German in a Week!

The Ultimate German Learning Course for

Beginners

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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Conclusion

The Basics of the German Language

The German Alphabet
Pronunciation Guide
German Numbers
Days of the Week
Months of the Year
Telling Time and Date
Colors
Capitalization and Punctuation
Common German Greetings and Expressions
Nouns
Cases
Articles
Gender of Nouns
Pluralizing Nouns
Adjectival Nouns
Infinitive Nouns
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Interrogative Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Verbs
Moods
German Verb Types
Tenses
Active vs. Passive Voice
The Verbs Sein, Habein, and Werden
Reflexive Verbs
Adjectives
Strong Declension
Weak Declension
Mixed Declension
Possessive Adjectives
Word Order
Forming Questions
Negation
Adverbs
Vocabulary List

Introduction
I want to thank you and congratulate you for purchasing this book
German Basics in a Week!
This book contains proven techniques and strategies to help self-learners acquire proficiency in
the fundamentals of the German language in as little as one week. It is designed to provide
travelers, students, job applicants, business owners, and enthusiasts with a comprehensive,
engaging and excellent resource to make German language learning an enjoyable and exciting
experience. The book aims to break the barriers that make learning German a difficult and
frustrating experience for many students.
It facilitates rapid and efficient learning by applying a practical and straightforward approach to
grammar and communication. It reinforces important grammar points and vocabulary with visual
aids, interesting images, and relevant examples. The book German Basics in a Week: The
Ultimate German Learning Course for Beginners is the only book you need to speak, understand
and learn German in no time at all.
Thanks again for purchasing this book, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1

- The Basics of the German Language

German is the official language of Germany and Austria and one of the official languages of
Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Belgium. It is spoken by a
majority of people in South Tyrol, an Italian province.
German is the most widely spoken language in the European Union. It is a pluricentric language,
which only means that each country has its own variant, as well as dialects. It is most similar to
other West Germanic languages, such as Dutch, English, and Afrikaans. More than 95 million
people worldwide speak German and it is one of the most studied languages in the world.
Learning German is a challenge for many students. If youre an English speaker, you will realize
that German has many features that are either non-existent or not frequently used in English.
Here are some of them:
1. German inflects its nouns, adjectives, articles and other modifiers to express the case, gender
and number of nouns.
2. German conjugates its verbs according to moods, tenses and persons.
3. All German nouns are capitalized.
4. The English definite article the has many equivalent definite articles in German.
5. There are two ways to address people in German formal and familiar. The difference is
reflected in the different ways that the pronoun you is expressed.
6. Some letters have no equivalent sounds in English and will have to be learned closely.
These differences, however, are not insurmountable. With daily practice, you can make yourself
sound like a native German speaker. Here are tips to make learning German a breeze:
Set realistic learning goals within a specific timeframe and measure your achievements
regularly.
Spend at least two hours daily on your lessons. Never miss a learning session.
Aim to speak like a native German speaker.
Grow your vocabulary rapidly by studying German-English cognates.
Strive to learn new words every day.

The German Alphabet

The German language uses the 26-letter Latin alphabet used in English, but each letter either has a
different name or is pronounced differently. In addition, it has four additional distinct letter sounds.

Some letters may present challenges to English speakers as they have no parallel sound in English.
Here is the German alphabet and a guide to each letters pronunciation. Click on the guide to listen
to each alphabet sound.
Aa
Bb
Cc
Dd
Ee
Ff
Gg
Hh
Ii
Jj
Kk
Ll
Mm

Ah
Bay
Tsay
day
ay
eff
gay
haa
eeh
yot
kah
ell
em

Nn
O0
Pp
Qq
Rr
Ss
Tt
Uu
Vv
Ww
Xx
Yy
Zz

en
oh
pay
koo
air
es
tay
ooh
fow
vay
iks
ypsilon
tset

Pronunciation Guide
Vowels
a
e (long)
e (short)
e (final)
i (long)
i (short)
o (long)
o (short)
u (long)
u (short)

English Sound
ah, as the "a" in card
ay, as the long "a" in bay
eh, like the "e" in get
unstressed "e" or schwa, sounds like the "a"in sofa
ee, like the "ee" in been
ih, like the "i" in lip
oh, like the open "o" but it does nott glide to a "u"
sound
like the "o" in pot
oo like the "oo" in moon
like the u in push and put

Consonants
b
b (final)
c (before i and e)
c (before a, o, u)
d
d (final)
f
g

English Sound
Like the b in "bed"
like the "p" in pack
like the "ts" in pots
like the "k" in kite
like the English "d" but more dental
like the English "t" but more dental
like the "f" in effects
usually have a hard sound like the "g" in "gate"

g (final)
g (final, as suffix ig)

pronounced like "k"

y
z

sounds like "ich"

sounds like "zh" in French-derived words (ex. etage,
ay-tah-zhuh)
like the "h" in heart when it starts a syllable
like the "y" in year
like the "c" in car
like the "l" in lap
like the "m" in mouth
like the "n" in note
like "ng" in ringer
like the "p" in pack in all positions
pronounced as "kv"
r with slightly guttural trill
like the "z" in maze
like the "s" in sing
like the English "t", slightly less dental
like the "f" in father
like the "v" in van
sounds like "ks"
sounds like but takes the English "y" sound in
borrowed words
like the "ts" in shots

Diphthongs
au
ei
eu
ie
ai

English Sound
like the "ow" in bow
like the vowel sound in lie
like the "oy" in boy
like the "ee" in free
pronounced like "ei"

g
h
j
k
l
m
n
ng
p
qu
r
s
s (final)
t
v
w (in general)
x

Letter Combinations
sch
sp

English Sound
like the "sh" in sheep
sounds like sh+p at the start of a syllable or
word
sound like "sh+t" at the start of a syllable or
word
like the "ng" in singing
like the "kh"sound in Lochness

st
ng
ch (after a, au,o,u)
ch (after
'e', '', 'i', 'ei', 'eu', 'u' and '') a much softer English "sh" sound
ch (after consonants except s) a much softer English "sh" sound

sounds like "ks" (ch always takes the "k"

sound before s)
like the "ch" in character at the start of a
word
like the "f" in fish
sounds like "ck" in mocking
articulated as one word - say "p" with closed
lips and end with "f"
p is pronounced in these consonant clusters

ch (before s)
ch
ph
ck
pf
psy, pn, pt

The extra letters

Umlauts and Eszett
(short)
like the "e" in set
(long)
no similar English sound but close to the "a" in air
no similar English sound but close to the vowel sound

in "sir"
no similar English sound but close to the sound of ew

in pew

pronounced as "s", lengthens the preceding vowel

Numbers
Numbers play an important role in everyday life. You use them to count, rank, tell time and date,
and do banking transactions. In this section, you will learn about cardinal numbers, ordinal
numbers and fractions.
Cardinal Numbers
German numbers - from zero to twenty - are unique numbers that you need to learn individually.
From twenty-one to ninety-nine, the numbers are sort of stated backwards. For example, the
number twenty-four in German is vierundzwanzig. When you translate this to English, you will say
four and twenty. Take note that German numbers before one million are written as one word.
Like in most European countries, commas and decimal points are used inversely in German. For
example, while you write 999,999.99 in English, the number would appear as 999.999,99 in
German.
Here are the German cardinal numbers and their pronunciation:
0
1
2
3
4
5

null
eins
zwei
drei
vier
fnf

Null
Ighnss
Tsvigh
Drigh
Feer
Fuunf

6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21

sechs
sieben
acht
neun
zehn
elf
zwlf
dreizehn
vierzehn
fnfzehn
sechzehn
siebzehn
achtzehn
neunzehn
zwanzig
einundzwanzig

22 zweiundzwanzig
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1.000
2.000
3.000
5.000
10.000
100.000
1.000.000
1.000.000.000

dreiundzwanzig
vierundzwanzig
fnfundzwanzig
sechsundzwanzig
siebenundzwanzig
achtundzwanzig
neunundzwanzig
dreiig
vierzig
fnfzig
sechzig
siebzig
achtzig
neunzig
hundert
tausend
zweitausend
dreitausend
fnftausend
zehntausend
hunderttausend
eine Million
eine Milliarde

Zekhs
ZEE-ben
Ahkht
Noyn
Tsayn
Elf
Tsvoolf
DRIGH-tsayn
FEER-tsayn
FUUNF-tsayn
ZEKH-tsayn
ZEEP-tsayn
AHKH-tsayn
NOYN-tsayn
TSVAHN-tsikh
IGHN-oont-tsvahn-tsikh
TSVIGH-oont-tsvahntsikh
DRIGH-oont-tsvahntsikh
foonf-oont-tsvan-tsikh
foonf-oont-tsvan-tsikh
zekhs-oont-tsvan-tsikh
zee-ben-oont-tsvan-tsikh
akht-oont-tsvan-tsikh
noyn-oont-tsvan-tsikh
DRIGH-sikh
FEER-tsikh
FUUNF-tsikh
ZEKH-tsikh
ZEEP-tsikh
AHKH-tsikh
NOYN-tsikh
HOON-dert
TOW-zent
TSVIGH-tow-zent
DRIGH-tow-zent
FUUNF-tow-zent
TSAYN-tow-zent
HOON-dert-tow-zent
igh-nuh mill-YOHN
igh-nuh bill-YOHN

Ordinal Numbers
Ordinal numbers are used to designate rankings or placement. Ordinal numbers are adjectives and
like other German adjectives, they must change their forms to match the noun or pronoun they
modify.
In most cases, ordinal numbers are formed by adding a suffix to cardinal numbers. Numbers one to
nineteen add the suffix te while numbers twenty and up get ste. The exceptions here are first
(erste), third (dritte), seventh (siebte), and eighth (achte).
The -e ending on each ordinal number is in fact an adjective ending. The ending may change based
on the case where it appears and on the gender and number of the noun it modifies. Possible
suffixes are: -e, -en, -er, -es, and less commonly -em.

Here are the German ordinal numbers:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th
11th
12th
13th
14th
15th
16th
17th
18th
19th
20th

erste
zweite
dritte
vierte
fnfte
sechste
siebte
achte
neunte
zehnte
elfte
zwlfte
dreizehnte
vierzehnte
fnfzehnte
sechzehnte
siebzehnte
achtzehnte
neunzehnte
zwanzigste

21st

einundzwanwigste

22nd

zweiundzwanwigste

er-ste
tsvy-te
drit-te
feer-te
foonf-te
zekh-ste
zeep-ste
akh-te
noyn-te
tsayn-te
elf-te
tsvur'lf-te
dry-tsayn-te
feer-tsayn-te
foonf-tsayn-te
zekh-tsayn-te
zeep-tsayn-te
akht-tsayn-te
noyn-tsayn-te
tsvan-tsikh-ste
ine-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
tsvy-oont-tsvan-tsikhste

23rd

dreiundzwanwigste

24th

vierundzwanwigste

25th

fnfundzwanwigste

26th

sechsundzwanwigste

27th

siebenundzwanwigste

28th

achtundzwanwigste

29th
30th
31st
40th
50th
60th
70th
80th
90th
100th
101st
1,000th
1,000,000th

neunundzwanwigste
dreiigste
einunddreiigste
vierzigste
fnfzigste
sechzigste
siebzigste
achtzigste
neunzigste
hundertste
hunderterste
tausendste
Millionste

dry-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
feer-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
foonf-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
zekhs-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
zee-ben-oont-tsvantsikh-ste
akht-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
noyn-oont-tsvan-tsikhste
dry-sikh-ste
ine-oont-dry-sikh-ste
feer-tsikh-ste
foonf-tsikh-ste
zekh-tsikh-ste
zeep-tsikh-ste
akht-tsikh-ste
noyn-tsikh-ste
hoon-dert-ste
hoon-dert-er-ste
tow-zent-ste
mil-ee-on-ste

Fractions
Fractions express partial quantities. To write fractions in German, you will use a cardinal number
as a numerator (upper number) and the stem of the ordinal number + the -el ending as the
denominator (lower number).
Most forms of fraction are invariable except for halb (half), which is inflected like most
adjectives to correspond with the noun it modifies.
Examples:
feminine
neuter
masculine

in einer halben Stunde

ein halbes Kilo Mehl
der halbe Liter Wasser

Here are examples of fractional forms:

in half an hour
half kilo of flour
half liter of water

ein halb
ein drittel
ein viertel
ein fnftel
ein sechstel
ein achtel
zwei drittel
drei viertel
ein sechstel

1/3

1/5
1/6
1/8
2/3

1/6

Days of the Week

The days of the week in German are masculine and are written with an initial capital letter.
Montag
Dienstag
Mittwoch
Donnerstag
Freitag
Samstag
Sonntag

mohn-tahk
deens-tahk
mit-vock
don-ers-tahk
fry-tahk
zahms-tahk
zon-tahk

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Months of the Year

The names of the months are all masculine. They are written with an initial capital letter. Take note
that some months are similar to the months in English.
January
February
Mrz
April
Mai
Juni
Juli
August
September
Oktober
November
Dezember

yah-noo-ahr
fay-broo-ahr
Mehrts
ah-pril
my
yoo-nee
yoo-lee
ow-goost
zehp-tehm-ber
ok-toh-ber
no-vehm-ber
deh-tsem-ber

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

Telling Time and Date

Knowing how to ask for and tell time is one of the most vital communication skills that all
language learners should know. You need to undertand time in German to get to your appointment
on time, plan your activities and manage your schedule while in a German-speaking place.
To ask for time in German, you can use one of these phrases:
Wie viel Uhr ist es?
vee feel oohr ist s

Wie spt ist es?

vee shpayt isst ess

Both expressions may be translated as What time is it?

Germans use both the 12-hour and 24-hour time format to tell time. The 12-hour format is used in
daily conversations while the 24-hour format is used for official and formal activities, such as
setting business appointments, game schedules, news reporting and announcements. When time
clarity is of utmost importance, you will want to use the military time.

Telling time using the 12-hour Format

When the clock is at one oclock, you will say ein Uhr:

Es ist ein Uhr.

Its one oclock.

To tell time for other hours, you will use this pattern and insert a cardinal number:
Its ___ oclock.

Es ist ___ Uhr.

Examples:
Es ist zwei Uhr am Nachmittag.

Es ist zehn uhr nachts.

Its two oclock in the afternoon.

Its ten oclock at night.

To tell time past the hour, youll use nach (nH). To express the minutes or fraction of time
before the approaching hour, you will use vor (fohr).
When the time is fifteen minutes or a quarter before or past the exact hour, you can use viertel
(feer-tel).

Examples:
It is quarter past _________.
It is quarter to___________.
1:45
It is a quarter to two.
4:15
It is a quarter past four.

Es ist viertel nach _____.

Es ist viertel vor ______.
Es ist viertel vor zwei.
Es ist viertel nach vier .

To express time at half hour, you will use halb (hlp), the German term for half, to indicate that
the time is a half-hour before or past an hour.
Examples:
7:30
2:30

Its a half hour before 8 oclock.

Its a half hour after 2 oclock.

Es ist eine halbe Stunde vor 8 Uhr.

Es ist eine halbe Stunde nach 02 Uhr.

To express time when it is a few minutes past or before the exact hour, you will use the words
nach to express the number of minutes past the hour and vor to express time before the exact
hour.
Examples:
9:50
5:15

Es ist zehn Minuten vor zehn.

Es ist fnfzehn Minuten nach fnf .

It is ten minutes before ten.

It is fifteen minutes past five.

Take note that the words Minuten or Uhr may be omitted in colloquial speech.
Hence:

Er ist fnf vor zwlf.

Er ist zwanzig vor sieben.

Itis five to twelve.

Its twenty to seven.

Germans never use the time expressions a.m. and p.m. They use specific time descriptions to
clarify the part of day, instead. Here are the time expressions used in German and the approximate
time for each expression:
Parts of Day
das Morgengrauen
der Morgen
der Vormittag
der Mittag
der Nachmittag
der Abend
die Nacht

English
dawn
morning
late morning
noon
afternoon
evening
night

Approximate Time
12 am-6 am
6 am-10 am
10 am-12 pm
12 pm-2 pm
2 pm-4 pm
4 pm-7 pm
7 pm-12 am

Telling the Precise Time (Military time):

The 24-hour format is used to tell time in a precise manner, thereby avoiding ambiguities. You may
find the military format to be much simpler than the 12-hour clock. To tell time in this format, you
can start by imagining time on a digital clock. You will then replace the colon with Uhr and read
the numbers on the left and right side of the colon in the same way that you would normally read
cardinal numbers.
Examples:
12:25 is read as 12 Uhr 25 (zwlf Uhr fnfundzwanzig)
20:45 is 20 Uhr 45 (zwanzig Uhr fnfundvierzig )
23:35 is 23 Uhr 35 (dreiundzwanzig Uhr fnfunddreiig)
Expressing the Date in German
The dates may be expressed in the long or short format. In both formats, the day is written before
the month and the year. In addition, the day, month and year are separated by a period, instead of
the slash marks that you usually see in English dates. The day is also expressed as an ordinal
number.
Here are examples of dates written in the long and short format:
The Long Format
German

Meaning

der 05.April.2016
der 10.July 2015

the fifth of April 2016

the tenth of July 2015

The Short Format

German
der 10.03.2016
der 12.01.2014

English
03/20/2016
01/12/2014

Telling the Year in German

There are two ways to tell the year in German. For the years before the year 2000, in 1918 for
instance, the year is written as neunzehnhundertachtzehn or literally, nineteen hundred eighteen.
The year 1820 will be written as achtzehnhundertzwanzig or eighteen hundred twenty.
For the year 2000 onwards, the year is expressed like a regular number. For example, the year
2016 is zweitausendsechzehn (two thousand sixteen).
Capitalization and Punctuation
1. All German nouns are capitalized.
2. Ihnen, Ihr, and Sie are always capitalized.
3. Ich, the first person singular pronoun, is not capitalized unless it is used at the start of a
sentence.
4. Words or adjectives describing nationality, religions, or ethnicity are not capitalized.
5. The Oxford comma is never used in the German language.
6. The German language makes use of this quotation mark: ___ .
Colors (Farben) in German
German color words are commonly used as adjectives and take adjective endings depending on the
case, the gender of the noun they describe, and the type of declension required for the article that
precede the adjective. The exceptions are color names ending in a such as rosa (pink) and lila
(violet) that are not declined.

Examples:
Rot, the color name for red, can take on different forms depending on the case, gender and number
of nouns. Auto is a feminine noun and the adjective(s) that describe it is declined to match its
gender. To describe one car, rot becomes rote. To describe two or more cars, rot is
declined as roten.

der rote Auto

(the red car)

die roten Autos

(the red cars)

The word apfel (apple) is a masculine noun and the adjective must take the masculine form when
used to describe an apple.

die roten Apfel

the red apple

die roten pfel

the red apples

In some cases, colors can function as nouns and are capitalized.

eine Bluse in Rot- a bluse in red

Here are the German names for colors:

German
rot
gelb
blau
grn
orange
braun
schwarz
wei
grau
rosa
lila

Pronunciation
roht
gelp
blou
gruun
oh-RAHNGSH
brown
shvarts
vighss
grou
ROH-zah
lee-lah

English
red
yellow
blue
green
orange
brown
black
white
gray
pink
purple

German Greetings and Common Expressions

There are two ways to greet and address people in German: the formal or polite way and the
informal or casual way. To address someone formally, you will use the pronoun Sie and
corresponding verb form. To address someone casually, you need to use the pronoun du and the
appropriate verb form.
Hello! (informal)
Good day!
Good morning!
Good evening!
Good night!

Hallo!
Guten Tag!
Guten Morgen!
Guten Abend!
Gute Nacht!

h-loh!
gooh-ten tahk!
goot-en mor-gen
gooh-ten ah-bent!
goot-eh nakht

Goodbye!
See you later.
See you soon!
See you tomorrow.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Very well, thanks.
Very good.
You're welcome.
Please.
Excuse me. (to call
attention)
Excuse me. (to apologize)
Pardon me.
Im sorry.
Im sorry.
yes
no
How are you? (formal)
How are you? (informal)
Let's go!
Can you help me?
What's your name? formal
What's your name? informal
My name is ________
My name is___
Do you have _______?
I'd like_____
Help!

Auf Wiedersehen!
Bis spter.
Bis bald!
Bis morgen.
Danke.
Vielen Dank!
Danke, gut.
Sehr gut.
Bitte schn.
Bitte.

ouf vee-der-zey-en!
biss shpay-ter
biss bahlt
biss mohr-gen
dn-ke.
Feelen Dank!
dang-ker goot
zair goot
bih-tuh shurn
bi-te.

Entschuldigen Sie!
Entschuldigung.
Verzeihen Sie.
Es tut mir leid.
Es tut mir leid.
ja
nein
Wie geht es Ihnen?
Wie geht's?
Gehen wir!
Knnen Sie mir
helfen?

ent-SHOOL-de-gen zee
nt-shool-dee-goong.
fair-TSEYE-en zee
ehs toot meer lite
ehs toot meer lite
yah
nine
vee gayt es ee-nen
vee gayts
geh-en veer
ker-nen zee meer hellfen

Wie heien Sie?

vee HIGH-sen zee

Wie heit du?

Mein Name ist _____
Ich heie___
Haben Sie______?
Ich haette gern______
Hilfe!

vee highst doo

Mine NAH-muh ist ___
ikh HIGH-suh__
HAB-uhn see_____?
ish HAT-uh garn____
HILL-fuh!

Chapter 2

- Nouns

Nouns are words that name people, things animals, places and ideas. German nouns are easily
identifiable because they all begin with a capital letter regardless of their position in a sentence.
A noun may function as a subject, direct or indirect object, object of a preposition, or object of a
dative verb. A nouns case is generally indicated by the article that comes before it. Hence, there
are four forms of definite and indefinite articles to modify each case.
German Cases
Case refers to the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence or clause. In German,
nouns can have four cases - nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive.
Nominative Case
A noun is in the nominative case when used as a subject or a predicate in a sentence.
When it functions as a subject, a noun performs the action or condition indicated by the verb. A
noun is more commonly used as a subject noun than as a predicate noun in the nominative case.
The following are the definite and indefinite articles that modify nouns in the nominative case:

Subject
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Plural

Definite
(the)
der
die
das
die

Indefinite (a or
an)
ein
eine
ein
-

Das Auto luft schnell.

Die Kinder spielen Fuball.
Ein Stift liegt auf dem Boden.
Drew verkauft Autos.

The car runs fast.

The children play football.
A pen is lying on the floor.
Drew sells cars.

When it functions as a predicate noun or predicate nominative, the noun reiterates the subject(s)
and appears with the verbs werden (to become, will), heien (be called), or sein (to be) and
occasionally, with blieben (to stay).
Mein Geschenk ist eine Armbanduhr.

My gift is a wristwatch.

In the above sentence, the subject, the gift and a wristwatch, refers to one and the same thing.
In the following sentence, the name Karl corresponds to the subject Mein Vater (My father):
Mein Vater heit Karl.

My fathers name is Karl.

Like the above examples, the noun Cousins refers to the subjects Monette and Randolph and
functions as a predicate noun:
Monette und Randolph sind Cousins.

Monette and Randolph are cousins.

Accusative Case
The accusative case is also known as the objective case in English. A direct object receives the
action of the verb and always takes the accusative case in German. A German noun can be a direct
object or object of prepositions in the accusative case.
Here are the forms of definite and indefinite articles that mark nouns in the accusative case:

Subject
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Plural

Definite
(the)
den
die
das
die

Indefinite (a or
an)
einen
eine
ein
-

Take note that only the masculine forms of definite and indefinite articles are declined in the
accusative case. For the feminine and neuter gender, you need to use the same articles you
normally use in the nominative case.

Nouns as direct object

A noun functioning as a direct object receives the action performed by the subject or shows the
effect of the action.
Er spielt das Saxophon.
He plays the saxophone.
Der Hund beit das Kind.
The dog bites the child.
Der Zoowrter speist den Lwen.
The zookeeper feeds the lion.
Er brauche einen Freund.

He needs a friend.

Nouns as 0bject of accusative prepositions

The following prepositions require nouns as objects in the accusative case:

bis
durch
fr
gegen
ohne
pro
um
wider

until
through
for
against
without
per
around, at
against

Ein Gepard luft bei etwa 120 Kilometern pro Stunde.

A cheetah runs at about 120 kilometers per hour.
Er wartete bis Mittag.
He waited until noon.
Er ist gegen die Filmzensur.
He is against film censorship.

Nouns as object of two-way prepositions

Two-way prepositions are used in both accusative and dative case. Their use in the accusative
case indicates movement or a shift in location while their use in the dative case expresses location.
Two-way prepositions may likewise be required by idiomatic expressions. Here are examples of
two-way prepositions:
across, about
in front of
in, into
behind
to, toward
beside
to, onto, toward
under

ber
vor
in
hinter
an
neben
auf
unter

between

zwischen

Sie geht in die Bibliothek.

She is going to the library.
Sie wartet auf ihren Lehrer.
She is waiting for her teacher.

Expressions of specific time and distance

Expressions of definite time and distance take the accusative case if they dont follow
prepositions:
Er verbrachte eine Woche in Paris .
He spent a week in Paris.
Das Hotel liegt einen Kilometer vom Bro.
The hotel lies one kilometer from the offce.

The Dative Case

The dative case is equivalent to the indirect object in English. German nouns in the dative case
perform several functions aside from being an indirect object. In the dative case, the noun, the
modifiers and the other words connected to it are declined in all genders and numbers.

Here are the forms of modifiers in the dative case:

Articles
Definite
Indefinite
Subject
(the)
(a/an)
Masculine dem
einem
Feminine der
einer
Neuter
dem
einem
Plural
den
-

Negative
keinem
keiner
keinem
keinen

Possessive
meinem
meiner
meinem
meinem

Nouns as Indirect Object

An indirect object tells for whom or to whom an action is being done.
Katrina kauft meiner Mutter einen Kuchen.
Katrina buys her mother a cake.

Sie gibt meinem Sohn ein neues Spielzeug.

She gives her son a new toy.

Nouns as object of a dative verb or dative construction

Some adjectives, verbs, and idiomatic expressions require a dative object.
Here are some verbs that require a dative object but will never take an accusative object.
to answer
to encounter
to thank
to serve
to threaten
to occur to
to be missing
to follow
to be pleasing to
to belong to
to succeed
to believe
to congratulate
to help
to impress
to be sorry
to be useful to
to suit
to happen to
to be enough
to damage
to taste
to be difficult for
to trust
to forgive
to hurt
to contradict
to listen to

antworten
begegnen
danken
dienen
drohen
einfallen
fehlen
folgen
gefallen
gehren
gelingen
glauben
gratulieren
helfen
imponieren
leid tun
nutzen
passen
passieren
reichen
schaden
schmecken
schwerfallen
vertrauen
verzeihen
wehtun
widersprechen
zuhren

Hilfst du Marie mit die Hausarbeit?

Will you help Marie with the housework?
Er diente dem Land mit Ehre und Wrde.

He served the country with honor and dignity.

Some adjectives and idiomatic expressions usually appear with dative objects:
similar
pleasant
understandable
helpful
known
comfortable
thankful
foreign
same
easy
useful
embarrassing
damaging
expensive
related
welcome

hnlich
angenehm
begreiflich
behilflich
bekannt
bequem
dankbar
fremd
gleich
leicht
ntzlich
peinlich
schdlich
teuer
verwandt
willkommen

Sie ist dankbar fr das Geschenk.

She is thankful for the gift.
Das Auto ist zu teuer fr meinen Vater.
The car is too expensive for my father.

Nouns as Object of Dative Prepositions

Some German prepositions always require a dative noun object. Here are some of them:

from, out of
except for
with, at
opposite, in relation to
with, by means of
to, according to, after
since, for + time
period
by, from
to

aus
auer
bei
gegenber
mit
nach
seit
von
zu

Ich fahre mit dem Bus.

Im travelling by bus.
Ich lebe mit meinen Eltern.
Im living with my parents.

Nouns as Dative Object of Two-Way Prepositions

N0uns that function as a dative object of two-way prepositions either indicate a location or form
an idiomatic expression.
These prepositions are called two-way because you can use them in both accusative and dative
case. Here are the two-way prepositions once again:
across, about
in front of
in, into
behind
to, toward
beside
to, onto, toward
under
between

ber
vor
in
hinter
an
neben
auf
Unter
Zwischen

Die Katze ist unter dem Tisch.

The cat is under the table.
Er wird vor dem Brogebude.
He is standing before the building.

The Genitive Case

The genitive case indicates a relationship or possession. You can easily find the genitive by asking
whose. In addition, you can use it as an object of genitive preposition, genitive verb, and
genitive construction. It is also useful in expressing indefinite time. The genitive is marked by
specific endings in the articles, pronouns and adjectives:
Articles
Definite
Indefinite
Subject
(the)
(a/an)
Masculine des
eines
Feminine der
einer

Negative
keines
keiner

Possessive
meines
meiner

Neuter
Plural

des
der

eines

keines
keiner

meines
meiner

To indicate relationships or possession

In German, possession or relationship is expressed with the use of the genitive case. This is the
equivalent of using the apostrophe mark and s (s) or the use of the preposition of to indicate
possession. For example, in English, you can either say Carls books or books of Carl to
express that the books belong to Carl.
Die Farbe meiner Haare ist rot.
The color of my hair is red.
Der Freund meines Bruders heit Harry.
My brothers friend is named Harry.
The genitive construction commonly follows the noun it modifies except in cases when you need to
use a proper noun to indicate possession. In such cases, you will just add an s to the proper
name. If it ends in an s, you will simply add an apostrophe at the end.
Examples:
Marks Vater kommt zu Besuch.
Marks father came to visit.
Hans Cousins kommen fr einen Kurzurlaub.
Hans cousins come for a short vacation.
The genitive case is more commonly used in written German language. In colloquial and spoken
German, however, genitives denoting possessions and relationships are usually supplanted by the
pattern von+dative case.
Die Farbe von meinen Haare ist rot.
The color of my hair is red.
Das ist das Haus von meiner Tante.
That is the house of my aunt.
Nouns as Object of Genitive Prepositions
An object of a genitive preposition takes the genitive case in standard German. Here are some
common genitive prepositions:
instead of
on the occasion of
in place of
on the basis of
outside of

(an)statt
anlsslich
anstelle
aufgrund
auerhalb

with regard to
within
on the other side of
by virtue of
according to
on the part of
despite, in spite of
during
because of

bezglich
innerhalb
jenseits
kraft
laut
seitens
trotz
whrend
wegen

Usage:
Sie arbeitet auerhalb der Stadt.
She works outside the city.
Sie ist abwesend von der Klasse wegen ihrer Krankheit.
She is absent from the class because of her illness.

As Object of Genitive Verbs or Genitive Constructions

Some adjectives, verbs, and idiomatic phrases require a genitive object.
Here are the genitive verbs:
to see to
to make use of
to be in need of
to take control of
to refrain from
to think of
to boast of
to make certain of

sich annehmen
sich bedienen
bedrfen
sich bemchtigen
sich enthalten
gedenken
sich rhmen
sich vergewissern

Usage:
Seine Grovater bedrfen einer privaten Krankenschwester.
His grandmother is in need of a private nurse.
The following are examples of adjectives and idioms that require a genitive object:
certain
certain
in need

sicher
gewi
bedrftig

guilty
worth
conscious
suspicious
worthy

schuldig
wert
bewusst
verdchtig
wrdig

In the following sentence, schuldig (guilty) is the genitive adjective that requires the genitive
object des Verbrechens (the crime):
Er ist des Verbrechens schuldig. He is guilty of the crime.
The adjective wert (worth) requires a genitive object and this is provided by der Mhe (the
effort):
Die Belohnungen sind der Mhe wert. The rewards are worth the effort.
Expressions of Indefinite Time
Expressions indicating unspecific time take the genitive case when they are not adverbs or objects
of a preposition.
Example:
Eines Tages werde ich besuchen Deutschland.
Eines Abends war er in meinem Haus.

Someday I will visit Germany.

One evening, he was at my house.

Articles
Definite Article
The definite article is used to talk about a specific subject or something, which is certain or
known. It is the equivalent of the English definite article the. In German, the definite article is
declined to reflect the nouns case, but all forms still mean the. Here are the forms of the
definite article in four cases:
Gender
Nominative
Singular
masculine
der
feminine
die
neuter
das
plural
die
The Indefinite Article ein

Accusative Dative

Genitive

den
die
das
die

des
der
des
der

dem
der
dem
den

You may use indefinite articles before a noun to indicate its case. The indefinite article ein and
its other forms translate to the English indefinite articles a or an and are only useful before
singular nouns.

Here are the forms of the indefinite article ein in different cases:
Gender
Singular
masculine
feminine
neuter

Nominative Accusative Dative

Genitive

ein
eine
ein

eines
einer
eines

einen
eine
ein

einem
einer
einem

The Indefinite Article kein

The indefinite article kein is a negative article, which means no or not a. You can use it
before both singular and plural nouns.
Here are the different forms of kein under each noun cases:
Gender
Nominative
Singular
masculine
kein
feminine
keine
neuter
kein
Plural
keine
Gender of Nouns

Accusative Dative

Genitive

keinen
keine
kein
keine

keines
keener
keines
keener

keinem
keener
keinem
keinen

A German noun can be feminine, masculine or neutral. Gender is indicated by an article that
appears with the noun. In this section, you will learn the different patterns for determining a nouns
gender.

Feminine Nouns
The following nouns are feminine:
Nouns designating female persons and animals:
die Mutter
die Mdchen
die Freundin
die Frau
die Schwester
die Kuh
die Ganz

mother
girl
girlfriend
woman
sister
cow
goose

Nouns ending in ung, -ei, -keit, -schaft, -tt, , heit, -nis

die Zeitung
die Erffnung
die Ehrung
die Malerei
die Bcherei
die Schwierigkeit
die Eitelkeit
die Notwendigkeit
die Wirtschaft
die Wissenschaft
die Elektrizitt
die Universitt
die Schnheit
die Gesundheit
die Dummheit
die Erkenntnis
Exception:

newspaper
opening
ceremony
painting
library
difficulty
vanity
necessity
economy
science
electricity
university
beauty
health
stupidity
knowledge
der Papagei (parrot)

Nouns of foreign origin ending in-anz, ie, -ion, -ik, -enz, or ur

die Biologie
die Magie
die Frequenz
die Funktion
die Musik
die Situation
die Diskrepanz
die Toleranz
die Kultur
die Prozedur
die Ethik

biology
magic
frequency
function
music
situation
discrepancy
tolerance
culture
procedure
ethic

Most nouns ending in e

die Kirche
die Kche
die Reise
die Speise
die Leute
die Farbe
die Stunde
die Maschine
die Adresse

church
kitchen
travel
food
people
color
hour
machine
address

die Seite
die Strasse

page
street

Exceptions:
der Name
der Kse
der Kunde
das Auge
der Biologe
das Ende
der Affe

name
cheese
customer
eye
biologist
end
monkey

other animals names with e ending,

other nouns with male designations.

Most German rivers

die Donau
die Mosel
die Weser
die Elbe

the Danube
the Moselle
the Weser
the Elbe

Exceptions: der Main, der Rhein

Cardinal numbers
die Eins
die Million
die Dreizehn
Exception: das Hundert, das Tausend

Masculine Nouns
Nouns that designate male persons and animals:
der Vater
der Mann
der Junge
der Sohn
der Freund
der Lehrer

the father
the man
the boy
son
the boyfriend
the male teacher

der Stier

bull

Seasons, months, days of the week, most weather elements

der Winter
der Juni
der Samstag
der Tag
der Herbs
der Schnee
der Regen

winter
June
Saturday
day
autumn
snow
rain

Compass Points
der Norden
der Osten
der Sden
der Westen

North
East
South
West

Nouns ending in -ich, -ig, -ling, -us, -or, -er, -ant:

der Teppich
der Pfennig
der Kfig
der Schmetterling
der Tutor
der Kommunismus
der Zirkus
der Motor
der Kugelschreiber
der Toaster
der Elefant
der Lieferant

carpet
penny
cage
butterfly
tutor
communism
circus
motor
ballpoint pen
toaster
elephant
supplier

Most nouns ending in en

der Ofen
der Garten

oven
garden

Car names (take note, however, that the German word for car, das Auto, is a feminine noun)
der Porsche
der Volkswagen

der Toyota

Many non-German rivers

der Nil
der Mississippi

Nile River
Mississippi River

Weak nouns or masculine n-nouns

Weak nouns are special groups of masculine nouns declined differently than other nouns. Besides
article inflection, the weak nouns themselves are declined and take an en or n ending in most
cases, except in the nominative singular. Morever, nouns that refer to non-living creatures add an
s in the genitive singular.
Most weak nouns can be identified easily and fall into some patterns. The following are classified
as weak nouns:

Masculine nouns ending in an unstressed e:

Examples:
der Rabe
der Kunde
der Jude
der Lwe
der Neffe
der Russe
der Soziologe
der Schwede
der Schimpanse

raven
customer
Jew
lion
nephew
Russian
sociologist
Swede
chimpanzee

Foreign-derived nouns that are accented on the final syllable. These nouns usually have the
endings ent, -ast, -ant, -ist, -et, -oph, -nom, and ot.
Examples:
der Assistent
der Despot
der Astronom

assistant
despot
astronomer

A few one-syllable masculine nouns designating male creatures:

der Br
der Bauer
der Mensch

bear
farmer
man

der Narr
der Prinz

fool
prince

The following weak nouns dont fall into any of the above categories:
der Held
der Idiot
der Pilot
der Architekt
der Nachbar

hero
idiot
pilot
architect
neighbor

Examples of Weak Nouns Declension

der Neffe (the nephew)

Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive

Singular
der Neffe
den Neffen
dem Neffen
des Neffen

Plural
die Neffen
die Neffen
den Neffen
der Neffen

der Fels (the Rock)

Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive

Singular
der Fels
den Felsen
dem Felsen
des Felsens

Plural
die Felsen
die Felsen
den Felsen
der Felsen

Neuter Nouns

The following are classified as neutral nouns:

Human and animal babies
das Kind
das Baby
das Kalb
das Lamm

child
baby
calf
lamb

Nouns formed from verb infinitives

das Essen

food

das Einkaufen
das Schlafen
das Schwimmen
das Leben

shopping
sleep
swimming
life

Diminutives with chen and lein endings including their dialect forms (-erl, -el, -le, -li)
das Kindlein
das Frulein
das Mnnlein
das Mdchen

child
Miss
male
girl

Alphabet letters
das A
das Ypsilon

A
Y

Collective nouns that start with Ge-:

das Gebsch
das Gepck
das Geschirr
das Geflgel
das Gebirge

bushes
luggage
dishes
poultry
mountains

Nouns of foreign origin ending in um, tum, or ment:

das Datum
das Museum
das Instrument
das Experiment
das Heldentum

date
museum
instrument
experiment
heroism

Most metals
das Gold
das Kadmium
das Nickel
das Kupfer
Exception: der Stahl

gold
cadmium
nickel
copper
steel

Gender Peculiarites

Nouns with More than One Gender

Some German nouns have more than one gender. They have two categories/classifications:
Nouns spelled in the same way with different meanings:
das Band
das Gehalt
das Golf
das Messer
das Moment
das Steuer
der Heide
der Schild
der See
der Tor
der
Verdienst
der Weise
die Kiefer
die Kunde
die Leiter

tape, ribbon
salary
golf
knife
element,
factor
steeringwheel
pagan
shield
lake
fool
earnings
wise man
pine tree
information
ladder

der Band
der Gehalt
der Golf
der Messer

volume
contents
gulf
gauge

der Moment

moment

die Steuer
die Heide
das Schild
die See
das Tor
das
Verdienst
die Weise
der Kiefer
der Kunde
der Leiter

tax
heath, moor
sign
sea, ocean
gate
merit
way, manner
jaw
customer
leader

Nouns with more than one gender depending on individual or regional preferences:
das or der
Joghurt
das or der Keks
das or der Liter
das or der
Bonbon
das or der Salbei
das or der Schrot
das or der Virus
das or der Sims
die or der
Sellerie
das or der Poster

yogurt
cookie
liter
candy
sage
whole wheat
virus
sill, ledge
celery
poster

Compound Nouns and their Gender

Compound nouns refer to words formed by combining two or more words. Compound nouns can
be a combination of nouns, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, and verb stems, but must always
have a noun as the last element. The last word in the compound noun serves as the basis in
determining its gender and the plural formation. German accommodates creative inventions of
compound nouns; hence, you can find many of them and the list is still growing.
Here are examples of German compound nouns:
frei+die Zeit
ab+die Fahrt
der Arm+das Band+die
Uhr
das Jahr+-es-+die Zeit
das Haupt+die Stadt
geh(en)+der Weg
schnell+der Zug
zwischen+die Zeit
das Haus+der Schuh
der Abend+die Schule

die Freizeit
die Abfahrt

free time
departure

die Armbanduhr
die Jahreszeit
die Hauptstadt
der Gehweg
der Schnellzug
die Zwischenzeit
der Hausschuh
die Abendschule

watch
season
capital city
walkway
fast train
meantime
slippers
night school

Pluralizing Nouns
German nouns form the plural in different ways. They can take the endings e, -er, -n, -r, -s, -(n)en,
or retain their old endings. Plural nouns are indicated by the definite article die for all genders.
There are exceptions, but German nouns take the following endings to express the plural:
n(en)
Feminine nouns with ei, schaft, -heit, and ung endings form the plural by adding the suffix en
while those ending in in take nen.
Examples:
Singular
die hnlichkeit
die Bckerei
die Datei
die Fabrik
die Forschung
die Krankheit
die Lehrerin

Plural
die hnlichkeiten
die Bckereien
die Dateien
die Fabriken
die Forschungen
die Krankheiten
die Lehrerinnen

Meaning
similarity
bakery
file
factory
research
disease
teacher

die Chefin
die Leidenschaft
die Nation
die Wohnung

die Chefinnen
die Leidenschaften
die Nationen
die Wohnungen

boss
passion
nation
apartment

n
Most masculine and feminine nouns ending in e form their plural with the suffix n. Feminine
nouns ending in el or er also add n without an umlaut. Some neuter nouns with e ending
likewise take the n ending in the pural.
Examples:
Singular
die Lampe
die Fantasie
die Narzisse
der Name
die Blume
die Frage
das Auge
die Feder
die Schachtel

Plural
die Lampen
die Fantasien
die Narzissen
die Namen
die Blumen
die Fragen
die Augen
die Federn
die Schachteln

Meaning
lamp
fantasy
narcissus
name
flower
issue
eyes
feather
box

-e or an umlaut in the stem + e

Almost 90% of masculine nouns, about 25% of feminine nouns and around 73% of neuter nouns
form the plural with the pattern e lor -e. Feminine nouns that form their plural with e always
take an umlaut. Masculine nouns do not always take the umlaut while neuter nouns hardly take an
umlaut when forming the plural with e.
Here are examples of these nouns:
Singular
die Angst
das Dokument
die Hand
der Friseur
das Gesprch
der Fluss
die Maus
der Tag
das Pferd
die Kraft

Plural
die ngste
die Dokumente
die Hnde
die Friseure
die Gesprche
die Flsse
die Muse
die Tage
die Pferde
die Krfte

Meaning
fear
document
hand
hairdresser
conversation
stream
mouse
day
horse
force

der Koch
der Tisch

die Kche
der Tische

cook
table

-er or -er
Some neuter nouns form the plural with er or an umlaut in the stem+-er.
Singular
das Bad
das licht
das Eigentum
der Mund
das Bild
der Wald
das Dorf
das Kind
Gesicht
das Haus

Plural
die Bder
die lichter
die Eigentmer
die Mnder
die Bilder
die Wlder
die Drfer
die Kinder
die Gesichter
die Huser

Meaning
bath
light
property
mouth
image
forest
village
child
face
house

-s
Nouns of English, Dutch, and French origin, peoples name, abbreviations, and nouns ending in an
unstressed vowel form their plural by adding s.
Examples:
der Cousin
der Opa
das Auto
das Radio
die Kamera
der Schmidt
der Park
die Mutti
das Hobby
das Radio
die DVD

die Cousins
die Opas
die Autos
die Radios
die Kameras
die Schmidts
die Parks
die Muttis
die Hobbys
die Radios
die DVDs

cousin
grandpa
car
radio
camera
the Schmidt
park
mom
hobby
radio
DVD

Nouns with identical plural and singular forms or those that add an umlaut to differentiate the
plural form
Masculine nouns ending in en, -er, -and el, neuter nouns ending in chen and lein, and
collective neuter nouns which start with Ge- fall into this plural pattern.
Examples:
der Boden
der Lffel
das Fenster
das Mdchen
der Onkel
das Mittel
der Grtel
der Spanier
das Gebirge
der Lehrer
der Apfel
der Vetter
der Lkw
das
Klassenzimmer

die Bden
die Lffel
die Fenster
die Mdchen
die Onkel
die Mittel
die Grtel
die Spanier
die Gebirge
die Lehrer
die pfel
die Vetter
die Lkws
die
Klassenzimmer

floor
spoon
window
girl
uncle
medium
belt
Spaniard
mountain
teacher
apples
cousin
truck
classroom

Adjectival Nouns
Adjectival nouns are those formed from adjectives or participles functioning as adjectives. Some
are useful in determining masculine or feminine nouns and are declined like adjectives.

Examples:
Adjective
alt
blind

Adjectival Noun
der/die Alte
der/die Blinde

Adjective
old
blind

deutsch
verlobt
geliebt

der/die Deutsche
der/die Verlobte
der/die Geliebte
der/die
Gefangene
der/die

German
engaged
loved

Noun
old person
blind person
German
person
fianc(e)
lover

captive

prisoner

gefangen

jugendlich
erwachsen
bekannt
angestellt
fremd
krank
arm
verwandt
reisend
verletzt
tot
gelehrt

Jugendliche
der/die
Erwachsene
der/die Bekannte
der/die
Angestellte
der/die Fremde
der/die Kranke
der/die Arme
der/die
Verwandte
der/die Reisende
der/die Verletzte
der/die Tote
der/die Gelehrte

youthful

adolescent

grown
known

adult
acquaintance

employed
foreign
sick
poor

employee
foreigner
sick person
poor person

related
traveling
hurt
dead
educated

relative
traveler
injured person
dead person
scholar

Neuter adjectival nouns are used to refer to concepts or ideas.

Examples:

Adjective
best
gut
ganz
mglich
neu
richtig
schn
teuer
wichtig

Adjectival
Noun
das Beste
das Gute
das Ganze
das Mgliche
das Neue
das Richtige
das Schne
das Teure
das Wichtige

Adjective
best
good
whole
possible
new
right
beautiful
expensive
important

Noun
the best thing
the good thing
the whole thing
the possible
the new
the right
the beautiful
the expensive
the important

Infinitive Nouns
A verb in its infinitive form works as a noun by capitalizing its initial letter. All infinitive nouns
are neuter and they generally correspond to the English gerund form.
Examples:
German
Infinitive
lesen

Meaning

Infinitive Noun

Meaning

to read

das Lesen

reading

gehen

to go

das Gehen

lachen
einkaufen
trinken
schwimmen

to laugh
to shop
to drink
to swim

jammern
flstern

to whine
to whisper

das Lachen
das Einkaufen
das Trinken
das
Schwimmen
das Jammern
das Flstern

going,
walking
laughing
shopping
drinking
swimming
whining
whispering

Chapter 3

- Pronouns

Pronouns take the place of nouns. In general, German pronouns agree with the case, number and
gender of the noun they replace. Pronouns are categorized as personal, possessive, reflexive,
relative, demonstrative, indefinite and interrogative.

Personal Pronouns
Both German and English pronouns have different forms to indicate number, gender and case.
German, however, has two sets of pronouns to express you the informal and formal. In
addition, the informal you has a separate form to distinguish the plural.
The singular informal form of you is du and its plural form is ihr. It addresses children and
people who are on familiar terms with the speaker.
The formal form of you is Sie in both plural and singular. It uses the same conjugation patterns
used in the third person and always begins with a capital letter. It addresses older people,
superiors and new acquaintances.
The German pronoun for they is sie, which is written in lower case unless used to start a
sentence.
Personal pronouns are commonly used in the nominative case.
Here are the plural and singular forms of personal pronouns in the nominative, accusative, dative
and genitive cases:

Nom
Acc
Dat

First Person
German English
ich
I
mich
me
mir
me

Gen

meiner

Singular
Second Person
German English
du
you
dich
you
dir
you

mine/my deiner

yours

Plural
Second
First Person
Person
German English German English
Nom wir
we
ihr
you
Acc uns
us
euch
you
Dat
uns
us
euch
you

Third Person
German
English
er/sie/es
he/she/it
ihn/sie/es
him/her/it
ihm/ihr/ihm
him/her/it
seiner/ihrer/
seiner
his/her(s)/its

Third
Person
German
sie
sie
ihnen

Formal
2nd
Person
English German
they
Sie
them
Sie
them
Ihnen

Gen

unser

our(s)

euer

your(s) ihrer

their(s) Ihrer

Examples of Usage:
Nominative
Ich bin ein Lehrer.
I am a teacher.
Ich habe Hanger.
Im hungry.
Sie sind ein toller Gastgeber.
You are a great host.
Er ist ein guter Snger.
He is a great singer.
Wir werden im nchsten Sommer nach Deutschland.
We are going to Germany next summer.
Sie lieben Fuball.
They love football.
Interrogative Pronouns
German interrogative pronouns are question words that begin with w. Most interrogative
pronouns have direct English translation. Examples:
Was?
Warum?
Wie?
Wann?

What?
Why?

`
How?

When?

The German words for who and where, however, deviate from their English equivalent
pronoun.
The question word who is declined in all cases:
Case
Pronoun
Meaning
Nom
Wer?
Who?
Acc
Wen?
Whom?
Dat
Wem?
to whom?
Gen
Wessen?
Whose?
The pronoun where takes the following forms:

Wo?
Wohin?
Woher?

Where at?
Where to?
Where from?

The pronoun wo may be affixed before a preposition to form a new question word. To facilitate
smooth pronunciation, an r is inserted after wo when the preposition starts with a vowel.
Examples:
Wofr ist das?
Worber sprichst du?

Whats this for?

What are you talking about?

Interrogative pronouns may also function as relative pronouns, but are not declined unlike other
relative pronouns.
Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are required as direct or indirect objects in sentences with reflexive verbs and
are only used in the dative or accusative case. They are more commonly used in German than in
English because there are more reflexive verbs in German. Reflexive pronouns have the following
forms:
Singular
1st
2nd
3rd
myself yourself himself/herself/
itself
Acc mich dich
sich
Dat mir
dir
sich

Plural
Formal
rd
1st
2nd
3
2nd
ourselves yourselves themselves yourself
uns
uns

euch
euch

sich
sich

sich
sich

Chapter 4

- Verbs

A verb denotes an action or condition. In general, German verbs are conjugated to reflect the
mood, tense, person, gender and number.
Verb Moods
The mood of a verb indicates the attitude or perception of the speaker towards what is being
expressed in a sentence. The German language has four verb moods - the indicative, subjunctive I,
subjunctive II and the imperative mood.
The Indicative (Indikativ) Mood
The indicative mood is used to state or describe reality in the past, present, or future. It is the most
commonly used mood in both German and English.
Examples:
Ich esse Mittagessen um 12 Uhr mittags.
I eat lunch at 12 oclock noon.
Wir arbeiten hart whrend des Tages.
We work hard during the day.
Subjunctive (Konjunktiv) I
The Subjunctive I mood is used to convey another persons thoughts, words, or opinions. It is most
commonly used in news reporting.
Examples:
Er sagte, er noch nicht bereit ist.
He said he is not ready yet.
Er gab zu , dass seine Frau krank ist.
He admitted that his wife is sick.

Subjuntive (Konjunktiv) II
The Subjunctive II Mood is used in expressing hypothetical actions, wishes, possibilities and
unrealistic situations. This mood is the equivalent of English conditional mood and commonly uses
the verb werden in the same way that would is used in English conditional statements. The
Subjunctive II mood only exists in the past and present tenses.

Examples:
Ich wrde die Geige gespielt haben.
I would have played the violin.
Wir wrden trinken frische Fruchtsfte auf der Veranda.
We would drink fresh fruit juices on the porch.
The Imperative (Imperativ) Mood
The imperative mood is used in expressing commands. It exists in the present tense and in the
second person singular and plural and less frequenty, in the first person plural. A German infinitive
is sometimes used to convey a command.
To express the imperative, you will use the following forms:
du
ihr
Sie
wir

use the present tense but drop the st ending

use the present tense
use the present tense + Sie + bitte (please)
use the present tense + wir

Examples:
Trink deine Milch jetzt.
Spielt das Klavier jetzt.
Spielen Sie bitte das Klavier.
Spielen wir das Klavier.

Drink your milk now.

Play the piano now.
Please play the piano.
Lets play the piano.

German Verb Types

German verbs usually end in n or en in the infinitive and may be grouped into the following
categories:
Auxiliary verbs
Modal verbs
Regular Verbs
Irregular Verbs
Mixed Verbs

Auxiliary Verbs

Auxiliary verbs are used to construct compound tenses. German uses three auxiliary verbs:
sein
haben
werden

to be
to have
will/would

Modal Verbs
A modal verb modifies the main verby by indicating obligation, possibility, ability, desire or
permission. German uses the following modal verbs:
drfen
knnen
sollen
mgen
mssen
wollen
mchten

may
can
should
to like to
must
to want to
would like to

Modal verbs have the following forms in the present tense:

drfen
ich
darf
du
darfst
er/sie/es darf
wir
drfen
ihr
drft
sie/Sie
drfen

knnen
kann
kannst
kann
knnen
knnt
knnen

sollen
soll
sollst
soll
sollen
sollt
sollen

mgen
mag
magst
mag
mgen
mgt
mgen

mssen
muss
musst
muss
mssen
msst
mssen

wollen
will
willst
will
wollen
wollt
wollen

mchten
mchte
mchtest
mchte
mchten
mchtet
mchten

The modal verb takes the second position while the main verb is placed at the end of the sentence.
Examples:
Ich darf im Bro arbeiten.
Ich kann im Bro arbeiten.
Ich soll im Bro arbeiten.
Ich mag im Bro arbeiten.
Ich muss im Bro arbeiten.
Ich will im Bro arbeiten.
Ich mchte im Bro arbeiten.

I may work in the office.

I can work in the office.
I should work in the office.
I like to work in the office.
I must work in the office.
I want to work in the office.
I would like to work in the office.

Regular Verbs (Regelmige Verben)

Regular verbs or weak verbs follow a predictable pattern of conjugation and never change their
stem when conjugated. To form the different tenses, you will use the present infinitive stem and add
the endings under each mood, tense and person.
For example, the verb folgen (to follow) is a regular verb and its verb stem is obtained by
dropping the en ending; hence, the stem is folg and you will simply add the personal endings.
The present indicative tense has the following endings:
Subject
Ich

Ending
-e

du
-st
-t
-en
-t
-en

er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

For verb stems ending in t, -d, -m, or n, the du form, er/sie/es forms, and ihr form add e before
the regular endings to ease pronunciation.
Hence, to conjugate the verbs folgen (to follow), arbeiten (to work) and redden (to talk), you will
have the following forms:

Infinitive
Stem
Ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

folgen
folg
folge
folgst
folgt
folgen
folgt
folgen

arbeiten
arbeit
arbeite
arbeitest
arbeitet
arbeiten
arbeitet
arbeiten

reden
red
rede
redest
redet
reden
redet
reden

Here are other examples of regular verbs:

to answer
to build
to mean
to train/form
to thank
to develop

antworten
bauen
bedeuten
bilden
Danken
entwickeln

to remember
to explain
to reach
to tell/narrate
to lack
to ask
to feel
to lead
to belong
to believe
to trade/ deal
to interest
to buy
to buy
to take care
to live
to put
to learn
to make
to paint
to believe, to
assume
to use
to rain
to say
to like, to taste
to play
to study
to look for
to dance
to dream
to sell
to try
to wait
to live
to show

erinnern
erklren
erreichen
erzhlen
fehlen
fragen
fhlen
fhren
gehren
glauben
handeln
interessieren
kaufen
kaufen
kmmern
leben
legen
lernen
machen
malen
meinen
nutzen
regnen
sagen
schmecken
spielen
studieren
suchen
tanzen
trumen
verkaufen
versuchen
warten
wohnen
zeigen

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs or strong verbs change their stem to indicate verb tenses. Stem changes are
generally unpredictable, and you need to learn them individually. In addition, irregular verbs do
not always change their stem to convey every tense. All German irregular verbs, however, add en

to form the past participle.

To ___
bake
command,
order
begin
bite
deceive
move
bend, turn
bid, offer
tie
request
sound, blow
stay, remain
roast
break
burn
bring
think
be allowed to
recommend
be frightened
eat
go
fall
catch
find
fly
flee
flow
freeze, be cold
give
flourish,
prosper
go, walk
succeed
be valid, be of
value
enjoy
fall/get into

Infinitive
Form
backen

Present
Tense
backt

befehlen
beginnen
beien
betrgen
bewegen
biegen
bieten
binden
bitten
blasen
bleiben
braten
brechen
brennen
bringen
denken
drfen
empfehlen
erschrecken
essen
fahren
fallen
fangen
finden
fliegen
fliehen
flieen
frieren
geben

befiehlt
beginnt
beit
betrgt
bewegt
biegt
bietet
bindet
bittet
blst
bleibt
brt
bricht
brennt
bringt
denkt
darf
empfiehlt
erschrickt
isst
drive
fllt
fngt
findet
fliegt
flieht
fliet
friert
gibt

gedeihen
gehen
gelingen

gedeiht
geht
gelingt

gelten
genieen
geraten

gilt
geniet
gert

happen
win, gain
pour
resemble
glide, slide
dig
grasp, hold
have
hold
be hanging
raise, left
be called
help
know a
person/place
sound
come
can, to be able
crawl
load, invite
let
run
suffer
lend out
read
lie in a place
tell lies
measure
like
have to, must
take
call, name
whistle, pipe
advise, guess
rub
tear, rip
ride on a horse
run
smell
call, shout
separate
seem, shine

geschehen
gewinnen
gieen
gleichen
gleiten
graben
greifen
haben
halten
hngen
heben
heien
helfen

geschieht
gewinnt
giet
gleicht
gleitet
grbt
greift
hat
hlt
hngt
hebt
heit
hilft

kennen
klingen
kommen
knnen
kriechen
laden
lassen
laufen
leiden
leihen
lesen
liegen
lgen
messen
mgen
mssen
nehmen
nennen
pfeifen
raten
reiben
reien
reiten
rennen
riechen
rufen
scheiden
scheinen

kennt
klingt
kommt
kann
kriecht
ldt
lsst
luft
leidet
leiht
liest
liegt
lgt
misst
mag
muss
nimmt
nennt
pfeift
rt
reibt
reit
reitet
rennt
riecht
ruft
scheidet
scheint

push, shove
shoot
sleep
hit, beat
shut, conclude
cut
write
shout, yell
be silent
swell
swim
swing
swear (under
oath)
see
be
send
sing
sink
sit
be obliged
speak
jump, spring
sting, prick
stand
steal
rise, mount
die
stink
push, kick
quarrel, clash
carry, wear
meet, hit
force, drive
step, go
drink
do
hide, conceal
spoil, ruin
forget
leave a
person/place
lose

schieben
schieen
schlafen
schlagen
schlieen
schneiden
schreiben
schreien
schweigen
schwellen
schwimmen
schwingen

schiebt
schiet
schlft
schlgt
schliet
schneidet
schreibt
schreit
schweigt
schwillt
schwimmt
schwingt

schwren
sehen
sein
senden
singen
sinken
sitzen
sollen
sprechen
springen
stechen
stehen
stehlen
steigen
sterben
stinken
stoen
streiten
tragen
treffen
treiben
treten
trinken
tun
verbergen
verderben
vergessen

schwrt
sieht
ist
sendet
singt
sinkt
sitzt
soll
spricht
springt
sticht
steht
stiehlt
steigt
stirbt
stinkt
stt
streitet
trgt
trifft
treibt
tritt
trinkt
tut
verbirgt
verdirbt
vergisst

verlassen
verlieren

verlsst
verliert

avoid
disappear
excuse, pardon
grow
wash
turn
advertise
become
throw
weigh
know (a fact)
want
pull, draw, go
force, compel

vermeiden
verschwinden
verzeihen
wachsen
waschen
wenden
werben
warden
werfen
wiegen
wissen
wollen
ziehen
zwingen

vermeidet
verschwindet
verzeiht
wchst
wscht
wendet
wirbt
wird
wirft
wiegt
wei
will
zieht
zwingt

Mixed Verbs
Mixed verbs take specific characteristics from both regular and irregular verbs. Like regular
verbs, they add the suffix e(t) or te to form the past participle and simple past and like irregular
verbs, they change their stem when conjugated.
Here are the stem changes of some mixed verbs in the present, past and past participle:

Stem Changes
Infinitive

brennen
denken
kennen
wissen
wenden

Simple
Present
(3rd pers.
sing.)
---wei
--

Simple Past
(3rd pers.
sing.)
brannte
dachte
kannte
wusste
wandte

Past
Participle

gebrannt
gedacht
gekannt
gewusst
gewandt

Verb Tenses

German verbs can have six tenses that can be classified into two categories: finite and compound
tenses.

There are only two finite tenses:

present tense
simple past

There are four compound tenses:

Future
Present perfect
Past Perfect
Future perfect

The Present Tense (Prsens)

German has only one form for the present tense, which is used to convey several present tense
forms in English.
Examples:
Ich arbeite.
I work. I am working. I do work.
Du sprichst.
You speak. You are speaking. You do speak.
Er liest.
He reads. He is reading. He does read.
Wir schreiben.
We write. We are writing. We do write.
In addition, the present tense is generally used to talk about an event or action that will occur in the
immediate future.
Ich spiele Fuball morgen. Im playing football tomorrow.
To distinguish the different aspects of the present tense, adverbs are commonly used to indicate
time.
Examples:
Ich arbeite jeden Tag.
Ich arbeite gerade.
Ich arbeite morgen.

I work everyday.
I am working right now.
I am working tomorrow.

The conjugation patterns of regular verbs in the present tense are as follows:
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

I
You
he/she/it
we
you (plural)
they/you (formal)

-e
-st
-t
-en
-t
-en

The Simple Past Tense (Prteritum/Imperfekt)

There are two ways to express the past in German: the simple past/imperfect and the present
perfect. Both denote events or actions that occurred in the past, but differ in their forms and usage.
The simple past is the narrative, formal, or written past tense expressed in one-word verbs. The
present perfect is more commonly used in speech and is otherwise known as the informal past
tense.
Verbs in the simple past take the second position in declarative sentences and the first position in
yes-no interrogative sentences. Separable verb prefixes, complementary infinities, and other
verbal parts are placed at the end of the sentence. Because the simple past is in the written form,
the second person verb forms for du, ihr, and Sie are not frequently used.
Forming the Simple Past Tense
Past Tense of Regular/Weak Verbs
To form the past tense of regular verbs, you have to isolate the stem of the verb in its present
infinitive form and add the following endings:
Subject
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

English
I
you
he/she/it
we
you (plural)
they/you
(formal)

Endings
-te
-test
-te
-ten
-tet
-ten

Examples:

Ich folgte ihm.

Sie sagte ja.
Er reinigte das Haus.

I followed him.
She said yes.
He cleaned the house.

The simple past tense with separable prefix verbs:

Sie brachte ihr Sohn mit.

She brought her son along.

Verbs with a stem ending in d, -t, -m, or n after a consonant must take an e before adding the
te, -tet, or-test ending.
For example, to conjugate the verb arbeiten (to work), you will have these verb forms:
I

Ich arbeitete.

you
he/she/it
we
you
they/You

Du arbeitetest
Er/Sie/Es arbeitete.
Wir arbeiteten.
Ihr arbeitetet.
Sie/Sie arbeiteten.

In the wir, sie, and Sie forms, the suffix te is combined with the personal ending en and becomes
ten instead of writing the e twice.
To conjugate the verbs tanzen (to dance), fhlen (to feel), and reisen (to travel), you will have:
Subject
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

tanzen
tanzte
tanztest
tanzte
tanzten
tanztet
tanzten

fhlen
fhlte
fhltest
fhlte
fhlten
fhltet
fhlten

reisen
reiste
reistest
reiste
reisten
reistet
reisten

Simple Past Tense of Irregular (Strong Verbs)

Irregular verbs express the simple past tense by changing their stem and adding personal endings.
There are different ways through which irregular verbs change their stem and must be learned
individually.
Here are the endings of irregular verbs in the simple past tense:
Subject
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

Ending
-st
-en
-t
-en

To conjugate the verbs sprechen (to speak), gehen (to go), and fliegen (to fly), you will have the
following verb forms:
Subject
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir

sprechen
sprach
sprachst
sprach
sprachen

gehen
ging
gingst
ging
gingen

fliegen
flog
flogst
flog
flogen

ihr
sie/Sie

spracht
sprachen

gingt
gingen

flogt
flogen

Simple Past Tense of Mixed Verbs

Mixed verbs form the simple past tense by changing their stem like irregular verbs and adding the
personal endings for regular verbs.
For example, to conjugate the verb brennen (to burn), youll have the following verb forms:
Subject
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

Ending
brannte
branntest
brannte
brannten
branntet
brannten

Active vs. Passive Voice

Acive Voice
The active voice is the regular voice through which the subject is the performer of the action and is
used in the nominative case. The receiver or object of the verb is in the accusative case.

Example:
Marlene liest die Bcher jeden Tag.

Marlene reads books everyday.

Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the receiver or object of the verbs action. To
construct sentences in the passive voice, you will use the conjugated form of werden + the past
participle of the main verb. The subject is usually not expressed in passive sentences but may be
indicated with the use of von + dative noun case. This is the equivalent of the expression done by
___ in English.
Die Bcher werden jeden Tag gelesen.
The books are read everyday.
Die Bcher werden von Marlene jeden Tag gelesen.
The books are read by Marlene everday.

The Verbs Sein, Haben, and Werden

Sein (to be), haben (to have), and werden (to become) are the most common verbs in German.
They are irregular verbs that function as auxiliary verbs to form compound tenses.
Sein (to be)
The verb sein has irregular forms like its English counterpart. It has the following forms in the
present and perfect tenses:

ich
ich
du

Present
bin
bist

Meaning
I am
you are

er/sie/es
wir
ihr

ist
sind
seid

sie/Sie

sind

he/she/it is
we are
you are
They/You
are

Past
Perfect
war
warst
war
waren
wart
waren

Meaning
I was
you were
he/she/it
was
we were
you were
they/You
were

The verbs sein and habein are both used in constructing the perfect tense. The perfect tense is the
most common past tense in German and is used in three situations:
to refer to past actions
Sie spielte das Klavier gestern.

She played the piano yesterday.

to denote past actions that continue to the present

Ich bin nach Deutschland gereist.
I have travelled to Germany.
to indicate past actions for completion in the future
Wir haben es nchste Woche geschafft.
We will have it made next week.

Haben (to have)

The verb haben has the following conjugation in the present tense:
ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

habe
du hast
hat
haben
habt
haben

I have
You have
he/she/it has
we have
you have
they have

When to use sein or habein as auxiliary verb

The following situations require the use of the verb sein as auxiliary verb:
Sein is used with the verbs warden, sein, bleiben, and passieren.
It is used for non-reflexive and intransitive verbs that denote movements or change in condition
or state. Examples are springen (to jump), rennen (to run), fallen (to fall), laufen (to run), gehen
(to walk), schmelzen (to melt), and sterben (to die).
In all other cases, the auxiliary verb haben is generally used.

Werden (to become)

When used as a full verb, werden means to become or to turn into.

Sie wurde selbstgefllig.

She became complacent.

Werden is used as an auxiliary verb in the future tense and the perfect future.
Examples:

Es wird schneien.
Ich werde es nchste Woche haben.

It will snow.
Ill have done it next week.

Here is wardens conjugation in the present tense:

ich
du
er/sie/es
wir
ihr
sie/Sie

werde
wirst
wird
werden
iwerdet
werden

I become
you become
he becomes
we become
you become
they become

Reflexive Verbs
A reflexive verb denotes an action in which the performer or subject is also the receiver or object
of the action. Reflexives are used much more extensively in German as they are in English and they
occur in two cases: the accusative and dative case. You will use them often to talk about personal

hygiene and body care. Most reflexive verbs are in the accusative case and all require reflexive
pronouns to indicate the object of the action. Reflexive pronouns are generally placed after the
verb.
Examples:
Ich wasche mich.
Im washing myself.
Er kleidet sich.
He dresses himself.
Er rasiert sich.
He is shaving himself.
Wir ziehen uns.
Were getting dressed.
Sie waschen sich.
You wash yourself.
Take note that reflexive verbs can have non-reflexive forms and use, and will therefore not require
a reflexive pronoun.
For example, in the sentence Ich wasche das Auto, (I wash the car), the verb wasche is used
non-reflexively and does not require a reflexive pronoun.
Some German reflexive verbs actually take on a different meaning when used in the non-reflexive
form.
Examples:
Reflexive verb
sich versprechen
sich umziehen

Meaning
misspeak
change clothes

Non-reflexive
versprechen
umziehen

Meaning
to promise
move house

Reflexive verbs are preceded by the reflexive pronoun sich when listed as an infinitive in a
standard dictionary. Here are the most commonly used reflexive verbs:
to look after
to get dressed
to be angry
to take a bath
to say thank you
to serve oneself
to hurry
to hurry
to make an effort
to behave oneself
to drink too much
to deal with
to prove oneself
to apply

sich annehmen
sich anziehen
sich rgern
sich baden
sich bedanken
sich bedienen
sich beeilen
sich beeilen
sich bemhen
sich benehmen
sich besaufen
sich beschftigen
mit
sich bewhren
sich bewerben
sich die Mhe

to take the trouble

to turn around
to shower
to be suitable
to sneak into
escape, elude
to recover
to remember
to catch cold
to anticipate
to be happy about
to look forward to
to get accustomed
to
to be mistaken
to comb hair
to be stationary
to focus on
to shave
to point at
to be based on
to feel ashamed
to forget
to sit down
to fool oneself
to meet
to consider
to make sure
to rely on
to fall in love
to be late
to seem
to introduce self
to wash oneself
to refuse
to wonder about
to turn into
to move

geben
sich drehen um
sich duschen
sich eignen
sich einschleichen
sich entziehen
sich erholen
sich erinnern
sich erklten
sich freuen auf
sich freuen ber
sich freuen ber
sich gewhnen an
sich irren
sich kmmen
sich kein Rad
drehen
sich konzentrieren
sich rasieren
sich richten an
sich richten nach
sich schmen
sich schenken
sich setzen
sich tuschen
sich treffen
sich berlegen
sich vergewissern
sich verlassen auf
sich verlieben
sich verspten
sich vorkommen
sich vorstellen
sich waschen
sich weigern
sich wundern ber
zu etwas
auswaschsen
bewegen

Chapter 5

- Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns or pronouns. Adjectives are classified as
predicate adjectives, adverbial and attributive adjectives. In general, German adjectives precede
the word they modify. While both predicate and adverbial adjectives are invariable, attributive
adjectives are declined to reflect the case, number and gender of the noun they describe. The
determiner used before them also influence the type of declension required.
Predicative Adjectives
Predicative adjectives are those that come after the verbs sein, warden and bleiben. The endings
are invariable regardless of the case, number and gender of the noun they describe.
Der Schwimmer ist stark.
Die Blumen sind schn.

The swimmer is strong.

The flowers are beautiful.

Adverbial Adjectives
Adverbial adjectives come after verbs other than sein, warden and bleiben. Like predicative
adjectives, adverbs are not declined.
Der Schwimmer schwimmt stark.
Die Blumen blhen reichlich .

The swimmer swims strongly.

The flowers bloom abundantly.

Attributive Adjectives
Attributive adjectives come before the noun and after the article that modifies the noun.
Die starke Schwimmerin gewann die Meisterschaft.
The strong swimmer won the championship.
Die intelligente und schne Student gewann viele Auszeichnungen .
The smart and beautiful student won many awards.

Declension of Adjectives
Attributive adjectives are declined in different ways and their manner of declension is dependent
on the type of modifiers or determiners used before them.

Strong Declension

Strong declension is required when the modifiers or articles used have endings that do not clearly
indicate the case, number, and gender of the word being modified.
Strong declension is used in the following situations:
No article is used
When the adjective appears afer a number adjective with no ending
When the adjective comes after a pronoun other than mir, dir, and ihm
The adjective comes afer mehr(more) or etwas (somewhat/some), viele (many), or
einige (some)
The adjective is preceded by ein Paar (a couple, few), ein wenig(a few), etliche
(some), mehrer- (many/several), folgende (the following), ein bisschen (a bit), wessen
(whose), wie viel (how much)
Strong Declension Table for Adjectives
Nominative Accusative
Masculine,
singular
Feminine,
singular
Neuter,
singular
Plural

Dative

Genitive

-er

-en

-em

-en

-e

-e

-er

-er

-es
-e

-es
-e

-em
-en

-en
-er

Examples:

Starker Kaffee ist erhebend.

Strong coffee is uplifting.
Frisches Brot ist ein energiereiches Frhstck.
Fresh bread is an energizing breakfast.
Weak Declension
Weak declension is used when determiners have endings that clearly express the case, gender and
number of the noun being modified. Adjectives that require weak declension may only take the e
or en ending.
The following situations warrant the use of weak adjective declension:
When the adjective comes after a definite article
When it follows the pronouns dieser (this), jener (that), jeder (every),
and jeglich- (any) which are inflected like definite articles
When the adjective appears after dir, mir, and ihm

When placed after alle (all), beide (both), arm (meager), and
alt(old)
When it comes after welch- (which), solch- (such), and manch-
(some) which are declined like definite articles
When it comes after derjenic- (the one) and derselb- (the same)

Heres the table for weak declension:

Nominative Accusative
Masculine,
singular
Feminine,
singular
Neuter, singular
Plural

Dative

Genitive

-e

-en

-en

-en

-e
-e
-en

-e
-e
-en

-en
-en
-en

-en
-en
-en

Die mutige Frau jagte den Verbrecher.

The brave woman chased the criminal.
Alle neuen Spieler sind begeistert.
All new players are excited.

Mixed Declension
Mixed declension is used when the adjective is placed after possessive determiners and the
indefinite articles ein and kein.
Declension Table for Mixed Adjectives
Nominative Accusative
Masculine,
singular
Feminine,
singular
Neuter, singular
Plural

Dative

Genitive

-er

-en

-en

-en

-e
-es
-en

-e
-es
-en

-en
-en
-en

-en
-en
-en

Exception: Attributive adjectives which are not declined

Some adjectives dont change their endings:
Plural limiting adjective: ein Paar (a few)
Singular limiting adjectives: viel (much)etwas (something),
genug (enough) , and wenig (little)

German Possessive Adjectives

The German genitive case, which is used to express possession, is rarely used. The use of
possessive adjectives is the more common way to show ownership. Possessive adjectives are
declined to show the case, and the gender and number of the noun possessed. Before you can
inflect possessive adjectives, you must know the stem:

German
meindeineseinihrseinuns(e)r
eu(e)r
ihrihr-

English
mine
your
his
her
its
our
your
their
your (formal)

Here are the endings for possessive adjectives under the four cases:
Masculine
Nominative
Accusative
Dative
Genitive

-en
-em
-es

Feminine
-e
-e
-er
-er

Neutral
-em
-es

Plural
-e
-e
en
-er

For example, to express my dog, youll use the stem mein-and inflict it with the ending for
singular masculine noun (dog is a masculine noun). Hence, my dog is mein Hund. To say my
cat, youll use the stem mein- again and inflict it the ending for singular feminine noun (cat is a
feminine noun). Youll have meine Katze. To say my bunny, youll again take the stem mein-
and inflict it with the ending for neutral noun as Kaninchen, bunny, is a neuter noun. Hence, youll
have mein Kaninchen. When you state ownership of a noun in the plural form, say birds, youll
inflict mein- with the plural ending to express meine Vgel, my birds.

Chapter 6

- Word Order (die Wortstellung)

In general, German and English both use the basic sentence pattern Subject + Verb + Other
Elements.
Anna verkauft Skulpturen.

Anna sells sculptures.

Sie isst Kuchen.

She eats cakes.

Ich lese Zeitschriften.

Sie ist wunderschn.

I read magazines.
She is beautiful.

German, however, is more flexible in terms of word order and other elements may be placed in the
beginning of a statement instead of a subject. The finite or conjugated verb, however, must stay in
the second position.

For example, a standard statement can be written as:

Ich habe ein Auto.

I have a car.

The subject, ich (I), however, may be moved to position 3 and still convey the same meaning:
Ein auto habe ich.

I have a car.

Take note that the conjugated verbs remained in the second position.

Compound Verbs
In English, compound verbs like are studying, is cooking, and am writing always appear
together. In German, however, compound verbs may take separate positions. The conjugated verb
retains the second position while the accompanying verb usually takes the final position in the
clause or sentence.
Example:
Ich werde es bald gehen.
I will go there soon.
Sie wird einen Kuchen morgen backen.
She will bake a cake tomorrow.
Word order in questions
Questions with question words

In interrogative sentences using question words such as wer, wann, wie, wo, etc., the conjugated
verbs retain the second position while the subject takes the third position.
Wann hast Du Geburtstag?
Warum bist du hier?
Was ist das Problem?

When is your birthday?

Why are you here?
What is the problem?

Yes-No Questions
Forming yes-no questions in German is easy if you know your basic word order. You will simply
move the verb to the first position in the sentence.
For example:
Declarative Sentences
Du bist Marlowe.
You are Marlowe.

Sie sind verheiratet.

You are married.

Yes No Questions
Bist du Marlowe?
Are you Marlowe?

Sind Sie verheiratet?

Are you married?

Imperative Sentences
When giving direct instructions in imperative sentences, the conjugated verb takes the first
position:
Lass mich allein!
Ruf den Arzt!

Leave me alone!
Call the doctor!

Negation
German negative sentences and clauses are formed with nicht and kein.

Nicht
Nicht is used to negate verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, proper nouns, and nouns modified by
a definite article or possessive adjective.
Nicht is usually placed before the word it negates. When it negates a verb, it takes the last

position. When it does not negate a specific word, it is placed at the end of a clause or sentence.

Examples:
Das ist nicht richtig.
Sie ist nicht Monica.
Er kocht nicht.

That is not proper.

She is not Monica.
He doesnt cook.

Kein
Kein is used to negate nouns that are not modified by an article, and replaces the indefinite articles
ein or eine to express negation.
Examples:

Er ist kein Dieb.

Ich sehe kein Problem.

He is not a thief.
I see no problem.

Chapter 7

- Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs by providing information about manner,
place, time, frequency and reason. Adverbs are invariable words that you can find in different
parts of a sentence.
Here are the types of adverbs according to their function:
Modal Adverbs
Modal adverbs describe the manner or tell how much:
different
apparently
otherwise
completely
also
in addition
extremely
nearly
famously
definitely
likewise, as well
firstly
eventually
almost
as follows
exactly like
enough
gladly
mostly
mainly
hopefully
hardly
unfortunately
possibly
of course
only
by the dozen
very
so, thus
maybe, perhaps

anders
anscheinend
ansonsten
anz
auch
auerdem
uerst
beinahe
bekanntlich
bestimmt
ebenfalls
erstens
eventuell
fast
folgendermaen
genauso
genug
gern
grtenteils
hauptschlich
hoffentlich
kaum
leider
mglicherweise
natrlich
nur
reihenweise
sehr
so
vielleicht

probably
at least
truly, really

wahrscheinlich
wenigstens
wirklich

Examples:
Meine Mutter ist sehr nett.
Er ist wirklich fleiig.

My mother is very kind.

He is truly hardworking.

Adverbs of Time and Frequency

Adverbs of time and frequency or temporal adverbs tell when, since when, until when, how often,
and how long.
Here are common temporal adverbs:
in the evening
soon
already
until now
then
thereafter
after, then
beforehand
once
eventually/finally
yesterday
immediately
today
always
meanwhile
yearly
now
monthly
tomorrow
in the morning
in the afternoon
during the night
lately/recently
never
often
regularly

abends
bald
bereits
bisher
damals
danach
dann
davor
einst
endlich
gestern
gleich
heute
immer
inzwischen
jhrlich
jetzt
monatlich
morgen
morgens
nachmittags
nachts
neulich
nie
oft
regelmig

immediately
later
constantly
daily
the day after tomorrow
the day before
yesterday
earlier
weekly
at the time

sofort
spter
stets
tglich
bermorgen
vorgestern
vorhin
wchentlich
zurzeit

Er spielte Fuball gestern.

Er reinigt sein Zimmer wchentlich.

He played football yesterday.

He cleans his room weekly.

Adverbs of place
Adverbs of place or locative adverbs tell the direction and location of an event or action.
upwards
downwards
inside
outside
away
straight ahead
here
up to here
into
behind
somewhere
on the left
on the right
to the left
to the right
near
nowhere
above
up
everywhere
down/below
on the way
in front
somewhere else

aufwrts
abwrts
drinnen
auen
fort
geradeaus
hier
hierhin
hinein
hinter
irgendwo
links
rechts
nach links
nach rechts
nebenan
nirgends
oberhalb
oben
berall
unten
unterwegs
vorn
woanders

Er versteckt sich hinter den Vorhngen.

He is hinding behind the curtains.
Der Arzt ist hier.
The doctor is here.
Causal Adverbs
Causal adverbs tell the origin of or reason for an action and answer questions like for what
reason, how so, or under what condition.
so, therefore
otherwise
because of that
therefore
thus
accordingly
therefore
surely, however
consequently
so far
in any case
namely
therefore
otherwise
despite that
nevertheless

also
anderenfalls
dadurch
darum
demnach
demzufolge
deshalb
doch
folglich
insofern
jedenfalls
nmlich
somit
sonst
trotzdem
trotzdem

Folglich er aufgehrt zu arbeiten.

Trotzdem schloss er sein Studium.

Consequenty, he stopped working.

Nevertheless, he graduated.

Chapter 8

- Vocabulary List

Animals (die Tiere)

der Br

bear

die Katze

cat

das Pferd

horse

der Hund dog

der Elefant elephant

das Knguru kangaroo

der Leopard

der Panda

das Schaf

leopard

panda

sheep

der Affe monkey

der Pinguin penguin

der Tiger tiger

das zebra

zebra

das Eichhrnchen squirrel

At the Dining Table

der Teller plate

der Lffel (spoon)

die Gabel (fork)

das Messer knife

die Tasse

die Karaffe pitcher

cup

die Serviette table napkin

die Schssel bowl

das Trinkglas glass

der Esstisch und die Sthle

dining table and chairs

Parts of the Body (Krperteile)

English
head
bottom lip
cheek
chin
ear
eye
eyebrow
eyelash
face
forehead
hair
incisor
lip
molar
mouth
nose
nosehole
tongue
tooth
upper lip
wisdom tooth
baby tooth

Singular
der Kopf
die Unterlippe
die Wange
der Kinn
das Ohr
das Auge
die Augenbraue
die Wimper
das Gesicht
die Stirn
das Haar
der Schneidezahn
die Lippe
der Backenzahn
der Mund
die Nase
das Nasenloch
die Zunge
der Zahn
die Oberlippe
der Weisheitszahn
der Milchzahn

Plural
die Kpfe
die Unterlippen
die Wangen
die Ohren
die Augen
die Augenbrauen
die Wimpern
die Gesichter
die Haare
die Schneidezhne
die Lippen
die Backenzhne
die Mnder
die Nasen
die Nasenlcher
die Zungen
Zhne
die Oberlippen
die Weisheitszhne
die Milchzhne

canine

der Eckzahn

die Eckzhne

English
shoulder
axle
axillary hair
axilla
arm
upper arm
elbow
lower arm
hand
finger
thumb
forefinger
middle finger
ring finger
little finger
fingernail

Singular
die Schulter
die Achsel
das Achselhaar
die Achselhhle
der Arm
der Oberarm
der Ellenbogen
der Unterarm
die Hand
der Finger
der Daumen
der Zeigefinger
der Mittelfinger
der Ringfinger
der kleine Finger
der Fingernagel

Plural
die Schultern
die Achseln
die Achselhaare
die Achselhhlen
die Arme
die Oberarme
die Ellenbogen
die Unterarme
die Hnde
die Finger
die Daumen
die Zeigefinger
die Mittelfinger
die Ringfinger
die kleinen Finger
die Fingerngel

English
breast
nipple
stomach
navel
back
hip
leg
thigh
knee
waste
foot
toe

Singular
die Brust
die Brustwarze
der Bauch
der Bauchnabel
der Rcken
die Hfte
das Bein
der Oberschenkel
das Knie
die Wade
der Fu
der Zeh

Plural
die Brste
die Brustwarzen
die Buche
die Bauchnabel
die Rcken
die Hften
die Beine
die Oberschenkel
die Knie
die Waden
die Fe
die Zehen

vagina
penis
foreskin
testis
scrotum

die Scheide
das Glied
die Vorhaut
der Hoden
der Hodensack

die Scheiden
die Glieder
die Vorhute
die Hoden
die Hodenscke

anus

der After

Members of the Family

die Eltern
der Vater
die Mutter
der Papa
die Mama
der Ehemann
die Ehefrau
die Groeltern
der Grovater
die Gromutter
der Onkel
die Tante
der Sohn
die Tochter
der Bruder
die Schwester
der Neffe
die Nichte
die Cousinn
der Schwiegervater
die Schwiegermutter
der Schwager
die Schwgerin
der Schwiegersohn
die Schwiegertochter

parents
father
mother
dad
mom
husband
wife
grandparents
grandpa
grandma
uncle
aunt
son
daughter
brother
sister
nephew
niece
cousins
father-in-law
mother-in-law
brother-in-law
sister-in-law
son-in-law
daughter-in-law

The Professions

der Buchhalter
der Schauspieler
der Knstler
der Sportler
der Herrenfriseur
der Chef
der Geschftsmann

accountant
actor
artist
athlete
barber
boss
business person

die After

der Metzger
der Schreiner
der Kassierer
der Koch
der Trainer
der Computertechniker
der Bauarbeiter
der Zahnarzt
der Arzt
der Ingenieur
der Landwirt
der Feuerwehrmann
der Friseur
der Richter
der Rechtsanwalt
der Bibliothekar
der Postbote
der Maurer
der Mechaniker
die Krankenschwester
der Polizist
der Prsident
der Professor
der Programmier
der Reporter
die Sekretrin
der Tierarzt
die Bedienung
der Schriftsteller

butcher
carpenter
cashier
chef
coach
computer technician
construction worker
dentist
doctor
engineer
farmer
firefighter
hairdresser
judge
lawyer
librarian
mail carrier
mason
mechanic
nurse
police officer
president
professor
programmar
Reporter
Secretary
Veterinarian
Waiter
Writer

Conclusion
I hope this book was able to help you master the basics of the German language. I am confident that
by the time you finish this book, you will have gained all the skills and confidence you need to
converse eloquently in German. The next steps include taking up more comprehensive German
courses, taking part in online German forums, and traveling to Germany or other German-speaking
countries.

Finally, if you enjoyed this book, please take the time to share your thoughts and post a positive
review on Amazon. Itd be greatly appreciated!
Thank you and good luck!