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Deutsch - German

Joe: Hmm, Entschuldigung…?
Reisende: Ja…?
Joe: Können Sie mir helfen?
Reisende: Natürlich, gern…
Joe: Also, ich weiß nicht, ob ich hier richtig bin…
Reisende: Wohin möchten Sie denn?
Joe: Ich fahre nach München. Ist dies hier das richtige Gleis?
Reisende: Ja. Der Zug auf diesem Gleis fährt nach München. Das sehen Sie auf der Anzeigetafel da oben.
Joe: Aaah. Danke schön.
Reisende: Aber….
Joe: Ja, bitte…?
Reisende: Es kann auch sein, dass mehrere Züge dasselbe Ziel haben. Ich glaube, der Zug auf jenem Gleis dort fährt auch nach München. Was steht denn auf der Fahrkarte?
Joe: Hmm, ich weiß nicht…Mal sehen….Also hier steht, dass der Zug von Gleis 14 abfährt.
Reisende: Äh, das kann aber nicht sein. Dieser Bahnhof hat nur 10 Gleise!
Joe: Oh! Wie geht denn das!?!
Reisende: Ach, sehen Sie. Da steht, Ankunft ist in München auf Gleis 14! Aber Abfahrt hier in Berlin ist von Gleis 4. Das ist dieses hier. Sie sind also richtig.
Joe: Oh, da bin ich ja froh. Vielen Dank!
Reisende: Kein Problem. Gute Reise.
Joe: Danke, gleichfalls!

Englisch - English

Joe: Hmm, excuse me...?
Traveller: Yes...?
Joe: Could you help me?
Traveller: Of course, my pleasure...
Joe: So, I don't know, whether I'm at the right place...
Traveller: Where would you like to go?
Joe: I'm going to Munich. Is this the right track here?
Traveller: Yes. The train on this track goes to Munich. You can see that on the time table board up there.
JoeAhhh. Thank you very much.
Traveller: But...
Joe: Yes, please...?
Traveller: It's also possible that several trains have the same destination. I believe, the train on this train over there is also going to Munich. What's on your ticket?
Joe: Hmm, I don't know... let's see... so here it says that the train leaves on track 14.
Traveller: Oh, but that can't be. This station only has 10 tracks!
Joe: Oh! How does that work!?!
Traveller: Oh, look. There it states that the arrival is in Munich on track 14! But the departure here in Berlin is on track 4. That is this one here. So, you're right.
Joe: Oh, then I'm indeed happy. Thank you very much!
Traveller: No problem. Have a good trip.
Joe: Thanks, you too!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. ich weiß nicht, ob ich hier richtig bin = I don't know if I'm in the right place. "hier richtig sein" = "to be in the right place".

2. abfahren = to depart, leave. Same root as 'die Abfahrt'
(departure).

3. Wie geht denn das? = literally 'How goes that?' = "How is that possible?". "es geht" always has a second meaning of "it is possible" or "it is functioning". For example, you might say "Der Aufzug geht heute nicht" (the elevator is broken today).

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is demonstrative pronouns:
Der Zug auf diesem Gleis fährt nach München. "The train on this track is going to Munich.

This lesson's dialog featured two interesting words, „dieser“ (this) and „jener“ (that). They are demonstrative pronouns, that's the official term for them. „demonstrative“ because they are used when „demonstrating“, in the sense of „showing“, „indicating“. When you point at something, you will usually use a demonstrative pronoun. You will say something like „THIS car“ or „THAT car over there“. Even when you're not actually pointing, you will sometimes use demonstrative pronouns.

In German, the demonstrative pronouns are „dieser“ for things that are close to you, and „jener“ for things that are further away. These words get the same endings as adjectives – don't concern yourself too much with them right now, we are covering adjective endings in-depth in the intermediate series.

Anyway, this is how we wind up with forms like „auf diesem Gleis“ (on this track), or simply „dies“ for neuter. „dieser“ and „jener“ are actually less often used in German than they are in English. In German, they are increasingly being replaced with the simple article. If we say „auf dem Gleis“, emphasizing the „dem“ more than we would in a regular sentence, then that means just the same as „auf diesem Gleis“. The equivalent of „auf jenem Gleis“ (on that track) is „auf dem Gleis dort“ - adding a „dort“ after the noun fulfills the same purpose as the word „that“ in English.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Things to watch out for when taking the train:
• Train stations can be huge – allow enough time to walk through the train station, find the track and walk to the part where your train stops!
• Sometimes there are two trains departing from the same track at around the same time, one from the one side and one from the other. Also, sometimes one train is later split into two, with different routes or different final destinations. Best look at the display on the track. Your ticket should also say something like 'Track 12, A-D“ - this means only the part of the train that stops in track sections A to D will go to your destination. If you get on the train in section G of the track, you will likely wind up somewhere else.
• If you have a ticket, you most likely bought a seat reservation at the same time.
The seat reservation consists of a car number and a seat number. If you don't want to walk through the entire train in search of your seat, you should find out where your car is going to stop before the train even arrives. Look out for a colourful poster on the track which shows you approximately where each car will stop, based on the track sections. Inside the train, there are electronic displays above each row of seats that: 
• Beware that it is possible to have a ticket without a reserved seat. This means that you are not entitled to a seat and there may not be enough seats available on the train. On busy days, more than a few people will be left standing. You can still sit down in any unoccupied seat though – you just have to vacate it if someone arrives who reserved that seat. If you're lucky, your seat will be unreserved. You can tell from the electronic display above each row of seats. This display shows you from which stop to which stop the seat has been reserved, or if there is no reservation.

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