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The German prepositions “zu” and “nach” – “to” Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jul 15, 2011
Sometimes it can be very hard for learners of German to choose the correct preposition. This may be especially the case with the German prepositions “zu” and “nach”, which both mean “to” in English. Even some Germans have difficulties to distinguish “zu” and “nach” or use other prepositions when actually “zu” or “nach” are obligatory…
Die Fußballweltmeistermannschaft der Frauen – Women’s soccer world championship Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jul 7, 2011
Currently, the world championship of women’s soccer takes place in Germany. Therefore, I would like to convey some vocabularies on soccer in this post. Below you can find a German text and the English translation. Das Eröffnungsspiel der Fußballweltmeisterschaft der Frauen fand am 26. Juni 2011 im Berliner Olympiastadion statt. The inaugural game of…
Jupiter Jones – Still Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 24, 2011
One effective way of picking up a foreign language is to listen to and to sing along songs. I am sure that most of you think probably of Rammstein and Tokio Hotel when they think of German artists and music, as these bands are very popular abroad. Unfortunately, none of these bands are my taste…
Das deutsche Gesundheitssystem – The German health system Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 21, 2011
Some days ago, I realized that I have Zahnschmerzen (toothache). So, I went to see a doctor. This incident made me realize how important it is to know some basic phrases with which you can express that you are filling ill. Moreover, I would like to take the opportunity to explain how the procedure of…
The words “mal”, “ja”, and “doch” in German speech Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 13, 2011
There are three words in German that are frequently used as filler words in speech. That is to say, they are inserted in a sentence without changing the meaning of the sentence but only the tone of voice, so to speak. These words are: “mal”, “ja”, and “doch”. 1. “ mal” You can hear…
Tense: Present – Das Präsens Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 8, 2011
Learning tenses of a language can be a thorn in one’s side, but learning these rules is crucial to an effective study, since tenses display essential word orders, which enable you to handle a language more freely. There is only one present tense form in German and this one corresponds to all three forms that…
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungs-auftragübertragungsgesetz – Compounding nouns in German Posted by Sandra Rösner on May 30, 2011
One of the most striking characteristics of the German language is that you can virtually combine an unlimited number of nouns to form a new noun. Such long words can confuse learners of German to a great extend. First, German orthography uses closed compounds, whereas in English most compounded nouns are separated by spaces or…