Introduction...1 Part I: The Basic Building Blocks of German...5

Transcription

1 Contents at a Glance Introduction...1 Part I: The Basic Building Blocks of German...5 Chapter 1: Assembling the Basic Tools for German Sentences...7 Chapter 2: Sorting Out Word Gender and Case...19 Chapter 3: Laying the Foundations of German...37 Chapter 4: Building Your Word Power...51 Part II: Getting Started Now: Writing in the Present...67 Chapter 5: Grasping the Present Tense...69 Chapter 6: Are You Asking or Telling Me? Questions and Commands...85 Chapter 7: Answering Intelligently with Yes, No, and Maybe Chapter 8: Describing Your Mood: Summing Up the Subjunctive Chapter 9: In the Mood: Combining Verbs with Modal Auxiliaries Chapter 10: Sorting Out Separable- and Inseparable- Prefix Verbs Part III: Fine Tuning Your Writing with Flair Chapter 11: Sounding More Like a Native with Verb Combinations Chapter 12: Adding Adjectives for Description Chapter 13: Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs Chapter 14: Connecting with Conjunctions Chapter 15: Your Preposition Primer Part IV: Looking Back and Ahead: Writing in the Past and the Future Chapter 16: Conversing about the Past: Perfecting the Present Perfect Chapter 17: Narrating the (Simple) Past: Fact and Fiction Chapter 18: Looking to the Future (and Avoiding It) COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Part V: The Part of Tens Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Optimizing Your German Chapter 20: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid in German Part VI: Appendixes Appendix A: Verb Charts Appendix B: Case Charts Appendix C: English-German Dictionary Appendix D: German-English Dictionary Index...315

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3 Table of Contents Introduction...1 About This Book...1 Conventions Used in This Book...1 Foolish Assumptions...2 How This Book Is Organized...2 Part I: The Building Blocks of German...3 Part II: Getting Started Now: Writing in the Present...3 Part III: Fine Tuning Your Writing with Flair...3 Part IV: Looking Back and Ahead: Writing in the Past and the Future...3 Part V: The Part of Tens...3 Part VI: Appendixes...3 Icons Used in This Book...4 Where to Go from Here...4 Part I: The Basic Building Blocks of German...5 Chapter 1: Assembling the Basic Tools for German Sentences...7 Grasping German Grammar Terms...7 Conjugating verbs and understanding tenses...8 Getting gender, number, and case...9 Understanding word order...10 Grammar terms that describe words, parts of words, and word groupings...10 Identifying Parts of Speech...11 Finding Meaning through Context...13 Using a Bilingual Dictionary...14 Making the right choice (at the bookstore)...14 Performing a word search...15 Answer Key...17 Chapter 2: Sorting Out Word Gender and Case...19 Rounding Up Grammatical Genders...19 Identifying German genders and figuring out which one to use...20 Corralling plurals...22 Lassoing indefinite articles...24 Missing absentee articles...25 Calling All Cases: The Roles Nouns and Pronouns Play...26 Identifying the four cases...26 Eyeing the similarities and differences...27 Putting Pronouns in Place...29 Personal pronouns...29 Relating to relative pronouns...30 Demonstrating demonstrative pronouns...32 Answer Key...34

4 viii Intermediate German For Dummies Chapter 3: Laying the Foundations of German...37 Doing the Numbers...37 Counting off with cardinal numbers...37 Getting in line with ordinal numbers...40 Was Ist das Datum? Expressing Dates...42 On the Clock: Expressing Time...44 Naming Countries, Nationalities, and Languages...46 Eyeing German-speaking countries...46 Grammatically speaking about countries, nationalities, and languages...47 German neighbors and trading partners...48 Answer Key...50 Chapter 4: Building Your Word Power...51 Working With Word Combinations...51 Spotting compound nouns...52 Describing picture compound nouns...54 Checking out verb combinations...55 Grasping Word Families and Word Categories...56 Working with word families...56 Picture that! Working with word categories...58 Streamlining Word Storage...60 Recognizing cognates and near cognates...60 False friends: Bad buddies...62 Answer Key...64 Part II: Getting Started Now: Writing in the Present...67 Chapter 5: Grasping the Present Tense...69 Simplifying Subject Pronouns and Their Relationship to Verbs...69 Making sure you dresses for the occasion: The formality of du/ihr and Sie...70 Distinguishing among sie, sie, and Sie...71 Getting Your Verbs in Shape: Present-Tense Conjugations...73 Agreeing with the regulars...73 Conjugating verbs with spelling changes...75 Conjugating the irregulars haben and sein: To have and to be...78 Using the Very Versatile Present Tense...81 Answer Key...83 Chapter 6: Are You Asking or Telling Me? Questions and Commands...85 Inverting Word Order for Yes/No Questions...85 Gathering Information with Question Words: Who, What, Why, and More...87 Checking Information: Tag! You re It, Aren t You?...90 Combining Question Words: Compounds with Wo Making Choices: Asking What Kind of...?...93 Using the Imperative: Do It!...95 Giving orders...95 Requests and suggestions: Looking at question-command hybrids...96 Answer Key...98

5 Table of Contents ix Chapter 7: Answering Intelligently with Yes, No, and Maybe Getting to Yes: Variations on Ja Responding with No: The Difference between Kein and Nicht Negating with nicht Negating with kein Avoiding blunt negative replies Explaining Answers Using Da- Compounds Sounding Diplomatic: Using Maybe, Suggesting, and Refusing Politely Answer Key Chapter 8: Describing Your Mood: Summing Up the Subjunctive Terms and Conditions: Unraveling Subjunctive Terminology Getting in the mood Comparing subjunctive types and the conditional Selecting the Present Subjunctive II: How and When to Use It Creating the present Subjunctive II with würde Forming the Subjunctive II of haben, sein, and modal verbs Using the present Subjunctive II Forming and Using the Past Subjunctive II Forming the past Subjunctive II Using the past Subjunctive II Two-timing the past subjunctive: Using double infinitives Subjunctive I: Used in Indirect Discourse Recognizing the present Subjunctive I Recognizing the Past Subjunctive I Answer Key Chapter 9: In the Mood: Combining Verbs with Modal Auxiliaries The on Modal Verbs Identifying modals: Assistants with attitude Understanding word order and modals May I? Dürfen, the Permission Verb You Can Do It! Können, the Ability Verb I Like That: Mögen, the Likeable Verb What Would You Like? Möchten, the Preference Verb Do I Have To? Müssen, the Verb of Necessity Should I or Shouldn t I? Sollen, the Duty Verb I Want to Be Famous: Wollen, the Intention Verb Answer Key Chapter 10: Sorting Out Separable- and Inseparable- Prefix Verbs Looking at the Prefix Simplifying Separable-Prefix Verbs Using verbs in the present tense Using verbs in the simple past Using verbs in present perfect tense Investigating Inseparable-Prefix Verbs Dealing with Dual-Prefix Verbs: To Separate or Not to Separate? Answer Key...162

6 x Intermediate German For Dummies Part III: Fine Tuning Your Writing with Flair Chapter 11: Sounding More Like a Native with Verb Combinations Set in Their Ways: Grasping Idiomatic Verb Expressions In the Looking Glass: Reflecting on Reflexive Verbs Self-ish concerns: Meeting the reflexive pronouns Identifying which verbs need to be reflexive Combining Verbs with Prepositions ID-ing common combos in the accusative case Eyeing common combos in the dative case Answer Key Chapter 12: Adding Adjectives for Description Organizing Adjectives: Opposites, Cognates, and Collocations Letting opposites attract A family resemblance: Describing with cognates Traveling companions: Describing with collocations Helping Adjectives Meet a Satisfying End Forming endings on adjectives not preceded by der- or ein- words Preceded adjectives: Forming the endings Using Possessive Adjectives: My Place or Your Place? Answer Key Chapter 13: Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs Comparing Regular Adjectives and Adverbs: Fast, Faster, Fastest Comparing two things Absolutely the most! Discussing superlatives Considering common comparisons Adding the umlaut in regular comparisons Using Irregular Comparison Forms Comparing Equals and Nonequals Identifying Unique Adjective and Adverb Groups Adjectives that act as nouns Participles that function as adjectives or adverbs Adverbs that modify adjectives Answer Key Chapter 14: Connecting with Conjunctions Conjunctions and Clauses: Terminating Terminology Tangles Connecting with Coordinating Conjunctions Working on word order: Coordinating conjunctions Using coordinating conjunctions Connecting with Subordinating Conjunctions Using subordinating conjunctions Using the correct word order Answer Key...216

7 Table of Contents xi Chapter 15: Your Preposition Primer Prepping for Prepositions: Basic Guidelines Getting the importance of case Understanding what it all means Accusative, Dative, and Genitive Cases: How the Rest of the Phrase Shapes Up No finger pointing: Accusative prepositions Dative prepositions Genitive prepositions Tackling Two-Way Prepositions: Accusative/Dative Understanding Quirky Combinations Answer Key Part IV: Looking Back and Ahead: Writing in the Past and the Future Chapter 16: Conversing about the Past: Perfecting the Present Perfect Forming the Present Perfect with Haben Forming the present perfect with regular weak verbs Forming the present perfect with irregular weak verbs Forming the present perfect with strong verbs Forming the Present Perfect with Sein Eyeing the Present Perfect: German versus English One for all: Representing three English tenses Opting for the German present Outing the Oddball Verbs Separable-prefix verbs Inseparable prefix verbs Verbs ending in -ieren Answer Key Chapter 17: Narrating the (Simple) Past: Fact and Fiction Conjugating the Simple Past Forming regular (weak) verbs in simple past Forming irregular (strong) verbs in simple past Forming haben and sein in simple past Forming modals in simple past Contrasting Tenses Answer Key Chapter 18: Looking to the Future (and Avoiding It) The Future is Now: Using the Present Tense Instead Seeing when German present works perfectly Saying when: Using future time expressions with the present tense Facing the Future with Werden Forming the future: Werden + infinitive verb Using the future: Assuming, hoping, and emphasizing intentions Using the future to express probability Answer Key...273

8 xii Intermediate German For Dummies Part V: The Part of Tens Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Optimizing Your German Think Like a Native Speaker Break Down Word Combinations Use What You Know Get Going on Grammar Read and Listen Actively Experiment with What Works Best Germanify Your Home Integrate German into Your Routine Embrace the Culture Set Goals and Reward Yourself Chapter 20: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid in German Attempting Word-for-Word Translations Downplaying Gender and Case Wondering Which Word Order Think, Thought, Thunk: (Mis)handling Verbs (Mis)Placing Prepositions and Prefixes Skipping Capitalization and Umlauts Slipping on Super Slick Sentences Being Informal on the Wrong Occasion Rejecting Review Giving Up Part VI: Appendixes Appendix A: Verb Charts Conjugating Verbs in Present and Simple Past Tenses Conjugating Verbs in the Present Perfect, Future, and Subjunctive Present perfect Future Subjunctive Weak Verbs Regular verbs (no stem change in the simple past) Regular verbs (with stem ending in -d, -t, -fn or -gn) Irregular weak verbs (stem change in the simple past) Strong Verbs Verbs with auxiliary haben Verbs with auxiliary sein Verbs with present-tense vowel change in second- and third-person singular Separable-Prefix Verbs Inseparable-Prefix Verbs (without ge- prefix in the past participle) Verbs with a past participle ending in -t Verbs with a past participle ending in -en Auxiliary Verbs Haben, Sein, and Werden Modal Auxiliary Verbs Principal Parts of Weak Verbs...296

9 Table of Contents xiii Appendix B: Case Charts Articles Definite articles (the) Indefinite articles (a, an) and ein- words Pronouns Personal pronouns Relative and demonstrative pronouns Der- words Reflexive pronouns Interrogative pronoun who Adjectives Adjectives without der- or ein- words (not preceded) Preceded adjectives Irregular comparison (adjectives and adverbs) Prepositions Accusative, dative, and genitive prepositions Two-way prepositions: Accusative/dative Appendix C: English-German Dictionary Appendix D: German-English Dictionary Index...315

10 xiv Intermediate German For Dummies