Notes on Grammar
Notes on Grammar
(For Home Study)
A. Nouns and Specifiers
I. Plural Forms
It is very simple to form the plural of most English nouns; we simply "add an s". There are a few exceptional forms, like feet, and mice and sheep, but generally we have the s-plural.
German, unfortunately for the student, has half a dozen different noun plural forms. Here are some examples from the basic sentences you have memorized:
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Die Zigarren kosten zwei Mark. | The cigars cost two marks. | | Ich habe nur diese zwei Koffer. | I have only these two suitcases. | | Herr Allen stellt die Herren vor. | Mr. Allen introduces the gentlemen. | | Meine Bücher sind leider noch unterwegs. | My books are still on the way, unfortunately. | | Ich muss einige Briefe schreiben. | I have to write some letters. |
If we now compare the singular forms of the above nouns, we can show what is changed or added to distinguish the plural:
| Singular | Plural | Note | |----------|--------|------| | Zigarre | Zigarren | -n has been added to the singular. | | Koffer | Koffer | Nothing has been added or changed. | | Herr | Herren | -en has been added to the (nominative) singular. (We recall that there is also a non-nominative singular form Herrn with the distinctive ending -n.) | | Buch | Bücher | -er has been added to the singular, and there is a change in the stem vowel. | | Brief | Briefe | -e has been added to the singular. |
An additional common plural form which has not occurred in the basic sentences is given below:
| Singular | Plural | Note | |----------|--------|------| | Auto | Autos | -s has been added to the singular. |
Note that in some cases a change in the stem vowel has taken place. This is similar to the change in the stem vowel of some verbs noted in Unit 2: ich fahre, but er fährt. Germans call this kind of sound change UMLAUT, and you will frequently hear it referred to by the German term.
Note also that there is no differentiation in the plural between der-nouns, das-nouns and die-nouns. The plural SPECIFIER forms are the same regardless of whether they occur with a der-noun, das-noun or die-noun (see Units 3 and 4).
We can now re-arrange and expand the list to include all the noun plural types of frequent occurrence. We shall add the specifiers and also show how the plural is usually indicated in vocabulary listings.
| | Singular | Plural | Listed | |---|---|---|---| | a) No change from the singular: | der Koffer | die Koffer | der Koffer, -- | | (often with umlaut of stem vowel) | der Flughafen | die Flughäfen | der Flughafen, :- | | b) Add -e to the singular: | der Brief | die Briefe | der Brief, -e | | (often with umlaut of stem vowel) | der Pass | die Pässe | der Pass, :-e | | c) Add -er to the singular: | das Geld | die Gelder | das Geld, -er | | (often with umlaut of stem vowel) | das Buch | die Bücher | das Buch, :-er | | d) Add -en to the (nominative) sing: | die Frau | die Frauen | die Frau, -en | | (Some nouns also add -n or -en to form the non-nominative sing) | der Herr | die Herren | der Herr, -n, -en | | e) Add -n to the (nominative) sing: | die Zigarre | die Zigarren | die Zigarre, -n | | f) Add -s to the singular: | das Auto | die Autos | das Auto, -s |
An -n is added to the dative plural form of all nouns in groups a), b) and c). Nouns in groups d) and e) already have a final -n and nouns in group f) do not add an -n.
Umlaut of the stem vowel occurs rather haphazardly, so that you are going to have to learn the plural for each noun as you encounter it. However, in group c) we can say that umlaut will occur with every noun whose stem vowel is -a-, -o- or -u-.
Nouns with the final syllable -in double the -n before the plural ending -en in group d).
A very few foreign words have irregular plural endings. Das Museum drops the final -um and replaces it by the -en ending of group d): die Museen. Das Visum has the plural die Visen or die Visa. Der Neubau inserts a -t- before the -en ending of group d).
Here is a list of nouns which have occurred in the first five units grouped according to the way their plurals are formed:
a) plural --
plural :- der Amerikaner der Flughafen die Mutter der Koffer der Bruder die Tochter der Füller der Vater der Wagen der Ober der Morgen der Wachtmeister der Ratskeller der Fragebogen der Bremer der Raucher der Schriftsteller das Essen das Theater b) plural -e
plural :-e der Tag der Pass die Stadt der Brief der Bahnhof die Hand der Monat der Platz der Bleistift der Stadtplan der Besuch der Spaziergang der Wein der Zoll der Augenblick der Parkplatz der Omnibus (Omnibusse) der Antrag der Autobus (Autobusse) der Dom der Abend der Papierkorb der Sonntag der Markt der Geschäftsbrief der Roman der Pfennig der Umweg der Ausweis das Geschäft das Jahr das Konsulat das Brot das Bier das Formular das Papiergeschäft das Generalkonsulat c) plural -er
plural :-er das Geld das Buch der Mann das Haus das Glas das Rathaus das Schloss das Streichholz das Etagenhaus d) plural -en
der Diplomat die Frau der Herr die Botschaft der Polizist die Wohnung der Staat die Strassenbahn der Neubau (die Neubauten) die Bank das Museum (die Museen) die Zeitung das Visum (die Visen)* die Abteilung die Tür die Bibliothek die Amerikanerin die Universität die Verabredung die Gemahlin die Sekretärin
* or die Visa
**e) plural -n**
| | |
|---|---|
| der Konsul | die Minute |
| der Vizekonsul | die Stunde |
| der Beamte | die Pfeife |
| der Bekannte | die Deutsche |
| der Deutsche | die Zigarre |
| der Kollege | die Zigarette |
| der Angehörige | die Kontrolle |
| die Dame | die Taxe |
| die Strasse | die Seite |
| die Adresse | die Haltestelle |
| die Ecke | die Idee |
| die Briefmarke | die Tante |
| die Schreibmaschine | die Etage |
| die Reise | die Schwester |
| die Woche | |
**f) plural -s**
| |
|---|
| der Park |
| der Portier |
| das Auto |
| das Café |
| das Kino |
| das Restaurant |
| das Hotel |
II. Genitive Forms
- In addition to the plural in this unit we have encountered some other new forms of nouns and specifiers:
| | German | English | |---|---|---| | a) | Wilsons haben eine Wohnung im ersten Stock eines Etagenhauses in Frankfurt. | The Wilsons have an apartment on the second floor of an apartment house in Frankfurt. | | b) | Die Angehörigen meiner Frau leben hier. | My wife's family lives here. | | c) | Möchten Sie sich mal eins meiner Bücher leihen? | Would you like to borrow one of my books? | | d) | Hier ist ein Roman des französischen Schriftstellers Cocteau. | Here is a novel of the French author Cocteau. | | e) | Ist das nicht die neue Sekretärin unseres Kollegen Smith? | Isn't she our colleague Smith's new secretary? |
The underlined forms of the noun and specifier in the sentences are called GENITIVE forms. They indicate possessive relationships — the kind of relationships that are designated in English by the -'s (or -s') ending, and by the preposition of. The GENITIVE is the fourth form, along with Nominative, Accusative and Dative forms, which German nouns and specifiers can have. There are no other distinctive forms of nouns and specifiers.
- Let us compare the Genitive forms in the above sentences with the corresponding Nominative forms and see what features distinguish them:
| | Genitive | Nominative | Note | |---|---|---|---| | a) | eines Etagenhauses | ein Etagenhaus | The specifier and the noun both have the ending -es added to the Nominative form. | | b) | meiner Frau | meine Frau | The specifier has the ending -er instead of -e; the noun has the same form as the Nominative. | | c) | meiner Bücher | meine Bücher | The specifier has the ending -er instead of -e; the noun has the same form as the Nominative. | | d) | des Schriftstellers | der Schriftsteller | The specifier ends in -s instead of -r; -s is added to the noun. | | e) | unseres Kollegen | der Kollege | The specifier has the ending -es added to the Nominative form; -n is added to the noun. |
Note that in three cases — a), d) and e) above — the NOUN has a distinct Genitive form which differs from the Nominative form. In two cases — b) and c) above — the NOUN has the same form.
Note that in a), d) and e) the SPECIFIER has the ending -s (or -es). In b) and c) the SPECIFIER has the ending -er.
Let us now summarize what we have observed about Genitive forms:
a) SPECIFIERS with der-nouns and das-nouns in the Genitive have the ending -s (or -es). Both the der-type and the ein-type Specifiers have the same endings: des, dieses, eines, unseres.
b) der-NOUNS and das-NOUNS in the Genitive have the ending -s or -es: Hauses, Schriftstellers. A few der-nouns have the ending -n or -en: Kollegen, Herrn, Diplomaten, Polizisten, Beamten, Bekannten.
c) The SPECIFIERS of die-nouns and plural nouns have the ending -er in place of the Nominative ending -e (or -ie): der, dieser, meiner, ihrer.
d) die-NOUNS and plural NOUNS in the Genitive have the same form as in the Nominative: Frau, Bank, Banken, Bücher, Bleistifte.
- Here for reference and comparison are some typical Genitive forms:
| | Singular | Plural | |---|---|---| | a) Genitive of der-nouns | des Platzes | der Plätze | | | des Omnibusses | der Omnibusse | | | dieses Polizisten | dieser Polizisten | | | meines Briefes | meiner Briefe | | b) Genitive of das-nouns | des Jahres | der Jahre | | | des Konsulats | der Konsulate | | | dieses Hauses | dieser Häuser | | | ihres Buches | ihrer Bücher | | c) Genitive of die-nouns | der Dame | der Damen | | | dieser Bank | dieser Banken | | | unserer Schwester | unserer Schwestern |
Note that der- and das-nouns ending in the sounds [s], [ts], [z] and [š] have the ending -es, as for example des Passes, des Platzes, des Hauses and des Tisches. Note also that the writing system requires the sound [s] to be written -ss- when non-final: Omnibusses, Omnibusse.
Otherwise, der- and das-nouns of more than one syllable have -s, as for example des Konsulats, while monosyllabic der- and das-nouns have either -s or -es, whichever the speaker prefers; you will hear both des Domes and des Doms, des Staats and des Staates.
Proper names have an -s (or -es) ending: Peters Haus, Marias Tochter, Herrn Meyers Wagen.
You will note that the Genitive form of the specifier and noun generally follow the noun or pronoun with which a possessive relationship is indicated, as in the examples of paragraph 1:
German English im ersten Stock eines Etagenhauses on the second floor of an apartment house die Angehörigen meiner Frau my wife's family ein Roman des französischen Schriftstellers a novel of the French author Proper names in the Genitive, however, usually precede the noun designating the thing possessed:
German English Kennen Sie Peters Frau? Do you know Peter's wife? Ist das Herrn Beckers Wagen? Is that Mr. Becker's car? Nein, das ist Marias Wagen. No, that's Mary's car. There is one personal pronoun which has a Genitive form: wer? "who" has the Genitive form wessen? "whose"
German English Wessen Auto ist das? Whose car is that? Wessen Sohn kennen Sie? Whose son do you know?
III. Summary of Specifier Forms
- We have now encountered all the Specifier forms, both the ein-type and the der-type. The following gives a complete summary of the forms:
a) With der-type specifiers
| | Singular | Plural | |---|---|---| | Nom | der Sohn | die Söhne | | Acc | den Sohn | die Söhne | | Dat | dem Sohn | den Söhnen | | Gen | des Sohnes | der Söhne | | | | | | Nom | welches Theater | welche Theater | | Acc | welches Theater | welche Theater | | Dat | welchem Theater | welchen Theatern | | Gen | welches Theaters | welcher Theater | | | | | | Nom | diese Wohnung | diese Wohnungen | | Acc | diese Wohnung | diese Wohnungen | | Dat | dieser Wohnung | diesen Wohnungen | | Gen | dieser Wohnung | dieser Wohnungen |
b) With ein-type specifiers
| | Singular | Plural | |---|---|---| | Nom | sein Brief | seine Briefe | | Acc | seinen Brief | seine Briefe | | Dat | seinem Brief | seinen Briefen | | Gen | seines Briefes | seiner Briefe | | | | | | Nom | seiner | seine | (Referring to der Brief) | | Acc | seinen | seine | | | Dat | seinem | seinen | | | Gen | seines | seiner | | | | | | | Nom | ihr Auto | ihre Autos | | Acc | ihr Auto | ihre Autos | | Dat | ihrem Auto | ihren Autos | | Gen | ihres Autos | ihrer Autos | | | | | | Nom | ihrs | ihre | (Referring to das Auto) | | Acc | ihrs | ihre | | | Dat | ihrem | ihren | | | Gen | ihres | ihrer | | | | | | | Nom | unsere Botschaft | unsere Botschaften | | Acc | unsere Botschaft | unsere Botschaften | | Dat | unserer Botschaft | unseren Botschaften | | Gen | unserer Botschaft | unserer Botschaften | | | | | | Nom | unsere | unsere | (Referring to die Botschaft) | | Acc | unsere | unsere | | | Dat | unserer | unseren | | | Gen | unserer | unserer | |
- The ein-type specifiers are listed both with and without a following noun. The SPECIAL ein-type specifier forms which occur only when no noun follows the specifier are underlined.
B. Reflexive Pronouns
I.
In many sentences the object of the verb, the thing or person acted upon, is the same as the subject or actor. We say, for example, in English:
Mr. Wilson introduced himself. or She thinks a good deal of herself, doesn't she?
The identity of subject and object in English is indicated by adding the suffix -self to the pronoun designating the object. Pronouns of this kind are called REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS.
II. The German Reflexive Pronoun
- In German, as in English, the subject and object of a verb may be the same. Note the following examples from your basic sentences:
| | German | English | |---|---|---| | a) | Meine Frau kann sich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen. | My wife can't get ('herself') used to the climate. | | b) | Darf ich mir mal Ihre leihen? | May I borrow ('lend myself') yours? | | c) | Möchten Sie sich mal eins meiner Bücher leihen? | Would you like to borrow one of my books? |
In sentence a) the object of the verb refers to the same person as the subject and has the form sich. In sentence b) the interested bystander or indirect object of the verb is the same person as the subject and has the form mir. In sentence c) the indirect object of the verb is the same person as the subject and has the form sich.
- German has only one REFLEXIVE PRONOUN, the form sich, meaning 'himself, herself, itself, yourself, yourselves, themselves'. It occurs wherever the subject of the verb is er, sie, Sie, or es or is a noun which can be replaced by er, sie, Sie, or es.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Herr Allen kann sich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen. | Mr. Allen can't get ('himself') used to the climate. | | Herr Allen und seine Frau können sich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen. | Mr. Allen and his wife can't get ('themselves') used to the climate. | | Können Sie sich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen? | Can't you get ('yourself') used to the climate? |
- The REFLEXIVE PRONOUN sich may function either as the object or as the interested bystander in a sentence. We might say it can have either an Accusative or Dative function. Compare the sentences in 2 above with the following:
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Möchten Sie sich ein Buch leihen? | Would you like to borrow ('lend yourself') a book? | | Er möchte sich ein Buch leihen. | He would like to borrow ('lend himself') a book. |
- Wherever the subject of the sentence is ich or wir or is a noun which can be replaced by ich or wir German uses the regular pronoun forms mich, mir and uns.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Ich kann mich nicht an das Klima gewöhnen. | I can't get ('myself') used to the climate. | | Meine Frau und ich können uns nicht an das Klima gewöhnen. | My wife and I can't get ('ourselves') used to the climate. | | Darf ich mir Ihre Zeitung leihen? | May I borrow ('lend myself') your newspaper? | | Wir möchten uns gern einige Bücher leihen. | We'd like to borrow ('lend ourselves') some books. |
- The object of a preposition can also refer to the same person as the subject in a sentence.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Er spricht immer nur von sich. | He always talks only about himself. | | Ich spreche nicht gern von mir. | I don't like to talk about myself. |
Whenever the subject of the sentence is er, sie, Sie or es or is a noun which can be replaced by er, sie, Sie or es the REFLEXIVE PRONOUN form sich occurs as a prepositional object referring to the same person as the subject.
Wherever the subject of the sentence is ich or wir or is a noun which can be replaced by ich or wir German uses the regular pronoun forms mich, mir and uns after prepositions in order to refer to the same person as the subject.