Alphabet und Aussprache - alphabet and pronunciation

The German alphabet is essentially the same as the English one, yet the pronunciation resembles more that
of Malay or Hindi:

Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm
Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz

There are three additional vowels or Umlaute : Ää Öö Üü

There is a additional consonant Eszett or Scharfes S : ß
Ää is similar to the e sound in the English word let , but you keep your mouth a little more open.
Öö to produce this sound, pucker your lips as if to create the impression of a kiss, form a perfect
circle with your lips. Hold them in this position and say an oh sound that shifts up an octave.
Üü to produce this sound, pucker your lips as if to whistle. It is the same sound as the vowel sound in
the Chinese word yu (rain).
ß this is like a double s, but slow and sharp in sound.

Spelling of the additional characters:

If your keyboard or your word processor does not support these letters, it is possible to use two vowels to
represent them. The forms are:
Ää = Ae ae
Öö = Oe oe
Üü = Ue ue
ß = ss

Special consonant sounds:

Overall all German aspirated and plosive consonants are harder than the ones in English. Moreover some
sounds differ completely from the English ones:
Vv is either pronounced like the English f (the father / der Vater).
or pronounced like a German w (the vase / die Vase).
Ww is almost pronounced like a v in English, just a little softer (the vehicle / der Wagen).
Yy is pronounced as j (especially at the beginning of words) or as i or as ü
Zz is pronounced like the English ts like in hits
Ch ch after the vowels a o u : resembles a the guttural sound you would make after you have
a fishbone stuck in your throat and try to get rid of it.
after the vowels i e : it is pronounced similar to the sh in English, like in she
-ig at the end of a word is pronounced just like a ch after i and e
st-/sp- at the beginning of a word or a syllable the s followed by the consonant p or t is
pronounced just like a sh in English,

Special vowel and diphthong sounds:

Ei ei is pronounced like ai , just as in the Chinese word for love (the egg / das Ei).
Ai ai
Ie ie is pronounced like a long German i, so it sounds like ee in English (four / vier).
Ih ih
eu is pronounced like the English exclamation oi (the Euro / der Euro)
au is a diphthong created by opening your mouth to say a German a and then half closing it to
say the German u (also / auch)

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Adverbien - adverbs

In German we commonly use adverbs. Adverbs (slot 3) provide more specific information about an action:

1 2 3 4
Susanne isst gern Müsli.

Note that, in terms of their positioning within the sentence, all Adverbien behave like the adverb gern in our
example, which means they are placed between the verb and the direct object.

Expressing preference with the adverb gern

In German you have to use gern to express your preference. You already know that gern, sometimes written
as gerne, is used to express that you “like doing something”.
For example, if you want to express in German the equivalent of the English utterance “I like reading”, you
have to use the adverb gern plus the verb for to read, which is lesen, e.g.:
Ich lese gern.
Thus, if you want to say that “Susanne likes to read books.”, then you have to say:
Susanne liest gern Bücher.

Types of adverbs
There are many types of adverbs that can be used to indicate frequency, mode, preference, or time:

Adverbs that indicate time

bald – soon morgen – tomorrow
früh – early sofort – immediately
gleich – in a minute später – later
heute – today übermorgen – the day after tomorrow
jetzt – now zurzeit – at the moment

Adverbs that indicate mode

gern – gladly normalerweise – normally
gut – good schlecht – badly
langsam – slowly schnell – fast

Adverbs that indicate frequency

immer – always oft – often
manchmal – sometimes selten – seldom
meistens – most of the time täglich – daily
nie – never wöchentlich - weekly

Adverbs that indicate numbers or repeats

einmal - once sechsmal
zweimal - twice siebenmal
dreimal - ... achtmal
viermal neunmal
fünfmal zehnmal ...

Adverbs that indicate frequency in relation to time of the day or day of the week
montags – (every) Monday abends – evening (PM)
dienstags – (every) Tuesday mittags – midday
mittwochs – Wednesday morgens – morning (AM)
donnerstags – (every) Thursday nachts – night
freitags – (every) Friday nachmittags – afternoon
samstags – (every) Saturday vormittags – late morning
sonntags – (every) Sunday

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Fused adverbs
As we can fuse nouns in German, we can also fuse adverbs. It does not mean that you can fuse any two
adverbs together, but there are some meaningful forms, commonly combining a day and a time or a specific
time of the day:
frühmorgens – early in the morning
spätabends – late in the evening
montagmorgens – every Monday morning
dienstagvormittags – every Tuesday early morning
mittwochmittags – every Wednesday around midday
donnerstagnachmittags – every Thursday afternoon
usw.

Order of Components (TMP)

If you use two adverbs in a sentence they have to follow a specific order, namely Time-Mode-Place
(TMP) or Zeit-Modus-Ort (ZMO). Under mode fall any kind of information that describe how something is
done, thus adverbs of frequency usually fall under mode:

Subjekt Verb Adverb (Zeit) Adverb (Modus) Objekt

Wir essen abends immer Gemüse.
Frau Franke schreibt montags oft Emails.

Also remember that several time indicators always have to be listed from the largest du the smallest unit of
time. Therefore, a day will have to be listed before the time of day, etc.:

Subjekt Verb 1 Adverb (Zeit) Adverb (Zeit) Objekt

Wir essen montagmorgens um 10 Uhr Müsli.

Note that some elements can sometimes be classified differently, depending on the meaning of the
sentence, i.e. repeats might appear before time.

Beispiele:
Sie isst dreimal täglich Obst.
Sie isst morgens immer Obst.
Sie isst frühmorgens Obst.
Wir lernen heute Deutsch.
Wir lernen montags normalerweise Deutsch.
Wir haben dienstagnachmittags Deutschunterricht.
Wir haben morgen Deutschunterricht.
Sie trinkt morgens immer eine Tasse Kaffee.
Er trinkt nie Kaffee.

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Der Akkusativ – the accusative case

The accusative case (der Akkusativ) is the second case of the German language that you are introduced
to. The accusative case is the grammatical treatment applied to the direct object of the sentence. Most
verbs are accusative verbs that trigger the accusative case in the direct object, e.g.:
Ich esse eine Pizza.
Meine Freundin kauft ein Brot.
Renate isst einen Apfel.
The parts of the sentence that are directly affected by the actions of the actors/subject (ich, meine
Freundin, and Renate) are the direct objects (eine Pizza, ein Brot, and einen Apfel). These objects must be
in the accusative case, because the verbs are accusative verbs. This means you need to identify and
memorise accusative verbs.
The application of the accusative will transform the article. Luckily, this only affects articles of masculine
nouns in the singular, e.g.:
Meine Schwester isst ihren Joghurt.
In the above sentence, ihren Yoghurt is the accusative object. Therefore, the possessive article ihr has
changed to ihren, since Joghurt is a singular masculine noun. This process is called declination (Deklination).
In short, the accusative case:
• is triggered by an accusative verb
• affects the direct object (accusative object) of a sentence
• is only visible in the article of the singular masculine noun
• adds a declination in the form of -n or -en to the article, possessive article, or negative article
The declination does not only change the form of the definite or indefinite article, but any kind of article
used with singular masculine nouns, including negative and possessive articles:
Definite articles and the accusative case

SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV der die das die
AKKUSATIV den die das die

Indefinite articles and the accusative case

SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV ein eine ein --
AKKUSATIV einen eine ein --

Negative articles and the accusative case

SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV kein keine kein keine
AKKUSATIV keinen keine kein keine

Possessive articles and the accusative case (here mein used as an example)

SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV mein meine mein meine
AKKUSATIV meinen meine mein meine

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Die Artikel und Der Genus– the articles and the grammatical gender

1. Der Genus der Nomen – the gender of nouns

Even though there are certain rules about the grammatical gender of a noun, bear in mind that the most
effective way of remembering the grammatical gender is to learn it together with the noun! This means that
when you learn a new noun, you should memorise the noun together with its definite article, e.g.:
der Hund – the dog
die Katze – the cat
das Pony – the pony
There are some guidelines that help to determine the Genus of a noun, but there are many exceptions. In
some cases (but comparatively few) the biological characteristics determine the grammatical gender, e.g.:
der Mann – the man
die Frau – the woman
Yet, there are and equal number of oddities, that show that this system has many exceptions, e.g.:
das Mädchen – the girl
das Kind – the child (can be male or female)
Certain word endings often coincide with a specific grammatical gender. Yet, this also the most troublesome
to remember and there are exceptions from the rules. Still, here is a choice of common endings:

Wortendungen
maskulin neutral feminin
-ling der Frühling -chen das Mädchen -ei die Bäckerei
-or der Motor -o das Kino -ie die Sympathie
-ismus der Journalismus -um das Studium -heit die Gesundheit
-ner der Rentner -lein das Tierlein -keit die Höflichkeit
-ich der Wellensittich -a das Sofa -ion die Information
-ist der Pazifist -schaft die Freundschaft
-tät die Universität

2. Die Artikel – the articles

Articles aid a speaker to identify objects in reality. The two big categories of articles are the indefinite
articles and the definite articles. Consider the differences between:
He adopted a dog from a shelter.
He adopted the dog from the shelter.
Indefinite articles are used to refer to things in the world around us in a general manner, like the first
sentence above illustrates. Here the speaker refers to some dog in some shelter.
Definite articles focus in on specific objects which are known by both, speaker and audience. Thus, the
second statement refers to a specific dog in a specific shelter.
Functionally, the use of articles in German is similar to their use in English. Yet, German articles change form
in relation to grammatical gender, number and case (position and function in the sentence).

Der bestimmte Artikel – the definite article

Definite articles are used in front of nouns to introduce a person, an animal, or an object which is familiar
and clearly identifiable at the moment of speaking. Singular nouns have three different grammatical
genders: der (maskulin), das (neutral), and die (feminine), e.g.:
Der Hund ist schön.
Die Katze ist klug.
Das Pony ist schnell.

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Yet, if you talk about more than one object or person, you have to use the plural article: die, e.g.:
Die Hunde sind schön.
Die Katzen sind klug.
Die Ponys sind schnell.
Therefore, the different forms of the definite article are:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV der die das die
AKKUSATIV den die das die

* explanations to the formation of the Akkusativ are in the GN Accusative

Der unbestimmte Artikel – the indefinite article

The indefinite article is subject to the same influences as its definite counterpart. However, there are only
two forms that we need to distinguish, namely, ein (maskulin & neutral) and eine (feminine), e.g.:
Das ist ein Hund.
Das ist eine Katze.
Das ist ein Pony.
As the indefinite articles refer to one single entity, there is no plural form for indefinite articles. This is called
Nullartikel ø (the zero article. ). Therefore, the forms of the indefinite article are:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV ein eine ein ø
AKKUSATIV einen eine ein ø

* explanations to the formation of the Akkusativ are in the GN Accusative

Der Negativartikel – the negative article

In order to express that there is no quantity of an entity (no entity), you should use the negative article
kein. The negative articles are derived from the positive indefinite articles, and must adjust accordingly.
Note, that the negative article possesses a plural form, e.g.:
Das ist kein Hund.
Sie hat keine Zeit.
Das ist kein Pony.
Er hat keine Katzen.
Therefore, the forms of the negative article are:
SINGULAR
PLURAL
maskulin feminin neutral
NOMINATIV kein keine kein keine
AKKUSATIV keinen keine kein keine

* explanations to the formation of the Akkusativ are in the GN Accusative

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Formal or Informal - forms of address

In German exists a distinction between formal and informal forms of address. Informal address is
represented by the pronoun du and the respective verb forms of the 2nd person singular (2PS), whereas
formal address uses the pronoun Sie (always with a capitalised S) and the verb forms of the 3rd person
plural (3PP – F).
To avoid any social faux pas, you have to learn when it is appropriate to use the formal or informal address.
The choice of the appropriate pronoun depends on factors such as age or situation.
The table below presents some general guidelines:

use the informal address du use the formal address Sie

people of roughly the same age as you or younger people that are obviously more senior than you

friends strangers

peers people of higher social status

to signal solidarity to show respect or deference

for sports and many activities related to hobbies in shops, at work, and in work related situations

equals superordinates

If you have agreed with your conversational partner to use the informal address, you should also address
that person by his or her first name, e.g.:
Hallo Peter, wie geht es dir?
Danke, gut. Und wie geht es dir, Sonja?
On the other hand, if you choose the formal address, make sure that you use the person’s family name
with Herr or Frau respectively, e.g.:
Guten Tag Herr Becker, wie geht es Ihnen?
Danke, gut. Und wie geht es Ihnen Frau Maier?

With regard to the use of informal and formal forms of address, remember the following:

Singular informal address du or dir

(talking to one person) formal address Sie or Ihnen
Plural informal address ihr or euch
(talking to a group) formal address Sie or Ihnen

As mentioned above, you need to be aware of the difference between informal and formal address and use
it in the appropriate situations. All of the pronouns below are translated into the personal pronoun “you” in
English:
• du (used to address one individual informally, i.e. a friend, a family member, a child, etc.)
Sie (used to address one individual formally, i.e. a colleague, your dentist, a shop assistant, someone on
the street whom you ask for help etc.).
• ihr (used to address one group of persons informally, i.e. teammates, fellow students, etc.)
Sie (used to address one group of persons formally, i.e. strangers, colleagues at work, etc.).

Beispiele: Formal/informal questions and answers

Take note that the formal questions use the person pronoun Sie and Ihnen and the matching possessive
articles Ihr and Ihre. The informal questions use the person pronoun du and dir and the matching
possessive articles dein and deine. Below are a few examples of typical questions and answers in the formal
and informal address, e.g.:

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 FRAGEN ANTWORTEN
Wie geht es Ihnen? Gut, danke.
Wie geht es dir? Nicht so gut.
Wie heißen Sie? Ich heiße Dieter Hirt.
Wer bist du? Ich bin Dilka.
Wie ist Ihr Nachname? Mein Nachname ist Hirt.
Wie ist dein Vorname? Mein Vorname ist Dilka.
Wie alt sind Sie? Ich bin neununddreißig Jahre alt.
Wie alt bist du? Ich bin einundzwanzig Jahre alt.
Wie heißt Ihre Frau? Meine Frau heißt Steffi.
Wie heißt deine Freundin? Meine Freundin heißt Petra.

Beispiele: Begrüßung - Greetings

Depending on the time of the day and the type of relationship, the greeting will vary. We have a number
of greetings that are only suitable for informal conversations, while others are used in formal conversations.
There are also regional variations, especially in Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland. Some of the common local
expressions are listed below.
Formal Greetings Informal Greetings
Guten Morgen! Hallo!
Guten Tag! Grüß dich!
Guten Abend! Servus! (Österreich)
Grüß Gott! (Süddeutschland/Österreich) Grüezi! (Schweiz)

Beispiele: Abschied - Farewells

Similar to greetings, the type of farewell you should use depends on the degree of formality in the
relationship between you and your interlocutor. Generally, the time of the day does not influence the form of
the greeting; with one exception.
Formal Farewells Informal Farewells
Auf Wiedersehen! (for all face-to-face situations) Tschüs!/Tschüss!/Tschüß!
Auf Wiederhören! (exclusively in telephone talk) Bis bald!
Gute Nacht! (only before you go to sleep) Mach’s gut!

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Konjugation der Verben im Präsens – verb conjugation in the present tense

In general, conjugation means that you modify the infinitive of a verb and adjust its form according to the
subject person pronouns. The infinitive is identified in English by adding a to before the verb, and in German
by the ending –en, e.g.:
kommen - to come
When you conjugate a verb, you remove the infinitive marker -en at the end of the verb to create the stem.
You then add the appropriate ending that belongs to the person pronoun you are using. The endings remain
the same across all verbs in the present tense. In addition, notice that the core of the verb (stem) does not
change in regular verbs, but changes in some verbs. We have three conjugation types:
Type 1: regular verbs: the verb stem never changes
Type 2: verbs with vowel change: there are some adjustments to the vowel in the in the verb stem
Type 3: irregular verbs: there are major changes in the verb

1. Regular Verbs
As already indicated above, to arrive at the appropriate form simply cut of the infinitive marker to create the
stem of the verb and add the corresponding ending for each pronoun, e.g. kommen:

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich komm -e
2PS du komm -st
3PS er sie es komm -t
1PP wir komm -en
2PP ihr komm -t
3PP sie komm -en
F Sie komm -en

There are a few exceptions in the conjugation pattern of regular verbs:

Adjustment 1: If the verb stem ends in –t or -d, the vowel -e- is inserted, e.g. antworten:

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich antwort -e
2PS du antwort -est
3PS er sie es antwort -et
1PP wir antwort -en
2PP ihr antwort -et
3PP sie antwort -en
F Sie antwort -en

Adjustment 2: If the verb stem ends in -ß or -z, the -s- in the 2nd person singular is omitted, e.g. heißen:

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich heiß -e
2PS du heiß -t
3PS er sie es heiß -t
1PP wir heiß -en
2PP ihr heiß -t
3PP sie heiß -en
F Sie heiß -en

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2. Verbs With Vowel Change
These verbs exhibit changes inside the verb stem during the conjugation process. These changes affect the
vowel in the verb stem, but they only appear in the 2nd and 3rd person singular.
Vowel Change 1: The vowel -e- changes to -i- , e.g. sprechen (also essen and nehmen):

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich sprech -e
2PS du sprich -st
3PS er sie es sprich -t
1PP wir sprech -en
2PP ihr sprech -t
3PP sie sprech -en
F Sie sprech -en

Vowel Change 2: The vowel -e- changes to -ie-, e.g. lesen (also sehen):

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich les -e
2PS du lies -t
3PS er sie es lies -t
1PP wir les -en
2PP ihr les -t
3PP sie les -en
F Sie les -en

Vowel Change 3: The vowel -a- changes to -ä- , e.g. schlafen (also fahren and laufen):

Personal Pronouns Stem Endings

1PS ich schlaf -e
2PS du schläf -st
3PS er sie es schläf -t
1PP wir schlaf -en
2PP ihr schlaf -t
3PP sie schlaf -en
F Sie schlaf -en

3. Irregular Verbs
The two most irregular verbs are also the two most commonly used verbs: sein and haben:

Personal Pronouns sein haben

1PS ich bin habe
2PS du bist hast
3PS er sie es ist hat
1PP wir sind haben
2PP ihr seid habt
3PP sie sind haben
F Sie sind haben

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Länder, Nationalitäten und Sprachen – countries, nationalities, and languages

Most countries (das Land/die Länder) and continents (der Kontinent/die Kontinente) are not accompanied by
any article. Their grarmmatical gender, however, is neuter, e.g.
Sie kommt aus Deutschland.
Deutschland ist in Europa.
There are only a few but important exceptions:
Die Schweiz ist in Europa.
Die Philippinen sind in Südostasien.
Die Türkei ist in Europa und Asien.
The following table provides you with the names of countries, the adjectives referring to the country, and
their inhabitants. You will discover a pattern easily (despite a couple of exceptions). Note, that the adjectives
can only be used like any other adjectives, namely in their base from after the verb sein in the object
position of the sentence.

NATIONALITÄT
Das Land Adjektiv Der Mann Die Frau
Australien australisch Australier Australierin
Burma burmesisch Burmese Burmesin
China chinesisch Chinese Chinesin
Deutschland deutsch Deutscher Deutsche
die Schweiz schweizerisch Schweizer Schweizerin
England englisch Engländer Engländerin
Indien indisch Inder Inderin
Indonesien indonesisch Indonesier Indonesierin
Japan japanisch Japaner Japanerin
Malaysia malaysisch Malaysier Malaysierin
Österreich österreichisch Österreicher Österreicherin
die Philippinen philippinisch Filipino Filipina
Singapur singapurisch Singapurer Singapurerin
Thailand thailändisch Thailänder Thailänderin
Vietnam vietnamesisch Vietnamese Vietnamesin

Fragen und Antworten zu Ländern und Nationalitäten

Fragen Antworten

Was ist deine Nationalität? Ich bin Deutsche/Österreicher/Schweizerin/singapurisch.

Wo lebst du? Ich lebe in Deutschland/der Schweiz/den Philippinen/Singapur.

Wo wohnst du? Ich wohne in Bremen/Zürich/Jurong.

Woher kommst du? Ich komme aus Bremen/Deutschland/der Schweiz/Europa.

Wohin reist du? Ich reise nach Deutschland/in die Schweiz/Europa.

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Sprachen - languages

Languages are nouns and need to be capitalised. There are five countries in which German is spoken as a
main language, namely Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and Luxemburg. The region comprising
the three main German speaking countries are also labelled as DACH; Germany (D), Austria (A), and
Switzerland (CH).
The name of languages often follow the country name or the adjective, but in many they differ. Here are
some examples:

Das Land Die Sprachen

Australien Englisch
Burma Burmesisch
China Chinesisch
Deutschland Deutsch
die Schweiz Deutsch/Französisch/Italienisch/Rätoromanisch
England Englisch
Indien Hindi/Tamilisch/Bengalisch/Telegu/usw.
Indonesien Indonesisch
Japan Japanisch
Malaysia Malayisch/Malaiisch
Österreich Deutsch
die Philippinen Tagalog
Singapur Englisch/Chinesisch/Malayisch/Tamilisch
Thailand Thai
Vietnam Vietnamesisch

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Mengenangaben - quantifiers

1. General reference to food

There is no need to use the article together with the food item, if you refer to it in a general manner. In
these cases you use the Nullartikel (zero article - Æ), e.g.:
Herr Kaiser isst gern Brot.
Sie trinkt gern Kaffee.
Trinkt Cornelia Saft?
Er kauft Kartoffeln.

Yet, if you speak about food in a specific manner and in reference to any quantity, you need to differentiate
between countable and uncountable nouns.

2. Countable Nouns
For countable nouns, one can use the singular indefinite article (watch out for the accusative form) for a
quantity of one. For more than one, you simply use the number and the plural form of the noun, e.g.:
Sie isst einen Apfel.
Mein Bruder kauft zwei Bananen.

3. Uncountable Nouns
If you want to refer to a specific quantity of a food item that cannot be counted directly (like liquids, grain,
cereals, etc.), you can express it by referring to quantifiers, such as a container or weight. The most
common ones are:

Container/Gewichte Containers/Weight Examples

der Becher (--) the cup/tub Sahne,

der Beutel (--) the bag Lebensmittel,
die Dose (-n) the can Bier,
die Flasche (-n) the bottle Wein,
das Glas (-¨er) the glass Saft,
das Gramm (--) the gram Zucker,
das Kilo (-s) the kilogram Tomaten,
die Kiste (-n) the box Mineralwasser,
der Liter (--) the litre Wasser,
die Packung (-en) the packet Mehl,
das Päckchen (--) the packet Kaffee,
das Pfund (-e) the pound Butter,
die Scheibe (-en) the slice Bread,
das Stück (-e) the piece Kuchen,
die Tafel (-n) the bar Schokolade
die Tasse (-n) the cup Tee,
die Tube (-n) the tube Senf,
die Tüte (-n) the (plastic/paper) bag Pilze,

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In an expression linking a container or a weight measurement with an uncountable noun, the latter simply
combines with the former, without any article or preposition in between. Note that the article for this
construction always follows the quantifier, e.g.:
Herr Kaiser trinkt mittags gern ein Glas Saft.
Sie frühstückt gern einen Becher Joghurt und eine Tasse Tee.

Note that masculine and neuter containers or quantities, even when preceded by a plural number, are often
left in the singular. Yet, you are now allowed to use both forms, the singular or the plural form. However,
with feminine containers or quantifiers, the plural form needs to be used, e.g.:
Wir möchten zwei Stück Kuchen.
Sie trinkt zwei Glas Saft.
Sie braucht zwei Kisten Bier.

In German you always need to use quantifiers when you provide specific information about food items that
are uncountable. Yet, in spoken language, if containers are self-explanatory, such as in the cases of
drinks in a restaurant, no quantifier needs to be used, e.g.:
Ich trinke ein Bier
Mark möchte einen Tee.

Please note that even though you will hear people saying this, such expressions are considered
grammatically incorrect, so please never use them in writing.

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Personalpronomen und Possessivartikel – pronouns and possessives

1. Personalpronomen – personal pronouns

Personal pronouns come in two broad categories, depending on the number of persons they refer to:
singular and plural. Each category has three subcategories which represent the different points of views or
stances that a speaker adopts towards his audience in a conversation.
German and English follow the same system or set of personal pronouns. The only addition to the system in
German is the formal address, the pronoun Sie. This pronounal can be used to address a single person or a
group of people in a formal and respectful manner.

Personalpronomen Person Pronouns

1. Person Singular (1PS) ich I
2. Person Singular (2PS) du you
er he - or masculine noun
3. Person Singular (3PS) sie she - or feminine noun
es it - or a neuter noun
1. Person Plural (1PP) wir we
2. Person Plural (2PP) ihr you (plural)
3. Person Plural (3PP) sie they
Formal - singular & plural (F) Sie you (sir, madam, ladies, etc.)

The words in the table above are called personal pronouns, because they:
• represent the subject of a sentence and thus control the conjugation of the verb, e.g.:
Daniela und Rosa sind Österreicherinnen und sie sprechen Deutsch.
• often refer to a person, but also animals and other objects, e.g.:
Der Hund ist sehr schön, denn er ist ein Mischling.
• replace or stand for a name or a noun used previously in the text or the conversation, e.g.:
Rosalie hat eine Freundin aus Singapur und sie heißt Yen Nee.

Looking at the table above you will see that certain pronouns are identical or similar:
3PS feminine - sie
3PP - sie
F - Sie
However, all it takes is to look at verbs forms and/or spelling to tell them apart. The 3rd person singular
feminine pronoun (3PS) and the 3rd person plural (3PP) trigger different verb forms, e.g.:
Sie hat Katzen. – She has cats.
Sie haben Katzen. – They have cats.
The 3rd person plural (3PP) and the formal address (F) have the same verb forms, but the formal address
form is always capitalised, e.g.:
Haben sie Katzen? – Do they have cats?
Haben Sie Katzen? – Do you have cats?

Also, always remember that the polite address is only used to address the person directly, because
it is a polite form of you. It’s not possible to use Sie when talking about a person. If you want to do talk
about a person in the formal way, you have to use the person’s last name plus Herr or Frau, e.g.:
Frau Müller hat Katzen, aber sie hat keine Hunde.
Herr Hintermeyer kommt aus Österreich, aber er lebt in Deutschland.

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2. Possessivartikel - Possessive determiners

Possessive determiners always precede a noun to indicate whom something or someone belongs to, e.g.:
mein Mann – my husband
meine Frau – my wife
mein Hund – my dog
meine Katzen – my cats

As can be seen from the examples above, the form of the possessive determiner depends on the gender and
number (singular/plural) of the noun. To feminine nouns in the singular and all plural nouns the letter -e is
added to the core form of the possessive determiner. This is what we call the nominative case, which is the
normal case, which is used in a noun in the subject position or after a nominative verb, such as sein.

Possessivartikel im Nominativ - possessive pronouns in the nominative case

Take note that the possessive determiners in front of masculine and neuter nouns are identical. The same
counts for those possessive determiners in front of feminine and plural nouns. Only one form has a unique
pattern. The possessive determiner of the 2PP eure is missing an -e- in the feminine and plural form,
because the word would be very difficult to pronounce, if it had the -e-.
The following table lists all the forms of the possessive determiners in the nominative case.

maskulin feminin neutral plural

1PS ich mein Opa meine Oma mein Kind meine Geschwister my
2PS du dein Opa deine Oma dein Kind deine Geschwister your
3PS er sein Opa seine Oma sein Kind seine Geschwister his
3PS sie ihr Opa ihre Oma ihr Kind ihre Geschwister her
3PS es sein Opa seine Oma sein Kind seine Geschwister its
1PP wir unser Opa unsere Oma unser Kind unsere Geschwister our
2PP ihr euer Opa eure Oma euer Kind eure Geschwister your
3PP sie ihr Opa ihre Oma ihr Kind ihre Geschwister their
F Sie Ihr Opa Ihre Oma Ihr Kind Ihre Geschwister your

Possessivartikel im Akkusativ - possessive determiners in the accusative case

The accusative case affects the article of the masculine singular noun, and therefore it also affects the
possessive determiner. Thus, the masculine nouns in the singular will have an -en added to the core form.
This is what we call the accusative case, which is used after an accusative verb in the direct object position.
The following table lists all the forms of the possessive determiner in the accusative case.

maskulin feminin neutral plural

1PS ich meinen Opa meine Oma mein Kind meine Geschwister my
2PS du deinen Opa deine Oma dein Kind deine Geschwister your
3PS er seinen Opa seine Oma sein Kind seine Geschwister his
3PS sie ihren Opa ihre Oma ihr Kind ihre Geschwister her
3PS es seinen Opa seine Oma sein Kind seine Geschwister its
1PP wir unseren Opa unsere Oma unser Kind unsere Geschwister our
2PP ihr euren Opa eure Oma euer Kind eure Geschwister your
3PP sie ihren Opa ihre Oma ihr Kind ihre Geschwister their
F Sie Ihren Opa Ihre Oma Ihr Kind Ihre Geschwister your

Note that the possessive determiner of the masculine second person plural euren is also missing an -e-.

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Der Plural - the plural form

German possesses five different plural markers, which mostly have two types. This means German has nine
different plural forms. It is difficult to tell to which category a noun belongs. This means you simply need to
learn nouns together with their respective plural forms. The various different plural markers and
forms are listed below:

Plural Marker – Ø (ZERO)

SINGULAR PLURAL
das Mädchen die Mädchen
+ UMLAUT
die Mutter die Mütter
Notice that there is no addition to the singular form, yet some change the core vowel into an Umlaut vowel.
Note that all masculine nouns that end in -er have identical singular and plural forms.

Plural Marker – e

SINGULAR PLURAL
das Brot die Brote
+ UMLAUT
der Sohn die Söhne
Note that in some forms of the -e plural marker the internal vowel changes to Umlaut.

Plural Marker – er

SINGULAR PLURAL
das Kind die Kinder
+ UMLAUT
der Mann die Männer
Note that some forms of the –er plural marker show a change to Umlaut in the stem vowel.

Plural Marker – n

SINGULAR PLURAL
die Tante die Tanten
+ –en
die Frau die Frauen
+ –nen
die Freundin die Freundinen
The plural marker here is -n for nouns that already end in -e . Note that for this category feminine nouns
that end in -e always add an -n in the plural and that feminine nouns which end in -in add -nen in the plural.

Plural Marker - s

SINGULAR PLURAL
das Sofa die Sofas
das Handy die Handys
Most of the nouns with the plural marker -s possess a singular form that ends in a vowel or are loan words
from foreign languages.

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Präferenzen - preferences

In German you have different ways to express preferences. The most common words used to express
preferences are: gern, finden, gefallen, schmecken und Lieblings-.

Adverb gern
One of the most commonly used forms of expressing a preference is through the adverb gern, which means
that you like doing something (gern + Verb). Remember that you always have to use gern when you
want to express a preference in the sense of doing something. The use of gern in the sentence follows the
rules of all other adverbs, e.g.:

FRAGEN ANTWORTEN
Was isst du gern? Ich esse gern Obst.
Isst du gern Reis? Nein, ich esse nicht so gern Reis.
Lernt ihr gern Deutsch? Ja, wir lernen sehr gern Deutsch.
Reisen Sie gern? Ja, wir reisen sehr gern.

Verb finden
Expressions of preference with the verb finden can be used to express a preference in the sense of how
you like/find something. It is therefore used to express opinions on something that you can touch, see,
or hear, but also for philosophical and abstract concepts. Remember that finden is an accusative verb and
therefore affects the accusative object of the sentence. The opinion in the answer can be expressed with a
wide range of adjectives, e.g.:

FRAGEN ANTWORTEN

Wie findet ihr den Deutschunterricht? Wir finden den Deutschunterricht toll!
Wie finden Sie meine Wohnung? Ich finde Ihre Wohnung sehr gemütlich.
Wie findest du den Balkon? Ich finde den Balkon klein.
Wie findet ihr die Möbel? Wir finden die Möbel nicht so schön.

Verb gefallen
Expressions of preference with the verb gefallen can be used to express a preference in the sense of how
you like something. It is therefore also used to express opinions on something, but it can only be used in
the visual or auditory sense. Thus, only when you are talking about something that can see or hear.
The verb gefallen can be used with the informal and formal form of address and of course in singular and
plural. Yet, the form of the verb gefallen changes according to the number of the noun (singular or plural) it
is used with, because the noun is the grammatical subject of the sentence. Therefore, the pronouns, and the
sentence structure of the answer are slightly different. Also, note that the answer to a question with
gefallen can only use expressions gut and nicht and variations thereof, e.g.:

FRAGEN ANTWORTEN

Wie gefällt Ihnen Deutschland? Deutschland gefällt mir sehr gut.

Wie gefallen Ihnen die Bilder? Die Bilder gefallen mir nicht so gut.
Wie gefällt dir die Musik? Die Musik gefällt mir gar nicht.
Wie gefallen dir meine Katzen? Deine Katzen gefallen mir gut.

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Verb schmecken
When you are talking about food and drink you need to use the verb schmecken to express a preference.
Note that the form of the verb schmecken also changes according to the number of the noun (singular or
plural) it is used with, because the noun is the grammatical subject of the sentence. It therefore creates the
same sentence structure as the verb gefallen and can only be used with gut or nicht in the answer, e.g.:

FRAGEN ANTWORTEN

Wie schmeckt Ihnen der Wein? Der Wein schmeckt mir gut.
Wie schmecken Ihnen die Nudeln? Die Nudeln schmecken mir nicht.
Wie schmeckt dir das Bier? Das Bier schmeckt mir sehr gut.
Wie schmecken dir die Trauben? Die Trauben schmecken mir nicht so gut.

Noun Lieblings-
Another popular form of expressing a preference is through a composite noun with Lieblings-, which means
favourite. Therefore you can only have one Lieblings- of any kind. Yet, you can use Lieblings- in front of
pretty much any noun that expresses a concrete object or idea. Remember that in composite nouns the
grammatical gender always follows the second part, e.g.:

FRAGEN ANTWORTEN

Was ist dein Lieblingsbuch? Mein Lieblingsbuch ist „Der Alchemist“.

Was sind deine Lieblingstiere? Meine Lieblingstiere sind Katzen.
Hast du ein Lieblingsessen? Ja, ich habe ein Lieblingsessen.
Woher kommt deine Lieblingsoma? Meine Lieblingsoma kommt aus Ostdeutschland.

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Satzbau - sentence structure

Word order in a German sentence can be regarded as both rigid and flexible. The most important part of the
sentences structure, in both statements (Aussagesätze) and questions (Fragen), is the placement of the
verb, which is crucial in the construction of a correct sentence.

A. Aussagesätze - Statements
The conjugated verb always occupies the second slot in the structure of the statement. The subject is
usually in position 1, followed by the verb in position 2, and then the object. This is the regular sentence
structure in German:
1 2 3
Subjekt Prädikat/Verb Objekt
Dieter hat eine Katze.

If we want to add an adverb (of time, frequency, etc.) we position this before the object in position 3:
1 2 3 4
Subjekt Prädikat/Verb Adverb Objekt
Dieter hat jetzt eine Katze.

However, if a speaker intends to highlight a certain piece of information, specifically a time indicator, it is
possible to shift this element into position 1. In such a case, the verb must remain in position 2:
1 2 3 4
Adverb Prädikat/Verb Subjekt Objekt
Jetzt hat Dieter eine Katze.

Remember that verbs are the holy cows of the German language; thus, the position of the conjugated verb
is dominant and the it must always remain in position 2.

B. Fragen - Questions
There are two types of questions in German:
1. W-Frage - questions with question words
2. Ja/Nein-Frage - yes/no-question

1. W-Frage - question with question word

These questions aim at retrieving precise pieces of information. They start with a question word (Fragewort)
and just like in English, all question words (even the equivalent of how) start with the letter w. However,
German w-questions do not require the use of an auxiliary verb like “to do”. Instead, the conjugated verb
simply follows the question word, because the verb has to remain in the second position:

1 2 3
Fragewort Prädikat/Verb Objekt
Wer hat eine Katze?

If ask the same w-question and add an adverbial, the latter is added in position 3, just like in a statement:
1 2 3 4
Fragewort Prädikat/Verb Adverb Objekt
Wer hat jetzt eine Katze?

LG5001 20
Yet if we ask a w-question that asks for the grammatical object, and add an adverbial, the latter moves into
fourth position. This is because the verb has to stay in second position, which means the subject and the
verb have to swap place, which is then followed by the adverb:
1 2 3 4
Fragewort Prädikat/Verb Subjekt Adverb
Was hat Dieter jetzt?

Important question words in German are:

Wann? When?

Warum? Why?

Was? What?

Wen? Whom?

Wer? Who?

Wie? How?

Wie viel (+ mass noun)? How much (+ mass noun/uncountable)?

Wie viele (+ plural noun)? How many (+ plural noun/countable)?

Wo? Where?

Woher? Where from?

Wohin? Where to?

2. Ja/Nein-Frage - yes/no-question
These questions have no question word and the answers to such questions start either with Ja, … or Nein,
…. The sentence structure of these questions is the same as for questions with question words, but without
the latter. This makes the yes/no question the only exception to the dominant grammar rule, because here
the conjugated verb will occupy the first position and the subject the second. The conjugated verb and
subject simply change position, in comparison to the statement:
1 2 3
Prädikat/Verb Subjekt Objekt
Hat Dieter eine Katze?

If we add an adverb to the question then it will simply be placed in position 3, before the object:
1 2 3 4
Prädikat/Verb Subjekt Adverb Objekt
Hat Dieter jetzt eine Katze.

Beispiele:
FRAGEN ANTWORTEN
Wie geht es Ihnen? Es geht mir gut.
Wie ist Ihr Nachname? Mein Nachname ist Hirt.
Wie viele Katzen hast du? Ich habe zwei Katzen.
Woher kommen Sie? Ich komme aus der Schweiz.
Wo lebst du? Ich lebe in Singapur.
Sprichst du Deutsch? Ja, ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch
Sind Sie verheiratet? Nein, ich bin ledig.

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C. Conjunctions
If you intend to fuse two statements to create a compound sentence, you simply combine two main
clauses into one sentence, which means that the sentence structure of each clause is not affects:
1 2 3 1 2 3
Conjunktion
Subjekt Verb Objekt Subjekt Verb Objekt
Dieter hat eine Katze und Barbara hat ein Pony.

The example shows, that the same rules apply, because the words that are used to connect statements
(conjunctions) are not regarded as part of the sentence matrix of either statement. Conjunctions that can
be used this way are:

German English Use and Meaning

und and list/order/addition
oder or alternative
, denn because reason
, aber but contrast
, sondern but (for negative clauses only) contrast

Note that oder is mostly used in questions and that sondern can only be used in negative clauses. Also note
that aber, denn, and sondern are always preceded by a comma, while und and oder are used without a
comma:
1 2 3 1 2 3
Conjunktion
Subjekt Verb Objekt Subjekt Verb Objekt
Dieter hat eine Katze , aber Beate hat ein Pony.
Dieter hat eine Katze und Beate hat ein Pony.

From the two examples above you see that the only part of the sentence that changes is the conjunction.
Yet, this changes the overall meaning of the sentence, because conjunctions indicate how the information
provided in the two main clauses relates to each other.

As mentioned before, sondern can only be used with negative statements (nicht/kein). Also, the second
statement has to have the same subject and verb, which means they are omitted in the clause following the
conjunction. Thus, sondern is followed only by a second object, adverb, or number, e.g.:

1 2 3 4 1
Conjunktion
Subjekt Verb Negation Objekt Angabe
Dieter hat kein Pony , sondern eine Katze.
Dieter hat nicht eine Katze , sondern zwei.

D. Two Verbs
If you intend to use two verbs in a sentence the second verb needs to go to the end of the sentence. All
the other parts of the sentence are then in between the two verbs. We call this sentence structure
Satzklammer (sentence bracket):
1 2 3 4
Subjekt Verb 1 Objekt Verb 2
Wir möchten Gemüse essen.

Note also that elements, such as adverbs go into the Satzklammer. These the order of the elements follows
the normal rules of sentence structure, with the adverbs following the verb and the direct object just before
the second verb.

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Trennbare Verben – separable verbs

Separable verbs are types of verbs that consist of a verb plus a particle that precedes it, a prefix. They are
equivalent to composite verbs in English, which consist of a verb and a preposition that modifies the
meaning of the verb, such as hang on or switch off. In German the verb part also carries the same meaning
as the single verb, while the prefix modifies that meaning, e.g.:
aufstehen
anfangen

Separable Verbs and Sentence Structure

As you can see above, the infinitive is always written together as a single word. Thus, if you look up a
separable verb in a dictionary, it looks like a regular verb. When conjugated however, the core part of the
verb occupies the regular position of the verb in the sentence and carries the conjugation. The prefix is
separated and placed at the end of the sentence, e.g.:
Ich stehe montags um halb sieben auf.
Wir kaufen am Sonntag ein.
Der Film fängt um 14.30 Uhr an.
Räumst du gern dein Zimmer auf?

Examples of Common Separable Verbs:

Infinitiv 3. Person Singular Übersetzung

anfangen er fängt ... an to start, to begin

anhalten er hält ... an to stop (walk/drive)

anmachen + Akk er macht (das Licht) an to switch something on

ausmachen + Akk er macht (das Licht) aus to turn something off

aufhören er hört ... auf to stop (activity/speaking)

aufmachen +Akk er macht ... auf to open something

aufschreiben + Akk er schreibt ... auf to write something down

einladen + Akk er lädt ... ein to invite someone

einziehen in +Akk er zieht ... ein to move in somewhere

mitbringen + Akk er bringt .. mit to bring along something

mitkommen er kommt ... mit to come along

mitmachen er macht ... mit to join in, participate

mitnehmen + Akk er nimmt ... mit to take something away

mitschreiben er schreibt ... mit to take notes

weggehen er geht ... weg to leave, go away

zuhören er hört ... zu to listen to

zumachen er macht ... zu to close

LG5001 23
Satzklammer and Order of Components (TMP)
You have seen that the sentence structure of separable verbs follows the rules of two verbs in a sentence,
where the prefix goes to the end of the sentence building a Satzklammer:

Subjekt Verb Objekt Prefix

Wir bringen Nudelsalat mit.

As such adverbs and other elements go into the Satzklammer, following the normal rules of sentence
structure, with the adverbs following the verb and the direct object just before the prefix:

Subjekt Verb Adverb Objekt Prefix

Wir bringen heute Nudelsalat mit.

If you intend to use two adverbs or several pieces of information in the sentence, they have to follow a
specific order, which is Time-Mode-Place (TMP) or Zeit-Modus-Ort (ZMO):

Subjekt Verb Adverb (Zeit) Adverb (Modus) Objekt Prefix

Wir bringen heute gern Nudelsalat mit.

Also remember that several time indicators always have to be listed from the largest du the smallest unit of
time. Therefore, a day will have to be listed before the time of day, etc.:

Subjekt Verb Adverb (Zeit) Adverb (Zeit) Objekt Prefix

Wir bringen heute um 8 Uhr Nudelsalat mit.

LG5001 24
Verneinung mit nicht und kein – negation with nicht and kein

In German we do not negate a sentence, but specific parts of the sentence. Therefore, German makes use
of two different types of forms for expressing the lack of something:
kein, keine and keinen
nicht

I. Use of kein, keine, and keinen

The negative article kein, keine or keinen is used to negate a noun which in its positive from would be
preceded by the indefinite article (ein, eine, or einen) or the Nullartikel (zero article Æ), e.g.:
Ist das ein Hund?
Nein, das ist kein Hund.
Hast du heute Zeit?
Nein, ich habe heute keine Zeit.

II. Use of nicht

When you want to negate any other words or expressions, you use nicht. As the negation in German is a
matter of focus, nicht goes with the sentences element that you want to negate and you usually place it
directly in front of those words or expressions that you want to negate, e.g.:
1. an adverb
Isst du gern Trauben?
Nein, ich esse nicht gern Trauben.
2. an adjective
Das Haus ist groß.
Nein, das Haus ist nicht groß.
3. a modifier to an adjective
Der Schrank ist sehr teuer.
Nein, der Schrank ist nicht sehr teuer.
4. a prepositional phrase
Kommst du aus der Schweiz?
Nein, ich komme nicht aus der Schweiz.
5. a noun carrying the definite or possessive articles in the nominative object
Ist das dein Hund?
Nein, das ist nicht mein Hund.

When there are several elements the meaning changes depending on where you place the nicht. Also when
you specifically negate an element that indicates time or numbers you need to add sondern, e.g.:
Wir lernen nicht heute Deutsch, sondern morgen.
Sie hat nicht zwei Katzen, sondern vier.

Yet, there are a few cases in which the nicht has to be placed after the element that we want to negate.
6. verbs: yet we only negate the verb if there is no other element in the sentence:
Schläft Herr Müller?
Nein, er schläft nicht.

7. nouns carrying the definite article in the accusative object

Kaufst du das Deutschbuch?
Nein, ich kaufe das Deutschbuch nicht.

8. nouns carrying the possessive article in the accusative object

Fütterst du meine Katze?
Nein! Ich füttere deine Katze nicht.

LG5001 25
Zahlen – numbers

The German numbers are very easy to learn. They follow a very logical system and this system is very
similar to the English way of counting. Thus, German also has the system of the -teen and -ty endings,
which are called -zehn and -zig (or -ßig in 30) in German. Overall, there are only a few exceptions where
endings are omitted when numbers are combined, e.g.:
eins - einundzwanzig
sechs - sechzehn
sieben - siebzig
The numbers above twenty follow a system that is identical with the old English system. If you have every
read books by Jane Austin, you will have read numbers such as one-and-twenty, which is the old way of
saying twenty-one. The same system is used in German, thus, for numbers above twenty you say the
second digit first, then und and then the second number. The only difference is that we write the entire
number in lower case and in one word, e.g.:
31 - einunddreißig
Die Zahlen:
0 null 21 einundzwanzig
1 eins 22 zweiundzwanzig
2 zwei 26 sechsundzwanzig
3 drei 27 siebenundzwanzig
4 vier 30 dreißig
5 fünf 40 vierzig
6 sechs 50 fünfzig
7 sieben 60 sechzig
8 acht 70 siebzig
9 neun 80 achtzig
10 zehn 90 neunzig
11 elf 100 (ein)hundert
12 zwölf 101 (ein)hunderteins
13 dreizehn 110 (ein)hundertzehn
14 vierzehn 120 (ein)hundertzwanzig
15 fünfzehn 200 zweihundert
16 sechzehn 300 dreihundert
17 siebzehn 1000 (ein)tausend
18 achtzehn 1001 (ein)tausendeins
19 neunzehn 10000 zehntausend
20 zwanzig 100000 hunderttausend

Note that the und only appears between the tens and the single digits (dreiundvierzig, achtundsechzig,
usw.), yet never in higher numbers (fünfhundertsiebzehn, neunhunderdertachtundsechzig, usw).
The list above illustrates the concept of counting in German. So now you are already able to say the German
numbers from 0 (null) to 999999 (neunhundertneunundneunzigtausendneunhundertneunundneunzig).

LG5001 26