Grammar
1. Tenses
The Future Conjugation; werden - to become
| PRONOUN | ==CONJUGATION== |
|---|---|
| ich | werd==e== |
| er/sie/es/man | w==ird== |
| wir | werd==en== |
| ihr | werd==et== |
| sie/Sie | werd==en== |
- Use: subject + conjugation + ……. + infinitive
2. Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns
| ==NOMINATIVE== | @@ACCUSATIVE@@ | GENITIVE | %%DATIVE%% |
|---|---|---|---|
| we==r== | we@@n@@ | wessen | we%%m%% |
- was = what
- wie = how
- wann = when
- wo = where
- warum = why
- wer = who
- wohin = where to
- was für = what sort of
- woher = where from
- wieso = why
- wozu = what … for
Relative pronouns
- connect a clause to a proceeding noun/pronoun
- opens a relative clause
| m | f | n | pl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| nom | der | die | das | die |
| acc | den | die | das | die |
| gen | dessen | deren | dessen | deren |
| dat | dem | der | dem | denen |
- the relative pronoun cannot be left out in German, as it can in English
- e.g., the book (which) I am reading is very good
- e.g., kennst du den Mann, mit ==dem== sie spricht?
Demonstrative pronouns
- der/die/das - used for ‘==that==’ or ‘==those==’ (jener, jene, jenes not used in modern German)
- dieser/diese/dieses - used for ‘@@this@@’ or ‘@@these@@’
Indefinite pronouns
- jemand - someone
- niemand - no one
| ==NOMINATIVE== | @@ACCUSATIVE@@ | DATIVE |
|---|---|---|
| jemand | jemand@@en@@ | jemandem |
| niemand | niemand@@en@@ | niemandem |
- For einer, eines, eine, etc, the endings are as for the possessive pronouns.
3. Nouns
Weak masculine nouns
- ==WEAK VERBS== = add -==te== then add the form of perfect tense ending e.g., ich sag==te==, du sag==test==.
- @@STRONG FORMS@@ = form different stem e.g., @@fahren -> fuhr@@; add perfect tense form to these stems.
- Some weak verbs will have variation in spelling e.g., arbeiten -> arbeitete but this does not happen with strong verbs e.g., halten -> du hieltst.
- Stems which end with -s lose an -e in du form e.g., lesen -> du last.
4. Adjectives
The Comparative + Superlative
- The comparative is when you say something is better.
- The superlative is when you say something is the best.
| ==COMPARATIVE== | @@SUPERLATIVE@@ | |
|---|---|---|
| schnell | schnell==er== | schnell@@ste@@ / am schnell@@sten@@ |
| schön | schön==er== | schön@@ste@@ |
- Use kleinste/schnellste - when followed by a noun (%%NORMAL ADJECTIVE%%).
- Use am schnellsten etc - when there is no following noun (%%ADVERB%%).
5. Verbs
Modal verbs
- ==können, dürfen, sollen, mögen, wollen, müssen==
- @@Wissen@@ works as a modal verb but not always used as one.
- No umlauts in any singular forms.