Superwörter--I

DAMIT, SO DASS, UM...ZU

1a. The da-compound damit means "with it" or "with that."

Magst du den SPAM? Ich wollte dir damit eine Freude machen.
Do you like the SPAM? I wanted to make you happy with it.

Der neue Porsche hat einen Kernkraftmotor. Damit kommt er in 0,1 Sekunden von 0 auf 100 km/h.
The new Porsche has a nuclear powered engine. With it, it goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 0.1 seconds.

Note that for the relative pronoun "with which," you cannot use damit:

Eli Whitney hat eine Maschine erfunden, mit der damit man Baumwollfasern von den Samen trennen kann.
Eli Whitney invented a machine with which one can separate cotton fibers from seeds.

Der neue Porsche hat einen Kernkraftmotor, mit dem damit er in 0,1 Sekunden von 0 auf 100 km/h kommt.
The new Porsche has a nuclear powered engine with which it goes from 0 to 100 km/h in 0.1 seconds.

If it is associated with a prepositional verb, damit can function as an anticipatory da-compound. In this case, it would usually be redundant in the
English translation:

Ich bin damit zufrieden, daß der 1. FC Köln mehr als die Hälfte seiner Spiele gewonnen hat.
I am satisfied (with it) that 1. FC Köln won more than half of its games.

1b. The subordinating conjunctiondamit means "so that." It stands at the beginning of the clause, and the conjugated verb comes at the end:

Fledermäuse benutzen Ultraschall, damit sie nicht in die Wände ihrer Höhlen fliegen.
Bats use ultrasound so that they don't fly into the walls of their caves.

2. Um...zu also means "so that," but it is more natural to translate it as "in order to." It can only be used if both clauses have the same subject:

Ich esse Spinat, um stark zu werden./Ich esse Spinat, damit ich stark werde.
I eat spinach in order to become strong/I eat spinach so that I will become strong.

Du isst Spinat, damit ich glücklich bin. (Cannot use um...zu here. Could you use it in example (1b) above?)
You eat spinach, so that I will be happy.

The English equivalent is often simply "to":

Ich bin intelligent genug, um Barney zu hassen.

I am intelligent enough to hate Barney.

3. So dass also means "so that," but unlike damit and um...zu, it emphasizes the result of the action, not the purpose. Compare:

Das Quiz war verwirrend, so dass

Das Quiz war verwirrend, damit die
die Studenten schlechte Noten
Studenten schlechte Noten bekamen.
bekamen.
The quiz was confusing, so that This would mean that the teacher
[as a result] students got bad intentionally made the quiz confusing
grades. [The teacher probably did so that the students would get bad
not intend for this to happen] grades. Teachers aren't that evil ]
Yao Ming ist 2,26 groß, so dass Yao Ming ist 2,26 groß, damit er
er selten übersehen wird. selten übersehen wird.
Yao Ming is 2.26 m tall, so that
This would mean Yao Ming chose to be
[as a result] he is rarely
so tall, in order not to be overlooked.
overlooked.

UM

1. Um...zu means "in order to"--see above.

2. Um can mean "at" with reference to a certain time "of the clock" (o'clock):

Die Nachrichten sind um 8 Uhr.

3. Um can mean "around" both in the literal sense (in this sense it is often used together with herum) and occasionally in the sense of
"approximately" or "about" (in this sense it is often used with "die" for plural quantities, especially with prices and times).

Wir fahren um Ulm herum.

We’re driving around Ulm (Could mean we are avoiding Ulm, or that we are driving around in Ulm).

Wir treffen uns um die 4 Uhr.

We’re meeting at around 4 o’clock. [here, die must be used to indicate approximate, rather than precise, time]

Ich gehe um die Ecke.

I’m going around the corner.

Die Temperatur war um 8 Grad. [here, die is optional]

The temperature was around 8 degrees.

4. Es geht um... means "It is about" (as in "topic" or "what’s at stake"). Es handelt sich um is similar. Both must be used with "es" as the
subject: "Der Artikel geht um..." is wrong.

Es geht um Leben oder Tod./Es handelt sich um Leben und Tod.

It is a matter of (about) life or death

In dem Artikel geht es um Evolution.

The article is about evolution.
[Do not use handelt es sich um to say what an article is about. You can, however, say "Der Artikel handelt von Evolution."].

5. Um can mean "by" when changes in a quantity are being indicated:

Wenn wir das Volumen eines Gases um 10% senken und die Temperatur konstant halten, steigt der Druck um 10%.
If we reduce the volume of a gas by 10% and keep the temperature constant, the pressure rises by 10%.

6. Je ..., um so... means "the...the" with comparisons. Je...je and je...desto are similar. Note the verb position: the conjugated verb comes in
final position in the "je" clause, and in position two in the "um so" (or "je" or "desto") clause (in the latter clause, "um so" (or "je" or "desto")
occupies position zero).

Je mehr deutsch ich lerne, um so glücklicher werde ich.

The more German I learn, the happier I become.

7. Certain prepositional verbs take the preposition um, in which case the translation will vary. Some common examples:
sich
bemühen to concern oneself with
um
sich
bewerben to apply for
um
bitten um to ask for
kämpfen um to fight for something [in order to obtain it]
sich
to concern oneself with someone/something [devoting
kümmern
attention, taking care of]
um
sich sorgen
to worry about
um
sich streiten
to argue about something [in order to obtain it]
um

NACH/LAUT/GEMÄSS/ZUFOLGE/SO

In addition to their other meanings, these can all mean "according to."

Position before or after Pronoun

Case used
source sources?
nach dative before or after yes
dative (rarely
laut before no
genitive)
always after pronouns, mostly
gemäß dative yes
after nouns
zufolge dative after yes
so nominative before no

Nach/laut/gemäß/zufolge dem Artikel ist die Erde flach [=flat]

According to the article, the earth is flat

Nach/laut/gemäß/zufolge ihm/ihr ist die Erde flach

According to him/her, the earth is flat

Dem Artikel nach/laut/gemäß/zufolge ist die Erde flach

According to the article, the earth is flat

Ihm/ihr nach/laut/gemäß/zufolge ist die Erde flach

According to him/her, the earth is flat

Nach ihr/Ihr gemäß/Ihr zufolge kam das Huhn vor dem Ei.
According to her, the chicken came before the egg.

Whereas nach/laut/gemäß/zufolge state the source before stating the opinion/fact derived from the source, so states the source afterwards.
So sometimes implies a little more doubt.

Die Erde ist rechteckig [rectangular], so der Artikel.

Das Baby hatte den Kopf von Elvis, so die BILD-Zeitung

JENER/DIESER; ERSTERER/LETZTERER

These both mean "the former/the latter" in that order. Jener and dieser are der-words ==> they follow the same pattern of endings as
der/die/das; ersterer and letzterer are adjectives ==> they take adjective endings.

Gottlieb Daimler und Carl Benz

waren Pioniere der
Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz were
Autoindustrie: jener/ersterer
pioneers of the automobile industry: the
entwickelte den ersten
former developed the first fast-running
schnelllaufenden
internal combustion engine, and the
Fahrzeugmotor, und
latter built the first modern automobile.
dieser/letzterer baute das
erste moderne Automobil.
There are two types of otto engine [i.e.
Es gibt zwei Arten von
"conventional" internal combustion
Ottomotor: Zweitaktmotoren
engines, as opposed to diesel and rotary
und Viertaktmotoren. Diese
engines]: two-stroke and four-stroke
werden in den meisten Autos
engines. The latter are used in most
benutzt, jene zum Beispiel in
cars, the former in motorcycles and
Motorrädern und Kettensägen.
chainsaws, for example.
Die wichtigsten
Verbrennungsmotoren sind der The most important types of internal
Ottomotor und der combustion engine are the otto engine
Dieselmotor. Ersterer/Der and the diesel engine. The former was
erstere wurde von Nikolaus invented by Nikolaus Otto, the latter by
Otto erfunden, letzterer/der Rudolf Diesel.
letztere von Rudolf Diesel.