Learn German - Lesson 1 - Grammar:
wir sind in deutschland
(photo
by fdecomite used
under terms of Creative Commons license.)
A. The German
Noun-Classification ('Gender') System.
Der Wein ist nicht gut. |
The wine isn't good. |
Das Bier ist gut. |
The beer is good. |
Die Milch ist auch gut. |
The milk is good too. |
1. German has three words for 'the': der, das and die; and German nouns can be divided into three classes according to which of the three words for 'the' they go with. Wein goes only with der, never with das, never with die. Bier goes only with das. and so on.
II. Pronouns Corresponding to the Three Classes of Nouns.
Wo ist der Bahnhof? |
Er ist dort. |
Where is the station? |
It's there. |
Wo ist das Hotel? |
Es ist dort. |
Where is the hotel? |
It's there. |
Wo ist die Botschaft? |
Sie ist dort. |
Where is the embassy? |
It's there |
As these examples show, there is a special pronoun for each
of the three classes of nouns. Notice the correspondence in the final
sounds of
the pairs der-er, das-es, and die-sie. This is no coincidence.
III. Contrast between German and English Pronoun Usage.
Wo ist der Bahnhof? |
Er ist dort. |
Where's the station? |
It's there. |
Wo ist der Mann? |
Er ist dort. |
Where's the man? |
He's there. |
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Wo ist das Hotel? |
Es ist dort. |
Where's the hotel? |
It's there. |
Wo ist .diui. Kind ? |
Es ist dort. |
Where's the child? |
He's there. or She's there. |
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Wo ist die Botschaft? |
Sie ist dort. |
Where's the embassy? |
It's there. |
Wo ist die Frau? |
Sie ist dort. |
Where's the woman? |
She's there. |
These examples show that the German pronouns er, sie, and es do not match up with the English pronouns 'he', 'she-'-, and 'it'. The English he-she-it system has an entirely different foundation from the German noun-classification ('gender') system. In the English system, the choice of pronoun depends upon the sex (male, female, or sexless) of some non-linguistic entity--a man ('he'), a woman ('she'), or a table ('it').
IV. Pronouns Referring to People.
Wo ist das Fräulein? |
Where's the waitress? |
Sie ist dort. |
She's there |
Since all German nouns referring to men are der-nouns and
virtually all German nouns referring to women are die-nouns, er and sie
correspond to 'he' and 'she' -- when they refer to human beings.
Consequently,
one says sie when referring to das Fräulein, who is, after all, die
junge Dame,
'the young lady', die Tochter 'the daughter', die Schwester
'the sister', and so on, as well as das Fräulein.
V. No classification in the
Plural.
Wo sind die Bahnhafe? |
Sie sind hier. |
Where are the stations? |
They're here. |
wo sind die Hotels? |
Sie sind hier. |
Where are the hotels? |
They're here. |
Wo sind die Frauen? |
Sie sind hier. |
Where are the women? |
They're here. |
As these examples show, the three-fold classification we've been discussing applies only to nouns in the singular. In the plural, there is only one word for 'the', and only one pronoun.
Das ist der Bahnhof, nicht wahr? |
This is the station, isn't it? |
Ja, das ist er. |
Yes, that’s it. |
Ist das die Milch? |
Is that the milk? |
Das ist Wasser. |
This is water. |
Sind das die Streichhölzer? |
Are these the matches? |
Das sind die Zigarren. |
Those are the cigars. |
1. The pointing-word das (often accompanied by a pointing gesture) is used to cal1 any object or group of objects to the hearer's attention, without any reference to noun classification or to the number of objects.
2. Tbe pointing-word da is an entirely different entity from the das, of das Hotel. The English equivalents of the pointing-word das are 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those'.