Learn German - Lesson 11 - Grammar:
Ein wochentag
(photo
by With Associates used
under terms of Creative Commons license.)
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'
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
|
food,
meal |
|
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 |