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Today we are going to learn a few complex concepts in
German. |
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First, we will learn about dipthongs which are special
sounds in German. |
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Then, we will learn the basic personal pronouns. |
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Finally, we will learn about how gender is important to
German nouns. |
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Dipthong |
Sound |
Example |
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ai |
I |
Mai |
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au |
Ow |
Frau |
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eu |
Oi |
Europa |
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äu |
Oi |
Fräulein |
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ie |
Ee
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mieten |
| ei |
I |
Eis |
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Special Denotation |
Sound |
Example |
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-tion |
Tee-own |
Inspiration |
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Ch- |
Ka |
Chlor |
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-ch- |
Sh |
Mädchen |
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-ch |
K breathed (breathe
through “ka”) |
ich |
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sch |
Sh |
Schach |
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Ä (ae) |
mouth like ah, say ay |
nächst |
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Ö (oe) |
mouth like oh, say ay |
lösen |
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Ü (ue) |
mouth like ooh, say ay |
lütt |
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ß |
Ess-tsett |
heißen |
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Above tables courtesy of
The German
Tutor |
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Personal Pronouns |
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die
deutschen Pronomina |
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Nominative Singular |
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Pronomen |
Pronoun |
Sample Phrases |
| ich |
I |
Darf ich?
(May I?)
Ich bin 16 Jahre alt. (I'm 16 years old.)
The pronoun ich is not capitalized except at the
beginning of a sentence. |
| du |
you
(fam.) |
Kommst du
mit? (Are you coming along?) |
| er |
he |
Ist er
da? (Is he here?) |
| sie |
she |
Ist sie
da? (Is she here?) |
| es |
it |
Hast du es?
(Do you have it?) |
| Sie |
you |
Kommen Sie
heute? (Are you coming today?)
The pronoun Sie always takes a plural
conjugation, but is also used for the formal "you" singular. |
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Nominative Plural |
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Pronomen |
Pronoun |
Sample Phrases |
| wir |
we |
Wir
kommen am Dienstag. (We're coming on Tuesday.) |
| ihr |
you
guys
(fam.) |
Habt ihr
das Geld? (Do you guys have the money?) |
| sie |
they |
Sie
kommen heute. (They're coming today.)
The pronoun sie in this sentence could also mean
"you" Sie. Only the context makes it clear which of the two is
meant. |
| Sie |
you
(plur.) |
Kommen Sie
heute? (Are you [all] coming today?)
The pronoun Sie always takes a plural
conjugation, but is also used for the formal "you" singular. |
See the article and quiz
You and thou, Sie
und du |
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Table courtesy of
German for
Beginners: Lektion 2 |
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Definite articles |
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Der,
die and das are the same as "the" in English – the DEFINITE
ARTICLE. In German the definite article is much more important than it is in
English. For one thing, it is used more often. In English we might say:
"Nature is wonderful." In German, the article would be also be included:
"Die Natur ist wunderschön." So knowing which article to use becomes even
more important!(from
German for
Beginners: Lektion 3) |
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NOMINATIVE SINGULAR |
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Artikel |
Gender |
Sample Nouns |
der
ein |
masc. |
der Bahnhof
(train station),
Sohn (son),
Vater (father),
Wagen (car),
Zug (draft,
parade, train) |
die
eine |
fem. |
die Anlage
(installation, park),
Dame (lady),
Festung
(fortress),
Gesundheit
(health),
Luft (air) |
das
ein |
neut. |
das Boot (boat),
Dach (roof),
Geld (money),
Jahr (year),
Kino (cinema,
movie theater),
Radio |
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NOMINATIVE PLURAL |
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Artikel |
Gender |
Sample Nouns (Plurals) |
die
keine
meine |
plur. |
die Bücher
(books),
Dächer (roofs),
Fenster
(windows),
Jahre (years),
Radios,
Söhne (sons),
Zeitungen
(newspapers) |
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Note:
All nouns, of any gender, become die in the plural. (Ein
can't be plural, but other so-called ein-words can: keine
[none], meine [my], seine [his], etc.) That's the good
news. The bad news is that there are about seven ways to form the plural
of German nouns, only one of which is to add an "s" - as in English.
(from
German for Beginners: Lektion 3) |
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Indefinite Articles |
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The
INDEFINITE ARTICLE ("a" or "an" in English) is ein or eine in
German. Ein basically means "one" and like the definite article, it
indicates the gender of the noun it goes with (eine or ein).
For a feminine noun, only eine can be used (in the nominative case).
For masculine or neuter nouns, only ein is correct. This is a very
important concept to learn! It is also reflected in the use of possessive
adjectives such as sein(e) (his) or mein(e)
(my), which are also called "ein-words.(Courtesy of
German for
Beginners: Lektion 3) |
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