German Grammar

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GERMAN GRAMMAR AND USAGE

BASICS OF GERMAN GRAMMAR
kripal singh CHEMICAL ENGINEERING (BTECH AND MTECH) ,IIT MADRAS
2007
KRIPAL SINGH, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING , GANGA HOSTEL ,IIT MADRAS,CHENNAI-36,INDIA
GERMAN GRAMMAR LEARNING COURSE
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Home Grammar of German A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. Nouns and noun modifiers Pronouns Verbs, Present tense Word order Prepositions Adjectives and adverbs Conjunctions Verbs, Other tenses Verbs, Subjunctive mood Verbs, Passive voice Reference
Home | Grammar Nouns and noun modifiers A. Gender B. Case 1. Nominative case 2. Accusative case 3. Dative case 4. Genitive case C. Der-word noun modifiers D. Ein-word noun modifiers E. Plurals of nouns
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The grammatical gender of a German noun, together with its case, determines the article, and the endings on the modifiers and adjectives preceding the noun. German has three grammatical genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Masculine People der Sohn Objects der Stuhl Feminine die Tochter die Tr Neuter das Kind das Buch
meine Tochter mein Kind Possessives mein Sohn Adjectives mein junger Sohn meine junge Tochter mein junges Kind Definite and indefinite articles Summaries der-word noun modifier endings ein-word noun modifier endings
Case: The function of a noun in a German sentence determines its case, which together with its gender determines the article, and the endings on modifiers and adjectives preceding the noun (or on the noun itself). The young man is sitting here. Nominative Der junge Mann sitzt hier. Do you know the young man? Accusative Kennen Sie den jungen Mann? I give it to the young man. Dative Ich gebe es dem jungen Mann. Genitive Wie ist der Name des jungen Mannes? What is the young man's name? Definite and indefinite articles Summaries der-word noun modifier endings ein-word noun modifier endings
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Nouns and pronouns use the nominative case: 1. when they are the subject of the verb 2. when they are a predicate nominative, i.e., complete a linking verb (e.g., sein or werden) 1) Der Mann bleibt hier. The man is staying here. 2) Das ist eine Bank. That is a bank.
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The definite and indefinite articles in the nominative case are: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Definite der Mann die Frau das Kind die Leute Indefinite ein Mann eine Frau ein Kind keine Leute Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural der-words dieser Mann welche Frau jedes Kind manche Leute ein-words mein Mann seine Frau ihr Kind deine Leute
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Nouns and pronouns use the accusative case: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. when they are the direct object of a verb when they are the object of an accusative preposition when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition when they are used in an expression of definite time when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions. 1) Ich sehe den Mann. I see the man. 2) Wir gehen durch das Haus. We go through the house. 3) Sie geht in einen Laden. She goes into a store. 4) Er macht das jeden Abend. He does that every evening. 5) Wir sind ihn endlich los! We finally are rid of him!
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The definite and indefinite articles in the accusative case are: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Definite den Mann die Frau das Kind die Leute Indefinite einen Mann eine Frau ein Kind keine Leute Other noun modifiers follow the same pattern: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
der-words diesen Mann welche Frau jedes Kind manche Leute ein-words meinen Mann seine Frau ihr Kind deine Leute Note that these articles differ from the nominative case articles only for masculine nouns. Some masculine nouns, primarily those which denote a male person, add an -(e)n ending to the noun itself in the accusative case. These are called masculine N-nouns. They are listed in the dictionary as with an extra -en ending before the plural ending, e.g., der Mensch, -en, -en.
Home | Grammar | Submenu Dative Case - Functions Nouns and pronouns use the dative case: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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when they are the indirect object of a verb when they are the object of a dative preposition when they are the object of an accusative/dative preposition when they are the object of a verb which requires the dative when they are used in conjunction with certain special expressions. 1) Er gibt ihr zehn Mark. He gives her ten marks. 2) Was hren Sie von ihm? What do you hear from him? 3) Das liegt auf dem Stuhl. That is lying on the chair. 4) Ich danke Ihnen sehr. I thank you very much. 5) Sei mir nicht bse! Don't be angry with me!
Der-word noun modifiers The following noun modifiers use the same endings as the definite article. (das= -es, die= -e ):

dieser (with singular and plural nouns) = this, these mancher (primarily with plural nouns) = many jeder (only with singular nouns) = every, each solcher (primarily with plural nouns) = such welcher (with singular and plural nouns) = which? Mit welcher Gruppe fhrt er? With which group is he travelling? Sie kennt diesen Mann. She knows this man. Ich habe jeden Film gesehen. I have seen every film. Solche Leute machen mich irre. Such people drive me crazy.
Summary of der-word noun modifier endings The endings on der-word noun modifiers for all genders and cases are as follows: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural diese dieses diese Nominative dieser diese dieses diese Accusative diesen dieser diesem diesen Dative diesem dieser dieses dieser Genitive dieses
Ein-word noun modifiers The following noun modifiers use the same endings as the indefinite article:
Possessive adjectives mein = my uns(e)r = our dein = your (from du) eu(e)r = your (from ihr) sein = his, its ihr = their ihr = her, its Ihr = your (from Sie)
and kein = no, not any Are you looking for your purse?
Suchst du deine Handtasche? Ja, ich brauche meinen Lippenstift.
Haben eure Eltern kein Auto? Er hat seine Wsche gewaschen. Yes, I need my lipstick. Don't your parents have a car? He washed his laundry.
Summary of ein-word noun modifier endings The endings on ein-word noun modifiers for all genders and cases are as follows: Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural meine mein meine Nominative mein meinen meine mein meine Accusative Dative meinem meiner meinem meinen meiner meines meiner Genitive meines
These are the same endings as those on der-word noun modifiers, except for the three forms with no ending.
Plurals of nouns German noun plurals follow one of the following patterns: - no ending (stem vowel may change to Umlaut form): das Fenster, die Fenster der Garten, die Grten -e ending (stem vowel may change to Umlaut form): der Tisch, die Tische der Stuhl, die Sthle -er ending (a , o , u , and au stem vowels change to Umlaut form): das Kind, die Kinder das Buch, die Bcher -en , -n , or -nen ending (stem vowel does not change): die Frau, die Frauen die Studentin, die Studentinnen -s ending (stem vowel does not change): das Auto, die Autos das Radio, die Radios While some rules may help you predict how a specific noun forms its plural, you must generally memorize the plural form with the noun and its gender.
Pronouns A. Personal pronouns 1. du and ihr vs. Sie 2. Possible meanings of sie 3. Gender agreement 4. The non-specific pronoun man B. Interrogative pronouns C. Demonstrative pronouns D. Relative pronouns E. Reflexive pronouns
Personal pronouns - nominative case The personal pronouns in the nominative case are: Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich = I wir = we du = you (informal) ihr = you (informal plural) Sie = you (formal) er = he, it (masculine) sie = she, it (feminine) sie = they es = it (neuter)
du and ihr vs. Sie The proper German pronoun for "you" depends upon your closeness to the person you are addressing:

Sie and its related forms are used when addressing one or several persons whom you would normally call by the last name. Du and its related forms are used when addressing one person (ihr more than one person) whom you normally would call by the first name.
Herr Schmidt, kennen Sie meine Frau? Mr. Schmidt, are you acquainted with my wife? Robert, hast du meinen Hut? Robert, do you have my hat? Kinder, ihr seid zu laut! Children, you are too loud!
Possible meanings of sie
Depending upon its context, the pronoun sie can have various meanings.
1. When it is capitalized and does not begin a sentence, it always means "you" (formal singular or plural). 2. When it is not capitalized and appears as the subject of a singular verb, it means "she" ("it" if it refers to an object of feminine grammatical gender). 3. When it is not capitalized and appears as the subject of a plural verb, it means "they". 4. When it is used as the direct object of a verb, it can mean "her" ("it" if it refers to an object of feminine grammatical gender), or "them". 1) Was meinen Sie dazu? What do you think of that? 2) Was meint sie dazu? What does she think of that? 3) Ich fahre sie durch die Stadt. I drive her (or them) through the town.
Gender agreement In English, only pronouns referring to people show gender differentiation (the woman she/her, the man - he/him). In German, pronouns referring to objects also show gender differentiation. Thus er / ihn / ihm are used to refer to masculine nouns, sie / sie / ihr to refer to feminine nouns, and es / es / ihm to refer to neuter nouns. All translate into English as "it." Ich mchte diese Jacke, I would like this jacket, but I can't afford it. aber ich kann sie mir nicht leisten. Er braucht einen Wagen, He needs a car, but he can't afford it. aber er kann ihn sich nicht leisten.
The non-specific pronoun man
The pronoun man can be translated as "one, they, you (in an unspecified reference), people, someone," etc. It is used for generalized assertions or questions, and in substitutes for passive voice expressions. It only appears as the subject of a singular verb. The corresponding accusative and dative forms are einen and einem.
Man lernt viel durch Lesen. One learns a lot through reading. Man sagt, es soll heiss werden. They say it's supposed to get hot. Man hat das schon erklrt. Someone already explained that.
Man tut, was einem gefllt. People do whatever pleases them.
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns introduce questions. In the various cases, their forms are as follows:
For persons For things
Nominative wer = who was = what Accusative wen = whom was (or wo-compound) = what Dative wem = whom was (or wo-compound) = what Genitive wessen = whose Wer hat das gesagt? Who said that? Was hast du gesagt? What did you say? Wem hast du das gesagt? To whom did you say that?
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns emphasize the thing or person being referred to. In German, they have the same form as the definite articles, except for the dative plural and genitive singular and plural and plural forms.
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Nominative der Accusative den Dative dem Genitive dessen die die der deren das das dem dessen die die denen deren
Welchen Bleistift mchtest du? Which pencil would you like? Ich mchte den. I would like that one. Mit welchem Auto fhrst du am liebsten? In which car do you like best to ride? Ich fahre am liebsten mit dem. I like best to ride in that one.
Relative pronouns - function
Relative pronouns introduce relative clauses, which specify a fact about an object or a person. The gender of the relative pronoun is determined by the gender of the word to which it refers, and its case is determined by its function in the relative clause. Relative clauses use dependent word order.
Der Mann, den wir heute getroffen haben, arbeitet in Berlin. Ich kenne seine Frau, die oft mit ihm reist. The man whom we met today works in Berlin. I know his wife, who often travels with him.
Reflexive pronouns - function
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the sentence. They are used most frequently with reflexive verbs in either the accusative or dative case, depending upon the meaning of the verb.
Ich ziehe mich schnell an. I get (myself) dressed quickly. Ich ziehe mir schnell Schuhe an. I put my shoes on quickly. Sie wscht sich. She washes (herself). Sie wscht sich die Haare. She washes her hair.
Verbs, present tense A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H. I. J. K. L. M. N. Regular verbs Verbs with stem vowel change Present tense verb form - meanings The verb sein (to be) The verb haben (to have) The verb werden (to become, get) The verb lassen (to let, have done) Verbs with separable prefixes Modal auxiliary verbs Command forms Reflexive verbs Verbs with special objects The verb expressions for "like, not like, would like" es gibt (there is, are)
Regular verbs
The regular verbs in the present tense follow the pattern: infinitive stem + personal ending
Personal pronouns Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich gehe wir gehen du gehst ihr geht er geht sie geht sie gehen es geht Sie gehen
Verbs with stem vowel change
A number of verbs change their stem vowel in the du and er / sie / es forms of the present tense. The stem vowel changes are a > , e > ie, and e > i.
ich sehe wir sehen du siehst ihr seht er sieht sie sieht sie sehen es sieht Sie sehen
Present tense verb form - meanings The one-word present tense form in German can correspond to one- or multi-word present tense verb forms in English. Er arbeitet bis zehn Uhr. He is working until ten o'clock.
Hast du meinen Bleistift? Do you have my pencil? Warum fragt sie ihn nicht? Why doesn't she ask him? Sie glauben das, nicht? You do believe that, don't you?
The verb sein (to be)
The present tense forms of the verb sein are:

Personal pronouns Singular Plural Singular & Plural ich bin wir sind du bist ihr seid Sie sind er ist sie ist es ist
sie sind
The verb haben (to have)
The present tense forms of the verb haben are:

ich habe wir haben du hast ihr habt er hat sie hat es hat Sie haben
sie haben
The verb werden (to become, get)
The present tense forms of the verb werden are:
ich werde wir werden du wirst ihr werdet Sie werden er wird sie wird es wird
sie werden
The verb lassen (to let, have done)
The present tense forms of the verb lassen are:

ich lasse wir lassen du lsst ihr lasst er lsst sie lsst sie lassen es lsst Sie lassen
Verbs with separable prefixes
Many German verbs have a prefix in their infinitive form, which separates from the verb in certain sentence structures and appears at the end of the phrase. If the sentence structure requires that the whole verb appear at the end of the phrase (e.g., in dependent clauses), the two parts are unified; if not, they are separated.
List of separable prefix verbs Erich macht das Fenster auf. Eric is opening the window. Eric hat das Fenster aufgemacht. Eric has opened the window. Eric, mach das Fenster auf! Eric, open the window! Eric will das Fenster aufmachen. Eric wants to open the window. Erich sagt, dass er das Fenster aufmacht. Erich says that he is opening the window.
Modal auxiliary verbs - function Modal auxiliary verbs express relations (such as permission, obligation, ability, etc.) between the doers of actions and the actions themselves. The singular forms of German modal auxiliary verbs use special stems. Infinitive Singular stem Meaning drfen darf to be permitted to, may knnen kann to be able to, can mgen mag to like to mssen muss to have to, must sollen soll to be supposed to, should wollen will to want to
Modal auxiliary verbs - forms
The present tense forms of the modal auxiliary verbs use the special stem in the singular and the infinitive stem in the plural. The ich- and er / sie / es-forms take no personal ending.
ich kann wir knnen du kannst ihr knnt er kann sie knnen sie kann Sie knnen
es kann
Command forms The form of a command depends upon the speaker's relationship to the person(s) being addressed. Three forms are possible: 1. the du form, for one person whom one calls by the first name, 2. the ihr form, for several people whom one calls by the first name, 3. the Sie form, for one or several people whom one calls by the last name. 1) Franz, komm herein! 2) Jens und Petra, kommt herein! Come in! 3) Herr Braun, kommen Sie herein! Herr und Frau Schmidt, kommen Sie herein!
The du command form
Commands to persons whom the speaker addresses with du use the verb stem associated with du in statements and questions, but with no ending or with an optional -e ending. This means that verbs with 1) an e > i or 2) an e > ie vowel change use the changed vowel in the command form. Verbs with 3) an a > or au > u vowel change, however, use the original vowel in the command form. 4) Some irregular forms occur.
1) Gib uns etwas Geld! Give us some money! 2) Lies diesen Artikel! Read this article! 3) Laufe nicht so schnell! Don't run so fast! 4) Werde nicht bse auf mich! Don't get angry at me!
The ihr command form
Commands to a group of persons whom the speaker addresses individually with du use the same verb form as that associated with ihr in statements and questions.
Freunde, helft mir! Friends, help me! Kinder, seid ruhig, bitte! Children, be quiet, please! Macht das noch einmal! Do that once more!
The Sie command form
Commands to a person or group of persons whom the speaker addresses with Sie use the same verb form as that associated with Sie in statements and questions. The pronoun Sie is included in the command. The command form for sein (to be) uses an irregular form.
Bleiben Sie etwas lnger! Stay a little longer! Fahren Sie mit uns! Ride with us! Seien Sie vorsichtig! Be careful!
Reflexive verbs
A reflexive verb requires a reflexive pronoun when it refers to an action affecting the subject of the sentence. Generally, the same verb can also be used non-reflexively, if it refers to an action affecting someone or something other than the subject. The reflexive pronoun can be either in the accusative or dative case, depending upon its function in the sentence.
List of reflexive verbs Ich wasche mich schnell. I wash (myself) quickly. Ich wasche mir schnell das Gesicht. I wash my face quickly. Ich wasche schnell das Auto. I wash the car quickly.
Verbs with special objects
Some verbs take dative, rather than accusative objects. Even though they translate into direct object expressions in English, they can often be interpreted as a giving of something to somebody, and this implies that the object is really an indirect object.
Sie hilft mir mit meiner Arbeit. She helps (gives assistance to) me with my work.
Other German verbs take genitive objects. They belong more to a literary than a conversational style, and usually translate into English expressions containing "of".
Ich entsinne mich dessen nicht. I don't remember (have no recollection of) that.
Expressions meaning "to like" "To like doing something" is expressed by: 1. gern + verb 2. gefallen + zu + verb infinitive 1) Wir spielen gern Tennis. We like to play tennis. 2) Es gefllt uns, Tennis zu spielen. We like playing tennis. "To like somebody or something" is expressed by: 1. gern haben + object 2. subject + gefallen + dative object. 1) Wir haben Tennis gern. We like tennis. 2) Tennis gefllt uns. We like tennis.
Expressions meaning "to not like" "To not like doing something" is expressed by: 1. nicht gern + verb 2. nicht gefallen + zu + verb infinitive 1. Er spielt nicht gern Tennis. He doesn't like to play tennis. 2. Es gefllt ihm nicht, Tennis zu spielen. He doesn't like to play tennis. "To not like somebody or something" is expressed by:
1. nicht gern haben + object 2. subject + nicht gefallen + dative object 3. nicht mgen + object 1. Er hat Tennis nicht gern. He doesn't like tennis. 2. Tennis gefllt ihm nicht. He doesn't like tennis. 3. Er mag Tennis nicht. He doesn't like tennis.
Expressions meaning "would like" "Would like to do something" is expressed by: mchten + verb Ich mchte Tennis spielen. I would like to play tennis. Sie mchte Wein bestellen. She would like to order wine. "Would like something" is expressed by: 1. mchten + object 2. htten gern + object Ich mchte ein Glas Wein. I would like a glass of wine. Ich htte gern ein Glas Wein. I would like a glass of wine.
Es gibt (there is, are)
To make a general statement or question about the existence of something, German uses the expression es gibt. Since the thing referred to is the direct object of the verb geben, it appears in the accusative case. The verb is always singular, because its subject is always es.
Es gibt viele Autos in den USA. There are lots of cars in the U.S. Gibt es eine Bckerei in der Nhe? Is there a bakery in the vicinity? Hier gibt es keinen Spielplatz fr die Kinder. There is no playground here for the children.
Word order A. Statements B. Questions
C. D. E. F. G. H. I. Commands Negation with nicht Negation with kein Dependent clauses Direct and indirect objects of verbs Time, manner and place expressions Infinitive phrases with zu
Statements In statements, the conjugated verb always constitutes the second component of the sentence. 1. The subject may precede it, as in English, or 2. some other component which normally follows the verb may precede it, in which case the subject immediately follows the conjugated verb. 1) Das Wetter ist heute kalt. The weather is cold today. 2) Heute ist das Wetter kalt. Today the weather is cold.
Questions In questions which ask for a specific piece of information, the word order follows the pattern: Question word(QW) - verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate components(PC) Was(QW) machen(V) Sie(S) heute abend(PC)? What are you doing this evening? In questions which ask for a yes or no response, the word order follows the pattern: Verb(V) - subject(S) - predicate components(PC) Gehen(V) Sie(S) in die Stadt(PC)? Are you going into the city?
Commands
In commands, the verb is the first component.
1. In the Sie command form, it is followed by the subject pronoun. 2. The du and ihr command forms omit the subject pronoun. 1) Bleiben Sie noch ein paar Minuten, Frau Petersen! Stay a few minutes more, Mrs. Petersen! 2) Lass mich in Ruhe, Markus! Leave me in peace, Markus! Macht eure Hausaufgaben, Kinder! Do your homework, children!
Negation with nicht Nicht negates 1) verbs, 2) adjectives, 3) adverbs, 4) prepositional phrases, and 5) nouns preceded by a definite article or 6) a possessive. 1) Die Sonne scheint nicht. The sun is not shining. 2) Der Winter war nicht kalt. The winter was not cold. 3) Wir fahren nicht schnell. We're not driving fast. 4) Ich gehe nicht ins Bro. I'm not going to the office. 5) Er ist nicht der Chef. He is not the boss. 6) Sie ist nicht meine Frau. She is not my wife.
Position of nicht The position of nicht in a negative sentence varies, but generally follows these rules: Nicht follows 1) the verb in second position in a declarative statement, 2) the subject in a question, 3) objects of the verb (especially pronoun objects), and 4) adverbs of specific time. 1) Ich kann nicht gehen. I can't go. 2) Wollen Sie nicht gehen? Don't you want to go? 3) Sie gibt ihm das Buch nicht. She won't give him the book. 4) Wir fahren heute abend nicht. We're not travelling this evening. Nicht precedes 1) predicate adjectives (i.e., those which complete the meaning of a linking verb, such as sein or bleiben), 2) predicate nouns (same definition as for predicate adjectives), 3) adverbs (except for those denoting specific time), 4) prepositional phrases. 1) Es bleibt nicht warm. 2) Ich bin nicht Herr Grn. It won't stay warm. I'm not Mr. Grn.
3) Er fhrt nicht zu schnell. He isn't driving too fast. 4) Wir gehen nicht nach Hause. We won't go home. Since there is considerable flexibility in the position of nicht, one should simply place it where it sounds right after some practice.
Negation with kein
Kein negates nouns preceded by 1) an indefinite article, or 2) no article.

1) Kaufst du eine Batterie? Are you buying a battery? Nein, ich kaufe keine Batterie. No, I am not buying a battery. 2) Hat das Geschft Aspirin? Does the store have aspirin? Nein, es hat kein Aspirin. No, it has no aspirin.
The endings added to kein are determined by the gender and case of the noun following it.
Dependent clauses
Dependent clauses are sentence parts which contain the components of a complete sentence (subject - verb - predicate), but require another (independent) clause to complete their meaning. They can be introduced in a number of ways:
1. by a subordinating conjunction 2. by a relative pronoun. 1) Wir bleiben zu Hause, weil es regnet. We are staying at home, because it is raining. 2) Der Mann, der dort sitzt, ist Amerikaner. The man who is sitting there is an American.
Dependent clauses - word order In a dependent clause, the conjugated verb appears at the end of the clause. All other elements of the clause remain in their normal position. Ich weiss nicht, ob er schon zu Hause ist. Das Auto, das vor der Bank steht, gehrt meinem Vater. I don't know if he is already at home. The car that is standing in front of the bank belongs to my father.
Dependent, independent clauses - word order When a dependent clause precedes an independent clause, the conjugated verbs are the last component of the first clause and the first component of the second clause. Thus the two verbs always appear on either side of the comma which separates the clauses. Wenn ich ihn sehe, grsse ich ihn von Ihnen. When I see him, I'll give him your greetings. Dass sie das gesagt hat, berrascht mich. That she said that, surprises me.
Direct and indirect objects of verbs When a verb has a direct and an indirect object, the direct object is 1. the second of the two if it is a noun, 2. the first of the two if it is a pronoun. 1) Wir geben dem Mann das Buch. We give the man the book. 2) Wir geben es dem Mann. We give it to the man.
Time, manner and place expressions
In sentences containing expressions relating to the time(T), manner(M), or place(P) of an action, these expressions generally appear in that order. Also, more general time expressions(GT) usually precede more specific ones(ST). Any of these expressions can be emphasized by placing it first in a sentence. Sie fhrt heute(T) mit dem Bus(M) in die Stadt(P). She is travelling by bus to the city today. Sie fhrt morgen(GT) um zwei Uhr(ST) mit dem She is travelling by train to Frankfurt Zug(M) nach Frankfurt(P). tomorrow at two o'clock.
Infinitive phrases with zu Many German expressions require an infinitive phrase with zu to complete them. The zu + infinitive construction appears at the end of its phrase, rather than at the beginning. Wir versuchen, das Auto zu reparieren. We are trying to repair the car. Es gelingt uns aber nicht, das zu tun. But we are not successful in doing so.
Prepositions A. B. C. D. E. F. G. Introduction to prepositions Accusative prepositions Dative prepositions Accusative/dative prepositions Genitive prepositions Da- and wo-compounds Introduction to prepositions
H. A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition, an object of the preposition (either a noun or pronoun), and other words (such as articles and adjectives). German prepositions may be classified according to the case of their object, Some take accusative objects, some dative objects, some accusative or dative objects, and some genitive objects. The following screens show which prepositions use which kinds of objects. I.
J.
Accusative prepositions
The accusative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

durch - through, by (with passive verb) fr - for gegen - against ohne - without um - around, at (in time expressions) Sie kommen ohne die Kinder. They are coming without the children. Er ist gegen den Plan. He is against the plan. Wir machen das fr dich. We are doing that for you. Ich fahre um die Stadt. I drive around the city.
Dative prepositions
The dative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

aus - from, out of ausser - besides bei - near, at the home of mit - with nach - after (time), to (space) seit - since (time) von - from, of, by (with passive verb) zu - to (space), to the place of
Er kommt aus dem Haus. He is coming out of the house. Sie wohnt bei ihrer Schwester. She is living at her sister's. Ich spreche morgen mit ihm. I'll talk with him tomorrow. Gehen Sie zu Ihrem Professor! Go to your professor!
Accusative/dative prepositions The accusative / dative prepositions and their most common meanings are: an - to, close by (something vertical) auf - onto, on top of (something horizontal) hinter - behind in - into, inside of neben - next to ber - over, above unter - below, under vor - in front of zwischen - between Sein Bleistift liegt auf dem Tisch. His pencil is lying on the table. Wir gehen in den Laden. We are going into the store. Du stehst hinter ihnen. You are standing behind them. Meine Mutter wohnt neben uns. My mother lives next to us.
Accusative/dative prepositions (cont.) These prepositions use the accusative case to indicate: 1) Motion in a specific direction. They use the dative case to indicate: 2) Position at a location 3) Undirected motion within an area.
1) Die Frau geht an die Tr. The woman goes to the door. 2) Ein Mann steht vor ihr. A man is standing in front of her. 3) Sie bummeln in der Stadt herum. They stroll around in the city.
Genitive prepositions The most common genitive prepositions are: statt, anstatt - instead of trotz - in spite of whrend - during, in the course of wegen - because of Er kommt statt seines Bruders. He comes instead of his brother. Wir spielen trotz des Wetters. We play in spite of the weather. Ich arbeite whrend der Woche. I work during the week. Sie schreiben wegen der Probleme. They write because of the problems.
Da- and wo-compounds When a preposition has a pronoun object, and the pronoun does not refer to a person, the prepositional phrase often takes the form of a da-compound (in statements) or a wocompound (in questions). Prepositions beginning with a vowel require an -r- in the middle of the compound. Some prepositions do not form such compounds. Worber sprechen Sie? What are you talking about? Ich denke nicht daran. I don't think about it. Womit schreibt er? With what is he writing? Ich kann ohne sie nicht leben. I can't live without her.
Adjectives and adverbs A. Form of Adjectives and Adverbs B. Endings on adjectives 1. Significant (strong) endings
2. Non-significant (weak) endings C. Special adjective and adverb expressions D. Comparison of adjectives and adverbs
Form of Adjectives and Adverbs Adjectives and adverbs have the same form in German. The context in which they are used indicates how to interpret them. Dieser Ksekuchen ist sehr gut. This cheesecake is very good. Sie bckt den Kuchen sehr gut. She bakes the cake very well. Ich fahre gern schnelle Autos Ich fahre gern schnell. I like to drive fast cars. I like to drive fast.
Endings on adjectives
When an adjective precedes the noun it modifies, it takes an ending. The form of the ending depends upon several factors: the gender and case of the noun, and the type of word which precedes the adjective-noun combination.
Sie sehen das schne Haus an. They look at the beautiful house. Sie wollen ein schnes Haus haben. They want to have a beautiful house. Sie bauen schne Huser. They build beautiful houses.
Predicate adjectives do not take an ending.

Das Haus ist schn. The house is beautiful.
Significant (strong) endings
Significant or "strong" adjective endings correspond to those of the der-word noun modifiers. These endings indicate the gender and case of the noun the adjective modifies.
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Nominative -er Accusative -en Dative -em Genitive -en -e -e -er -er -es -es -em -en -e -e -en -er
For the genitive masculine and neuter, the adjective ending is -en rather than -es, because the noun carries a "strong" ending.
Significant (strong) endings (cont.) These endings are used when the word preceding the adjective carries no ending, or the adjective is unpreceded. Sie trinken deutschen Wein. They are drinking German wine. Wir bauen ein neues Haus. We are building a new house. Mein kleiner Junge sitzt da. My little boy is sitting there. Der Geruch gebratener Bratwurst war berall. The smell of grilled sausage was everywhere. They are also used after the words viele, mehrere and einige. Wir sahen viele junge Leute. We saw many young people. Ich kaufte einige gute Bcher. I bought some good books.
Non-significant (weak) endings
Non-significant, or "weak" endings are either -e or -en. They indicate nothing about the gender or case of the noun the adjective modifies.
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural
Nominative -e Accusative -en Dative -en Genitive -en -e -e -en -en -e -e -en -en -en -en -en -e
Non-significant (weak) endings (cont.) These endings are used when the word preceding the adjective carries a significant ending. Kaufen Sie dieses interessante Buch? Es gibt keine grossen Kaufhuser hier. Welcher bekannte Mann hat das gesagt? Mit solchen schlechten Mitarbeitern kann man nichts erreichen. Are you buying this interesting book? There are no large department stores here. What famous man said that? With such bad colleagues, you can't accomplish anything.
Special adjective and adverb expressions
Adjectives and adverbs often appear in conjunction with special 1) accusative, 2) dative or 3) genitive expressions.
1) Ich bin solches Wetter nicht gewohnt. I am not accustomed to such weather. 2) Das ist mir bekannt. That is familiar to me. 3) Es war nicht der Mhe wert. It wasn't worth the effort.
Comparison of adjectives and adverbs Adjectives and adverbs can express three levels of comparison: 1) Positive 2) Comparative 3) Superlative
Although German and English are somewhat similar in the way they form adjective and adverb comparisons, there are a number of significant differences. For example, the German forms add adjective endings where required. 1) Ich habe ein schnelles Auto. I have a fast car. 2) Martin hat ein schnelleres Auto. Martin has a faster car. 3) Beate hat das schnellste Auto. Beate has the fastest car.
Positive forms of adjectives and adverbs Positive comparisons in German use the expression so...wie (as...as), or genauso...wie (just as...as) with the adjective or adverb. Dieses Buch kostet genauso viel wie jenes. This book costs just as much as that one. Heute ist es nicht so warm wie gestern. Today it is not as warm as yesterday. Ich habe einen genauso schnen Mantel wie du. I have just as pretty a coat as you.
Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs
In German, all adjectives and adverbs form their comparative by adding an -er to the positive form. None use the equivalent of "more," as for multi-syllable English adjectives and adverbs. Most one-syllable German adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u change that vowel to its Umlaut equivalent.
Das Wetter wird immer heisser. The weather is getting hotter and hotter. Die Menschen leben lnger. People are living longer. Er will ein neueres Auto haben. He wants to have a newer car. Beate ist intelligenter als ich. Beate is more intelligent than I.
As the last example shows, German uses als as the connecting word for comparisons ("than" in English).
A number of irregular forms exist.
Superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs
German adjectives and adverbs form their superlative with -(e)st + adjective ending. The -eis used after a t, d, or an s sound. The one-syllable adjectives and adverbs with stem vowel a, o, or u which change that vowel to its Umlaut equivalent in the comparative do so in the superlative as well. Adjectives preceding the nouns they modify use the form definite article + adjective +(e)st + adjective ending. Adverbs and predicate adjectives use the form am + adjective +(e)st + adjective ending.
Hans ist der intelligenteste Junge in der Klasse. Hans is the most intelligent boy in the class. Wie heisst der lngste Fluss der Welt? What is the name of the longest river in the world? Ich finde diese Frage am schwierigsten. I find this question to be the most difficult.
A number of irregular forms exist.
Verbs, other tenses A. B. C. D. E. F. Simple past tense Compound past tense Past perfect tense Principal parts of verbs Future tense Future perfect tense
Simple past tense The simple past tense, sometimes called the narrative past, is used to relate a sequence of events. It appears primarily in written German, e.g., in newspapers, novels, etc.
Ich kam, ich sah, ich siegte. Der Morgen war schn, aber es regnete am Nachmittag. Der Politiker versprach viel, und machte wenig. I came, I saw, I conquered. The morning was beautiful, but it rained in the afternoon. The politician promised a lot, but did little.
Simple past tense - regular verbs
Regular verbs form the simple past by inserting an -(e)t- tense marker between the verb stem and the personal ending.
Personal pronouns kaufen = to buy Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich kaufte wir kauften du kauftest ihr kauftet Sie kauften er kaufte sie kaufte sie kauften es kaufte
Verbs whose stem ends in -d, -t, or a consonant combination such as -gn use the -e- as part of the tense marker. Example: ich arbeitete.
Simple past tense - regular verbs with altered stem
Some regular verbs form the simple past by inserting the -(e)t- tense marker between an altered verb stem and the personal ending.
Personal pronouns denken = to think Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich dachte wir dachten du dachtest ihr dachtet Sie dachten er dachte sie dachte sie dachten es dachte
The simple past forms for the regular verbs with altered stem may be found in the list of principal parts of verbs.
Simple past tense - modal auxiliary verbs
The modal auxiliary verbs form their past tense by inserting the -t- tense marker between a stem without an Umlaut and the personal ending.
Infinitive Simple past drfen knnen mgen mssen sollen wollen durfte konnte mochte musste sollte wollte Meaning was permitted to was able to, could liked to had to was supposed to wanted to
Simple past tense - irregular verbs
Irregular verbs form the simple past by using a verb stem unique to each verb. The personal endings differ slightly from those of the regular verbs in the simple past.
Personal pronouns singen = to sing Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich sang wir sangen du sangst ihr sangt er sang sie sang sie sangen es sang Sie sangen
The simple past forms for specific irregular verbs may be found in the list of principal parts of verbs.
Compound past tense
The compound past tense, sometimes called the conversational past, is used to refer to unconnected events, and is the most common past tense form in conversational German. It is formed with a helping verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of the main verb.
Ich habe ihn nicht gesehen. I haven't seen him. Wir sind nach Berlin gefahren. We travelled to Berlin. Haben Sie das Buch gekauft? Did you buy the book? Das Wetter ist warm geworden. The weather has become warm.
Notice from the translations that this tense can correspond either to the simple or the compound past in English.
Compound past tense - sein as helping verb
Sein appears as the helping verb for any verb whose meaning designates a change of location,
1) if it does not have a direct object. 2) The same verb with a direct object uses haben as its helping verb. 1) Wir sind nach Frankfurt gefahren. We drove to Frankfurt. 2) Wir haben das Auto nach Frankfurt gefahren. We drove the car to Frankfurt.
Sein also appears as the helping verb

1) for any verb whose meaning designates a process or development, 2) for two other verbs which fit neither category - sein and bleiben. 1) Wann ist das Wetter kalt geworden? When did the weather turn cold? 2) Er ist zu Hause geblieben. He stayed at home.
The verbs which use sein as a helping verb may be found in the list of principal parts of verbs.
Past participle - regular verbs Regular verbs form their past participle according to the following pattern: ge + stem + (e)t. Ich habe das nicht gesagt. I didn't say that. Haben Sie viel gearbeitet? Did you work a lot? If the verb begins with an unaccented syllable the ge- prefix is not used. Sie hat das schon erklrt. She has already explained that.
Past participle - regular verbs with altered stem
Some verbs form their past participles like a regular verb, but use the same altered stem as for the simple past:
ge + altered stem + (e)t.
Er hat das schon gewusst. He knew that already. Ich habe sie lange gekannt. I have been acquainted with her for a long time. Hast du Wein gebracht? Did you bring wine?
If the verb begins with an unaccented syllable the ge- prefix is not used.
Wir haben euch nicht erkannt. We didn't recognize you.
The past participle forms for the regular verbs with altered stem may be found in the list of principal parts of verbs.
Past participle - modal auxiliary verbs
Modal auxiliary verbs form their past participle using the same stem as for the simple past:
ge + stem without Umlaut + t. Unsere Kinder haben das nie gedurft. Our children were never permitted (to do) that.
This form of the past participle appears only when the modal auxiliary is used alone, which is infrequent. More often, the modal is used in conjunction with another verb, and the past participle becomes part of a double infinitive construction.
Unsere Kinder haben nie fernsehen drfen. Our children were never permitted to watch television.
Past participle - irregular verbs
Irregular verbs form their past participles by using a verb stem unique to each verb, according to the following pattern:
ge + verb stem + en
Wir haben den Film nicht gesehen. We haven't seen the film. Du bist sehr schnell gelaufen. You ran very fast.
If the verb begins with an unaccented syllable the ge- prefix is not used.
Kurt hat gestern einen Brief bekommen. Kurt received a letter yesterday.
The past participle forms for specific irregular verbs may be found in the list of principal parts of verbs.
Past perfect tense
The past perfect tense refers to a past event which occurred before another past event. It consists of the simple past form of the helping verb (haben or sein) and the past participle of the main verb.
Sie hatten uns schon gesehen. They had seen us already. Wir waren bis acht geblieben. We had stayed until eight.
Principal parts of verbs
The principal parts of a verb are its infinitive form, present tense er / sie / es-form, simple past form, and past participle with helping verb. For irregular verbs, these must be learned individually.
Future tense The future tense is formed with the helping verb werden and the infinitive of the main verb. Wir werden bald abfahren. We will leave soon. Wird er seine Kinder mitbringen? Will he bring along his children? Ich werde an Sie schreiben. I will write to you.
If it is clear from the context (for example, through an adverb or prepositional phrase) that the future is intended, German tends to use the present rather than the future tense. Wir kommen morgen an. We will arrive tomorrow. Wir kommen in einer Stunde an. We will arrive in an hour.
Future perfect tense - function The future perfect tense is used to refer to an event that will have happened before another future event. Bis Ende dieser Woche wird er sein Examen bestanden haben. By the end of this week, he will have passed his exam.
With the adverbs wohl or schon, it refers to a probable event in the past. Er wird sein Examen schon bestanden haben. He probably has already passed his exam.
Future perfect tense - form The future perfect tense is formed with the future tense helping verb werden and the perfect infinitive (past participle + infinitive of its compound past helping verb) of the main verb. Du wirst das wohl gehrt haben. Bis morgen werde ich alles gelernt haben. Bis nchste Woche werden wir nach Italien gefahren sein. You have probably heard that. By tomorrow, I will have learned everything. By next week, we will have travelled to Italy.
Verbs, subjunctive mood A. The general subjunctive 1. Present time 2. Past time B. The conditional with wrde C. The special subjunctive
The general subjunctive The general subjunctive is used: 1) to make a conjecture or hypothetical statement, 2) to express a wish that is not likely to be fulfilled, 3) to make polite requests, 4) to quote indirectly what another person has said. 1) Sie shen diesen Film gern. You would like to see this movie. 2) Wenn ich nur mehr Zeit htte! If only I had more time! 3) Knnten Sie mir bitte helfen? Could you please help me? 4) Er sagte, er kme morgen. He said he was coming tomorrow.
Present time subjunctive - regular verbs The present time subjunctive of a regular verb has exactly the same form as the simple past tense of that verb (1). Thus the conditional with wrde is generally used instead (2). 1) Ich lebte gern in Mnchen. I liked living in Munich. or
I would like to live in Munich. I would like to live in Munich. 2) Ich wrde gern in Mnchen leben.
Present time subjunctive - regular verbs with altered stem The present time subjunctive of a regular verb with altered stem uses the simple past tense form of the verb, but with an Umlaut over the stem vowel. However, the verbs kennen, nennen, and rennen use e rather than as their stem vowel. Wenn er nur daran dchte! If only he would think of it! Wenn wir uns besser kennten, wrden wir mehr If we knew each other better, we would Spass haben. have more fun.
Present time subjunctive - modal auxiliary verbs
The present time subjunctive of a modal auxiliary verb uses the simple past tense form of the verb, with an Umlaut over the stem vowel, except for sollen and wollen. Subjunctive modal auxiliary verbs are especially important for making polite requests.
Ich mchte zwei Glas Bier. I would like two glasses of beer. Drfte ich eine Frage stellen? Might I ask a question? Sollten wir sie einladen? Shouldn't we invite them? Knntest du mir helfen? Could you help me?
Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs
The present time subjunctive of an irregular verb uses as its base the simple past tense verb stem, but with an Umlaut over the stem vowel, if it is a, o, or u. The subjunctive also uses different endings from the simple past for most forms. Thus even verbs with an i, e, or ie stem vowel in the simple past, which can carry no Umlaut, are nevertheless nearly always recognizable as subjunctive forms.
Ich fhre lieber nach Spanien. I would rather travel to Spain. Wenn sie nur schneller liefe! If only she would run faster. Wenn wir flgen, wrden wir frher ankommen. If we flew, we would arrive earlier.
Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs (cont.)
The pattern for the present time subjunctive of irregular verbs is:
subjunctive stem + subjunctive ending Personal pronouns Singular Plural Singular & Plural
ich snge wir sngen du sngest ihr snget Sie sngen er snge sie snge sie sngen es snge
Past time subjunctive The past time subjunctive consists of the subjunctive form of haben or sein as the helping verb, and the past participle of the main verb. Ich htte Ihnen geholfen. I would have helped you. Wren Sie mitgekommen? Would you have come along? Wir htten euch besucht. We would have visited you. Sie wre gern nach Deutschland gereist. She would like to have travelled to Germany.
Past time subjunctive with modal auxiliaries
When a sentence contains a modal auxiliary verb in combination with a main verb, the past time subjunctive consists of the subjunctive form of haben, and the modal auxiliary and main verbs as a "double infinitive" at the end of the clause.
Ihr httet mich anrufen sollen. You should have called me. Ich htte ihm alles erklren knnen. I could have explained everything to him. Wir htten in London umsteigen mssen. We would have had to transfer in London.
The conditional with wrde The subjunctive form of werden, in combination with the infinitive of the main verb, is often used instead of the present time subjunctive of the main verb, particularly when the subjunctive of the main verb looks the same as its simple past tense. This wrde construction is also generally used in the "then" clause of an "if...then" statement. Wrdest du mir bitte erklren, was das Would you please explain to me, what that
bedeutet? Wenn ich Sie wre, wrde ich das rote Kleid kaufen. means? If I were you, I would buy the red dress.
The special subjunctive - function The special subjunctive is used primarily in written and oral news reports for indirect quotes (1). It also appears in directives or expressions of good will (2). 1) Der Politiker sagte, er sei nicht mit dem Gesetz zufrieden, aber er habe doch dafr gestimmt. 2) Lang lebe der Knig! The politician said he wasn't satisfied with the law, but he had voted for it anyway. Long live the king!
The special subjunctive - form
The special subjunctive uses the infinitive stem of the verb for all of its forms, with the same personal endings as those of the general subjunctive. Often it looks exactly the same as the present tense, in which case the general subjunctive is used instead. Its er / sie / es form is always distinctive, however, and thus appears most frequently.
ich spreche wir sprechen du sprechest ihr sprechet Sie sprechen
er spreche sie spreche sie sprechen es spreche
The verb sein does not use an -e ending on the ich and er / sie / es forms.
Singular ich sei Plural Singular & Plural wir seien
du seiest ihr seiet Sie seien er sei sie sei es sei
sie seien
Verbs, passive voice A. B. C. D. E. Function of the passive voice Present tense Other tenses The impersonal passive Substitutes for the passive 1. The man construction 2. Reflexive constructions 3. The sich lassen construction 4. The sein...zu + infinitive constru
Function of the passive voice
In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence is the receiver rather than the doer of the action expressed by the verb. In German, the passive voice is used primarily to describe situations where the activity or process is emphasized, rather than the doer or cause of the
activity. If mentioned at all, the doer appears as the object of von (by), and the cause as the object of durch (by means of).
Nur Deutsch wird von den Studenten gesprochen. Only German is being spoken by the students. Das Haus wurde durch Feuer vllig zerstrt. The house was completely destroyed by fire.
Passive voice, present tense The present tense passive uses the present tense of the verb werden as a helping verb, with the past participle of the main verb. Heute wird alles ausgerumt. Today everything is being cleared out. Die Milch wird langsam gekocht. The milk is boiled slowly. Diese Probleme werden nicht leicht gelst. These problems are not easily solved.
Passive voice, other tenses The other tenses in the passive voice use the tense forms of the helping verb werden, together with the past participle of the main verb. The past participle form of werden in the passive voice is worden, rather than geworden. Simple past Das Problem wurde schnell gelst. The problem was quickly solved. Compound past Das Problem ist schnell gelst worden. The problem has been quickly solved. Past perfect Das Problem war schnell gelst worden. The problem had been quickly solved. Future Das Problem wird schnell gelst werden. The problem will be quickly solved
Passive modal auxiliary forms
Passive constructions with modal auxiliary verbs take the following form:
modal auxiliary + past participle of main verb + infinitive of werden Das Badezimmer muss noch geputzt werden. The bathroom must still be cleaned. Diese Tatsache soll in Betracht gezogen werden. This fact should be taken into account.
The modal auxiliary verb itself changes tense to form the other tenses of these constructions.
Das Badezimmer musste noch geputzt werden. The bathroom still had to be cleaned. Das Badezimmer wird noch geputzt werden mssen. The bathroom will still have to be cleaned.
The impersonal passive In German, the passive voice can appear without any subject of the verb, or with an impersonal subject es. This grammatical structure places emphasis upon the action itself, rather than upon the doer or receiver of the action. It is frequently used in official directives. Hier wird nicht geparkt. No parking here. Im Gang wird nicht geraucht. No smoking in the corridor. Es wurde viel getanzt und gesungen. There was lots of dancing and singing.
Substitutes for the passive
In conversational German, the passive voice is not used as frequently as in English. Instead, a number of substitute structures can be used:
1) man as a non-specific subject of an active verb 2) a reflexive verb construction 3) sich lassen + infinitive of the main verb 4) sein + zu + infinitive of the main verb. 1) Man lernt Deutsch leicht. German is easily learned. 2) Deutsch lernt sich leicht. German is easily learned. 3) Deutsch lsst sich leicht lernen. German can be easily learned. 4) Deutsch ist leicht zu lernen. German can be easily learned.
The man construction
An active voice man construction can be used as a substitute for almost any passive verb structure, with or without a modal auxiliary, in any tense.
Diese Themen werden oft diskutiert. Man diskutiert diese Themen oft. Die Arbeit muss gemacht werden. Man muss die Arbeit machen. These topics are often discussed.
The work must be done.
Der Bericht ist schon geschrieben worden. The report has already been written. Man hat den Bericht schon geschrieben.
Reflexive constructions
Many normally non-reflexive verbs can be used reflexively as a substitute for a passive construction.
Diese Sache wird bald erklrt. Diese Sache erklrt sich bald. Die Tore wurden geffnet. Die Tore ffneten sich. This matter will be cleared up soon.
The gates were being opened.
Das wird schwer verstanden werden. That will be hard to understand. Das wird sich schwer verstehen.
Reflexive constructions
Many normally non-reflexive verbs can be used reflexively as a substitute for a passive construction.
Diese Sache wird bald erklrt. Diese Sache erklrt sich bald. Die Tore wurden geffnet. Die Tore ffneten sich. This matter will be cleared up soon.
The gates were being opened.
Das wird schwer verstanden werden. That will be hard to understand. Das wird sich schwer verstehen.
The sein...zu + infinitive construction sein (to be), used in conjunction with zu + the infinitive of a verb, translates literally as "is to be" (done, understood, seen, etc.). Thus it can serve as a substitute for a passive construction with knnen (can be), sollen (should be), or mssen (must be). Das muss bis morgen gemacht werden. Das ist bis morgen zu machen. That must be done by tomorrow.
Dieses Buch kann schnell gelesen werden. This book can be read quickly. Dieses Buch ist schnell zu lesen.
Reference

List of masculine N-nouns Summary of definite and indefinite articles Summary of pronouns Present tense verb forms o Some common verbs with stem vowel change a > o Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > ie o Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > i List of verbs with separable prefixes

List of reflexive verbs List of verbs with dative objects List of verbs with genitive objects Adjectives and adverbs o Comparative and superlative adjectives/adverbs with Umlaut vowel o Irregular comparative and superlative adjectives/adverbs o Accusative adjective and adverb expressions o Dative adjective and adverb expressions o Genitive adjective and adverb expressions Verbs - other tenses o Principal parts of irregular verbs
List of masculine N-nouns Affe -n, -n Agent, -en, -en Akrobat, -en, -en Alchimist, -en, -en Analphabet, -en, -en Anarchist, -en, -en Architekt, -en, -en Aristokrat, -en, -en Asiat, -en, -en Asket, -en, -en Assistent, -en, -en Astronaut, -en, -en Astronom, -en, -en Atheist, -en, -en Athlet, -en, -en Automat, -en, -en Br, -en, -en Barbar, -en, -en Beamte,- n, -n * Bhme, -n, -n Bote, -n, -n Brite, -n, -n Bube, -n, -n Buchstabe, -n, -n @
Bulle, -n, -n Brge, -n, -n Bursche, -n, -n Cellist, -en, -en Chinese, -n, -n Chirurg, -en, -en Christ, -en, -en Demagoge, -n, -n Despot, -en, -en Dilettant, -en, -en Diplomat, -en, -en Drache, -n, -n Egoist, -en, -en Ehegatte, -en, -en Eidgenosse, -n, -n Eilbote, -n, -n Elefant, -en, -en Enthusiast, -en, -en Erbe, -n, -n Evangelist, -en, -en Fabrikant, -en, -en Faschist, -en, -en Fels, -en, -en Franzose, -n, -n Frst, -en, -en Gatte, -en, -en Geck, -en, -en Gefhrte, -n, -n Gehilfe, -en, -en Geograph, -en, -en Germane, -n, -n Geselle, -n, -n Gespiele, -n, -n Girant, -en, -en Girat, -en, -en Gtze, -n, -n Graf. -en, -en Grieche, -n, -n Hase, -n, -n Heide, -n, -n Held, -en, -en
Herr, -n, -en Hirt, -en, -en Hirte, -n, -n Humanist, -en, -en Humorist, -en, -en Hydrant, -en, -en Idiot, -en, -en Industrielle, -n, -n Infanterist, -en, -en Inserent, -en, -en Internist, -en, -en Invalide, -n, -n Ire, -n, -n Isolationist, -en, -en Israelit, -en, -en Jesuit, -en, -en Journalist, -en, -en Jude, -n, -n Jugoslawe, -n, -n Junge, -n, -n Junggeselle, -n, -n Jurist, -en, -en Kadett, -en, -en Kamerad, -en, -en Kandidat, -en, -en Kannibale, -n, -n Katholik, -en, -en Klassenkamerad, -en, -en Klient, -en, -en Knabe, -n, -n Kollege, -n, -n Komet, -en, -en Kommandant, -en, -en Kommunikat, -en, -en Kommunist, -en, -en Komdiant, -en, -en Komplize, -n, -n Komponist, -en, -en Konkurrent, -en, -en Konsonant, -en, -en Konsument, -en, -en
Kontorist, -en, -en Korrespondent, -en, -en Kronprinz, -en, -en Kunde, -n, -n Laie, -n, -n Leopard, -en, -en Lieferant, -en, -en Linguist, -en, -en Lotse, -en, -en Lwe, -n, -n Luftpirat, -en, -en Lump, -en, -en Magnat, -en, -en Magnet, -en, -en # Maschinist, -en, -en Matrose, -n, -n Maure, -n, -n Mensch, -en, -en Mitmensch, -en, -en Mohr, -en, -en Monarch, -en, -en Moralist, -en, -en Musikant, -en, -en Nachbar, (-n), -n Nachkomme, -n, -n Narr. -en, -en Naturalist, -en, -en Neffe, -n, -n Nomade, -n, -n Ochse, -n, -n konom, -en, -en Page, -n, -n Papagei, -en, -en Paragraph, -en, -en Parteigenosse, -n, -n Partisan, -en, -en % Passant, -en, -en Pate, n, -n Patient, -en, -en Patriot, -en, -en Pazifist, -en, -en
Pedant, -en, -en Philosoph, -en, -en Photograph, -en, -en Pianist, -en, -en Pilot, -en, -en Planet, -en, -en Plutokrat, -en, -en Poet, -en, -en Pole, -n, -n Polizeiprsident, -en, -en Polizist, -en, -en Portugiese, -n, -n Postbote, -n, -n Prsident, -en, -en Preue, -n, -n Prinz, -en, -en Produzent, -en, -en Prokurist, -en, -en Prophet, -en, -en Protestant, -en, -en Psychologe, -n, -n Rabauke, n, -n Rabe, -n, -n Realist, -en, -en Rekrut, -en, -en Reprsentant, -en, -en Riese, -n, -n Satellit, -en, -en Schimpanse, -n, -n Schotte, -n, -n Schurke, -n, -n Schtze, -n, -n Schwede, -n, -n Sekundant, -en, -en Semit, -en, -en Siamese, -n, -n Sklave, -n, -n Slawe, - n, -n Slowake, -n, -n Soldat, -en, -en Sozialist, -en, -en
Spatz, -en, -en Spezialist, -en, -en Spielgefhrte, -n, -n Statist, -en, -en Student, -en, -en Telegraph, -en, -en Theologe, -n, -n Tor, -en, -en Tourist, -en, -en Trabant, -en, -en Transvestit, -en, -en Tschechoslawake, -n, -n Trke, -n, -n Tyrann, -en, -en bermensch, -en, -en Ungar, -n, -n Unmensch, -en, -en Vagabund, -en, -en Violinist, -en, -en Virtuose, -n, -n Volksgenosse, -n, -n Vorfahr, -en, -en Zar, -en, -en Zeuge, -n, -n Zivilist, -en, -en Masculine N-nouns with -ens ending in genitive case Friede Gedanke Wille Funke Glaube Name Note also: das Herz, das Herz, dem Herzen, des Herzens and pl die Herzen
Summary of definite and indefinite articles
The endings of definite and indefinite articles are the same, except for those indicated by , where the indefinite article takes no ending. The indefinite article examples for the plural use the ein-word kein, since ein appears only with singular nouns. Definite articles
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Nominative der Accusative den Dative dem Genitive des die die der der das das dem des die die den der
Indefinite articles
Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural Nominative ein Accusative einen Dative einem Genitive eines eine eine einer einer ein ein einem eines keine keine keinen keiner
Summary of personal pronouns Nominative Accusative Dative Genitive ich I, me you (informal) du he, him, it er she, her, it sie es it wir we, us you (informal) ihr mich dich ihn sie es uns euch mir dir ihm ihr ihm uns euch meiner deiner seiner ihrer seiner unsrer eurer
(rarely used)
they, them sie sie Sie ihnen ihrer Ihnen Ihrer
you (formal) Sie
Some common verbs with stem vowel change a > du er/sie/es anfangen fngst an fngt an to begin backen bckst bckt to bake einladen ldst ein ldt ein to invite fahren fhrst fhrt to travel, drive gefallen gefllst gefllt to please halten hltst hlt to stop, hold lassen lsst lsst to let, leave laufen lufst luft to walk, run schlafen schlfst schlft to sleep tragen trgst trgt to wear, carry wachsen wchst wchst to grow waschen wschst wscht to wash
Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > ie du er/sie/es lesen liest liest to read sehen siehst sieht to see
Some common verbs with stem vowel change e > i du er/sie/es brechen brichst bricht to break essen isst isst to eat geben gibst gibt to give helfen hilfst hilft to help
nehmen nimmst nimmt sprechen sprichst spricht treffen triffst trifft vergessen vergisst vergisst werden wirst wird to take to speak to meet to forget to become
List of verbs with separable prefixes Principal parts Infinitive (if irregular) abbiegen bog ab, ist abgebogen abbrechen bricht ab; brach ab, hat abgebrochen abfahren fhrt ab; fuhr ab, ist abgefahren abfallen fllt ab; fiel ab, ist abgefallen abfliegen flog ab, ist abgeflogen abflieen flo ab, ist abgeflossen abgeben gibt ab; gab ab, hat abgegeben abgehen ging ab, ist abgegangen abholen abhngen hing ab, hat abgehangen von ablaufen luft ab; lief ab, ist abgelaufen abschaffen abschicken abschlieen schlo ab, hat abgeschlossen abschneiden schnitt ab, hat abgeschnitten abtrocknen abwaschen wscht ab; wusch ab, hat abgewaschen abwischen abziehen zog ab, hat abgezogen anbieten bot an, hat angeboten anerkennen anfangen anfassen angeben anhaben anhalten gibt an; gab an, hat angegeben hlt an; hielt an, hat angehalten erkannte an, hat anerkannt fngt an; fing an, hat angefangen mit
English to turn (in a vehicle) to break off to depart; to drive off to fall off to take off to flow away to deliver; to give up to depart, leave to fetch; to pick up to depend upon to run off; to drain to get rid of; abolish to send off to close; to conclude to cut off to dry off; to dry dishes to wash dishes to wipe off to take off, deduct to offer to recognize; to acknowledge to start, begin with to touch; to take a hold of, seize to indicate; to provide to be wearing, to have on to stop in a vehicle
anklagen anklopfen ankommen anmalen anmelden annehmen anrufen anschaffen anschauen anschlieen ansehen ansprechen anstarren anstellen anziehen anznden aufbauen auffallen auffordern auffhren aufgeben aufheben aufhren aufmachen aufnehmen aufpassen aufschlieen aufschreiben aufstehen aufsteigen aufstellen aufteilen aufwachen aufwachsen ausbilden ausbreiten ausdenken ausdrcken fllt auf; fiel auf, ist aufgefallen nimmt an; nahm an, hat angenommen rief an, hat angerufen (bei) to accuse to knock to arrive to paint to announce; to notify; to register to accept; to assume to call up, telephone to purchase, acquire to look at, contemplate to connect, attach to look at to speak; to please; to address to stare at to turn on (e.g., the radio) to put on; to attract to light, set on fire to erect; to set up; to build up to be noticeable, attract attention to order, command to perform; to stage to give up to pick up; to cancel to stop, quit to open to take a picture to pay attention to open; to unlock to write down to get out of bed, to rise to rise to put up; to arrange to divide up to wake up to grow up to educate, train to spread out to imagine, to think up to express, utter
kam an, ist angekommen
schlo an, hat angeschlossen sieht an; sah an, hat angesehen spricht an; sprach an, hat angesprochen
zog an, hat angezogen
gibt auf; gab auf, hat aufgegeben hob auf, hat aufgehoben
nimmt auf; nahm auf, hat aufgenommen pat auf; pate auf; hat aufgepat schlo auf, hat aufgeschlossen schrieb auf, hat aufgeschrieben stand auf, ist aufgestanden stieg auf, ist aufgestiegen
ist aufgewacht wchst auf, wuchs auf, ist aufgewachsen
dachte, hat gedacht
ausfhren ausfllen ausgeben aushelfen ausmachen ausnutzen ausreichen ausrufen ausschlieen aussehen aussetzen aussteigen austauschen ausverkaufen auswhlen ausziehen ausben dabeisein darstellen durchfhren durchlassen durchlesen durchsehen durchsetzen einbauen einfallen einkaufen einladen einschalten einschenken einschlafen einsehen einsteigen einzahlen fernsehen festlegen feststellen lt durch; lie durch, hat durchgelassen liest durch; las durch, hat durchgelesen sieht durch; sah durch, hat durchgesehen gibt aus; gab aus, hat ausgegeben hilft aus, half aus, hat ausgeholfen to take out; to carry out; to execute to fill out to spend; to give out to help out to settle; to agree; to amount to to exploit to suffice to exclaim; to call out to exclude to look, appear to expose; to abandon to get out/off of a vehicle to exchange to sell out to choose, select to move out to practice; to pursue; to carry on to be there, participate to represent; to depict, portray to execute, carry out to let through to read through, peruse to see through to prevail, succeed to build in to occur to to shop to invite to turn on to pour to fall asleep to understand to get into a vehicle to deposit to watch television to establish; to determine to find out; to declare; to
rief aus, hat ausgerufen schlo, hat geschlossen sieht aus; sah aus, hat ausgesehen stieg, ist gestiegen
zog aus, ist ausgezogen
fllt ein; fiel ein, ist eingefallen (+ dat.) ldt ein; lud ein, hat eingeladen
schlft ein; schlief ein, ist eingeschlafen sieht ein; sah ein, hat eingesehen stieg, ist eingestiegen sieht fern; sah fern, hat ferngesehen
determine fortfahren fhrt fort; fuhr fort, ist fortgefahren to continue; to drive away herausfinden fand heraus, hat herausgefunden to find out to come here; to come herkommen kam her, ist hergekommen from herstellen to produce; to establish hervorbringen brachte hervor, hat hervorgebracht to bring out; to produce hervorrufen rief hervor, hat hervorgerufen to call forth hinfallen fllt hin; fiel hin, ist hingefallen to fall down hinwegsehen sieht hinweg; sah hinweg, hat hinweggesehen to look away hinzufgen to add to meet; to become kennenlernen acquainted with mitarbeiten to cooperate mithelfen hilft; half, hat geholfen to assist mitkommen kam mit, ist mitgekommen to come along mitmachen (bei) to participate in mitteilen to communicate; to inform nachdenken dachte nach, hat nachgedacht ber (+ acc.) to think about, to reflect schlgt nach; schlug nach, hat nachschlagen to look up nachgeschlagen radfahren fhrt rad; fuhr rad, ist radgefahren to ride a bike saubermachen to clean up sich dat. einbilden to imagine sich dat. vorstellen to imagine sich anhren to listen sich anpassen (+ dat.) to conform; adapt to sich anziehen zog an, hat angezogen to get dressed to get excited; to get sich aufregen alarmed sich ausziehen zog aus, hat ausgezogen to undress sich hinsetzen to sit down sich umziehen zog sich um, hat sich umgezogen to change clothes sich zusammentun tat zusammen, hat zusammengetan to get together spazierengehen ging spazieren, ist spazierengegangen to go for a walk stattfinden fand statt, hat stattgefunden to take place, happen staubsaugen to vacuum staubwischen to dust stehenbleiben blieb stehen, ist stehengeblieben to stop; to remain standing nimmt teil; nahm teil, hat teilgenommen an (+ teilnehmen to take part in dat.) umkehren to turn around, reverse
umsteigen umziehen voraussehen vorbeigehen vorbereiten vorhaben vorkommen vorlesen vorschlagen vorstellen vortragen vorwrtskommen vorziehen wegfahren weggehen weglaufen wegnehmen wegwerfen weiterfahren wiederfinden wiederkommen zugeben zuhren zulaufen zumachen zunehmen zurckbleiben zurckkehren zurcklassen zurckrufen zusammenarbeiten zusammenbringen zusammenfallen zusammenfassen zusammentun stieg um, ist umgestiegen zog um, ist umgezogen sieht voraus; sah voraus, hat vorausgesehen ging vorbei, ist vorbeigegangen to change, switch bus, train to move, change residence to foresee to go by to prepare to intend to occur, happen often unexpectedly to read aloud; to lecture to propose, suggest to introduce to lecture to get ahead to prefer to drive; go away to go away to run away to take away to throw away to drive on to find again to come back to admit; to confess to listen to to run toward to close to increase, gain to stay behind to return to leave behind to call back to cooperate to bring together to collapse to summarize to put together to grow together to watch to agree
kam vor, ist vorgekommen liest vor; las vor, hat vorgelesen schlgt vor; schlug vor, hat vorgeschlagen trgt vor; trug vor, hat vorgetragen kam vorwrts, ist vorwrtsgekommen zog vor, hat vorgezogen fhrt weg; fuhr weg, ist weggefahren ging weg, ist weggegangen luft weg; lief weg, ist weggelaufen nimmt weg; nahm weg, hat weggenommen wirft weg; warf weg, hat weggeworfen fhrt weiter; fuhr weiter, ist weitergefahren fand wieder, hat wiedergefunden kam wieder, ist wiedergekommen gibt zu; gab zu, hat zugegeben luft zu; lief zu, ist zugelaufen auf (+ acc). nimmt zu; nahm zu, hat zugenommen blieb zurck, ist zurckgeblieben ist zurckgekehrt lt zurck; lie zurck, hat zurckgelassen rief zurck, hat zurckgerufen brachte zusammen, hat zusammengebracht fllt zusammen; fiel zusammen, ist zusammengefallen
tat zusammen, hat zusammengetan wchst zusammen; wuchs zusammen, ist zusammenwachsen zusammengewachsen zuschauen zustimmen (+ dat.)
zutreffen bereinstimmen trifft; traf, getroffen to be correct to agree with a person
List of reflexive verbs Infinitive sich amsieren sich (dat.) anhren sich anpassen sich anziehen sich aufregen sich ausziehen sich bedanken sich beeilen sich befinden sich beklagen sich bemhen sich benehmen sich beruhigen sich beschweren sich bewegen sich bewerben sich beziehen sich eignen sich (dat.) einbilden sich entschlieen sich entschuldigen sich entspannen sich ereignen sich ergeben sich erholen sich erinnern an sich erkundigen sich erklten sich etwas Principle parts (if irregular) + other information English
to have a good time to listen (+ dat.) to conform; adapt (to) zog an, hat angezogen to get dressed to get excited; to get alarmed zog aus, hat ausgezogen to undress to thank to hurry befand, hat befunden to be located; to feel (health) (ber + acc.) to complain (about) to exert oneself benimmt; benahm, hat benommen to behave to calm down to complain to move bewirbt; bewarb, hat beworben to apply bezog, hat bezogen (auf + acc.) to relate (to), refer (to) to be suitable, qualify to imagine entschlo, entschlossen to make up one's mind, decide to excuse oneself to relax to take place ergibt; ergab, hat ergeben to result in to take a rest, recover (+ acc.) to remember to inquire to catch a cold to purchase something
anschaffen sich festhalten sich freuen sich freuen auf sich freuen ber sich frchten sich gewhnen sich hinsetzen sich interessieren sich irren sich konzentrieren sich kmmern sich langweilen sich leisten sich lohnen sich nhern sich rasieren sich setzen sich um (etwas) handeln sich umziehen sich unterhalten sich unterscheiden sich verabreden sich verabschieden sich verbessern sich verfahren sich verhalten sich verlassen sich verlaufen sich verlieben sich verloben sich versprechen hlt fest; hielt fest, hat festgehalten (+ acc.) (+ acc.) (an + acc.) (fr) to hold fast to rejoice, be glad to look forward to to be happy about to be afraid to get used to to sit down to be interested (in) to lose one's way to concentrate to be concerned about, care to be bored to afford to pay off, be worth the trouble, be worthwhile to approach to shave to sit down to concern (something) zog um, hat umgezogen unterhlt; unterhielt, hat unterhalten unterschied, hat unterschieden to change clothes to have a conversation to differ to make an appointment to take one's leave to improve to get lost to behave; to conduct oneself to depend (upon) to get lost to fall in love (with) to become engaged to to misspeak oneself to be late to imagine to turn around to be surprised (at); to wonder
(um)
verfhrt; verfuhr, hat verfahren verhlt; verhielt, hat verhalten verlt; verlie, hat verlassen (auf + acc.) verluft; verlief, hat verlaufen (in + acc.) (mit) verspricht; versprach, hat versprochen
sich verspten sich (dat.) vorstellen sich wenden sich wundern (ber + acc.)
sich zusammentun sich berlegen sich rgern tat zusammen, hat zusammengetan to get together to think over to be angry, become angry
List of verbs with dative objects Adjective/Adverb English Example antworten to answer Sie antwortet mir nicht. befehlen to command, order Ich befehle Ihnen, sofort zu kommen. danken to thank Wir danken euch. fehlen to be missing, lacking Uns fehlt nichts. gefallen to be pleasing, to like Es gefllt mir, das zu hren. gehren to belong to Der Wagen gehrt ihr nicht. glauben to believe Ich glaube dir. helfen to help Bitte, helfen Sie mir! leid tun to be sorry Das tut ihm leid. passen to fit Das Kleid passt der Frau gut. passieren to happen, take place Etwas Schreckliches ist uns passiert. schmecken to taste (good or bad) Diese Suppe schmeckt dem Gast nicht. weh tun to hurt Mir tut der Kopf weh.
Adjectives and adverbs:
Comparative and superlative adjectives/adverbs with Umlaut vowel
stark, strker, strkststrong, stronger, strongest kalt, klter, kltestcold, colder, coldest warm, wrmer, wrmst- warm, warmer, warmest arm, rmer, rmstpoor, poorer, poorest lang, lnger, lngstlong, longer, longest oft, fter, ftestoften, more often, most often dumm, dmmer, dmmst- dumb, dumber, dumbest jung, jnger, jngstyoung, younger, youngest kurz, krzer, krzestshort, shorter, shortest klug, klger, klgstsmart, smarter, smartest
Irregular comparative and superlative adjectives / adverbs gut, besser, bestgood, better, best hoch, hher, hchst- high, higher, highest gern, lieber, liebst- like, like better, like best viel, mehr, meistmuch, more, most nahe, nher, nchst- near, nearer, nearest gross, grsser, grsst- large, larger, larges
Special accusative adjective and adverb expressions This page not yet prepared.
Dative adjective and adverb expressions Adjective/Adverb English hnlich like, similar (to) angenehm pleasant (for) bekannt familiar (to) bse angry (at) dankbar grateful (to)
Example Das Haus ist unserem Haus hnlich. Das Wetter ist ihm angenehm. Diese Gegend ist mir bekannt. Ich bin dir wirklich bse. Sie ist dem Professor dankbar.
egal gleich gleichgltig klar lstig lieb mglich ntzlich peinlich recht unangenehm unbegreiflich unbequem unerklrlich unklar unmglich unntz unverstndlich wichtig all the same (to), of no consequence (to) equal (to), like indifferent (to) clear (to) bothersome (to) dear (to) possible (for) useful (to) embarassing (for) OK (with) unpleasant (for) incomprehensible (to) unpleasant (for) unexplainable (to) unclear (to) impossible (for) useless (to) incomprehensible (to) important (to) Das ist unseren Freunden egal. Du bist ihm gleich. Alles ist uns gleichgltig. Jetzt ist mir das Problem klar. Er ist ihr lstig. Mein Hund ist mir lieb. Das ist ihnen mglich. Aspirin ist einem oft ntzlich. Das war mir wirklich peinlich. Es ist ihm recht. Diese Situation ist mir sehr unangenehm. Es ist uns unbegreiflich, was du machst. Das Wetter heute ist ihr sehr unbequem. Seine Handlungen sind uns unerklrlich. Es ist uns vllig unklar, was du damit meinst. Das Ruhen ist ihm unmglich. Dieses Werkzeug ist ihnen total unntz. Was er sagte, war uns unverstndlich. Die Antwort auf diese Frage ist ihr sehr wichtig.
Genitive adjective and adverb expressions Adjective/Adverb English bedrftig in need of bewut conscious of fhig capable of
Example
frei gewi mchtig mde sicher voll unbewut unfhig unmchtig unsicher unwrdig wrdig free of certain of capable of, skilled in tired of certain of full of unconscious of incapable of not in control of uncertain of unworthy of worthy of
Verbs - other tenses:
Principal parts of irregular verbs Irregular Infinitive present backen beien bieten binden bitten (um) bleiben braten brt brechen bricht brennen bringen denken eilen essen it fahren (mit) fhrt fallen fllt fangen fngt finden fliegen
Simple past backte bi bot band bat blieb briet brach brannte brachte dachte a fuhr fiel fing fand flog
Present perfect hat gebacken hat gebissen hat geboten hat gebunden hat gebeten ist geblieben hat gebraten hat gebrochen hat gebrannt hat gebracht hat gedacht ist geeilt hat gegessen ist gefahren ist gefallen hat gefangen hat gefunden ist geflogen
English to bake to bite to offer, to show to bind, tie to beg, to ask for to stay, remain to fry, to roast to break to burn to bring to think to hurry to eat to drive a vehicle, to go by to fall to catch to find to fly
fliehen flieen folgen (+ dat.) fressen frieren geben gehen gelten gleichen (+ dat.) greifen halten heben heien helfen (+ dat.) hinterlassen kennen klingen kommen knnen landen lassen laufen leiden leihen lesen liegen lgen mssen nehmen nennen passieren (+ dat.) raten reisen reiten rennen riechen rufen saufen scheinen floh flo frit gibt gilt to flee to flow to follow, to obey fra to eat (used for animals) fror to freeze, to be cold gab to give ging to go to be of value, to be valid, to galt hat gegolten be in effect glich hat geglichen to be equal, to be like griff hat gegriffen to seize, grasp hielt hat gehalten to hold, to stop hob hat gehoben to lift hie hat geheien to be called, mean half hat geholfen to help hinterlie hat hinterlassen to leave behind to know, to be acquainted kannte hat gekannt with klang hat geklungen to sound kam ist gekommen to come konnte hat gekonnt can, to be able to ist gelandet to land lie hat gelassen to let; to leave lief ist gelaufen to run litt hat gelitten to suffer lieh hat geliehen to lend, to borrow, to rent las hat gelesen to read lag hat gelegen to lie, to be located log hat gelogen to tell a lie mute hat gemut must, to have to nahm hat genommen to take nannte hat genannt to call ist passiert to happen to, take place riet hat geraten to advise, to guess ist gereist to travel ritt ist geritten to ride a horse rannte ist gerannt to run, to race roch hat gerochen to smell rief hat gerufen to call soff hat gesoffen to drink excessively schien hat geschienen to shine, to seem ist geflohen ist geflossen ist gefolgt hat gefressen hat/ist gefroren hat gegeben ist gegangen
hlt
hilft hinterlt
kann lt luft
liest
mu nimmt
rt
suft
schieben schieen schlafen schlagen schlieen schneiden schreiben schreien schweigen schwimmen segeln sehen sein senden singen sinken sitzen sprechen springen stehen stehlen steigen sterben stoen streichen sich streiten strzen tragen sich treffen treiben treten treten trinken tun wachsen wandern waschen wenden tritt tritt trgt trifft sieht ist schob scho schlief schlug schlo schnitt schrieb schrie hat geschoben hat geschossen hat geschlafen hat geschlagen hat geschlossen hat geschnitten hat geschrieben hat geschrieen hat schwieg geschwiegen ist schwamm geschwommen ist gesegelt sah hat gesehen war ist gewesen sandte hat gesandt sang hat gesungen sank ist gesunken sa hat gesessen sprach hat gesprochen sprang ist gesprungen stand hat gestanden stahl hat gestohlen stieg ist gestiegen starb ist gestorben stie hat gestossen strich hat gestrichen stritt trug traf trieb trat trat trank tat wuchs wusch wandte hat gestritten ist gestrzt hat getragen hat getroffen hat getrieben hat getreten ist getreten hat getrunken hat getan ist gewachsen ist gewandert hat gewaschen hat gewandt to push to shoot to sleep to hit, to beat to shut to cut to write to scream, to shout to be silent to swim to sail to see to be to send to sing to sink to sit to speak to jump, to leap to stand, to be situated to steal to climb to die to push, to hit to cancel, delete to dispute, to litigate, to quarrel to fall, plunge to carry, to bear, to wear to meet with somebody to push, set in motion, to occupy oneself with to kick to step to drink to do to grow to hike, go on foot to wash to turn
schlft schlgt
spricht
stiehlt stirbt stt
wchst wscht
werden wird werfen wirft wiegen wissen (ber + acc. wei or von) ziehen zwingen wurde warf wog wute zog zwang ist geworden hat geworfen hat gewogen hat gewut to become to throw to weigh to know about
hat gezogen to pull hat gezwungen to compel, force
END OF THE GRAMMER COURSE BEST OF LUCK

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INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MADRAS

GERMAN GRAMMAR AND USAGE

KRIPAL SINGH, DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING , GANGA HOSTEL ,IIT MADRAS,CHENNAI-36,INDIA

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Suchst du deine Handtasche? Ja, ich brauche meinen Lippenstift.

Possible meanings of sie

The non-specific pronoun man

Relative pronouns - function

Reflexive pronouns - function

Verbs with stem vowel change

The verb sein (to be)

The present tense forms of the verb sein are:

The verb haben (to have)

The present tense forms of the verb haben are:

The verb werden (to become, get)

The verb lassen (to let, have done)

The present tense forms of the verb lassen are:

Verbs with separable prefixes

Modal auxiliary verbs - forms

The du command form

The ihr command form

The Sie command form

Verbs with special objects

Es gibt (there is, are)

Word order A. Statements B. Questions

In commands, the verb is the first component.

Negation with kein

Kein negates nouns preceded by 1) an indefinite article, or 2) no article.

Time, manner and place expressions

The accusative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

The dative prepositions and their most common meanings are:

Predicate adjectives do not take an ending.

Non-significant (weak) endings

Special adjective and adverb expressions

Comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs

Superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs

A number of irregular forms exist.

Simple past tense - regular verbs

Simple past tense - regular verbs with altered stem

Simple past tense - modal auxiliary verbs

Simple past tense - irregular verbs

Compound past tense

Sein also appears as the helping verb

Past participle - regular verbs with altered stem

Past participle - modal auxiliary verbs

Past participle - irregular verbs

Past perfect tense

Principal parts of verbs

Present time subjunctive - modal auxiliary verbs

Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs

Present time subjunctive - irregular verbs (cont.)

Past time subjunctive with modal auxiliaries

The special subjunctive - form

ich spreche wir sprechen du sprechest ihr sprechet Sie sprechen

du seiest ihr seiet Sie seien er sei sie sei es sei

Function of the passive voice

Passive modal auxiliary forms