Anne Fox

All languages have ways of showing what role a noun plays in a sentence. In English, a noun’s position in the sentence tells you how it’s being used. In German, the endings on the adjectives and articles that accompany the noun, which are based on case, tell you the noun’s function in the sentence. Here’s a quick overview of the German cases and the relationship they have with nouns, articles, and pronouns.

In German, vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) can generally be pronounced in two ways — as short or long vowel sounds. The short vowel sounds are “clipped,” meaning they’re pronounced shorter than their English equivalents. Long vowel sounds are “steady-state” or “pure,” meaning the sound quality doesn’t change even though it’s a long sound.

Just like English, German has many idioms, or expressions typical of a language and culture. When you translate these idioms word for word, they may sound obscure, silly, or just plain meaningless, so to use them appropriately, you need to find out what they really mean. Some expressions have an English equivalent that’s recognizable, so using them correctly isn’t too hard.

Getting your hellos and goodbyes straight in German is a matter of keeping in mind how well you know someone. If you’re on formal terms — in other words, if you’re addressing one or more people with Sie (zee) (you, formal) — then you have one set of expressions. When you’re on du (dooh) (you, informal) terms of address, you go with conversational expressions.

German speakers generally place great value on showing respect toward each other and strangers. The language itself allows the speaker to make a clear distinction between formal and informal ways of saying you. (Once upon a time, English did this, too, but English speakers dropped the thee and thou forms long ago.

The first part of your greeting in German is a basic hello. How you say hello depends on what time of day it is. The following list includes both the standard, formal expressions for saying hello and the more casual, informal expressions: Guten Morgen! (gooh-ten mor-gen!) (Good morning!) This is the standard, formal greeting you use in the morning (until about noon).

Getting to know the days and months of the German calendar helps you keep track of your travel plans, German holidays, and engagements. Days of the Week in German English German Pronunciaton Monday Montag mohn-tahk Tuesday Dienstag deens-tahk Wednesday Mittwoch mit-voH Thursday Donnerstag don-ers-tahk Frid

When traveling in a German-speaking area, you need to know numbers for shopping, dining, transportation, and exchanging money. With this list, you can start practicing German numbers. 0 null (nool) 17 siebzehn (zeep-tseyn) 1 eins (ayns) 18 achtzehn (âHt-tseyn) 2 zwei (tsvay) 19 neunzehn (noyn-tseyn) 3 drei (d

If you go to a German restaurant, these expressions can come in very handy. Practice them first, so that you can relax and enjoy the dining experience. English German Pronunciation The menu, please. Die Speisekarte bitte. dee shpay-ze kâr-te bi-te. I’d like…. Ich hätte gern…. iH hê-te gern…. I’d like…. Ich möchte gern….