Notes on Grammar
Notes on Grammar
(For Home Study)
A. Verb Forms in Familiar Speech
I.
German has three different words for you.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Wollen Sie nicht Platz nehmen, Herr Allen? | Won't you sit down, Mr. Allen? |
| Maria, du kennst doch Herrn Becker, nicht wahr? | Maria, you know Mr. Becker, don't you? |
| Geht ihr hin? | Are you going? |
The different words for you in German indicate different situations and different social relationships. Sie indicates a formal relationship between the speaker and the person or persons addressed. There is no distinction between singular and plural. Du indicates a familiar or intimate relationship, but where only one person is addressed. Ihr indicates that two or more people are being addressed with whom the speaker is on familiar or intimate terms.
Outside of the family circle itself the familiar forms are used only with very close friends. Most Germans regard this relationship in a very special light and do not enter into it lightly after childhood years. The use of the familiar du and ihr forms is very much more restricted among Germans than the use of first names among Americans, for instance. The familiar forms are used by all adults in talking to children below the age of puberty, however. They are also used with animals and in addressing the deity.
II.
New verb forms are also used with the familiar words for you.
- The form of the verb with du is found from the er-form in the following ways:
a. In verbs whose er-form ends in -t, the final -t is replaced by -st.
| er-form | du-form | |---------|---------| | er komm-t | du komm-st | | er fähr-t | du fähr-st | | er ha-t | du ha-st | | er arbeit-e-t | du arbeit-e-st | | er find-e-t | du find-e-st |
Notice that the connecting vowel -e- is generally retained in the du-form when it occurs in the er-form (after -d- or -t-), although it is sometimes lost in rapid speech.
Remember that final -b or -g in er-form stems have the sounds of [p] or [k]:
| er-form | Sound | du-form | Sound | |---------|-------|---------|-------| | er gib-t | "gip-t" | du gib-st | "gip-st" | | er leg-t | "lek-t" | du leg-st | "lek-st" |
b. In verbs whose er-form ending -t is preceded by -s- or -z-, the -s- of the du-form ending is lost, so that in these cases the du-form turns out to be identical with the er-form.
| er-form | du-form | |---------|---------| | er lies-t | du lies-t | | er läss-t | du läss-t | | er sitz-t | du sitz-t | | er heiss-t | du heiss-t | | er vergiss-t | du vergiss-t |
c. In verbs whose er-form does not end in -t, -st is added.
| er-form | du-form | |---------|---------| | er will | du will-st | | er kann | du kann-st | | er soll | du soll-st | | er darf | du darf-st | | er möchte | du möchte-st |
Note however that the -s- of the du-form ending is lost after a preceding -s-.
| er-form | du-form | |---------|---------| | er muss | du muss-t | | er weiss | du weiss-t |
d. The following du- and er-forms show irregularities.
| er-form | du-form | |---------|---------| | er ist | du bist | | er wird | du wirst | | er hält | du hältst |
- The form of the verb with ihr is arrived at as follows:
a. The -en ending of the wir-form is replaced by -t in most verbs.
| wir-form | ihr-form | |----------|----------| | wir komm-en | ihr komm-t | | wir les-en | ihr les-t | | wir müss-en | ihr müss-t | | wir besuch-en | ihr besuch-t | | wir arbeit-en | ihr arbeit-e-t |
Notice that a connecting vowel appears here also after -d- or -t-. Remember that stems ending in -b or -g will have the sounds [b] and [g] in the wir-form before the ending -en, but will have the sounds [p] and [k] in the ihr-form before the ending -t:
| wir-form | Sound | ihr-form | Sound | |----------|-------|----------|-------| | wir geb-en | "geb-en" | ihr geb-t | "gep-t" | | wir trag-en | "trag-en" | ihr trag-t | "trak-t" |
b. There is one irregular form.
| wir-form | ihr-form | |----------|----------| | wir sind | ihr seid |
III.
There are three COMMAND or IMPERATIVE forms in German corresponding to the three words for you.
- In situations where the word for you is Sie the COMMAND form consists of the verb form ending in -en followed by the pronoun Sie.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Grüssen Sie bitte Ihre Frau Gemahlin. | Please give my regards to Mrs. Allen. | | Herr Ober, bringen Sie mir bitte Kalbsleber mit Kartoffelpüree und Apfelmus. | Waiter, please bring me calves' liver with mashed potatoes and apple sauce. |
Note that the Sie-COMMAND form of the verb sein is irregular:
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Seien Sie ruhig! | Be quiet! |
- In situations where the word for you is ihr the COMMAND form consists of the ihr-form of the verb alone, with no pronoun following.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Kommt doch heute abend zu uns! | Do come over and see us tonight! | | Vergesst eure Bücher nicht! | Don't forget your books! | | Seid bitte um vier Uhr bei uns! | Be at our house at four o'clock, now! |
- In situations where the word for you is du a special COMMAND form is used with no pronoun following.
a. For the majority of German verbs this special COMMAND form is the same as the infinitive or wir-form STEM, that is, the infinitive or wir-form minus the ending -en.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Beeil' dich, Klaus! | Hurry up, Klaus! | | Lass dir die Haare schneiden. | Get your hair cut. | | Lauf', damit du nicht zu spät kommst. | Run, so you won't be late. | | Hol' mich dort um eins ab. | Pick me up there at one. |
This COMMAND form alternatively has an ending -e which is often written or is indicated in the writing system by an apostrophe as above but is not spoken by most Germans.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Beeile dich. | Hurry up. | | Hole mich in einer Stunde ab. | Pick me up in an hour. |
b. For a few verbs the COMMAND form regularly has the ending -e added to the infinitive or wir-form stem. These are verbs whose stems end in -t or -d or in an unstressed syllable.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Entschuldige, dass ich störe. | Excuse me for disturbing you. | | Arbeite nicht so viel! | Don't work so much! |
c. In verbs like sprechen and lesen whose STEM sometimes has the vowel -e- and sometimes -i- (or -ie-) the COMMAND form is the same as the du-form STEM, that is, the du-form minus the ending -st (or -t).
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Vergiss dein Frühstücksbrot nicht. | Don't forget your lunch. | | Nimm doch bitte auch den blauen mit. | Take the blue one along too, please. | | Lies den ganzen Artikel. | Read the whole article. |
d. The verb sein has an irregular COMMAND form.
| German | English | |--------|---------| | Sei bitte um vier Uhr bei uns. | Be at our house at four o'clock, now. |
B. Pronouns and Possessive Words in Familiar Speech
I.
The three forms of the pronouns used in familiar, or intimate speech are as follows:
| du | ihr | |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | du | ihr |
| Accusative | dich | euch |
| Dative | dir | euch |
We have seen how they are used in some of the basic sentences; here are a few additional examples:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Becker? | How are you, Mr. Becker? |
| Wie geht es dir, Klaus? | How are you, Klaus? |
| Na, Klaus und Gerhard, wie geht es euch? | Well, Klaus and Gerhard, how are you? |
| Beeilen Sie sich! | Hurry up! |
| Beeil' dich! | |
| Beeilt euch! | |
| Lassen Sie sich die Haare schneiden. | Get your hair cut. |
| Lass dir die Haare schneiden. | |
| Lasst euch die Haare schneiden. | |
| Ich hole Sie dort um eins ab. | I'll pick you up there at one. |
| Ich hole dich dort um eins ab. | |
| Ich hole euch dort um eins ab. | |
| Darf ich mit Ihnen mitfahren? | May I go along with you? |
| Darf ich mit dir mitfahren? | |
| Darf ich mit euch mitfahren? |
II.
The possessive words that go with du and ihr are dein and euer. Like the other possessive words (see Unit 4) they are ein-type specifiers and have the following forms:
| with der-nouns | with das-nouns | with die-nouns | with plural nouns | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | dein | dein | deine | deine |
| Accusative | deinen | dein | deine | deine |
| Dative | deinem | deinem | deiner | deinen |
| Genitive | deines | deines | deiner | deiner |
| Nominative | euer | euer | eure | eure |
| Accusative | euren | euer | eure | eure |
| Dative | eurem | eurem | eurer | euren |
| Genitive | eures | eures | eurer | eurer |
Note that the forms of dein correspond exactly to the forms of mein, sein, etc., as given in Unit 4. Note also that euer has a shorter form eur- before endings.
III.
The familiar possessive words may occur in any of the ein-type specifier sequences and also, in the special forms noted in Unit 4, standing alone when the noun is understood.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Hast du dein Frühstücksbrot? | |
| Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen. | |
| Kannst du auch meine Oberhemden mitnehmen, wenn du deine in die Wäscherei bringst? | |
| Das ist mein Pullover. Wo ist deiner? | |
| Könnten wir in eurem Wagen mitfahren? | |
| Wollt ihr eure Sommeranzüge auch reinigen lassen? | |
| Das ist aber ein schöner Wagen! Ist das eurer? |
C. The Auxiliary Verb lassen
The auxiliary verb lassen occurs in verb phrases with an infinitive, just as können, müssen, werden, etc. (see Units 2, 3 & 9). English has a similar verb phrase with a form of the verbs have or get and a participle.
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Lass dir auch die Haare schneiden. | Get your hair cut, too. |
| Lassen Sie diesen Artikel doch bitte übersetzen. | Have this article translated, please. |
| Ich lasse heute nachmittag meine Schuhe besohlen. | I'm getting my shoes soled this afternoon. |
| Weisst du, wo Klaus seine Anzüge reinigen lässt? | Do you know where Klaus has his suits cleaned? |
D. Complex Verb Phrases
Most of the verb phrases encountered hitherto have consisted of two parts: an auxiliary verb and an infinitive (like the examples with lassen above) or a verb and an accented adverb (Hol' mich um eins ab). Some examples of verb phrases containing both an accented adverb and an infinitive have also occurred (Ich werde meinen Mantel anziehen). In this unit we now have an example of a verb phrase consisting of three parts:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen. | I want to have your grey suit cleaned. |
Here the auxiliary verb (will) has occurred together with a second auxiliary verb in the infinitive form (lassen) plus the infinitive (reinigen).
Let us examine some additional examples of COMPLEX VERB PHRASES:
| German | English |
|---|---|
| Ich werde leider nicht vor acht Uhr kommen können. | Unfortunately I won't be able to come before eight o'clock. |
| Herr Schneider soll ausgezeichnet Ski laufen können. | Mr. Schneider is supposed to be an excellent skier. |
| Ich werde spätestens um halb vier abfahren müssen. | I'll have to leave at half past three at the latest. |
| Wollen Sie sich die Haare schneiden lassen? | Do you want to have your hair cut? |
Note that when two infinitives stand together in this way the auxiliary infinitive is always last.
E. Derivative Nouns
In German as in English a number of nouns can be formed from other words (verbs, adjectives, other nouns), usually by the addition of a noun-forming suffix. Examples are such words as print-ing, good-ness, friend-ship, practical-ity. The process is not indiscriminate or automatic, however, and only certain words lend themselves to it.
- The simplest formation consists in the use of the infinitive as a noun. Note that it is always a das-noun. The English equivalent may be either the -ing form of the verb (used as a noun) or a related noun or in some cases a completely different word.
| Infinitive | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | essen | to eat | das Essen, - | food, meal | | einrichten | to arrange | das Einrichten | the act of arranging | | aussehen | to look, appear | das Aussehen | appearance | | schreiben | to write | das Schreiben, - | writing (as a skill), official letter | | wissen | to know | das Wissen | knowing (about something), knowledge |
Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:
gehen — rauchen — können — reinigen — sprechen — treffen — leben — denken
- There are a number of examples of a die-word formed from a der-word by the addition of the suffix -in. These words all designate the feminine counterpart of the masculine word. Compare the English suffixes -ess and -ix: actr-ess, aviatr-ix.
| der-word | English | die-word | English | |---|---|---|---| | der Gemahl | husband (very formal) | die Gemahlin, -nen | wife (very formal) | | der Sekretär | secretary (man) | die Sekretärin, -nen | secretary (woman) | | der Freund | friend (man) | die Freundin, -nen | friend (woman) | | der Amerikaner | American | die Amerikanerin, -nen | American (woman) |
- Die-words are formed from many infinitives by substitution of the suffix -ung for the ending -en.
| Infinitive | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | besorgen | to attend to | die Besorgung, -en | errand | | wohnen | to live, dwell | die Wohnung, -en | apartment | | bestellen | to order | die Bestellung, -en | the order | | ordnen | to put in order | die Ordnung | order, neatness | | stellen | to put, place | die Stellung, -en | position |
Form nouns of this type from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:
stören — verbinden — verzeihen — vorstellen — zahlen — bezahlen
- Der-words are formed from many infinitives by substituting the suffix -er for the ending -en. Notice that these nouns all designate persons. A very few words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix.
| Infinitive | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | arbeiten | to work | der Arbeiter, - | worker | | mieten | to rent | der Mieter, - | tenant, lessee | | schreiben | to write | der Schreiber, - | clerk, scribe | | verkaufen (*) | to sell | der Verkäufer, - | sales clerk |
Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:
besuchen — denken — fahren — finden — hören — kaufen () — laufen () — lesen — rauchen — übersetzen — vermieten
- Die-words are formed from many adjectives by the addition of suffixes -heit or -keit. These suffixes thus work like English -ness, -ity, etc.
a. With suffix -heit:
| Adjective | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | schön | beautiful | die Schönheit, -en | beauty | | rein | pure | die Reinheit, -en | purity | | mehr | more | die Mehrheit, -en | majority |
Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:
berühmt — bestimmt — einfach — unbestimmt
b. With suffix -keit:
| Adjective | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | ähnlich | similar | die Ähnlichkeit, -en | similarity | | möglich | possible | die Möglichkeit, -en | possibility | | richtig | correct | die Richtigkeit | correctness |
Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:
gemütlich — langsam — natürlich — wirklich — wahrscheinlich — wichtig — zufällig
- Die-words are formed from certain other nouns by the addition of the suffix -schaft. This suffix works like English -hood and -ship. Some words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix, and some nouns lose a final -e.
| Noun | English | Noun | English | |---|---|---|---| | der Bruder (*) | brother | die Brüderschaft, -en | brotherhood | | der Bote | messenger | die Botschaft, -en | message; embassy | | der Herr | gentleman | die Herrschaften (pl) | ladies and gentlemen | | der Ort | place | die Ortschaft, -en | locality |
Form nouns from the following nouns and give their English equivalents:
Bekannte — Freund — Nachbar — Vater — Verwandte