Tag Archives: grammar
What’s up with those e’s? The Dehnungs-e Posted by Sten on Dec 12, 2017
Last Friday, we discussed the Dehnungs-h and how it was quite a curious, unnecessary concept in German. Today, we look at the Dehnungs-e, a concept that does pretty much the same thing, but is much less widespread. Other than after an i, it feels strange to many Germans as well. One famous example of such strange application of…
What’s up with those h’s? The Dehnungs-h Posted by Sten on Dec 8, 2017
If you studied German, you have probably come across irregularities that really make you wonder why they exist. As a German growing up with the language, I never really questioned it… Until I saw the dehnungs-e. For example, you write Soest, but you say Soost, so you elongate the o and mute the e. Odd! Though when looking into it, I…
German Comparatives And Superlatives Posted by Constanze on Nov 29, 2017
Guten Tag! Today I’m going to show you some comparatives and superlatives in German. What are these? For example, instead of saying “He is fast” you might want to know how to say “He is faster” (the comparative) or “He is the fastest” (the superlative), and then also know how to do the same with…
Separable And Inseparable German Prefixes Posted by Constanze on May 10, 2017
I wrote a post recently about verbs that change their meanings when you add prefixes to them. These can be very confusing for language learners, as they think they recognise a verb when it actually means something totally different. The post led to a question about whether a particular prefix made the verb separable or…
How To Say “Don’t” In German Posted by Constanze on Jul 26, 2016
Sometimes I get asked how to say single English words or phrases in German, and more often than not I find myself having to explain my translation because it’s not what the person asking expected to hear. They usually say, “Oh, but doesn’t that word mean…?” to which I usually reply “Yes, it does mean…
4 German Words For ‘Clothes’ Posted by Constanze on Apr 29, 2016
Guten Tag! Today I want to start talking about some of the vocabulary surrounding clothes. Though we have all probably learnt the names for trousers (die Hose), jacket (die Jacke) and shoes (die Schuhe) in German class at school, I am aware that there are a few words and expressions in this category that can…
Vocabulary For Food In German Part Two Posted by Larissa on Sep 17, 2015
To carry on from my last post, which you can find here, I’ve made another list of translations of food along with their singular and plural forms. I’ve chosen words that are unusual that you might not know yet to widen your German vocabulary. Let’s get started: Gemuse und Obst: Vegetables and Fruit: der (die)…