Wo ist das Rathaus?

Deutsch - German

Joe: Entschuldigung…

Frau: Ja?

Joe: Können Sie mir vielleicht helfen? Ich möchte gerne zum Rathaus…

Frau: Ja, natürlich…Zuerst müssen Sie zur Haltestelle Tivolistraße. gehen und dort steigen Sie in die Tram Nummer 17 ein.

Joe: Oh und wo ist die Haltestelle?

Frau: Die Haltestelle ist gleich dort vorne an der großen Kreuzung auf der linken Seite….

Joe: Ah, okay.

Frau: Also, nehmen Sie die 17 Richtung Amalienburgstraße. und fahren Sie bis zum Isartor…

Joe: Die 17 in Richtung Isartor..

Frau: Nein, die 17 BIS zum Isartor. Dort steigen Sie aus und gehen

zur U-Bahn.

Joe: Ah okay. Ich fahre bis zum Isartor und steige dort in die U-Bahn um.

Frau: Genau. Am Isartor nehmen Sie eine U-Bahn und fahren eine Station bis zum Marienplatz. Dort ist das Rathaus.

Joe: Und welche U-Bahn nehme ich?

Frau: Das ist egal, Hauptsache der nächste Halt ist Marienplatz. Das können Sie an der Anzeigetafel sehen….

Joe: Ach so. Gut, also ich steige dort vorne in die Tram 17 ein, fahre bis zum Isartor und steige dort um. Dann fahre ich eine Station mit der U-Bahn bis Marienplatz und dort ist das Rathaus…

Frau: Ja, genau!

Joe: Super, danke!

Frau: Keine Ursache!

Englisch - English

Joe: Excuse me...

Woman: Yes?

Joe: Could you help me out? I'd like to go to the city hall.

Woman: Of course. First you have to go to the stop called "Tivolistraße", and there you get on the number 17 Tram.

Joe: Oh, and where is the stop?

Woman: It's just in front of us at that large intersection, on the left side.

Joe: Ah, okay.

Woman: So, take the number 17 in the direction of Amalienburgstraße and travel up to the Isartor stop.

Joe: The 17 in the direction of Isartor...

Woman: No, the 17 UP TO the Isartor stop, and then change to the subway.

Joe: Ah, okay. I go to Isartor, and then I change to the subway.

Woman: Exactly. At Isartor you take a subway one station to Marienplatz. That's where the city hall is.

Joe: And which subway do I take?

Woman: It doesn't matter which one. The important thing is that the next stop is Marienplatz. You'll see it on the display panel.

Joe: Ahh. Good, so I get on Tram 17 over there, then travel to Isartor and transfer. Then I travel one station on the subway to Marienplatz, and that's where the city hall is.

Woman: Yes, precisely!

Joe: Great, thanks!

Woman: No problem!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. vielleicht. Normally this means „perhaps“. In the phrase „Können Sie mir vielleicht helfen?“, it's used to make the phrase more polite, to indicate that you can understand if they can't help.

Without the „vielleicht“ in that phrase, I might add „bitte“, or I might swap the „können“ (can) for „könnten“ (could)... there are a number of ways to make requests more polite in German.

2. gleich. So far we've seen this used as „immediately“ or „really soon“. In the phrase „Die Haltestelle ist gleich dort vorne“ however, „gleich“ means „right“, like „right there“.

3. „Keine Ursache“ is a common reply when someone is thanking you. You could say „Bitte“, but if you say „Keine Ursache“ that means that it was no big deal.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is Dative after prepositions

Fahren Sie bis zum Isartor.

"Go up to the Isar Gate."

In lessons 10 and 26 we already looked at different forms that personal pronouns can take, depending on whether they are the subject, the direct object or the indirect object of a sentence. You probably already noticed that it's not just the personal pronouns that change; noun phrases, especially the articles, also change.

So far we said that the Accusative case is for direct objects and the Dative case is for indirect objects.

In the sentence „Ich gebe ihm ein Geschenk“ (I give a present to him), „ihm“ or „to him“ is the indirect object because it comes after „to“, while „ein Geschenk“ (a present) is the direct object.

The Dative is also used after a whole lot of preposition though, and that's something we should look at today. First, you need to know the articles that show you that something is Dative. For feminine words, the Dative article is „der“ - so it's almost like feminine words are pretending to be masculine here. For masculine and also neuter words, the Dative article is „dem“. Let's see these in action! Here are the examples from today's dialog.

Ich möchte gerne zum Rathaus. (zum = zu dem) = I would like to go to the city hall.

bis zum Isartor = up to the Isar Gate

bis zum Marienplatz = up to the Marienplatz

zur Haltestelle Tivolistraße (zur = zu der) = to the stop Tivolistraße

zur U-Bahn = to the subway

an der großen Kreuzung = at the big intersection

an der Anzeigetafel = on the screen

am Isartor (am = an dem) = at the Isar Gate

auf der linken Seite = on the left side

Careful, „in die Tram“ and „in die U-Bahn“ are NOT Dative, they are Accusative. Otherwise it would have to be „in der Tram“ and „in der U-Bahn“. It's actually possible to say both, but with a vastly different meaning.

in der Tram = in the tram (not surprising)

in die Tram = INTO the tram (wth?)

in der U-Bahn = in the subway

in die U-Bahn = INTO the subway

In German, the entire difference between „in“ and „into“ is the case that follows. We shall investigate this more later.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

To take a subway or lightrail in Germany, you first have to figure out where to get the tickets. This is confusing because it's different in different cities. In Berlin, the ticket machines for the subway are on the track itself, while the ticket machines for the lightrail are inside the cars themselves. So in the one case you have to buy and stamp your ticket before getting on, and in the other case you can only buy tickets when you're already in motion... Well, you could also buy a subway or bus ticket and then hop

onto the lightrail with that, because the same tickets are valid for all public transport within a city.

If you're relying on being able to buy a ticket from a machine, then you should make sure that you have enough Euros in change. The machines are intelligent enough to give you correct change if you pay too much, but there is no person or machine that will break up bills for you if you only have bills.

You have to be lucky and find a machine that takes bills, or find a machine that accepts your credit card or bank card. So this is something to take into account.

Once you have your ticket, don't forget to stamp it in the little machine that should be mounted on a pole near the ticket machine. Without the stamp it's not valid, because it would be impossible to distinguish between a ticket that you buy for now as opposed to a ticket that you intend to use later that week.

There are no systems that automatically devalue your ticket or that note where you got on and off.

German subways operate on an honor-based system. That means that you can access the tracks and even get on a subway car without having a ticket. There are just random controls when people in civilian clothes will board the car, proffer identification and demand to see everyone's tickets. If you can't show them a valid ticket then, they'll fine you 40 Euros, so you probably want to get a valid ticket, which is much cheaper than that.

Verpass das nicht!

Deutsch - German

Joe: Entschuldigen Sie….

Frau: Ja?

Joe: Können Sie mir sagen, wo das Rathaus ist?

Frau: Äh, Sie stehen genau davor.

Joe: Wirklich?

Frau: Ja, das große Haus dort ist das Rathaus….

Joe: Ooooh….Das ist aber groß….

Frau: Ja, es hat 400 Zimmer und ist 85 Meter hoch und 100 Meter lang…

Joe: Wow….Durch den Turm sieht es sehr hoch aus!

Frau: Das stimmt. Ohne den Turm ist es auch nicht ganz so hoch… Oh, Sie müssen unbedingt auf das Glockenspiel im Turm warten! Es fängt in 10 Minuten an.

Joe: Welches Glockenspiel?

Frau: Das Rathaus ist berühmt für das Glockenspiel.

Joe: Ach ja, stimmt. Das gucke ich natürlich an! Sagen Sie, wieso wissen Sie so viel über das Rathaus?

Frau: Ich arbeite als Stadtführerin!

Joe: Haha, das ist ja toll. Ich gehe später in den Olympiapark. Können Sie mir sagen, was ich dort unbedingt sehen muss?

Frau: Sie müssen unbedingt auf den Olympiaturm gehen. Dort haben Sie eine tolle Aussicht auf München. Sie können dort viele Sehenswürdigkeiten sehen. Das ist wirklich toll.

Joe: Oh, gut. Dann mache ich das.

Frau: Ah, schauen Sie, das Glockenspiel fängt an!

Englisch - English

Joe: Excuse me...

Woman: Yes?

Joe: Could you tell me where the city hall is?

Woman: Oh, you're standing right in front of it.

Joe: Really?

Woman: Yes, that big building there is the city hall.

Joe: Ohhhh...it's actually pretty big...

Woman: Yes, it has 400 rooms, is 85 meters high and 100 meters long.

Joe: Wow...the tower makes it look really tall!

Woman: That's right. Without the tower it's not so tall...Oh, you really have to wait for the tower bell to ring. It'll start in 10 minutes.

Joe: Which tower bell?

Woman: The city hall is famous for the tower bell.

Joe: Oh, that's right. Of course I'll take a look. So, why do you know so much about the city hall?

Woman: I work as a city tour guide!

Joe: Haha, that's great. I'm going to the Olympic Park later. Could you tell me what I really should see while I'm there?

Woman: You should definitely go to the Olympic Tower. There they have a great view of Munich. You can see lots of important sights from there. It's quite nice.

Joe: Oh, good. I'll do that.

Woman: Ah, take a look. The tower bell is starting!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. davor = in front of that. "vor" is "in front of" and "davor" works just like "dafür" or "davon" - the "da" means "that". Da-vor = in front of that.

2. Stadtführerin could be translated as "city leader" but you need the second meaning of "Führer" here - "city guide". Stadtführerin - city guide, and the -in ending tells us it's a woman. A lot of words for professions or nationalities can be made feminine by ending -in.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is Accusative after preposition

Ohne den Turm ist es auch nicht ganz so hoch

"Without the tower, it's not really that tall."

Since we looked at Dative prepositions in the last lesson, let's have a look at some Accusative prepositions in this one.

First, you need to know the Accusative articles. This is easy, For feminine and neuter words, the article remains exactly the same! So the Accusative of „die Frau“ is still „die Frau“, and the Accusative of „das Kind“ is still „das Kind“. Same in plural – „die Frauen“ and „die Kinder“ don't change. So how do you know that something after a preposition is Accusative and not Nominative?

Well, it has to be, because there are no prepositions that take the Nominative, that is, the base form of a noun. If you see something after a preposition that looks like Nominative, it has to be Accusative.

Since feminine and neuter words don't change, this really simplifies things, because we only have to worry about masculine words. For masculine words, the Accusative article is „den“. „den“ has an N at the end, unlike the Dative „dem“, which has an M ending – actually people tend to slur these endings a lot, so if you confuse Dative and Accusative it may not even be noticed while speaking.

Some examples from this lesson's dialog below.

ohne den Turm = without the tower

über das Rathaus = about the city hall

durch den Turm = through the tower / because of the tower

auf den Olympiaturm = onto the Olympic tower

in den Olympiapark = into the Olympic park

Think about this last example some more. Here, we translated „in“ as „into“. This is because it's followed by the Accusative. Some prepositions can take either Dative or Accusative, and then they use Accusative when talking about a direction rather than a location.

„im Olympiapark“ (in the Olympic park) vs. „in den Olympiapark“ (into the Olympic park)

„auf dem Olympiaturm“ (on the Olympic tower) vs. „auf den Olympiaturm“ (onto the Olympic tower)

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Munich sights

Munich is best known for... the Oktoberfest of course, but that's only part of the year (curiously starting in September). If you happen to be in Munich at a different time of the year, you probably still want to try some of their excellent beer. Visit a brewery, have them explain the process of making beer to you and then have some of their fresh beer – beer is best when it hasn't been transported much! This is why lots of German cities have their own breweries, and why most beer in pubs is local beer, rather than any big brands.

Apart from breweries and the city hall, which is also worth a visit, you might like to explore Munich's many museums. For example the Pinakotheken, three really impressive art museums. Or the National Bavarian Museum, which has a lot of historic artefacts. There are also a number of palaces in and around Munich.

Then, if you want to relax after sight-seeing, try the English Garden.

Deutsche Feste

Deutsch - German

Kassiererin: Guten Tag.

Joe: Hallo, ich möchte gerne auf den Olympiaturm gehen.

Kassiererin: Hoch gehen können Sie nicht. Sie können nur mit dem Aufzug zur Plattform fahren.

Joe: Ach so. Dann fahre ich natürlich mit dem Aufzug. Wie viel kostet der Eintritt?

Kassiererin: Für einen Erwachsenen kostet der Eintritt 4,50 Euro.

Joe: Okay. Sagen Sie, wie hoch ist der Turm eigentlich?

Kassiererin: Der Turm ist fast 292 Meter hoch. Aber die Plattform ist nur 190 Meter hoch.

Joe: Oh, wow. Das ist ganz schön hoch.

Kassiererin: Ja….Und Sie haben Glück. Sie müssen heute nicht lange in der Schlange warten.

Joe: Oh, super.

Kassiererin: Und Sie können auf dem Turm auch ohne Fernglas sehr weit gucken.

Joe: Hmm, ist das sonst nicht so?

Kassiererin: Na ja, manchmal hat man oben wegen den Wolken nicht so eine gute Aussicht.

Joe: Oh gut, dass ich heute hier bin!

Kassiererin: Ja, das stimmt. Aber kommen Sie doch morgen wieder hier her.

Joe: Äh, wieso das?

Kassiererin: Morgen ist draußen den ganzen Tag lang ein Fest.

Joe: Oh, klasse. Dann komme ich natürlich morgen noch mal hier her!

Englisch - English

Cashier: Good day.

Joe: Hello, I would like to do up the Olympic Tower.

Cashier: You can't go up there. You can only take the elevator to the platform.

Joe: Ah, I see. Then I'll take the elevator of course. How much is the

entrance fee?

Cashier: For an adult, entrance costs 4 Euros and 50 cents.

Joe: Okay. How tall is the tower, actually?

Cashier: The tower is almost 292 meters tall. But the platform is only 190 meters tall.

Joe: Oh, wow. That's really quite tall.

Cashier: Yes, and you're in luck. Today you don't have to wait long in the line-up.

Joe: Oh, super.

Cashier: And you can also see quite far in the tower without using binoculars.

Joe: Hmm, is that not the case on other days?

Cashier: Yes, sometimes you don't have such a good view, because of cloud cover.

Joe: Oh, good thing I'm here today!

Cashier: Yes, that's right. But come here tomorrow again.

Joe: Oh? Why's that?

Cashier: Tomorrow there's a festival outside for the whole day.

Joe: Oh, great! Then of course I'll come here again tomorrow!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1 . wegen den Wolken = due to clouds. "wegen" is a preposition that is either used with the Genitive or the Dative. Hence you might here "wegen den Wolken" or "wegen der Wolken". The trend is towards the Dative.

2 . den ganzen Tag lang = all day. X lang = for X, e. g. 3 Tage lang = for 3 days; ein Jahr lang = for a year

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is the word order of adverbials

Kommen Sie doch morgen wieder hier her.

"Come here again tomorrow"

Let's look at the word order rules for adverbials today. The most typical word order is to have the descriptions of place and time right after the verb, that is in third position, before the direct object even, as in „Ich gebe ihm heute in München seine Fahrkarte“ (I am giving his ticket to him in Munich today). Look closely – the indirect object cannot be separated from the verb, but right after that we have the time and the place, and then finally the direct object.

Note that in German, you would typically place the time before the place, so first „heute“ and THEN „in München“. It is possible and quite common to move the time to the beginning of the sentence though, for example „Heute gebe ich ihm in München seine Fahrkarte“. You could also say „In München gebe ich ihm heute seine Fahrkarte“, though that would place a stress on the place

– if you want to avoid confusion about which city you're going. If you have an adverbial of manner (how you're doing something), that should go in between the time and the place, e. g. „Ich fahre heute mit dem Zug nach München“.

Instead of words for place and time, you could also place adverbs and particles like „gerne“ or „doch“ in these positions – they should go in the same slot as the time, so „In München gebe ich ihm doch seine Fahrkarte“ or „Ich fahre gerne mit dem Zug nach München“. There are other adverbs though, such as „nur“ or „fast“ or „ganz“ that only make sense in front of the word they qualify, e. g. „nur 50 Meter“, „fast zuhause“ or „ganz schön“. These are obviously not subject to these word order rules.

Below there's a summary of the most common word orders.

Starting with a subject -

[Subject] [Verb 1] ([Indirect Object]) ([Time or Adverb]) ([Manner]) ([Place]) ([Direct object])

([Anything else]) ([Verb 2 or separable prefix])

Starting with something else -

[Time or Adverb] [Verb 1] [Subject] ([Indirect Object]) ([Manner]) ([Place]) ([Direct object])

([Anything else]) ([Verb 2 or separable prefix])

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Apart from the world-famous Oktoberfest, there are also other festivals taking place in Germany, and a German saying says „Man muss die Feste feiern, wie sie fallen“ (you have to celebrate festive days as they come up), so don't let important work prevent you from enjoying them.

„Kirmes“ is the name of the most common recurring festival. It's a moving Carnival, with rides, skill games and lots of unhealthy food. Don't call it Carnival though, because the German word „Karneval“ refers to that merry season around Mardi Gras, when everyone dresses up and lets out their inner jokester.

One festival that's pretty uniquely German are the Christmas markets. Every city has one of those, and they're really beautiful. In fact, they are the only thing that keeps me in-country when days get cold in December. It's worthwhile getting cold if you can warm up with some mulled wine and stroll along those beautiful decorated stands and buy some handmade ornaments, or handwoven gloves. The atmosphere is unmatched. If you're in Germany in December, do check out the local Christmas market, or check out one of the famous ones.

Ich habe Kopfschmerzen

Deutsch - German

Joe: Hallo.

Apothekerin: Ja, bitte sehr?

Joe: Hmm, also ich habe Kopfschmerzen. Haben Sie etwas damit die Schmerzen weggehen?

Apothekerin: Aber natürlich. Ich gebe Ihnen Tabletten. Die wirken sehr schnell gegen Kopfschmerzen.

Joe: Wie muss ich die Tabletten einnehmen?

Apothekerin: Sie müssen die Tabletten in Wasser auflösen…

Joe: Hmm…aber ich möchte sie jetzt einnehmen…

Apothekerin: Ach ja, natürlich. Dann gebe ich Ihnen andere Tabletten. Die können Sie mit etwas Wasser einnehmen.

Joe: Ah, super. Wie viel kosten die Tabletten?

Apothekerin: Sie kosten 3,50 Euro.

Joe: Okay. Ich nehme sie.

Apothekerin: Darf es noch etwas sein?

Joe: Wie bitte?

Apothekerin: Möchten Sie sonst noch etwas?

Joe: Ja. Ich glaube, ich brauche ein paar Taschentücher.

Apothekerin: Ja, gerne. War's das?

Joe: Wie bitte?

Apothekerin: Ich meine, ist das alles?

Joe: Ja.

Apothekerin: Gut, dann bekomme ich 3,50 Euro von Ihnen.

Joe: Äh... für alles zusammen?

Apothekerin: Äh, ja…warum?

Joe: Aber… was ist mit den Taschentüchern?

Apothekerin: Die Taschentücher bekommen Sie kostenlos mit dazu.

Joe: Oh, danke. … Hier bitte…

Apothekerin: 4 Euro, danke…und 50 Cent zurück….Schönen Tag noch!

Joe: Danke schön!

Englisch - English

Joe: Hello

Pharmacist: Yes, can I help you?

Joe: Hmm, well I have a headache. Do you have something that will make it go away?

Pharmacist: Of course. I'll give you some tablets. They take effect very quickly against headaches.

Joe: How do I take the tablets?

Pharmacist: You have to dissolve the tablets in water.

Joe: Hmm...but I would like to take them now.

Pharmacist: Oh, of course. Then I'll give you other tablets. These ones you can take with water.

Joe: Ah, super. How much do the tablets cost?

Pharmacist: They cost 3 euros and 50 cents.

Joe: Okay, I'll take them.

Pharmacist: Is there anything else?

Joe: Sorry?

Pharmacist: Would you like something else?

Joe: Yes, I think I need a few tissues

Pharmacist: Great. That's it?

Joe: Sorry?

Pharmacist: I mean is that all?

Joe: Yes.

Pharmacist: Good, then I'll get 3.50 from you.

Joe: Uh...for everything altogether?

Pharmacist: Uh, yes...why?

Joe: But...what about the tissues?

Pharmacist: You get the tissues included for free.

Joe: Oh, thanks. Here you go.

Pharmacist: 4 euros, thanks...and 50 cents back. Have a good day!

Joe: Thanks!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. Schmerz is almost always used in the plural, Schmerzen. It's a really handy word, just attach it to any word for a body part. Halsschmerzen, Kopfschmerzen, Bauchschmerzen...

2. War's das = Was that all? "es" is often shortened to 's.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is Verb Prefixes

Haben Sie etwas damit die Schmerzen weggehen?

"Do you have something that will make the pain go away?"

One interesting aspect of German are all those prefixes that you can put in front of verbs. They each add a particular meaning to the verbs, for example we've seen „fahren“ (to go) as well as „abfahren“

(to depart); „kommen“ (to come) and „ankommen“ (to arrive), and so on. Let's have a quick overview of the most important prefixes:

mit- can usually be translated as „along“. It means that someone is joining in an activity. For example „mitkommen“ (to come along) or „mitgehen“ (to go along).

weg- can usually be translated as „away“. For example we saw „weggehen“ (to go away) in this

lesson and you could also say „wegfahren“ (to drive away) or „weggucken“ (to look away).

ein- implies „in“ or „into“. For example „einnehmen“ (literally to take in, but mostly used for taking medicine) or also „einfahren“ (to drive in), „einreisen“ (to enter a country) and „einwerfen“

(to throw in, e. g. a letter in a mailbox).

an- means „towards a place“ or even „hitting a place“. For example „anfahren“ (to hit with a car), „anschreiben“ (to write to someone) and „angucken“ (to look at something).

zurück- which we've seen as an adverb in this lesson can also be used as a prefix. For example „zurückfahren“ (to drive back), „zurückgehen“ (to go back), „zurücknehmen“ (to take back) and „zurückschreiben“ (to write back).

There are lots and lots more, and of course there are more examples we could give. If you're interested, check out our Advanced Focus series. Each lesson deals in-depth with one prefix at a time.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

German pharmacies are manned by highly-trained staff who can help you find good medicine for whatever ill you have. Also, German pharmacies only sell medicine – you will not find any kind of groceries there, nor shampoo or any products without health benefits.

By contrast, so-called Drogerien (drug stores) focus on bathroom products like shampoo, soap, cosmetics and so on. They often have some health food stuff, but they are not allowed to sell medicine, just alternative medicine.

Another cultural difference between the states and Germany is that there is a lot less over-thecounter medicine in Germany, a lot of things require prescriptions. When you have some over-thecounter medicine such as some mild painkillers, they come in small quantities. Germans are just expected to see the doctor when they're actually sick; and people do, considering it's „free“ with universal health insurance. This lack of experience in self-medication also means that Germans are a lot less aware of medicine ingredients, or the pros and cons of various agents – listening to American ads for medicine I don't understand a word!

Deutsche Würstchen

Deutsch - German

Joe: Guten Tag!

Frau: Grüß Gott! Was darf es sein?

Joe: Also, ich möchte gerne eine Weißwurst essen…

Frau: Oh, dann aber schnell. Es ist schon fast 12 Uhr.

Joe: Äh, warum dann schnell?

Frau: Weißwürste isst man nur vor 12 Uhr.

Joe: Oh, wirklich. Das ist ja interessant.

Frau: Und nehmen Sie auch eine Brezn und süßen Senf?

Joe: Hmm, ich weiß nicht…Isst man das so?

Frau: Ja. Eigentlich schon.

Joe: Okay. Dann esse ich das auch so…Was kostet das?

Frau: Das macht 2,50 Euro.

Joe: Bitte sehr.

Frau: Danke. Setzen Sie sich, ich bringe Ihnen die Weißwurst dann…

Joe: Okay, danke.

...

Frau: So, bitte sehr. Guten Appetit!

Joe: Danke. Haben Sie auch noch Messer und Gabel für mich?

Frau: Oh nein! Eine Weißwurst isst man doch nicht mit Messer und Gabel!

Joe: Oh, nicht? Wie dann?

Frau: Sehen Sie den Jungen dort? So isst man eine Weißwurst…

Joe: Ooh…also mit der Hand!

Frau: Ja…Halt! Nicht die Haut essen!

Joe: Oh!

Frau: Machen Sie die Haut einfach ab und essen Sie die Wurst dann mit dem Senf.

Joe: Okay….So?

Frau: Ja, genau so! Ach, ich mag euch Touristen! Es wird nie langweilig!

Englisch - English

Joe: Hello!

Woman: Hello! What'll it be?

Joe: Well, I'd really like to eat a veal sausage

Woman: Oh, then be quick. It's already almost noon.

Joe: Uh, why should I be quick?

Woman: Veal sausage is only eaten before noon.

Joe: Oh really. That's quite interesting.

Woman: Would you also like a pretzel and some sweet mustard?

Joe: Hmm, I don't know....is that how you eat it?

Woman: Yes, actually.

Joe: Okay. Then I'll eat it that way too. What's it cost?

Woman: That'll be 2 euros and 50 cents.

Joe: Here you go

Woman: Thanks. Take a seat, and then I'll bring you the veal sausage.

Joe: Okay, thanks

...

Woman: Ok, here you are. Bon Apetit!

Joe: Thanks. Do you also have a fork and a knife for me?

Woman: Oh, no! A veal sausage isn't eaten with a knife and fork!

Joe: It isn't? How, then?

Woman: See that boy over there? That's how you eat a veal sausage.

Joe: Ohh, so you it it with your hands!

Woman: Yes. Wait! Don't eat the skin!

Joe: Oh!

Woman: Just take the skin off, and eat the sausage with mustard.

Joe: Okay, like this?

Woman: Yes, exactly like that. Oh, I love you tourists. Never a dull moment!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. Brezn => Bavarian word for "Brezel", pretzel

2. Ihnen = to you, formally (Dative of Sie)

3. Setzen Sie sich = literally "put yourself in a sitting position" = Sit down.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is Changeable Nouns

Sehen Sie den Jungen dort?

"Do you see that boy over there?"

Normally only the articles and adjectives change for different cases such as the Dative or the Accusative. Normally nouns only change for the plural. However, there is a class of nouns that change slightly for the cases as well. This class is called the N Declension. It's called N Declension because the nouns add -n – not very difficult, you see. For Nominative the nouns have their regular form and for all other cases they get the ending -n.

This rule applies to all masculine nouns that end in -e and some masculine nouns that don't end in -e but that describe a person or animal. For example „der Junge“, „der Kollege“ and „der Deutsche“ all follow this rule. See for yourself below.

Nominative – der Junge

(Genitive – des Jungen)

Dative – dem Jungen

Accusative – den Jungen

One advantage is that these nouns will also add -n for plural, so at least you won't be worrying about their plural form.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Weißwurst is a traditional Bavarian specialty, a sausage made either of veal or pork. Weißwurst is prepared in the very early mornings and then eaten before lunch, maybe around brunchtime. For a traditional Weißwurstfrühstück you also need mustard, pretzels and some wheat beer. Bavaria: the only place where drinking beer for breakfast is culturally required!

Note that in all other parts of Germany, you'll receive weird looks for eating sausage for breakfast.

And it's said to be the sign of a drunkard to drink beer before 4 pm.

wollen

Das Modalverb „wollen“ ist ein unregelmäßiges Verb. Seine Konjugation im Präsens ist wie folgt:

ich will
du willst
er/ sie/ es will
wir wollen
ihr wollt
sie/Sie wollen

Bedeutung auf Englisch: want to
Beispiele:
Ich will Kaffee trinken. (I want to drink coffee.)
Willst du mitkommen? (Do you want to come with [me/us]?)
Wir wollen Deutsch perfekt sprechen. (We want to speak German perfectly.)

Ein Smalltalk auf Deutsch

Deutsch - German

Frau: Sagen Sie, woher kommen Sie denn?

Joe: Ich bin Kanadier, aber ich wohne in Washington.

Frau: Aaah. Und wie finden Sie München bis jetzt?

Joe: Bis jetzt finde ich München sehr gut. Ich mag die Stadt und die

Menschen. Alle sind sehr freundlich!

Frau: Schön! Und was werden Sie heute noch unternehmen?

Joe: Hmm, ich weiß noch nicht genau. Ich glaube, ich gehe auf ein Fest am Olympiaturm und dann noch in den Englischen Garten.

Frau: Oh, aber es soll doch später schlechtes Wetter geben!

Joe: Oh nein, wirklich?

Frau: Ja. Der Wetterbericht sagt für den Nachmittag Regen voraus.

Joe: Hmm, das ist aber nicht gut. Wenn es regnen soll, sind das Fest und der Englische Garten ja keine gute Idee….

Frau: Hmm, im Regen macht ein Fest ja auch keinen Spaß.

Joe: Das stimmt. Da haben Sie recht.

Frau: Vielleicht gehen Sie heute ins Museum oder gucken die Kirchen in der Stadtmitte an….

Joe: Ja, das klingt gut…..Und wissen Sie, wie das Wetter morgen werden soll?

Frau: Ja, morgen soll es nicht regnen. Soweit ich weiß, soll den ganzen Tag die Sonne scheinen.

Joe: Na, was für ein Glück!

Englisch - English

Woman: Say, where are you from?

Joe: I'm Canadian, but I live in Washington.

Woman: Ahh, and how do you find Munich so far?

Joe: Up to now, I find it quite good. I like the city and the people. Everyone is very friendly.

Woman: Great! And what are you still planning to do today?

Joe: Hmm, I don't know exactly. I think I'll go to a festival at the Olympic tower and then to the English garden.

Woman: Oh, but the weather is actually supposed to be horrible later.

Joe: Oh no, really?

Woman: Yes. The weather report predicts rain for the afternoon.

Joe: Hmm, that's not good. If it's supposed to rain, then the festival and the English garden are not good ideas.

Woman: Hmm, in the rain, the festival won't be any fun anyway.

Joe: It's true. You're right.

Woman: Maybe go to the museum today, or take a look at the churches in the city center.

Joe: Yes, that sounds good....and do you know what the weather is supposed to be like tomorrow?

Woman: Yes, tomorrow it's not supposed to rain. As far as I know, the sun is supposed to shine all day.

Joe: Well, how lucky!!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1 . „es soll geben“ is a variation of „es gibt“. „es gibt“ = there is; „es soll geben“ = there is

supposed to be

2 . Wetterbericht is a combination of Wetter (weather) and Bericht (report). A „weather report“

is a weather forecast.

3 . Stadtmitte is a combination of Stadt (city) and Mitte (middle). The middle of a city is the

city center.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is the usage of sollen

Morgen soll es nicht regnen

"It's not supposed to rain tomorrow"

We already looked at the conjugation of the modal verb „sollen“ in lesson 9. There we saw it in the meaning of „shall“ or „should“, as in „Soll ich Sie morgen früh wecken?“ (Should I wake you up tomorrow morning?).

„Sollen“ has another use though – it can mean „to be supposed to“, especially when talking about predictions that one has heard. Like in this dialog, where „sollen“ was used to relate the weather forecast. „Es soll regnen“ translates to „It is supposed to rain“. This is not limited to the weather of course, you could also relate things like „Die Museen sollen morgen kostenlos sein“. That sentence is not a desire for the museums to be free, but rather an announcement that you heard that they are supposed to be free tomorrow. Oh yes, do some internet research to find out about free museum days in your city.

We should also note that „sollen“ cannot be used for „I shall“ or „I will“. „Ich soll etwas tun“ can NOT mean „I shall do something“. Instead, it means „I am supposed to do something“, with the underlying sense of me being miffed that someone ordered me to do this. „Sollen“ retains that original sense of a moral imperative. In English, it used to be constricted to that meaning as well, as you can tell from the 10 Commandments.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

- Considerably less smalltalk in Germany, especially in professional relationships.

- Little talk about the weather even among friends „How are you?“ serves as a starter to hear about everything that is going on in people's lives, so don't be surprised if you get a longer answer.

Many people will also answer negatively to this question, especially some old people who take pride in enumerating their illnesses.

- Among friends, the news or the political situation can easily come up as a topic of discussion, it's not taboo and generally you expect everybody to be up-to-date with the basics of current events.

Eine Tageskarte kaufen

Deutsch - German

Joe: Ähm, Entschuldigung. Könnt ihr mir helfen?

Typ: Natürlich. Wobei denn?

Joe: Ich brauche eine Fahrkarte für die U-Bahn. Woher habt ihr denn eure Fahrkarten?

Typ: Fahrkarten gibt es da vorne am Automaten.

Joe: Ah, da ist der Automat.

Frau: Wissen Sie, wie Sie am Automaten Ihre Fahrkarte bekommen?

Joe: Hmm, nein, eigentlich nicht. Sonst kaufe ich meine Fahrkarte immer in einem Laden.

Frau: Okay, kommen Sie. Ich zeige es Ihnen schnell.

Joe: Oh, vielen Dank.

Frau: Also, wohin möchten Sie fahren?

Joe: Zuerst möchte ich zum Rosenheimer Platz fahren und später noch zur Giselastraße.

Frau: Hmm, ich glaube, dann sollten Sie eine Tageskarte kaufen.

Joe: Eine Tageskarte? Kann ich mit der Tageskarte den ganzen Tag fahren?

Frau: Ja genau. Die Karte gilt den ganzen Tag und Sie können mit allen Verkehrsmitteln fahren.

Joe: Oh, das ist gut! Und wie teuer ist die Tageskarte?

Frau: Wenn Sie nur im Innenraum fahren, kostet die Tageskarte 5,20€.

Joe: Oh, das ist ja super. Dann nehme ich natürlich eine Tageskarte.

Frau: Okay, dann drücken Sie einfach hier auf Tageskarte und dann auf Innenraum. Jetzt stecken Sie Ihr Geld in den Automaten …. Und da kommt Ihr Fahrschein!

Joe: Super! Danke!

Englisch - English

Joe: Um, excuse me. Can you help me?

Guy: Sure, with what?

Joe: I need a ticket for the subway. Where'd you get your ticket from?

Guy: Tickets are up from at the machine

Joe: Oh, there's the machine.

Woman: Do you know how to get a ticket from the machine?

Joe: Hmm, no, actually I don't. I usually buy my ticket in a store.

Woman: Okay, come on. I'll show you quickly.

Joe: Oh, thanks!

Woman: So, where would you like to go?

Joe: First I'd like to go to Rosenheimer square, and then later to Gisela street.

Woman: Hmm, then I think you should get a day pass.

Joe: A day pass? Can I ride the whole day with a day pass?

Woman: Yes, exactly. The ticket is good for the whole day, and you can take any means of transportation.

Joe: Oh, that's good! And how expensive is the day pass?

Woman: If you're only going in the city center, then the day pass costs €5.20

Joe: Oh, that's actually pretty good. Then I'll take a day pass.

Woman: Okay, then simply push here on day pass and then on city center. Now stick your money into the machine....and there's your ticket!

Joe: Super! Thanks!

Wortschatz- und Satzgebrauch - Vocabulary Phrase Usage

1. „wobei“ (at what) is derived from „bei“ of course, and the „wo“ doesn't mean anything here, it only

serves to make it a question word. You'll find lots of question words created that way, for example:

„womit“ (with what), „wofür“ (for what), „wogegen“ (against what) and so on. So why is that guy asking „Wobei können wir helfen?“ (literally „At what can we help?“). The reason is that Germans would use „bei“ to give a purpose, for example „bei der Reise helfen“ (help with the journey). In the end, saying „to help at something“ may be illogical, but „to help with something“ isn't much more logical either. It's something you have to get used to when learning languages.

2. sie sollten = you should. Just like "möchte", this is an advanced form that we'll explain later.

Grammatik - Grammar

The focus of this lesson is an overview of the possessive pronouns

Woher habt ihr den eure Tickets?

"Where did you get your tickets from?"

With this lesson, you've finally seen all possessive pronouns. Let's have an overview.

ich ? mein (my)

du ? dein (your, informally)

er / es ? sein (his, its)

sie ? ihr (her)

wir ? unser (our)

ihr ? euer (your, plural)

sie ? ihr (their)

Sie ? Ihr (your, formally)

If you look at this table in the lesson notes, there is an important thing to note. It is that „ihr“ is used an awful lot, for „her“, „their“ and „your (formally). However, strangely enough, it is NOT used for „you plural“. The personal pronoun for „you plural“ is „ihr“, but the pronoun showing possession is „euer“.

Also, note that „sein“ is used for both „his“ and „its“, and it's not related to the verb „sein“.

Kultureller Einblick - Cultural Insight

Joe is staying in Munich's inner city, but we will leave it behind and explore the outskirts, the suburbs.

In German residential areas, depending on what an area you are in, you will see everything from detached houses with gardens in front of them to apartment buildings with smallish playgrounds in the backyard. The rather narrow streets always have sidewalks and most of the time a separated bicycle path, too.

Small shops selling products of everyday life, barbers, bakeries and some small supermarkets in the nearer surroundings make sure you don´t have to go far to get everything you need, whereas the really large supermarkets, do-it-yourself stores and so on usually are a small distance outside of the residential area nearer to the town center. Elementary schools and kindergartens are also often found near the residential areas, sometimes even directly inside of them.

As there are several different types of secondary schools, they need to be more centered so everyone can reach them as easy as possible. Therefore they are usually near the town center or at least somewhere you can easily go by bus from most suburbs and the surrounding area. Churches are usually spread all over town, if you are in a rather old and/or small city there´s usually a single church in the town center and maybe a few in the suburbs. This is a relic of medieval times, when “city” just meant a few houses standing near one another and the church marked the center.