Notes on Grammar

(For Home Study)

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A. Pronouns - Forms and Functions

I. Forms

1. In the following English sentences the pronouns are underlined. Note their forms.

   I know him and he knows me. Do you know her? She knows you.

   Most English pronouns have two different forms: I–me, he–him, she–her, etc. Some, like the pronouns you and it, have only one form however.

2. Note the forms of the German pronouns in the following sentences.

   Verstehen Sie mich? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Do you understand me?
   Ja, ich verstehe Sie gut. ▶Normal ▶Slow	Yes, I understand you well.
   Wie geht es Ihnen? ▶Normal ▶Slow	How goes it with-regard-to-you? (How are you?)
   Er spricht englisch mit mir. ▶Normal ▶Slow	He speaks English with me.

   Some German pronouns have two different forms, like Sie and Ihnen above. Many German pronouns however have three different forms like ich, mich and mir above.

3. The following table gives the forms of the most common German pronouns:

   	'I'	'we'	'he'	'it'	'she'	'they'	'you'	'who?'	'what?'
   a. NOMINATIVE	ich ▶Normal ▶Slow	wir ▶Normal ▶Slow	er ▶Normal ▶Slow	es ▶Normal ▶Slow	sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	Sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	wer ▶Normal ▶Slow	was ▶Normal ▶Slow

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   b. ACCUSATIVE	mich ▶Normal ▶Slow	uns ▶Normal ▶Slow	ihn ▶Normal ▶Slow	es ▶Normal ▶Slow	sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	Sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	wen ▶Normal ▶Slow	was ▶Normal ▶Slow
   c. DATIVE	mir ▶Normal ▶Slow	uns ▶Normal ▶Slow	ihm ▶Normal ▶Slow	ihm ▶Normal ▶Slow	ihr ▶Normal ▶Slow	ihnen ▶Normal ▶Slow	Ihnen ▶Normal ▶Slow	wem ▶Normal ▶Slow
   	'me'	'us'	'him'	'it'	'her'	'them'	'you'	'(whom?)'	'what?'

   The English forms at the top of the table correspond to the set of German forms above the line. Those at the bottom of the table correspond to the two sets of German forms below the line. The pronouns wer and was are used only in questions. The pronouns for familiar address, du and ihr, will be taken up later.

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II. Functions

1. The NOMINATIVE form: In German, as in English, the basic sentence structure is an ACTOR–ACTION pattern: somebody doing something. The ACTOR is called the SUBJECT of the sentence, and in German a pronoun designating the ACTOR always has the NOMINATIVE form.

   Ich verstehe sehr gut. ▶Normal ▶Slow	I understand very well.
   Er wohnt ganz in meiner Nähe. ▶Normal ▶Slow	He lives quite near me.
   Wir wollen gerade essen gehen. ▶Normal ▶Slow	We're just planning to go eat.

2. The ACCUSATIVE form: In many sentences in both English and German there is another element, the GOAL or OBJECT of the action, the person or thing toward which the action is aimed. In German a pronoun designating the OBJECT of an action is usually in the ACCUSATIVE form.

   Ich kenne ihn sehr gut. ▶Normal ▶Slow	I know him very well.
   Verstehen Sie mich? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Do you understand me?
   Wir treffen sie dort. ▶Normal ▶Slow	We're meeting them (or her) there.

3. The DATIVE form: The third form of the German pronoun is used to designate the INTERESTED BYSTANDER, the person to whom or for whom or with regard to whom the action of the sentence is being performed. In some cases this is referred to as the INDIRECT OBJECT.

   Können Sie mir seine Adresse geben? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Can you give me his address?
   Sie müssen ihm Ihren Pass zeigen. ▶Normal ▶Slow	You have to show your passport to him.
   Wie geht es Ihnen? ▶Normal ▶Slow	How are you? (How goes it with-regard-to-you?)
   Gefällt es Ihnen in München? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Do you like it in Munich? (Is it pleasing to you in Munich?)
   Der Koffer gehört mir nicht. ▶Normal ▶Slow	The suitcase doesn't belong to me.

4. Another use of the DATIVE form is illustrated by the following sentences you have learned:

   Sprechen Sie englisch mit ihr? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Do you speak English with her?
   Ich fahre oft mit ihm nach Hause. ▶Normal ▶Slow	I often ride home with him.

   The DATIVE forms ihr and ihm are used here because they follow the word mit, and that's all there is to it. Any pronoun that follows mit has the DATIVE form, always and without fail. This has nothing to do with the INTERESTED BYSTANDER usage; it's something entirely different.

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B. The Principle of Substitution

1. Languages, like automobiles, are made up of replaceable parts; but the part you substitute must fit the frame into which it is put. For example, in the frame Er kennt mich 'He knows me', the Accusative form mich may be replaced only by other Accusative forms - that is, forms from the same horizontal line in the table of pronoun forms as mich, the line labeled 'ACCUSATIVE forms'.

   Er kennt mich. ▶Normal ▶Slow	He knows me.
   uns ▶Normal ▶Slow	us
   ihn ▶Normal ▶Slow	him
   es ▶Normal ▶Slow	it
   sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	her
   sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	them
   Sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	you
   wen? ▶Normal ▶Slow	who(m)?

2. Similarly, Dative forms must be replaced by other Dative forms, and Nominative forms by other Nominative forms.

   Ich gehe oft ins Kino mit ihr. ▶Normal ▶Slow	I often go to the movies with her.
   ihm ▶Normal ▶Slow	him
   ihnen ▶Normal ▶Slow	them

   Kennen Sie Herrn Becker? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Do you know Mr. Becker?
   wir ▶Normal ▶Slow	we
   sie ▶Normal ▶Slow	they

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C. Verb Forms and Functions - The Present

I. Forms

1. In German, and in English, when you substitute one Nominative form for another, that is, change the SUBJECT in a sentence, you sometimes have to change the form of the verb as well. The subject and the verb have to fit together. Note the following English forms:

   I, you, we, they	sing	do	(no ending)
   he, it, she	sings	does	(ending –s)

2. All but a very few German verbs have the following forms:

   ich ▶Normal ▶Slow	komme ▶Normal ▶Slow	gebe ▶Normal ▶Slow	(ending –e)
   er, es, sie	kommt ▶Normal ▶Slow	gibt ▶Normal ▶Slow	(ending –t)
   wir sie Sie	kommen ▶Normal ▶Slow	geben ▶Normal ▶Slow	(ending –en)

   Note that German verbs have a special form with the pronoun ich. Otherwise the pronouns and verbs are grouped as they are in English: er, es, sie occur with one verb form just as 'he, it and she' and wir, sie, Sie with another verb form just as 'we, they, you.' Notice that the vowel in the STEM of geben appears as i in the er-form: er gibt. There are several verbs in German that have this kind of irregular er-form, but unfortunately there is no simple way of determining which verbs they are. They are not very numerous however, and we'll point them out to you as we encounter them.

3. Two German verbs you have encountered show a very slight modification in the er-form. They are arbeiten and kosten.

   er, es, sie

   arbeitet ▶Normal ▶Slow

   (connecting vowel –e– and ending –t)

   After a –t– (or a –d–) a connecting vowel –e– occurs before the ending –t so that the ending is heard distinctly.

4. We have four verbs so far that exhibit the following pattern:

   	'can' / 'be able to'	'may' / 'be allowed to'	'must' / 'have to'	'want to'
   ich er es sie	kann ▶Normal ▶Slow	darf ▶Normal ▶Slow	muss ▶Normal ▶Slow	will ▶Normal ▶Slow	(no ending)
   wir sie Sie	können ▶Normal ▶Slow	dürfen ▶Normal ▶Slow	müssen ▶Normal ▶Slow	wollen ▶Normal ▶Slow	(ending –en)

   There are three more verbs with the same pattern, making a total of seven in all. Notice that the English equivalents of the verbs listed above have no –s ending in the he form: He can, he may, he must, and he will (in the sense of he insists.)

5. The following forms of haben "to have", sein "to be" and möchte(n) "would like to" complete the inventory:

   ich ▶Normal ▶Slow	habe ▶Normal ▶Slow	bin ▶Normal ▶Slow	möchte ▶Normal ▶Slow
   er, es, sie	hat ▶Normal ▶Slow	ist ▶Normal ▶Slow	möchte ▶Normal ▶Slow
   wir, sie, Sie	haben ▶Normal ▶Slow	sind ▶Normal ▶Slow	möchten ▶Normal ▶Slow

   The patterns of the first two of these verbs are unique and are found in no other German verbs. The forms möchte and möchten are special forms which we will deal with somewhat later.

6. Here is a table of verb forms:

   	A	B	(7)	(1)	(1)	special form
   ich ▶Normal ▶Slow	komme ▶Normal ▶Slow	treffe ▶Normal ▶Slow	kann ▶Normal ▶Slow	habe ▶Normal ▶Slow	bin ▶Normal ▶Slow	möchte ▶Normal ▶Slow
   er, es, sie	kommt ▶Normal ▶Slow	trifft ▶Normal ▶Slow		hat ▶Normal ▶Slow	ist ▶Normal ▶Slow
   wir, sie, Sie	kommen ▶Normal ▶Slow	treffen ▶Normal ▶Slow	können ▶Normal ▶Slow	haben ▶Normal ▶Slow	sind ▶Normal ▶Slow	möchten ▶Normal ▶Slow

   All verbs in German follow pattern A or pattern B except the nine indicated in the table and one more that is still to come.

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II. Functions

1. English uses a verb form with the ending –ing very freely: he's singing, we're waiting, it's raining. German has no corresponding form and uses the simple form of the verb for such expressions.

   he gives he's giving he does give	er gibt ▶Normal ▶Slow
   is he giving? does he give?	gibt er? ▶Normal ▶Slow

2. For COMMANDS, German uses the verb form with the ending –en, followed by the pronoun Sie. The German form is like Biblical English: 'Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel...'

   Bitte sprechen Sie langsam. ▶Normal ▶Slow	Please speak slowly.
   Zeigen Sie mir bitte Ihr Gepäck. ▶Normal ▶Slow	Show me your luggage please.

3. Two verb forms can be used together in German or in English as a VERB PHRASE. Although German doesn't have verb phrases like is going or does believe, it has others, as follows:

   Ich möchte gern Wasser haben. ▶Normal ▶Slow	I'd like to have water.
   Können Sie mich gut verstehen? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Can you understand me well?
   Darf ich Ihren Pass sehen? ▶Normal ▶Slow	May I see your passport?
   Sie müssen zum Zoll gehen. ▶Normal ▶Slow	You have to go to the customs office.

   The second part of the German verb phrase comes at the end of the sentence, and is called the INFINITIVE. It is the form with the ending –en, but it never has a subject and is unaffected by any change of subject: Ich kann gehen. Wir können gehen. There is only one irregular infinitive in German: sein 'to be'; the infinitive of every other verb is the same as the wir-form.

III. List of Verbs in Units 1 and 2

1. Pattern A

arbeite ▶Normal ▶Slow	besuche ▶Normal ▶Slow	bleibe ▶Normal ▶Slow	gehe ▶Normal ▶Slow
arbeitet ▶Normal ▶Slow	besucht ▶Normal ▶Slow	bleibt ▶Normal ▶Slow	geht ▶Normal ▶Slow
arbeiten ▶Normal ▶Slow	besuchen ▶Normal ▶Slow	bleiben ▶Normal ▶Slow	gehen ▶Normal ▶Slow

gehöre ▶Normal ▶Slow	glaube ▶Normal ▶Slow	heiße ▶Normal ▶Slow	kenne ▶Normal ▶Slow
gehört ▶Normal ▶Slow	glaubt ▶Normal ▶Slow	heißt ▶Normal ▶Slow	kennt ▶Normal ▶Slow
gehören ▶Normal ▶Slow	glauben ▶Normal ▶Slow	heißen ▶Normal ▶Slow	kennen ▶Normal ▶Slow

komme ▶Normal ▶Slow	(koste) ▶Normal ▶Slow	sage ▶Normal ▶Slow	verstehe ▶Normal ▶Slow	wohne ▶Normal ▶Slow	zeige ▶Normal ▶Slow
kommt ▶Normal ▶Slow	kostet ▶Normal ▶Slow	sagt ▶Normal ▶Slow	versteht ▶Normal ▶Slow	wohnt ▶Normal ▶Slow	zeigt ▶Normal ▶Slow
kommen ▶Normal ▶Slow	kosten ▶Normal ▶Slow	sagen ▶Normal ▶Slow	verstehen ▶Normal ▶Slow	wohnen ▶Normal ▶Slow	zeigen ▶Normal ▶Slow

2. Pattern B

esse ▶Normal ▶Slow	gebe ▶Normal ▶Slow	sehe ▶Normal ▶Slow	spreche ▶Normal ▶Slow	treffe ▶Normal ▶Slow	fahre ▶Normal ▶Slow	gefalle ▶Normal ▶Slow
isst ▶Normal ▶Slow	gibt ▶Normal ▶Slow	sieht ▶Normal ▶Slow	spricht ▶Normal ▶Slow	trifft ▶Normal ▶Slow	fährt ▶Normal ▶Slow	gefällt ▶Normal ▶Slow
essen ▶Normal ▶Slow	geben ▶Normal ▶Slow	sehen ▶Normal ▶Slow	sprechen ▶Normal ▶Slow	treffen ▶Normal ▶Slow	fahren ▶Normal ▶Slow	gefallen ▶Normal ▶Slow

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D. Hin and her

Wo wohnen Sie? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Where do you live?
Wo kommen Sie her? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Where do you come from?
Wo gehen Sie hin? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Where are you going (to)?

1. Wo by itself means 'where?' in the sense of 'in what place?'. To give it the meaning 'where from?' the little word her is added; to give it the meaning 'where to?' the little word hin is added.

2. The position of hin and her is usually at the end of the sentence or question. They may occur alternately however at the beginning after wo. The writing system joins hin and her to the preceding question word or adverb. Woher? 'Where from?'; Wohin? 'Where to?'; dahin, dorthin 'to there'.

   Wo fahren Sie heute hin? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Where are you going today?
   Wohin fahren Sie heute? ▶Normal ▶Slow	Where are you going today?
   Wir fahren dorthin. ▶Normal ▶Slow	We are going (to) there.