Learn German - Lesson 11 - Grammar:

Ein wochentag


(photo by  With Associates used under terms of Creative Commons license.)
german saussage breakfast


 




A. VERB FORMS IN FAMILIAR SPEECH

 

I. German has three different words for you.

 

Wollen Sie nicht Platz nehmen, Herr Allen?

Won't you sit down, Mr. Allen?

Maria, du kennst doch Herrn Becker, nicht wahr?

Maria, you know Mr. Becker, don't you?

Geht ihr hin?

Are you going?

 

The different words for you in German indicate different situations and different social relationships. Sie indicates a formal relationship between the speaker and the person or persons addressed. There is no distinction between singular and plural. Du indicates a familiar or intimate relationship, but where only one person is addressed. Ihr indicates that two or more people are being addressed with whom the speaker is on familiar or intimate terms.

 

Outside of the family circle itself the familiar forms are used only with very close friends. Most Germans regard this relationship in a very special light and do not enter into it lightly after childhood years. The use of the familiar du and ihr forms is very much more restricted among Germans than the use of first names among Americans, for instance. The familiar forms are used by all adults in talking to children below the age of puberty, however. They are also used with animals and in addressing the deity.

 

II. New verb forms are also used with the familiar words for you.

 

1. The form of the verb with du is found from the er-form in the following ways:

 

a. In verbs whose er-form ends in -t, the final -t is replaced by -st.

 

er komm-t

er fähr-t

er ha-t

er arbeit-e-t

er find-e-t

du komm-st

du fähr-st

du ha-st

du arbeit-e-st

du find-e-st

 

Notice that the connecting vowel -e- is generally retained in the du-form when it occurs in the er-form (after -d- or -t-), although it is sometimes lost in rapid speech.

 

Remember that final -b or -g in er-form stems have the sounds of final [p] or [k]

 

er gib-t

"gip-t"

er leg-t

"lek-t"

du gib-st

"gip-st"

du leg-st

"lek-st"

 

b. In verbs whose er-form ending -t is preceded by -s- or -z-, the -s- of the du-form ending is lost, so that in these cases the du-form turns out to be identical with the er-form.

 

er lies-t

er läss-t

er sitz-t er

heiss-t er

vergiss-t

du lies-t

du läss-t

du sitz-t

du heiss-t

du vergiss-t

 

c. In verbs whose er-form does not end in -t, -st is added.

 

er will

er kann

er soll

er darf

er möchte

du will-st

du kann-st

du soll-st

du darf-st

du möchte-st

 

Note however that the -s- of the du-form ending is lost after a preceding -s-.

 

er muss

er weiss

du muss-t

du weiss-t

 

d. The following du- and er-forms show irregularities.

 

er ist

er wird

er hält

du bist

du wirst

du hältst

 

2. The form of the verb with ihr is arrived at as follows:

 

a. The -en ending of the wir-form is replaced by -t in most verbs.

 

wir komm-en

wir les-en

wir müss-en

wir besuch-en

wir arbeit-en

ihr komm-t

ihr les-t

ihr müss-t

ihr besuch-t

ihr arbeit-e-t

 

Notice that a connecting vowel appears here also after -d- or -t-. Remember that stems ending in -b or -g will have the sounds [b] and [g] in the wir-form before the ending -en, but will have the sounds [p] and [k] in the ihr-form before the ending –t.

 

wir geb-en

"geb-en"

wir trag-en

"trag-en"

ihr geb-t

"gep-t"

ihr trag-t

"trak-t"

 

b. There is one irregular form.

 

wir sind

ihr seid

 

II. There are three COMMAND or IMPERATIVE forms in German corresponding to the three words for you.

 

1. In situations where the word for you is Sie the COMMAND form consists of the verb form ending in -en followed by the pronoun Sie.

 

Grüssen Sie bitte Ihre Frau Gemahlin.

Please give my regards to Mrs. Allen.

Herr Ober, bringen Sie mir bitte Kalbsleber mitKartoffelpüree und Apfelmus.

waiter, please bring me calves' liver with mashed potatoes and apple sauce.

 

Note that the Sie-COMMAND form of the verb sein is irregular:

Seien Sie ruhig!

Be quiet!

 

2. In situations where the word for you is Ihr the COMMAND form consists of the ihr-form of the verb alone, with no pronoun following.

 

Kommt doch heute abend zu uns!

Do come over and see us tonight!

Vergesst eure Bücher nicht!

Don't forget your books!

Seid bitte um vier Uhr bei uns!

Be at our house at four o'clock, now!

 

3. In situations where the word for you is du a special COMMAND form is used with no pronoun following.

 

a. For the majority of German verbs this special COMMAND form is the same as the infinitive or wir-for STEM, that is, the infinitive or wir-form minus the ending -en.

 

Beeil' dich, Klaus!

Hurry up, Klaus!

Lass dir die Haare schneiden.

Get your hair cut.

Lauf', damit du nicht zu spät kommst.

Run, so you won't be late.

Hol' mich dort um eins ab.

Pick me up there at one.

 

This COMMAND form alternatively has an ending -e which is often written or is indicated in the writing system by an apostrophe as above but is not spoken by most Germans.

 

Beeile dich.

Hole mich in einer Stunde ab.

 

b. For a few verbs the COMMAND form regularly has the ending -e added to the infinitive er wir-form stern. These are verbs whose stems end in -t or -d or in an unstressed syllable.

 

Entschuldige, dass ich störe.

Excuse me for disturbing you.

Arbeite nicht so viel!

Don't work so much!

 

c. In verbs like sprechen and lesen whose STEM sometimes has the vowel -e- and sometimes -i- (or -ie-) the COMMAND form is the same as the du-form STEM, that is, the du-form minus the ending -st (or -t).

 

vergiss dein Frühstücksbrot nicht.

Don’t forget your lunch.

Nimm doch bitte auch den blauen mit.

Take the blue one along too, please.

Lies den ganzen Artikel.

Read the whole article.

 

d. The verb sein has an irregular COMMAND form.

 

Sei bitte um vier Uhr bei uns.

Be at our house at four o'clock, now.

 

B. PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE WORDS IN FAMILIAR SPEECH

 

I. The three forms of the pronouns used in familiar, or intimate speech are as folIows:

 

Nominative

du

ihr

Accusative

dich

euch

Dative

dir

euch

 

We have seen how they are used in some of the basic sentences; here are a few additional examples:

 

Wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Becker?

How are you, Mr. Becker?

Wie geht es dir, Klaus?

How are you, Klaus?

Na, Klaus und Gerhard, wie geht es euch?

Well, Klaus and Gerhard, how are you?

Beeilen Sie sich!

Hurry up!

Beeil' dich!

Beeilt euch!

Lassen Sie sich die Haare schneiden.

Get your hair cut.

Lass dir die Haare schneiden.

Lasst euch die Haare schneiden.

Ich hole Sie dort um eins ab.

I’ll pick you up there at one.

Ich hole dich dort um eins ab.

Ich hole euch dort um eins ab.

Darf ich mit Ihnen mitfahren?

May I go along with you?

Darf ich mit dir mitfahren?

Darf ich mit euch mitfahren?

 

 

 

 
     

II. The possessive words that go with du and ihr are dein and euer. Like the other possessive words (see Lesson 4), they are ein-type specifiers and have the following forms:

 

 

With der-nouns

With das-nouns

With die-nouns

With plural nouns

Nominative

dein

dein

deine

deine

Accusative

deinen

dein

deine

deine

Dative

deinem

deinem

deiner

deinen

Genitive

deines

deines

deiner

deiner

Nominative

euer

euer

eure

eure

Accusative

euren

euer

eure

eure

Dative

eurem

eurem

eurer

euren

Genitive

eures

eures

eurer

eurer

 

Note that the forms of dein correspond exactly to the forms of mein, sein, etc., as given in Lesson 4. Note also that euer has a shorter form eur- before endings.

 

III. The familiar possessive words may occur in any of the ein-type specifier sequences and also, in the special forms noted in Lesson 4, standing alone when the noun is understood.

 

Hast du dein Frunstücksbrot?

Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen.

Kannst du auch meine Oberhemden mitnhemn, wenn du deine in die Wäscherei bringst?

Das ist mein Pullover. Wo ist deiner?

Könnten wir in eurem Wagen mitfahren?

Wollt ihr eure Sommeranzüge auch reinigen lassen?

Das ist aber ein schöner Wagen! Ist das eurer?

 

C. THE AUXILIARY VERB LASSEN

 

The auxiliary verb lassen occurs in verb phrases with an infinitive, just as können, müssen, werden, etc. (see Lessons 2, 3 & 9). English has a similar verb phrase with a form of the verbs have or get and a participle.

 

Lass dir auch die Haare schneiden.

Get your hair cut, too.

Lassen Sie diesen Artikel doch bitte Übersetzen.

Have this article translated, please.

Ich lasse heute nachmittag meine Schuhe besohlen.

I'm getting my shoes soled this afternoon.

Weisst du, wo Klaus seine Anzüge reinigen lässt?

Do you know where Klaus has his suits cleaned?

 

D. COMPLEX VERB PHRASES

 

Most of the verb phrases encountered hitherto have consisted of two parts: an auxiliary verb and an infinitive (like the examples with lassen above) or a verb and an accented adverb (Hol' mich um eins ab). Some examples of verb phrases containing both an accented adverb and an infinitive have also occurred (Ich werde meinen Mantel anziehen). In this lesson, we now have an example of a verb phrase consisting of three parts:

 

Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen.

I want to have your grey suit cleaned.

 

Here the auxiliary verb (will) has occurred together with a second auxiliary verb in the infinitive form (lassen) plus the infinitive (reinigen).

 

Let us examine some additional examples of COMPLEX VERB PHRASESI

 

Ich werde leider nicht vor acht Uhr kommen können.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to come before eight o’clock.

Herr Schneider soll ausgezeichnet Ski laüfen können.

Mr. Schneider is supposed to be an excellent skier.

Ich werde spätestens um halb vier abfahren müssen.

I’ll have to leave at half past three at the latest.

Wollen Sie sich die Haare schneiden lassen?

Do you want to have your hair cut?

 

Note that when two infinitives stand together in this way the auxiliary infinitive is always last.

 

E. DERIVATIVE NOUNS

 

In German as in English a number of nouns can be formed from other words (verbs, adjectives, other nouns), usually by the addition of a noun-forming suffix. Examples are such words as print-inq, good-ness, friend-ship, practical-ity. The process is not indiscriminate or automatic, however, and only certain words lend themselves to it.

 

1. The simplest formation consists in the use of the infinitive as a noun. Note that it is always a das-noun. The English equivalent may be either the -ing form of the verb (used as a noun) or a related noun or in some cases a completely different word.

 

wissen

to eat

das Essen,-

food, meal

essen

to arrange

das Einrichten

the act of arranging

einrichten

to know

das Aussehen

appearance

aussehen

to look, appear

das Schreiben,-

writing ( as a skill) , official letter

schreiben

to write

das Wissen

knowing (about something) , knowledge

 

Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

 

gehen

rauchen

können

reinigen

sprechen

treffen

leben

denken

 

2. There are a number of examples of a die-word formed from a der-word by the addition of the suffix -in. These words all designate the feminine counterpart of the masculine word. Compare the English suffixes -ess and -ix: actr-ess, aviatr-ix.

 

der Gemahl

husband (very formal) 

die Gemahlin,-nen

wife (very formal)

der Sekretär

secretary (man)

die Sekretärin,-nen

secretary (woman)

der Freund

friend (man)

die Freundin,-nen

friend (woman)

der Amerikaner

American

die Amerikanerin,-nen

American (woman)

 

3. Die-words are formed from many infinitives by substitution of the suffix -ung for the ending -en.

 

besorgen

to attend to

die Besorqung,-en

errand

wohnen

to live, dwell

die Wohnung,-en

 apartment

bestellen

to order

die Bestellung,-en

the order

ordnen

to put in order

die Ordnung

order, neatness

stellen

to put, place

die Stellung,-en

position

 

Form nouns of this type from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

 

stören

verbinden

verzeihen

vorstellen

zahlen

bezahlen

 

4. Der-words are formed from many infinitives by substituting the suffix -er for the ending -en. Notice that these nouns all designate persons. A very few words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix.

 

arbeiten

to work

der Arbeiter, -

worker

mieten

to rent

der Mieter, -

tenant, lessee

schreiben

to write

der Schreiber, -

clerk, scribe

Verkaufen (  ̈)

to sell

der verkäufer, -

sales clerk

 

Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

 

besuchen

denken

fahren

finden

hören

kaufen (  ̈)

laufen (  ̈) 

lesen

rauchen

trinken

Übersetzen

vermieten

 

5. Die-words are formed from many adjectives by the addition of suffixes -heit or -keit. These suffixes thus work like English -ness, -ity, etc.

 

a. With suffix -heit:

 

schön

beautiful

die Schönheit, -en

beauty

rein

pure

die Reinheit, -en

purity

mehr

more

die Mehrheit, -en

majority

 

Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:

 

berühmt

bestimmt

einfach

unbestimmt

 

b. With suffix -keit:

 

ähnlich

similar

die Ähnlichkeit,-en

similarity

möglich

possible

die Möglichkeit,-en

possibility

richtig

correct

die Richtigkeit

correctness

 

Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:

 

gemütlich

langsam

natürlich

sauber

wahrscheinlich

wichtig

wirklich

zufällig

 

6. Die-words are formed from certain other nouns by the addition of the suffix -schaft. This suffix works like English -hood and -ship. Some words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix, and some nouns lose a final -e.

 

der Bruder (  ̈)

brother

die Brüderschaft,-en

brotherhood

der Bote

messenger

die Botschaft,-en

message, embassy

der Herr

gentleman

die Herrschaften

ladies and gentlemen

der Ort

place

die Ortschaft,-en

locality

 

Form nouns from the following nouns and give their English equivalents:

 

Bekannte

Freund

Nachbar

Vater

Verwandte