German Blog

Dative Practice

Yohann — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 07:03:14 +0000

Find the dative equivalent of these words

a) die Leute

b) ein Schiff

c) das Heft

d) Tische

e) der Lehrer

Translate these sentences into German:

a) Can you open the door for us?

b) I live with my parents

c) I didn’t answer him

d) Did the children like the cake?

e) She didn’t like the play at all

Filll in the blanks using the dative:

a) Ich möchte mit ___ sprechen (die Schüler)

b) Er gibt ___ den Ball (der Hund)

c) Niemand kann ___ helfen (ich)

d) Was hast du ___ geschickt (dein Bruder)

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Post from: German Blog

Dative Case

Yohann — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:30:19 +0000

The dative case is used to indentify indirect objects. Indirect objects ask ‘for whom’ or ‘to whom’.

Example: Alexander gibt seinem Freund 200 Euro. Alexander gives his friend 200 Euros.

In this case ’seinem Freund’ is the dative

Here is the dative of the definite article.

Dative masculine: dem

Dative feminine: der

Dative neuter: dem

Dative plural: den

Now let’s look at the dative indefinite

dative masculine: einem

dative feminine: einer

dative neuter: einem

dative plural: -

These verbs are commonly used in the dative:

danken: to thank

dienen: to serve

gefallen: to please, to like

glauben: to believe

helfen: to help

raten: to advise

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Post from: German Blog

Basic Conversational German

Yohann — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 02:01:27 +0000

For those of you who are shy about speaking German in public, you can still practice conversing in German using this simple task. Take a family photo album and point to the various people in the photo. Then ask yourself, “Wer ist das?” (Who is that?) Then answer the question. I’ll give you the vocabulary to answer this question. Obviously the best way to practice is to speak with another person, but if for some reason this is impossible, it’s better than no practice at all. For every answer, you’ll need to respond by saying, “Das ist..”

Das ist die Mutter (That is the mother)

der Vater (father)

der Bruder (brother)

die Schwester (sister)

der Großvater (grandfather)

die Großmutter (grandmother)

der Sohn (son)

die Tochter (daughter)

der Onkel (uncle)

die Tante (aunt)

der Kusine (female cousin)

der Kusin (male cousin)

der Mann (husband/man)

die Frau (wife/woman)

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Post from: German Blog

Vornamen

Yohann — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 08:27:04 +0000

I’ve always been fascinated by German vornamen, or first names. Today we’ll look at some of the meanings and origins of German first names. If you don’t have a German name, hopefully this will inspire you to choose a German name that best represents yourself.

Anna/Anne : is a populär girl’s name. It means “grace”.

Arnold : is an altmodisch name for boys. It means “he who rules like an eagle”.

Conrad/Konrad : boy’s name meaning “bold advisor”.

Friedrich (can be shortened to Fritz) : “ruling in peace”

Heinrich : strong ruler

Ada : “nobility”

Lena : “sophisticated”

Karin : “pure”

Johannes/Yohan : “god is merciful”

Julia : has Latin origins meaning “youthful”

Maximilian : from Latin meaning “greatest”

Marie/Maria : “beloved”

Felix : “happy”, “lucky”

Charlotte : “little”, “womanly”

Some of these German names have been adopted from other cultures while others are traditionell German names.

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Post from: German Blog

Richard Wagner

Yohann — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:40:59 +0000

Richard Wagner war ein deutscher Komponist. He believed in Gesamtkunstwerk, which was the synthesis of art, music and drama. Richard Wagner wurde am 22. Mai 1813 in Leipzig. Sechs Monate nach seiner Geburt, am 23. November 1813, starb der Vater an Typhus. Wagner’s stepfather introduced Wagner to musical theater. He was inspired by artists such as Beethovan.

Am 24. November heiratete er Minna Planer, die dort als Schauspielerin engagiert war. Minna ran off with an army officer and came back to Wagner when the officer abandoned her. This would continue to be a volitile marriage for the next three decades. In the 1840s, the couple went to Paris to get away from their debtors. Nachdem es ihm in Paris nicht gelungen war, künstlerische Pläne voranzubringen und dort Erfolg zu haben, verließ er im April 1842 Paris und siedelte sich in Dresden an. In 1842 Wagner’s opera Rienzi received critical acclaim in Dresden. He had finally made it!

During this time, he became involved in politics and had to live in exile in Zurich. 1858 spitzte sich Wagners Affäre mit Mathilde Wesendonck zu. His affair inspired the work Tristan and Isolde. Here is a sample of this song:

[youtube]ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKN1CHeOKS4[/youtube]

Post from: German Blog

Answers to the Word of the Day Exercise

Yohann — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 04:24:58 +0000

1) to love (lieben) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-01-2009

2) today (heute) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-02-2009

3) true (wahr) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-03-2009

4) current (aktuell) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-04-2009

5) best wishes (Alles Gute) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-07-2009

6) woman (die Frau) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-08-2009

7) same (gleich) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-09-2009

ticket (die Fahrkarte) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-11-2009

9) to shave (rasieren) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-12-2009

10) room (das Zimmer) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-13-2009

11) juice (der Saft) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-14-2009

12) dessert (die Nachspeise) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-15-2009

13) curious (neugierig) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-16-2009

14) world (die Welt) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-19-2009

15) environment (die Umwelt) http://www.transparent.com/wotd/today/german.htm?date=06-20-2009

Post from: German Blog

Word of the Day Exercise

Yohann — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 03:40:24 +0000

All these words are in the Word of the Day. Find the German equivalent of these words.

1) to love

2) today

3) true

4) current

5) best wishes

6) woman

7) same

ticket

9) to shave

10) room

11) juice

12) dessert

13) curious

14) world

15) environment

Post from: German Blog

The Accusative

Yohann — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:57:38 +0000

The accusative case marks the direct object in a sentence. The direct object is the person or thing doing the receiving.

Here are the accusative forms for the definite article:

Masculine (den)

Feminine (die)

Neuter (das)

Plural (die)

Here are the indefinite forms:

masculine (einen)

feminine (eine)

neuter (ein)

plural (keine)

You might see some interrogative pronouns in the accusative. In English, this would be ‘whom’?

masculine (wen)

feminine (wen)

neuter (wen)

plural (wen)

Yay! All the forms are the same for the interrogative pronouns! Too bad that’s not the case for the indefinite and definite forms.

Post from: German Blog

Answers to Recognition Game

Yohann — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 23:47:46 +0000

1) This is the catch phrase of this German company: Vorsprung durch Technik (Audi)

2) The initials are used to refer to this company: Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW)

3) This company’s name literally means ‘German Bank’ (Deutsche Bank)

4) She is a famous Modedesignerin that has a business containing her name. Her initials are: JS (Jill Sander)

5) An airline that contains the German word for air (Lufthansa)

6) Is a famous Pharmazeutikum and Chemikalie company. The company begins with an M. (Merck)

7) Makes Sportschuhe. This company has a fast running animal as its logo. (Puma)

This company’s logo is based upon the Volksstaat Württemberg coat of arms. (Porsche)

9) Is a famous Bleistift company with it’s origins in Germany. (Eberhard Faber)

10) The founder of this piano company had the name Steinweg before it was anglicized. (Steinway & Sons)

11) This company’s name means ‘People’s Car” in German (Volkswagen)

12) This shoe company’s logo is three parallel bars. (Adidas)

13) This company is known for its aspirin and begins with a B. (Bayer)

14) This company makes clogs and Sandale. (Birkenstock)

How many of you were surprised that these companies had German origins?

Post from: German Blog

Recognition Game

Yohann — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:16:50 +0000

The following companies have their origins in Germany. Do you recognize some of them?

1) This is the catch phrase of this German company: Vorsprung durch Technik

2) The initials are used to refer to this company: Bayerische Motoren Werke

3) This company’s name literally means ‘German Bank’

4) She is a famous Modedesignerin that has a business containing her name. Her initials are: JS

5) An airline that contains the German word for air

6) Is a famous Pharmazeutikum and Chemikalie company. The company begins with an M

7) Makes Sportschuhe. This company has a fast running animal as its logo.

This company’s logo is based upon the Volksstaat Württemberg coat of arms.

9) Is a famous Bleistift company with it’s origins in Germany.

10) The founder of this piano company had the name Steinweg before it was anglicized.

11) This company’s name means ‘People’s Car” in German

12) This shoe company’s logo is three parallel bars.

13) This company is known for its aspirin and begins with a B.

14) This company makes clogs and Sandale.

Post from: German Blog