Learn German - Lesson 7 - Grammar:

Beim einrichten


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A. ADJECTlVES - THE ADJECTlVE-NOUN SEQUENCE

 

I. In Lesson 6 we discussed attributive adjectives in specifier-adjective-noun sequences. Attributive adjectives are not always preceded by specifiers however; they also occur in ADJECTlVE-NOUN sequences. Note the following examples from the basic sentences of this and preceding lessons:

 

Amerikanisches Generalkonsulat.

American Consulate General.

Ich muss einige Geschäftsbriefe schreiben.

I have to write some business letters.

Ja, mit so gros sem Kühlschrank und kombiniertem Gas- und Elektroherd.

Yes, with such a large refrigerator and combination gas and electric range.

 

II. Attributive adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences ALWAYS HAVE ENDINGS.

 

1. The adjective endings are -e, -em. -en, -er or -es:

 

 

Nom

Amerikanischer Tabak ist gut.

Acc

Ich rauche gern amerikanischen Tabak.

Dat

Ich rauche nur Zigaretten mit amerikanischem Tabak.

 

 

Nom

Hier ist deutsches Geld.

Acc

Haben Sie deutsches Geld?

Dat

Was können wir hier mit deutschem Geld tun?

 

 

Nom

Ist das hier gute Tinte?

Acc

Hier haben Sie gute Tinte.

Dat

Mit guter Tinte kann man gut schreiben.

 

 

Nom

Hier sind grosse Sessel.

Acc

Ich suche grosse Sessel.

Dat

Ich habe ein Wohnzimmer mit grossen Sesseln.

 

2. No genitive forms are listed for the ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequence, as they occur only very rarely. Note that the adjective endings of the nominative, accusative and dative forms correspond throughout to the endings of the der-type specifiers.

 

3. Preceding adverbs or numerals do not affect the forms of the adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences:

 

Die Männer bringen gerade zwei grosse Kisten herauf.

The men are just bringing two big crates in.

Heute ist wirklich schönes Wetter.

It's really nice weather today.

 

4. The noun is not always present in a sequence when it can be understood from the context. The form of the adjective is the same whether the noun is present or not:

 

Haben Sie deutsches Geld?

Do you have any German money?

Nein. ich habe nur amerikanisches.

No, I only have American (money).

 

 

Brauchen Sie einen grossen Teppich für das Wohnzimmer?

Do you need a large rug for the living-room?

Nein, ich möchte zwei kleine für das Schlafzimmer haben.

No, I'd like to have two small ones for the bedroom.

 

 

Trinken Sie lieber deutschen oder französischen Wein?

Do you like German or French wine better?

Ich trinke lieber französischen.

I like French (wine) better.

 

 

Notice that we usually repeat the noun in English.

 

5. If there is more than one adjective in an ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequence, all have the same endings:

 

Hier sind noch einige nette Häuser zu vermieten.

There are still some nice houses for rent here.

Eine Küche mit so vielen eingebauten Schränken ist doch schön.

A kitchen with so many built-in cupboards really is nice.

Trinken Sie gern gutes deutsches Bier?

Do you like good German beer?

 

 

 

 
     

III. Adjectives used as nouns often occur without a preceding specifier.

 

1. Their endings are the same as those outlined above:

 

Ist sie Amerikanerin oder Deutsche?

Is she an American or a German?

Sie sind Deutscher, nicht wahr?

You're German, aren't you?

Ich wusste nicht, dass Ihre Frau hier Verwandte hat.

I didn't know that your wife has relatives here.

 

 

2. Note that adjectives used as nouns may be preceded by other adjectives. Both then have the same ending:

 

Ist sie deutsche Staatsangehörige?

Is she a German citizen?

Er ist amerikanischer Beamter.

He's an American official.

Meine Frau hat nette Verwandte in Berlin.

My wife has nice relatives in Berlin.

Wir haben gute Bekannte in Frankfurt.

We have good friends in Frankfurt.

 

3. Note carefully the distinction in form between adjectives used as nouns when they are preceded by a specifier and when they are not.

 

Das ist der amerikanische Beamte.

That's the American official.

Morgen besuchen wir die netten Verwandten meiner Frau in Berlin.

Tomorrow we're going to visit my wife's nice relatives in Berlin.

Wir treffen unsere guten Bekannten in Frankfurt.

We're meeting our good friends in Frankfurt.

 

IV. Adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences and in SPECIFIER-ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences:

 

1. Compare the following sentences:

 

Das ist guter französischer Wein.

That's good French wine.

Das ist ein guter französischer Wein.

That's a good French wine.

Wo ist der gute französische Wein?

Where's the good French wine?

Das ist gutes deutsches Geschirr.

That's good German dinnerware.

Das ist ihr gutes deutsches Geschirr.

That's her good German dinnerware.

Wo ist das gute deutsche Geschirr?

Where's the good German dinnerware?

 

You will note that there is no difference in the form of adjectives in adjective-noun sequences and in sequences with the endingless ein-type specifiers. There is a difference between the form of these adjectives and adjectives in a specifier-adjective-noun sequence where the specifier also has an ending.

 

B. AN IRREGULAR ADJECTIVE – hoch

 

I. The adjective hoch has occurred in this unit only as a predicate adjective:

 

Die Mieten sind hier garnicht so hoch.

The rents here are not high at all.

 

II. As an attributive adjective the stem form hoh- with regular adjective endings occurs:

 

Wir haben hier sehr hohe Mieten.

We have very high rents here.

Das ist ein ganz hohes Etagenhaus.

That's quite a high apartment building.

 

C. SUMMARY OF TWO-WAY PREPOSITIONS

 

I. In Lesson 3 it was noted that certain prepositions when followed by a dative form indicate where someone or something is to be found and when followed by an accusative form indicate where someone or something that is in motion is going to end up. We have now encountered the total inventory of TWO-WAY PREPOSITIONS, nine in all. Let us review some of the sentences in which they have occurred:

 

Das Sofa können wir dort an die Wand stellen.

We can place the sofa over against the wall there.

Die Steppdecken liegen auf unseren Betten.

The quilts are on our beds.

Wir haben einen grossen Garten hinter dem Haus.

We have a big yard behind the house.

Den Teppich legen wir in die Mitte des Zimmers.

We'll lay the carpet in the middle of the room.

Rechts neben dem Schloss ist die Universität.

Next to the palace on the right is the university.

Das grosse Bild könnten wir über das Sofa hängen.

We could hang the big picture above the sofa.

Das Telephonbuch liegt dort unter den Zeitungen.

The telephone book is there under the newspapers.

Stellen wir den Schreibtisch vor das grosse Fenster.

Let's put the desk in front of the big window.

Stellen Sie die Lampe zwischen den Rauchtisch und den Bücherschrank.

Put the lamp between the smoking table and the bookcase.

 

1. Note that there is a close link between the TWO-WAY PREPOSITION and the verbs in these sentences. In the sentences where a dative form follows the preposition verbs which indicate or describe a static situation occur: liegen, haben, ist. In the sentences where an accusative form follows the preposition verbs indicating action or motion occur: stellen, legen, hängen.

 

2. It is important to note however that two-way prepositions may be followed by an accusative form in a sentence where the verb by itself does not necessarily indicate motion. In association WITH THE ACCUSATIVE object of a two-way preposition the verb ALWAYS IMPLIES MOTION.

 

Der Tisch passt gut vor die beiden Sessel.

The table fits the picture in front of the two easy-chairs (and therefore should end up in that location).

 

3. Likewise a DATIVE FORM following a two-way preposition ALWAYS IMPLIES A STATIC RELATIONSHIP, nonchanging, even when the verb is a verb of action or motion:

 

Das grosse Bild hängt dort über dem Sofa.

The big picture is hanging there above the sofa.

Das grosse Bild können wir über das Sofa hängen.

We can hang the big picture above the sofa.

 

D. VERBS - legen, liegen, stehen and stellen

 

I. In English we generally use the forms "is" and "are" to describe the location of a person or an object, and a form of the verb "to put" in describing the act of placing an object in a certain location. We can, however, make implicit reference to the shape of the object and to the position it is in:

 

My briefcase is there on the table.

You can put your briefcase on the table there.

OR

My briefcase is lying there on the table.

You can lay your briefcase on the table there.

His gun is over against the wall there.

He puts his gun over against the wall there.

His gun is standing over against the wall there.

He stands his gun up against the wall there.

 

II. German usually makes more frequent reference to position than English. The verbs liegen and stehen, like English "to lie" and "to stand", besides giving the location of an object or a person, clearly imply his, or its position. In German also, however, the verb forms ist and sind occur with a location:

 

Die Steppdecken liegen auf unseren Betten.

The quilts are (lying) on our beds.

Der neue Schreibtisch steht vor dem Fenster.

The new desk is (standing) in front of the window.

but

Das Buch ist auf dem Tisch.

The book is on the table.

Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.

The book is located on the table and is lying flat.

Das Bild ist auf dem Schreibtisch.

The picture is on the desk.

Das Bild steht auf dem Schreibtisch.

The picture is located on the desk but is in a standing frame or propped up against something.

 

III. German has no non-specifying verb corresponding to the English verb "to put" and always describes the act of placing some object in a certain location in terms of its final position there, whether lying or standing, by using the verbs legen and stellen.

 

Wir können das Sofa an die Wand stellen.

We can put the sofa up against the wall, where it is to stand.

Wo soll ich die Wolldecken hinlegen?

Where shall I put the woolen blankets, i.e., where shall I leave them lying?

 

E. VERBS - REVIEW OF PRESENT

 

We have added more than fifty verbs to the inventory since the outline of the present tense was given in Lesson 2. At that time two main patterns and one subsidiary pattern were noted, those of kommen, geben and arbeiten, as well as the irregular verb patterns. By way of review we present here a reference list of the verbs added in Lessons 3 - 7.

 

1. These verbs follow the pattern illustrated by komm-e, komm-t, komm-en:

 

brauchen

hoffen

liegen

sitzen

bringen

ge,;:,öhnen

machen

stehen

buchstabieren

<:]russen

(packen)

stellen

danken

(heben)

auspacken

stören

erreichen

abheben

parken

suchen

fragen

holen

passen

trinken

freuen

hören

rauchen

wählen

( füllen)

leben

rufen

wiederholen

ausfüllen

legen

schreiben

zählen

hängen

leihen

setzen

ziehen

 

2. These verbs follow the pattern illustrated by geb-e, gib-t, geb-en, in which a different stem occurs in the er-form.

 

anfangen

fängt ... an

nehmen

nimmt

helfen

hilft

sehen

sieht

lesen

liest

tragen

trägt

 

 

3. These verbs follow the subsidiary pattern illustrated by arbeit-e, arbeit-e-t, arbeit-en, in which a connecting vowel -e- occurs before the er-form ending. Note that all have sterns ending in -t- or -d-.

 

anbieten

bietet ... an

vermieten

vermietet

finden

findet

melden

meldet

fürchten

fürchtet

ausrichten

richtet … aus

mieten

mietet

einrichten

richtet … ein

 

4. A few verbs follow a second subsidiary pattern. An example is auswander-n, in which the wir-form ending is -n instead of -en. We have encountered only four other verbs which follow this pattern.

 

klingel-n

kümmer-n

tu-n

wechsel-n

 

5· Please note that a number of verbs which differ from the above only in having additional accented adverbs associated with them have not been listed separately, since their forms and endings remain the same.