Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Chapter 1 Chapter 7
Chapter 2 Chapter 8
Chapter 3 Chapter 9
Chapter 4 Chapter 10
Chapter 5 Chapter 11
Chapter 6 Chapter 12
"Guten Morgen!"
("Good Morning!")
"Guten Tag!"
("Hello!" (literally "Good
day!"))
"Guten Abend!"
("Good evening!")
"Hallo!" "Hallihallo!"
("Hello!") ("Hello!")
"Hi!" "Morgen!"
("Hi!") ("Morning!")
"Tag!" " 'n Abend!"
("Hello!") ("Evening!")
"Grüß Gott!"
("Hello!" ("May God greet
you!"))
"Grüß dich!"
("Hello!" (informal: "I greet
you!"))
"Servus!"
("Hello!")
"Grüezi!"
("Greetings!")
.2 Saying goodbye
Vocabulary 4: Saying Goodbye Formally
"Auf Wiedersehen!"
("Goodbye!")
"Auf Wiederschauen!"
(= South Germany and
Austria)
"Auf Wiederhören!"
("Goodbye!" (telephone))
"Gute Nacht!"
("Good night!")
German nouns
As you will have noticed, all German nouns - such as "Morgen",
"Tag", "Abend" and "Nacht" - are always written with a capital
letter. This has the advantage for the learner of making them
much easier to spot!
The LangMedia site gives you the opportunity to see and hear
Germans say hello and goodbye to each other. Watching their
body language as they do so is just as important as listening to
what they say. There are also transcripts of their conversations
in German and English:
1.3 "Sie" or "du?"
du
The familiar or informal form "du"
is used when talking to relatives,
close friends and children.
It does not start with a capital
letter.
The plural of "du" is "ihr".
Sie
The formal form "Sie" is used when
you need to be more polite.
It is the usual form of address when
talking to an adult whom you don't
know well or at all.
A child would always say "Sie" to
an adult outside his or her own
family.
"Sie" always starts with a capital
letter.
The plural form of "Sie" is also
"Sie".
2. In all three of the above contexts, you might also use "Wie
geht's?" ("How are things?"). This phrase neatly sidesteps the
issue of whether you should refer to the person to whom you
are talking as "du" or "Sie", although it is a quite informal
greeting
In the office
Here are two conversations which practise the difference
between formal and informal greetings. Pay particular attention
to the different greetings which are used in the different
contexts.
Conversation 1: Im Büro
Glossary
At the station
In our second conversation, schoolfriends Michael and Franz
bump into each at the station and briefly exchange greetings.
They naturally use the informal "du" to address each other.
Conversation 2: Am Bahnhof
Glossary
Pronoun Possessive
1st Person ich "I" mein "my"
2nd Person du "you" dein "your"
Sie Ihr
3rd Person er "he" sein "his"
sie "she" ihr "her"
es "it" sein "its"
Pronoun Possessive
1st Person wir "we" unser "our"
2nd Person ihr "you" euer "your"
Sie Ihr
3rd Person sie "they ihr "their
" "
Singular
ich heiße I am called
du heißt You are called
Sie heißen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es heißt He/she/it is called
Plural
wir heißen We are called
ihr heißt You are called
Sie heißen (informal/formal)
sie heißen They are called
The only distinction is that the verb endings for the "du" person
is usually "-st" and not "-t" as here. The reason why it is "du
heißt" and not "du heißst" is a logical one - if that were the
case, you would have three "s"'s in a row!
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on how to form the verb heißen in German
by clicking on the bar below:
The verb "sein" (= to be)
Unfortunately, by no means all verbs are regular. The other
verb which we have encountered so far - and also the most
commonly used German verb! - is irregular:
Singular
ich bin I am
du bist You are
Sie sind (informal/formal)
er/sie/es ist He/she/it is
Plural
wir sind We are
ihr seid You are
Sie sind (informal/formal)
sie sind They are
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
Trends
It is true to say that fewer traditional or religious
names are chosen now than at the start of the century.
In an ongoing survey carried out by the German
magazine Familie Online for example, 42% of parents
stated that they chose the name of the offspring
"because they liked it", and 21% "because it was an unusual
name". Names are indeed becoming more individual. The
nineties witnessed the birth of children named Fritzi-Bo,
Sammy-Joy, and Dana-Fee.
Austria
According to Statistik Austria, the top 20 most popular names
given to babies in 2006 are listed below. Lukas has now been
the most popular boys' name in Austria since 1996 and a total
1,131 Austrian boys were given this name in 2006. This year
marks the first time however that Lena has become the most
popular girls' name. It only entered the top ten of names in
1999 and has since gradually become more popular among
Austrian parents. Click here for a fuller table that gives you the
top 60 names for both genders.
Switzerland
The top 20 names given to babies born in the German-speaking
region of Switzerland (die Deutschschweiz) in 2006 are listed
below. Anna replaced Leonie as the most popular name given to
baby girls. Luca, which had been the most popular boys' name
in German-speaking Switzerland from 1997-2004, regained its
position at the top of the list of male names from David.
Conversation 7: N-a-t-a-s-c-h-a
Glossary
Glossary
Wie bitte?
("What did you say?")
Noch mal langsam bitte!
("Say that again please, slowly.")
Bitte wiederholen Sie das,
langsam.
("Could you repeat that slowly?")
Exercises
1. Quia
The online testing centre Quia allows us to use Java
exercises such as flashcards, memory games and
hangman as a means of aiding vocabulary-building
and grammar practice. Internet scavenger hunts
mean that you can surf sites offering background information on
Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and answers questions of
our choosing. Click on the buttons below to access the Quia
exercises which we have devised for you for this chapter:
2. Hot Potatoes
Different kind of online exercises have been designed using the
Hot Potatoes software. This can range from jumbled word and
sentence exercises to short quizzes. It is the former type of
questions which we wish you to try for Chapter 1. Click on the
button below to get started.
Overview
Grammar
1. Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on the gender of
German nouns.
2. We shall also learn when to omit the German definite article
and how to decline the present tense of the verb "arbeiten".
2.1 Where are you from?
Having asked how somebody is and what their name is, you
will then want to find out where they come from. There are
two main phrases that you can employ for this. (You can listen
to them by clicking on the sound icon.)
Vocabulary 1: Woher..?
Questions
1. You may have noticed that there are different words for
"where" in German. "Woher" means "from where", whereas
"wo" is the word which is used when no movement is involved.
In subsequent chapters we shall also encounter "wohin" which
means "to where":
Singular
ich wohne I live
du wohnst You live
Sie wohnen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it lives
wohnt
Plural
wir wohnen We live
ihr wohnt You live
Sie wohnen (informal/formal)
sie wohnen They live
2. You may also have noted that the endings for the "wir", "sie"
(plural) and "Sie" forms are the same for all verbs. Helpfully, in
regular verbs their verb form will be exactly the same as the
infinitive.
Singular
ich komme I come
du kommst You come
Sie kommen (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it comes
kommt
Plural
wir kommen We come
ihr kommt You come
Sie kommen (informal/formal)
sie kommen They come
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on the present tense of the verb
"kommen" by clicking on the bar below:
Compound nouns
Many German nouns are a combination of two or more shorter
words - we call them compound nouns. The gender is always
that of the last element in the compound noun:
Feminine countries
So far all the countries which we have encountered have been
neuter, and are never used with the definite article. A small
number of names for countries however are feminine and are
always preceded by the definite article "die".
When you explain that you come from any of these countries,
you also have to include the definite article with the preposition
- but this article changes from "die" to "der". We shall see in a
subsequent section that this is because it is now in the dative
case.
Plural Countries
A small number of countries are written in the plural in German.
In this case the definite article changes from "die" to "den":
Phrases
ich komme aus den USA
(Trans.: "I come from the USA")
Notes
1. Note that "die Niederlande" adds an "-n" when we write "in
den Niederlanden" or "aus den Niederlanden". This again is a
result of the noun now being in the dative case.
2.5 Nationalities
Nouns of nationality
The German construction for saying which nationality you
are is different from in English. Whereas English uses an
adjective - i.e. "I am English" -, German uses a noun without a
different article - "Ich bin Engländer" (literally: "I am
Englishman").
Nationality table
Listed below are the nouns of nationality for the countries which
we have encountered so far. Note that:
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of German words for
nationalities by clicking on the two bars below:
Das Café
An English tourist Peter Withe (standing, left) strikes up a
conversation with a German local Klaus Wagner (seated, right)
whilst sitting outside a café in Bavaria in summer. What sort of
questions do they ask each other, and how do they respond?
Conversation 1: Im Café
Glossary
Im Sitzungsaal
In a conference room (der Sitzungssaal) at a trade fair in
Hanover, Herr Loss (second from left) introduces Ken McNaught
(left), who has just arrived from Glasgow, to Frau Melzig and
Herr Slomka (right).
Conversation 2: Im Sitzungssaal
Glossary
2.8 Professions
Der Beruf
The German construction for explaining what your job is
involves the German word for profession - "der Beruf". You have
a choice of word order with this construction, and can also
choose whether to say "ich bin Manager von Beruf" or simply
"ich bin Manager".
You will have noticed that we use exactly the same construction
for professions as we do for nationalities. Whereas in English we
would say "I'm a doctor", in German you would say "Ich bin
Arzt" (literally - "I am doctor"). Once more, the verb which you
will need throughout is the irregular verb "sein".
And just as there are two words for "a friend" or "a German"
depending on the gender of the speaker, there are also two
forms of each profession which need to be learned to employ
the feminine version of the noun if the person being described is
a woman - "Ich bin Ärztin".
Table of professions
Listed below are the names of the most commonly used German
professions with their male and female variants.
Vocabulary 8: Professions
Grammar
1) As you will have noted from the above list, the suffix "-in" is
often added in the feminine form - i.e. Kellner + "-in" =
Kellnerin.
2) Sometimes the female equivalent modifies slightly with the
addition of an "Umlaut" - i.e. Arzt + "-in" = Ärztin.
Glossary
Test yourself!
Test how well you have understood this passage by doing this
gap-filling exercise. All of the missing words were spoken by
Müslüm and Mareike in this passage!
Singular
ich arbeite I work
du arbeitest You work
Sie arbeiten (informal/formal)
er/sie/es He/she/it works
arbeitet
Plural
wir arbeiten We work
ihr arbeitet You work
Sie arbeiten (informal/formal)
sie arbeiten They work
2.12 The German Länder
Quiz
Once you have looked at the map of the sixteen Länder, you can
test your knowledge of precisely where they are in Germany by
doing the online jigsaw on the homepage of UK-German
Connection:
German English
Bayern Bavaria
Hessen Hesse
Mecklenburg- Mecklenburg
Vorpommern West-
Vorpomerania
Niedersachsen Lower Saxony
Nordrhein- North Rhine-
Westfalen Westphalia
Rheinland-Pfalz Rhineland-
Palatinate
Sachsen Saxony
Sachsen-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt
Thüringen Thuringia
Overview
Grammar
1. Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on the plural of
German nouns.
2. We shall also learn about the difference between subject and
object, and the nominative and accusative cases.
3. The use and formation of the indefinite article will be
discussed.
4. This chapter will also concentrate on the different forms of
the possessive adjective.
3.1 Im Studio (1)
Anna Müller and Müslüm Can have both been invited to the
studios of Radio Eins in Berlin to discuss their lives in Germany.
There they are interviewed by the DJ Claudia Stenzel. You will
be familiar with some of the questions, but what new
information is Anna being asked to give here?
You can listen to the interviews by clicking on the "On air" icon.
Or if you want, you can listen to Radio Eins live on the Internet
by clicking here.
Singular
wie alt bin ich? (How old am I?)
wie alt bist du? (How old are
wie alt sind you?)
Sie?
wie alt ist (How old is
er/sie? he/she?)
Plural
wie alt sind (How old are
wir? we?)
wie alt seid (How old are
ihr? you?)
wie alt sind
Sie?
wie alt sind (How old are
sie? they?)
Singular
ich bin 20 Jahre (I am 20 years
alt old)
du bist 20 (You are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
Sie sind 20
Jahre alt
er ist 20 Jahre (He is 20 years
alt old)
sie ist 20 Jahre (She is 20 years
alt old)
Plural
wir sind 20 (We are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
ihr seid 20 (You are 20 years
Jahre alt old)
Sie sind 20
Jahre alt
sie sind 20 (They are 20
Jahre alt years old)
Different types of questions
In the previous chapter we looked at word order in questions
where there are specific question words. If you remember, the
question word comes first, followed by the verb and then the
subject of the sentence:
Singular
ich habe I have
du hast You have
Sie haben (informal/formal)
er/sie/es hat He/she/it has
Plural
wir haben We have
ihr habt You have
Sie haben (informal/formal)
sie haben They have
Glossary
In the table below are the plurals of some of the nouns that we
have encountered so far:
1. Feminine nouns
Indefinite articles
In the last chapter we discovered that German nouns have
genders, and that the gender of a noun affects the form of the
definite article. This is also true of the German equivalents of
"a" and "an" as in "a man" and "an occupation".
Singular
der Mann die Frau das Kind
("the ("the
("the child")
man") woman")
Plural
die
die Frauen die Kinder
Männer
("the ("the ("the
men") women") children")
But these are only the endings for "kein" when it is the subject of a sentence i.e. in a
sentence such as "No child was unhappy". But "kein" is used most often to describe the
objects of sentences and takes quite different endings. We will discover what t3.6
The accusative case
Nominative Accusative
Masculine der Mann den Mann
Feminine die Frau die Frau
Neuter das Kind das Kind
Plural die Eltern die Eltern
The accusative of the indefinite article
The same phenomenon came be observed when the indefinite
article is used:
Nominative Accusative
Masculine ein Mann einen
Mann
Feminine eine Frau eine Frau
Neuter ein Kind ein Kind
Nominative Accusative
Masculine kein Mann keinen
Mann
Feminine keine Frau keine Frau
Neuter kein Kind kein Kind
Plural keine keine
Eltern Eltern
Grammatical points
1) Be very careful to distinguish between Ihr (= "your" (polite))
and ihr (= "their; her"). The capital letter is crucial here!
From now on, vocabulary sections will appear at the end of each
chapter to tie in with the topics which have been discussed. For
each noun, both gender and plural will be given, as well as any
peculiarities which the noun possesses. As the definite article of
all plurals is "die", this will not be given with the plural of nouns.
Unless otherwise indicated, you should assume that verbs are
regular - i.e. have the normal endings which we have already
seen.
We will start off with the family, followed by pets on the next
page, such that you can describe your own family and pets to
your friends:
Singular Plural
husband der Mann Männer
der Partner
Partner
partner der
Lebenspartner
Lebenspartner
father der Vater Väter
stepfather der Stiefvater Stiefväter
der
father-in-law Schwiegerväter
Schwiegervater
der Großvater Großväter
grandfather
der Opa Opas
brother der Bruder Brüder
stepbrother der Stiefbruder Stiefbrüder
der
twin brother Zwillingsbrüder
Zwillingsbruder
brother-in-
der Schwager Schwäger
law
son der Sohn Söhne
der Enkel Enkel
grandson
der Enkelsohn Enkelsöhne
stepson der Stiefsohn Stiefsöhne
der
son-in-law Schwiegersöhne
Schwiegersohn
uncle der Onkel Onkel
nephew der Neffe Neffen
cousin
der Cousin Cousins
(male)
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:
Singular Plural
wife die Frau Frauen
die Partnerin
Partnerinnen
partner die
Lebenspartnerinnen
Lebenspartnerin
mother die Mutter Mütter
stepmother die Stiefmutter Stiefmütter
die
mother-in-law Schwiegermütter
Schwiegermutter
die Großmutter Großmütter
grandmother
die Oma Omas
sister die Schwester Schwestern
stepsister die Stiefschwester Stiefschwestern
die
twin sister Zwillingsschwestern
Zwillingsschwester
sister-in-law die Schwägerin Schwägerinnen
daughter die Tochter Töchter
granddaughter die Enkelin Enkelinnen
stepdaughter die Stieftochter Stieftöchter
daughter-in- die
Schwiegertöchter
law Schwiegertochter
aunt die Tante Tanten
niece die Nichte Nichten
cousin
die Cousine Cousinen
(female)
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:
Cousins
Singular Plural
girl das Mädchen Mädchen
child das Kind Kinder
grandchild das Enkelkind Enkelkinder
stepchild das Stiefkind Stiefkinder
only child das Einzelkind Einzelkinder
Vocabulary 7: Plural family members
English German
brothers and
Geschwister
sisters
parents Eltern
grandparents Großeltern
step-parents Stiefeltern
parents-in-law Schwiegereltern
twins Zwillinge
Singular Plural
bird der Vogel Vögel
budgerigar der Wellensittich Wellensittiche
canary der Kanarienvogel Kanarienvögel
cockerel der Hahn Hähne
cuckoo der Kuckuck Kuckucke
dog der Hund Hunde
donkey der Esel Esel
fish der Fisch Fische
frog der Frosch Frösche
goldfish der Goldfisch Goldfische
hamster der Hamster Hamster
parrot der Papagei Papageien
wolf der Wolf Wölfe
Vocabulary 10: Pets (feminine)
Singular Plural
bee die Biene Bienen
cat die Katze Katzen
cow die Kuh Kühe
crow die Krähe Krähen
goat die Ziege Ziegen
goose die Gans Gänse
hen die Henne Hennen
lizard die Eidechse Eidechsen
mouse die Maus Mäuse
owl die Eule Eulen
pigeon die Taube Tauben
rat die Ratte Ratten
snake die Schlange Schlangen
tortoise die Schildkröte Schildkröten
Vocabulary 11: Pets (neuter)
Singular Plural
animal das Tier Tiere
chick das Küken Küken
guinea- das
Meerschweinchen
pig Meerschweinchen
horse das Pferd Pferde
insect das Insekt Insekten
pet das Haustier Haustiere
rabbit das Kaninchen Kaninchen
sheep das Schaf Schafe
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:
Until the start of the new millennium, that is. The tragic death of
a six-year-old Turkish boy in Hamburg at the hands of a pit-bull
terrier and a Staffordshire terrier in July 2000 finally provoked
the authorities into action after a growing number of children
had been attacked by fighting dogs (der Kampfhund) ("fighting
dogs"). Since then a number of measures have been introduced
on a regional level to control how dangerous dogs are kept.
These include stricter implementation of "der Leinenzwang", the
requirement that certain dogs are kept on a leash in public, and
the "der Maulkorbzwang", the requirement that certain dogs are
muzzled. Some commentators have gone as far as to suggest
that all dogs, regardless of breed, should be kept on a leash
when out in public. And in Berlin, anyone owning pitbulls,
American Staffordshire terriers, bull terriers or Tosa Inu must
have them sterilised. These measure have proved unpopular
with dog owners, and they are digging their heels in for a long
battle with the authorities.
Web Links
Web sites on pets and other animals
1. Reading comprehension
It's time to test how much you can understand of a
written passage of German! In the following
exercise, click on the "Start Reading" button on the
top right hand side of the page and read the
passage which opens up for you. You will then be required to
answer 12 multiple-choice questions about the passage.
There is one additional difficulty however. You only have five
minutes to read the passage before it disappears! Can you
answer the questions correctly - and in time? (Hint: You might
wish to have either a German-English dictionary and/or our
glossary of vocabulary open in separate windows to help you.)
Click on the bar below to get started.
Overview
Grammar
Grammatically, this chapter concentrates on asking different
types of questions. We shall also learn about numbers and how
to use them in different contexts.
Café Einstein
Glossary
Glossary
Currencies
As currencies are proper nouns in German, they start with a
capital letter. Many international currencies - such as der Euro
and der Cent are masculine, but others are not.
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of currency vocabulary
by clicking on the bar below:
21 einundzwanzig 31 einunddreißig
22 zweiundzwanzig 32 zweiunddreißig
23 dreiundzwanzig 40 vierzig
24 vierundzwanzig 45 fünfundvierzig
25 fünfundzwanzig 50 fünfzig
26 sechsundzwanzig 54 vierundfünfzig
27 siebenundzwanzig 60 sechzig
28 achtundzwanzig 70 siebzig
29 neunundzwanzig 80 achtzig
30 dreißig 90 neunzig
Test yourself!
You can test yourself on your knowledge of this vocabulary by
clicking on the bar below:
Explanation
1. The biggest difficulty which English-speakers experience with
German numbers is that cardinal numbers above twenty appear
to be formed "backwards". Whereas we say "twenty-four",
German says "vierundzwanzig" (= four and twenty) like the
"four-and-twenty blackbirds" in the nursery rhyme "Sing a Song
of Sixpence". This takes a lot of getting used to! Note in
particular the difference between 45 and 54 in the list above.
English-speakers often get such similar pairs of numbers the
wrong way round.
Glossary
Glossary
schon already
Haben Sie schon Have you already chosen?
gewählt?
Wir möchten "We would like to order."
bestellen Note that - as in English -
the infinitive of the verb
"bestellen" comes at the
end of the clause.
das Hähnchen "Chicken". As this noun is
another one which ends in
"-chen", we know that it
must be neuter.
die Kartoffel potato
der Salat salad; lettuce
gerne So far we have seen this
word when a customer is
saying what he or she
would like. When spoken by
a waiter, as here, it means
"Of course!" or "You're
welcome!"
Und für Sie? And for you?
das Schwein pig; pork
das Schnitzel cutlet, chop
das "Pork cutlet, escalope of
Schweineschnitzel pork". This is another
example of those compound
nouns which are so
common in German.
Remember that the gender
of the compound noun will
always be determined by
the last element - here "das
Schnitzel".
Und zu trinken? And to drink?
ein Glas Weißwein "A glass of white wine".
"Weißwein" is another
compound noun, coming
from "weiß", the adjective
for "white" and "der Wein"
(= wine).
noch still; yet
noch ein Bier "Another beer". You would
say "eine" for a feminine
noun. So "another cup of
tea" would be "Noch eine
Tasse Tee".
bitte sehr Yet another nuance of
"bitte"! Although the waiter
isn't actually bringing them
anything, he still says "bitte
sehr" to confirm the
transaction.
Glossary
English German
der Kuchen
cake
(plural - Kuchen)
cocoa der Kakao
coffee der Kaffee
dessert der Nachtisch
juice der Saft
- apple juice - der Apfelsaft
- orange juice - der Orangensaft
ketchup der Ketschup
salad der Salat
sugar der Zucker
tea der Tee
wine der Wein
- red wine - der Rotwein
- white wine - der Weißwein
Singular Plural
bill die Rechnung Rechnungen
coca-cola die (Coca-)Cola
cream die Sahne
cup die Tasse Tassen
gâteau die Torte Torten
lemon die Zitrone Zitronen
lemonade die Limonade
menu die Speisekarte Speisekarten
milk die Milch
potato die Kartoffel Kartoffeln
sachertorte die Sachertorte Sachertorten
sausage die Wurst Würste
- curried - die -
sausage Currywurst Currywürste
- fried sausage - die Bratwurst - Bratwürste
strawberry die Erdbeere Erdbeeren
Vocabulary 7: Food and drink (neuter)
Singular Plural
beer das Bier
bread roll das Brötchen Brötchen
café das Café Cafés
chicken das Hähnchen Hähnchen
glass das Glas Gläser
ice cream das Eis
- vanilla
- das Vanilleeis
ice cream
piece das Stück Stücke
pig; pork das Schwein Schweine
- pork - das -
cutlet Schweineschnitzel Schweineschnitzel
pot das Kännchen Kännchen
restaurant das Restaurant Restaurants
Restaurant etiquette
When entering a restaurant in a German-speaking
country, it is customary for the diner to find their own
seat rather than waiting to be designated one. You
should also not be surprised if another party asks if they
may sit at your table. This is common practice on the
European mainland. And do not be offended if the people
in that party do not engage in conversation with you. They are
rarely interested in making friends, just looking for a seat in a
crowded restaurant.
It used to be the case that you would address the waiter as Herr
Ober and waitresses as Fräulein. These forms of address are out
of date nowadays however and should be avoided. If you want
to order or pay you should make a sign with your hand (but do
not click your fingers!) and say something along the lines of
Kann ich bestellen, bitte? (= "May I order, please"?).
Leaving the tip on the table after you have paid is unknown in
Germany. Waiters and waitresses are accustomed to receiving
their tip as part of the bill, not by looking for the tip on the table
after you have left. If you let them give you your full change
(and then leave a tip on the table) they will think that you are
unhappy with their service. Only if you are really dissatisfied
with the quality of service that you have received should you
not leave any tip at all - a token tip of a few cents will have the
same effect.
Snacks
One of the most striking aspects about a German city is the
number of kiosks (der Kiosk), sausage stalls (die
Würstchenbude) or snack bars (der Imbiss, der
Schnellimbiss) on each street corner. They are most well-
known for offering Bratwurst - a fried or grilled sausage - or
curried sausage (Currywurst). In Austria, you may come across
"Steckerlfisch" - grilled fish on a stick. You can also get chips
there (Pommes, Pommes frites), but don't be alarmed if you are
offered mayonnaise along with tomato sauce to put on them!
Such kiosks and snack bars serve beer as well as soft drinks,
and many will offer a very good ground coffee. The preference
for coffee over tea in mainland Europe continues unabated. You
may be offered tea in a café or restaurant, but most Germans
drink it with lemon or just black. Iced tea is becoming
increasingly popular as a summertime beverage.
Glossary
Glossary
Both of these are shown on the map below - the post-office has
the yellow logo of the German post office Deutsche Post with its
trademark horn, and the "U-Bahnhof" (= "underground station")
is indicated by the blue letter "U".
Glossary
5.5 Prepositions
Preposition Example
durch durch das Hotel
through the hotel
entlang die Straße entlang
along the street
für für den Mann
for the man
um um die Ecke
round the corner
Prep. Example
an an der Ampel
(at the traffic lights)
in in einem Restaurant
(in a restaurant)
von 5 Minuten von der Apotheke
(five minutes from the
chemist's)
vor vor dem Hotel
(in front of the hotel)
zu Wie komme ich zum Hotel?
(How do I get to the hotel?)
The prepositions "von" and "zu" on the other hand, always take
the dative case.
Definite article
The endings for the definite article "der" in the dative case are
as follows - singular endings only.
Prep. Example
an + dem = am Ich bin am U-Bahnhof
(I am at the underground
station)
in + dem = im Wir sind im Café
(We are in the café)
von + dem = Zehn Minuten vom Bahnhof
vom (Ten minutes from the
station)
zu + dem = Wie komme ich zum Hotel?
zum (How do I get to the hotel?)
zu + der = zur Sie geht zur Bank
(She goes to the bank)
Possessive adjectives
The endings for the possessive adjectives are as follows. We
have given "mein" as an example, but the others decline in the
same way.
5.7 Adjectives
The indefinite article "ein" - along with "kein" - has the following
endings, depending on the gender of the noun which follows it
and the case that this noun is in.
Grammar 9: Adjective endings after the indefinite article
Examples
To work out the endings on an adjective you need to know three
things:
Thus for the sentence "Wo ist die nächste Apotheke?", we know
that the ending on the adjective is "-e" because:
der zehnte
ein zehnter
A brief history
Berlin was founded in the 13th Century and was originally a seat
of the Hohenzollerns royal family. It was initially the capital of
Brandenburg and then became capital of Prussia, which it
remained until 1945. Berlin was also the capital of Germany
between 1871 and 1945. From the end of World War II until the
reunification of Germany in 1990 the city was divided into two
parts: West Berlin (a state of the Federal Republic of Germany,
forming an enclave within the German Democratic Republic) and
East Berlin (the zone of the city that was Soviet-occupied at the
end of the war, and later became capital of the German
Democratic Republic).
Architecture
In addition to the architecture of the 19th and 20th
century, the new cityscape is dominated by
buildings designed by top international architects.
The outstanding example is the Reichstag, which
has been redesigned by Norman Foster and now
has a glass dome which is open to visitors. Architects such as
Helmut Jahn, Renzo Piano, Hans Kollhoff and Richard Rogers
have designed offices, shops and apartments in the restored
Potsdamer Platz. Frank O’Gehry has designed a new building on
Pariser Platz for the DG Bank and Aldo Rossi's residential
complex in the Schützenstraße has also attracted positive
comment.
2. Berlin Newspapers
Zitty Tip-Berlin
030
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