Duolingo German Language and

Grammar Tips and Notes

I do not own, and did not create any of the content below. I simply compiled it from the links
available through Duolingo’s website, within the various German lessons.

BASICS
Capitalizing nouns
In German, all nouns are capitalized. For example, "my name" is "mein Name," and "the
apple" is "der Apfel." This helps you identify which are the nouns in a sentence.

Three grammatical genders, three types of nouns

Nouns in German are either feminine, masculine or neuter. For example, "Frau" (woman) is
feminine, "Mann" (man) is masculine, and "Kind" (child) is neuter. ​The grammatical gender
may not match the biological gender: "Mädchen" (girl) is a neuter noun.

It is very important to learn every noun along with its gender​ because parts of German
sentences change depending on the gender of their nouns.

Generally speaking, the definite article "die" (the) and the indefinite article "eine" (a/an) are
used for feminine nouns, "der" and "ein" for masculine nouns, and "das" and "ein" for neuter
nouns. For example, it is "die Frau," "der Mann," and "das Kind." However, later you will see
that this changes depending on something called the "case of the noun."

masculine neuter feminine

indefinite (a/an) ein Mann ein Mädchen eine Frau

definite (the) der Mann das Mädchen die Frau

Conjugations of the verb ​sein​ (to be)

A few verbs like "sein" (to be) are completely irregular, and their conjugations simply need
to be memorized:
 German English

ich bin I am

du bist you (singular informal) are

er/sie/es ist he/she/it is

wir sind we are

ihr seid you (plural informal) are

sie sind they are

Sie sind you (formal) are

Conjugating regular verbs

Verb conjugation in German is more challenging than in English. To conjugate a regular
verb in the present tense, identify the invariant stem of the verb and add the ending
corresponding to any of the grammatical persons, which you can simply memorize:

trinken​ (to drink)

English person ending German example

I -e ich trink​e

you (singular informal) -st du trink​st

he/she/it -t er/sie/es trink​t

we -en wir trink​en

you (plural informal) -t ihr trink​t

you (formal) -en Sie trink​en

 they -en sie trink​en

Notice that the 1st and the 3rd person plural have the same ending as "you (formal)."

Umlauts
Umlauts are letters (more specifically vowels) that have two dots above them and appear in
some German words like "Mädchen." Literally, "Umlaut" means "around the sound,"
because its function is to change how the vowel sounds.

An umlaut can sometimes indicate the plural of a word. For example, the plural of "Mutter"
(mother) is "Mütter." It might even change the meaning of a word entirely. That's why it's
very important not to ignore those little dots.

No continuous aspect
In German, there's no continuous aspect, i.e. there are no separate forms for "I drink" and "I
am drinking". There's only one form: ​Ich trinke.

There's no such thing as ​Ich bin trinke​ or ​Ich bin trinken!

When translating into English, how can I tell whether to use the simple (I drink) or the
continuous form (I am drinking)?

Unless the context suggests otherwise, either form should be accepted.

2. German plurals - the nominative Case

In English, making plurals out of singular nouns is typically as straightforward as adding an
"s" or an "es" at the end of the word. In German, the transformation is more complex, and
also the articles for each gender change. The following five suggestions can help:

1. -e ending: most German one-syllable nouns will need -e in their plural form.
For example, in the nominative case, "das Brot" (the bread) becomes "die
Brote," and "das Spiel" (the game) becomes "die Spiele."
2. -er ending: most masculine or neuter nouns will need the -er ending, and there
may be umlaut changes. For example, in the nominative case "das Kind" (the
child) becomes "die Kinder," and "der Mann" (the man) becomes "die Männer."
 3. -n/-en ending: most feminine nouns will take either -n or -en in all four
grammatical cases, with no umlaut changes. For example, "die Frau" (the
woman) becomes "die Frauen" and "die Kartoffel" becomes "die Kartoffeln."
4. -s ending: most foreign-origin nouns will take the -s ending for the plural,
usually with no umlaut changes. For example: "der Chef" (the boss) becomes
"die Chefs."
5. There is no change for most neuter or masculine nouns that contain any of
these in the singular: -chen, -lein, -el, or -er. There may be umlaut changes.
For example: "das Mädchen" (the girl) becomes "die Mädchen," and "die
Mutter" (the mother) becomes "die Mütter."

German feminine plurals - nouns ending in -in

Feminine nouns that end in "-in" will need "-nen" in the plural. For example, "die Köchin"
(the female cook) becomes "die Köchinnen" in its plural form.

ihr​ vs ​er
If you're new to German, ​ihr​ and ​er​ may sound exactly same, but there is actually a
difference. ​ihr​ sounds similar to the English word ​ear​, and ​er​ sounds similar to the English
word ​air​ (imagine a British/RP accent).

Don't worry if you can't pick up on the difference at first. You may need some more listening
practice before you can tell them apart. Also, try using headphones instead of speakers.

Even if this doesn't seem to help, knowing your conjugation tables will greatly reduce the
amount of ambiguity.

German English

ich bin I am

du bist you (singular informal) are

er​/sie/es ​ist he/she/it is

wir sind we are

 ihr seid you (plural informal) are

sie sind they are

Sie sind you (formal) are

3. SIMPLE GERMAN PRESENT TENSE

In English, the present tense can be simple or progressive (as in "I eat" or "I am eating").
Both forms translate to just one German present tense form, because there is no
continuous tense in standard German. So, "she learns" and "she is learning" are both "sie
lernt."

WIE GEHT'S?

There are many ways to ask someone how he or she is doing. Take "How are you?," "How
do you do?" and "How is it going?" as examples. In German, the common phrase or idiom
uses the verb "gehen" (go): "Wie geht es dir?" (How are you?).

WILLKOMMEN​ CAN BE A FALSE FRIEND

In German, "Willkommen" means welcome as in "Welcome to our home", but it does not
mean welcome as in "Thank you - You're welcome". The German for the latter is "Gern
geschehen" or "Keine Ursache".

4. German Cases
In English, the words "he" and "I" can be used as subjects (the ones doing the action in a
sentence), and they change to "him" and "me" when they are objects (the ones the action is
applied to). For example, we say "He likes me" and "I like him." This is exactly the notion of
a "grammatical case:" the same word changes its form depending on its relationship to the
verb. In English, only pronouns have cases, but in German most words other than verbs
have cases: nouns, pronouns, determiners, adjectives, etc.
Understanding the four German cases is one of the biggest hurdles in learning the
language. The good news is that most words change very predictably so you only have to
memorize a small set of rules. We'll see more about cases later, but for now you just need
to understand the difference between the two simplest cases: nominative and accusative.

The subject of a sentence (the one doing the action) is in the nominative case. So when we
say "Die Frau spielt" (the woman plays), "Frau" is in the nominative.

The accusative object is the thing or person that is directly receiving the action. For
example, in "Der Lehrer sieht den Ball" (the teacher sees the ball), "Lehrer" is the
nominative subject and "Ball" is the accusative object. Notice that the articles for accusative
objects are not the same as the articles in the nominative case: "the" is "der" in the
nominative case and "den" in the accusative. The following table shows how the articles
change based on these two cases:

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural

Nominative der die das die

Accusative den die das die

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter

Nominative ein eine ein

Accusative einen eine ein

The fact that most words in German are affected by the case explains why the sentence
order is more flexible than in English. For example, you can say "Das Mädchen hat den
Apfel" (the girl has the apple) or "Den Apfel hat das Mädchen." In both cases, "den Apfel"
(the apple) is the accusative object, and "das Mädchen" is the nominative subject.

Conjugations of the verb ​sein​ (to be)

The verb "sein" (to be) is irregular, and its conjugations simply need to be memorized:

German English
 ich bin I am

du bist you (singular informal) are

er/sie/es ist he/she/it is

wir sind we are

ihr seid you (plural informal) are

sie sind they are

Sie sind you (formal) are

Conjugations of the verb ​essen​ (to eat)

The verb "essen" (to eat) is slightly irregular in that the stem vowel changes from ​e​ to ​i​ in
the second (du isst) and third person singular (er/sie/es isst) forms.

English person ending German example

I -e ich ess​e

you (singular informal) -st du is​st

he/she/it -t er/sie/es iss​t

we -en wir ess​en

you (plural informal) -t ihr ess​t

you (formal) -en Sie ess​en

they -en sie ess​en

How can you hear the difference between ​isst​ and ​ist?
You can't. "isst" and "ist" sound exactly the same. In colloquial (rapid) speech, some
speakers drop the "t" in "ist".

So "Es ist ein Apfel" and "Es isst ein Apfel" sound the same?

Yes, but you can tell it's "Es i​s​t ein Apfel" because "Es i​ss​t ein Apfel" is ungrammatical. The
accusative of "ein Apfel" is "einen Apfel". Hence, "It is eating an apple" translates as "Es
i​ss​t ein​en​ Apfel."

The verb ​haben​ (to have)

In English, you can say "I'm having bread" when you really mean that you're eating or about
to eat bread. ​This does not work in German.​ The verb ​haben​ refers to possession only.
Hence, the sentence ​Ich habe Brot​ only translates to ​I have bread​, not ​I'm having bread.​ Of
course, the same applies to drinks. ​Ich habe Wasser​ only translates to ​I have water,​ not ​I'm
having water.

English person ending German example

I -e ich hab​e

you (singular informal) -st du ha​st

he/she/it -t er/sie/es ha​t

we -en wir hab​en

you (plural informal) -t ihr hab​t

you (formal) -en Sie hab​en

they -en sie hab​en

5.​ Mittagessen​ - lunch or dinner?
We're aware that ​dinner​ is sometimes used synonymously with ​lunch,​ but for the purpose of
this course, we're defining ​Frühstück​ as ​breakfast,​ ​Mittagessen​ as ​lunch,​ and ​dinner​ /
supper​ as ​Abendessen​ / ​Abendbrot.

Compound words
A compound word is a word that consists of two or more words. These are written as one
word (no spaces).

The gender of a compound noun is always determined by its last element. This shouldn't be
too difficult to remember because the last element is always the most important one. All the
previous elements merely describe the last element.

● die​ Auto​bahn​ (das Auto + die Bahn)

● der​ Orangen​saft​ (die Orange + der Saft)
● das​ Hunde​futter​ (der Hund + das Futter)

Sometimes, there's a connecting sound (​Fugenlaut​) between two elements. For instance,
die Orange​ + ​der Saft​ becomes ​der Orange​n​saft,​ ​der Hund​ + ​das Futter ​becomes ​das
Hund​e​futter​, ​die Liebe​ + ​das Lied​ becomes ​das Liebe​s​lied​, and ​der Tag​ +​das Gericht
becomes ​das Tag​es​gericht​.

Cute like sugar!

The word ​süß​ means ​sweet​ when referring to food, and ​cute​ when referring to living beings.

● Der Zucker ist süß. (The sugar is sweet.)

● Die Katze ist süß. (The cat is cute.)
Animals vs. Humans Eating

Unlike English, German has two similar but different verbs for ​to eat​: ​essen​ and ​fressen​.
The latter is the standard way of expressing that an animal is eating something. Be careful
not​ to use ​fressen​ to refer to humans – this would be a serious insult. Assuming you care
about politeness, we will not accept your solutions if you use ​fressen​ with human subjects.

The most common way to express that a human being is eating something is the
verb​essen​. It is not wrong to use it for animals as well, so we will accept both solutions. But
we strongly recommend you accustom yourself to the distinction between ​essen​ and
fressen​.

Fortunately, both verbs are conjugated very similarly:

essen fressen (for animals)

ich esse ich fresse

du isst du frisst

er/sie/es isst er/sie/es frisst

wir essen wir fressen

ihr esst ihr fresst

sie/Sie essen sie/Sie fressen

6. Predicate adjectives
Predicate adjectives, i.e. adjectives that don't precede a noun, are not inflected.
Der Mann ist ​groß​.

Die Männer sind ​groß​.

Die Frau ist ​groß​.

Die Frauen sind ​groß​.

Das Haus ist ​groß​.

Die Häuser sind ​groß​.

As you can see, the adjective remains in the base form, regardless of number and gender.

7. German Negatives
There are different ways to negate expressions in German (much like in English you can
use "no" in some cases, and "does not" in others). The German adverb "nicht" (not) is used
very often, but sometimes you need to use "kein" (not a).

Nicht

Use "nicht" in the following five situations:

1. Negating a noun that has a definite article like "der Raum" (the room) in "Der
Architekt mag den Raum nicht" (the architect does not like the room).
2. Negating a noun that has a possessive pronoun like "sein Glas" (his glass) in
"Der Autor sucht sein Glas nicht." (the writer is not looking for his glass).
3. Negating the verb: "Sie trinken nicht" (They/You do not drink).
4. Negating an adverb or adverbial phrase. For instance, "Mein Mann isst nicht
immer" (my husband does not eat at all times).
5. Negating an adjective that is used with "sein" (to be): "Du bist nicht hungrig"
(you are not hungry).

Position of Nicht

Adverbs go in different places in different languages. You cannot simply place the German
adverb "nicht" where you would put "not" in English.
The German "nicht" will precede adjectives and adverbs as in "Das Frühstück ist nicht
schlecht" (the breakfast is not bad) and "Das Hemd ist nicht ganz blau" (the shirt is not
entirely blue).

For verbs, "nicht" can either precede or follow the verb, depending the type of verb.
Typically, "nicht" comes after conjugated verbs as in "Die Maus isst nicht" (the mouse does
not eat). In conversational German, the perfect ("Ich habe gegessen" = "I have eaten") is
often used to express simple past occurrences ("I ate"). If such statements are negated,
"nicht" will come before the participle at the end of the sentence: "Ich habe nicht gegessen"
(I did not eat/I have not eaten).

Finally, "nicht" also tends to come at the end of sentences (after direct objects like "mir" =
"me,"" or after yes/no questions if there is just one conjugated verb). For example, "Die
Lehrerin hilft mir nicht" (The teacher does not help me) and "Hat er den Ball nicht?" (Does
he not have the ball?)

Kein

Simply put, "kein" is composed of "k + ein" and placed where the indefinite article would be
in a sentence. For instance, look at the positive and negative statement about each noun:
"ein Mann" (a man) versus "kein Mann" (not a/not one man), and "eine Frau" versus "keine
Frau."

"Kein" is also used for negating nouns that have no article: "Man hat Brot" (one has bread)
versus "Man hat kein Brot" (one has no bread).

Nicht versus Nichts

"Nicht" is an adverb and is useful for negations. On the other hand, "nichts"
(nothing/anything) is a pronoun and its meaning is different from that of "nicht." Using "nicht"
simply negates a fact, and is less overarching than "nichts." For example, "Der Schüler lernt
nicht" (the student does not learn) is less extreme than "Der Schüler lernt nichts" (the
student does not learn anything).

The word "nichts" can also be a noun if capitalized ("das Nichts" = nothingness).

This skill contains both negative and positive statements.

8. Yes/No Questions
Questions can be asked by switching the subject and verb. For instance, "Du verstehst
das." (You understand this) becomes "Verstehst du das?" (Do you understand this?). These
kinds of questions will generally just elicit yes/no answers. In English, the main verb "to be"
follows the same principle. "I am hungry." becomes "Am I hungry?". In German, all verbs
follow this principle. There's no do-support.

This skill contains both questions and statements.

9. CONJUGATING REGULAR VERBS

Verb conjugation in German is more challenging than in English. To conjugate a regular

verb in the present tense, identify the invariant stem of the verb and add the ending
corresponding to any of the grammatical persons, which you can simply memorize:

machen​ (to do/make):

English person ending German example

I -e ich mach​e

you (singular informal) -st du mach​st

he/she/it -t er/sie/es mach​t

we -en wir mach​en

you (plural informal) -t ihr mach​t

you (formal) -en Sie mach​en

 they -en sie mach​en

Notice that the 1st and the 3rd person plural have the same ending as "you (formal)."

NO CONTINUOUS ASPECT

In German, there's no continuous aspect, i.e. there are no separate forms for "I drink" and "I
am drinking". There's only one form: ​Ich trinke.

There's no such thing as ​Ich bin trinke​ or ​Ich bin trinken!

When translating into English, how can I tell whether to use the simple (I drink) or the
continuous form (I am drinking)?

Unless the context suggests otherwise, either form should be accepted.

HOW DO YOU LIKE THINGS IN GERMAN?

Use the verb ​mögen​ to express that you like something or someone, and use the adverb
gern(e)​ to express that you like doing something.

mögen​ is used for things, animals, and people:

● Ich mag Bier (I like beer)
● Sie mag Katzen (She likes cats)
● Wir mögen dich (We like you)
● Ihr mögt Bücher (You like books)

mögen​ is conjugated irregularly:

I like ich mag

you (singular informal) like du magst

 he/she/it likes er/sie/es mag

we like wir mögen

you (plural informal) like ihr mögt

you (formal) like Sie mögen

they like sie mögen

gern(e)​ is used for verbs/activities:

● Ich trinke gern(e) Bier (I like to drink beer/I like drinking beer)
● Er spielt gern(e) Fußball (He likes to play soccer/He likes playing soccer)
● Wir lesen gern(e) Bücher (We like to read books/We like reading books)
● Sie schreibt gern(e) Briefe (She likes to write letters/She likes writing letters)

mögen​ cannot be followed by another verb.

(The subjunctive form ​(möchten)​ can be followed by a verb, but ​Ich möchte Fußball spielen
translates as ​I would like to play soccer​, not ​I like playing soccer​.)

What's the difference between ​gern​ and ​gerne​? They're just variations of the same word.
There's no difference in terms of meaning or style. You can use whichever you like best.

10. ​Kleider​ - dresses or clothes?

das Kleid​ means ​the dress​, and ​die Kleider​ means ​the dresses​, but the plural ​die Kleider
can also mean ​clothes​ or ​clothing​. In most cases, ​clothing​ (or ​clothes​) translates to
Kleidung​ (usually uncountable), but It's important to be aware that ​Kleider​ can be used in
that sense as well.
Hose​ or ​Hosen​?
Both ​Hose​ and ​Hosen​ translate to ​pants​ (​trousers​ in British English), but they're not
interchangeable. The singular ​Hose​ refers to one pair of pants, and the plural ​Hosen ​refers
to multiple pairs of pants.

11. Personal Pronouns in the Nominative Case

A pronoun is a word that represents a noun, like "er" does for "der Mann." In the nominative
case, the personal pronouns are simply the grammatical persons you already know: "ich,"
"du," "er/sie/es," "wir," "ihr," "sie," and "Sie."

12. Demonstrative Pronouns in the Nominative Case

The demonstrative pronouns in English are: this, that, these, and those. In German, the
demonstrative pronouns in the nominative case are the same as the definite articles. That
means, "der," "die" and "das" can also mean "that (one)" or "this (one)" depending on the
gender of the respective noun, and "die" can mean "these" or "those." For example, if you
talk about a certain dog, you could say "Der ist schwarz" (that one is black).

German is well known for its very long words that can be made up on the go by
concatenating existing words. In this skill you will learn one very simple and commonly used
way of forming compounds: adding "-zeug" (="stuff") to existing words.

13. Personal Pronouns in the Accusative Case

Aside from the nominative case, most of the German pronouns are declined in each of the
four cases. Like in English, when the subject becomes the object, the pronoun changes. For
instance, "ich" changes to "mich" (accusative object) as in "Ich sehe mich" (I see me).

In the accusative case of the third person pronouns, only the masculine gender shows the
change, thus neither the feminine "sie" nor the neuter "es" change. For example, "Er/Sie/Es
mag ihn/sie/es" (He/She/It likes him/her/it).
 Nominative Accusative

ich (I) mich (me)

du (you singular informal) dich (you singular informal)

er (he) sie (she) es (it) ihn (him) sie (her) es (it)

wir (we) uns (us)

ihr (you plural informal) euch (you plural informal)

sie (they) sie (them)

Sie (you formal) Sie (you formal)

Demonstrative Pronouns in the Accusative Case

Similarly, only the masculine gender shows the change in the demonstrative pronouns:
"der" (for "that one") changes to "den," but "die" and "das" (for "that one") remain the same.

The demonstrative pronouns in the accusative case are thus: "den" = that one (masculine),
"die" = that one (feminine), "das" = that one (neuter), and for the plural, "die" = "these." Take
this example: "Er isst den" is "He is eating that one (masculine);" "Er isst die" and "Er isst
das" are both "He is eating that one," but for the other two genders.

14. German Conjunctions

A conjunction like "wenn" (when) or "jedoch" (however) connects two parts of a sentence
together. In German, conjunctions do not change with the case (i.e. they are not declinable).
Subordinating conjunctions combine an independent clause with a dependent clause; the
dependent clause cannot stand on its own and its word order will be different than if it did.
For instance, in "Er ist hungrig, weil er nichts aß" (he is hungry, because he ate nothing),
the clause starting with "weil" is the dependent clause, which would be ordered as "er aß
nichts" (he ate nothing) if it stood by itself.

Coordinating conjunctions form a group of coordinators (like "und" = and; "aber" = but),
which combine two items of equal importance; here, each clause can stand on its own and
the word order does not change.

Lastly, correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join sentence parts of equal importance. For
instance, "entweder...oder" (either...or) is such a pair and can be used like this: "Der Schuh
ist entweder blau oder rot" (this shoe is either blue or red).

15. Yes/No Questions

Questions can be asked by switching the subject and verb. For instance, "Du verstehst
das." (You understand this) becomes "Verstehst du das?" (Do you understand this?). These
kinds of questions will generally just elicit yes/no answers. In English, the main verb "to be"
follows the same principle. "I am hungry." becomes "Am I hungry?". In German, all verbs
follow this principle. There's no do-support.

Asking a Question in German With a W-Word

Six W-questions - "Wer" (Who), "Was" (What), "Wo" (Where), "Wann" (When), "Warum"
(Why) and "Wie" (How) - can be asked in German to elicit more than yes/no answers. Two
of the six adverbs are declineable (i.e. change with the case), whereas four are not.

Wer (Who)
"Wer" is declinable and needs to adjust to the four cases. The adjustment depends on what
the question is targeting.

1. If you ask for the subject of a sentence (i.e. the nominative object), "wer" (who)
remains as is: "Wer sitzt da?" (Who is sitting there?).
2. If you ask for the direct (accusative) object in a sentence, "wer" changes to
"wen" (who/whom). As a mnemonic, notice how "wen" sounds similar to "den"
 in "den Apfel." "Wen siehst du?" (Whom do you see?) - "Ich sehe den Sohn" (I
see the son).
3. If you ask for the indirect object, "wer" changes to "wem" (who/to whom) and
adjusts to the dative case. You could ask "Wem hast du den Apfel gegeben?"
(To whom did you give the apple?) and the answer could be "Dem Mann" (the
man). Notice again how the declined form of "wer" ("wem") sounds like the
definite article of all masculine and neuter nouns in the dative case (like "dem
Mann" or "dem Kind").
4. Lastly, asking about ownership (genitive case), changes "wer" to "wessen"
(whose). "Wessen Schuhe sind das?" (Whose shoes are these?) - "Das sind
die Schuhe des Jungen" (These are the boy’s shoes). And notice once again
how "wessen" (of the) and "des" (of the) include a lot of s-sounds.

Was (What)
Similar to the changes made to "wer," "was" will decline depending on the four cases.

1. For both the nominative and accusative cases, "was" remains the same. It is
common to ask "Wer oder was?" (who or what?), if you want to know more
about the nominative object and do not know if it is a person (who) or a thing
(what). You ask "Wen oder was?" (who/whom or what?), if you want to know
more about the accusative object.
2. "Was" changes to "wessen" for questions about the genitive object as in
"Wessen ist sie schuldig?" (What is she guilty of?).
3. For the dative, "was" changes to a compount of "wo(r)" + preposition. For
instance, if the verb takes the German preposition "an" (on/about) as in "an
etwas denken," you would ask "Woran denkt er?" (About what is he thinking?).
Likewise, "hingehen" is a verb composed of "gehen" + "hin" (go + to) and you
would ask "Wohin geht sie?" (To where is she going?).

Wo (Where)
In German, you can inquire about locations in several ways. "Wo" (where) is the general
question word, but if you are asking for a direction in which someone or something is
moving, you may use "wohin" (where to). Look at: "Wo ist mein Schuh?" (Where is my
shoe?) and "Wohin kommt dieser Wein?" (Where does this wine go?). Furthermore,
"Wohin" is separable into "Wo" + "hin." For example, "Wo ist mein Schuh hin?" (Where did
my shoe go?).

Note that the sound of "Wer" is similar to "Where" and that of "Wo" to "Who," but they must
not be confused. In other words: the two German questions words "Wer" (Who) and "Wo"
(Where) are false cognates to English. They mean the opposite of what an English speaker
would think.

Wann (When)
"Wann" (when) does not change depending on the case. "Wann" can be used with
conjunctions such as "seit" (since) or "bis" (till): "Seit wann haben Sie für Herrn Müller
gearbeitet?" (Since when have you been working for Mr. Müller?) and "Bis wann geht der
Film?" (Till when does the movie last?).

Warum (Why)
"Warum" (why) is also not declinable. "Wieso" and "Weshalb" can be used instead of
"Warum." For an example, take "Warum ist das Auto so alt?" = "Wieso ist das Auto so alt?"
= "Weshalb ist das Auto so alt?" (Why is that car so old?).

16. Family

Just like in English, there are informal and formal words for "mother", "father",
"grandmother", and "grandmother". Note that in German, the difference between formal and
informal is a lot more pronounced than in English. The informal terms are pretty much only
used within your own family.

formal informal

die Mutter (the mother) die Mama (the mom)

der Vater (the father) der Papa (the dad)

 die Großmutter (the grandmother) die Oma (the grandma)

der Großvater (the grandfather) der Opa (the grandpa)

17. Prepositions 1

DATIVE PREPOSITIONS

Dative prepositions ​always​ trigger the dative case.

Here they are: ​aus, außer, bei, gegenüber, mit, nach, seit, von, zu

ACCUSATIVE PREPOSITIONS

Accusative prepositions ​always​ trigger the accusative case.

Here they are: ​bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um

TWO-WAY PREPOSITIONS

Two-way prepositions take the dative case or the accusative case depending on the
context.

If there's movement from one place to another, use the accusative case.

If there's no movement or if there's movement within a certain place, use the dative case.

Here they are: ​an, auf, entlang, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen

No movement -> dative:

Ich bin in einem Haus​ ​(I am in a house)

Movement within a certain place -> dative:

Ich laufe in einem Wald​ ​(I am running in [within] a forest)

Movement from one place to another -> accusative:

Ich gehe in ein Haus​ ​(I am walking into a house)

CONTRACTIONS

Some prepositions and articles can be contracted.

an + das ans

an + dem am

auf + das aufs

bei + dem beim

in + das ins

in + dem im

hinter + das hinters

über + das übers

unter + das unters

von + dem vom

vor + das vors

 zu + dem zum

zu + der zur

ZU HAUSE​ AND ​NACH HAUSE

zu Hause​ means ​at home​, and ​nach Hause​ means ​home​ (​homewards​, not ​at home​). The​-e
at the end of ​zu Hause​ and ​nach Hause​ is an archaic dative ending, which is no longer
used in modern German, but survived in certain fixed expressions.

Ich bin zu Hause​ ​(I am at home)

Ich gehe nach Hause​ ​(I am walking home)

18. The Dative Case

The indirect object in a sentence is called the dative object. The indirect object is the
receiver of the direct (accusative) object. For example, "Frau" is the indirect (dative) object
in "Das Mädchen gibt einer Frau den Apfel." (A girl gives the apple to a woman).

The dative is also used for certain dative verbs such as "danken" (to thank) and "antworten"
(to answer) and with dative prepositions such as "von" (by/of) and "mit" (with). For example,
"Ich danke dem Koch" (I thank the cook) or "Wir spielen mit der Katze" (We play with the
cat).

This case is known as the "Wem-Fall" (with whom-case), because to identify the word in the
dative case, you have to ask "With/to whom ...?"

Note that the dative changes all articles for the words, the plural and pronouns. For
example, even though "Frau" is a feminine noun, it will take the masculine article here to
indicate the dative: "Ich danke der Frau" (I thank the woman).

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter Plural

 Nominative der die das die

Accusative den die das die

Dative dem der dem den

Case Masculine Feminine Neuter

Nominative ein eine ein

Accusative einen eine ein

Dative einem einer einem

Some masculine nouns add an -en or -n ending in the dative and in all other cases besides
the nominative. For example in the dative, it is "dem Jungen" (the boy).

German Plurals: The Dative Case

There are some exceptions when it comes to pluralizing nouns in the dative case.

1. As mentioned before, for most German one-syllable nouns, the -e ending will
be needed in their plural form. However, in the dative case, the noun always
adds an -en ending (and there may be umlaut changes). For "the hands," in
the dative case it is "den Händen" and for "the dogs" it is "den Hunden."
2. For most German masculine or neuter nouns, the plural will end in -er with the
exception of the dative case: they will end in -ern in the dative case. There may
also be umlaut changes. For example, for "the books" it is "den Büchern." An
example sentence would be "Der Junge lernt mit den Büchern." (The boy is
learning with the books). Or for "the children," this would mean "den Kindern."
3. Whereas most neuter or masculine nouns ending in -chen, -lein, -el, or -er,
require no change of the noun in the plural, they end in -n in the dative case.
There may be umlaut changes. For example, for "the windows" it is "den
Fenstern" for the dative plural. An example sentence would be: "Es funktioniert
 mit den Fenstern." (It works with the windows). For "the mothers," it is "den
Müttern" as in: "Ich spreche mit den Müttern." (I talk with the mothers).

19. Personal Pronouns in the Dative Case

Many words change in the dative case. For the third person pronouns, the following are
different from the nominative case: the masculine pronoun is "ihm" (to him), the feminine is
"ihr" (to her), the neuter is "ihm" (to it), and the plural is "ihnen" (to them).

Nominative Accusative Dative

ich (I) mich (me) mir (to me)

du (you singular dich (you singular dir (to you singular informal)
informal) informal)

er (he) sie (she) es (it) ihn (him) sie (her) es (it) ihm (to him) ihr (to her) ihm
(to it)

wir (we) uns (us) uns (to us)

ihr (you plural informal) euch (you plural euch (to you plural informal)
informal)

sie (they) sie (them) ihnen (to them)

Sie (you formal) Sie (you formal) Ihnen (you formal)

This explains why when thanking a female person it is only correct to say "Ich danke ihr" (I
thank her) and not "Ich danke sie" (I thank she).

Demonstrative Pronouns in the Dative Case

All four instances of demonstrative pronouns (the three genders and the plural) change in
the dative case. For the masculine, the pronoun is "dem" (to/with that), for the feminine it is
"der" (to/with that) and for the neuter it is "dem" (to/with that); for the plural it is "denen"
(to/with them).

20. German You: du, ihr, Sie

There are three ways of saying "you" in German. In English, however, "you" can be either
singular or plural and no distinction is made between formal and informal.

In German, if you are familiar with someone, you use "du" (which is called "duzen"). For
example, if you talk to your mother, you would say: "Hast du jetzt Zeit, Mama?" (Do you
have time now, Mommy?). But if you are not familiar with someone or still wish to stay
formal and express respect, you use "Sie" (so-called "siezen"). For example, you would
always address your professor like this: "Haben Sie jetzt Zeit, Herr Smith?" (Do you have
time now, Mr. Smith?) The person who is addressed with a "Sie" has to offer you a "du"
before you can use it.

How do you know if "sie" means "she", "they", or "you"?

You can distinguish the formal "Sie" from the plural "sie" (they) because the formal "Sie" will
always be capitalized, but it will remain ambiguous at the beginning of written sentences.
For instance, "Sie sind schön." can either refer to a beautiful individual or a beautiful group
of people. The verbs for "sie" (they) and "Sie" (you) are conjugated the same. On Duolingo,
either should be accepted unless the context suggests otherwise. In real life, there's always
context. Don't worry about misunderstandings.

Fortunately, the verb for "sie" (she) is different. "Sie ist schön." only translates to "She is
beautiful." There's no ambiguity.

"ihr"
Lastly, the German "ihr" is the informal plural of "you," like in "Tom und Sam, habt ihr Zeit?"
(Tom and Sam, do you have time?). Duolingo accepts"you all" and "you guys" for "ihr" but
not for the more formal "Sie".
21. Travel 1

The word ​Sehenswürdigkeit​ (=​sight​ as in ​sightseeing​) is made up of several meaningful

parts: ​sehen​ + ​s​ + ​würdig​ + ​keit​.

Let's look at each part and its meaning.

Part Meaning

sehen to see

-s- connecting element

würdig to be worthy

-keit noun suffix

Literally ​Sehenswürdigkeit​ means ​something which is worthy to see​.

The connecting element ​-s-​ is used to link words together.

The ending ​-keit​ turns an adjective into a noun.

Often the ending of a compound noun is a good indicator for the gender of the noun. For
example, if a noun ends in ​-keit,​ chances are high that it is feminine (die).

22. German Adjectives and Inflections!

Adjectives are only inflected when they come before a noun.

 ● Der Käse ist alt.
● Das ist ein alt​er​ Käse.

There are three declension classes.

STRONG INFLECTION

Strong inflection is used:

● When no article is used

● When a quantity is indicated by
● etwas​ (some; somewhat), ​mehr​ (more)
● wenig-​ (few), ​viel​- (much; many), ​mehrer​- (several; many), ​einig-​
(some)
● a number (greater than one, i.e. with no endings)
● non inflectable phrases: ​ein paar​ (a couple; a few), ​ein bisschen
(a bit; a little bit)

The adjective endings are the same as the definite article endings, apart from the adjectival
ending "​-en​" in the masculine and neuter genitive singular.

Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural

Nominative alt​er alt​es alt​e alt​e

Accusative alt​en alt​es alt​e alt​e

Dative alt​em alt​em alt​er alt​en

Genitive alt​en alt​en alt​er alt​er

MIXED INFLECTION

Mixed inflection is used after:

● indefinite articles ​ein​-, ​kein-​

 ● possessive determiners ​mein​-, d
​ ein​-, ​sein-​ etc.

Nominative and accusative singular endings follow the definite article; all other forms end
with "​-en​".

Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural

Nominative alt​er alt​es alt​e alt​en

Accusative alt​en alt​es alt​e alt​en

Dative alt​en alt​en alt​en alt​en

Genitive alt​en alt​en alt​en alt​en

WEAK INFLECTION

Weak inflection is used after:

● definite articles (​der​, ​die​, ​das​, etc)

● derselb​- (the same), ​derjenig​- (the one)
● dies​- (this/that), ​jen​- (that), ​jeglich​- (any), ​jed​- (every), which decline like the
definite article.
● manch​- (some), ​solch​- (such), ​welch​- (which), which decline like the definite
article.
● alle​ (all)

Five endings in the nominative and accusative cases end with ​-e​, all others with ​-en​.

Masculine Neuter Feminine Plural

Nominative alt​e alt​e alt​e alt​en

Accusative alt​en alt​e alt​e alt​en

 Dative alt​en alt​en alt​en alt​en

Genitive alt​en alt​en alt​en alt​en

Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, "​German adjectives​," ​Wikipedia, The Free

Encyclopedia​,
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_adjectives&oldid=604800767 (accessed
June 27, 2014).

23. ​Student​ or ​Schüler?

A ​Student​ is a university student and a ​Schüler​ is a pupil/student at a primary, secondary or
high school. Students attending other types of schools such as language or dancing schools
may also be called ​Schüler​.

Dropping articles
When talking about your or someone else's profession in sentences such as ​I'm a teacher
or ​She's a judge​, German speakers usually drop the indefinite article ​(ein/eine)​. It sounds
more natural to say ​Ich bin Lehrer​ and ​Sie ist Richterin​ than ​Ich bin ein Lehrer​and ​Sie ist
eine Richterin​. This rule also applies to students.

If you add an adjective, you can't drop the article. ​Er ist ein schlechter Arzt​ (He's a bad
doctor) is correct, but ​Er ist schlechter Arzt​ is not.

Also note that you can't drop the definite article ​(der/die/das)​.

24. Location 1

When talking about locations in English, you can use ​here​, ​there​, ​this​, and ​that​ to express
that something is close or far away. In German the word ​da​ is commonly used when talking
about locations. The good thing about ​da​ is, you don't have to worry about the distance! It
can mean anything close or far away.

Let's look at a few examples:

● Wir sind da. (We are here/there.)

● Da ist ein Apfel. (Here/There is an apple.)

With ​hier​ (here) and ​dort​ (there) you can be more specific about the distance.

● hier (here)
● da (here/there)
● dort (there)

In colloquial language...
you can combine all of them with articles, and use them similar to ​this​ and ​that​ !

● das hier (this)

● das da (this/that)
● das dort (that)

Many people use this with the other articles as well. Note that while all of the following
constructs are commonly used in spoken language, they are not appropriate for written,
formal language.

● der/die/das hier (this)

● der/die/das da (this/that)
● der/die/das dort (that)

To refer to one specific thing, you can put a noun between the article and ​hier/da/dort​.

For example:

● Der Apfel da ist groß. (That apple is big.)

● Die Katzen da sind süß. (Those cats are cute.)

Some people might add ​drüben​. This translates to ​over there​.

● Der Apfel da drüben ist groß. (That apple over there is big.)
 ● Die Katzen dort drüben sind süß. (Those cats over there are cute.)

25. The future tense

The future tense consists of a conjugated form of ​werden​ in the present tense and an
infinitive (the base form of the verb).

German English

ich werde spielen I will play

du wirst spielen you will play

er/sie/es wird spielen he/she/it will play

wir werden spielen we will play

ihr werdet spielen you will play

sie werden spielen they will play

Sie werden spielen you will play

Depending on the context, "ich werde spielen" translates to "I will play" or "I am going to
play". In German, there is no distinction between "will" and "going to".

26. WHEN IS THE ​PERFEKT​ USED?

The ​Perfekt​ is used to describe past events. In spoken German, the ​Perfekt​ is preferred
over the ​Präteritum​. Using the ​Präteritum​ in normal conversation may sound unnatural or
pretentious.

There are a few exceptions to this rule of thumb. ​sein​ (to be), ​haben​ (to have), ​wissen​ (to
know), and the modal auxiliaries ​dürfen​ (to be allowed to), ​können​ (to be able to),​müssen
(to have to), ​sollen​ (to be supposed to), ​wollen​ (to want to) are used in the​Präteritum​ in
informal contexts as well.

In contrast to the English ​present perfect​, the German ​Perfekt​ is not used to describe
events that started in the past and are still ongoing. In such cases, German speakers use
the ​present tense​, e.g. ​I have been living here for three years​ translates to ​Ich lebe seit drei
Jahren hier​.

HOW IS THE ​PERFEKT​ FORMED?

The ​Perfekt​ is formed by combining a conjugated form of ​haben​ (to have) or ​sein​ (to be) in
the present tense with the past participle of the main verb.

The vast majority of verbs take ​haben​. Verbs that take ​sein​ have to be intransitive, i.e. they
can't take an object, and they have to indicate a change of position or condition.​sein​ (to be),
bleiben​ (to stay), and ​passieren​ (to happen) take ​sein​ even though they don't indicate a
change of position or condition.

In order to form the past participle of a weak verb, add the prefix ​ge-​ and the suffix ​-t​ or​-et​ to
the stem, e.g. ​machen​ (to do/to make) becomes ​ge-mach-t​.

machen​ (to do/to make)

Präsens Perfekt

ich mache​ (I do/make) ich habe ​ge​mach​t​ (I have done/made)

du machst​ (you do/make) du hast ​ge​mach​t​ (you have done/made)

er/sie/es macht​ (he/she/it er/sie/es hat ​ge​mach​t​ (he/she/it has

does/makes) done/made)

wir machen​ (we do/make) wir haben ​ge​mach​t​ (we have done/made)

ihr macht​ (you do/make) ihr habt ​ge​mach​t​ (you have done/made)
 sie/Sie machen​ (they/you sie/Sie haben ​ge​mach​t​ (they/you have
do/make) done/made)

laufen​ (to run/to walk)

Präsens Perfekt

ich laufe​ (I run) ich bin ​ge​lauf​en​ (I ran/have run)

du läufst​ (you run) du bist ​ge​lauf​en​ (you ran/have run)

er/sie/es läuft​ (he/she/it runs) er/sie/es ist ​ge​lauf​en​ (he/she/it ran/has run)

wir laufen​ (we run) wir sind ​ge​lauf​en​ (we ran/have run)

ihr lauft​ (you run) ihr seid ​ge​lauf​en​ (you ran/have run)

sie/Sie laufen​ (they/you run) sie/Sie sind ​ge​lauf​en​ (they/you ran/have run)

Strong verbs add the prefix ​ge-​, change the stem vowel or the entire stem, and add the
suffix ​-t​, ​-et​ or ​-en​, e.g. ​nennen​ (to call) becomes ​ge-nann-t​, ​sein​ becomes
ge-wes-en​,​sprechen​ (to speak/to talk) becomes ​ge-sproch-en​. These forms are not quite
predictable. You need to memorize them.

A separable prefix will precede the ​ge-​ prefix, e.g. ​aufmachen​ (to open) becomes
auf-ge-mach-t​.

An inseparable prefix will replace the ​ge-​ prefix, e.g. ​veröffentlichen​ (to publish) becomes
ver-öffentlich-t​.

Verbs that end in ​-ieren​ will not be prefixed, e.g. ​informieren​ becomes ​informier-t​.

For complete conjugation charts, check out ​Canoo​ and ​Verbix​.

27. WHEN IS THE ​PRÄTERITUM​ USED?

The ​Präteritum​ (also called ​Imperfekt​) is used to describe past events. Its use is mostly
limited to formal writing and formal speech. In informal writing and speech, the ​Perfekt ​(e.g.
Ich habe geschlafen​) tends to be preferred. Using the ​Präteritum​ in normal conversation
may sound unnatural or pretentious.

There are a few exceptions to this rule of thumb. ​sein​ (to be), ​haben​ (to have), ​wissen​ (to
know), and the modal auxiliaries ​dürfen​ (to be allowed to), ​können​ (to be able to),​müssen
(to have to), ​sollen​ (to be supposed to), ​wollen​ (to want to) are used in the​Präteritum​ in
informal contexts as well.

The verb ​möchten​ (would like to/to want to), which is technically the subjunctive of​mögen​,
does not have a preterite form. Instead, the preterite of ​wollen​ (to want [to]) is used.

HOW IS THE ​PRÄTERITUM​ FORMED?

The ​Präteritum​ of ​regular weak verbs​ is formed by adding ​-(e)te, -(e)test, -(e)ten,​ or ​-(e)tet
to the stem.

sagen​ (to say)

Present Präteritum

ich sage​ (I say) ich sag​te​ (I said)

du sagst​ (you say) du sag​test​ (you said)

er/sie/es sagt​ (he/she/it says) er/sie/es sag​te​ (he/she/it said)

wir sagen​ (we say) wir sag​ten​ (we said)

ihr sagt​ (you say) ihr sag​tet​ (you said)

sie/Sie sagen​ (they/you say) sie/Sie sag​ten​ (they/you said)

The ​Präteritum​ of ​irregular weak verbs​ is formed by adding ​-(e)te, -(e)test, -(e)ten,​ or
-(e)tet​ to a changed stem.
haben​ (to have)

Present Präteritum

ich habe​ (I have) ich hat​te​ (I had)

du hast​ (you have) du hat​test​ (you had)

er/sie/es hat​ (he/she/it has) er/sie/es hat​te​ (he/she/it had)

wir haben​ (we have) wir hat​ten​ (we had)

ihr habt​ (you have) ihr hat​tet​ (you had)

sie/Sie haben​ (they/you have) sie/Sie hat​ten​ (they/you had)

wollen​ (to want [to])

Present Präteritum

ich will​ (I want) ich woll​te​ (I wanted)

du willst​ (you want) du woll​test​ (you wanted)

er/sie/es will​ (he/she/it wants) er/sie/es woll​te​ (he/she/it wanted)

wir wollen​ (we want) wir woll​ten​ (we wanted)

ihr wollt​ (you want) ihr woll​tet​ (you wanted)

sie/Sie wollen​ (they/you want) sie/Sie woll​ten​ (they/you wanted)

The ​Präteritum​ of ​strong verbs​ is not quite predictable. They usually change the stem and
add ​-st​, ​-en​, ​-t​, or no ending at all.

finden​ (to find)

Present Präteritum

ich finde​ (I find) ich fand​ (I found)

du findest​ (you find) du fand​est​ (you found)

er/sie/es findet​ (he/she/it finds) er/sie/es fand​ (he/she/it found)

wir finden​ (we find) wir fand​en​ (we found)

ihr findet​ (you find) ihr fand​et​ (you found)

sie/Sie finden​ (they/you find) sie/Sie fand​en​ (they/you found)

sein​ (to be)

Present Präteritum

ich bin​ (I am) ich war​ (I was)

du bist​ (you are) du war​st​ (you were)

er/sie/es ist​ (he/she/it is) er/sie/es war​ (he/she/it was)

wir sind​ (we are) wir war​en​ (we were)

ihr seid​ (you are) ihr war​t​ (you were)

sie/Sie sind​ (they/you are) sie/Sie war​en​ (they/you were)

28. WHEN IS THE PAST PERFECT USED?

The past perfect is used to describe past events, more specifically events that
happened​way​ back in the past or any time before another event in the past.

past perfect preterite

Ich hatte ihn schon gesehen, als er mich sah

I had already seen him when he saw me

HOW IS THE PAST PERFECT FORMED?

The past perfect is formed by combining a conjugated form of ​haben​ (to have) or ​sein​(to be)
in the perfect tense with the past participle of the main verb.

The vast majority of verbs take ​haben​. Verbs that take ​sein​ have to be intransitive, i.e. they
can't take an object, and they have to indicate a change of position or condition.​sein​ (to be),
bleiben​ (to stay), and ​passieren​ (to happen) take ​sein​ even though they don't indicate a
change of position or condition.

In order to form the past participle of a weak verb, add the prefix ​ge-​ and the suffix ​-t​ or​-et​ to
the stem, e.g. ​machen​ (to do/to make) becomes ​ge-mach-t​.

machen​ (to do/to make)

present past perfect

ich mache​ (I do/make) ich hatte ​ge​mach​t​ (I had done/had made)

du machst​ (you do/make) du hattest ​ge​mach​t​ (you had done/had made)

 er/sie/es macht​ (he/she/it er/sie/es hatte ​ge​mach​t​ (he/she/it had
does/makes) done/had made)

wir machen​ (we do/make) wir hatten ​ge​mach​t​ (we had done/had made)

ihr macht​ (you do/make) ihr hattet ​ge​mach​t​ (you had done/had made)

sie/Sie machen​ (they/you sie/Sie hatten ​ge​mach​t​ (they/you had done/had

do/make) made)

laufen​ (to run/to walk)

Präsens Perfekt

ich laufe​ (I run) ich war ​ge​lauf​en​ (I had run)

du läufst​ (you run) du warst ​ge​lauf​en​ (you had run)

er/sie/es läuft​ (he/she/it runs) er/sie/es war ​ge​lauf​en​ (he/she/it had run)

wir laufen​ (we run) wir waren ​ge​lauf​en​ (we had run)

ihr lauft​ (you run) ihr wart ​ge​lauf​en​ (you had run)

sie/Sie laufen​ (they/you run) sie/Sie waren ​ge​lauf​en​ (they/you had run)

Strong verbs add the prefix ​ge-​, change the stem vowel or the entire stem, and add the
suffix ​-t​, ​-et​ or ​-en​, e.g. ​nennen​ (to call) becomes ​ge-nann-t​, ​sein​ becomes
ge-wes-en​,​sprechen​ (to speak/to talk) becomes ​ge-sproch-en​. These forms are not quite
predictable. You need to memorize them.

A separable prefix will precede the ​ge-​ prefix, e.g. ​aufmachen​ (to open) becomes
auf-ge-mach-t​.
An inseparable prefix will replace the ​ge-​ prefix, e.g. ​veröffentlichen​ (to publish) becomes
ver-öffentlich-t​.

Verbs that end in ​-ieren​ will not be prefixed, e.g. ​informieren​ becomes ​informier-t​.

For complete conjugation charts, check out ​Canoo​ and ​Verbix​.

29. FUTURE PERFECT

The future perfect talks about actions that will have been completed in the future. It's used
pretty much like the English future perfect, but it's formed slightly differently.

The future perfect consists of the future tense of the auxiliary verb ​haben​ or ​sein,​ and the
past participle of the main verb.

essen​ (to eat):

The auxiliary verb that goes with ​essen​ is ​haben​. All you need to do is form the future tense
of ​haben​ ​(ich werde haben)​ and add the past participle of the main verb ​essen(gegessen)​ to
the left of ​haben.

German English

ich werde gegessen haben I will have eaten

du wirst gegessen haben you will have eaten

er/sie/es wird gegessen haben he/she/it will have eaten

wir werden gegessen haben we will have eaten

ihr werdet gegessen haben you will have eaten

 sie werden gegessen haben they will have eaten

Sie werden gegessen haben you will have eaten

gehen​ (to leave/to go):

The auxiliary verb that goes with ​gehen​ is ​sein​. All you need to do is form the future tense of
sein​ ​(ich werde sein)​ and add the past participle of the main verb ​gehen(gegangen)​ to the
left of ​sein.

German English

ich werde gegangen sein I will have left

du wirst gegangen sein you will have left

er/sie/es wird gegangen sein he/she/it will have left

wir werden gegangen sein we will have left

ihr werdet gegangen sein you will have left

sie werden gegangen sein they will have left

Sie werden gegangen sein you will have left

haben​ vs ​sein

The vast majority of verbs take ​haben​. Verbs that take ​sein​ have to be intransitive, i.e. they
can't take an object, and they have to indicate a change of position or condition.​sein​ (to be),
bleiben​ (to stay), and ​passieren​ (to happen) take ​sein​ even though they don't indicate a
change of position or condition.

30. Verbs: Conditional

There are several possibilities to express the notion of ​would​ in German. We concentrate on
the most common and simple one: ​würden​ + the infinitive (base form) of a verb.

German English

ich würde spielen I would play

du würdest spielen you would play

er/sie/es würde spielen he/she/it would play

wir würden spielen we would play

ihr würdet spielen you would play

sie würden spielen they would play

Sie würden spielen you would play

The second possibility is to conjugate the verb directly. In modern language, this form is
only common for a few frequent verbs such as ​sein​ and ​haben​.

sein - wären haben - hätten

ich wäre ich hätte

du wärst du hättest

er/sie/es wäre er/sie/es hätte

wir wären wir hätten

ihr wärt ihr hättet

 sie wären sie hätten

Sie wären Sie hätten

Tips and notes

Conditional Perfect works just as normal Perfect, but uses the conditional form of "haben"
instead. So, "Ich habe ihn gesehen" becomes "Ich hätte ihn gesehen".

Be aware that in some verbs, such as ​behalten, verlassen, erfahren​, the Participle looks like
the Infinitive. Don't let that confuse you, always use the Participle!

31. Relative Pronouns

The relative pronouns follow the same pattern as the definite articles with the exception of
the dative plural and the genitive forms.

masculine feminine neuter plural

nominative der die das die

accusative den die das die

dative dem der dem denen

genitive dessen deren dessen deren

In German, relative clauses are always set off by commas from the rest of the sentence.

There's no distinction between restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.

Also, relative pronouns can never be dropped.

The form you need to use is governed by the grammatical gender and number of the word
that is being referred to (outside the relative clause), and the case is governed by the
context of the relative clause.

Keep in mind that certain prepositions and verbs always trigger a certain case, e.g. the
preposition "mit" always takes the dative case and so does the verb "helfen".

WHAT IS A WURST?
A ​Wurst​ is a sausage. It does not specifically refer to any kind of sausage. It could be a
salami, chorizo, mortadella, frankfurter, etc.

Bratwurst​ specifically refers to a fried or grilled sausage.