16.1 Hello from Berlin!
16.1.1 School in Germany
• School is not regulated nationwide, but by each Land
• German "Kindergarten" is optional - it translates rather to "play school", "Vorschule"
being roughly the equivalent to "Kindergarten"
• From the age of six on, all Germans attend a "Grundschule" (elementary school) for four
or six years, depending on the Land.
• After that, they go to either
• the "Hauptschule" which is industrially oriented,
• the "Realschule", which is skill oriented,
• the "Gymnasium", which is academically oriented,
• or the "Gesamtschule", or comprehensive school.
• Schooling is obligatory until the age of 16, but the Gymnasium diploma "Abitur" can
only be obtained after 12 or 13 years, i.e. at age 18 or 19.
• Latin and sometimes even ancient Greek are regularly taught at the Gymnasium. For
the "Abitur", at least two foreign languages as well as some calculus and analysis classes
have to be taken.
• School days often are from 8:00-13:00. In most 'Länder', only the older students have
additional classes between about 14:00-15:30 (i.e. 8AM - 1PM and 2PM - 3:30PM)
• In most schools, Extracurricular Activities are offered, such as Drama Club or School
Choir, but they are less common than in the U.S. Though many students feel some sort
of identification with their school, most are just happy when they can go home.
• Generally speaking, many schools still are more formal than US or Canadian schools.
• The marking system uses
• 1 (very good, 87,5% or 96%),
• 2 (good 75% or 85%), **
• 3 (satisfactory, 62,5% or 65%),
• 4 (sufficient 50% or 45%).
• 5 (faulty) is failed or 25%.
• 6 (not sufficient) is only used when the student literally hands in a blank sheet or failed.
• These marks can be modified with a "+" or a "-" to indicate a tendency, so e.g. 2+ is a
fairly good mark that corresponds to about 80%.
16.2 Dialogue
Silke: Jetzt haben wir Mathe.
Torsten: Oh nein, ich habe überhaupt keine Lust dazu.
Silke: Hast du die Aufgaben gemacht?
Torsten: Ja, im Bus.
Silke: Super! Kann ich sie abschreiben?
Lehrer (Betritt den Raum): Guten Morgen!
Klasse: Guten Morgen!
Lehrer: Wer möchte die Aufgaben an der Tafel rechnen? Florian?
Florian geht zur Tafel, schreibt an und liest
vor:
"5 plus 8 ist gleich 13"
"8 minus 5 ist gleich 3"
"3 mal 8 ist gleich 24"
"24 geteilt durch 12 ist gleich 2"
Lehrer: Sehr gut, Florian!
Die Glocke läutet. Es ist Fünfminutenpause.
Silke: Schnell, wir müssen zu Musik!
Torsten: Au ja, darauf freue ich mich schon.
Silke: Was machen wir heute?
Torsten: Wir wollen ein Lied von Grönemeyer singen!
Silke: Welches denn?
Torsten: "Alkohol", glaube ich.
Nach dem Musikunterricht:
Silke: Jetzt haben wir nur noch Geschichte...
Torsten: Komm, wir schwänzen und gehen ins Bistro.
Silke: Schon wieder!
16.3 Und Satz für Satz ...
Oh nein, ich habe überhaupt keine Lust dazu.
"Lust (zu etwas) haben" means "feeling like (it)". "Ich habe keine Lust (dazu)" is "I don't
feel like (it)". "Ich habe überhaupt keine Lust" emphasizes it, meaning "I don't feel like it
at all."
Hast du die Aufgaben gemacht?
Have you the tasks done?
"Did you do your homework?"
Ja, im Bus.
Yes, in the bus.
This is a common practice of students everywhere in the world, I guess...
Notice the contraction of "im", which is derived from "in dem", "in the".
Super! Kann ich sie noch schnell abschreiben?
Super! Can I just quickly copy them?
"Super", "Cool", "Toll", are common exclamations ... "Noch schnell" is here meant as
"while there is still time"
Lehrer (Betritt den Raum): Guten Morgen!
Teacher (enters the room): Good Morning!
Klasse: Guten Morgen!
Class: Good Morning!
Wer möchte die Aufgaben an der Tafel rechnen? Florian?
Who would like the tasks on the blackboard calculate?
"Who would like to do these questions on the blackboard?" Note that "Tafel" is related
to "table", meaning a flat surface, and indeed German "Tafel" can also designate a table
prepared for a feast.
Don't let the weird order of the words disturb you, even if the phrase seems totally incomprehensible at first. I'll try to construct this bit by bit:
This is the basic question and answer pair:
"Wer rechnet?" - "Ich rechne."
"Who calculates?" - "I calculate."
To ask, if you want to do something, you use a construction similar to English:
"Wer will rechnen" - "Ich will rechnen."
"Who wants to calculate" - "I want to calculate."
Note that the "to" is already included in the German word "rechnen". "Rechnen" is clearly
already an infinitive, and doesn't need a "zu" to prove it. This is one of the main reasons
why complicated conjugations can survive, they contain information that doesn't have to
be expressed otherwise then...
To be a little more polite (or at least seem like it, since our teacher probably wouldn't take
a no for an answer)
"Wer möchte rechnen?" - "Ich möchte rechnen!"
"Who would like to calculate?" - "I would like to calculate"
This is another example for brevity by conjugation. The word "möchte" contains the
"would", as it is a "Konjunktiv"-form of the word "mögen" which translates to "like".
Don't be discouraged, many Germans don't realize this, and many don't use the Konjunktiv
correctly, if ever. However, "ich möchte"-phrases are extremely popular, so just use them,
even if you didn't understand yet a word of the explanation above ;-)
Let's introduce objects in our phrase:
"Wer rechnet die Aufgabe?" - "Ich rechne die Aufgabe"
"Who calculates the task?" - "I calculate the task", meaning "Who answers the
question"
This is a direct object, "Aufgabe" is in the accusative case. Because this is a feminine
noun, this is not so obvious, but the structure is the same as in:
"Wer sieht den Mann?" - "Ich sehe den Mann."
"Who sees the man?" - "I see the man."
Now, we also have an adverbial expression of the place. This is an expression that defines
the verb, thus ad-verbial.
"Wer rechnet an der Tafel?" - "Ich rechne an der Tafel"
"Who calculates on the blackboard?" - "I calculate on the blackboard"
Now let's put all this together:
"Wer rechnet die Aufgabe an der Tafel?" - "Ich rechne die Aufgabe an der
Tafel."
"Who calculates the task on the blackboard?" - "I calculate the task on the
blackboard"
Note that the order expressions is widely interchangeable. You can emphasize something
by putting it closer to the end of the question.
And now for the whole phrase in all its glory:
"Wer | möchte | die Aufgabe | an der Tafel | rechnen?" - "Ich | möchte | die
Aufgabe | an der Tafel | rechnen."
"Who | would like | the task | on the blackboard | calculate?" - "I | would
like | the task | on the blackboard | calculate."
It wasn't THAT bad, was it?
Florian geht zur Tafel, schreibt an und liest vor:
Florian goes to the blackboard, writes on and reads out:
"Florian goes to the blackboard, writes down and reads out aloud"
"zur" is another contraction, this time of "zu" and "der".
Note that after "zu" follows the
dative case, so "der" is not the masculine but the feminine article.
"anschreiben" splits to "schreibt an", and means literally "writing on". It is often used
when writing legibly on a large, visible surface such as blackboard or a flipchart.
"vorlesen" splits to "liest vor" and translates to "read aloud".
"5 plus 8 ist gleich 13"
"8 minus 5 ist gleich 3"
"3 mal 8 ist 24"
"24 geteilt durch 12 gleich 2"
So, as you might have guessed, plus and minus are the same as in English - they are just
pronounced German. The verbs "addieren" and "subtrahieren" are probably not difficult
either... "Ist gleich" or short "gleich" or just "ist" corresponds obviously to "is equal to"
or "equals".
"mal" means "times". This is also used in every day phrases, such as "100mal habe ich
dir gesagt ..." "I told you a 100 times ..." The corresponding verb is "malnehmen" or
"multiplizieren"
"geteilt durch" is literally "divided by", and the verb is "teilen" or "dividieren".
Lehrer: Sehr gut, Florian! Very good, Florian!
Now, that was easy!
Die Glocke läutet. Es ist Fünfminutenpause.
The bell rings. It is five-minute-break
Between single classes, there is usually a break of five minutes to allow teachers and students
to go from one classroom to another. In most schools, classes such as German, English,
History, Philosophy are taught in the classroom. Classes that use special equipment, such
as all sciences, music and arts and of course computers and sport are being taught in a
specialized lab classes. Roughly every second break is 15 minutes long, and if there are
lessons in the afternoon, there's often a break of 45 to 60 minutes for lunch.
Schnell, wir müssen zu Musik!
Quick, we must to music!
This sentence sounds strange. This is, because in everyday German, sometimes the verb
gehen can be left out, if it is clear what is meant. In this case, the complete phrase would
have to be "Wir müssen zu Musik gehen". But since Torsten will not think Silke is going
to fly there, there will be no misunderstanding. Additionally, the word "class", or "course"
is missing, which is the usual way of students to talk about their subjects.
Note: In English, the phrase might be "We have to go to the music room" instead of must.
The German translation "Wir haben in den Musikraum zu gehen" would be understood,
but is quite formal. Additionally, there is a connotation that the speaker distances himself
from the order he is being given.
Au ja, darauf freue ich mich schon!
Oh yes, to this look forward I myself already!
Whew, what was that?
Let's start at the beginning. "Au ja" ist an exclamation meaning "cool", "that's great". It
has nothing to do with the German equivalent of "ouch!", which is "au(a)!"
"Sich freuen" means "being happy". It is reflexive such as in "I help myself", because the
subject and the object are the same. Some phrases simply are constructed like this, even if
there seems to be no real reason to this, and many languages know this phenomenon. The
"sich" here is technically the accusative of "he, she, it" and is being changed depending on
the person:
ich freue mich I am happy
du freust dich you are happy
er, sie, es freut sich he, she, it is happy
wir freuen uns we are happy
ihr freut euch you are happy
Sie/sie freuen sich they are happy
Note that "to be happy" actually would be rather translated by "glücklich sein", but it is
the closest English equivalent to "sich freuen".
"Sich über etwas freuen" means "to be happy about something". This is kind of selfexplanatory. But "sich auf etwas freuen", literally "to be happy on something" means
"to look forward to". This is a common phrase that uses the on in the same wide sense as
in "on drugs", or "living on something" - there is no spatial relation here...
In "darauf" you recognize the "auf". The "da" is a demonstrative prounoun such as in
"that place". "Darauf" actually is another contraction which developped a long time ago
from "da-herauf". The "darauf" is referencing the word "Musik" from Silke's sentence.
So "Au ja, darauf freue ich mich schon" or "to-this look-forward I myself already" just
means "Great, I'm already looking forward to that"
Maybe it comforts you a little that the English phrase in a word-by-word translation to
German would be just as unintelligible...
Was machen wir heute?
What make we today?
"What we (are going to) do today?"Note again, that "machen" often does not translate
to "make", but to "do"!
Wir wollen ein Lied von Grönemeyer singen!
We want a song of Grönemeyer sing!
"We want to sing a song by Grönemeyer!"
Welches denn?
Which then?
"Alkohol", glaube ich...
"Alcohol", believe I...
Note that adding a "glaube ich" is another common phrase, exacly as "I think" or "I believe"
can be added to an English phrase. (Never mind the word order, this is because Alcohol is
the object, so the verb is at the second position in the text)
Herbert Grönemeyer1
is a very popular German rock singer from the Ruhr region. His most
famous songs include "Männer", "Bochum" (a city in the Ruhr region), "Mensch" and also
"Alkohol".
Nach dem Musikunterricht:
After the music class:
"Unterricht" comes from "unterrichten" "to teach", and means simply "class". Better not
think about "under" and "right" here, which you might have correctly recognized as the
word's components "richten" literally means "to correct".
Jetzt haben wir nur noch Geschichte...
Now have we only still history...
"Now we have only history left"
Komm, wir schwänzen und gehen ins Bistro.
Come, we skip and go in the bistro.
"Come on, let's skip class and go to the bistro instead". As in English, "Komm" can be
used to motivate others.
There is yet another contraction here "ins" is derived from "in das", meaning "in the".
"das" is the neutral article in accusative case here.
Schon wieder!
Already again!
16.4 Aufgabe
• Make a list of all the contractions used in this chapter. Can you determine the full tables?
16.5 School
16.5.1 Vocabulary
School-Related Verbs
Lesen To Read
Schreiben To Write
Rechnen To Calculate (doing
maths)
Studieren To Study
Lernen To Learn
Zeichnen To Draw
Malen To Paint
School Subjects
Deutsch German
Englisch English
Russisch Russian
Französisch French
Latein Latin
Mathe Maths
Mathematik Mathematics
Sport PE or Gym
Kunst,
Zeichnen Arts
Musik Music
Werken Crafts
Sachkunde,
Sachunterricht Science Lesson in
Elementary School
Geschichte History
Erdkunde Geography
Politik Politics
Biologie Biology
Geografie Geography
Religion RE or Religion
Ethik Ethics
Chemie Chemistry
Physik Physics
Informatik Computer Science
Elektronische Datenverarbeitung Computer Science
School Supplies and Ect.
der Radiergummi Eraser/Rubber
der Bleistift Pencil
der Stift,
der Kugelschreiber Pen
der Füller, der Füllfederhalter Fountain pen
das Fach Subject
die Klasse Class
der Lehrer Teacher (male)
die Lehrerin Teacher (female)
die Schule School
der Schüler Pupil
der Student Student
(College/University)
die Stunde/Schulstunde school hours
die Pause Break
die Schultasche Backpack
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1
7 Review 1.02
Review Section I.B: Lessons I.4 to I.6
17.1 Vocabulary
I ich
We wir
You du
Sie (formal)
You All ihr
Sie (formal)
He er
She sie
It es
They sie
Have habe (1st Person, Singular, ich)
hast (2nd Person, Singular, informal, du)
haben (1st & 3rd Person, Plural, wir, sie; 2nd Person, singular & plural,
formal, Sie)
habt (2nd Person, Plural, informal, ihr)
Has hat (3rd Person, singular, er, sie, es
Am bin (1st person, Singular)
Are bist (2nd Person, Singular, informal)
sind (1st & 3rd Person, Plural; 2nd Person, sing. & plur., formal)
seid (2nd Person, Plural, informal)
Is ist
Hello! Hallo!
Servus! (used in Bavaria and Austria)
Moin! or Moin Moin! (used in northern Germany)
Grüezi! (used in Switzerland)
Good morning! Guten Morgen! or Morgen!
Good day! Guten Tag! or Tag!
Good evening! Guten Abend! or N'Abend!
Grüß Gott! (used in southern Germany, Austria and South Tyrol)
Goodbye! Auf Wiedersehen! or Wiedersehen
Bye! Tschüss! or Tschau! (Ciao from Italy)
Servus! (used in Bavaria, Austria)
Later! Bis später! or Bis dann!
Good night! Gute Nacht!
Good Gut
Super! Spitze!
Great! Prima!
Very good! Sehr gut!
Bad Schlecht
Miserable Miserabel
111
Review 1.02
Who Wer
What Was
Where Wo
When Wann
Why Warum
How Wie
Boy Der Junge
Girl Das Mädchen
Man Der Herr
Woman Die Frau
Boys Die Jungen
Girls Die Mädchen
Men Die Männer
Women Die Frauen
Sport(s) Sport
Interests Hobbys
Soccer Fußball
USA Football Football
Volleyball Volleyball
Basketball Basketball
Tennis Tennis
Baseball Baseball
9-pin Bowling Kegeln
Chess Schach
Board Game Das Brettspiel
Game Das Spiel
Homework Hausaufgaben
Television Fernsehen
Movie Der Film, Filme
And und
But aber
Or oder
To Have haben
To Be sein
To Be Called heißen
To Play spielen
To Do/Make machen
To Read lesen
To Watch schauen
To See sehen
To Work arbeiten
To Write schreiben
To Swim schwimmen
One Eins
Two Zwei
Three Drei
Four Vier
Five Fünf
Six Sechs
Seven Sieben
Eight Acht
Nine Neun
Ten Zehn
Eleven Elf
Twelve Zwölf
Thirteen Dreizehn
Fourteen Vierzehn
Fifteen Fünfzehn
Sixteen Sechzehn
Seventeen Siebzehn
Eighteen Achtzehn
Nineteen Neunzehn
112
Vocabulary
Twenty Zwanzig
Thirty Dreißig
Forty Vierzig
Fifty Fünfzig
Sixty Sechzig
Seventy Siebzig
Eighty Achtzig
Ninety Neunzig
Hundred Hundert
Thousand Tausend
Noon Mittag
Midnight Mitternacht
After Nach
Till Vor
Quarter Viertel
Half Before Halb
Quarter Before Dreiviertel (used in eastern Germany)
Day Tag
Today Heute
Tomorrow Morgen
Yesterday Gestern
Early Morning Morgen (use morgen früh for tomorrow morning)
Morning Vormittag
Afternoon Nachmittag
Evening Abend
Night Nacht
Monday Montag
Tuesday Dienstag
Wednesday Mittwoch
Thursday Donnerstag
Friday Freitag
Saturday Samstag or Sonnabend
Sunday Sonntag
January Januar
Jänner (used in Austria)
February Februar
March März
April April
May Mai
June Juni
Juno (in spoken word only)
July Juli
Julei (in spoken word only)
August August
September September
October Oktober
November November
December Dezember
Spring Frühling
Summer Sommer
Autumn Herbst
Winter Winter
Time Die Zeit
Free Time Die Freizeit
Always immer
Often oft
Sometimes manchmal
Seldom selten
Never nie
Only nur
Me mich
113
Review 1.02
Us uns
You dich
You (formal) Sie
You All euch
Him ihn
Her sie
It es
Them sie
Appetizers Vorspeisen
Salad Der Salat
Bread Das Brot
Breadstick Die Scheibe Brot
Main Dishes Hauptgerichte
Sausage Die Wurst
Sausages Die Würste
Bratwurst Die Bratwurst
Hot Dog Das Hot Dog
Pizza Die Pizza
Pizzas Die Pizzen
Hamburger Der Hamburger
Hamburgers Die Hamburger
With mit (ignore article)
Without ohne (ignore article)
Tomatoes Die Tomaten
Lettuce Der Salat
Cheese Der Käse
Pickles Die Gewürzgurken
Onions Die Zwiebeln
Ketchup Der Ketchup
Mustard Der Senf
Chicken Das Hähnchen
Chickens Die Hähnchen
Seafood Die Meeresfrüchte (plural)
Fish Der Fisch
Sides Die Beilage (singular), die Beilagen (plural)
Soup Die Suppe
Soups Die Suppen
Noodle Soup Die Nudelsuppe
French Fries Die Pommes frites (plural)
Fries Die Fritten (Informal and plural)
Pasta Die Pasta or Die Nudeln
Potato Die Kartoffel
Potatoes Die Kartoffeln
Corn Der Mais
Bean Die Bohne
Beans Die Bohnen
Desserts Nachspeisen
Gâteau Die (Sahne-)Torte
Strudel Der Strudel
Apple strudel Der Apfelstrudel
Cake Der Kuchen
Piece of Cake Das Stück Kuchen
Pie Die Pastete
Piece of Pie Das Stück Pastete
Apple Pie Die Apfelpastete
Ice Cream Das Eis
Pudding Der Pudding
Cookie Der Keks
Cookies Die Kekse
Fruit Das Obst
The Meal Das Essen
Lunch Das Mittagessen
Dinner Das Abendessen
Hunger Der Hunger
Thirst Der Durst
114
Wie heißt Du?
To Eat essen
To Drink trinken
To Receive bekommen
To Want wollen
Would Like möchten
Thank you Danke
Please & You're Welcome Bitte
Thank you very much Dankeschön
Thanks a lot Danke sehr
No problem Kein Problem!
Chinese Food chinesisches Essen
Japanese Food japanisches Essen
American Food amerikanisches Essen
Mexican Food mexikanisches Essen
Arabic Food arabisches Essen
Italian Food italienisches Essen
Indian Food indisches Essen
French Food französiches Essen
Greek Food griechisches Essen
Durch Through
Für For
Gegen Against
Ohne Without
Um At, Around
Delicious lecker
Tasty schmackhaft
Juicy saftig
Crunchy knackig
Crispy knusprig
Spicy würzig
Stale fade
fad (used in Austria)
Salty salzig
Sweet süß
Bitter bitter
Sour sauer
Creamy cremig
Hot heiß
Burnt angebrannt
Cold kalt
Disgusting schrecklich
To Pay Zahlen
The Bill Die Rechnung
Waiter Der Ober
17.2 Wie heißt Du?
17.2.1 Hello and Goodbyes
Wir haben Begrüßungen und Verabschiedungen gelernt. Können Sie sich an diese erinnern?
Bericht!1
1 Chapter 8.5 on page 28
115
Review 1.02
17.2.2 Nominative Case
Wir haben auch den Nominativ gelernt. Können Sie sich an ihn erinnern?
Bericht!
2
17.2.3 Names
Wir haben das Verb heißen gelernt. Erinnern Sie sich?
Bericht!3
17.2.4 Verbs
Wir haben zwei andere Verben konjugiert. Können Sie sich daran erinnern?
Bericht!4
17.2.5 Articles
Wir haben die Artikel beim Nominativ gelernt. Können Sie sich an sie erinnern?
Bericht!5
17.3 Freizeit
17.3.1 Regulars Verbs
Wir haben die regelmäßigen Verbende gelernt. Können Sie sich an sie erinnern?
Bericht!6
17.3.2 Likes & Dislikes
Wir haben gelernt unser Gefallen auszudrücken. Können Sie sich daran erinnern?
Bericht!7
2 Chapter 8.5 on page 28
3 Chapter 8.5 on page 28
4 Chapter 8.5 on page 28
5 Chapter 8.5 on page 28
6 Chapter 10 on page 43
7 Chapter 9.4 on page 39
116
Essen
17.3.3 Numbers
Wir haben die Zahlen gelernt. Können Sie sich an sie erinnern?
Bericht!8
17.3.4 Time
Wir haben schon Zeit-Wörter gelernt. Können Sie sich an diese erinnern?
Bericht!9
17.4 Essen
17.4.1 Accusative Case
Wir hatten schon den Akkusativ-Fall gelernt. Können Sie sich an ihn erinnern?
Bericht!10
17.4.2 Modal Verbs
Wir haben die Modalverben gelernt. Können Sie sich an sie erinnern?
Bericht!11
17.4.3 Kein-Words
Wir haben die „Kein“-Wörter gelernt. Können Sie sich daran erinnern?
Bericht!12
17.4.4 This, Everyone, and Which
Wir haben „dieser“, „ jeder“ und „welcher“ gelernt.. Können Sie sich erinnern?
Bericht!13
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