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.

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.

In grammar, cases indicate the role that nouns and pronouns play in a sentence. Case is important in German because four types of words — nouns, pronouns, articles, and adjectives — go through spelling changes according to the case they represent in a sentence. German has four cases: nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive.

You should know that talking at great length about your family is a far less popular pastime in Germany than in the United States, perhaps because Germans place a lot of value on privacy. Even so, you need to know how to talk about family, just in case the topic ever comes up. In the United States, discussing family, die Familie (dee fâ-mee-lee-e), is a great way to get to know someone.

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….

Practice these German greetings and expressions, which you’ll use daily when you visit a German-speaking country. With these expressions, you can communicate politely, feel more confident, and travel more comfortably. English German Pronunciation Hello! Hallo! hâ-loh! (informal greeting) Good day! Guten Tag! gooh-ten tahk!

If you’re traveling in a German-speaking country and find yourself in an urgent situation, you can get the assistance you need by memorizing these important German phrases. English German Pronunciation Help! Hilfe! hilf-e! Police! Polizei! po-li-tsay! Fire! Feuer! foy-er! Get a doctor! Holen Sie einen Arzt! hohl-en zee ayn-en ârtst!