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(Masculine) (Feminine) (Neuter) (Plural) : Der Die Das Die
(Masculine) (Feminine) (Neuter) (Plural) : Der Die Das Die
(Masculine) (Feminine) (Neuter) (Plural) : Der Die Das Die
der (masculine)
die (feminine)
das (neuter)
die (plural)
ein (masculine)
eine (feminine)
ein (neuter)
ich war I was
du warst you were
er/sie/es war he/she/it was
wir waren we were
ihr wart you were
sie waren they were
NB! Please note that the verb sein is used both as a verb and as an auxiliary verb.
Haben (to have)
Haben (to have) is another important word in German.
ich habe I have
du hast you have
er/sie/es hat he/she/it has
wir haben we have
ihr habt you have
sie haben they have
ich hatte I had
du hattest you had
er/sie/es hatte he/she/it had
wir hatten we had
ihr hattet you had
sie hatten they had
Sometimes, haben is translated as to be in English, e.g.:
Ich habe Durst. (I'm thirsty.)
Adjectives
German adjectives have the same position in the sentence as the English ones - they usually stand in front of the
noun they are describing:
das alte Haus (the old house)
der neue Weg (the new way)
But unlike English adjectives, German ones change their endings. How do you know which ending to use? It
depends on the gender and case.
If a word is in a nominative case and has a definite article (der, die, das), we just add -e to the adjective.
After the definite article
masc neut fem plur
Nom der neue Wagen das neue Haus die neue Karte die neuen Karten
Gen des neuen Wagen des neuen Hause der neuen Kart der neuen Karten
s e
Dat dem neuen Wage dem neuen Haus der neuen Kart den neuen Karten
n e
Acc den neuen Wagen das neue Haus die neue Karte die neuen Karten
After the indefinite article
masc neut fem plur
Nom ein neuer Wagen ein neues Haus eine neue Karte meine neuen Karten
Gen eines neuen Wagen eines neuen Hause einer neuen Kart meiner neuen Karten
s e
Dat einem neuen Wage einem neuen Haus einer neuen Kart meinen neuen Karten
n e
Acc einen neuen Wagen ein neues Haus eine neue Karte meine neuen Karten
Comparatives
interessant interesting
interessanter more interesting
How to form comparatives?
1. Take an adjective ... interessant
2. Add an -er to the end ... interessant|er
3. Use it in a sentence! Das Buch ist interessanter.
Please note that when you're mentioning both things you are comparing in the sentence, you should use the
word als (than).
alt → älter:
Tom ist älter als Mia. (Tom is older than Mia.)
Short adjectives often form the comparative with an umlaut:
Some adjectives have irregular forms, which you should learn by heart:
As you already know, some adjectives have irregular forms, which you should learn by heart:
durch, für, gegen, ohne, um
Take a look at these two sentences and think about how they are different. Yes - the first one shows that we are
moving towards the theatre and the second one states that we are in the theatre. Did you also notice, that the
preposition in looks different in both cases? Why is that?
So which of the prepositions can be used both in accusative and dative?
an Ist jemand an der Tür?
(at, on) (Is someone at the door?)
Susi schreibt einen Brief an ihre Mutter.
(Susi is writing a letter to her mother.)
auf Martin freut sich auf den Balkon.
(at, to, (Martin is looking forward to (sitting) on the
on) balcony.)
Martin freut sich auf dem Balkon.
(Martin is excited on the balcony.)
hinter Sie stand hinter mir.
(behind (She was standing behind me.)
) Bitte, fahre das Auto hinter das Haus.
(Please park the car behind the house.)
in In der Küche gibt es frischen Kaffee.
(in, (In the kitchen there is fresh coffee.)
into) Wir setzen uns in die Küche.
(We are sitting down in the kitchen.)
über Dichte Wolken hängen über dem Feld.
(about, (Thick clouds are over the field.)
above) Dichte Wolken ziehen über das Feld.
(Thick clouds are drifting across the field.)
unten Der Junge schläft unter dem Baum.
(under, (The boy is sleeping under the tree.)
among) Die Katze läuft unter den Baum.
(The cat is running under the tree.)
Present Perfect
Present perfect is the tense we are using in the spoken language when talking about things, which happened in the
past.
What is the difference between the simple past and present perfect? The latter one is more focused on the result of
the action, denoting that the action has been completed in the past:
Ich habe eingekauft. (I went shopping.)
How do we form this tense?
We need the present tense form of haben or sein and the third form of the verb (e.g. lesen - las - gelesen):
Ich habe das Buch schon gelesen. (I've already read that book.)
Wir sind gestern ins Kino gegangen. (We went to the movies yesterday.)
As you've probably noticed, we use sein and haben as auxiliary verbs. Don't worry, there's a rule which will help
you. We use the verb sein with:
verbs sein, bleiben, gehen, reisen, and werden:
o Max ist nach Italien gereist. (Max travelled to Italy.)
In all the other cases, it's haben. Here are some more examples:
Ich bin heute geschwommen. (I've been swimming today.)
Hast du das schon gemacht? (Have you already done that?)
Er hat gestern eingekauft. (He went shopping yesterday.)
Wir sind am Montag ins Kino gegangen. (We went to the movies on Monday.)
Seid ihr mit dem Bus gefahren? (Did you come by bus?)
Regular verbs in present
How to use a German verb in a sentence? It's very simple - just drop the ending -en and add the appropriate ending!
ich mache I make
du machst you make
er/sie/es macht he/she/it makes
wir machen we make
ihr macht they make
sie machen you make
NB! Please note that German has no present progressive tense (“am buying”, “is walking”). Ich mache can be “I
make” or “I am making”.
Simple Past
The German past tense, or Präteritum, can be translated as “I had” or “I was having” into English.
The tense is more used in writing than in conversation. A tense called ‘present perfect’ is used more in conversation,
which you will learn about soon.
Usually, the simple Past indicates that the action is completed.
What happens to a verb in the simple past form?
In case of a regular verb, delete the ending -en and add -te, -test, -ten, or -tet.
ich sagte I said
du sagtest you said
er/sie/es sagte he/she/it said
wir sagten we said
ihr sagtet they said
sie sagten you said
In case of irregular verbs, which act like those in English and undergo a change of vowel
(schwimmen - schwamm (swim - swam), geben - gab (give - gave) there is mostly the same pattern of endings:
ich schwamm I swam
du schwammst you swam
er/sie/es schwamm he/she/it swam
wir schwammen we swam
ihr schwammt they swam
sie schwammen you swam
Numbers from 0 to 20
0 null
1 eins
2 zwei
3 drei
4 vier
5 fünf
6 sechs
7 sieben
8 acht
9 neun
10 zehn
11 elf
12 zwölf
13 dreizehn
14 vierzehn
15 fünfzehn
16 sechzehn
17 siebzehn
18 achtzehn
19 neunzehn
20 zwanzig
Numbers: Tens
10 zehn
20 zwanzig
30 dreißig
40 vierzig
50 fünfzig
60 sechzig
70 siebzig
80 achtzig
90 neunzig
100 hundert
Fractions
To form fractions in German, we take the word-stem of the ordinal number and add the ending -tel. The form of
fractions doesn’t change.
Examples:
vier → ein viertel = 1/4
sechs → fünf sechstel = 5/6
drei → ein Drittel = 1/3
NB: Note that the first three fractions are irregular:
Ein Ganzes = a whole
Ein Halbes = a half
Ein Drittel = a third
The word halb is treated just like a normal adjective. Its ending matches the corresponding noun/pronoun and is
declined:
In einer halben Stunde. (In half an hour.)
Expressing date
There are several ways to express the date in German.
1. Writing the date in a letter
Stadt/city, den (acc.) 19.6.16
München, den 19.6.16
Read as: München, den neunzehnten sechsten zweitausendsechszehn.
2. Stating the day of the week along with date:
Am Samstag, dem 5. Juni, wurde er geboren.
Samstag, den 5. Juni.
3. Not stating the day of the week:
Heute haben wir den 25. Juni. (fünfundzwanzigsten)
Heute ist der 25. Juni (fünfundzwanzigste)
4. Stating from one date to another without indicating day of the week:
Vom 18. Mai bis zum 21. Mai.
5. Stating from one date to another while indicating day of the week:
Von Montag, dem 18. Mai, bis Donnerstag, dem 21. Mai.
Also note that:The separating symbol between the month, year and day in English is the slash “/” while in German it
is the period “.”
Forming questions
Spielt sie oft Poker? Does she play poker often?
Wer ist hier der Geschäftsführer? Who is the manager here?
Wen haben Anne und Georg besucht? Whom did Anne and Georg visit?
You've probably noticed that the first question is formed just like yes or no question in English - it starts with a verb.
As you see, the second question is formed with the help of the question-word, which usually comes at the beginning
of the sentence. Let's take a look at the structure of the question:
Gestern habe ich eingekauft. I went shopping yesterday.
Wann habe ich eingekauft? When did I go shopping?
Notice that the part of the sentence we're asking about is left out and replaced by the question-word.
Question words:
Was? What? Was ist das? What's that?
Wer? Who? Wer ist da? Who is there?
Wo? Where? Wo bist du? Where are you?
Wann? When? Wann kommt er? When is he coming?
Wie? How? Wie mache ich das? How should I do that?
The German word wer (who) changes its form depending on the case. Here's how:
Nom wer who
Gen wessen whose
Dat wem whom
Acc wen whom
Warum, wieso, weshalb
The question words warum, wieso, weshalb all mean “why” in English and can cause a lot of confusion for learners
of German.
In general, they are synonyms with very subtle differences.
Here is a quick breakdown:
Warum?
asks for the reason
sounds a bit reproachful or criticizing
The first “that” acts as a conjunction and links the two clauses.
The second “that” refers to the dress.
So in German:
Ich finde, dass das Kleid schön ist.
This pronoun can best be translated to ‘one’ in English. It is used when the person doing the action is not important.
Man is not declined (doesn’t change) and can only be used in the nominative case singular.
Man sagt, dass die Zeit alle Wunden heilt. (They say that time is a great healer.)
So etwas tut man nicht. (One shouldn’t do that.)
Phrase: Weder ... noch
Thomas möchte weder einen Kaffee noch einen Kuchen. Thomas wants neither a coffee nor a piece of
cake.
Weder … noch is used to reject two or more things and it is the German version of neither … nor.
Now if you want to reject more than two things simply add nochs to your sentence:
Ich mag weder “Fußball”, noch “Basketball”, noch “Tischtennis”, noch … .
Phrase: Entweder ... oder
Karin möchte entweder nach Italien oder nach Frankreich fahren. Karin wants to go
to either Italy or France.
Entweder …. oder is used when you want to talk about a decision between two things, much like either … or is used
in English.
One thing to be careful of is that entweder translates to “either” in this case, but take a look at the following
example:
I don’t drink. - Me neither.
Ich trinke nicht. - Ich auch nicht.
In this case either translates to auch nicht.
Phrase: Sich freuen auf/über
Ich freue mich auf die Sommerferien. I am looking forward to summer
vacation.
Ich freue mich über dein Geschenk. I am happy about your gift.
sich freuen auf - expresses that you are excited about or looking forward to some event in the future
sich freuen über - expresses that you are happy or excited about something in the present
Phrase: Je ... desto
Je früher, desto besser. The earlier, the better.
Je öfter wir laufen gehen, desto leichter wird es. The more we go running, the easier it
becomes.
Je … desto can best be translated as ‘the … the …’.
Phrase: Halten für/von/auf
Ich halte viel auf deinen Vater. I hold your father in high regards.
Ich halte diese Lösung für falsch. I think this solution is wrong.
Ich halte nichts von diesem Mann. I don’t like this man.
Note the difference between halten auf, halten für, and halten von.
“etwas … jemanden/etwas halten”
… auf … to think highly or proudly of smth/sb
… für … to take smth/sb for smth/sb
… von … to feel a certain way about smth/sb
Und, oder, aber, denn
und (and)
Es regnet. Es ist kalt. (It is raining. It is cold.)
Es regnet und es ist kalt. (It is raining and it is cold.)
aber (but)
Ich möchte gehen. Sie will bleiben. (I want to go. She wants to stay.)
Ich möchte gehen, aber sie will bleiben. (I want to go, but she wants to stay.)
denn (then, because)
Ich kann heute nicht mitkommen. Ich muss noch arbeiten. (I can't join you today. I have to work.)
Ich kann heute nicht mitkommen, denn ich muss arbeiten. (I can't come today, because I have to work.)
oder (or)
Willst du zu Hause bleiben? Sollen wir ausgehen? (Do you want to stay at home? Should we go out?)
Willst du zu Hause bleiben oder sollen wir ausgehen? (Do you want to stay at home or should we go out?)
These words join together two parts of a sentence just like they do in English.
Wann vs wenn
Wann fährt der nächste Zug? When does the next train leave?
Wenn du Zeit hast, komm heute Abend zu mir. If you have time, come to my place tonight.
Remember:
Wann:
is related to time
is usually translated as “when”
Wann kommt er? (When is it coming?)
Ich weiß nicht, wann der Zug ankommt. (I don't know when the train is arriving.)
Wenn:
is translated as “if” or “when”
is used in present:
Wenn du Zeit hast, kannst du mich gerne besuchen. (When you have time, you are welcome to visit me.)
in future:
Wenn ich mit der Arbeit fertig bin, gehe ich laufen. (When I have finished the work I will go running.)
about repeated events:
Wenn Ana nervös ist, macht sie Fehler. (When Ana is nervous, she makes mistakes.)
Countries and articles
Most countries are neuter and don't use an article. But a few of countries are always preceeded by the definite
article:
die Schweiz, die Türkei
die Vereinigten Staaten, die USA
der Irak, der Libanon, der Sudan
das Baltikum, das Elsass
Compare:
Deutschlands höchster Berg ist die Zugspitze.
Germany’s highest mountain is the Zugspitze.
Die Dufourspitze in der Schweiz ist mit 4634 Metern aber deutlich höher.
The Dufourspitze in Switzerland, however, is significantly higher at 4634 metres.
Die Niederlande ist stolz auf ihren 322 Meter hohen Hügel.
The Netherlands is proud of its 322-metre-tall hill.
Intensifiers: Wohl, sicher, bestimmt
Hannes wird wohl sein Zimmer aufräumen. Hannes is likely picking up his
room.
Sie wird sicher bald kommen. She will surely come soon.
Es hört bestimmt bald auf zu regnen. It will certainly stop raining soon.
These words reinforce an assumption.
Sicher and bestimmt are interchangeable and mean “surely” or “certainly”.
Wohl is a bit more timid and means “likely” or “probably”.
They are usually placed directly after the conjugated verb.
Diese, jene (this one or that one)
Welche Jacke möchten Sie kaufen, diese or jene? Which Jacket would you like to buy? This one or that
one?
Welchen Tee soll ich nehmen? – Diesen. Which tea should I take? – This one.
We use these words to distinguish or emphasise something. They can also be used as a placeholder for a previously
mentioned noun:
Wer ist der Junge dort? Den kenne ich nicht.
(Who is the boy over there? I don’t know him.)
With dieser/diese/dieses and jener/jene/jenes, we choose something specific out of a group, like the jacket or tea in
the examples above.
Note, however, that in colloquial language we often use der/die/das da or der/die/das dort instead of jener/jene/jenes.
Möchten Sie diese Stiefel anprobieren? – Nein, lieber die dort.
(Would you like to try on these boots? – No, I’d prefer those over there.)
To emphasise something in particular, derjenige/diejenige(n) or derselbe/dieselbe/dasselbe is used.
Diejenige die das Rätsel löst, bekommt den Preis.
(The one who solves the puzzle will receive the prize.)
Derjenige der zuerst fertig ist, gewinnt.
(The one who finishes first, wins.)
Hast du eine neue Tasche? – Nein es ist dieselbe wie letztes Mal.
(Do you have a new bag? – No, it is the same one as last time.)
Regular verbs
Most verbs, both in English and in German, simply add a suffix to form the past tense. In English this suffix is -ed.
In German it is -te. To form the past participle a -t is added.
Inf. Past Past p. Meaning
mache machte hat gemacht to make
n
spielen spielte hat gespielt to play
sagen sagte hat gesagt to say
Die Kinder spielen im Schnee. (The children are playing in the snow.)
Die Kinder spielten im Schnee. (The children played in the snow.)
Die Kinder haben im Schnee gespielt. (The children played in the snow.)
Compare this to an irregular or strong verb:
Inf. Past Past p. Meaning
finde fand hat gefunde to find
n n
Susan findet ihren Schlüssel. (Susan finds her key.)
Susan fand ihren Schlüssel. (Susan found her key.)
Susan hat ihren Schlüssel gefunden. (Susan found her key.)
For more info on strong verbs, see the grammar hint about irregular verbs!
Irregular verbs
The irregular or strong verbs actually use their stem-vowel to show the change in tense. As these verbs are irregular
you will just have to memorise them.
Modal verbs in German are used the same way they are in English (must, have to, etc.).
dürfen Du darfst gehen.
(to be allowed) (You may go.)
können Kannst du mir bitte helfen?
(to be able to) (Can you please help me?)
mögen Ich möchte einen Tisch rese
(to like) rvieren.
(I would like to book a
table.)
müssen Wir müssen gehen.
(must, have to) (We have to go.)
sollen Du sollst mehr schlafen.
(should, be (You should sleep more.)
supposed to)
wollen Willst du Tee oder Kaffee?
(to want) (Would you like tea or
coffee?)
Please note that the modal verb usually takes a second place in the sentence and the infinitive goes to the end. (Not
like in English, where they come after one another.)
Sollen vs sollten
Wir sollen um 8 Uhr da sein. We have be there at 8 o’clock.
Wir sollten mehr Sport machen. We should really do more sports. (Implied: but haven’t yet or may not).
You may wonder why you sometimes see sollen and other times sollten.
Sollen is a modal verb that you already learned a bit about. It can be translated as “have to”.
Sollten, on the other hand, is not used in the past tense here, but in the subjunctive mood (Konjunktiv 2). It can be
translated as “should”.
Die Kinder sollten im Haus bleiben, wenn es regnet.
If we are talking about the past and want to link two events that happened in the past, we use past perfect.
How do we form this tense?
We need the past tense form of haben or sein and the third form of the verb (e.g. lesen - las - gelesen):
Anna hatte schon gefrühstückt, als wir kamen.
Anna had already eaten breakfast when we came.
Er war in die Stadt gegangen.
He had gone to town.
Future Simple
Er hilft mir. (He is helping me.)
Er wird mir helfen. (He will help me.)
Ich suche ein Hotel. (I'm looking for a hotel.)
Ich werde ein Hotel suchen. (I will look for a hotel.)
Futur I is quite easy to understand and form, because it uses the verb werden the same way English uses will. The
only difference is that in German the main verb (not werden) goes to the end of the sentence, whereas in English the
verb comes just after “will”.
Ich werde am Wochenende nach Berlin fahren. (I will go to Berlin on the weekend.)
Wann wirst du gehen? (When will you go?)
Remember that German doesn't distinguish between 'going to' and 'will'!
ich werde I will
du wirst you will
er/sie/es wird he/she/it will
wir werden we will
ihr werdet you will
sie werden they will
Imperative
Komm mit! Come with!
Sag was! Say something!
Gehen wir! Let's go!
Just like in English, the imperative mood is used to express an order. It is easy to learn, because it occurs only in
three forms: du, ihr und Sie.
du just drop the
ending -st
geben –> du gibst –> gib
Gib mir das Buc
h!
Give me the
book!
ihr use the present
tense form
geben –> ihr gibt –> gibt
Gibt mir die Büch
er!
Give me the
books!
Sie use the present tense form
is often softened with bitte to sound
more polite
geben –> sie geben –> geben
Geben Sie mir bitte das Buch!
Please give me the book!
Also note that:
modal verbs don't have an imperative form
verb sein has irregular imperative forms:
du Sei still! Be quiet!
ihr Seid still! Be quiet!
Sie Seien Sie bitte still! Please be quiet!
Subjunctive I Present tense
The subjunctive mood I (Konjunktiv I) is:
used in newspaper articles to convey indirect speech
usually not used in conversation
So how is the Konjunktiv I formed? The only verb that is used in all forms in the subjunctive I is sein (to be).
ich sei I be
du sei(e)st you be
er/sie/es sei he/she/it be
wir seien we be
ihr seiet you be
sie seien they be
Direct:
Tim und Hannah sind im Kino.
Tim and Hanna are at the movies.
Indirect:
Er sagt, sie seien im Kino.
He says that they are at the movies.
All other verbs usually only use the subjunctive form in the 3rd person singular (er, sie, es). Take the -n off the
infinitive! That’s it!
haben (to have)
Direct:
Er hat ein rotes Auto.
He has a red car.
Indirect:
Er sagt, er habe ein rotes Auto.
He says that he has a red car.
We like to use this subjunctive mood to distance ourselves from the claim or perhaps assert our own neutrality
towards what is being said.
For example, Hans might say:
Ich bin den Marathon in unter 2 Stunden gelaufen.
I ran the marathon in under 2 hours.
A reporter might write:
Hans sagt, er sei den Marathon in unter zwei Stunden gelaufen.
Hans says that he ran the marathon in under two hours.
Subjunctive II present tense
The subjunctive mood II (Konjunktiv II) is used much more often than the subjunctive I in everyday conversation in
order to:
talk about what we imagine or what we wish for but what is not possible right now
be especially polite when asking questions or making statements
So how is the Konjunktiv II formed?
Take the stem of the simple past tense form of the verb (e.g. finden - fand - gefunden) + add the subjunctive ending.
finden (to find)
present, indicative present, subj. II
ich finde fände
du findest fändest
er/sie/es findet fände
wir finden fänden
ihr findet fändet
sie finden fänden
Do you notice big differences? Yes, the forms are very similar except that the 3rd person singular ends in -e and
irregular verbs add an umlaut if the root vowel is a (ä), o (ö), or u (ü).
Let’s look at a few more examples:
Ich finde diese Haus sehr schön. I think this house is very nice.
Wäre das Haus renoviert, fände ich es sehr schön. If the house would be renovated, I would think that it was
very nice.
Note: If you don’t know the subjunctive form of a verb, you can also use würde + infinitive:
Ich wünschte, Thomas würde endlich kommen. I wish Thomas would come already.
Subjunctive II:
Ich wünschte, Thomas käme endlich. I wish Thomas would come already.
The würde + infinitive construction is also used frequently colloquially and in particular with irregular verbs. You
may also have noticed that the subjunctive of regular verbs is in fact identical to the past tense. The würde +
infinitive construction can be used here as well to point out that we want to use the subjunctive.
Subjunctive mood II past tense
Er wäre gekommen, wenn ich ihn eingeladen hätte. He would have come, if I would have invited him.
In order to talk about a situation in the past, take the subjunctive form of sein or haben and add the past participle:
sein > er ist > er wäre > er wäre gekommen
Ich hätte ihm gesagt wie ich mich fühle, hätte er gefragt. I would have told him how I felt, if he would have
asked.
Word order
Sentence structure and its word order is quite flexible in German due to the cases.
We will first look a main clause, meaning it can stand alone as a complete sentences and usually consists of at least a
subject, a verb and an object.
If the sentence does not start with the subject, then the subject comes right after the verb.
o Morgen gehen wir in die Stadt. (We are going to town tomorrow.)
Some infinitives in German have a zu in front of them while others do not:
if the conjugated verb is a modal verb
(to endure)