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HENRY STRUTZ V?5 The basic elements as well as the fine points of grammar and usage frequently encountered by students of German. A handy reference for all levels Barron's Educational Series, Inc PITFALLS GERMAN Df HTKLLS GERMAN IN By HENRY STRUTZ FormerlyAssociate ProfessorofLanguages SUNY Agricultural andTechnical College at Alfred, NewYork BARRON'S EDUCATIONAL SERIES, INC. Woodbury, N.Y. • London © Copyright 1981 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, micro- film, xerography, orany other means, orincorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission ofthe copyright owner. All inquiries should be addressed to: Barron's Educational Series, Inc. 113 Crossways Park Drive Woodbury, New York 11797 Library ofCongress Catalog Card No. 80-13902 International Standard Book No. 0-8120-0590-2 Library ofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data Strutz, Henry. 1001 pitfalls in German. SUMMARY: A supplementary textbook outlining fundamentals of the German languageandproviding helpforcommon obstacles such asdeclen- sions, pronoun agreement, time expressions, and letter writing. — 1. Ge—rman language Idioms, corrections, errors. [1. German language Grammar] I. Title. PF3460.S85 438.2'421 80-13902 ISBN 0-8120-0590-2 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA . . 1 Contents PREFACE vn NOUNS 1 Gender, 1; multi-gendered nouns, 2; French-derived nouns, 4; suffixes and other gender indicators, 5; verbal nouns, 7; compound nouns, 8; noun plurals, 11. CASES, ARTICLES, DER- AND EIN- WORDS 21 Explanation ofcases, 21; der- words, 24; ein- words, 27 ADJECTIVESANDADVERBS 33 Adjectives without endings, 33 adjective endings, 34; ad- ; jectival nouns, 37; comparison of adjectives and adverbs, 41; false comparative, 42; comparisons ofequality and in- equality, 43; irregular comparisons, 45; definition of adverbs, 46; position ofadverbs, 47 PRONOUNS 5 Definition ofpronouns, 51; personal pronouns, 51; agreement ofpronoun, 54; reflexive pronouns, 56; relative pronouns, 57; interrogative pronouns and adjectives, 60; prepositional compounds used pronominally, 63 . VERBS 66 Definition ofverbs, 66; principal parts ofstrong and weak verbs, 66; thepresent tense, 67; vowel changes in thepresent tense and du-imperative ofstrong verbs, 68; past tense (imperfect), 69; present perfect tense, 71; sein-verbs, 73; future and future perfect tenses, 75; conditional tense, 76; imperative mood, 78;verbs with prefixes, 80; the subjunc- tive and its tenses, 83; modal auxiliaries, 87; idiomatic uses of modals, 92; passive voice, 93; impersonal verbs, . .. 1 97; verbs with a dative object, 97; verbs with a genitive object, 98; special uses ofverbs, 99; omission of -e, 102; principal parts ofsome strong verbs arranged according to pattern ofchange, 103 . PREPOSITIONS 108 Prepositions defined, 108; prepositions with the genitive, 109; prepositions with the dative, 110; prepositions with the accusative, 111; prepositions with either the dative or the accusative, 114; prepositional idioms, 117 CONJUNCTIONS 122 Conjunctions defined, 122; coordinating conjunctions, 122; subordinating conjunctions, 124. WORDORDER ANDSENTENCE STRUCTURE Word order, 129; direct and indirect questions, 132; ex- 129 tended adjective construction, 135 NUMBERS, MEASUREMENTS, TIME EXPRESSIONS 139 Cardinal numbers, 739; arithmetical operations, 141; ordi- nal numbers, 142; fractions, 143; the metric system, 144; telling time, 145; time expressions, 147; dates, 150. PUNCTUATIONANDDIVISION INTOSYLLABLES 15 Common marks of punctuation, 151; capitalization, 154; letter writing, 156; division into syllables, 158. PRONUNCIATION 160 Long and short vowels and diphthongs, 160; problems in pronunciation, 162; stress, 166; umlauts, 166. VOCABULARY BUILDING, CONFUSIONS, REGIONAL VARIATIONS 167 Germanic and non-Germanic vocabulary contrasted, 167; German words in English, 169; the second sound shift, 169; words frequently confused, 772; particles, 777; more confusing words, 779; regional variations, 181 INDEX 187 vi Preface In language study, as in other disciplines, the complex is based on mas- tery of the simple. It may be possible to read English or history assign- ments just befoteanexam but thisapproach does notworkwellinlanguage courses. Therefore, you should not hesitate to ask your teacher, from the verybeginning, ifanything is uncleartoyou, even insimplesentencessuch as Mutteristbier or Das Grasistgrun. You should also, ofcourse, do all the exercises assigned, on a daily basis. When these exercises are corrected, do not hesitate to ask questions. Your teacher will be pleased that you are sufficiently concerned to ask. This willingness to ask questions is particu- larly important for beginning students but also applies to those on the intermediate and advanced levels. One difficulty in the study ofGerman, and other subjects, is that students often fail to see language in the context oflife. Most teachers seek to impart a knowledge ofthe structural features ofthe language so that students can use the language, so that it can be a source of pleasure and inspiration tothem. Many topics in thisbookarecross-listed. Forexample, the old-fashioned Saxon genitive could have been listed with nouns or articles. But since the pitfall lies in its use with prepositions, it is discussed there. Similarly, the extended adjective construction could have been discussed with adjectives or verbs (participles). But it is found in the chapter, "WordOrderandSentenceStructure,"sincestudentproblemscenteraround word order when this construction is encountered. Grammars, and this book, break down and analyze the parts only in order to enable you to better understand the whole. The parts of speech form an organic unity, and you should strive to synthesize after achieving clear and distinct ideas ofthe parts. Bringing as many ofthe senses as possible to the learning process facili- tates thatprocess. Avariety ofrecentexperiments confirms that thecombi- nation ofwords and music fix language patterns better in the mind. Many songs are an important and integral part of the German tradition. Fa- miliarity with them will help you not only to understand the German lan- wii guage, but also the Germans better. Even if you don't live in a city like New York with its many fine FM stations that frequently play a wealth of German music (popular, folk, lieder, opera) you can listen to records. You may not understand everything being sung, butsome things will stick. For beginners, even popular songs with their HerzlSchmerz, LiebelTriebe rhymes (comparable to all the "moon/June," "far apart/in my heart," "charms/ arms" rhymes in English), will be ofvalue, and besides enriching vocabulary, they will impart a feeling for the rhythm ofthe language. Sociologists and historians will find many German cabaret songs (Brecht, Ringelnatz, Kastner and Tucholsky, etc.) of interest. Others will derive pleasure and linguistic profit from Wagner, Weber, Schubert, and many others. Ifyou are religious, there are the many cantatas of Bach and others. On a more mundane level, Blasmusik, or "oom-pah-pah," and waltz and operetta tunes, have a wide appeal. There are also thousands of German drinking songs. It is notenough to hearafew songs occasionally in the language lab. Get records, turn on the radio, and start listening attentively. Ifpossible, get the printed texts which often accompany record albums. German-speaking individuals have made many outstanding contribu- tions in a variety of fields. If you have a specialized interest in history, psychology, theology, literary and artistic movements such as Expres- sionism, or in many scientific disciplines, this should be ofhelp. The best motivation for studying German is love for the language as a vehicle ofthe human spirit. Language is perhaps the noblest form ofhuman expression, as many philosophers, Descartes for instance, have long maintained. What happens outside the classroom is crucial. Language learning can- not be relegated to 50 minutes a few times a week. You didn't learn your own language that way. Language is intimately connected with life and the learning of language should be interrelated and integrated with as many aspects oflife as possible. Everyone can listen to music, eat Wiener Schnit- zel or Sachertorte, and quaff Munchner Lowenbrau or Henkell Trocken champagne. The moreGerman you know, the better they'll taste. Learning a language is a matter ofexposure and practice. This book concerns itselfwith pitfalls. Pitfall means hidden danger and can have a sinister, military connotation. Perhaps you are in a state ofwar with German grammar and have fallen upon many minefields and into many pits. The whole German language may seem like one great bog to you. Sentences thatseem tostretch onto infinity, verbspiled upat theend, compound nouns and compound numbers, all make for compound confu- sion. Before you can climb out ofthe pits and scale the heights ofGoethe, Nietzsche, Rilke, Freud, etc., you must be able to recognize the basic viii