June 2017

German noun declension

Classroom - German, Learn German / By

German Regular Noun declension, n-declension and exceptions

Capitalized Nouns

One important thing as we get started: All nouns are written with the first letter capitalized. “the house” is written as “das Haus”.

Genders

There are three genders in German: masculine (männlich), feminine (weiblich) and neuter (sächlich). Usually, the gender of a noun is determined by its ending. The articles der, die and das are used with nouns to indicate their gender:
  • der Mann (the man) [Masculine Noun]
  • die Frau (the woman) [Feminine Noun]
  • das Kind (the child) [Neuter Noun]
It’s not easy to know which gender a noun is. There are a few rules for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. However, usually there is no choice but to learn each word’s gender. German Regular Noun declension, n-declension and exceptions

Declension

A noun in English, “house” for example, does not change even if we change the role it plays in a phrase. The house is pretty (“house” is the subject in this case) We bought a house (“a house” is the direct object). As you see, the word house is not declined. You just add “s” in English to make the plural. It’s very simple. Unfortunately, it is not always like this in German. This might cause you a bit of despair when you start learning German. For example, in the phrase, “Erkrankungen des Herzens”, the word “Herzens” (heart in genitive form) does not appear in the dictionary. That is because it is declined and, instead of that word, you have to look for “Herz” (heart in nominative form). It is a bit complicated but don’t worry about it. you will get it. German Regular Noun declension, n-declension and exceptions

Regular noun declension

As a general rule, an “-n” or an “-en” are added to all nouns in the dative plural. If the noun in the plural ends with “-n” or “-s,” nothing will be added.

Masculine or Neuter Nouns

An “-s” or an “-es” is added in the genitive singular. Sometimes both options are ok. In general, if a word ends with “-e”, an “-s” is added in the genitive and if it ends with “-s” or “-z” and “-es” is added. Example for a neuter noun:
Singular Plural
Nominative das Gas die Gase
Accusative das Gas die Gase
Dative dem Gas also: dem Gase den Gasen
Genitive des Gases der Gase
Although it is not very common today, sometimes an “-e” is added to the dative singular. Nowadays, you can see this is some phrases:

Ich gehe nach Hause  I am going home

Hause is the old declension in the dative singular for das Haus (house).

Dem deutschen Volke  For the German people

Volke is the classic declension of Volk (people) in the dative singular.

Feminine Nouns

Feminine nouns do not change in the genitive singular.
Singular Plural
Nominative die Kraft die Kräfte
Accusative die Kraft die Kräfte
Dative der Kraft den Kräften
Genitive der Kraft der Kräfte
Interestingly, a large portion of feminine plural nouns end with “-n,” meaning that luckily the majority of feminine plural nouns do not change.
Singular Plural
Nominative die Lampe die Lampen
Accusative die Lampe die Lampen
Dative der Lampe den Lampen
Genitive der Lampe der Lampen

N-Declension

Some masculine nouns and a few neuter ones have a declension that is different from the usual one and it is called the “N-Deklination” (N-Declension).
Singular Plural
Nominative der Kunde die Kunden
Accusative den Kunden die Kunden
Dative dem Kunden den Kunden
Genitive des Kunden der Kunden
If we look closely at all of the forms except for the nominative singular, they have an “-n” ending. This is why it is called “N-Deklination”. Sometimes, an “-en” is added instead of adding an “-n”. For example, the noun “Mensch”.

Examples of nouns with n declension

  • Most masculine nouns ending with “-e” but not der See or der Käse or der Deutsche and which represents professions or nationalities or people such as der Experte.
  • Many nouns that represent professions or nationalities or people such as: der Herr, der Astronom, der Architekt.
  • Latin or Greek words ending with:-at as in der Soldat, der Advokat, der Diplomat.-ant as in der Elefant, der Diamant, der Lieferant. -ent as in der Student. -ist as in der Journalist, der Zivilist, der Violinist, der Polizist.

N-Deklination + genitive with “ns”

Sometimes, the genitive is formed with “-ns” instead of “-n”.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Name die Namen
Accusative den Namen die Namen
Dative dem Namen den Namen
Genitive des Namens der Namen
Examples of nouns with genitive “-ns”: der Friede, der Name, der Funke, der Gedanke, der Glaube, der Same, der Wille, der Buchstabe.

Exceptions

Doubling the -s

Some nouns that end with “-s” have another “-s” added in the declension.
Singular Plural
Nominative der Bus die Busse
Accusative den Bus die Busse
Dative dem Bus den Bussen
Genitive des Busses der Busse
A short reminder about pronunciation: The “ss” indicates that the preceding vowel is shortened.

Das Herz

“Herz” has an irregular declension. It is also one of the few neuter nouns with the “-n” declension.
Singular Plural
Nominative das Herz die Herzen
Accusative das Herz die Herzen
Dative dem Herzen den Herzen
Genitive des Herzens der Herzen
]]>

German Adjective Declensions

Classroom - German, Learn German / By

Adjective Declensions

German adjectives work just like English ones, except that they take on case endings when they come right before a noun:

Der Hund ist groß und braun. The dog is big and brown.

Der große braune Hund bellte mich an. The big brown dog barked at me.

To understand these endings, you need to be familiar with the “hard” endings for nouns from Section II.3. The rule for adjectives before a noun is this: when there’s no hard ending in the noun or article, add it to the adjective. When there is a hard ending in the noun or article, the adjective takes a “soft” ending as follows:
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative -e -e -e -en
Accusative -en -e -e -en
Dative -en -en -en -en
Genitive -en -en -en -en
The following tables show how this rule is applied. The hard endings are highlighted in yellow, and the “soft” adjective endings are underlined. With a definite article, the adjective ending is always soft:
  TYPE 1: Definite Articles “The nice man / woman / child / children”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative der nette Mann die nette Frau das nette Kind die nettenKinder
Accusative den nettenMann die nette Frau das nette Kind die nettenKinder
Dative dem nettenMann der nettenFrau dem nettenKind den nettenKindern
Genitive des nettenMannes der nettenFrau des nettenKindes der nettenKinder
  For the indefinite and possessive articles, the adjective endings are the same except for the three places where the article has no hard ending and the adjective has to take it on:
  TYPE 2: Indefinite & Possessive Articles “My little dog / cat / bunny / birds”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative mein kleinerHund meine kleineKatze mein kleinesKaninchen meine kleinenVögel
Accusative meinen kleinenHund meine kleineKatze mein kleinesKaninchen meine kleinenVögel
Dative meinem kleinenHund meiner kleinenKatze meinemkleinenKaninchen meinen kleinenVögeln
Genitive meines kleinenHundes meiner kleinenKatze meines kleinenKaninchens meiner kleinenVögel
And with no article (“the taste of hot coffee”), the adjective always takes on the hard ending, except in the three cases where it’s still there on the noun:
  TYPE 3: No Article “hot coffee / cold milk / fresh bread / warm rolls”
MASCULINE FEMININE NEUTER PLURAL
Nominative heißer Kaffee kalte Milch frisches Brot warmeBrötchen
Accusative heißen Kaffee kalte Milch frisches Brot warmeBrötchen
Dative heißem Kaffee kalter Milch frischem Brot warmenBrötchen
Genitive heißen Kaffees kalter Milch frischenBrotes warmerBrötchen
]]>

French Irregular -RE Verbs

Classroom - French, Learn French / By

French Irregular -RE Verbs

Conjugation patterns for irregular French -re verbs

Irregular verbs are so named because they do not follow any of the regular conjugation patterns. But that doesn’t mean that every irregular French verb is unique; many of them share a conjugation pattern with at least one other verb. By learning how to conjugate one verb in a group and memorizing the list of similar verbs, you’ll be able to conjugate all the verbs in that group.

FRENCH HAS FIVE IRREGULAR -RE VERB PATTERNS.

  1. The first group includes prendre and all of its derivations (comprendre, etc). These verbs drop the d in all three plural forms and also double the n in the third person plural.
  1. The second group includes battre and all of its derivations (débattre, etc). These verbs drop the stem’s final t in the singular forms.
  2. The third group includes mettre and all of its derivations (promettre, etc). These verbs are conjugated just like battre verbs in the present tense, but I consider them a separate group because they are conjugated differently in the passé simple, imperfect subjunctive, and past participle. (As you can see in the table below, the first three groups take the same present tense verb endings.)
  3. The fourth group of irregular -RE verbs includes rompre and its derivations (corrompre, etc). These verbs are conjugated exactly like regular -RE verbswith the single exception of the third person singular present tense, which adds a t after the stem.
  4. The fifth group of irregular -RE verbs includes all verbs that end in –aindre (e.g., craindre), –eindre (like peindre), and –oindre (such as joindre). These verbs drop the d in the root in all forms, and add a g in front of the n in the plural forms.
 The rest of the irregular -RE verbs have unique or unwieldy conjugations, so you have to memorize each one separately. Try working on one verb a day until you’ve mastered them all: absoudre, boire, clore, conclure, conduire, confire, connaître, coudre, croire, dire, écrire, faire, inscrire, lire, moudre, naître, plaire, rire, suivre, vivre.

Click any verb for the complete table of conjugations in all of the simple tenses and moods:

Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
Pronoun Endings prendre > pren(d)- battre > bat(t) mettre > met(t)
je -s prends bats mets
tu -s prends bats mets
il – prend bat met
nous   -ons prenons battons mettons
vous -ez prenez battez mettez
ils -ent prennent battent mettent
Group 4 Group 5
Pronoun Endings rompre > romp- craindre > crain-/craign-
je -s romps crains
tu -s romps crains
il -t rompt craint
nous   -ons rompons craignons
vous -ez rompez craignez
ils -ent rompent craignent

French Irregular -RE Verbs

]]>

French Regular -RE Verbs

Classroom - French, Learn French / By

How to conjugate regular -RE verbs in French There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you’ve learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The smallest category of regular French verbs -RE verbs. The verb form that ends in -RE is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word “to”), and -RE is the infinitive ending.

The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -RE verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below.

FRENCH REGULAR -RE VERB CONJUGATION
To conjugate an -RE verb in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings. For example, here are the present tense conjugations for the regular -RE verbs descendre (to descend), perdre (to lose), and vendre (to sell):
Pronoun Ending descendre > descend- perdre > perd- vendre > vend-
 je  -s descends perds vends
 tu  -s descends perds vends
 il  – descend perd vend
 nous  -ons descendons perdons vendons
 vous  -ez descendez perdez vendez
 ils  -ent descendent perdent vendent
Regular -RE verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods. French regular -RE verbs are a small group of French verbs which share a conjugation pattern. Here are the most common regular -RE verbs: attendre   to wait (for) défendre   to defend descendre   to descend entendre   to hear How to conjugate regular -RE verbs in French étendre   to stretch fondre   to melt pendre   to hang, suspend perdre   to lose prétendre   to claim rendre   to give back, return répandre   to spread, scatter répondre   to answer vendre   to sell How to conjugate regular -RE verbs in French
]]>

French Regular -IR Verbs

Classroom - French, Learn French / By

How to conjugate regular -IR verbs in French There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you’ve learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. Regular -IR verbs are the second largest category of French verbs. The verb form that ends in -IR is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word “to”), and -IR is the infinitive ending.

The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -IR verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below.

FRENCH REGULAR -IR VERB CONJUGATIONS
To conjugate an -IR verb in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings. For example, here are the present tense conjugations for the regular -IR verbs choisir (to choose), finir (to finish), and réussir (to succeed):
Pronoun Ending choisir > chois- finir > fin- réussir > réuss-
 je  -is choisis finis réussis
 tu  -is choisis finis réussis
 il  -it choisit finit réussit
 nous  -issons choisissons finissons réussissons
 vous  -issez choisissez finissez réussissez
 ils  -issent choisissent finissent réussissent
Regular -IR verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods. How to conjugate regular -IR verbs in French

SOME COMMON FRENCH REGULAR -IR VERBS

French regular -IR verbs, the second largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern.

Here are just a few of the most common regular -IR verbs:

abolir   to abolish agir   to act avertir   to warn

How to conjugate regular -IR verbs in French

bâtir   to build bénir   to bless choisir   to choose établir   to establish étourdir   to stun, deafen, make dizzy finir   to finish grossir   to gain weight, get fat guérir   to cure, heal, recover maigrir   to lose weight, get thin nourrir   to feed, nourish obéir   to obey punir   to punish réfléchir   to reflect, think remplir   to to fill réussir   to succeed rougir   to blush, turn red vieillir   to grow old

How to conjugate regular -IR verbs in French

How to conjugate regular -IR verbs in French

]]>

French Regular -ER Verbs

Classroom - French, Learn French / By

How to conjugate regular -ER verbs in French There are five main kinds of verbs in French: regular -ER, -IR, -RE; stem-changing; and irregular. Once you’ve learned the rules of conjugation for each of the first three kinds of verbs, you should have no problem conjugating regular verbs in each of those categories. The majority of French verbs are regular -ER verbs – see the next page for a list of some common -ER verbs. The verb form that ends in -ER is called the infinitive (in English, the infinitive is the verb preceded by the word “to”), and -ER is the infinitive ending.

The verb with the infinitive ending removed is called the stem or radical. To conjugate -ER verbs, remove the infinitive ending to find the stem and add the endings in the table below.

How to conjugate regular -ER verbs in French

FRENCH REGULAR -ER VERB CONJUGATIONS
To conjugate an -ER verb in the present tense, remove the infinitive ending and then add the appropriate endings. For example, here are the present tense conjugations for the regular -ER verbs parler (to speak), donner (to give), and visiter (to visit):
Pronoun Ending parler > parl- donner > donn- visiter > visit-
 je  -e parle donne visite
 tu  -es parles donnes visites
 il  -e parle donne visite
 nous  -ons parlons donnons visitons
 vous  -ez parlez donnez visitez
 ils  -ent parlent donnent visitent
Regular -ER verbs share conjugation patterns in all tenses and moods.

SOME COMMON FRENCH REGULAR -ER VERBS

French regular -ER verbs, by far the largest group of French verbs, share a conjugation pattern.

Here are just a few of the most common regular -ER verbs: aimer   to like, to love arriver   to arrive, to happen chanter   to sing chercher   to look for commencer*   to begin danser   to dance demander   to ask for dépenser   to spend (money) détester   to hate donner   to give écouter   to listen to étudier**   to study fermer   to close goûter   to taste

jouer   to play laver   to wash manger*   to eat nager*   to swim parler   to talk, to speak passer   to pass, spend (time) penser   to think

porter   to wear, to carry regarder   to watch, to look at rêver   to dream sembler   to seem skier*   to ski travailler   to work trouver   to find visiter   to visit (a place) voler   to fly, to steal *All regular -ER verbs are conjugated according to the regular -ER verb conjugation pattern, except for one small irregularity in verbs that end in -ger and -cer, which are known as spelling-change verbs.

**Though conjugated just like regular -ER verbs, watch out for verbs that end in -IER.

How to conjugate regular -ER verbs in French]]>

Strategies and Tips for IELTS Listening

Classroom - IELTS, Learn IELTS & TOEFL, Online Classroom / By

Strategies and Tips for IELTS Listening Strategies and Tips for IELTS Listening

IELTS Listening Tips

  1. Predict the topic – it helps you to listen if you know what kind of conversation is taking place so you can picture it in your head. So look through each section in the time you are given and make sure you have an idea of who is speaking to who and what the context is.
  2. Predict the questions – you should also try and have an idea of what kind of information you are listening out for. For example, in section one you often have to listen for names, numbers and addresses. Have a look at the questions in the time you are given and work out what needs to go in the space. A name? Number? An address? You are more likely to catch it then when the answer arises.
  3. Use a minute to look through each section – you are given 30 seconds at the end of each section to check your answers. You are then told to turn over and look at the next section for 30 seconds. Although some IELTS listening tips will tell you to check what you have written, there is little you can check for the previous section as you can’t hear the listening again. So instead, turn straight to the next section. You will then have one minute (instead of 30 seconds) to look through the next section. This is time better spent.
  4. Careful with question order – often you have a table to complete, and sometimes a diagram or chart. The questions will not necessarily go from left to right, so check the progression carefully otherwise you will get lost and confused.
  5. Look at two questions at once – there are two reasons for doing this. Firstly, some questions may have the answers close together in one sentence so you could miss one if you only look at one question at a time. Also, it is possible that you will miss an answer – if you are just looking at one, you may not know that you missed it. If you are also looking at the next, you’ll see that it has moved on.
  6. Move on if you miss an answer – if you do realise you have missed an answer, quickly forget about it and concentrate on the next ones. There is nothing you can do, and you can also guess when you transfer your answers to the answer sheet at the end. The same applies if you realise you missed two or three answers. Don’t panic and just move on as there is nothing you can do. A few questions missed may not necessarily affect your band score.
  7. Watch others if you’re completely lost – if you completely lose where you are, then watch when the other candidates turn over their exam papers. You’ll know then that you are back in the right place.
  8. Look out for paraphrasing – remember that what you hear will most likely not be exactly the same as is written on the exam paper as that would be too easy. The question and the question stems use such things as synonyms so you must listen carefully for these.
  1. Ignore words you don’t know – don’t worry or panic if you hear a word that you do not know. It may not be necessary to know it anyway, or you can take a guess.
  2. Underline key words – when you look through the questions first, particularly in the more difficult parts 3 and 4, underline key words (such as names, places and dates) in the question stems to help you hear the answer. Remember though, as explained above, synonyms are often used.
  3. Take care with spelling and grammar – your answer will be marked wrong if it is spelt incorrectly or the grammar does not fit. So when you transfer your answers at the end, double check these. The sentence on the exam paper may help you with the grammar – does it fit grammatically? Should it be a verb, noun, adjective?
  4. Use British or American spelling – this is what is says on the official IELTS website: ”IELTS recognises both British and American English in terms of spelling, grammar and choice of words”. So you can use either in your answers
  5. Don’t worry about what you write on the exam sheet – in practice tests, it is common to see students rubbing or crossing things out on the exam paper. Remember that nobody sees or marks what you write here. Don’t waste time getting the spelling correct or anything else. If you do this you’ll get lost – you need to be listening. So just write down what you hear then move on. When you transfer the answers at the end to the answer sheet, you can make sure you have the correct spelling.
  6. Read the instructions – an IELTS listening tip that is an important tip for any part of the test is to always read the instructions carefully. They will tell you how many words to use. If it asks for no more than two words and you use three, it will be wrong. And you must only put in the words asked for. For example, if there is a gap of “at …… pm” and you write “at 5pm” on the answer sheet, it will be wrong. You should only write what is missing i.e. “5”.
  7. Use upper or lower case letters – a question often asked is whether you can use upper case letters. This is what it says on the official British Council Website: “You may write your answers in lower case or capital letters”. So you can write all your answers in capital letters if you like. This statement from the British Council suggests, therefore, that you will not be penalised if you write ‘paris’ for example, instead of ‘Paris’ because it says you can use lower case letters. However, it is recommended that you try and use capitalisation correctly to be on the safe side. If you are not sure if the first letter needs capitalisation, then capitalise the whole word.
  8. Get used to the British accent – a good IELTS listening tip is to be prepared to hear all accents as you may hear Australian, American, Canadian, New Zealand and a mix of European countries. However, although there are a mix of accents in the test, the majority tend to be British (unlike TOEFL which tends to be American). So make sure you are used to the British accent.
  9. Practice the pronunciation of letter and numbers – often words are spelt out in the test by a speaker and numbers are read out, so make sure you can recognise how different letters sound in different accents, not just words.
  10. Careful with what you write down – speakers in the test will often give an answer but then correct themselves. So the first answer that looks right may actually be wrong.
  11. Don’t leave answers blank – you will not get penalised for writing the wrong answer (as opposed to nothing if you are not sure what it is) so guess if that is possible.
  12. Transfer your answers to the answer sheet carefully – if you put correct answers in the wrong place on the answer sheet it will be wrong, so make sure you put the answer in the correct place. It is easy to do this if you leave an answer blank on the exam sheet. You may then fill that one in with the wrong answer when you transfer them across. So put in a guess for any you do not know and leave no blanks.
  13. Check your answers – make sure you recheck your spelling and grammar too when you transfer your answers at the end.
  14. Listen very carefully – listen very very carefully throughout the test. Zone in and focus. Don’t be distracted by anything around you, and don’t panic if you think you having missed any answers or that you are getting them wrong. All this will do is distract you from listening.
  15. Practice listening – of all the IELTS listening tips, this is one of the most important. Make sure you practice listening as much as you can! You can practice with sample IELTS listening tests but you should also expose yourself to as much English as you can. Target it at the level you are currently at. There is no point in listening to BBC World if you don’t understand any of it. Find resources on the internet that suit your level and gradually increase difficulty. And don’t worry if they are not exams or specifically for IELTS, any kind of listening helps. Try to make listening fun and listen to things you like. You can move on to more difficult things as you improve.
  16. Listen to lectures – remember that the last part is a lecture, so practice listening to lectures and taking notes. Lectures often follow certain patterns, such as an introduction to tell you the topic and main points, and they have sign-posts to tell you if they are comparing e.g. “although”, or moving onto a new main points e.g. “Now I’ll discuss….”. So listening to lectures will help you with this section. You can find lectures online if you do a search. TED lectures may be useful as they provide a transcription so you can check your notes. .
  17. Learn to listen and write together – practicing your listening skills is important, but remember in the test you have to write and listen. So you should practice this too. One way to do this is with practice tests but you can also try listening to audios and taking notes at the same time. This will improve your ability to do both skills at the same time.
]]>

Swedish Prepositions

Classroom - Swedish / By

Swedish Prepositions

Learning the Swedish Prepositions displayed below is vital to the language. Swedish prepositions link nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. Here are some examples:
English Prepositions Swedish Prepositions
Prepositions Prepositioner
inside the house inne i huset
outside the car utanför bilen
with me med mig
without him utan honom
under the table under bordet
after tomorrow i övermorgon
before sunset före solnedgången
but I’m busy men jag är upptagen
Notice the structure of the Prepositions in Swedish.

List of Prepositions in Swedish

Below is a list of the Time place and demonstrative pronouns in Swedish placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Swedish vocabulary.
English Prepositions Swedish Prepositions
about om
above ovanför
across tvärsöver
after efter
against mot
among bland
around runt
as som
at på/vid
before före
behind bakom
below nedan
beneath under
beside bredvid
between mellan
beyond bortom
but men
by av
despite trots
down ner
during under
except förutom
for för
from från
in i
inside inuti
into in i
near nära
next nästa
of av
on på
opposite mittemot
out ut
outside utanför
over över
per per
plus plus
round runt
since sedan
than än
through genom
till tills
to till
toward mot
under under
unlike olik
until tills
up upp
via via
with med
within inom
without utan
two words två ord
according to enligt
because of på grund av
close to nära
due to på grund av
except for med undantag för
far from långt från
inside of inuti
instead of i stället för
near to nära
next to bredvid
outside of utanför
prior to före
three words tre ord
as far as så vitt
as well as dessutom
in addition to utöver
in front of framför
in spite of trots
on behalf of på någons vägnar
on top of ovanpå
demonstrative pronouns demonstrativa prepositioner
this denna/detta
that den/det
these dessa
those de där
]]>

Scroll to Top