Starting Out in German by Living Language Excerpt

STA RT I N G O U T I N
GERMAN
Welcome to Living Language’s Starting Out In German, an
introductory course teaching the basics of the German language.
This all-audio course is designed to be used without any printed
material, but should you decide you want to read along as you
listen to the lessons, visit www.livinglanguage.com for a free
downloadable transcript and other resources.
Lektion 1: Wichtige ausdrücke

Lesson 1: Essential expressions
Willkommen! Welcome! In this first lesson of your German audio course, you’ll learn some basic
expressions that you will find very useful in everyday interactions, such as greetings, courtesy expressions,
and simple questions that will help you to get to know people. You’ll hear these words and phrases first in
English and then in German. Repeat each new word or phrase in the pauses provided every time you hear
it. Let’s begin!
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VOCABULARY BUILDING 1
Hello./Good day. Guten Tag.
Good morning. Guten Morgen.
Good evening. Guten Abend.
Hi. Hallo.
Welcome. Willkommen.
How are you? Wie geht’s?
Very well. Sehr gut.
Thank you. Danke.
Goodbye. Auf Wiedersehen.
Bye. Tschüss.
See you soon. Bis bald.
Take care. Mach’s gut.
Good job!
TAKE A BREAK 1
German has a few sounds that will be unfamiliar to an English speaker. Have you noticed the vowel sound
ü in tschüss? It is pronounced a little like i in kiss, but with the lips rounded as when you’re pronouncing
oo in food. Here it is again: ü, ü . For example, the German word for to kiss is küssen. Another unfamiliar
sound is the sound ch in mach’s gut. It is a bit similar to the k sound in luck, but you need to keep
pressing the air out, rather than stopping it abruptly. Try again: mach’s gut, mach’s gut.
Okay, now let’s go over the rest of what you’ve just learned. First note that there are different kinds of
greetings in German depending on the time of day: guten Morgen (good morning), guten Abend (good
evening), and, of course, guten Tag, which literally means good day. When you’re choosing a greeting, you
also need to consider whom you are talking to. If you’re greeting someone you’re friendly with, you may
choose a less formal expression, like hallo (hi). The same is true for saying good-bye. If you’re talking to
someone you don’t know well, you can say auf Wiedersehen (good-bye). If the other person is a friend,
you may want to say tschüss (bye) and mach’s gut (take care). Now, let’s continue with some more
words and expressions.
Do you speak German? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?
Yes. Ja.
No. Nein.
A little bit. Ein bisschen.
What’s your name? Wie heissen Sie?
My name is . . . Ich heisse . . .
Where are you from? Wo kommen Sie her?
I’m from Canada. Ich komme aus Kanada.
It’s nice here. Es ist schön hier.
TAKE A BREAK 2
The phrases and expressions that you’ve just learned contained two personal pronouns that you’ll need
in order to talk about yourself and to address the person you’re talking to: ich (I) and Sie (you). Did you
notice the slight difference in the forms of the verbs that are used with them? With ich, the verbs end
in -e, as in ich heisse (my name is) and ich komme (I come from). With Sie, they end in -en, as in Sie
heissen (your name is) and Sie kommen (you’re from).
Also, the pronoun ich contains another sound that makes German sound like German: ch. It’s pronounced
a bit like the sound h in English words like hit, but with more of a hissing quality: the back of the tongue is
raised and moved forward, and the air escapes by its sides. Let’s try it once more: ich, ich.
By the way, the pronoun Sie is only used when talking to a stranger or to a person that you don’t know
well. With family and friends, a different pronoun is used: du. You will learn more about other pronouns
and the accompanying verb forms in Lesson 3.
ONE MORE TIME
Now let’s review some of the expressions that you have learned in this lesson. You can use these words
and expressions to introduce yourself to someone in German and to ask questions. Listen to the English
first, then the German, which you should repeat for practice. Go ahead and fill in your own name and that
of your hometown where appropriate.
Hello! Guten Tag!
I’m from . . . Ich komme aus . . .
I speak a little German. Ich spreche ein bisschen Deutsch.
What’s your name? Wie heissen Sie?
And where are you from? Und wo kommen Sie her?
Do you speak English? Sprechen Sie Englisch?
Good-bye. Auf Wiedersehen.
BRING IT ALL TOGETHER
Now let’s bring it all together, adding a little more vocabulary and structure. Imagine a dialogue between
two people who have just met—Paula, from the United States, and Philipp, from Germany. As earlier,
you’ll hear each phrase in English first and then in German.
Hello!/Good day! Guten Tag!
Very well, thanks. Danke, sehr gut.
My name is Philipp. Ich heisse Philipp.
And what’s your name? Und wie heissen Sie?
My name is Paula. Ich heisse Paula.
Where are you from? Wo kommen Sie her?
I’m from Philadelphia. Ich komme aus Philadelphia.
Welcome to Frankfurt. Willkommen in Frankfurt.
I think so, too. Das finde ich auch.
See you soon then. Also, bis bald.
Okay, you’ve learned quite a few words already in this lesson, and in this section we’ve added a few more.
Let’s go over them briefly. You probably guessed that und means and. Auch means too or as well, as in
Das finde ich auch (I think so, too). You’ve also seen more verbs used with the pronoun ich (I), such as
finde (literally, to find) and spreche (to speak). And did you notice that questions have a different word
order than statements? Questions like Und wie heissen Sie? (And what’s your name?) and Wo kommen
Sie her? (Where are you from?) have the verb before the pronoun. We will discuss the topic of word order
in more detail in Lesson 6.
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you should
translate it into English. You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause.
sehr gut very good
ein bisschen a little
Guten Morgen. Good morning.
Guten Abend. Good evening.
Great! Now do the opposite, translating the phrase from English into German. After a pause, you’ll hear
the right answer, which you should repeat for practice.
Thanks. Danke.
Welcome. Willkommen.
Finally, answer the following questions in German. You’ll hear the question first, and then you will have
time to answer it in the pause provided. Finally, you’ll hear the right answer, which you should repeat
again for practice.
Wie geht’s? Danke, sehr gut.
Wo kommen Sie her? Ich komme aus Amerika.
Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Ich spreche ein bisschen.
PARTING WORDS
Danke! Thank you! You’ve been very attentive and have successfully learned some important new German
vocabulary and grammar. You’ve learned some very useful basic expressions, and you’ve seen that different
greetings are used depending on how well you know the person you are talking to. Depending on whether
you’re in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland, you’ll also hear people using expressions other than the ones
you’ve just learned. For example, in southern Germany and Austria, you may hear people greet each other
with Grüss Gott or Servus, both meaning hello.
Auf Wiedersehen bis zu Lektion 2! Good-bye until Lesson 2!
Lektion 2: Leute und familie
Lesson 2: People and the family
Willkommen zurück! Welcome back! Are you ready for a new challenge? In this lesson, you’ll learn how
to talk about people and your family in German. At the same time, you’ll learn about articles and gender.
As before, we start with vocabulary building: you’ll hear the English first, and then you’ll hear the German.
Repeat each new word or phrase every time you hear it. Let’s begin!
the family die Familie
the parents die Eltern
the mother die Mutter
the father der Vater
the child das Kind
the son der Sohn
the daughter die Tochter
the brother der Bruder
the sister die Schwester
the grandmother die Großmutter
the grandfather der Großvater
TAKE A BREAK 1
Have you noticed that many of these words are similar to English words? That’s because English and
German are related languages with a common origin—siblings in a language family, if you will. Of
course, there are also important differences between them. One such difference is gender. In German, all
nouns have an inherent grammatical gender. They are either masculine, feminine, or neuter. That’s also
why German has three definite articles—der, die, and das—where English has just one: the. If a noun
is masculine, the definite article is der, as in der Vater (the father). If the noun is feminine, the article
is die, as in die Mutter (the mother). For nouns that are neuter, the article is das, as in das Kind (the
child). You can sometimes guess which gender a word has based on what it refers to. For example, many
words that describe men are masculine, while many that describe women are feminine. But this pattern
is not absolute, and the noun Kind (child) is neuter, whether the word is used to refer to a boy or a girl.
Basically, gender is often unpredictable and has to be memorized separately for most words. The good
news is that you don’t have to worry about it for the plural: the plural definite article is always die, as in
die Eltern (the parents). Now, let’s continue with some more words and expressions.
This is . . . Das ist . . .
a woman eine Frau
This is a woman. Das ist eine Frau.
Who is that? Wer ist das?
a man ein Mann
a child ein Kind
the boy der Junge
the girl das Mädchen
the uncle der Onkel
the aunt die Tante
TAKE A BREAK 2
So now you’ve learned more nouns that describe people. In most cases, the grammatical gender matches
up with the natural gender of the person that is referred to, with one exception: das Mädchen (the girl)
is neuter. That’s because this noun ends in -chen, which marks the diminutive, a form that indicates that
something is small or endearing. All words that have this ending are neuter, as are those that end in -lein,
which has a similar meaning to -chen. You may know the word Fräulein, which means Miss—literally, a
little Frau. Because of its ending, this word is neuter as well: das Fräulein.
Notice that some of the words that you just learned were preceded by the indefinite article. There are only
two different forms of this article: ein is used with both masculine and neuter nouns, as in ein Mann (a
man) and ein Kind (a child). For feminine nouns, the form of the article is eine, as in eine Frau. As in
English, there is no indefinite article in the plural.
ONE MORE TIME
Let’s review what you have learned in this lesson. As before, listen to the English first, then to the German,
which you should repeat for practice. Note that Herr means Mister and Frau means Madame, Mrs., or Ms.,
in addition to woman.
This is the Klein family. Das ist die Familie Klein.
This is Ms. Klein. Das ist Frau Klein.
This is Mr. Klein. Das ist Herr Klein.
Max is a boy. Max ist ein Junge.
Sophie is a girl. Sophie ist ein Mädchen.
Ms. Klein is the mother. Frau Klein ist die Mutter.
Mr. Klein is the father. Herr Klein ist der Vater.
Max is the son. Max ist der Sohn.
Sophie is the daughter. Sophie ist die Tochter.
Now let’s bring it all together, adding a little more vocabulary and structure. Remember Paula and Philipp,
who met in the first lesson? Now Philipp is showing Paula pictures of his family. As usual, you’ll hear each
phrase in English first, and then in German, with pauses for repetition.
Look, Paula! Guck mal, Paula!
Here is a photograph. Hier ist ein Foto.
This is my family. Das ist meine Familie.
Who is that? Wer ist das?
This is my mother. Das ist meine Mutter.
And this is my father. Und das ist mein Vater.
And who is the boy? Und wer ist der Junge?
That is my brother. Das ist mein Bruder.
His name is Stephan. Er heißt Stephan.
Here is another photograph. Hier ist noch ein Foto.
This is my uncle Walter from Hamburg. Das ist mein Onkel Walter aus Hamburg.
Who is the woman? Wer ist die Frau?
This is my aunt Lotte. Das ist meine Tante Lotte.
You have already learned most of the words in this conversation, but there were some new ones, too.
I’m sure you’ve guessed that Foto means photograph. With the definite article, it’s das Foto; the word is
neuter. You use Guck mal to invite someone to take a look at something. Philipp also used the possessive
pronoun mein (my) to talk about his family members. Just like the indefinite article, this pronoun has
a different ending depending on the gender of the noun: masculine and neuter nouns take mein, and
feminine nouns have meine, as in meine Tante (my aunt). You will learn more possessive pronouns in
Lesson 8.
WORK OUT
Great! Now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you
should translate it into English. You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause.
der Junge the boy
der Großvater the grandfather
die Tante the aunt
ein Kind a child
meine Mutter my mother
Now do the opposite, translating the phrase from English into German. Be sure to pay attention to the
gender of the nouns. After a pause, you’ll hear the right answer, which you should repeat for practice.
the woman die Frau
a family eine Familie
the girl das Mädchen
the parents die Eltern
a man ein Mann
Finally, let’s practice the articles some more. You’ll hear a noun with the indefinite article, which you
should then repeat with the definite article. You’ll hear the right answer after a pause. Repeat it for more
practice.
eine Frau die Frau
ein Kind das Kind
ein Vater der Vater
ein Foto das Foto
eine Tochter die Tochter
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve finished Lesson 2. You’ve learned the basic vocabulary
that you need in order to talk about your family. Of course, there will be times when you want to talk
about other family members, like your female cousin (eine Cousine), your male cousin (ein Cousin), or
maybe your nephew (ein Neffe) or niece (eine Nichte). And if you’re a grandparent, you’ll certainly want
to talk about your Enkelkind, whether it’s a grandson (der Enkel) or granddaughter (die Enkelin). Bis
zum nächsten Mal! Till next time!
Lektion 3: Zahlen
Lesson 3: Numbers
Willkommen! Welcome! In Lesson 3, you’ll learn how to count to ten in German. As you do that, you
also learn how to form the plural forms of nouns. So let’s get started right away. By now, you know that
you’ll hear the English followed by the German. Repeat each new word or phrase every time you hear it.
zero null
one eins
two zwei
three drei
four vier
five fünf
six sechs
seven sieben
eight acht
nine neun
ten zehn
10
TAKE A BREAK 1
So now you can count von eins bis zehn, from one to ten. The word eins sounds familiar, doesn’t it? It’s
almost like the indefinite article, ein. In fact, when the number is followed by a noun, you don’t use eins;
you use the article ein. So, eine Schwester means both a sister and one sister. The other numerals can all
precede a noun, but the noun has to be in the plural form. In German, there are several different ways of
forming the plural of a noun. Some nouns take the ending -n—for example, the words Schwester and
Tante. So, if you have three aunts and two sisters, you say: drei Tanten und zwei Schwestern. There are
also nouns that don’t have a separate plural form at all, like Mädchen. Then there are some nouns that
indicate the plural by changing a vowel to an Umlaut, a letter that is written with two dots over it. So,
Vater changes to Väter, Mutter to Mütter, and Tochter to Töchter. Finally, there are nouns that form
the plural just like the regular plural in English, by adding an -s, so that will be easy. For example, if you
take pictures of all of your family members, you might end up with zehn Fotos—or perhaps even more
than that. So, let’s continue and learn how to count to higher numbers.
eleven elf
twelve zwölf
thirteen dreizehn
fourteen vierzehn
fifteen fünfzehn
sixteen sechzehn
seventeen siebzehn
eighteen achtzehn
nineteen neunzehn
twenty zwanzig
twenty-one einundzwanzig
thirty dreissig
fifty fünfzig
hundred hundert
TAKE A BREAK 2
The German numbers are really quite similar to the English ones, aren’t they? Elf and zwölf are easily
recognizable, and so are the teens. Note, though, that German differs from English in the word order of
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numbers over twenty. In German, the second digit is named first, so zweiundzwanzig is literally two and
twenty, and you continue on to dreiundzwanzig, vierundzwanzig, and so on.
ONE MORE TIME
Okay, let’s review how to put numbers and nouns together. You’ll hear the English first, and then the
German, which you should repeat for practice.
one grandmother eine Großmutter
two daughters zwei Töchter
three sons drei Söhne
four sisters vier Schwestern
five brothers fünf Brüder
four aunts vier Tanten
six nieces sechs Nichten
twelve grandchildren zwölf Enkel
Now let’s listen to a dialogue that uses some of the words you’ve learned. Our friend Paula would like to
use Philipp’s phone to call her mother in Philadelphia. Philipp dials the number for her and hands her the
phone.
Philipp, I would like to call America, please. Philipp, ich möchte bitte in Amerika anrufen.
It’s my mother’s birthday. Meine Mutter hat Geburtstag.
She is forty-eight. Sie ist achtundvierzig.
What’s the number? Was ist die Nummer?
Zero-zero-one for America. Null null eins für Amerika.
Two-one-five for Philadelphia. Zwei eins fünf für Philadelphia.
And then it’s four-five-six-two. Und dann vier fünf, sechs zwei.
And three ones. Und dreimal die eins.
Please go ahead, Paula; here is my phone. Bitte Paula, hier ist mein Telefon.
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Thank you, Philipp. Danke schön, Philipp.
I’ll call for ten minutes only. Ich telefoniere nur zehn Minuten.
Could you follow this conversation? There were some new words, but you probably recognized some of
them right away, like Telefon (telephone), Nummer (number), and Minuten (minutes). An important and
versatile word that was used twice in the dialogue is bitte. It can mean please or you’re welcome. It can also
be used to introduce an offer, as when Philipp says, Bitte Paula, hier ist mein Telefon. You also heard
two verbs: anrufen and telefonieren, both meaning to call on the telephone. We’ll learn more about verbs
soon, in Lesson 5.
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice the numbers some more. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you should
translate it into English during the pause provided. You’ll hear the correct answer after the pause.
zwei two
vierzehn fourteen
sieben seven
neun nine
einunddreissig thirty-one
three drei
twelve zwölf
eight acht
sixteen sechzehn
twenty-two zweiundzwanzig
Finally, let’s do some math in German. You’ll hear an equation first, and then you will have time to give
the answer. You’ll then hear the correct answer, which you should repeat for practice. Note that sind
means are.
zwei und zwei sind vier
vier und drei sind sieben
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sieben und fünf sind zwölf
zwölf und eins sind dreizehn
dreizehn und acht sind einundzwanzig
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve completed another lesson, and you’re learning
quickly. We will review the numbers in later lessons. You will need them to tell time, to go shopping,
and, of course, to remember telephone numbers. By the way, when anwering a phone, it is customary
in German-speaking countries to say your name after picking up, as in, Hier Philipp or Hier Meier. Bis
bald! See you soon!
Lektion 4: Zuhause
Lesson 4: Around the home
Hallo, da sind Sie ja wieder! There you are again! Welcome to Lesson 4. Here, you’ll learn about
prepositions and the dative case, and you’ll learn new words you can use to describe your home. So, let’s
get started with the new words and phrases. As usual, you’ll hear the English words first, and then you’ll
hear the German words, which you should repeat every time you hear them.
the apartment die Wohnung
the living room das Wohnzimmer
the bedroom das Schlafzimmer
the office das Arbeitszimmer
the table der Tisch
on the table auf dem Tisch
the bed das Bett
on the bed auf dem Bett
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the couch die Couch
on the couch auf der Couch
TAKE A BREAK 1
Now you’ve learned some words that you need in order to describe an apartment. You also learned the
preposition auf, which means on or on top of. I’m sure you noticed the changes to the articles after auf.
That is because this preposition requires articles and nouns to be in the special dative case form, rather
than the nominative case that we have seen so far. In German, cases are expressed mostly by the article,
not by the noun itself. So, for masculine and neuter nouns like der Tisch (the table) and das Bett (the
bed), the dative form of the article is dem, as in auf dem Tisch (on the table) and auf dem Bett (on the
bed). For feminine nouns, the dative is der, as in auf der Couch. Don’t be confused by the fact that it has
the same form as the nominative masculine. Now, let’s continue with some more words and phrases.
there is/there are es gibt
you are (informal) du bist
you are (formal) Sie sind
we are wir sind
the closet der Schrank
in the closet im Schrank
the kitchen die Küche
in the kitchen in der Küche
the bathroom das Bad
in the bathroom im Bad
next to the bathroom neben dem Bad
the door die Tür
the window das Fenster
TAKE A BREAK 2
Did you notice that the preposition in merges with the article dem to form im, as in im Bad (in the
bathroom)? However, in doesn’t merge with der, so with feminine nouns, you have both the preposition
15
and the article, as in in der Küche (in the kitchen). We’ll encounter other such contracted prepositions
later, in Lesson 6.
You’ve also learned new forms of the verb to be, such as bist (are). In the next lesson, we’ll review the
personal pronouns and start taking a closer look at verb forms.
ONE MORE TIME
Okay, let’s review the words and structures that you have learned. They will actually come in handy if
you want to understand a rental advertisement for an apartment. Listen to the English first, and then the
German, which you should repeat for practice.
There are three rooms, a kitchen, and a In der Wohnung sind drei Zimmer, eine Küche und
bathroom in the apartment. ein Bad.
There are two windows in the living room. Im Wohnzimmer sind zwei Fenster.
There’s a window in the kitchen. In der Küche ist ein Fenster.
The bathroom is next to the kitchen. Das Bad ist neben der Küche.
The bedroom is next to the living room. Das Schlafzimmer ist neben dem Wohnzimmer.
There is a closet in the bedroom. Im Schlafzimmer ist ein Schrank.
There is also an office. Es gibt auch ein Arbeitszimmer.
Next to the door, there is a window. Neben der Tür ist ein Fenster.
Now let’s bring it all together, adding a little more vocabulary and structure. Listen to our friend Philipp
as he shows Paula his apartment. As usual, you’ll hear each phrase in English first and then in German.
Repeat the German phrases in the pauses provided.
Welcome to my apartment! Willkommen in meiner Wohnung!
I have three rooms. Ich habe drei Zimmer.
Here we are in my living room. Hier sind wir in meinem Wohnzimmer.
Next to the couch is a lamp. Neben der Couch ist eine Lampe.
Next to the window is a photograph. Neben dem Fenster ist ein Foto.
The phone is on the table. Das Telefon ist auf dem Tisch.
The TV is in the living room. Der Fernseher ist im Wohnzimmer.
16
There is also a radio in the kitchen. In der Küche ist auch ein Radio.
This is the bedroom. Das ist das Schlafzimmer.
You really have a nice apartment! Du hast aber eine schöne Wohnung!
Could you follow the conversation? There were a few new words, like der Fernseher (the television).
But I’m sure you didn’t have a problem understanding that eine Lampe is, of course, a lamp, and ein
Radio, a radio. Philipp also used the possessive pronoun mein a few times. I’m sure you noticed that the
possessive adjective had different endings after the prepositions. In fact, the possessive adjective endings
are the same as those for the definite article, -m for masculine and neuter nouns and -r for feminine ones:
in meinem Wohnzimmer (in my living room), in meiner Küche (in my kitchen). Finally, you also heard
two forms of the verb haben (to have): ich habe (I have) and du hast (you have). We will return to the
topic of verbs soon, in Lesson 5.
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a word or a phrase in German, and
you should translate it into English. You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause.
auf dem Tisch on the table
das Schlafzimmer the bedroom
die Küche the kitchen
im Bad in the bathroom
es gibt there is
the apartment die Wohnung
next to the bed neben dem Bett
next to the door neben der Tür
a window ein Fenster
the closet der Schrank
Finally, let’s practice using the preposition in and the dative case. Remember that in contracts with the
masculine article der and the neuter article das into im. You’ll hear a German noun first, and then there
is a pause. During the pause, use the noun in a phrase with in; you will then hear the right answer, which
you should repeat for practice.
17
das Bad im Bad
die Küche in der Küche
der Schrank im Schrank
das Bett im Bett
die Wohnung in der Wohnung
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve finished another lesson, and you’ve learned a lot. Now
you know many of the words you need to describe your apartment or to understand eine Annonce (an
apartment for rent ad) should you be looking for one. Many young people in Germany share apartments
with roommates—die Mitbewohner. An apartment with roommates is often called eine WG, which is
short for eine Wohngemeinschaft. This word has the same root as Wohnung; both come from the verb
wohnen (to reside). You’ll start learning much more about verbs in the next lesson. Auf Wiedersehen bis
dann! Good-bye until then!
Lektion 5: Tägliches leben

Lesson 5: Everyday life
Da sind Sie ja wieder! Here you are again! In this lesson, you will learn words and phrases you need to
talk about everyday activities and life. We’ll also talk about which verb forms go with which personal
pronouns and learn about the accusative case. Let’s begin by looking at one verb and the different forms
that it has in the present tense. You know that you’ll hear the English first, and then you’ll hear the
German. Repeat each new word or phrase every time you hear it.
I go ich gehe
you go (singular, informal) du gehst
you go (singular, formal) Sie gehen
he goes er geht
she goes sie geht
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it goes es geht
we go wir gehen
you go (plural, informal) ihr geht
they go sie gehen
TAKE A BREAK 1
You’ve already encountered some pronouns in previous lessons, but now you have seen them all together.
German has a few more pronouns than English, because the English you corresponds to three different
forms in German: du, Sie, and ihr. Like du, ihr is used to address family or friends, except that it’s plural.
So use ihr when you address several people at once, just as some speakers of English might say y’all or
you guys. Did you also notice that the word sie can have three different meanings? It’s either formal you,
or she, or they. Don’t worry; you can distinguish these meanings easily from the context of the pronoun,
and by the ending of the verb that goes with it. When sie means she, the verb ends in a -t, as in sie heißt
(her name is). When sie is used to mean you or they, the verb ends in -en, so we get Sie/sie heissen (your
name is or their name is). Finally, there are also two verb endings that you have encountered before: with
ich, verbs end in -e, as in ich habe, ich heisse, or ich gehe. After du, the ending is -st, as in du hast, du
bist, or du gehst. Now let’s continue your vocabulary building with a few more words and phrases.
He sits. Er sitzt.
I see. Ich sehe.
You see a movie. Du siehst einen Film.
I listen to music. Ich höre Musik.
We read the paper. Wir lesen die Zeitung.
You write a letter. Du schreibst einen Brief.
They go for a walk. Sie gehen spazieren.
She visits a friend. Sie besucht einen Freund.
I eat ice cream. Ich esse ein Eis.
in the morning am Morgen
in the afternoon am Nachmittag
in the evening am Abend
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TAKE A BREAK 2
So now you’ve learned a few more verbs and seen them in sentences. I’m sure you recognized the verb
endings from before, right? However, sometimes you need to know more than just the ending of a verb to
form its present tense. Sometimes, their roots or stems change form, too—for example, the verb sehen (to
see): ich sehe, but du siehst, er sieht, and then back to wir sehen, ihr seht, and sie sehen. As you can
see, the vowel changes from e to ie after du and er.
Also, some of the phrases you just heard included nouns used as direct objects in the accusative case.
An example was einen Film in du siehst einen Film (you watch a movie). Masculine nouns come with
different articles in the accusative case—namely, den and einen. For feminine and neuter nouns, the
articles are the same as in the nominative, die and das, so you don’t have to learn anything new.
You also learned some terms for times of the day, like am Morgen and am Abend. The am is a
contraction of the preposition an (at) and the article dem, much like im, which you learned in Lesson 4.
ONE MORE TIME
Now that you’ve learned some words and expressions that you need to describe what you do in the course
of a day, let’s see how they go together. Note that when a time expression like in the morning is at the
beginning of the sentence, the verb precedes the subject instead of following it. In the following, you’ll
hear the English first, then the German, and then you should repeat the German for practice.
In the morning I read the newspaper. Am Morgen lese ich die Zeitung.
Then I listen to music on the radio and I Dann höre ich Musik im Radio und ich schreibe
write a letter. einen Brief.
In the afternoon, I visit my brother. Am Nachmittag besuche ich meinen Bruder.
We go for a walk and we eat ice cream. Wir gehen spazieren und wir essen ein Eis.
In the evening we sit on the couch in the Am Abend sitzen wir auf der Couch im Wohnzimmer.
living room.
We watch a movie on TV. Wir sehen einen Film im Fernsehen.
Now let’s listen to a dialogue that brings together everything you’ve learned in this lesson so far. Paula and
Philipp are sitting in Philipp’s living room. Philipp is reading a book.
What are you reading, Philipp? Was liest du da, Philipp?
I’m reading a novel. Ich lese einen Roman.
20
And what are you doing, Paula? Und was machst du, Paula?
I’m looking out the window. Ich sehe aus dem Fenster.
What do you see there? Was siehst du da?
I see a child in the park. Ich sehe ein Kind im Park.
What are we doing tonight? Was machen wir heute Abend?
There’s a new movie in the movie theater. Im Kino läuft ein neuer Film.
Oh yes, I’d like to see a new movie. Au ja, ich sehe gerne einen neuen Film.
Do you know my friend Tim? Kennst Du meinen Freund Tim?
No, not yet. Nein, noch nicht.
I want to call him. Ich will ihn anrufen.
Maybe he’ll come, too. Vielleicht kommt er auch.
There were a few new words in this dialogue. Could you understand them? An important one is the verb
es läuft, which literally means it runs, but applies here to a showing of a movie. You already knew the
verb lesen (to read), but note that it also changes its vowel: ich lese, but du liest and er liest. And did
you notice that there were some unfamiliar grammatical examples as well? If you compare ein neuer Film
(a new film), a nominative form used for a subject, to einen neuen Film, an accusative form used for an
object, you can tell that adjectives like neu change their form depending on the case, just like the articles.
You’ll learn more about adjectives in Lesson 8.
WORK OUT
Let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you should translate it
into English. You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause.
vielleicht maybe
Du besuchst. You visit.
Er schreibt. He writes.
Sie lesen die Zeitung. You read the newspaper. (formal)

or: They read the newspaper.
Sie liest die Zeitung. She reads the newspaper.
21
I read the newspaper. Ich lese die Zeitung.
You read a letter. (informal) Du liest einen Brief.
She sees a child. Sie sieht ein Kind.
They see a movie. Sie sehen einen Film.
In the evening, we visit a friend. Am Abend besuchen wir einen Freund.
Finally, let’s practice the accusative case some more. Remember that the article changes to den for
masculine nouns, but remains unchanged for feminine or neuter ones. Now you’ll hear a noun or phrase
in the nominative followed by its translation. Then you will have time to place it in a sentence with ich
sehe (I see), converting the noun or phrase into the accusative form. After a pause, you will hear the right
answer, which you should repeat for practice.
das Fenster Ich sehe das Fenster.
ein Tisch Ich sehe einen Tisch.
die Lampe Ich sehe die Lampe.
der Schrank Ich sehe den Schrank.
mein Vater Ich sehe meinen Vater.
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve finished another lesson, and you’re learning so much.
You have already learned to use two cases—the dative when it follows a preposition and the accusative for
the direct object. In the upcoming lessons, you will see some other ways of using these cases, and you will
also learn how to use case forms of personal pronouns. Until then, Auf Wiedersehen! Good-bye!
Lektion 6: In der stadt

Lesson 6: Around town
Herzlich Willkommen! Welcome again! You are already on Lesson 6. In this lesson, you will learn how to
ask for directions and talk about visiting a town. We will take a closer look at question words, and we will
also review the dative case. But let’s start with a few new words and expressions.
22
When? Wann?
Where? Wo?
How? Wie?
Why? Warum?
the city center die Innenstadt
the bus stop die Bushaltestelle
the street car die Straßenbahn
the bus goes der Bus fährt
the ticket die Fahrkarte
it costs es kostet
to buy kaufen
to shop einkaufen
TAKE A BREAK 1
You have already encountered some question words before, in questions like Wie heissen Sie? (What’s
your name?) or Wer ist das? (Who is that?). All German question words start with a w, pronounced v.
They are placed at the beginning of the sentence and are followed by the verb and then the subject noun.
This is just like the structure of the English Where are you? in which the order is: first the question word,
placed at the beginning of the sentence, then the verb, and the subject last. In German, this same order is
found with all verbs, not just with to be, so you get Was siehst du? (What do you see?) and Was kostet
das? (What does it cost?). This reversed order of subject and verb also indicates a question when there is
no question word at all, as in Kommst du? (Are you coming?) or Möchtest du? (Would you like?). These
are questions that are usually answered with ja or nein. Now let’s look at some more words and phrases.
I’m looking for ich suche
from me von mir
with you (informal) mit dir
with you (formal) mit Ihnen
the post office die Post
23
to the post office zur Post
from the train station vom Bahnhof
the store das Geschäft
the department store das Kaufhaus
to the right rechts
to the left links
TAKE A BREAK 2
The word list that you just heard contained some new prepositions, mit (with), zu (to or towards), and
von (from). The last two prepositions have contracted forms: von, like in or an, contracts only with
the masculine and neuter articles, not with the feminine one. So you get vom Bahnhof (from the train
station), but von der Post (from the post office). By contrast, zu also contracts with the feminine article,
so to the post office is zur Post, not zu der Post. All four of these new prepositions require the following
noun or pronoun to take the dative case. You already know how to form the dative of a noun by changing
the form of the article or merging it with a preposition. However, the personal pronouns have special case
forms: the dative of ich is mir, the dative of du is dir, and that of formal Sie is Ihnen. The dative form of
er and es is ihm, and for sie it is ihr.
ONE MORE TIME
You can use the words and expressions that you just learned to ask for directions in a new city. Let’s
practice together. As usual you’ll hear the English first, then the German, and then you should repeat the
German for practice.
How do I get to the city center? Wie komme ich in die Innenstadt?
Take the street car. Fahren Sie doch mit der Straßenbahn.
How much is a ticket? Was kostet eine Fahrkarte?
Two euros twenty. Zwei Euro zwanzig.
When does the street car go? Wann fährt die Straßenbahn?
In five minutes. In fünf Minuten.
Where is the stop? Wo ist die Haltestelle?
Next to the post office. Neben der Post.
24
Now lets listen to a dialogue that highlights more of the structures and words from this lesson. Philipp
wants to go shopping, and he asks Paula to come along. Listen to the English sentence first, and then
you’ll hear the German sentence, which you should repeat for practice in the pause provided.
Would you like to go shopping with me? Möchtest du mit mir einkaufen gehen?
Yes, I would like to come with you. Ja, ich komme gerne mit dir.
Are we taking the bus? Fahren wir mit dem Bus?
No, I prefer to ride the street car. Nein, ich fahre lieber mit der Straßenbahn.
Why? Warum?
It goes straight to the city center. Sie fährt direkt zur Innenstadt.
So, what would you like to buy? Was möchtest du denn kaufen?
I’m looking for a book about music. Ich suche nach einem Buch über Musik.
And I would like to buy shoes. Und ich möchte gerne Schuhe kaufen.
Great, I know a good shoe store, next to the Super, ich kenne ein gutes Schuhgeschäft,
post office. neben der Post.
That wasn’t hard to understand, was it? Most of the words you knew already. Did you remember the verb
mögen (to like) from Lesson 3? You’ll hear and use these forms a lot: ich möchte, du möchtest, or Sie
möchten.
But there were also some new words in the dialogue. Did you notice denn in Was möchtest du denn
kaufen? (So, what would you like to buy?) It can often be translated as then, but here it’s kind of a filler
word best translated as so that indicates that Paula is asking for additional information—she already knows
that Philipp wants to buy something. German speakers use a lot of filler words like that. It’s best to learn
them as part of expressions.
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a phrase in English, and you
should translate it into German. You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause. Repeat the phrases for
practice.
next to me neben mir
with us mit uns
from you (informal) von dir
25
towards him zu ihm
next to the train station neben dem Bahnhof
Now do the opposite, translating the phrase from German into English. You’ll have some time to come up
with the English translation before you hear the correct answer.
Es ist links neben dir. It’s next to you, on your left.
Ich fahre mit dem Bus. I take the bus.
Wo ist die Straßenbahn-Haltestelle? Where is the street car stop?
Wir gehen vom Bahnhof zur Post. We walk from the train station to the post office.
Wann möchtest du einkaufen gehen? When do you want to go shopping?
Finally, turn the following German sentences into questions using the question word suggested in English.
You’ll have time to think of the German questions before hearing the right answers, which you should
repeat for more practice.
Am nachmittag gehst du zur Post. (when?) Wann gehst du zur Post?
In der Stadt ist ein Buchladen. (where?) Wo ist ein Buchladen?
Ich kaufe ein Buch. (what?) Was kaufe ich?
Wir fahren mit dem Bus. (how?) Wie fahren wir?
Eine Fahrkarte kostet einen Euro. (what?) Was kostet eine Fahrkarte?
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve finished another lesson, and you’ve learned how to
ask many different kinds of questions. Of course, if you go shopping for clothes and shoes, you may need
to ask about die Größe (the size) of an item. Or perhaps you will want to try something on—anprobieren,
especially if it is on sale, im Angebot. In most German cities, you can shop comfortably, as the city
centers have been largely closed off to traffic to create so-called Fußgängerzonen (pedestrian zones). These
have many shops, outdoor cafes and restaurants, and sometimes outdoor markets. Auf Wiedersehen!
Good-bye!
26
Lektion 7: Im restaurant
Lesson 7: At a restaurant
Willkommen! Welcome to Lesson 7. In this lesson, you will learn how to order at a restaurant. You’ll
learn to use the imperative to make requests, and you’ll also review the accusative case. So let’s get started
with some new words and phrases.
the menu die Speisekarte
the appetizer die Vorspeise
the main course das Hauptgericht
the dessert der Nachtisch
I would like to have . . . Ich hätte gerne . . .
you wish (formal) Sie wünschen
I recommend the salad. Ich empfehle den Salat.
the soup die Suppe
with rice mit Reis
without potatoes ohne Kartoffeln
for me für mich
TAKE A BREAK 1
Did you notice the word gerne? This is an adverb that you have already encountered in previous lessons.
Together with a verb, it indicates that an activity is liked. So ich hätte gerne is I’d like to have, ich
esse gerne is I like to eat, and ich trinke gerne is I like to drink. If you want to add a noun to such an
expression with gerne, it has to be in the accusative case. You already know how to form the accusative of
nouns. But with personal pronouns, there are some special forms that you need to know. For instance, ich
and du have the accusative forms mich and dich, and er becomes ihn in the accusative. Not all pronouns
change their form, though. The accusative of Sie is also Sie, and that’s true for all three meanings of
sie/Sie. The accusative pronoun forms are used not only when the pronoun is the direct object of the
sentence, but also after certain prepositions that take the accusative. They include über (about), which
you learned in Lesson 6, as well as für (for) and ohne (without). Now let’s listen to some more words and
expressions.
27
He drinks coffee. Er trinkt Kaffee.
Have the cutlet. (informal) Nimm das Schnitzel.
Bring a beer. (informal) Bringen Sie ein Bier.
a glass of white wine ein Glas Weißwein
the chicken das Hühnchen
the meat das Fleisch
fresh fish frischer Fisch
the vegetables das Gemüse
the cake der Kuchen
the mineral water das Mineralwasser
TAKE A BREAK 2
When you ask another person to do something for you, such as when you order at a restaurant, you often
need to use an imperative form of the verb. This is another aspect of grammar where you have to make a
distinction between the formal Sie and the informal du, depending on whom you’re talking to. With the
Sie form, the imperative form is the same as the form of the verb in the present tense, except that the verb
comes first. So, to say Give me to someone you would address with Sie, use Geben Sie mir. By contrast,
there is a special imperative form for the informal du. It is like the du form of the verb in the present
tense, but without the -st or -t ending. So the imperative that corresponds to du gibst (you give) is gib
(give); similarly, it’s nimm (take) for du nimmst (you take), bring (bring) for du bringst (you bring), and
so on.
ONE MORE TIME
Now, let’s practice what you just learned by listening to a dialogue. Imagine that you’re at a restaurant,
talking to a server. You’ll hear English sentences first and then the German translations, which you should
repeat for practice.
Hello, what would you like? Guten Tag, was hätten Sie gerne?
As an appetizer, I’d like a salad. Zur Vorspeise hätte ich gerne einen Salat.
And what would you like for your main course? Und was wünschen Sie zum Hauptgericht?
Can you recommend something to me? Können Sie mir etwas empfehlen?
28
Today we have fresh fish with rice. Heute haben wir frischen Fisch mit Reis.
Thanks, but I would like to eat meat. Danke, aber ich möchte gerne Fleisch essen.
Then why don’t you have a cutlet? Dann nehmen Sie doch ein Schnitzel.
Yes, I would like to have that. Ja, das hätte ich gerne.
Now listen to a conversation that highlights the structures you have learned in this lesson and introduces
a bit more vocabulary. Philipp and Paula are going out for dinner, and they are discussing what they will
have. You’ll hear the English sentence first; then, listen to and repeat the German sentence.
What will you have, Philipp? Was nimmst du, Philipp?
As an appetizer, I’ll have a pea soup. Zur Vorspeise nehme ich eine Erbsensuppe.
And then I’d like chicken with rice. Und dann möchte ich ein Hühnchen mit Reis.
And for you, Paula? Und für dich, Paula?
I don’t know yet. Ich weiß noch nicht.
Please, give me the menu once more. Gib mir bitte noch einmal die Speisekarte.
Here you go. Bitte sehr.
Have the fish, why don’t you? Nimm doch den Fisch.
Yes, I like to eat fish. Ja, Fisch esse ich gerne.
Would you like to drink a glass of white wine? Möchtest du ein Glas Weißwein trinken?
Oh yes, and a bottle of mineral water. Au ja, und eine Flasche Mineralwasser.
Okay, you’re learning more and more vocabulary with each lesson. Did you notice that some phrases
included an extra word to indicate a quantity of food or drink, as in ein Stück Kuchen (a piece of cake)
or eine Flasche Mineralwasser (a bottle of mineral water)? Another point you may have noticed is that
imperatives very often come with an extra little word: When you make a request, you generally use the
word bitte (please) in it, as in Gib mir bitte die Speisekarte (Please give me the menu). If you use the
imperative to make a suggestion, it is common to add the word doch, which can be translated loosely as
why don’t you. In both cases, the extra word serves to make the request or suggestion sound less direct and
more polite.
29
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a sentence in German, and you
Gib mir bitte einen Apfel. Give me an apple, please.
Geben Sie ihr bitte die Speisekarte. Please give her the menu.
Für mich bitte ein Bier. For me a beer, please.
Nehmen Sie doch den Fisch. Have the fish, why don’t you?
Zum Nachtisch möchte ich ein Eis. I’d like ice cream for dessert.
This is for you. (informal) Das ist für dich.
I would like to have fish. Ich hätte gerne Fisch.
Have the salad, why don’t you. (informal) Nimm doch den Salat.
The cake is for me. Der Kuchen ist für mich.
She eats chicken with potatoes. Sie isst Hühnchen mit Kartoffeln.
Now let’s do a fill-in-the-blanks exercise. You’ll hear a German sentence that is incomplete because it is
missing the direct object. Then you’ll hear a word or phrase in English. Translate it into German and use
it as the direct object to finish the sentence. Remember to use the accusative case. You’ll have some time
before you hear the correct answer, which we suggest you repeat then for more practice.
Zur Vorspeise nehme ich . . . (the salad). Zur Vorspeise nehme ich den Salat.
Zum Hauptgericht esse ich . . . (cutlet with Zum Hauptgericht esse ich ein Schnitzel mit Gemüse
vegetables).
und ich trinke . . . (a glass of white wine). und ich trinke ein Glas Weisswein.
Zum Nachtisch esse ich . . . (a piece of cake) Zum Nachtisch esse ich ein Stück Kuchen
und ich trinke . . . (a cup of coffee). und ich trinke eine Tasse Kaffee.
PARTING WORDS
Danke! Thank you! You’re making great progress as you’re learning to use German in some real-life
situations that you might encounter when visiting Germany. Of course, there are a lot more food
30
terms that you may want to learn, such as Rindfleisch (beef ), Nudeln (noodles), or Obst (fruit). And
every German meal begins with a wish to your companions: Guten Appetit! Enjoy your meal! Auf
Wiedersehen in Lektion acht! See you in Lesson 8!
Lektion 8: Gegenstände beschreiben

Lesson 8: Describing things
Hallo! Hi! Welcome to Lesson 8! You’ll learn the words for colors, as well as other adjectives that you can
use to describe objects, such as items of clothing. We will also take a closer look at possessive pronouns
and demonstratives. Let’s begin with a few new words and phrases.
the color die Farbe
red rot
blue blau
green grün
brown braun
black schwarz
yellow gelb
the yellow shirt das gelbe Hemd
a large shirt ein großes Hemd
a small bag eine kleine Tasche
TAKE A BREAK 1
Now you’ve learned some words for colors, and you’ve seen how to use them with a noun. Like other
adjectives, their form depends on where in the sentence they are used. They can stand by themselves at
the end of the sentence, as in der Stuhl ist rot (the chair is red), or they can be placed between an article
and a noun, like in some of the examples you just heard. When the adjective stands by itself, it has no
ending. But when the adjective precedes the noun, the form of its ending depends on what kind of article
you use. After the definite article, the adjective ends in an -e for all three grammatical genders: der kleine
31
Mann (the small man), die kleine Frau (the small woman), das kleine Kind (the small child). With the
indefinite article, an adjective will have different endings for the masculine and neuter forms, namely, -r
(as in kleiner) and -s (as in kleines), while the feminine ending remains -e (as in kleine). So you get ein
kleiner Mann (a small man) and ein kleines Kind (a small child), but eine kleine Frau (a small woman).
In addition, adjectives also have different endings depending on the case of the noun, but we’ll learn more
about that later. First, let’s listen to some more words and expressions.
the skirt der Rock
the pants die Hose
the shoe der Schuh
the sweater der Pullover
your jacket deine Jacke
an old dress ein altes Kleid
the new dress das neue Kleid
this dress dieses Kleid
her dress ihr Kleid
his pants seine Hose
TAKE A BREAK 2
You’ve just learned some more words for items of clothing along with more adjectives to describe
them. Instead of using articles, you can also combine nouns with possessives like mein (my) and
demonstratives like dies (this). You already know about the pronoun mein (my) from previous lessons.
The corresponding forms for other persons are dein for du, sein for er, and ihr for sie/Sie, in all its
three meanings. When it comes to endings, mein, dein, and the other possessives behave a lot like the
indefinite article ein. They have the same gender and case endings, and they also have the same effect on
accompanying adjectives. So you get mein blauer Pullover (my blue sweater) and deine neue Tasche
(your new bag). By contrast, the demonstrative dieser (this) behaves more like the definite article der. It
has a different form for each gender—dieser, diese, dieses—while a following adjective always ends in -e.
So, this blue sweater is dieser blaue Pullover, and this blue shirt is dieses blaue Hemd.
ONE MORE TIME
Now let’s review what you have just learned about adjectives. The following advertisement for a yard sale
describes the items that are for sale. You’ll hear adjectives and nouns together, in the accusative case.
32
Note that those adjectives that precede masculine nouns have an accusative case ending in -n, while the
feminine and neuter forms are unchanged. You’ll hear the English first, and then the German, which you
should repeat for practice.
We sell a large table, Wir verkaufen einen grossen Tisch,
two black chairs, zwei schwarze Stühle,
a blue chair, einen blauen Stuhl,
a red lamp, eine rote Lampe,
a small radio, ein kleines Radio,
a green couch, eine grüne Couch,
a new TV, einen neuen Fernseher,
and an old wardrobe. und einen alten Schrank.
Now let’s listen to a dialogue that highlights more of the structures and words from this lesson. Paula and
Philipp are going to a party. They are talking about what to wear.
Listen to the English sentence first, and then you’ll hear the German sentence repeated.
Would you like to borrow a dress from my sister? Möchtest du ein Kleid von meiner Schwester leihen?
Yes, I’d like to; what color is it? Ja gerne, welche Farbe hat es?
It is brown, with a yellow pattern. Es ist braun, mit einem gelben Muster.
That’s a beautiful dress. Das ist ein schönes Kleid.
But maybe it is too small for me. Aber vielleicht ist es mir zu klein.
I believe it is the right size. Ich glaube es hat die richtige Größe.
Yes, you’re right. Ja, du hast recht.
It goes well with your new shoes. Es passt gut zu deinen neuen Schuhen.
And what are you going to wear? Und was ziehst du an?
I will wear white pants and a shirt. Ich werde eine weiße Hose anziehen und dazu ein
Hemd.
Did you notice the question word welche in welche Farbe (which color)? It’s grammatically parallel to
the demonstrative dies, in that it has three different gender forms: welcher, welche, and welches. There
33
were also a few new words in this dialogue, including the verbs anziehen (to dress, to wear) and leihen (to
borrow). By the way, to lend is verleihen—the meaning of leihen is reversed just by adding the prefix ver-.
WORK OUT
Okay, now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a phrase in German, and then you
mein rotes Radio my red radio
eine neue Tasche a new bag
dieser blaue Pullover this blue sweater
die weisse Hose the white pants
eine schwarze Jacke a black jacket
Great! Now do the opposite; translate the phrase from English into German to practice the forms of
possessives and adjectives. After a pause, you’ll hear the right answer, which you should repeat for
practice.
your red dress (informal) dein rotes Kleid
my blue jacket meine blaue Jacke
his blue shirt sein blaues Hemd
the black skirt der schwarze Rock
this new bag diese neue Tasche
Finally, change the following sentences in German. First, you’ll hear a German sentence with an adjective
at the end, followed by its English translation. Then, try to move the adjective before the noun, but
remember to adjust the ending according to the article and the gender of the noun. For example, if you
hear diese Tasche ist neu (this bag is new), change it to diese neue Tasche (this new bag). You’ll have
some time to think before hearing the right answer, which you should then repeat for practice.
Die Wohnung ist groß. (The apartment die große Wohnung

is big.)
Der Tisch ist groß. (The table is big.) der große Tisch
Mein Fernseher ist neu. (My TV is new.) mein neuer Fernseher
Dieser Fernseher ist neu. (This TV is new.) dieser neue Fernseher
Deine Lampe ist alt. (Your lamp is old.) deine alte Lampe
34
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! This was a difficult lesson, but you’ve done remarkably
well. The adjective endings are a complicated topic; maybe you’ll want to practice some more with other
adjectives, like lila (violet) and rosa (pink), or kalt (cold) and heiss (hot). And you can also use more
words for clothing, like der Hut (the hat) or der Schal (the scarf ). Auf Wiedersehen! See you in
Lesson 9.
Lektion 9: Bei der arbeit

Lesson 9: At work
Willkommen zu Lektion neun! Welcome to Lesson 9! In this lesson, you’ll learn how to tell time and how
to talk about events in the past tense. You’ll also learn new vocabulary related to work and professions.
Let’s start with some new phrases.
I worked. Ich habe gearbeitet.
I phoned. Ich habe telefoniert.
He drove. Er ist gefahren.
I studied law. Ich habe Jura studiert.
to run a business ein Geschäft leiten
He ran the company. Er hat die Firma geleitet.
at one o’clock um ein Uhr
half past three halb vier
quarter to nine viertel vor neun
quarter past eight viertel nach acht
TAKE A BREAK 1
So now you know how to tell time in German. Just be careful not to confuse the meaning of forms like
halb acht: it means half past seven, not half past eight. It’s like saying you’re halfway to eight o’clock.
35
German has several ways of expressing the past tense. In spoken language, the most common form
involves the use of a participle, together with a helping verb, either sein (to be) or haben (to have). Most
verbs take haben, but verbs of motion take sein, as in ich bin gefahren (I drove). There are different ways
of forming the participle, both usually involving two elements: the prefix ge- and an ending, either -t or
-en. So the participle of leiten is geleitet, arbeiten becomes gearbeitet, and fahren becomes gefahren.
Unlike in English, the participle is usually placed at the end of the sentence, even though the helping verb
is near the beginning. So you sometimes have a lot of other words in between them. For example, if you
want to say that you went by bus, the phrase mit dem Bus goes in between the two parts of the past
tense: Ich bin mit dem Bus gefahren (I went by bus). Now let’s look at a few more words and phrases.
the lawyer (male) der Anwalt
the lawyer (female) die Anwältin
the teacher (male) der Lehrer
the architect (female) die Architektin
the baker (male) der Bäcker
He was a doctor. Er war Arzt.
Monday Montag
Tuesday Dienstag
Wednesday Mittwoch
Thursday Donnerstag
Friday Freitag
Saturday Samstag
Sunday Sonntag
TAKE A BREAK 2
So now you’ve also learned the names for the days of the week. Many are similar to their English
counterparts, except for Wednesday: Mittwoch comes from the two words Mitte (middle) and Woche
(week), so literally, it’s the day in the middle of the week.
You also learned some names of professions, which are different for men and women. First, you’ll use
either a masculine or a feminine article, depending on the gender of the person. And if you are talking
about a woman, you also have to add the ending -in to the masculine form; for example, der Architekt
36
becomes die Architektin. When talking about both men and women, the two forms are usually used
together. So job ads often ask for Lehrer oder Lehrerin (male teacher or female teacher).
ONE MORE TIME
Now let’s review some of the new grammar and vocabulary. Philipp is telling us about the professions
of his family members. You’ll hear the English first, and then the German, which you should repeat for
practice.
My sister studied law. Meine Schwester hat Jura studiert.
Now she’s a lawyer. Jetzt ist sie Anwältin.
My brother is an architect. Mein Bruder ist Architekt.
My parents are retired. Meine Eltern sind pensioniert.
My mother was a teacher. Meine Mutter war Lehrerin.
My father worked for the postal service. Mein Vater hat bei der Post gearbeitet.
My grandfather was a baker. Mein Großvater war Bäcker.
My grandmother ran the store. Meine Großmutter hat den Laden geleitet.
Now let’s listen to a dialogue that highlights more of the structures and phrases from this lesson. Listen
to Paula asking Philipp about his day at work. Listen to the English sentence first, and then you’ll hear the
German sentence, which you should repeat for practice.
What did you do today? Was hast du heute gemacht?
I worked in the office. Ich habe im Büro gearbeitet.
I drove to work at nine. Um neun bin ich zur Arbeit gefahren.
At half past ten I talked on the phone with a Um halb elf habe ich mit einem Kunden telefoniert.
client.
At quarter to one I had lunch with a colleague. Um Viertel vor eins habe ich mit einer Kollegin zu
Mittag gegessen.
Then we had a meeting, as we do every Dann haben wir eine Besprechung gehabt, wie jeden
Thursday. Donnerstag.
And at five o’clock, I went home. Und um fünf Uhr bin ich nach Hause gefahren.
Do you work in the office every day? Arbeitest du jeden Tag im Büro?
37
No, on Monday I went to Cologne on a Nein, am Montag war ich auf Geschäftsreise in Köln.
business trip.
You’re learning more and more vocabulary with each lesson. Let’s sum up the new words used in the
comprehension piece above. There were a number of words that relate to working in an office (im Büro):
you talk to colleagues (Kollegen) or clients (Kunden), and you may have a meeting (eine Besprechung)
or go on a business trip (eine Geschäftsreise).
WORK OUT
Now let’s practice some of the new vocabulary and grammar that you’ve learned in this lesson. As usual,
we’ll start with translations. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you should translate it into English.
You’ll hear the correct answer after a pause.
die Architektin the architect (female)
der Arzt the doctor (male)
Du bist nach Berlin gefahren. You drove to Berlin.
Er hat im Büro gearbeitet. He worked at the office.
am Sonntag on Sunday
half past six halb sieben
on Friday am Freitag
He worked with me. Er hat mit mir gearbeitet.
the baker (male) der Bäcker
the teacher (female) die Lehrerin
Finally, change the following sentences in German from present to past tense. You’ll hear the present
tense form first, along with the participle. Then you will have time to answer before you hear the correct
form, which you should repeat for practice. All forms take haben as the helping verb.
Ich gebe Dir ein Buch. (gegeben) Ich habe Dir ein Buch gegeben.
Du liest die Zeitung. (gelesen) Du hast die Zeitung gelesen.
Es kostet zwei Euro. (gekostet) Es hat zwei Euro gekostet.
38
Wir sehen einen Film. (gesehen) Wir haben einen Film gesehen.
Sie hört Musik. (gehört) Sie hat Musik gehört.
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You have completed another lesson. Of course, there are
many other names of professions. If you learn a Handwerk (trade or manual labor), you might become
a butcher (ein Metzger), an electrician (ein Elektriker) or a carpenter (ein Tischler). Other professions
may require a university degree, such as a Zahnarzt (dentist), Wissenschaftler (scientist), Buchhalter
(accountant), or Journalist (journalist). Auf Wiedersehen! See you in Lesson 10.
Lektion 10: Beschäftigungen und unterhaltung

Lesson 10: Socializing and entertainment
Willkommen! Welcome to the tenth and final lesson. You’ve done a great job and learned a lot of basic
German. In this lesson, you’ll learn about expressing likes and dislikes, as well as about the comparative
and superlative forms of adjectives. You’ll also learn words that relate to sports and entertainment. Let’s
get started right away.
the entertainment die Unterhaltung
the people die Leute
the viewers die Zuschauer
We play cards. Wir spielen Karten.
the sport die Sportart
Soccer Fussball
the bike das Rad
to swim schwimmen
not nicht
I like it. Das gefällt mir.
39
I don’t like it. Das gefällt mir nicht.
no work keine Arbeit
TAKE A BREAK 1
There are two main ways to express negation in German—either on the verb or on the noun. With nouns,
the negative adjective kein is used. It has case and gender endings just like the article ein, so no man is
kein Mann, while no woman is keine Frau. With verbs, you use the word nicht to express negation. It’s
often placed at the end of the sentence, except in the past tense, where it’s placed before the participle.
Did you also notice the expression Es gefällt mir (I like it)? Literally, it means it pleases me, so the person
who likes something is in the dative case, while the thing being liked is the subject. We’ll practice later,
but first, we’ll look at some other ways of expressing likes and dislikes.
popular beliebt
rather lieber
few wenige
fewer than weniger als
I like it better. Es gefällt mir besser.
He swims best. Er schwimmt am besten.
many viele
more mehr
the most am meisten
other people andere Leute
TAKE A BREAK 2
When you want to say that you like or dislike something, you often need to compare it with something
else. You can form the comparative of adjectives by adding an -er ending, and the ending -ste or -sten
gives you the superlative. Like other adjective forms, the comparative and superlative adjectives can stand
before a noun or at the end of a sentence: das kleinere Kind (the smaller child), or Das Mädchen ist am
kleinsten (The girl is the smallest). When the comparative is used independently rather than with a noun,
it is often combined with the word als, which sets up the comparison. For example, Ich bin kleiner als
du (I’m smaller than you). Note also that some important adjectives have irregular comparative forms.
40
Besser and am besten go with gut, and mehr and am meisten go with viel. And the adverb gern has
the comparative form lieber.
ONE MORE TIME
Let’s practice these forms and listen to a short text about home entertainment in Germany. You’ll hear the
English first, and then the German, which you should repeat for practice.
What do people in Germany do for Was machen die Leute in Deutschland am Abend zur
entertainment in the evening? Unterhaltung?
Many people like to play cards. Viele Leute spielen gerne Karten.
The most popular card game is called Skat. Das beliebteste Kartenspiel heißt Skat.
Many people also like to watch sports on TV. Viele Leute sehen auch gerne Sport im Fernsehen.
Soccer is the most popular. Fussball ist am beliebtesten.
It always has the most viewers. Es hat immer die meisten Zuschauer.
Tennis has fewer viewers than soccer. Tennis hat weniger Zuschauer als Fussball.
But it has more viewers than many other sports. Aber es hat mehr Zuschauer als viele andere
Sportarten.
Now lets bring it all together and listen to a dialogue that highlights more of the structures and phrases
from this lesson. Paula and Philipp are making plans for the day. Listen to the English sentence first, and
then listen to and repeat the German sentence.
Do you feel like going swimming today? Hast du Lust heute schwimmen zu gehen?
No, I don’t feel like it. Nein, dazu habe ich keine Lust.
Don’t you like to swim? Schwimmst du nicht gerne?
No, I’d rather play tennis. Nein, ich spiele lieber Tennis.
And I like bike riding best. Und am liebsten fahre ich Rad.
I like that, too. Das gefällt mir auch.
Let’s do a bike tour then. Dann lass uns doch eine Radtour machen.
Oh yes, and we can have a picnic along the Au ja, und unterwegs können wir ein Picknick
way. machen.
41
Do you think Tim wants to come, too? Meinst du Tim will auch mitkommen?
No, he plays soccer today. Nein, er spielt heute Fussball.
He likes that better. Das gefällt ihm besser.
Could you follow the conversation? It included several ways of expressing likes and dislikes, including a
very common idiom, zu etwas Lust haben (to feel like doing something). You see that it gets negated with
the word kein: Ich habe Lust (I feel like it) becomes Ich habe keine Lust (I don’t feel like it). There were
only a few new words in the dialogue, and most of them are very similar to their English counterparts, like
Tennis and Picknick. The verb meinen is to mean in English, except that here, Meinst du? is used to
mean Do you think? And eine Radtour is of course a bike tour—in German, you can often just stick two
nouns together to form a new one.
WORK OUT
Great! Now let’s practice some of what you’ve learned. First, you’ll hear a word in German, and you
die besten Tomaten the best tomatoes
der schönste Tag the nicest day
das Kind ist kleiner the child is smaller
der Salat ist am frischesten the salad is the freshest
der neuere Film the newer film
no viewers keine Zuschauer
more people mehr Leute
fewer potatoes weniger Kartoffeln
most popular am beliebtesten
more popular than tennis beliebter als Tennis
Finally, give negative answers to the following questions in German. You’ll hear the question first, and
then you will have time to answer before you hear the correct answers, which you should repeat for
practice. Begin your answer with nein (no).
42
Hast du einen Bruder? Nein, ich habe keinen Bruder.
Möchtest du schwimmen? Nein, ich möchte nicht schwimmen.
Hast du gearbeitet? Nein, ich habe nicht gearbeitet.
Hast du Lust? Nein, ich habe keine Lust.
Gefällt dir Tennis? Nein, Tennis gefällt mir nicht.
PARTING WORDS
Herzlichen Glückwunsch! Congratulations! You’ve done a great job in this course and have just
completed its tenth and final lesson. You’ve learned a lot of practical vocabulary and useful basic grammar,
which now you are all ready to put to use. Auf Wiedersehen! Alles Gute! Good-bye! All the best!
43
Willkommen! Welcome! Here’s your chance to practice all the vocabulary and grammar you’ve mastered
in ten lessons of Starting Out In German with these five everyday dialogues.
You’ll hear the dialogue first in German at a conversational pace. Listen carefully for meaning. Can you
get the gist of the conversation? Next, you’ll hear each sentence individually, first in German and then
in English. This should help fill in any gaps in understanding you had the first time. Then, you’ll have a
chance to listen to each sentence of the dialogue again and repeat it for practice. Finally, you’ll do some
role-play by taking part in the same conversation. You’ll first hear the native speaker say a line from the
dialogue, then you’ll respond appropriately in the pause provided. Have fun!
DIALOGUE 1: TREFFEN MIT DER FAMILIE (MEETING THE FAMILY )
Paula: Ich bin Paula. Wie heißt du?

I’m Paula. What’s your name?
Stephan: Hallo Paula, ich bin Stephan.

Hi, Paula! I’m Stephan.
Philipp ist mein Bruder.

Philipp is my brother.
Paula: Hallo, Stephan. Wie geht es dir?

Hi, Stephan. How are you?
Stephan: Sehr gut, danke. Und wie geht es dir?

Very well, thank you. And how are you?
Paula: Auch sehr gut, danke.

Very well, also. Thank you.
Stephan: Du sprichst aber gut Deutsch.

But you speak German well.
Paula: Danke, aber ich spreche nur ein bisschen.

Thanks, but I speak only a little.
Stephan: Willkommen in Frankfurt, Paula.

Welcome to Frankfurt, Paula.
Paula: Danke sehr. Es ist schön hier.

Thank you. It’s nice here.
Stephan: Und wo kommst du her?

And where are you from?
Paula: Ich komme aus Philadelphia.

I’m from Philadelphia.
44
Ich bin zu Besuch in Deutschland.
I’m in Germany for a visit.
Stephan: Philadelphia ist sehr schön, finde ich.

Philadelphia is very nice, I find.
Paula: Das finde ich auch.

I think so, too.
DIALOGUE 2: ZUHAUSE BEI PHILIPPS ELTERN (PHILIPP’S PARENTS’ HOUSE )
Philipp: Hier wohnen meine Eltern.

Here is where my parents live.
Paula: Das ist aber ein schönes Haus, Philipp.

That’s really a nice house, Philipp.
Philipp: Hier ist das Wohnzimmer.

Here is the living room.
Paula: Da sind aber viele Familienfotos.

There are many family photographs there.
Philipp: Ja, es sind vielleicht dreissig Fotos.

Yes, there are maybe thirty photographs.
Paula: Wer ist das?

Who is that?
Philipp: Das sind meine drei Tanten.

Those are my three aunts.
Sie wohnen in Berlin.

They live in Berlin.
Paula: Und wer ist das?

And who is that?
Philipp: Das ist mein Cousin.

That’s my (male) cousin.
Er wohnt in London.
He lives in London.
Paula: Wirklich? Meine Cousine wohnt auch in London.

Really? My (female) cousin lives in London, too.
Philipp: Hier ist auch ein Balkon.

There’s also a balcony here.
45
Auf dem Balkon ist ein Tisch.
There’s a table on the balcony.
Paula: Das ist schön.

That’s nice.
Philipp: Im Garten ist auch ein Tisch.

There’s also a table in the garden.
Und da sind vier Stühle.

And there are four chairs there.
Paula: Entschuldige, aber wo finde ich das Bad?

Excuse me, but where do I find the bathroom?
Philipp: Es ist neben der Küche.

It’s next to the kitchen.
Paula: Danke.
Thanks.
DIALOGUE 3: IM SCHUHGESCHÄFT (AT THE SHOE STORE )
Verkäufer: Guten Tag. Kann ich Ihnen helfen?

Hello. Can I help you?
Paula: Ja, ich würde gerne ein Paar Schuhe kaufen.

Yes, I would like to buy a pair of shoes.
Verkäufer: Da ist ein schönes Paar im Fenster.

There is a nice pair in the window.
Paula: Ja, die möchte ich gerne anprobieren.

Yes, I’d like to try those.
Verkäufer: Welche Größe haben Sie?

Which size do you have?
Paula: Ich habe Größe vierzig.

I have size forty.
Verkäufer: Einen Moment bitte, ich gehe sie suchen. ( . . . )

One moment please; I’ll go and look for them. ( . . . )
Bitte sehr, hier sind die Schuhe in Größe vierzig.

Here you go; here are the shoes in size forty.
Paula: Danke sehr, ich werde sie anprobieren.

Thank you; I will try them on.
46
Verkäufer: Passen sie Ihnen?
Do they fit?
Paula: Ja, sie passen gut.

Yes, they fit well.
Verkäufer: Das sehe ich.

I can see.
Paula: Ich möchte sie gerne kaufen.

I would like to buy them.
Was kosten sie?

How much are they?
Verkäufer: Sie kosten hundertzwanzig Euro.

They cost one hundred twenty euros.
Paula: Bitte sehr.

Here you go.
Verkäufer: Danke sehr.

Thank you very much.
Paula: Auf Wiedersehen.

Good-bye.
DIALOGUE 4: IM GEMÜSELADEN (AT THE GROCERY STORE )
Verkäuferin: Möchten Sie Bananen kaufen?

Would you like to buy bananas?
Philipp: Nein, diese Bananen sind noch etwas grün.

No, these bananas are still a bit green.
Verkäuferin: Hier sind rote Äpfel.

Here are red apples.
Philipp: Ja, die möchte ich kaufen.

Yes, I want to buy those.
Verkäuferin: Was brauchen Sie sonst noch?

What else do you need?
Philipp: Vielleicht etwas frischen Salat.

Maybe some fresh salad.
Verkäuferin: Hier ist Salat, und da sind auch Tomaten.

Here is salad, and there are tomatoes too.
47
Philipp: Au ja, ich nehme ein Pfund Tomaten.
Oh yes, I’ll take a pound of tomatoes.
Und dann möchte ich noch Kartoffeln kaufen.

And then I want to buy some potatoes, too.
Verkäuferin: Nehmen Sie doch diese kleinen Kartoffeln.

Take these small potatoes.
Ein Pfund kostet nur ein Euro.

One pound costs only one euro.
Philipp: Danke, die nehme ich gerne.

Thanks, I’ll take those gladly.
Verkäuferin: Möchten Sie sonst noch etwas?

Would you like anything else?
Philipp: Nein, das ist alles.

No, that’s everything.
Verkäuferin: Das macht acht Euro fünfzig.

That’s eight euros and fifty cents.
DIALOGUE 5: AUSGEHEN (GOING OUT )
Stephan: Was hast du gestern Abend gemacht?

What did you do last night?
Paula: Ich war mit meinem Freund im Kino.

I went to the movies with my boyfriend.
Und danach haben wir Eis gegessen.

And afterwards, we ate ice cream.
Stephan: Was für einen Film habt ihr gesehen?

Which movie did you see?
Paula: Wir haben einen alten Film von Hitchcock gesehen.

We saw an old movie by Hitchcock.
Das Kino macht eine Retrospektive mit den besten Filmen aus den Fünfzigern.
The theater has a retrospective with the best movies from the fifties.
Stephan: Das gefällt mir auch.

I like that, too.
Vielleicht können wir Morgen zusammen einen anderen Film sehen.

Maybe tomorrow we can see another movie together.
48
Paula: Au ja, das mache ich gerne.
Oh yes, I’d like to do that.
Und was hast du gestern gemacht?

And what did you do yesterday?
Stephan: Ich habe Karten mit Freunden gespielt.

I played cards with friends.
Paula: Dazu hätte ich auch Lust gehabt.

I would have enjoyed that, too.
Stephan: Ja, es hat Spaß gemacht.

Yes, it was fun.
Wir waren in einer Kneipe und haben viel Wein getrunken.

We were in a pub and drank a lot of wine.
Paula: Wer hat gewonnen?

Who won?
Stephan: Ich habe gewonnen, dabei haben die anderen besser gespielt als ich.
I won, even though the others played better than I did.
Paula: Und wer hat am meisten Wein getrunken?

And who drank the most wine?
Stephan: Das weiß ich nicht mehr!

That, I don’t know anymore!
You’ve come to the end of Starting Out In German; we hope you’ve enjoyed your experience and plan to
take your study of German even further. For more information on other Living Language German courses,
visit www.livinglanguage.com.
Starting Out In German. Copyright © 2008, Living Language, A Random House Company.
49
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STA RT I N G O U T I N

Lektion 1: Wichtige ausdrücke

Hello./Good day. Guten Tag.

Good morning. Guten Morgen.

Good evening. Guten Abend.

How are you? Wie geht’s?

Very well. Sehr gut.

Thank you. Danke.

Goodbye. Auf Wiedersehen.

See you soon. Bis bald.

Take care. Mach’s gut.

Do you speak German? Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

A little bit. Ein bisschen.

What’s your name? Wie heissen Sie?

My name is . . . Ich heisse . . .

Where are you from? Wo kommen Sie her?

I’m from Canada. Ich komme aus Kanada.

It’s nice here. Es ist schön hier.

ONE MORE TIME

Hello! Guten Tag!

My name is . . . Ich heisse . . .

I’m from . . . Ich komme aus . . .

It’s nice here. Es ist schön hier.

What’s your name? Wie heissen Sie?

How are you? Wie geht’s?

And where are you from? Und wo kommen Sie her?

Do you speak English? Sprechen Sie Englisch?

Good-bye. Auf Wiedersehen.

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

Hello!/Good day! Guten Tag!

How are you? Wie geht’s?

Very well, thanks. Danke, sehr gut.

My name is Philipp. Ich heisse Philipp.

And what’s your name? Und wie heissen Sie?

My name is Paula. Ich heisse Paula.

Where are you from? Wo kommen Sie her?

I’m from Philadelphia. Ich komme aus Philadelphia.

Welcome to Frankfurt. Willkommen in Frankfurt.

It’s nice here. Es ist schön hier.

I think so, too. Das ﬁnde ich auch.

See you soon then. Also, bis bald.

sehr gut very good

ein bisschen a little

Guten Morgen. Good morning.

Guten Abend. Good evening.

How are you? Wie geht’s?

My name is . . . Ich heisse . . .

Wie geht’s? Danke, sehr gut.

Wo kommen Sie her? Ich komme aus Amerika.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Ich spreche ein bisschen.

Auf Wiedersehen bis zu Lektion 2! Good-bye until Lesson 2!

the family die Familie

the parents die Eltern

the mother die Mutter

the father der Vater

the child das Kind

the son der Sohn

the daughter die Tochter

the brother der Bruder