Archive for 'Grammar'
What’s he/she/it like? – German adjectives, part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 21, 2012
Adjectives are those words that describe nouns. With them, your statements become more meaningful. So, do not hesitate and start to incorporate them in your sentences. In German, you can place an adjective on two positions in a sentences, either before a noun or after it. When you put an adjective after a noun, you…
Expressions with the German verb “haben” (to have) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 20, 2012
It is always the right time to learn some new idiomatic expressions. In this post, I discuss the German verb “haben” (to have) and present it in combination with other words. IN the table below you find several idioms that contain the verb “haben”. German Pronunciation English die Gelegenheit haben dee gey-ley-guhn-hayt hah-buhn to…
The Genitive Case: Possessive Adjectives Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 15, 2012
In German, there are eight adjectives that show possession: mein, dein, sein, ihr, unser, euer, and ihr. Possessive adjectives agree in number, gender and case with the noun (the thing being possessed) they are describing. Today, we have a closer look at the genitive case declension of these possessive adjectives. In order to decline…
The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 2 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 13, 2012
In my last post I gave you some sentences to practice your new acquired knowledge about the German genitive case. So, before I start a new discussion, here is the key. 1. A: Wessen Handy ist das? (Whose cellphone is that?) B: (Doreen) Das ist Doreens Handy. (That is Doreen’s cellphone.) 2. A…
The Genitive Case: Showing Possession, part 1 Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 11, 2012
Most learners of German seem to fall into despair when it comes to the language’s grammar cases. And when I read explanations in grammar books how to construct a German sentence with the correct cases, I can understand your discontent. The problem with grammar and its explanations is that they are just condensed information about…
The German verb “kommen” Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jun 6, 2012
When you get in contact with strangers you would certainly like to find out more about them. Among other things, you would probably like know where a person does come from. In order to ask someone in German where a person is from you need to know the German verb “kommen” (to come). In order…
Key: Easy ways to ask questions in German – And how to answer them Posted by Sandra Rösner on May 24, 2012
In my last post I told you how you can form yes/no-questions easily in German. In order to give you the chance to practice your German I gave you an exercise of which I would like to give you the key now. In addition to the correct questions I also provide the positive and negative…