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ALPHABET
ALPHABET
STANDARD ALPHABET + PRONUNCIATIONS
STANDARD ALPHABET + PRONUNCIATIONS
Luckily for us, the German alphabet, especially the consonants, is much like the standard English one.
Note: you may notice that the German noun examples always have 'der' 'die' or 'das' in front of them. These words all mean 'the,' but signifies a different gender for the succeeding noun. We will get into the details of this in a later chapter.
UMLAUTS
UMLAUTS
Like in many other languages, some German vowels have accents. These vowels with an accent are called umlauts, and umlauts are pronounced slightly differently than the vowels that they are derived from.
SPECIAL COMBINATIONS = SPECIAL SOUNDS
SPECIAL COMBINATIONS = SPECIAL SOUNDS
Certain combinations of consonants/vowels make unique sounds that should be learned.
Combinations of vowel letters are called dipthongs. To pronounce them, you 'squish' together the two separate vowel sounds.
NUMBERS
NUMBERS
BASE NUMBERS
BASE NUMBERS
These are our base numbers, the building blocks for all numbers.
MULTIPLES OF 10
MULTIPLES OF 10
The multiples of ten can be written in the form:
baseNumber + -zig
Below are the irregulars as well as some examples of the regular ones.
TENS + ONES
TENS + ONES
To write numbers with both tens and ones digits, you must write in the form
one'sPlace + und + ten'sPlace
Example: einundzwanzig=21 (literally one-and-twenty)
DECIMALS, COMMAS, AND PERIODS IN NUMBERS
DECIMALS, COMMAS, AND PERIODS IN NUMBERS
Decimals in German are written with a comma (,) instead of a period (.)
Therefore, we would also speak out the decimal numbers with "comma."
Whole numbers are in German are written with a period (.) instead of a comma (,).
MULTIPLES OF HUNDRED
MULTIPLES OF HUNDRED
These are the multiples of hundred.
ORDERING NUMBERS
ORDERING NUMBERS
Ordering numbers are used to show a noun's order/position.
The formula for ordering numbers is
cardinal number + t + adjectiveEnding*
*For now, don't worry too much about the correct adjective endings. We will get to them later, so just keep them in mind for now.
WEATHER
WEATHER
Now, we will be learning the question words (who, what where...) while also learning about the weather.
The use of these question words indicate that you want more information about something, such as the weather (i.e. not just a yes/no answer). We will go over how to ask non-interrogative questions later in this course.
Question Words, Common Questions and their Answers
As you read the examples in German, try and translate them into English by yourself first.
Some vocab words to describe weather
Common questions with these question words
These questions and answers are worth having memorized now. You should, obviously, customize the answers to yourself!
TIME AND DATE
TIME AND DATE
Asking for Time + Time Statements
On the Hour*
This method is for when you want to tell the time on the dot of the hour.
Es + ist + (number**) + Uhr
--> It is (number**) o'clock.
Es ist zehn Uhr. (10:00)
**German time can be on the 12-hour or 24-hour time. Most Germans use the 24-hour time.
- When using 12-hour time, you should be precise and specify the part of the day*** that you're referring to.
Exactly
This form is used when you want to tell time to the last minute.
Es + ist + (hour number) + Uhr + (minute number)
--> It is (hour number) o'clock + (minute number)
Es ist zehn Uhr fünfzig. (10:50)
Typical time stamps
Like in America, it's standard in Germany to round time to a typical time stamp. For example, half past, quarter to...
You must remember that in German, they like to subtract halves, not add. Instead of saying half PAST four, they say half BEFORE four.
Halb + (hour number)
--> Halb sieben (6:30)
Half (hour number)
--> Half past six (6:30)
For 'quarter,' it can be for either subtraction or addition.
Es ist viertel vor sechs. (5:45)
--> It is 15 (minutes) before 6. (5:45)
Es ist viertel nach sechs. (6:15)
--> It is 15 minutes after 6. (6:15)
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