Collins Easy Learning: German Grammar PDF
Preview Collins Easy Learning: German Grammar
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CONTENTS Foreword for language teachers vii Introduction for students vltl Glossary of grammar terms x Nouns I Using nouns '| Gender 3 The cases v Forming plurals to Weak nouns 22 Proper nouns 24 Articles 25 Adjectives 4o Using adjectives 40 ' Making adjectives agree 42 Adjectives used as nouns 5o Some other points about adjectives 5'l Comparatives of adjectives 53 Superlatives of adjectives 55 Adverbs 57 How adverbs are used 57 How adverbs are formed 57 Adverbs ofplace 5o Comparatives and superlatives of adverbs 62 Word orderwith adverbs 55 Emphasizers 57 Pronouns 69 Personal pronouns: subject 7o Personal pronouns: direct object 74 Personal pronouns: indi rect object 76 Personal pronouns: after prepositions 78 Possessive pronouns 8o Indefinite pronouns 82 Reflexive pronouns 8q Relative pronouns 86 I nterrogative pronou ns 89 Verbs 9r Weak, strong and mixed verbs 91 The present tense 93 Reflexive verbs 'l02 The imperative lo5 Verb prefixes in the present tense lo9 The perfect tense I3 FOREWORD FOR LANGUAGE TEACHERS The imperfect tense rt8 The future tense 123 The conditional '125 The pluperfecttense 14 The Edsy Learning Cerman Crammar is designed to be used with both young and adult The subjunctive 129 learners, as a group reference book to complernent your course book during classes, The infinitive 134 or as a recommended text for self-study and homework/coursework" Modalverbs 136 The text specifically targets learners from ab initio to intermed iate or GCSE level, lmpersonalverbs 139 and therefore its structural content and vocabularV have been matched to the There is,rfhere are 142 relevant specifications up to and including HigherCCSE. Use of"es" as an anticipatory object 143 Verbs followed by prepositions r45 The approach aims to develop knowledge and understanding of grammar and your Verbs followed by the dative case 't48 learners'abilityto apply it by: The passive '150 r defining parts of speech at the start of each major section with examples Prepositions 153 in English to clarify concepts Using prepositions 153 o min imizing the use of grammar terminology and provid ing clear explanations of terms both within the text and in theGlossary Conjunctions r68 r Co-ordinating conjunctions r68 illustrating all points with examples (and theirtranslations) based on Co-ordinating conjunctions with two parts 170 toD ics and contexts wh ich are relevant to bec inner and intermed iate Subordi nating conjunctions 172 course content Word order 't75 The text helps you develop positive attitudes to grammar learning in your classes by: Negatives 't79 o g iving cleal easy-to-follow explanations QueHstoiowntos ask a question in German 'rr882z . prioritizing contentaccording to relevant specifications forthe levels . Numbers 't85 sequencing points to reflectcourse content, e.g. verb tenses Time and date r88 o highlighting usefulTips to deal with common difficulties . Some common diffi culties 't92 summarizing Key points at the end of sections to consolidate learning Ceneral prolrlems 192 Specific problems r94 In addition to fostering success and building a thorough foundation in German grammar, the optionalGrammar Extra sections will encourage and challenge your Alphabet 198 learners to fu rther thei r stud ies to h iq her and advanced levels. Main Index r99 VerbTables l-98 Verb Index 99-103 Note on trademarks Entered words wh ich we have reason to believe constitute tradonr,rr kr lravr, lrr'r,rr (lr'\r(lf tdt ed as such. However, neitherthe presence northe absence ofsuclr rlcrir;rr.rttorI',lkri:lrl trl rr,r;,rrded as affecti ng the legal status ofany trademark. I NTRODUCTION FOR STU DENTS rtp Use Sie in more formal situations for both singular and plural Whether you are starting to learn cerman for the very first time, brushing up on vou. topicsyou have studied in class, or revising foryourCCSE exams, the EasV Leorning Cerman Crammaris here to help. This easy-to-use guide takes you through all the basics you will need to speak and understand modern, everyday German. Key points sum up all the important facts about a particular area of grammar, to save you time when you are revising and help you focus on the main grammatical Newcomers can sometimes struggle with the technical terms they come across oo i nts. when theV start to explore the g rammar of a new language. The Edsy Learning Cermon Crammar explains how to get to g rips with all the parts of speech you will need to Key points know, using simple language and cutting out jargon. t/ witnmasculine sinqular nouns in the nominative * use ein. The text is divided into sections, each dealing with a particulararea of grammar. y' witn femini ne si ngrl"r. norns in the nominative * use eine. Each section can be studied individuallv, as numerous cross-references in the text y' Witplural nouns, usedie,derorden, dependingon thecase. point you to relevant points i n other sections ofthe book for further information. y' mei ndefi nite article is not usual ly used when you say what jobs Every major section begins with an explanation of the area of grammar covered people do. on the following pages. For quick reference, these definitions are also collected together on pages x-xiv in a glossary of essential grammar terms. lf you think you would like to continue with your Cerman studies to a h igher level, check out the Grammar Extra sections. These are i ntended for advanced students What is a verb? who are interested in knowino a little more about the structures thev will come A verb is a'doing'word which describes what someone or something does, across bevond CCSE. what someone or something is, or what hapPens to them, for example, be, sing,live. Grammar Extra! Some 6erman adjectives are used as fem i n i ne nouns. They have fem inine adjective Each grammar point in the text is followed by simple examples of real cerman, end ings wh ich change according to the article which comes before them. complete with English translations, helping you understand the rules. Underlining eine Deutsche a Cerman woman has been used in examples throughout the text to highlight the grammatical point die Abgeordnete the female M P {S being explained. rsr more informotion on Adjectives which can be used as nouns and for Feminine ddjective endings, see pages 5o and 42. L lf you are talking about a part oFyour body, you usually use a word like my or his in English, but in Cerman you usually use the definite article. Finally, the supplement at the end of the book contains Verb Tables, where Er hat sich das Bein gebrochen. He's broken his leg. 97 important Cerman verbs are conjugated in full. Examples show you how to use Sie hat sich die Hinde schon 5he's already washed her these verbs in your own work. lf you are unsure of how a verb conjugates in Cerman, gewaschen. hands. you can look up theVerb Index on pages 99-t03 to flnd eitherthe conjugation ofthe verb itself, or a cross-reference to a model verb, which will show you the patterns that verb follows. In Cerman, as with any foreign language, there are certain pitfalls which have to be avoided. Tips and Information notes throughout the text are useful reminders We hope that you will enjoy using the Easy Learning Cermon 1rammar andfind it ofthe thinqs that often trip learners up. useful in the course ofvour studv. vt tl GLOSSARY OF GRAM MAR TERMS CO-ORDINATINC CONJ UNCTION a word FEM lNlN E one of three classifications for such as and, but or however that links two the gender ofCerman nouns which words, phrases or clauses. determines the form of articles, pronouns ABSTRACT NOUN a word used to refer BASE FORM the form of the verb without cONSONANT a letter of the alphabet and adjectives used with the noun and to to a quality, idea,feeling orexperience, any end ings added to it, for example, wolk, which is not a vowel, forexample, b, I m, refer to it. The other two classifications are rather than a physical object, for example, have, be, go. Comparewith infinitive. s, v etc. Compare with vowel. masculine and neuter. size, reason, happiness. cAsE the grammaticalfunction ofa noun CONSTRUCTION an arrangement of FUTURE a verb tense used to tal k about ACCUSATIVE CASE the form of nouns, in a sentence" words together i n a phrase or sentence. something thatwill happen orwill betrue. aCdejremcatinv etso, sphroonwo uthnes dainredc at rotibcjleecst uosfead v ienrb CLAUSE a group of words containing a DATIVE CASE the form ofnouns, adjectives, GENDER whethera noun, article, pronoun VETD. pronouns and articles used in German to or adjective is feminine, masculine or and after certain prepositions. compare with direct object. coMPARATIVE an adjective or adverb show the i nd i rect object ofa verb and neuter. with -er on the end of it or more or less in after certa i n verbs a nd prepos itions. GENITIVE CASE the form of nouns, ACTIVE in an active sentence, the subject frontof itthat is used to compare people, DECLENSION Cerman nouns change adjectlves, pronouns and articles used in ofthe verb is the person or thi ng that things or actions, for example , slower, less accordi ng to thei r gender, case and Cerman to show that something belongs carries out the action described by the verb. i m portant., more carefully. number. This is called declension. to someone and after certain prepositions. ADJECTIVE a'describing' word that tells COMPOUND NOUN awordfora living DEFINITE ARTICLE the Word the. IMPERATIVE theform of a verb used when you more about a person or th i ng, such being, thing or idea, which is made up of Compare with indefinite article. giving orders and instructions, for aq su athl eitii ers a, pfpoer aerxaanmcep,l ec,o plorue ttry, ,s ibzleu eo,r boigt.her trwailow aoyr mstaotrieo nw.ords, for example,tin-opener, wDEorMdOs NthSisT.R tAhdTtI,VthEe sAeDaJn dEtChoTsIVeE uosneed owf itthhe a eIMxaPmERpFleE, CSTh uto nthee odfothore!; Sveit rdbo wtenn!;s eDso nu'st egdo! AaDdjVeEcRtivBe sa owr oortdh eurs uaadlvlye rubsse tdh wati thg ivveesrbs, CabOoNuDt ItTh IOinNgsA Lth aat vwerobu f oldr mha pupseedn toor twaolkuld tnho iu nng ,t ofo rp oei xnatm o pulte ,a tphiasr twicoumlaorn , ptehrosto dno og.r tdoe staclrkip atiboonus,t tahned ptaos st,a ve swpehcaiat wI lya si n mhhaoopwrpe e oinrn sfin,o rfwomrh aaettixo acnmi rcpaulbemo,qsuutta icnwkchlyee,s n h.s awopmphieleyr,te hn.inowg. eubesxe atdmru tpeol e us, anIyd wewor hucladet rhtyaeolipun ywcoooun uidfl diIt icolioknuesl ,do .rfl otn riese adl,so wDinoEsrtMdesaO dNt hSoisfT,a Rt hnA aoTtu,I Vnth Eteo sP epR aoOninNdt O thoUousNte pouensoeepd loef othre fahotatrhp eepxweanem einpkgele,n, dfo I ruo serewxda htmoa ptw leul,ls kel tdt ow t oossc hhsoauopnlp.nevn, AGREE (to) to change word endings for example, Could you give me the bill? th i ngs, for exam ple,Thot looks fun. Compare with perfect. taoc cmoardsicnugl inteo, wfehmetihneinryeo, un eaurtee rr,e sfeinrrginuglar ceonNdiJnUgGs AaTcEco r(dtoin) gt ot og ivweh ea tvheerrb ydoiuff earreent DpeIRrsEoCnT o Or BthJiE nCgT aaf fneoctuend rbeyf ethrrein agc ttoio tnhe IrMefPerE tRoS aO rNeaAl LpVeErsRoBn oorn eth w inhgic ahn dd owehs enroet or plural people and things. referri ng to l, you, they and so on, and descri bed by a verb, for example, She wrote the subject is represented by rt, for AGREEMENT see agree (to). according to whetheryou are referring to her name.: I shut the window. Compare with example, lt's going to roin; lt's10 o'clock. APoSTRoPHE s an ending ('s) added to past, present or future, for example, I hove, indirect object. tNDEFtNtTEAD.IEcTtvE one of a small a noun to show who or what someone she had, thev will have. DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN a word such group ofadjectives used to talk about or something belongs to, for example, CONJUGATION a group of verbs which as me, him, us and them which is used people orthings in a general way, without Danielle's dog, the doctols husband, the have the same end i ngs as each other or instead ofa noun to stand i n for the saying exactly who or what they are, for book's cover. change according to the same pattern. person or thing most directly affected by exam ple, severa l, oll, every. ARTICLE a word likethe, a and an, which CONJUNCTION a word such as Ind, because the action described by the verb. Compare f NDEFf NITE ARTICLE the words a and an. is used in front of a noun. Compare with or but that links two words or phrases of with indirect object pronoun. Compare with definite article. definite article and indefinite article. a similartype ortwo parts of a sentence, ENDING a form added to a verb stem, for INDEFINITE PRONOUN a smallgroup AUXILIARY VERB a Verb such as be, for example, Diane and I hove been friends example, geh + geht, and to adjectives and of pronou ns su ch as everything, nobody have and do when used with a main verb for years.; I left b,gcqtlsgl was bored. Compare nouns depending on whetherthey referto and something,which are used to referto to form some tenses, negatives and with co-ordinating conjunction and masculine, feminine, neuter, singular or people orthings in a general way, without o u esti ons. subordinating conju nction. plural things. saying exactly who or what they are. INDIRECT OBTECT a noun or pronoun MIXED VERB a German verb whose stem ORDINAL NUMBER a number used to POSSESSIVE PRONOUN one of the words typically used in English with verbs that changes its vowel to form the imperfect indicate where something comes in an mine, yours, hers, his, ours or theirs, used take two objects. For example , in I gave tense and the past participle, like strong order or sequence, for example ,first, frfth, i nstead ofa noun to show that one oerson the carrot to the rabbit. the robbit is the verbs. lts past participle is formed by sixteenth. or thing belongs to another. oi nbdje i cret.c tW oibthje csto maned Ccedrfmfoaf nis vtheerb dsi, rwechtat aCdodminpga r-et twoi tthh es tvreornbg s tveemrb, laikned wweeaakk vveerbrbs.. PART OF SPEECH one ofthe categories PREPOSf Tf ON is a word such as ot, for, to which allwords are assigned and which with, into otfrom, which is usually followed wafi scs ih ttahh hne e d fid nifriedere icrichet trc o ot-b bo jejbel'cmjcett. c hiten li pnEi,n nfggo lrhi seehr.x aCism otmrpelpeaa,tered aMchboailDintyAg,eL p VeoErt hmR eBi rsSvsie o rnab roset tunose cesedh sotsowit y m.s uoFcod hirf veth xoain rmgs p Ia es, adu desjesecdcr tiii bvnee s, etphnreetepirno csfoietrisom,n sf,o pra rnoendx aohmuonpw.le t,h enov uanr,e verb, epbyen odapi nnlego uainnn, d -i pntrhgo.in nPogrusen pr eoolsari,tt ieion nt osE ntshgheliso rhwe, s aht owowfothrde he con swim, may I comeT and he ought to go. PASSIVE a form ofthe verb that is used sentence, for example, Shes ot home; a tool INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUN when a NEGATIVE a question or statement when the subject ofthe verb is the person fu cutti ng grass: lt's fIgm David. verb has two objects (a direct one and an indirect one), the indirect object pronoun which contains a word such as not, or th in9 that is affected by the action, for PRESENT a verb form used to tal k about is used instead ofa noun to show the never or nothing, and is used to say that example, weweretold. what is true at the moment. what person orthe thing the action is intended something is not happening, or is not PAST PARTICIPLE a verb form, for example, happens regularly, and what is happening to benefit or harm, for exam ple, nie i n true, for exa m ple, I never eot meot: watched, swum which is used with an now, forexample,l'm a student;l trovel to He gove me a bookand Can Vou get me a towel? Don't Vou love me? auxi I iary verb to form perfect and college by troin; I'm studving languages. Compare with direct object pronoun. NEUTER one oFthree classifications for pluperfect tenses and passives. Some past INDIRECT SPEECH the words vou use to the gender of German nouns wh ich participles are also used as adjectives, PinR -EinSgE wNTh icPhA RisT IuCsIePdL Ein aE vnegrlbis hfo rtmo foernmding report what someone has said when you determ ines the form of article, pronou ns for example, a broken watch. verb tenses, and which mav be used aren't using their actual words, for example, and adjectives used with the noun and to PERFECT one ofthe verb tenses used as an adjective or a noun, for example, He soid that he was going out. refer to it. The other two classifi catio ns to talk about the past, especially about What ore you doina?', the settina sun are masculine and feminine. actions that took olace and were INFINITIVE the form of the verb with to in Swimmina is easy! front of it and without any end i ngs added, NnoOuMnsIN, ApTroIVnoEu nCsA, SaEd tjehcet ibveassi ca fnodr mar toicfles cimompeprlfeetecdt. in the past. Compare with PRONOUN a word which Vou use instead fCoor mexoaamrep wle,it hto bwaaslek , ftoor mho.ve, to be, to go. used in German and the one vou find in PERSONAL PRONOUN one ofthe group toof an anmouen s, owmheeonn evo our sdoo mnoett hnienegd doirrewcatlny,t the dictionary. lt is used forthe subject of words including l, you and theywhich I NTERROGATIVE ADJ ECTIVE a question of the sentence. Compare with subject. are used to refer to yoursell the people for example, it, you, none. word used with a noun to ask who?, whot? or which?for exam ple, Whot instruments do NOUN a'naming' word for a living being, you are talki ng to, or the people or thi ngs PROPER NOUN the name of a person, Vou plav?;Which shoes do You like? thhaipnpgin eosrs ,i dAenad, rfeowre.xample, woman, desk, yPoLuU PaEreR tFaElkCinTg o naeb oouftth.e verb tenses used aprlaec ael,w oarygsa nwirziattteionn woirthth ian cga. pPitraol pleetrtneor,uns wwI NohTredEnsR tRhwOehyGo ,Aa wrTehI VouEsse e, dPw RinhOostmNe,aO dwU hoNof ato annneod uo nwf htthoice hask OtoB aJE pCeTr sao nn oour nt hoi rn pg rtohnaotu ins awffheiccthe dre bfey rtshe toor dheasdc briebeen storumee atht ian gp otihnat ti nh athde h paapspte, nfoedr fLoorn deoxna mEypele., Kwin, Clasgow, Europe, questions, for example, Whof s happening?; action described by theverb. Compare example, I'd for^otten to finish my homework. QUESTION WORD a word such as why, who's coming? with direct object, indirect object and PLURAL the form of a word which is used where, who, which or howwh ich is used to subject. to referto more than one person orthing. ask a question. MASCULINE one of three classifications forthe gender of German nouns which OBJECT PRONOUN one ofthe set of Compare with singular. REFLEXIVE PRONOUN a word ending determi nes the form of articles, pronouns pronou ns i nclud i ng me, him and them, POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE one of the words in -selfor -selves, such as myselflor and adjectives used with the noun and to which are used instead ofthe noun as the mV, Vour, his, her, its, our ortheir, used with themselves,which refers back to the refer to it. The other two classifications are object oFa verb or preposition. Compare a noun to show that one person or th i ng subject, for example,He hurt himself; feminine and neuter. with subject pronoun. belonos to another. Take core of vourself. REFLEXIVE VERB a verb where the subject feeling, or to show doubt about whether NOUNS and object are the same, and where the something will happen orwhether action 'reflects back'on the subject. something is true. lt is only used A reflexive verb is used with a reflexive occasionally in modern English, for What is a noun? pronoun such as myself, yourself, herself, example, If I were you, I wouldn't bother.: A noun is a'naming'word for a living being, th ing or idea, for example, womon, for example, I washed mvselfi He shlved So be it. happiness, Andrew. Cerman nouns change, according to their qender, case and hinself. SUBORDINATE CLAUSE a clause which number.This is called declension. RELATIVE CLAUSE Dart ofthe sentence in begins with a subordinating conjunction which the relative pronoun appears. such as because or while and which must RELATIVE PRONOUN WOTd SUCh AS thdt, be used with a main clause. In Cerman, Using nouns wpahrot so ro wfah iscehn,twehnecen tiot gise uthseedr. to lin k two tshueb overdrbin aaltwea cylsa ugsoee.s to the end ofthe D I n German, all nouns are either masculine, feminine or neuter. Th is is called their qender. In English, we call all things - for example, table, car, book, opple - SENTENCE a group of wordswhich SUBORDINATI NG CONJUNCTION a word 'it', but in German, even words for things have a gender. lt is important to know usually has a verb and a subject. In writing, such as when, because or while that I inks the that the gender ofCerman nouns rarely relates to the sex ofthe person or thing a sentence has a capital letter at the subordinate clause and the main clause in it refers to. For example, in German, the word for "man" is masculine, but the beginning and a full stop, question mark a sentence. ComDare with subordinate word for "g irl" is neuter and the word for"person" is feminine. or exclamation mark at the end. clause. der Mann man SINGULAR the form of a word which is SUPERLATIVE an adjective or adverb with das MHdchen g irl used to refertoone person orthing. -est on the end of it or rnost or ledst i n front Comparewith plural. of itthat is used to compare people, things die Person person STEM the main part of a verb to which or actions, for example, thinnesf, most endings are added. quickly, I ea st interesti ng. STRONG VERB a German verb whose stem SmYaLkLeA BuLpE t hceo snosuonndasn to+fv ao wwoerl du, nf oitsr that German nouns are alwavs written with a capital letter. changes its vowel to form the imperfect tense and the past participle. lts past example, ca-the-dral Q syllables), participle is not formed by add ing -t to the i m-po-ssi-ble (4 syl lalrles). > Wheneveryou are using a noun, you need to knowwhether it is masculine, verb stem.Also known as irreqularverbs. TENSE the form of a verb wh ich shows fem in ine or neuter as th is affects the form of other words used with it. such as: Compare with weak verb. whether you are referri ng to the past, o adjectives that describe it SUBJECT the noun or pronoun used to oresent or future. . articles(such asderorein)that go before it refer to the person which.does the action VERB a'doing'word which describes . pronouns(such aserorsie)thatreplace it described by the verb, for example, Mv cdt what someone or something does, doesn't drink milk. Compare with object. what someone or something is, or what * For more information on Adjedives, Artictes or Pronouns, see pages 4c., 25 and 69. SUBJECT PRONOUN a word such as l, he, happens to them, for example, be, sing, live. sheand theywhich carries out the action VoWEL one ofthe letters d, e, i, o or u. > You can find information about gender by looking the word up in a dictionary described by the verb. Pronouns stand in ComDare with consonant. - in the Edsy Leorning Cerman Dtctionory,for example, you willfind the definite for nouns when it is clearwho is being WEAK VERB a Cerman verb whose stem article (the wordforthe) in front of the word. When you come across a new noun, talked about, for example, n/y brother isn't does not change its vowel to form the always learn the word forthe that goes with itto help you remember its gender. here otthe moment.He'll be backin an hour. imperfect tense and the past participle. o der before a noun tells Vou it is masculine Compare with object pronoun. Its past participle isformed byadding . die before a noun tells you it is feminine SUBJUNCTIVE a verb form used in certain -t to the verb stem. Also known as regular o das before a noun tells vou it is neuter circumstances to exDress some sort of verbs" compare with strong verbs. Q psy rnsTs information on the Definite articte, see plge 25. 2 NoUNs Nour.ts 3 ) We referto something as singularwhen we are talking about just one, and Gender as pluralwhen we are talking about more than one.The singular is the form ) In German a noun can be masculine, feminine or neuter. Gender is quite of the noun you will usually fi nd when you look a noun up in the dictionary. unpredictable - the best thing is simply to learn each noun with its definite As in English, nouns in Cerman change theirform in the plural. article, that is the word for the (der, die or das) wh ich goes with it: die Katze cat + die Katzen cats derTeppich carpet ) Adjectives, articles and pronouns are also affected bywhethera noun is singular die Zeit time or plural. das Bild picture Howevet there are some clues which can help you work out or remember Ttp the gender ofa noun, as explained below. Remember that you have to use the right word for the, o and so on tr Masculine nouns accord i ng to the gender and case ofthe German noun. L Nouns referring to male people and animals are masculine. der Mann man der Ldwe (male) lion > Seasons, months, days oftheweek, weatherand points ofthe compass are masculine. der Sommer SUmmer derAugust August der Freitag Friday derWind wind der Norden north l Most nouns referring to things that perform an action are also masculine. derWecker alarm clock der Computer computer Grammar Extra! cerman nouns taken from other languages and ending in -ant, -ast, -ismus, and -or are masculine: derTrabaIIE satel I ite der Ballast der Kapitalismus cap ital ism derTresor safe ) Nouns with the following endings are masculine. Masculine Ending Example Meaning -ich derTeppich carper -rg der Esslg vinegar -ling der Friihling spflng Forfurther explanation ofgrammatical terms, please see pages x-xiv.
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