and you’ll soon be speaking as well as this guy skis.

Alright, enough with the linguistic philosophizing and back to grammar. For the past two weeks we’ve been looking at different German conjunctions, which should help us to formulate more complex sentences. We’ve discussed coordinating conjunctions, where we essentially just combine two sentences without changing much. We might choose to replace the explicit noun for a pronoun or even not repeat the subject, but the word order pretty much stay the same. Then we looked at subordinating conjunctions where the verb in the subordinate clause goes to the end of the sentence. This week we’re going to look at conjunctional adverbs, which also links back our discussion from the three weeks before we started talking about conjunctions.

Conjunctional adverbs bring conditions and circumstances between ideas together and combine them. This might sound complex, but it’s not really as you do it all the time. But there are ten types of conjunctional adverbs, let’s take a look:

Unlike with coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions, the verb is placed differently in the adjoining sentence when we use adverbial conjunctions. Think of the adverbial conjunctions as a position. The verb comes in the second position and is followed by the subject.

Form:

Independent Claus (Hauptsatz) + Adverbial Conjunction + Dependent Clause (Nebensatz)

Subject + Verb₁ + … + (Verb₂) + , + Adverbial Conjunction + Verb₁  + Subject + … + (Verb₂).

Ich kann ziemlich gut Ski fahren, schliesslich hatte ich eine ausgezeichnete Skilehrerin.

Conjunctional adverbs can also come at the start of a clause and build an entirely independent clause. When they are used at the start of a sentence, then that sentence has a logical relationship to the preceding sentence. Be careful here of your narrative logic and order of ideas. The second sentence must follow the first sentence.

Now let’s look at examples for the ten different usages:

1. kopulativ (think und)

Two ideas are placed together, but no further relationship is established.

z.B.

• Für den Sieg bekam Federer eine hohe Summe Geldes, ferner konnte er auch den Weltmeistertitel erhalten.
  • For the win Federer got a big sum of money, furthermore he was able to maintain the world champion title.

… sonst gehen wir nach Hause!

2. disjunktiv (think oder)

Of the two ideas presented, only one of them can be correct.

z.B.

• Sei ruhig, sonst gehen wir nach Hause.
  • Be quiet otherwise we’re going to go home.

3. adversative (think aber)

Two ideas are presented that oppose each other.

z.B.

• Ralph versucht immer Deutsch mit seinen Kunden zu sprechen, jedoch hat er heute es überhaupt nicht probiert. 
  • Ralph always tries to speak German with his clients, but today he didn’t even attempt it.

4. restriktiv 

An idea in one of the clauses limits the idea of the other clause.

z.B.

• Sie kann zwar gut singen, aber ein Star wird sie nicht.
  • She might be able to sing well, but she’ll never be a star.

… nämlich Frühling, Sommer, Herbst und Winter

5. kausal (think denn)

The second clause provides the reason for the idea or occurrence in the first clause.

z.B.

• Es gibt vier Jahreszeiten, nämlich Frühling, Sommer, Herbst und Winter.
  • There are four seasons, namely Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.

6. konsekutiv

The second clause expresses the result of the action of the first clause.

z.B.

• Ich habe keine Lust wegzugehen, deshalb bleibe ich hier.
  • I have no desire to leave, that’s why I stay here.

7. konzessiv

The second clause gives a concession to the event or idea of the first clause.

z.B.

• Ich habe Lust wegzugehen, dennoch bleibe ich hier.
  • I want to leave, yet I stay here.

8. konditional

The second clause gives the result of what will happen if the actions of the first clause are not met.

z.B.

• Ich habe erst an 17 Uhr Zeit, ansonsten gehen wir einfach morgen einkaufen.
  • I only have time after 5pm, otherwise we’ll simply go shopping tomorrow.

Darunter einige, die sie nicht mochte.

9. lokal

These are used to provide location (not always literally) of objects in relation to the action or facts given in the first clause.

z.B.

• Sabine hat viele Geschenke bekommen. Darunter einige, die ihr nicht gefielen.
  • Sabine received many gifts. Some of which, she did not like.

10. temporal

• Wir waren im Kino und sind danach gleich nach Hause gegangen.
  • We were in the cinema and after that went directly home.

And there we have it the ten uses of conjunctions. There are many of these adverbial conjunctions, so do not try and learn them all at once. I recommend that you tackle them a few at a time and try to incorporate them into your writing and speaking. Remember the word order changes the verb-subject order from the coordinating conjunctions.

*Just a small caveat here: Just like in sports (like skiing) once you get to a certain fluency in a language there bad habits will solidify. Native speakers of most languages make grammatical mistakes all the time and even the most regular skiers have their little quirks of things that are not textbook great form. 

Exercise:

Combine these sentences using adverbial conjunctions:

z.B.

• Man hat den Preis gesenkt. Mehr Kunden sollen dieses Produkt kaufen.
  • Man hat den Preis gesenkt, damit mehr Kunden dieses Produkt kaufen.

1.  Der Bankräuber trug eine Maske. Man sollte ihn nicht erkennen.
2. Max schliesst das Fenster. Keine Fliegen sollen ins Zimmer kommen.
3. Ich habe Carmen eine E-Mail geschrieben. Sie soll mir mein Buch zurückgeben.
4. Paul gibt seiner Tochter den Wagen. Sie soll die Tante vom Bahnhof abholen.
5. Martina schneidet das Obst in kleine Stücke. Ihre Tochter soll mehr davon essen.
6. Die Polizei macht Radarkontrollen. Die Autofahrer sollen nicht so schnell fahren.

The other thing that I hear most of my new students saying to me is, “Oh, yeah German’s difficult because the verb always comes at the end.” Somehow the language has a reputation of the verb always coming at the end. As most of us know though the verb generally comes in the second position. I think the verb at the end notion comes from two places. The first is that when there are multiple verbs or verb parts the infinitive or the past participle comes at the end and not in a quick sequence as in English. (ex. Ich muss morgen früh wieder in die Bibliothek und lernen. Am Wochenende bin ich nach Laax gefahren.) The other case when the verb goes at the end is when we use subordinating conjunctions (Subjunktionen). Now we’ve discussed coordinating conjunctions, but subordinating conjunctions are different.

Coordinating conjunctions join two independent clauses (complete ideas). Subordinating conjunctions connect independent clauses (Hauptsätze) and dependent clauses (Nebensätze). A dependent clause is not a complete idea and cannot stand alone. The Nebensatz is created when the subordinating conjunction is introduced. The subordinating conjunction makes the dependent clause dependent on the independent clause. That means that there needs to be a relation between the two. As Emanuel points out in his comment below if we take this example you’ll understand.

z.B.

Ich habe Hunger. Ich gehe in die Küche. (I’m hungry. I’m going to the kitchen.)

These are two complete ideas. But you really want to give a reason for going to the kitchen. Therefore going to the kitchen is your independent clause and we’ll make being hungry the dependent clause because it is the reason for the action. You’re introducing the information to justify going to the kitchen.

Ich gehe in die Küche, weil ich Hunger habe. 

OR

Weil ich Hunger habe, gehe ich in die Küche.

Note that “Ich have Hunger, weil ich in die Küche gehe.” is grammatically correct, but insinuates that you get hungry by going into the kitchen. It gives a reason for why you are hungry and not for why you are going to the kitchen.

There are nineteen, yes nineteen, common subordinating conjuctions:

I know this is a lot so we’re not going to look at all of them, but rather at the most important ones, though you should make yourself aware of what they all mean.

The basic structure when joining two clauses with a subordinating conjunction is as follows:

Option 1:

Independent Claus (Hauptsatz) + Subordinating Conjunction + Dependent Clause (Nebensatz)

Subject + Verb₁ + … + (Verb₂) + , + Conjunction + Subject + … + (Verb₂) Verb₁.

Ich muss zur Post (gehen), weil ich ein Paket versenden muss.

Option 2:

Subordinating Conjunction + Dependent Clause (Nebensatz) + Independent Clause (Hauptsatz)

Conjunction + Subject + … + (Verb₂) Verb₁ + , + Verb₁ + Subject + … + (Verb₂).

Weil ich ein Paket versenden muss, muss ich zur Post (gehen).

als (as, when)

In a previous blog post I spoke about als and how it’s different from wenn. We use als for a single event in the past. When we use als the verbs must be in the past tense. Als clauses often feature the following words and phrases: plötzlich, gestern, letzte Woche, letztes Jahr, ich Kind war.

We always need to be aware of the order in which the events occurred, or which event was already in progress as the other one started.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Gestern gingen wir los. Es regnete. (We left yesterday. It was raining.)

+ als

= Als wir gestern losgingen, regnete es. (When we left yesterday, it was raining.)

OR

Gestern gingen wir los. Es regnete. (We left yesterday. It was raining.)

+ als

= Es regnete, als wir gestern losgingen. (It was raining, when we left yesterday.)

bis (until)

Don’t get this confused with the preposition. Here we use bis to tell as the point in time at which the event of the independent clause ended. Grammatically it may also be referred to as a temporal subordinating conjunction (Temporale Subjunktion).

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Es war so lange still. Plötzlich begann ein Schüler zu reden. (It was quiet for some time. Suddenly a pupil began to speak.)

+ bis

= Es war so lange still, bis ein Schüler zu reden begann. (It was quiet for some time, until a pupil began speaking.)

Der Kuchen ist noch nicht fertig. Es dauert noch eine halbe Stunde. (The cake isn’t finished yet. It will take another half an hour.)

+ bis

= Bis der Kuchen fertig ist, dauert es noch eine halbe Stunde. (Until the cake is finished, it will be another half an hour.)

dass (that)

This dass is used for combining object clauses, subject clauses and attributive clauses to independent clauses.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Er hat mir etwas gesagt. Es sei ein Problem für ihn. (He said something to me. It is a problem for him.)

+ dass

= Er sagte, dass es ein Problem für ihn sei. (He said, that it’s a problem for him.)

Du willst mir schreiben. Das freut mich besonders. (You want to write me. I’m very happy.)

+ dass

= Dass du mir schreiben willst, freut mich besonders. (That you want to write me makes me particularly happy.)

obwohl (despite, despite the fact that)

We use obwohl when in our dependent clause we want to provide information that is in opposition to the information in the independent clause. The short form is obw.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Das Fenster war wieder zu. Ich hatte es gerade vorher geöffnet. (The window was closed again. I had just opened it.)

+ obwohl

= Das Fenster war wieder zu, obwohl ich es gerade vorher geöffnet hatte. (The window was closed again, despite the fact that I had just opened it.)

Er war noch nie Skifahren. Er konnte ziemlich gut Skifahren. (He had never been skiing. He could ski quite well.)

+ obwohl

= Obwohl er noch nie Skifahren war, konnte er schon ziemlich gut Skifahren. (Despite having never been skiing, he could still ski quite well.)

während (while, during)

Here’s one to be careful of. Though the subordinating conjunction weil sounds like the English word while, you actually want to use the german word während. Während is used to tell us that the event in the dependent clause is occurring at the same time as the event in the independent clause. Often people will use während as a preposition and thus leave out the need for a longer sentence.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Wir waren auf dem Fest. Auf dem Fest haben wir uns gestritten. (We were at the festival. We had an argument at the festival.)

+ während

= Während wir auf dem Fest waren, haben wir uns gestritten. (While we at the festival we had an argument.)

Daniel macht das Frühstück. Seine Freundin schläft noch. (Daniel is making breakfast. His girlfriend is still sleeping)

+ während

= Daniel macht das Frühstück, während seine Freundin noch schläft. (Daniel is making breakfast while his girlfriend is still sleeping.)

weil (because)

You might be asking yourself why there is another word for because when there is already the coordinating conjunction denn. The simple answer is that there just is. The longer answer is that with weil you can start a sentence with the dependent clause (giving the reason before hand) and then state the result afterwards.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Er konnte das Skifahren schnell lernen. Er hatte eine ausgezeichnete Skilehrerin. (He was able to learn to ski quickly. He had an excellent ski instructor.)

+ weil

= Er konnte das Skifahren schnell lernen, weil er eine ausgezeichnete Skilehrerin hatte. (He was able to learn to ski quickly, because he had an excellent ski instructor.)

Sie hat für die Prüfungen fleissig gelernt. Sie hat die Prüfungen mit höchsten Noten bestanden. (She studied a lot for the tests. She passed the tests with the highest grades.)

+ weil

= Weil sie für die Prüfungen fleissig gelernt hat, hat sie die Prüfungen mit höchsten Noten bestanden. (Because she studied a lot for her tests, she passed them with the highest grades.)

wenn (when, if)

This is another one that causes quite a bit of confusion mostly because in English the same word (when) is used for so many purposes. Remember, German is a precision language. In German we use wenn for events the occurred numerous times in the past, like we use if in conditional sentences, and like when for the future.

Examples of combining clauses using subordinating conjunctions:

Es wird bald Abend. Am Abend hören wir mit der Arbeit auf. (It will soon be evening. In the evening we stop working.)

+ wenn

Wenn es Abend wird, warden wir mit der Arbeit aufhören. (When it becomes evening, we’ll stop working.)

Ich wäre gern reich. Ich würde mir ein grosses Haus in den Bergen kaufen. (I would like to be rich. I would buy myself a big house in the mountains.)

+ wenn

Wenn ich reich wäre, würde ich mir ein grosses Haus in den Bergen kaufen.

So there we have it, subordinating conjunctions in a nutshell. Ok, a rather large nutshell, but still I think you get the idea. Try combining the sentences in the exercises below using the subordinating conjunction given.

Exercises:

1. AnneMarie fährt nach Berlin. Sie muss viel arbeiten. (bevor)

2. Herr Müller hatte in Bern gewohnt. Er kam nach Zürich. (bis)

3. Ich sehe mein Schwester nie. Sie wohnt in Kanada. (weil)

4. Es gibt viel zu tun. Wir helfen alle mit. (wenn)

5. Sie kommt aus Polen. Sie kennt die Schweiz sehr gut. (obwohl)

6. John studierte in Berlin. Er hat Deutsch gesprochen. (als)

7. Helen fährt Snowboard. Ihr Mann fährt Ski. (während)

Related Posts:

• Basic German Sentence Structure
• German Coordinating Conjunctions
• Vor, bevor, vorher
• German Accusative Prepositions
• German Dative Prepositions
• German Two-way Prepositions
• German Genitive Prepositions
• German Word Order 

Building sentences is like playing with Lego.

That is what language is like, and German is no exception. Now we’ve learned about basic German sentence structure. That German is a time, manner, place (wann, wie, wo) language. We’ve seen how you construct questions and answer them using the language pieces they entail. But sometimes we want to go a little further and not simply provide a simple answer, but want to elaborate on it. Well here’s the good news, you have many of the pieces built now and we just need to put those together.

There are three types of ways to join sentences in German and each has a specific use. Today we’re going to look at coordinating conjunctions (Konjunktionen). Conjunctions allow us to combine independent clauses.

What is an independent clause (Hauptsatz)? As the name suggests an independent clause is a sentence that can stand on its own. It does not rely on anything else. It has a subject and a verb and usually an object. Up to now we’ve pretty much been constructing only independent clauses.

There are five key coordinating conjunctions in German: aber, denn, oder, sondern, and und. These are great because the combined independent clauses do not need to be changed at all in their structure when combined.

Often if the subject is explicitly mentioned in the first clause (ex. Der Tisch, Michael, Das Wetter etc.) it is replaced by a personal pronoun in the second clause. Remember der = er, die = sie and das = es. The one thing that can sometimes be done is the subject can be dropped from the second clause if it is the same as the subject in the first independent clause.

Let’s take a look:

In the examples I’ll color the subjects indigo and the verbs maroon.

und (and)

Und is used to combine two words, two clauses and two sentences. Thus it allows for items to be listed and ideas to be coordinated, summarized and added to the previous. It can replace the following punctuation: comma (Komma (,)), semicolon (Semikolon (;)), period (Punkt (.)), colon (Doppelpunkt (:)), exclamation mark (Ausrufzeichen (!)) and question mark (Fragezeichen (?)). In legal documentation u. is often used to shorten und. The ampersand (&) is only used for names.

Examples of independent clauses being combined:

Die Sonne scheint. Es ist warm. (The sun is shining. It is warm.)

+ und

= Die Sonne scheint und es ist warm.

Die Schweiz ist ein Alpenland in Mitteleuropa. Die Schweiz grenzt an Frankreich, Deutschland, Österreich, Liechtenstein und Italien. (Switzerland is an alpine country in the middle of Europe. Switzerland boarders France, Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy.)

+ und

= Die Schweiz ist ein Alpenland in Mitteleuropa und grenzt an Frankreich, Deutschland, Österreich, Liechtenstein und Italien.

*Note: Because Switzerland is the subject in both sentences we can drop the second Switzerland when we combine the two.

aber (but)

We use aber as a conjuction when we want the second clause to express something in opposition or contradictory to the first clause. Before aber we need to place a comma.

Examples of independent clauses being combined:

Hannes will nach Berlin fliegen. Sein Chef gibt ihm keine Ferien. (Hannes wants to fly to Berlin. His boss won’t give him any holidays.)

+ aber

= Hannes will nach Berlin fliegen, aber sein Chef gibt ihm keine Ferien.

 Maria soll schlafen. Ihr Freund schnarchelt. (Maria should sleep. Her boyfriend is snoring.)

+ aber

= Maria soll schlafen, aber ihr Freund schnarchelt.

denn (because)

Yes we’ve talked about denn before. Denn is the coordinating conjuction for because. There are also the subordinating conjuctions weil and da. We use denn to provide a reason (Grund) for what happened in the first clause. When we use denn as a conjunction, we dot start the the sentence with it. also note that there is a comma before denn when we use it as a coordinating conjunction.

Examples of independent clauses being combined:

Markus hat heute einen Kater. Gestern hat er zu viel beim Après-Ski getrunken. (Markus has a hangover today. He drank too much at après-ski yesterday.)

+ denn

= Markus hat heute einen Kater, denn gestern hat er zu viel beim Après-Ski getrunken.

Franziska kann heute nicht ins Kino gehen. Franziska muss für ihre Prüfung lernen. (Franziska can’t go to the cinema today. Franziska has to study for her test.)

+ denn

= Franziska kann heute nicht ins Kino gehen, denn sie muss für ihre Prüfung lernen.

oder (or)

We use oder to provide a differentiation between two or more possibilities. Here we speak of two different kinds of oder: exclusive (when not all the options are possible to choose) and inclusive (when all options are possible to choose.) When used to give an exclusive option it is often used in combination with entweder as in “entweder … oder” (either … or). We can also use oder for showing a consequence. Again, oder is often used as a particle, so be careful with this one. The short forms for oder are o. and od.

Examples of independent clauses being combined:

Exclusive (entweder … oder)

Du hast einen bekannten Vater. Wenn du keinen bekannten Vater hast, hast du einen unbekannten Vater. (You know your father. If you don’t know your father, then you have an unknown father.)

+ entweder … oder

= Du hast entweder einen bekannten oder einen unbekannten Vater. (You either know who your father is or you don’t.)

Inclusive

Gehst du heute ins Kino? Gehst du heute noch Einen trinken? Wir können auch beide. (Are you going to the cinema? Are you going for a drink? We can also do both.)

+ oder

= Gehst du heute ins Kino oder noch Einen trinken — oder wollen wir es verbinden? (Are you going to the cinema or out for a drink — or do we want to do both?)

Consequence

Komm her! Wenn du nicht herkommst, gibt es Ärger. (Come here! If you don’t come here, there’ll be trouble.)

+ oder

= Komm her, oder es gibt Ärger! (Come here, or there’ll be trouble!)

sondern (but, rather, but rather)

Now you might wonder what is the difference between aber and sondern. The answer is that sondern is only used after a negative clause where in the second clause the positive opposite is given. This is particularly useful when answering questions in the negative, but wanting to add clarification. Ex. Gehst du nach Hause? Nein, ich gehe nicht nach Hause, sondern ins Fitnessstudio. (Are you going home? No, I’m not going home, but rather to the gym.)

When we want to highlight two qualities of something we often use the construction nicht nur … sonder auch.

Examples of independent clauses being combined:

Ich komme heute nicht nach Hause. Ich übernachte bei meiner Freundin. (I’m not coming home today. I’m staying the night at my girlfriend’s.)

+ sondern

= Ich komme heute nicht nach Hause, sondern übernachte bei einem Freund

 Diese Ski sind sehr gut. Sie sind günstig. (These skis are very good. They are well priced.)

+ nicht nur … sonder auch

= Diese Ski sind nicht nur sehr gut, sondern auch günstig. (These skis are not only very good, but also well priced.)

And there we have it, the coordinating conjunctions in German. Note that the word order does not have to change when we combine sentences using coordination conjunctions. However, using conjunctions allows you to often drop out words that would repeat or at least switch proper nouns for pronouns. Coordinating conjunctions do not count as a position in a sentence either, remember you could switch them out for punctuation and often make two separate clauses.

Complete this text about the Tschuggen Grand Hotel in Arosa with the correct conjunction.

Wenn der Schnee in diesem Winter auf sich warten lässt, ist das im Tschuggen Grand Hotel kein Problem. Zwar ist die Region um das Schweizer Dorf bekannt für seine Pisten, _______ auch in dem Luxushotel auf über 1800 Metern wird Urlaubern nicht langweilig. Die Küche ist sehr gut, die Architektur ganz toll _______ das Spa so schön, dass manche Gäste am liebsten gar nicht mehr abfahren wollen. Im Winter können Gäste Skifahren gehen _______ einfach im Spa entspannen. Wenn doch genug Schnee liegt: Vom Hotel fährt eine Bergbahn, der Tschuggen Express, direkt ins Skigebiet von Arosa. Das Hotel hat fünf Restaurants _______ eine Bar. Gäste können in einem von 98 Zimmern _______ 32 Suiten übernachten. Eine Übernachtung ist nicht billig, _______ das Hotel ist ein Fünf-Sterne-Hotel Superior.

There are two types of questions: Yes/No questions and Information questions. In German Yes/No questions start with a verb. While there is a German verb “to do” (tun) we do not generally use it to ask yes/no questions, because tun does not serve the auxiliary function it does in English. In many ways this should be of relief to anyone learning German, because it means there is one less verb to worry about.

Information questions start with interrogatives. It is imperative that you learn these interrogatives as quickly as possible:

You have to understand the question to answer it. Use the question to make your answer.

wann — when

wo — where

woher — where from

wohin — where to

was — what

wie — how

warum — why

wieso — why

weshalb — why

wie viel — how much

*welch- — which

*Note welch- acts like a der-Wort and takes different endings (-e, -er, -es, -en, -em)

Alright let’s start decoding questions and answers. We’ll start with yes/no questions, as no further information is required to answer them:

All yes/no questions have a verb and a subject and many have a direct object (accusative). In the above examples the verbs are in orange, the subject in yellow and the direct object in blue.

When we go to answer the question all we need to do is answer with a yes or no and then reverse the order of the subject and verb. Also notice that if the subject in the question is in the second person singular or plural (du, ihr, Sie) we must answer with a subject in the first person singular or plural (ich, wir). In reverse it is somewhat different. See the chart below.

**Note, sollen is a modal verb and is conjugated, but requires a verb in the infinitive at the end of then sentence.

It is also very important to remember subject-verb agreement. Remember the verb must be conjugated to agree with the subject of the sentence.

When giving a negative response, you must ask yourself, am I negating the object or the entire statement.

If you’re negating the entire statement, you can often simply end the sentence with nicht.

z.B.

• Liest du die Zeitung? (Do you read the newspaper?)
  • Nein, ich lese die Zeitung nicht. (No, I don’t read the newspaper.)

If you’re negating an attribute then place the nicht in front of that attribute.

z.B.

• Kommst du aus Grossbritannien? (Are you from Great Britain?)
  •  Nein, ich komme nicht aus Grossbritannien. (No, I’m not from Great Britain.)
• Ist die Suppe heiss? (Is the soup hot?)
  • Nein, die Suppe ist nicht heiss. (No, the soup is not hot.)

If you’re negating the object, then you generally use a form of kein (keinen, keine, kein).

z.B.

• Hast du ein Auto? (Do you have a car?)
  •  Nein, ich habe kein Auto. (No, I don’t have a car.)

The most important thing to remember about yes/no questions is that other than possibly having to add the words nicht or kein to the answer, the word cues are all there to answer it.

Now let’s continue with information questions. These are somewhat harder, because they require added information. Two things will tell the person asking you the question that you don’t understand German. The first is that you answer with a yes or a no. Yes and no are never (never ever) the correct answer to an information question. The second is that you answer with information that was not asked (ex. You state a place when asked who someone is.)

Let’s take a look here:

****Note also that in German machen is often used like the English “to do” and therefore requires the verb to change, as the question is asking about an activity.

If you look at all of these questions you’ll notice that the verb comes after the interrogative (2nd position). Because the answers are statements, the verb must also come in the second position. Generally we start the answer with the subject, but if there is a time reference, it typically comes first and the subject right after the verb.

Here are 40 questions that you should be able to practice and answer.

http://quizlet.com/8843035/familiarize/embed/?hideLinks

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For the past two weeks we’ve been discussing adverbs. We’ve talked about adverbs of time and adverbs of place. Today we’re going to look at descriptive adverbs (adverbs of manner). Let’s recap again what adverbs do: Adverbs (das Adverb, die Adverbien) convey information about verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. They tell us how of where an activity takes place, or they modify the particular intensity of a verb or adjective. In English adverbs typically end in -ly, however, in German they usually do not have any special ending.

Let’s take a look at six features of descriptive adverbs.

1. Descriptive adverbs look like descriptive adjectives without endings. When such an adverb is used to modify a verb (action word), it often indicates how, in which manner, or to what degree the activity was done. The adverb is then placed after the main verb when there is only one verb or before the second verb.

• Auf der ganzen Welt haben Milliarden Menschen den Jahreswechsel ausgiebig und fröhlich gefeiert.
  • Around the world billions of people amply and happily celebrated the changing of the year.
•  Feuerwerke schossen prächtig und laut in den Himmel.
  • Fireworks fired brightly and loudly into the sky.

2. Descriptive adverbs can modify adjectives. Remember, adverbs do not take endings! Let’s compare:

  3. Adverbs can also modify other adverbs.

•  Die Leuten hatten das Feuerwerk in Zürich besonders bewundernd angeschaut.
  • The people watched the fireworks in Zurich with particular wonder.
• Die meisten Partys kamen bis um vier Uhr am Morgen erstaunlich friedlich zu Ende.
  • Most parties ended astonishingly peacefully by 4 in the morning.

4. Some adverbs of manner have no adjective equivalents.

•  Ich wäre selber gern dort gewesen.
  • I would have liked to have been there.
• Ich habe es kaum geglaubt.
  • I hardly believed it.

Erstaunlicherweise war sie schon da!

5. To convey attitude or reaction a few descriptive adverbs can be formed with the suffix -erweise to descriptive adjectives.

•  bedauerlicherweis (regrettably)
  • Meine Freundin war bedauerlicherweise nicht auf der Party.
  • My girlfriend was regrettably not at the party.
• dummerweise (foolishly, stupidly)
  • Ein Freund von mir trank dummerweise zu viel Bier.
  • My friend foolishly drank too much beer.
• erstaunlicherweise (amazingly)
  • Trotzdem ging es ihm erstaunlicherweise gut.
  • Despite that he was amazingly in fine form.
• glücklicherweise (fortunately)
  • Ich hatte mein Handy dabei und konnte glücklicherweise meine Freundin anrufen.
  • I had my mobile phone with me and could fortunately call my girlfriend.
• möglicherweise (possibly)
  • Ich fragte sie, ob sie möglicherweise auch zur Party kommen konnte.
  • I asked her, if she could possibly also come to the party.
• überraschenderweise (surprisingly)
  • Wie das Glück es wollte, kam sie überraschenderweise gerade an.
  • As luck would have it, she had surprisingly just arrived.

6. Some descriptive adverbs are formed by adding the suffix -weise to nouns.

•  fallweise (case by case)
  • Die Polizei mussten fallweise auf verschiedene Partys auftauchen.
  • The police had to appear at different parties on a case by case basis.
• paarweise (in pairs)
  • Paarweise betraten sie die Tanzfläche.
  • In pairs they went on to the dance floor.
• stückweise (piece by piece)
  • Viele Menschen kaufen ihre Möbel nur stückweise.
  • Many people only buy their furniture piece by piece.
• teileweise (partially)
  • Wir sind teilweise erfolgreich: die meisten der Aufgaben wurden erledigt, einige jedoch nicht.
  • We were partially successful: most of our tasks were completed, some however not.

In German, like in English, there are many adverbs of time. I’ve noticed that many German learners find these confusing, because they are rarely addressed early enough in the learning process, but are always used by German speakers and in dialogues.

Let’s get started with looking at these adverbs of time. Generally speaking adverbs of time fall into one of four categories. For that reason, I will introduce these adverbs in the four categories.

Just a quick note to everyone about the positioning of adverbs of time in your sentence. First, remember the all important German sentence structure logic: Time, Manner, Place (TMP). Therefore, adverbs of time should come before those of place or manner. The second point is that we move from general time to specific time. Third, German is the language of punctuality, which means that we often place the time phrase in the first position. If the adverbial phrase is placed at the beginning of a sentence, it is not separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma like in English. I repeat NO COMMA! If you start a sentence with an adverb of time or an adverbial phrase that is your position 1 and the verb must follow in position 2 and the subject in position 3.

Please keep the above in mind as we look at our for categories and their examples:

Oft überrascht sie ihn mit ihrem wünderschönen Lächeln.

1. Adverbs of time in category one tell us when or how often an activity occurs. A good idea here is to make a continuum to remember them. Here are some of the most common examples:

• ab und zu (now and then)
  • Ich bin kein Profieishockeyspieler, ich spiele nur ab und zu Eishockey.
  • (I’m not a professional ice-hockey player. I only play now and then.)
• bald (soon)
  • Bald nun ist Weihnachtszeit.
  • (Soon it will be Christmas.)
• immer (always)
  • Er hat sie immer geliebt.
  • (He always loved her.)
• manchmal (sometimes)
  • Manchmal gehe ich auf den Weihnachtsmarkt alleine.
  • (Sometimes I go to the Christmas market alone.)
• nie (never)
  • Er wird sie nie enttäuschen.
  • (He will never disappoint her.)
• oft (often)
  • Oft überrascht sie ihn mit ihrem wünderschönen Lächeln.
  • (She often surprises him with her beautiful smile.)
• schon (already: this can also be a filler word and is not to be confused with schön)
  • Du bist schon da? Ich dachte, du kommst nicht bis später.
  • (You’re already here? I thought you weren’t coming until later.)
• wieder (again)
  • Es ist schon wieder Weihnachten.
  • (It’s already Christmas again.)

Neulich traf er sie wieder auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt.

2. Adverbs of time in category two are used to indicate when an activity begins and are particularly useful for introducing narratives. In fact you will often encounter these in literature.

• anfangs (in the beginning)
  • Anfangs ging alles gut.
  • (In the beginning everything went well.)
• damals (then, back then)
  • Damals lebten sie noch getrennt.
  • (Back then they didn’t live together.)
• eines Abends (one evening)
  • Eines Abends besuchte er sie.
  • (One evening he visited her.)
• eines Morgens (one morning)
  • Eines Morgens, als er aufstand, wusste er, dass er sie liebte.
  • (When he got up one morning, he knew that he loved her.)
• eines Tages (one day)
  • Er schwor, dass er sie eines Tages heiraten würde.
  • (He swore that he would marry her one day.)
• einst (once (past); some day (future))
  • Einst liebte sie einen anderen.
  • (She once loved another.)
  • Einst wird er bedauern, sich nicht anders entschieden zu haben.
  • (One day, he’ll regret having not decided otherwise.)
• neulich (recently)
  • Neulich traf er sie wieder auf dem Weihnachtsmarkt.
  • (He recently met (bumped into) her at the Christmas market.)
• vor kurzem (recently)
  • Vor kurzem hat sie an ihm gedacht.
  • (She thought about him recently.)
• zuerst (first, at first)
  • Er sprach sie zuerst an.
  • (He spoke to her first.)
• zunächst (first, at first)
  • Zunächst gingen sie einen Glühwein trinken.
  • (First they went and had a mulled wine.)

Bald darauf zogen sie zusammen ein.

3. Adverbs of time in the third category are very useful for helping establish a sequence within a narrative. These are really good to use to make your narrative flow.

• auf einmal (suddenly)
  • Auf einmal kam ein alter Mann in den Laden.
  • (Suddenly an old man came into the shop.)
• bald darauf (soon, soon thereafter)
  • Bald darauf zogen sie zusammen ein.
  • (Soon thereafter they moved in together.)
• bis dahin (up until then; by then)
  • Bis dahin hatten sie nur davon geträumt.
  • (Up until then they had only dreamed about that.)
• da (then; this can also be a filler word and or mean “because” and/or an adverb of place meaning “here/there”)
  • Da lachte er.
  • (Then he laughed.)
• dann (then)
  • Dann gingen sie ins Kino.
  • (Then they went to the cinema.)
• danach (after that)
  • Sie nahm die Tabletten, und danach ging es ihr wieder besser.
  • (She took the pills, and after that she felt better again.)
• immer noch (still)
  • Wohnst du immer noch in der Schillerstrasse?
  • (Do you still live on Schiller Street?)
• inzwischen (meanwhile)
  • Ich muss noch arbeiten, du kannst inzwischen essen.
  • (I still have to work. You can eat in the meantime.)
• kurz darauf (shortly after that)
  • Kurz darauf haben sie sich geheiratet.
  • (Shortly after that they got married.)
• mittlerweile (meantime)
  • Mittlerweile ist es uns gelungen, das Rätsel zu lösen.
  • (In the meantime we’ve been able to solve the puzzle.)
• nachher (afterwards)
  • Ich gehe nachher Geschenke kaufen.
  • (I’m going to go buy presents afterwards.)
• plötzlich (suddenly)
  • Plötzlich küsste er sie.
  • (Suddenly he kissed her.)
• später (later)
  • Er soll später die Leitung der Firma übernehmen.
  • (He should become the head of the company later.)
• unterdessen (meanwhile)
  • Ich erledigte wichtige Korrespondenz. Unterdessen verwüstete meine kleine Tochter die gesamte Wohnung.
  • (I took care of important correspondences. In the meantime my little daughter completely destroyed the entire flat.)
• voher (first, beforehand)
  • Wenn ich das nur vorher gewusst hätte!
  • (If I’d only known that earlier!)

Here is an example of a small narrative using a few of these adverbs.

Der Mauerfall

Ich erfuhr davon im Fernsehen, und kurz darauf rief ich einen Freund in Berlin an. Bis dahin, sagte er, hatte er nur davon geträumt. Und dann plötzlich ist es zur Wirklichkeit geworden.

The fall of the Berlin Wall

I heard about it on TV, and shortly afterwards I called up a friend of mine in Berlin. Up until then, he said, he had only dreamed about about it. And then suddenly it became a reality.

Zum Schluss möchte ich allen meinen fans bedanken.

4. Adverbs of time in the fourth category are often used to indicate the conclusion of an activity or narrative.

• am Ende (finally, in the end, in conclusion)
  • Am Ende gingen wir zufrieden ins Bett.
  • (Finally we went contently to bed.)
• endlich (finally, at long last)
  • Der Film ist endlich fertig!
  • (The film is finally finished!)
• schliesslich (finally, in the final analysis)
  • Sie nahm ihre Jacke, die Tasche, den Koffer und schliesslich den Schirm.
  • (She took her jacket, the handbag, the suitcase and finally the umbrella.)
• seitdem ((ever) since then, (ever) since that time)
  • Wir haben sie seitdem nicht mehr gesehen.
  • (We haven’t seen her since then.)
• seither ((ever) since then, (ever) since that time)
  • Die Studie ist zehn Jahre alt, seither hat sich aber viel verändert.
  • (The study is ten years old, since then a lot has changed.)
• zuletzt (at last, finally; last)
  • Sie war zuletzt vor fünf Jahren hier.
  • (The last time she was here was five years ago.)
• zum Schluss (finally, in the end, in conclusion)
  • Zum Schluss möchte ich allen meinen fans bedanken.
  • (Finally, I’d like to thank all my fans.)

Exercise:

Tell something about yourself and use the following adverbs:

1. ab und zu
2. bisher (up until now)
3. stets (continually, always)
4. endlich
5. kürzlich
6. plötzlich
7. immer noch 

Practice your German temporal adverbs by following the link:

http://quizlet.com/8892852/familiarize/embed/?hideLinks

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I never want to have children. Children are the most important thing to me.

The other week posters at the tram stops throughout Zurich caught my eye. I read them not wearing any glasses and thought: “That sentence makes no no sense whatsoever.” After seeing about four I finally got it. One part of the text is bold and serves as a common word or phrase that combines two sentences. The poster has two sentences and not one. The magic of German word order.

Let’s look at German word order in simple sentences — that is main clauses. In a previous post, I have already said that German speakers like to place time and the beginning of a sentence, which may explain their reputation as being such a punctual people. Truth is though, you can place any number of things in the first position of a sentence. What does that do? The element that gets placed first is essentially emphasized. Where some people may accuse you of poor word order is if they believe you are emphasizing the wrong element.

So what do we know about word order in English? Let’s take a look:

Basic: 

Detailed:

**As you can see we don’t need to fill in every position in a sentence. But we must remember that those elements have a position if we use them.

Now let’s look at German:

Where as English, Spanish and French are a Place + Manner + Time language, German, like Japanese, is a Time + Manner + Place language in standard form.

English: Peter’s going to Zurich with the train tomorrow.

German: Peter fährt morgen mit der Bahn nach Zürich.

• Literally: Peter drives tomorrow with the train to Zurich.

Let’s look at some variations of the sentence: “I’ll give you the article in the office tomorrow.”

 *We can also place the direct object after the time and place. Ex. Ich geben dir morgen im Büro den Artikel.

Notice here that we have five variations of the same sentence. If you add manner you can have six, though few sentences will contain all six elements. That said standard sentence structure in German would favour the two highlighted in yellow — Subject or Time first.

Notice that the cases dir (dative) and den Artikel (accusative) tell us that they are not the subject of the sentence, but the indirect object or the direct object. Because we can clearly indicate case in German we have more flexibility in sentence structure and we can emphasize elements by placing them at the start of the sentence.

Let’s look at another example. It was this example that really helped solidify the notion for me because most people interpret the second variation incorrectly.

Literally: The man shoots the dog with the gun.

In the second variation we see that den Hund is in the accusative and can therefore not be doing the verb. Therefore, der Mann (nominative) is still the one doing the shooting and not the dog.

Another thing to remember is that the verb must always agree with the subject. Therefore, the way the verb is conjugated can help to tell us what the subject is. For instance:

In the first two sentences it is difficult to tell which is the subject and the direct object because both words are singular and neutral. When you read a sentence like this, revert to real world logic to decipher the meaning. If you are writing a sentence where this happens the subject or time should come first (in yellow below).

The second two sentences both work, because die Mädchen is plural and the geben is conjugated for a plural subject.

It is really important to remember that the verb is always in the second position! The second position does not mean the second word, but the second grammatical position. When we say In der Schule that is all one position (place). The subject must always be situated directly before or directly after the verb in a simple sentence.

What do we do when there are two verbs or verb parts? The second verb or verb part closes off the sentence and gets placed at the end.

Steps to better sentence composition:

1. Practice composing (speaking) in standard sentence structure with the subject first.
2. Once you feel confident, start putting time first where it makes sense to be clear about the time.
3. And then move to writing sentences with other elements at the start.
4. Always remember the verb belongs in the second position
5. The subject must touch the verb (either before or after).

What part(s) of the sentence are the words in bold serving?

The thing that confuses many German learners is that they are taught denn early on but they mostly hear and read this other word — weil — for because. Two words with the same logical linking task and with the same English meaning. “Why?” you ask yourself are there two words and how are they different? Before we get stated I’m just going to throw one more word into the mix, because it can also mean because — da. There we have it, three words for because. Before you bang your head on your desk or laptop keyboard with frustration read on and discover how to use these conjunctions correctly.

We use denn as a way of providing a reason for the action or claim of the first clause. Let’s look at how we put this together.

Ex.

Es geht ihm schlecht, denn er hat gestern Abend zu viel getrunken.

Phil geht es schlecht. Er hat gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken.

• Phil isn’t doing too well. He drank too much beer last night.

Phil geht es schlecht, denn er hat gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken.

• Phil isn’t doing too well, because he drank too much beer last night.

Warum geht es Phil schlecht? — Denn er hat gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken.

• Why isn’t Phil doing too well? — Because he drank too much beer last night.

All that is happening here is that two independent clauses are being brought together and written as one. There is absolutely no need to change the word order in the clauses. We should also note at this point that conjunctions do not count as grammatical places. You can reverse test your use of a coordinating conjunction by replacing it with a full stop (period). Do the two sentences make sentence? Are they two independent clauses — two complete ideas? If yes, then you’ve used the coordinating conjunction correctly.

So why is it that there are two other words for because in German? The subordinating conjunctions weil and da allow us to do something called inversion. But let’s take a look at how we can use weil and da.

Ex.

Es geht Alan schlecht, weil er gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat.

Alan geht es schlecht. Er hat gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken.

• Alan isn’t doing too well. He drank too much beer last night.

Alan geht es schlecht, weil er gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat.

• Alan isn’t doing too well, because he drank too much beer last night.

Weil Alan gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat, geht es ihm schlecht.

• Because Alan drank too much beer last night, he isn’t doing too well.

Alan geht es schlecht, da er gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat.

• Alan isn’t doing too well, because he drank too much beer last night.

Da Alan gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat, geht es ihm schlecht.

• Because Alan drank too much beer last night, he isn’t doing too well.

A subordinating clause cannot stand on its own. It is not a complete idea (weil er gestern Abend zu viel Bier getrunken hat). It leaves the reader or listening asking the question “And… What’s your point?” In German the conjugated verb comes at the end of the subordinating clause. Because of this we can move the subordinating clause to the start of a sentence. When we do this, the entire subordinate clause is considered to be the grammatical position 1. This means that after the comma (,) we need to start the next clause with the conjugated verb.

Standard sentence structure

Inversion

Da and weil are used in the same way in German, though most dictionaries will provide the following meanings:

weil – because
da – since (not as a time reference)
denn – for / because

However, in German usage we do not differentiate any special meaning. What is important is the positioning of the verbs. Also we cannot invert denn sentences. Denn can be used at the start of a sentence when it is an answer to a question started with warum, wieso, or weshalb.

Now some of you are probably very keen listeners when people are speaking to you in German. You pay attention to sentence structure and verb placement and you know without a doubt that you have heard German native speakers using weil like denn.

Ex.

Ich bin heute spät, weil ich habe meinen Zug verpasst.

Wir können am Freitag nicht mit ins Kino, weil wir haben schon Pläne.

Alarm bells should be ringing. Yes, these sentences are grammatically wrong. However, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to keep track of what they are thinking and what they want to be saying it has become common for even native speakers to make this mistake.

An argument can be made for its correctness in a case where there is a long pause after weil. The pause after the weil supposedly means “Folgendes der Fall ist:” (the following is the case:).

Ex.

Wir kamen erst um zehn Uhr, weil – der Zug hatte Verspätung.

Wir kamen erst um zehn Uhr, weil Folgendes der Fall ist: Der Zug hatte Verspätung.

Though we can argue for weil being followed by an independent clause, it is easier to learn how to use denn and weil correctly and avoid Grammar arguments.

Exercises:

Combine these two clauses into one. Pay attention to reasoning and causality for potential inversion. Keep the clause order the same.

1. Sie sieht nicht gut aus. Sie ist ganz bleich im Gesicht.

________________________________________________________________________________

2. Der Zug kommt circa 10 Minuten spät an. Es gab einen Unfall.

________________________________________________________________________________

3. Du hast immer Kopfschmerzen. Du sollst zum Arzt gehen.

________________________________________________________________________________

4. Der VW kostet 30’000 Franken. Er ist voll ausgestattet.

________________________________________________________________________________

5. Es regnet heute. Wir bleiben zu Hause.

________________________________________________________________________________

6. Wir müssen früh losfahren. Am Gotthard gibt es viel Stau.

________________________________________________________________________________

7. Alex hat viel gelernt und trainiert. Er spricht heute sehr gutes Deutsch.

________________________________________________________________________________

Answers:

1. Sie sieht nicht gut aus, denn sie ist ganz bleich im Gesicht. / Sie sieht nicht gut aus, weil/da sie ganz bleich im Gesicht ist.

2. Der Zug kommt circa 10 Minuten spät an, denn es gab einen Unfall. / Der Zug kommt circa 10 Minuten spät an, weil/da es einen Unfall gab.

3. Weil/Da du immer Kopfschmerzen hast, sollst du zum Arzt gehen.

4. Der VW kostest 30’000 Franken, denn er ist voll ausgestattet. / Der VW kostest 30’000 Franken, weil/da er voll ausgestattet ist.

5. Weil/Da es heute regnet, bleiben wir zu Hause.

6. Wir müssen früh losfahren, denn am Gotthard gibt es viel Stau. / Wir müssen früh losfahren, weil/da am Gotthard es viel Stau gibt.

7. Weil/Da Alex viel gelernt und trainert hat, spricht er heute sehr gutes Deutsch.

Womit rasierst du dich?

Womit rasierst du dich?

• What do you shave yourself with?

Ich rasiere mich mit dem Rasierapparat.

• I shave myself with the electric razor.

Worüber sprichst du?

• What are you talking about?

Ich spreche über das Buch.

• I’m talking about the book. 

Worauf freust du dich?

• What are you looking forward to?

Ich freue mich auf das Wochenende.

Worauf freust du dich?

• I’m looking forward to the weekend.

Note that the German wo-compound corresponds to two English words, ‘what’ at the beginning of the sentence and the preposition ‘with/about/to’ at the end.

Also note the -r- added when the preposition begins with a vowel.

Like the da-compounds, German differentiates between people and things when using wo-compounds. When asking about a person, German uses forms of the who-word, wer: these are wen (accusative) and wem (dative).

Auf wen wartest du?

Auf wen wartet Kermit?

• Who are you waiting for?

Ich warte auf Karl.

• I’m waiting for Karl.

Mit wem fährst du nach Luzern?

• Who are you driving to Lucerne with?

Ich fahre mit meinem Freund.

• I’m going with my friend.

If you’ve had those doubts, I can tell you with some certainty, that though mistakes do happen, even in German, these are usually not mistakes, but you’ve probably stumbled upon a relative clause. That’s right in German der, die, das and the like can also be used to mean who, whom, that, which and whose.

What is a relative clause?

• a clause added on to a main clause (Hauptsatz);

Er ist der Mann, der das Buch geschrieben hat.

He is the man who wrote the book.

• provides additional information about something mentioned in the main clause without having to repeat the noun that it refers to;
• is introduced by a relative pronoun (Relativpronomen)

Er ist der Mann, der das Buch geschrieben hat.

He is the man who wrote the book.

  What is a relative pronoun?

• links two clauses (a main clause and a relative clause) into a single complex clause

 [Er ist der Mann (main clause)] [der das Buch geschrieben hat (relativ clause)].

•  refers back to a noun mentioned in the main clause

For the most part German relative pronouns are the same as the definite articles “der”, “die”, “das”. The only exceptions are the dative plural, which takes the form “denen” and the genitives.

Notice that German doesn’t differentiate between relative pronouns for people (who) and objects (that, which).

Okay now we need to figure out which pronoun to use. As always we need to take three things into consideration: 1. Gender, 2. Number, 3. Case

Here are four simple steps:

Ist das der Wagen, den du kaufen willst?

1. Find the antecedent (the word that you want to replace with the relative pronoun)
2. Determine the gender of the antecedent
3. Determine the number of the antecedent
4. Which function will the relative pronoun have in the relative clause?
   • Subject (Nominative)
   • Direct Object (Accusative)
   • Indirect Object (Dative)
   • Possessive (Genitive), in English: whose
   • Object of a Preposition (Accusative or Dative)

Examples:

Das ist der Mann, der das Buch geschrieben hat.

• Das ist der Mann. Der Mann hat ein Buch geschieben.

(S: NOM)

Das ist der Mann, der ein Buch geschieben hat. → relative pronoun = subject of the subordinate clause

•  Das ist der Freund. Ich habe der Freundin das Buch gekauft.

(IO: DAT)

Das ist die Freundin, der ich das Buch gekauft habe. → relative pronoun = indirect object of the subordinate clause

•  Ist das der Wagen? Willst du den Wagen kaufen?

(DO:AKK)

Ist das der Wagen, den du kaufen willst? → relative pronoun = direct object of the subordinate clause

Relative pronouns can also be placed after a preposition. When they are placed here, they are the object of the preposition. The preposition will therefore determine the case.

Akkusativpräpositionen: durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

Das ist die Freundin, der ich das Buch geschenkt habe.

Das ist der Mann, für den das Geschenk ist.

Dativpräpositionen: aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

Das ist das Buch, von dem ich dir erzählt habe.

Wechselpräpositionen: an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen

Das ist das Haus, in das ich einziehe. (destination)

Das ist das Haus, in dem ich wohne. (location)

Here are some notes on word order:

• The relative clause is always preceded by a comma.
• If the relative clause ends the sentence, then it ends with a period.
• If it gets stuck in the middle of the sentence then it is set off with commas on both sides
  • Die Leute, die hierher gekommen sind, waren meine Freunde.
    
  • The people who came here were my friends
• The finite (conjugated) verb comes at the end of the relative clause.
• Separable prefix verbs are reunited and written as one word (e.g. “Ich habe einen Freund, der um 8 Uhr aufsteht.”)
• In English, we often leave out the relative pronoun “that” (“The film [that] I saw last night was bad”). In German, you cannot omit the relative pronoun from a sentence.
• You cannot separate the relative pronoun from any preposition that goes with it. In English, we say “The man who I’m talking to is over there”. In German, that has to be “Der Mann, mit dem ich spreche, ist dort.”
• The relative clause wants to be as close to the noun it is describing as possible. However, this isn’t a strict rule.

Now you try:

1. Ist das der Mann, ________ du zu deiner Party eingeladen hast?
2. Wie heißt eigentlich das Restaurant, in ________ man so gut bedient wird?
3. Aus welchem Land kommt eigentlich die Studentin, ________ das Studium so schnell beendet hat?
4. Kennst du die hübsche Frau, mit ________ sich Michael schon seit Stunden unterhält?
5. Warum müssen die Aufgaben, ________ uns unser Lehrer stellt, immer so schwierig sein?
6. Hast du auch den Wagen gesehen, ________ so schnell um die Kurve gefahren ist?
7. Franz, ________ in seiner Jugend in Claudia verliebt war, hat vor kurzem einen Jennifer verheiratet.
8. Der Patient, ________ man gestern Nachmittag operiert hat, ist heute Morgen verstorben.
9. Die Fotos, ________ der Fotograf im Krisengebiet gemacht hatte, erhielten einen Preis.
10. Beates Auto, mit ________ wir nach Frankreich gefahren sind, ist gestern gestohlen worden.
11. Wer hat den Schlüssel weggenommen, ________ hier immer gelegen hat?
12. Herr Müller, ________ wir eben gratuliert haben, wird 80 Jahre alt.
13. Ich fahre morgen zu meinem Bruder, ________ schon lange in Hamburg wohnt.
14. Die Touristin, ________ Ausweis nicht zu finden war, konnte nicht über die Grenze fahren.
15. Die Gäste, ________ das Essen nicht schmeckte, suchten sich ein anderes Hotel.
16. Frau Müller, ________ auch dieses Haus gehört, ist unsere Nachbarin.
17. Kennst du die Leute, ________ da vor der Tür stehen?
18. Kennst du die Kinder, ________ dieser Ball gehört?
19. Der Herr, ________ Auto im Graben lag, musste eine Werkstatt anrufen.
20. Der Arzt, ________ seine Patienten schlecht behandelte, musste sich eine neue Arbeit suchen.

Answers:

den, dem, die, der, die, der, der, den, die, dem, der, dem, der, deren, denen, der, die, denen, dessen, der

In German there are three words for the English “when”: wenn, als, wann. And while all three can mean “when”, they are used in different situations. Let’s take a look at these three words and when we use them.

Als:

Als wir gestern losgingen, regnete es.

A single event in the past.

• Alswir gestern losgingen, regnete es.
  • When we left yesterday it was raining.

An ended duration of time from the past.

• Alsich bei PwC gearbeitet habe, musste ich früh aufstehen.
  • When I worked at PwC I had to get up early.

*When we use “als” we also often use the simple past (präteritum).

**When “als” is used as “when” the verbs must be in the past tense.

***We often use “als” with the following words and phrases: plötzlich, gestern, letzte Woche, letztes Jahr, ich Kind war

Wenn: [vɛn]

Wenn ich nach Bern fahre, fahre ich mit dem Zug.

A repeated event in the past.

• Wennich meine Grossmutter besucht habe, hat sie sich immer gefreut.
  • When I’d visit my grandmother, she was always happy.

Present events.

• Wennich nach Bern fahre, fahre ich mit dem Zug.
  • When I go to Bern I take the train.

Future events.

• Wennich gross bin, werde ich Professor.
  • When I grow up I’ll become a professor.

*When we use “wenn” for a repeated past event it can also be translated with “whenever”.

**We often use “wenn” with the following words and phrases: immer, jedes Mal

Wann: [van]

Wann bist du nach Zürich gekommen?

Direct questions.

• Wannbist du nach Zürich gekommen?
  • When did you come to Zurich?

Indirect questions.

• Wisst ihr, wannder Zug ankommt?
  • Do you know when the train will arrive?

Answers to indirect questions.

• Wir haben keine Ahnung, wannder Zug ankommt.
  • We have no idea when the train will arrive.

Let’s see how well you understand. Try to complete these sentences:

1.  Immer __________ es schneite, kamen die Züge mit Verspätung an.
2. __________ Sie in den Urlaub fahren können, hängt von den Betriebsferien der Firma ab.
3. __________ er ein kleiner Junge war, musste er in die Schule gehen.
4. __________ das Kind krank ist, liest ihm die Mutter etwas vor.
5. __________ wir Zeit haben, kommen wir gern.
6. Waren Sie dabei, __________ die Bank überfallen wurde?
7. Es hängt vom Wetter ab, __________ wir diese Gebirgswanderung machen.
8. Sie überlegten lange, __________ sie den Besuch machen sollten.
9. __________ er nach Hause kam, hatte seine Frau das Essen schon fertig.
10. Weißt du, __________ das Flugzeug landet?
11. Die Frau bekam einen Schreck, __________ plötzlich ein fremder Mann in Ihrer Wohnung stand.
12. __________ die Nachfrage groß ist, werden die Preise niedriger.

Answers:

wenn, wenn, als, wenn, wenn, als, wenn, wenn, als, wann, als, wenn

We use “wenn” in conditional sentences. It helps to think of “wenn” as meaning “if / in case”.

EX.

Wenn das Wetter schön ist, fahren wir an den Strand.

Wenn sie nicht bald kommt, beginnen wir den Unterricht ohne sie.

• If she doesn’t arrive soon, we’ll start the lesson without her.

Wenn es morgen nicht regnet, fahren wir an den Strand.

• If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, we’ll go to the beach.

Du kannst deine Freundin mitbringen, wenn du möchtest.

• You can bring your girlfriend if you like.

Ich kaufe mir ein grosses Haus am Zürichsee, wenn ich im Lotto gewinne.

• I’ll buy a big house on Lake Zurich if I win the lottery.

We use “ob” differently from “wenn”. If you think of “wenn” meaning “if / in case”, it helps to  think of “ob” meaning “if / whether”. We use “ob” for conditional indirect questions that have a yes/no answer. Ob rarely starts a sentence, but occurs most frequently in the second part of the sentence.

EX.

Er weisst nicht, ob er den neuen Job bekommt.

Weisst du, ob Maximilian morgen kommt?

• Do you know if Maximilian is coming tomorrow?

Kannst du mir sagen, ob wir Hausaufgaben haben?

• Can you tell me whether we have homework?

Stefan ist nicht sicher, ob er den Job bekommen wird.

• Stefan is not sure whether he’ll get the job.

Ich möchte wissen, ob der neue Computer schon abholbereit ist.

• I’d like to know if the new computer is ready to be picked up.

Ich weiss nicht, ob meine Freunde am Wochenende kommen.

• I don’t know if my friends are coming at the weekend.

Indirect questions are in fact statements that can also be interpreted as answers to the yes/no questions.

Q: Kannst du mir sagen, ob wir Hausaufgaben haben?

A: Ich weiss nicht, ob wir Hausaufgaben haben.

**Notice that clauses that start with “wenn” and “ob” are subordinate and that the verbs go at the end.

Exercises:

Wenn ich im Lotto gewinne, kaufe ich mir ein Haus am Zürichsee.

1. Können Sie mir sage, _________ Coop bis 20 Uhr geöffnet ist?
2. _________ er das noch einmal tut, bekommt er Ärger.
3. Wir können uns vor dem Kino treffen, _________ das für dich gut ist.
4. Susie möchte wissen, ________ dir das Geschenk gefallen hat.
5. _________ das Wetter morgen schön ist, grillieren wir im Park.
6. Es ist mir egal, _________ ich morgen arbeiten muss oder nicht.
7. Angela ist sich nicht sicher, ________ sie die Kaffeemaschine ausgeschaltet hat.
8. Kannst du mir sagen, ________ du die Kaffeemaschine ausgeschaltet hast?
9. Ich mache eine grosse Party, ________ ich den neuen Job bekomme.
10. Ich möchte wissen, ________ Sie dieses Blog verstanden haben.
11. _________ du ein neues Fahrrad kaufen möchtest, solltest du bei Stilrad vorbeischauen.
12. Weisst du, _______ Louise eine neue Bestzeit in Wien gelaufen ist?

Answers:

ob, wenn, wenn, ob, wenn, ob, ob, ob, wenn, ob, wenn, ob 

This all comes across as nonsensical, especially when we go and reset those same clocks in autumn to do the exact opposite. Sometimes languages come across the same way and there are words or expressions that are either redundant or illogical or both.

This is true of the German words “aber” and “sondern”. If you look them up in a German-English dictionary, you will see the translation as being “but”. A good dictionary will also tell you that they are both coordinating conjunctions, which means that the word order in the clauses does not change. Also note that they are preceded by a comma.

Sommerzeit brauchen wir nicht mehr, aber es gibt sie immer noch.

However, these words are in all actuality different, which is all part of this linguistic precision I keep coming back to that exists in German. When we look at their usage it will become clearer.

Aber links clauses or phrases by providing contrasting additional information. The First clause can be positive or negative.

Ex.

Ich habe meine Uhr vorwärts gedreht, aber ich bin trotzdem verschlafen.

• I turned my clock ahead, but I still overslept.

Nico mag die Stadt, aber er ist auch gern auf dem Land.

• Nico likes the city, but he also likes it in the country.

Lara kocht sehr gern, aber sie spült nicht gerne ab.

• Lara really likes to cook, but she doesn’t like to do the dishes.

Herr Doktor Professor Bernhardt ist heute krank, aber das Seminar findet immer noch statt.

• Professor Bernhardt is ill today, but the seminar is still going to take place.

Sondern links clauses and phrases by providing contrasting corrective information regarding what was said in the first clause or phrase. The information to be corrected must contain a negating word such as nicht, nie, kein etc. The corrective information following sondern can be limited to only those elements that require correction, or it can be a full clause.

In other words ask yourself these two questions and if the answer to both is not yes use aber.

1. The second clause is an opposite or contrast to the first clause (corrective)
2. There is a negation in the first clause that needs correction. (negation)

Fahrräder sind nicht nur günstig, sondern auch gesund.

Ex.

Im Frühling drehen wir die Uhren nicht zurück, sondern vorwärts.

• In the spring we don’t turn the clocks back, but rather forwards.

Bei Marathon Sprachen kann man kein Spanisch lernen, sondern man kann Deutsch und Englisch lernen.

• At Marathon Sprachen one cannot learn Spanish, but one can learn German and English.

Das Geschäft Stilrad im Viadukt verkauft keine Motorräder, sondern Fahrräder.

• The Stilrad shop in the viaduct does not sell motorcycles, but rather bicycles.

Das Buch Swiss Watching von Diccon Bewes wurde nicht auf Deutsch geschrieben, sondern auf Englisch.

• The book Swiss Watching by Diccon Bewes was not written in German, but rather in English.

Sondern is often used in the following combination: “nicht nur … sondern auch” where the “nicht nur” occurs in the first clause and the “sondern auch” in the second. We use this to add emphasis to something.

Ex.

Das Fahrrad ist nicht nur günstig, sondern auch gesund.

• The bicycle isn’t just great value, but it’s also healthy.

Das Buch Swiss Watching ist nicht auf Deutsch, sondern auf Englisch.

Exercises:

1. In dieser Klasse lernen Sie kein Spanisch, _________ Deutsch!
2. Zürich ist eine schöne Stadt, _________ sie ist sehr teuer.
3. Der Wein ist nicht nur Bio, _________ auch Biodynamisch.
4. Ich trinke gerne Bier, _________ Wein trinke ich lieber.
5. Die Prüfung ist nicht schwierig, _________ lang.
6. Fahren Sie nicht mit dem Auto, _________ mit dem Rad.
7. Der Sattel ist nicht aus Plastik, _________ aus Leder.
8. Die Kirche ist nicht sehr groß, _________ sie ist sehr schön.
9. Der Käse kommt nicht aus der Schweiz, _________ aus England.
10. Das Rad ist toll, _________ der Rahmen ist zu klein.
11. Das Restaurant ist gemütlich, _________ es ist sehr teuer.

A big thank you to Diccon Bewes for suggesting this week’s topic. Check out his fabulous blog on the Swiss at:
http://swisswatching.wordpress.com
/

Answers:

sondern, aber, sondern, aber, sondern, sondern, sondern, aber, sondern, aber, aber

The position of “nicht” depends on what we want to negate. Is it the entire clause, or a specific element?

Clause-level negation:

A. Nicht follows conjugated verbs, dative and accusative objects, and most adverbial modifiers.

Sie kauft den Computer nicht. (accusative object)

Sie kauft den Computer nicht.

• She’s not buying the computer.

Die Musik gefällt ihm nicht. (dative object)

• The music doesn’t please him. (He doesn’t like the music)

Die Studenten sehen den Film heute nicht. (time modifier)

• The students are not going to watch the film today.

Wir essen dort nicht. (place modifier)

• We’re not eating there.

B. Nicht precedes adverbial modifiers of manner (i.e. gern), predicate nominatives and predicate adjectives, verbal compliments and two verb constructions (including separable prefixes).

Martin kann nicht schnell hacken. (adverb of manner)

• Martin cannot chop quickly.

Das ist nicht das richtige Messer dafür. (predicate nominative)

• That is not the right knife for it.

Diese Rezepte werden nicht einfacher. (predicate adjective)

• These recipes are not getting easier.

Susanne backt das Gemüse nicht auf. (separable prefix)

• Susanne is not crisping the vegetables.

Sie konnte das Rezept nicht folgen. (infinitive)

• She couldn’t follow the recipe.

Er hat die Pizza nicht gemacht. (past participle)

• He didn’t make the pizza.

Element-level negation:

When negating a specific element “nicht” precedes this element directly, and the element receives intonational emphasis when spoken. Contrasting or corrective information is usually given afterwards and introduced with the word “sondern”.

Clause-level negation

Max möchte den iPod. –> Max möchte den iPod nicht.

Element-level negation

Max möchte den 11 Zoll MacBook Air. –> Max möchte doch nicht den 11 Zoll MacBook Air, oder? (emphasis)

With contrasting information.

Nicht den MacBook Air, sondern den MacBook Pro

Max möchte nicht den MacBook Air, sondern den MacBook Pro. (emphasis)

Max möchte nicht den 13 Zoll MacBook, sondern den 15 Zoll MacBook, weil er eine grössere Festplatte hat. (emphasis)

** “nie” and “niemals” follow the same rule as “nicht”.

Verbal compliments

German is full of verbal compliments. Examples of this are “Fussball spielen”, “Klavier spielen”, and “Rad fahren.” Notice the absence of an article with the nouns. That is because the noun is part of the complete verb, the verb is thus specific. This also applies to adverbs that join with verbs to form specific meanings like “auswendig lernen”. When confronted with a Verbal compliment the “nicht” is placed before the verbal compliment.

Example:

Fussball spielen = Verb compliment

Er kann Fussball spielen. –> Er kann nicht Fussball spielen.

** Because some German speakers treat the compliment as a direct object, you may also hear “kein-” instead of nicht.

Prepositional Phrases

Like with verbal compliments “nicht” comes before the following prepositional phrases:

• Phrases that complete the action of motion verbs
  • nach Hause gehen
  • in die Stadt fahren
  • nach Zürich fliegen
  • auf das Regal stellen
  • ins Kino gehen
  • nach Grindelwald wandern

• Phrases that complete the idea of position verbs
  • zu Hause bleiben
  • auf dem Land wohnen
  • in der Ecke sitzen
  • im Bett liegen
  • bei Müllers übernachten

• Prepositional phrases that form specific meanings with verbs
  • auf jemanden warten (wait for someone)
  • an etwas denken (think about something)
  • über jemanden schimpfen (complain about someone)
  • sich für etwas interessieren (to be interested in something)
  • sich vor etwas/jemandem fürchten (to be afraid of something/someone)

Back to Borat

Here is that clip from Borat about the Schwiegermutter Witz. Pay attention to the use and placement of nicht and kein.

Alter Mann: In Amerika sind das sehr beliebte Witze. Kennen Sie einen Schwiegermutter Witz?
Borat: Ja.
Alter Mann: Dann los.
Borat: Ich hatte eine Sexy Time mit meiner Schwiegermutter.
Alter Mann: Eine was Time?
Borat: Eine Sexy Time. Ich habe Sexy Time gemacht mit meiner Schwiegermutter.
Alter Mann: Sie hatten Sex mit Ihrer Schwiegermutter?
Borat: Ja!
Alter Mann: Ich glaube nicht, dass Amerikaner das witzig finden würden.
Borat: Nein, das ist kein Witz.

Exercises:

Where do you place the word nicht to negate these sentences?

1. Max ist zum Glück in das Flugzeug eingestiegen.
2. Susi ist gestern nach deinem Anruf sofort in ihr Büro gefahren.
3. Zwei Besucher sind gestern rechtzeitig eingetroffen.
4. Sie gehören zu den hellsten Köpfen.
5. Er hat damals in der Goethestrasse gewohnt.
6. Die meisten Besucher gingen nach dem Vortrag gleich nach Hause.
7. So eine Entwicklung ist selten zu beobachten.
8. Er hat die Mail möglicherweise erhalten.
9. Pünktlichkeit gehört bekanntlich zu seinen Stärken.
10. Sie hat angeblich noch mit ihm gesprochen.
11. Er hat seine Unterlagen zur Verfügung gestellt.

Related Posts:

• Negating German sentences without using “nicht”

While there may be numerous theories to do with punctuality, a factor that can surely not be ignored is the linguistic element. When examining German syntax, one will note that German in a Time, Manner, Place language, which means that the time phrase usually appears early in the sentence. From this fact we encounter a bit of a paradox, which I cannot answer: Does the time phrase come early in the sentence because German speakers are by nature punctual — perhaps due to geography and seasonality — or are they punctual because their language structure emphasizes time?

For the German learner, it is simply worth noting that the time phrase comes early in the sentence. Some examples may help to highlight this.

Subject — Verb — Time — Manner — Place

1. English: (place, manner, time)

• Jane is going to Zurich with the train this evening.

German: (time, manner, place)

• Jane fährt heute Abend mit dem Zug nach Zürich.