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Archive for 'Grammar'

The conjugation of the German verb “geben” Posted by on Aug 11, 2014

The German verb geben means “to give”, “to hand” or “to pass” in English. But depending on its particular use it also can mean “to issue” or “to provide”. In the following I will give you an overview of the conjugation forms of the verb geben, which you need for forming indicative (statements) and imperative…

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The conjugation of the German verb “sagen” Posted by on Aug 4, 2014

The word “sagen” is one of the most frequent verbs in German. Usually, it either means “to say” or “to tell” in English. In order to form statements (declarative sentences) or commands (imperative sentences) it is necessary to conjugate verbs correctly. So, let’s have a closer look at the verb “sagen” and its conjugations of…

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Aus vs. Von Posted by on Jul 20, 2014

In German, the issue between von and aus is not a very prevalent one. But it can be confusing when learning German from English, since von and aus are both used for its English equivalent “from.” So, here is a clarification where von is used, and where aus is used in cases where they can…

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The German you: duzen und siezen Posted by on Jun 1, 2014

Yes, I know. There are German words that do not have a really good translation in (many) other languages, like Gemütlichkeit, Schadenfreude and Wirtschaftswunder. All nouns. What about the verbs? There are two quite handy ones, that you are likely to encounter the next time you visit the Germans. The verb duzen means, literally to you (informally) and siezen means, literally to you (formally). Nowadays…

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German comma rule: Linking main clauses and subordinate clauses with the conjunction “dass” (that) Posted by on Aug 30, 2013

There are two basic sentence types in German: main clauses, which are also know as independent clauses and subordinate clauses, which are also known as dependent clauses. Main or independent clauses can stand alone, whereas subordinate or dependent clauses require a sentence to which they are linked. Unlike in English, German main clauses and subordinate…

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“On me”: “Auf mir” or “auf mich” – German personal pronouns in the dative and accusative case Posted by on Jul 31, 2013

I received the question whether it is auf mich or auf mir, which are translated as “on me” in English. The good news is that both forms exist in German and thus they are both correct. The bad news is: Both forms are not interchangeable at will. Which form you have to use is dependent…

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Solution – cloze Posted by on Mar 15, 2013

Here´s the solution to the cloze I published some days ago. Compare it to yours… 1. neue, rote, dunkle, groß, kleinere 2. gelben, schöne, neuen, schönen 3. dunklen, braune, braune, modern 4. schwarzen, schön, teuer, echtem, teurer 5. elegante, hoch, billigeren 6. interessante, Junge, intelligente, netten, humorvollen, harmonisches 7. ungebildeten, gekühlten, gebackenem, unerhört 8. lautem…

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