Archive for the year 2012
Using apostrophes in German Posted by Sandra Rösner on Feb 20, 2012
One of our Facebook followers asked to do a spell and grammar check of her German composition. She used the greeting “Wie gehts, wie stehts?”, which simply means “How are things?” Immediately, I suggested that she should use apostrophes when using the expression above, and write “Wie geht’s, wie steht’s?” instead. But is her version…
Bundespräsident Wulff – Federal President Wulff Posted by jan on Feb 20, 2012
As some of you already might have heard through the media, German Bundespräsident Christian Wulff has resigned some days ago. This is the result of a discussion in Germany that lasted for weeks! Christian Wulff was accused of several faux pas, especially by the Presse (press). It all began with a false statment that he…
Recognizing neuter nouns in German part 2 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Feb 17, 2012
In my two last posts I discussed that young living beings, continents, and most country and city names are neuter in German. Now I would like to continue with other rules that make German nouns neuter. 1. Diminutives Common German diminutives are the endings “–chen” and “–lein”. When you add these endings to nouns…
German language in use: “I live in…” and “I go to…” – Using the appropriate articles and prepositions with German country names Posted by Sandra Rösner on Feb 15, 2012
In my previous post I told you that, beside continents, names of countries and cities are usually neuter in German. But there are also some exceptions. On the basis of these exceptions I’d like show you how the gender of nouns and their respective articles can affect your sentences. I told you that neuter country…
Recognizing neuter nouns in German part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Feb 14, 2012
I have already written about how you can recognize masculine and feminine nouns in German. But German nouns can have a further gender: the neuter. In comparison to masculine and feminine nouns, neuter ones can be recognized much easier. a) Nouns that denote young living beings: humans as well as animals Young living beings…
Valentinstag – Valentine’s Day Posted by anja on Feb 12, 2012
Only two days until Valentine’s day! Have you already sent out your greeting cards, prepared your presents, planned the evening with your loved one? The custom to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day as the day of lovers was introduced to Germany by US soldiers after WWII, and then got popularized among the general public by marketing…
Das Meer – the sea Posted by jan on Feb 9, 2012
Here´s an audiovisual comprehension about the sea. Watch the video and answer the questions afterwards. Attentions: This one might be for advanced learners! Here are the questions: 1. How many percent of the oxygen is produced by plants living in the sea? 2. What is the alternative word for „Ebbe und Flut“? 3. The sea…