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German word order: Subordinate Clauses, part 2 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 24, 2012
In my last post I explained how to form subordinate clauses with only one verb. Now, let’s go one step further and have a look at subordinate clauses that contain two verbs. When a sentence contains two verbs, one of them is always a full verb and the other is either an auxiliary verb or…
German word order: Subordinate Clauses, part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 23, 2012
German word order can be a pain in the neck. This time, I am dealing with subordinate clauses and I hope that I can bring some light into the darkness. A subordinate clause cannot stand on its own but has to be linked to a main clause: “Sabine trinkt ein Glas Wasser, weil sie Durst…
German word order: Main clauses, part 2 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 22, 2012
In my last post, I explained how to form main clauses with only one verb and with the correct word order in mind. Today, I would to continue with this topic and address myself to sentences that contain two or three verbs. When a sentence contains only one verb, then this verb is usually a…
German word order: Main clauses, part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 20, 2012
Unlike English, German word order is not that consistent. The position of the verb depends on the sentence type. In main clauses, the verb comes after the subject. In subordinate clause, the verb comes at the end of the sentence, and in questions and imperatives, the verb comes in the first position. Here are some…
German Humor: More English for Runaways – Mehr Englisch für Fortgeschrittene Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 18, 2012
In one of my previous post, I have already listed some, let’s say, “Denglish” expressions. So-called English for runaways is very popular among Germans. Actually, English for runaways is very bad English because Germans play with both languages. The simply use the structure of the German language and use English words, that is, they, for…
German music: Max Herre feat. Philipp Poisel – Wolke 7 (Cloud 9) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 17, 2012
On the weekend, I accidentally tuned in to one of those casting shows and while they introduced one of the emerging artists – by the way, a very talented young guy – an awesome song was played in the background. Immediately, I booted up my computer to google the lines I memorized in order to…
German poetry (Friedrich Schiller): Die Bürgschaft – The Hostage Posted by Sandra Rösner on Sep 10, 2012
Here is another German poem: “Die Bürgschaft” (The Hostage) by Friedrich Schiller. This time I added German subtitles to the video, so that you can read along while listening to it. Die Bürgschaft / The Hostage 1. Zu Dionys, dem Tyrannen, schlich Damon, den Dolch im Gewande: Ihn schlugen die Häscher in…