Author name: Vaikundamoni

Swedish Classes

Classroom - Swedish / By

1. Articles

There are two indefinite articles in Swedish, en and ett. There is rarely an easy way to determine which article should be used with any one word, so the gender of each noun should be learned separately.
EXAMPLES: 
en skola, en pojke, ett spöke, ett slott
The indefinite form of a word is usually used when something is mentioned for the first time.
The definite article is normally attached to the end of the word as an inflectional ending. In singular forms these endings are -n, -en, -t and -et and in plural -na and -en. In cases where the noun is preceded by an adjective, the definite article is also added as a separate entity in front of the word (in singular: den and det, in plural: de).
EXAMPLES: 
skolan, pojken, spöket, slottet den tyska tjejen, det lilla rummet, de långa gatorna
The definite form of a word is usually used when something has already been mentioned before or is a fact that is universally known.
EXAMPLES: 
Johan träffar en tysk tjej. Tjejen är på väg till Sverige. Johan meets a girl from Germany. The girl is on her way to Sweden.
en skola
ett slott

Noun inflections

Swedish nouns primarily inflect for gender, number and definiteness. Nouns are divided into five groups according to their plural indefinite inflectional ending.
Group 1 -OR All the nouns in this group take the article en and end with the letter a.
Singular indefinite en människa en hona en skola
Singular definite människan honan skolan
Plural indefinite människor honor skolor
Plural definite människorna honorna skolorna
Group 2 -AR All the nouns in this group take the article en. Included in this group are nouns that end with -ing, -dom, -el, -er, and -en.
Singular indefinite en tanke en älv en tidning en visdom en spegel
Singular definite tanken älven tidningen visdomen spegeln
Plural indefinite tankar älvar tidningar visdomar speglar
Plural definite tankarna älvarna tidningarna visdomarna speglarna
Group 3 -ER Most of the nouns in this group take the article en. Included in this group are nouns that end with -het, -else, -ion, and -när. In addition, nouns that take the article ett and end with -um, -eri or -ori are also included.
Singular indefinite en dam en annons en hemlighet en lektion ett konditori
Singular definite damen annonsen hemligheten lektionen konditoriet
Plural indefinite damer annonser hemligheter lektioner konditorier
Plural definite damerna annonserna hemligheterna lektionerna konditorierna
Group 4 -N All the nouns in this group take the article ett and end with a vowel.
Singular indefinite ett ställe ett spöke ett knä
Singular definite stället spöket knäet
Plural indefinite ställen spöken knän
Plural definite ställena spökena knäna
Group 5 (no inflectional ending) Nearly all the nouns in this group take the article ett and end with a consonant. Included are also those nouns that take the article en and end with -are, -er, or -ande (when the word refers to a person) or -are (when the word refers to an appliance or device).
Singular indefinite ett liv ett slott ett problem en spelare en tekniker
Singular definite livet slottet problemet spelaren teknikern
Plural indefinite liv slott problem spelare tekniker
Plural definite liven slottet problemen spelarna teknikerna

 Swedish Basic phrases

Here are some basic Swedish phrases which you can use in everyday conversation, as well as some common words you will see on signs.
ja yes
nej no
tack please (used at the end of a sentence); thanks, thank you
tack så mycket thank you very much
ingen orsak you’re welcome
hej or hej hej hi, hello
hejsan hi (informal)
god dag hello; goodbye (literally: good day; can be used any time from morning until around 5pm)
god morgon good morning (used until around 11am)
god förmiddag good morning (used from around 11am until noon)
god middag good afternoon (used around noon)
god eftermiddag good afternoon (used from noon until around 5pm)
god kväll good evening (used from around 5pm)
välkommen! welcome!
välkommen till … welcome to …
hej or hej hej bye
hejdå goodbye
god natt goodnight
vi ses! see you! (informal)
vi ses snart! see you soon!
vi ses senare! see you later!
ha en bra dag! have a good day!
ursäkta mig excuse me (to get someone’s attention or to get past someone); sorry
förlåt sorry
inga problem no problem
det gör inget don’t worry about it

3. Genitive

The genitive expresses ownership, to whom or what something belongs.
Ownership in Swedish is usually expressed by a structure called the s-genitive, but can sometimes also be expressed by alternative structures such as compounds and prepositional phrases. The s-genitive is formed by adding the genitive ending -s to the end of a proper name or to the end of a noun in its definite form.
EXAMPLES: 
Lauras hund är under bordet. Laura’s dog is under the table. Lärarens nya bil var stor och röd. The teacher’s new car was big and red.
The noun following the genitive form is always indefinite. If that noun takes an adjective, the adjective is used in its definite form (marked by the letter a).
EXAMPLES: 
familjens stora hus Marias röda rum
Lauras hund är under bordet.

Swedish Useful Words

sometimes ibland already redan
always alltid perhaps kanske
never aldrig both båda
often ofta some någon, något, några
usually oftast again igen, åter
now nu between mellan
and och a lot, many många
but men of course naturligtvis
or eller a little lite grann
very mycket / väldigt not at all inte alls
here här almost nästan
there där really? verkligen
with med it is det är
each other varandra there is/are det finns

4. Adjective inflections

Adjectives have three forms in Swedish.
en gender stor vanlig mystisk
ett gender stort vanligt mystiskt
plural / definite form stora vanliga mystiska
EXAMPLES
en stor bil, ett stort hus, stora pojkar
There are some exceptions to this rule, namely a number of undeclinable adjectives and the adjective liten, which has four different forms instead of three:
en-gender liten
ett-gender litet
definite form lilla
plural små
EXAMPLES:
en liten katt, ett litet rum, min lilla hund, små blommor
ett stort husett stort hus
en liten katt en liten katt

5.  Comparison of adjectives

The comparative and superlative forms of adjectives can be formed in four different ways.
1. Usually comparative and superlative forms are formed by adding the inflectional endings -areand -ast to the end of the word.
positive vanlig trött glad söt
comparative vanligare tröttare gladare sötare
superlative vanligast tröttast gladast sötast
2. A number of adjectives require the -re and -st endings in their shorter forms. In these cases, the vowel in the original form of the adjective may also change slightly.
positive hög låg lång stor
comparative högre lägre längre större
superlative högst lägst längst störst
3. A small number of adjectives using these shorter endings also require a complete change in the original word form.
positive god gammal liten dålig
comparative bättre äldre mindre sämre
superlative bäst äldst minst sämst
4. If the adjective ends with -isk or is in the participial form (takes endings such as –ande, –ende and –ad), the comparative and superlative forms are formed with the help of mera andmest.
positive lovande praktisk lyckad
comparative mera lovande mera praktisk mera lyckad
superlative mest lovande mest praktisk mest lyckad
EXAMPLES:
Camilla är en bättre läkare än Martina. Camilla is a better doctor than Martina. John är lika duktig som Camilla. John is as skillful as Camilla. Han är också äldst av dem. He is also the oldest of them.

Swedish Subject and Object Pronouns

jag I mig (mej) me
du you (singular) dig (dej) you
han he honom him
hon she henne her
den it (with en words) den it
det it (with ett words) det it
man one en one
vi we oss us
ni you (plural) er you
de (dom) they dem (dom) them
Man can be translated as one, we, they or the people in general.  When referring to nouns as it, you use den for en nouns, and det for ett nouns. Formerly, du was the informal you and ni was the formal, but these distinctions are rarely used anymore. The forms in parentheses are the informal ways of spelling these words, which is closer to the actual pronunciation.
 
The subject of a sentence is someone who performs an action.
EXAMPLES:
Vi dricker mycket te. We drink a lot of tea. Du gillar musik. You like music.
The object of a sentence is someone that something is done to, or something that is the focus of the performed action.
EXAMPLES:
Vi saknar dem hela tiden. We miss them all the time. Har du sett honom? Have you seen him?
The possessive forms mark ownership.
EXAMPLES:
Jag gav mina biljetter till henne. I gave my tickets to her. Min hund är större än din. My dog is bigger than yours.

8. Passive voice

Verb structures can be divided into two main categories: the active and the passive voice. The active voice expresses what the subject of the sentence is doing, whereas the passive voice expresses what is being done to the subject of the sentence, often leaving out the person actually performing the action.
Active voice Han ska renovera villan. He will renovate the villa.
Passive voice Villan ska renoveras. The villa will be renovated.
A common way to form a passive verb structure in Swedish is the s-passive. The s-passive is formed by taking the object of the active sentence and moving it into the place of the subject in that sentence. After this, the letter s is placed after the main verb to mark the verb as having a passive form.
Active voice En kvinna öppnade dörren för mig. A woman opened the door for me.
Passive voice Dörren öppnades för mig. The door was opened for me.
When forming the s-passive in the present tense, extra care must be taken. The s-marker of the s-passive is attached to the verb according to the following rules: Verb group 1: infinitive + s (älska -> älskas) Verb groups 2, 3 and 4: verb stem + s (skriva -> skriv/er -> skrivs) Verb stems ending with s: verb stem + es (läsa -> läs/er -> läses)
EXAMPLES:
Vi talar engelska i skolan varje dag. -> Engelska talas i skolan varje dag. Ungdomar dricker för mycket läsk. -> Läsk dricks för mycket.
In other tenses the s-marker is simply added to the end of the main verb.
EXAMPLES:
Vi valde henne till president. -> Hon valdes till president. Jag gav henne boken. -> Hon gavs boken.
If need be, the original subject of the active sentence doesn’t have to be left out, but can be added into the passive sentence as an agent with the help of the preposition av:
Active voice En kvinna öppnade dörren för mig.
Passive voice + agent Dörren öppnades för mig av en kvinna.

Imperative

The imperative is a form that expresses a command.
Depending on which verb group the verb belongs to, the imperative can be formed by using either the infinitive form or the stem of the verb. If the present tense ending of the verb is -ar, then the infinitive form is used. If the ending is either -er or -r, the ending is removed and the stem of the verb is used as the imperative instead.
Group 1: Stanna här! (stann/ar -> infinitive = imperative) Group 2: Rök inte! (rök/er -> verb stem = imperative) Group 3: Tro på mig! (tro/r -> verb stem = imperative) Group 4: Ät bättre! (ät/er -> verb stem= imperative)
 
Rök inte!

Essential Swedish:

English Swedish
Hello Hej
Good evening Hej
Goodbye Hejdå
See you later Vi ses
Yes Ja
No Nej
Excuse me! Skulle du kunna
Thanks Tack!
Thanks a lot Tack så mycket!
Thank you for your help Tack för hjälpen
Don’t mention it Varsågod
Ok Okej
How much is it? Hur mycket kostar det?
Sorry! Förlåt!
I don’t understand Jag förstår inte
I get it Jag förstår
I don’t know Jag vet inte
Forbidden Förbjudet
Excuse me, where are the toilets? Ursäkta mig, var finns det en toalett?
Happy New Year! Gott Nytt År!
Happy birthday! Grattis på födelsedagen!
Happy holiday! Trevliga helgdagar
Congratulations! Gratulerar!

Looking for Somebody in Swedish

English Swedish
Excuse me, is Sarah here? Är Sara här?
Yes, she’s here Ja, hon är här
She’s out Hon gick ut
You can call her on her mobile phone Ni kan ringa henne på hennes mobil
Do you know where I could find her? Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på henne?
She is at work Hon är på jobbet
She is at home Hon är hemma
Excuse me, is Julien here? Är Julien här?
Yes, he’s here Ja, han är här
He’s out Han gick ut
Do you know where I could find him? Vet ni var jag skulle kunna få tag på honom?
You can call him on his mobile phone Ni kan ringa honom på hans mobil
He is at work Han är på jobbet
He is at home Han är hemma

Swedish Nouns, Articles, Demonstratives and Cases

Nouns in Swedish have two genders, common and neuter, which adjectives must agree with when modifying nouns. These genders are signified by the indefinite articles: en and ett. In the vocabulary lists, a noun followed by (n) means that it is a neuter noun and it takes the indefinite article ett. The majority of nouns in Swedish are common gender, so they take the indefinite article en. The only case of nouns that is used in Swedish is the genitive (showing possession), and it is easily formed by adding an -s to the noun. This is comparable to adding -‘s in English to show possession. However, if the noun already ends in -s, then you add nothing (unlike English where we add -‘ or -‘s). Anders bok = Anders’s book

There are two indefinite articles (corresponding to a and an) in Swedish: en and ett. En is used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the end of the noun. Note that en words ending in a vowel retain that vowel and add an -n instead of adding -en. And ett words ending in -e just add a -t.

En words (common)
Ett words (neuter)
Indefinite
Definite
Indefinite
Definite
en banan a banana bananen the banana ett bord a table bordet the table
en stol a chair stolen the chair ett kök a kitchen köket the kitchen
en gata a street gatan the street ett äpple an apple äpplet the apple
This, that, these and those are expressed in Swedish by using den, det or de plus the word här (here) and där (there). The noun is always in the definite form after these demonstratives. And if any adjectives follow the demonstrative, they must add an -a to the ending.
with en words with ett words with plural words
this / these den här biljetten – this ticket det här tåget – this train de här biljetterna – these tickets
that / those den där biljetten – that ticket det där tåget – that train de där tågen – those trains
Essential Phrases in Swedish:
pratar du engelska? do you speak English?
jag pratar inte svenska I don’t speak Swedish
jag pratar lite svenska I speak a little Swedish
jag pratar väldigt lite svenska I only speak very little Swedish
var snäll och prata långsammare please speak more slowly
kan du säga det igen? could you please repeat that?
jag förstår I understand
jag förstår inte I don’t understand
jag vet I know
jag vet inte I don’t know
var är toaletten? where is the toilet, please?
det brinner! fire!
ring brandkåren! call the fire brigade!
jag är vilse I’m lost
vi är vilse we’re lost
jag kan inte hitta min … I can’t find my …
jag har tappat … I’ve lost my …
mina nycklar keys
mitt pass passport
min plånbok wallet
min väska purse
min kamera camera
jag är utelåst ur min … I’ve locked myself out of my …
bil car
rum room
lämna mig ifred please leave me alone
försvinn! go away!

General conversation

Here are some common Swedish phrases for general conversation with people you already know.
hur står det till? how are you?
hur är läget? how’s it going?
jag är bra, tack I’m fine, thanks
jag är OK, tack I’m OK, thanks
inte så dåligt, tack not too bad, thanks
inte så bra not so well
hur är det med dig? how about you?
och du? and you?
och du själv? and yourself?
vad har du haft för dig? what have you been up to?
jobbat mycket working a lot
studerat mycket studying a lot
jag har varit väldigt upptagen I’ve been very busy
samma som vanligt same as usual
inte mycket not much
jag har precis kommit tillbaka från … I’ve just come backfrom …
har du några planer för sommaren? do you have any plans for the summer?
vad ska du göra på …? what are you doing for …?
julen Christmas
nyår New Year
påsken Easter

Swedish Question Words

who vem whose vems
what vad which vilken, vilket, vilka
why varför where to vart
when när where from varifrån
where var how hur

Which has three different forms depending on the gender and number of the noun that follows it. Vilken is used with en words, vilket is used with ett words and vilka is used with plural words.

Yes/No questions: Invert the subject and verb so that the verb begins the question.

Arbetar han? Does he work? Regnar det? Is it raining?

Question Words: The question word begins the question, and the verb comes next, followed by the subject.

Var bor Sten? Where does Sten live? Vad gör Elsa? What does Elsa do?

Word order

There are three different word order structures to follow in the Swedish language: the traditional word order of the main clause, the inverted word order of the main clause, and the word order of the subordinate clause. A main clause contains an independent thought and can form a grammatically acceptable and understandable sentence on its own. A subordinate clause adds information to the main clause or specifies something in the main clause, and it does not work on its own without the main clause. The traditional word order of the main clause follows a basic pattern where the first element of the sentence is a subject, followed closely by a verb and an object (SVO). Qualifiers such as negative words (inte, ej) and specific adverbs (alltid, kanske, redan) are usually placed after the first verb. At the end of the sentence, additional information on how something was done (tydligt), where it was done (i sängen) and when (på morgonen), can also be included. The traditional word order in a nutshell: subject, verb, qualifier, object, how, where, when.
EXAMPLES:
Jenny köpte en ny bok i går. Jenny bought a new book yesterday. Hon vill inte äta frukost hemma i morgon. She doesn’t want to eat breakfast at home tomorrow.
The inverted word order of the main clause is needed when the sentence starts with something else than a subject, for example with an expression describing a place or a time. In an inverted word order the subject and the verb change places (VSO). The inverted word order in a nutshell: alternate expression, verb, subject, qualifier, object, how, where, when.
EXAMPLES: 
Där lyssnade vi alltid på rockmusik. There we always listened to rock music. Idag har jag inte haft tid att laga mat. Today I haven’t had time to cook (food).
The word order of the subordinate clause is near identical to that of the traditional main clause word order (SVO). The main difference is that the qualifier comes before the verb and not after it. A subordinate clause usually starts with a conjunction or a similar structure. The word order of a subordinate clause in a nutshell: conjunction, subject, qualifier, verb, object, how, where, when. In the following examples, the beginning of the subordinate clause has been bolded.
EXAMPLES: 
Det är kul att jag redan kan gå hem. It’s nice that I can already go home. Det är någonting som Jesse inte förstår. It’s something that Jesse doesn’t understand.

Swedish Verbs to Be & to Have

The present and past tenses of verbs in Swedish are very simple to conjugate. All the forms are the same for each personal pronoun. The infinitive of the verb to be in Swedish is vara, and the conjugated present tense form is är and the past tense is var. The infinitive of the verb to have is ha, and the conjugated present tense form is har and the past tense is hade.
att vara – to be
att ha – to have
I am jag är I was jag var I have jag har I had jag hade
you are du är you were du var you have du har you had du hade
he is han är he was han var he has han har he had han hade
she is hon är she was hon var she has hon har she had hon hade
it is den är it was den var it has den har it had den hade
it is det är it was det var it has det har it had det hade
one is man är one was man var one has man har one had man hade
we are vi är we were vi var we have vi har we had vi hade
you are ni är you were ni var you have ni har you had ni hade
they are de är they were de var they have de har they had de hade

To form the future tense of verbs, just add ska before the infinitive. Jag ska vara = I will be; hon ska ha = she will have; etc.

Professions in Swedish:

actor skådespelare judge domare
actress skådespelerska lawyer advokat
author författare mechanic mekaniker, montör
baker bagare musician musiker
baker’s shop bageri nurse sjuksköterska
bookseller bokhandlare official ämbetsman
bookshop bokaffär optician (eye doctor) optiker
businessman affärsman painter målare
butcher slaktare photographer fotograf
pharmacist farmaceut policeman polis
pharmacy apotek (n) postman brevbärare
cook kock, kokerska priest präst
customer kund publisher förläggare
dentist tandläkare scientist vetenskapsman
doctor läkare, doktor shoemaker skomakare
employee anställd, arbetstagare shop, store butik
engineer ingenjör singer sångare, sångerska
fisherman fiskare student student
gardener trädgårdsmästare surgeon kirurg
hairdresser hårfrisör tailor skräddare
jeweler juvelerare teacher lärare
journalist journalist workman arbetare

Swedish Days of the Week / Veckans dagar

Monday måndag
Tuesday tisdag
Wednesday onsdag
Thursday torsdag
Friday fredag
Saturday lördag
Sunday söndag
day dag
morning morgon
afternoon eftermiddag
evening afton (before 6 pm) / kväll
night natt
today idag
tomorrow imorgon
day after tomorrow i övermorgon
tonight ikväll
yesterday igår
day before yesterday i förrgår
last night igår natt
week vecka
weekend helg
daily daglig
weekly veckolig
To say “on” a certain day, use på before the day.

Swedish Months of the Year

January januari
February februari
March mars
April april
May maj
June juni
July juli
August augusti
September september
October oktober
November november
December december
month månad
year år
monthly månatlig / varje månad
yearly årlig
To say “in” a certain month, use i before the month.

Swedish Verbs: To Do/Make & To Become

göra – to do/make
bli – to become
present
gör
blir
past
gjorde
blev
future
ska göra
ska bli

Use of göra in short answers

A yes/no question can be answered with a short phrase, just as in English. The verb göra (to do/make) is used with the pronoun det and the subject of the question. Some verbs are not replaced by göra and are repeated in the short answer, such as vara and ha. This is very similar to English, except for the word order. Positive Short Answer: Ja + det + Verb + Subject Negative Short Answer: Nej + det + Verb + Subject + inte Arbetar hon här? Does she work here? Ja, det gör hon. Yes, she does. Nej, det gör hon inte. No, she doesn’t. Är de glada? Are they happy? Ja, det är de. Yes, they are. Nej, det är de inte. No, they are not.

Swedish Seasons

Winter vinter in (the) winter på vintern
Spring vår in (the) spring på våren
Summer sommar in (the) summer på sommaren
Fall höst in (the) fall på hösten
You can also use i before the names of the seasons to express this: i vinter = this winter

Swedish Directions

 
North norr Northeast nordost
South söder Northwest nordväst
East öster Southeast sydost
West väster Southwest sydväst
left till vänster
right till höger
straight ahead rakt fram

Swedish Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

with en words with ett words with plural words
my / mine min mitt mina
your / yours din ditt dina
his / her / its / their sin sitt sina
his / his hans hans hans
her / hers hennes hennes hennes
its / its dess dess dess
our / ours vår vårt våra
your / yours er ert era
their / theirs deras deras deras
The same forms are used for possessive adjectives that are used directly before nouns and for possessive pronouns that replace a noun. For example, this is my car and this is mine would be translated as det här är min bil and det här är min. Sin, sitt and sina can only be used when the third person possessive adjective refers to the subject of the same clause. These words can be translated as his, her, its or their. Generally, if you cannot insert “own” after the possessive adjective in English, you cannot use sin/sitt/sina. Per besöker sin mamma. = Per visits his (own) mother. (Sin refers back to Per.) Eva ringer hans mamma. = Eva calls his mother. (Hans refers to Per, not Eva.)

Swedish Verbs: To Do/Make & To Become

göra – to do/make
bli – to become
present
gör
blir
past
gjorde
blev
future
ska göra
ska bli

Use of göra in short answers

A yes/no question can be answered with a short phrase, just as in English. The verb göra (to do/make) is used with the pronoun det and the subject of the question. Some verbs are not replaced by göra and are repeated in the short answer, such as vara and ha. This is very similar to English, except for the word order. Positive Short Answer: Ja + det + Verb + Subject Negative Short Answer: Nej + det + Verb + Subject + inte Arbetar hon här? Does she work here? Ja, det gör hon. Yes, she does. Nej, det gör hon inte. No, she doesn’t. Är de glada? Are they happy? Ja, det är de. Yes, they are. Nej, det är de inte. No, they are not.

Swedish Prepositions

vid by, at, next to av of, by, with
i in bakom behind
på on, in, at bland among
hos at the house of bredvid beside
till to efter after, for
från from enligt according to
genom through, by framför in front of
längs along för for, by, with
över across, over omkring around
mot towards, to med with, by
mellan between under under, below
om around, about, in utan without
sedan since utom except for
trots in spite of åt towards, for
Vid is used to express a position next to something, but with no contact. I is used to express a position in something that is seen to have volume (room, containers, etc.); and it is also used with countries, cities, villages, etc. På is used to express a position on something that is seen as a line or surface with contact; and it is also used with islands, addresses, and particular places, such as bank, post office, cinema, hospital, library, etc. Three exceptions to using på with particular places include school, the shop and church: i skolan, i affären, i kyrkan.

Swedish Modal Verbs

kunna – to be able to, can
vilja – to want to
få – to be allowed to
— have to, must
present
kan
vill
får
måste
past
kunde
ville
fick
—

Just as in English, there is no past form of must / måste. You can either use var tvungen or behövde instead, as in jag var tvungen att … = I had to…

skola – supposed to, will, should
böra- should, ought to
bruka – usually, used to
behöva – need to
present
ska
bör
brukar
behöver
past
skulle
borde
brukade
behövde
  Vi kan tala engelska. We can speak English. Han kunde inte spela. He could not play. Sven vill sova. Sven wants to sleep. Hon vill ha kaffe. She wants coffee. (When vilja is followed by a noun, ha is added before the noun.) Du får röka. You may smoke. De måste gå hem nu. They must go home now. Du får inte röka. You must not smoke. (Must not is translated with får inte rather than måste inte, which means don’t have to.) Jag brukar dricka kaffe efter lunch. I usually drink coffee after lunch. (Brukar in the present tense means usually + main verb.)

Conjugating Regular Verbs in Swedish in the Present and Past Tenses

Infinitives in Swedish end in -a. When conjugating verbs, the same form is used for all subject pronouns, whether singular or plural. To form the present tense of verbs, either add -r to the infinitive or remove the -a and add -er.

tala – to speak (-ar verb) and stänga – to close (-er verb)

Present Tense
Past Tense
Present Tense
Past Tense
jag talar I speak jag talade I spoke jag stänger I close jag stängde I closed
du talar you speak du talade you spoke du stänger you close du stängde you closed
han talar he speaks han talade he spoke han stänger he closes han stängde he closed
hon talar she speaks hon talade she spoke hon stänger she closes hon stängde she closed
vi talar we speak vi talade we spoke vi stänger we close vi stängde we closed
ni talar you speak ni talade you spoke ni stänger you close ni stängde you closed
de talar they speak de talade they spoke de stänger they close de stängde they closed
Please note the three present tenses in English (simple, progressive and emphatic) are all translated by one verb form in Swedish. Jag talar can mean I speak, I am speaking or I do speak. Four Past Tense Conjugations To form the past tense, most verbs add -de to the present tense form of -ar verbs and to the stem of -er verbs (infinitive minus -a). But if the stem ends in a voiceless consonant (k, p, t, or s), then add -te instead. Another group of verbs, short verbs ending in a vowel, add -dde to form the past tense.
Infinitive
Present
Past
Infinitive of -ar verbs; add -de arbeta to work arbetar arbetade
fråga to ask frågar frågade
öppna to open öppnar öppnade
tala to speak talar talade
Stem of -er verbs; add -de ringa to ring ringer ringde
stänga to close stänger stängde
följa to follow följer följde
bygga to build bygger byggde
Stem ends in k, p, t, or s; add -te tänka to think tänker tänkte
röka to smoke röker rökte
läsa to read läser läste
köpa to buy köper köpte
Infinitive ends in long vowel; add -dde tro to believe tror trodde
bo to live, dwell bor bodde

Negative Sentences

To make a sentence negative in Swedish, simply add inte after the verb. If there is an auxiliary verb and a main verb, inte goes between the two. In addition, if you answer “yes” to a negative question, you must use jo instead of ja.

Swedish Reflexive Verbs

Some verbs in Swedish are reflexive verbs, in that the action by the subject is performed by itself. This is comparable to the -self or -selves pronouns used in English with some verbs, such as he behaves himself. Most of the time, verbs that are reflexive in Swedish are not reflexive in English. To conjugate these verbs, simply add these pronouns after the verb:

mig (mej) myself oss ourselves
dig (dej) yourself er yourselves
sig (sej) himself/herself/itself sig (sej) theirselves

The forms in parentheses are used in colloquial (spoken and written) Swedish. In fact, mig, dig and sig are pronounced as if they were writtenmej, dej and sej.

Swedish Conjunctions

Coordinating Conjunctions

och and
eller or
men but
för because, for
så so
som as
antingen…eller either…or
varken…eller neither…nor

Subordinating Conjunctions

att that
då when
eftersom because, as
för att in order to, so that
därför att because
innan / förrän before
medan while
när when
om if, whether (interrogation)
fast even if, although
sedan since, as
nu då now that

Swedish Present and Past Perfect Tenses

The present and past perfect tenses consist of two parts: har / hade and the supine form of the main verb. This is a compound tense that corresponds to has/have / had and a past participle in English. The main difference between Swedish and English in this tense, however, is that Swedish uses the supine form of the verb instead of the past participle.

To form the supine, -ar verbs add -t to the infinitive; while -er verbs replace -a with -t in the infinitive. Infinitives ending in long vowels add -tt to form the supine.
Infinitive
Present
Past
Supine
arbeta to work arbetar arbetade arbetat
fråga to ask frågar frågade frågat
öppna to open öppnar öppnade öppnat
tala to speak talar talade talat
ringa to ring ringer ringde ringt
stänga to close stänger stängde stängt
följa to follow följer följde följt
bygga to build bygger byggde byggt
tänka to think tänker tänkte tänkt
röka to smoke röker rökte rökt
läsa to read läser läste läst
köpa to buy köper köpte köpt
tro to believe tror trodde trott
bo to live, dwell bor bodde bott
Jag har läst boken. I have read the book. Hon hade öppnat dörren. She had opened the door.

List of common regular verbs

First conjugation

att + infinitiv presens imperfekt supinum imperativ Translation
att dansa dansar dansade dansat dansa! to dance
att hoppa hoppar hoppade hoppat hoppa! to jump
att spela spelar spelade spelat spela! to play
att träna tränar tränade tränat träna! to train/work out
att visa visar visade visat visa! to show

Second conjugation (-er)

Conjugation 2a (-er, -de, -t)

att + infinitiv presens imperfekt supinum imperativ Translation
att förlänga förlänger förlängde förlängt förläng! to prolong
att hänga hänger hängde hängt häng! to hang
att ringa ringer ringde ringt ring! to ring
att stänga stänger stängde stängt stäng! to close

Conjugation 2b (-er, -te, -t)

att + infinitiv presens imperfekt supinum imperativ Translation
att leka leker lekte lekt lek! to play
att steka steker stekte stekt stek! to fry
att tycka tycker tyckte tyckt tyck! to think (opinion)
att tänka tänker tänkte tänkt tänk! to think (use brain/opinions)

Third conjugation

att + infinitiv presens imperfekt supinum imperativ Translation
att gro gror grodde grott gro! to grow
att sy syr sydde sytt sy! to sew
Swedish Language
Swedish Lessons Introduction]]>

Danish Classes

Classroom - Danish / By

Definite and Indefinite Article

All nouns in Danish are either common or neuter in gender. About 75% of nouns are of common gender, but many very frequently used nouns are neuter.

Indefinite Article (a/an)

A/an is expressed by en with common nouns and by et with neuter nouns. Indefinite plurals are formed by adding -e or -er to the singular.
singular plural
common neuter
en bil a car
et hus a house
biler cars
huse houses
Some nouns remain unchanged in the plural and some others are irregular.
singular plural
et rum a room
en bog a book
rum rooms
bøger books

Definite Article (the)

The definite article is tagged onto the end of the noun. In the singular, common nouns take an -en ending, neuter nouns take an -et ending. In the plural, both take an -(e)ne or -(er)ne ending.
singular plural
common neuter
bilen the car
toget the train
bilerne the cars
togene the trains
Here are some more examples with both definite/indefinite and singular/plural forms:
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
common
en bil a car
en skole a school
en stol a stool
en mus a mouse
en chip a chip
bilen the car
skolen the school
stolen the stool
musen the mouse
chippen the chip
biler cars
skoler schools
stole stools
mus mice
chips chips
bilerne the cars
skolerne the schools
stolene the stools
musene the mice
chipsene the chips
neuter
et hotel a hotel
et hus a house
et år a year
hotellet the hotel
huset the house
året the year
hoteller hotels
huse houses
år years
hotellerne the hotels
husene the houses
årene the years

Danish Pronouns

Learning the Danish Pronouns is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the Danish language. But first we need to know what the role of Pronouns is in the structure of the grammar in Danish. Danish pronouns include personal pronouns (refer to the persons speaking, the persons spoken to, or the persons or things spoken about), indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns (connect parts of sentences) and reciprocal or reflexive pronouns (in which the object of a verb is being acted on by verb’s subject). Here are some examples:
English Pronouns Danish Pronouns
Pronouns Pronominer
I Jeg
you du
he han
she hun
we vi
they de
me mig
you du
him ham
her hende
us os
them dem
my min
your Deres
his hans
her hende
our vores
their deres
mine mine
yours Deres
his hans
hers hendes
ours vores
theirs deres
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Pronouns in Danish has a logical pattern. Locate the Pronouns above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Dansk.

List of Pronouns in Danish

Below is a list of the Personal pronouns, indefinite pronouns, relative pronouns, reciprocal or reflexive pronouns in Danish placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Danish vocabulary.
English Pronouns Danish Pronouns
I speak Jeg taler
you speak du taler
he speaks han taler
she speaks hun taler
we speak vi taler
they speak de taler
give me give mig
give you give dig
give him give ham
give her give hende
give us give os
give them give dem
my book min bog
your book Deres bog
his book hans bog
her book hendes bog
our book vores bog
their book deres bog

Danish Articles and Demonstratives

How to say a, an, the, this, that, these and those in Danish

There are two indefinite articles (corresponding to a and an) in Danish: en and et. En is used with most of the nouns (words denoting people almost always use en), but you will just have to learn which article goes with which noun. The definite article (the) is not a separate word like in most other languages. It is simply a form of the indefinite article attached to the end of the noun. Note that en words ending in a vowel retain that vowel and add an -n instead of adding -en, while et words ending in -e just add a -t.
En words (common)
Indefinite Definite
en banan a banana bananen the banana
en stol a chair stolen the chair
en gade a street gaden the street
Et words (neuter)
Indefinite Definite
et bord a table bordet the table
et køkken a kitchen køkkenet the kitchen
et æble an apple æblet the apple
This/that is expressed in Danish by using denne (en words) or dette (et words) and these/those is expressed bydisse. The noun is always in the indefinite form after these demonstratives, except for when these / disse (plural) is used, in which case an er is added (unless the words already ends in an r) after the indefinite demonstrative. this banana = denne banan that table = dette bord these streets = disse gader these apples = disse æbler

Danish Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns

with en words with et words with plural words
my / mine min mit mine
your / yours din dit dine
his / her / its / their sin sit sine
his / his hans hans hans
her / hers hendes hendes hendes
its / its dens dens dens
our / ours vores vores vores
your / yours deres deres deres
their / theirs deres deres deres
The same forms are used for possessive adjectives that are used directly before nouns and for possessive pronouns that replace a noun. For example, this is my car and this is mine would be translated as det her er min bil and det her er min. Sin, sit and sine can only be used when the third person possessive adjective refers to the subject of the same clause. These words can be translated as his, her, its or their. Generally, if you cannot insert “own” after the possessive adjective in English, you cannot use sin/sit/sine. Per besøger sin mor. = Per visits his (own) mother. (Sin refers back to Per.) Eva ringer til hans mor. = Eva calls his mother. (Hans refers to Per, not Eva.)

The Verbs Be and Have in Danish

at være – to be
I am jeg er I was jeg var
you are du er  you were du var
he is han er he was han var
she is hun er she was hun var
it is den er it was den var
it is det er it was det var
one is man er  one was man var
we are vi er we were vi var
you are De er you were De var
they are de er they were de var
at have – to have
I have jeg har I had jeg havde
you have du har you had du havde
he has han har he had han havde
she has hun har she had hun havde
it has den har it had den havde
it has det har it had det havde
one has man har one had man havde
we have vi har we had vi havde
you have De har you had De havde
they have de har they had de havde
To form the future tense of verbs, just add vil before the infinitive. Jeg vil være= I will be; hun vil have = she will have; etc. However, the present tense can often be used with adverbs of time to indicate the future. The word skalcan also be used in place of vil, but this implies a promise rather than a general future condition. To make a sentence negative, simply add ikke after the verb. If there is a modal verb and a main verb (such as vil and an infinitive), ikke goes between these two verbs. In addition, if you answer “yes” to a negative question, you must use jo instead of ja.

DANISH GLOSSARY

Hej! Hi  
Goddag Hello (formal) 
Hvordan har du det? How are you?
Hvad så? What’s up? (informal)
Farvel Good bye
God morgen Good morning
God nat Good night
Tak! Thank you
Undskyld mig Excuse me
Jeg elsker dig I love you
Essential Danish:
English Danish
Hello Goddag / Hej
Good evening Godaften
Goodbye Hej hej
See you later Vi ses senere
Yes Jo
No Nej
Excuse me! Undskyld  ?
Thanks Tak
Thanks a lot Mange tak
Thank you for your help Tak for hjœlpen
Don’t mention it Det var så lidt
Ok Okay, det er I orden
How much is it? Hvor meget koster det ?
Sorry! Undskyld
I don’t understand Jeg forstår det ikke
I get it Jeg har forstået
I don’t know Det ved jeg ikke
Forbidden Forbudt
Excuse me, where are the toilets? Undskyld, hvor finder jeg toiletterne  ?
Happy New Year! Godt nytår!
Happy birthday! Tillykke med fødselsdagen !
Happy holiday! God højtid
Congratulations! Tillykke!
English Greetings Danish Greetings:
Hi! Hej!
Good morning! God morgen!
Good evening! God aften!
Welcome! (to greet someone) Velkommen!
How are you? Hvordan har du/ de det?
I’m fine, thanks! Jeg har det fint, tak!
And you? Og dig/ dem?
Good/ So-So. Godt/ Sådan nogenlunde.
Thank you (very much)! Tak! (Mange tak!)
You’re welcome! (for “thank you”) Du/ de er velkommen!
Hey! Friend! Hej! Ven!
I missed you so much! Jeg har savnet dig/ dem så meget!
What’s new? Hvad så?
Nothing much Ikke meget.
Good night! God nat!
See you later! På gensyn!
Good bye! Farvel!
Asking for Help and Directions
I’m lost Jeg er faret vild.
Can I help you? Kan jeg hjælpe dig/ dem?
Can you help me? Kan du/ de hjælpe mig?
Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)? Hvor er (toilettet/ apoteket)?
Go straight! then turn left/ right! Gå lige ud. Drej derefter til venstre/ højre!
I’m looking for john. Jeg leder efter John.
One moment please! Et øjeblik!
Hold on please! (phone) Et øjeblik!
How much is this? Hvor meget koster den/ det?
Excuse me …! (to ask for something) Undskyld mig…
Excuse me! ( to pass by) Undskyld!
Come with me! Kom med mig!
How to Introduce Yourself
Do you speak (English/ Danish)? Taler du/ de (engelsk/ dansk)?
Just a little. Kun en smule.
What’s your name? Hvad er dit/ deres navn?
My name is … Mit navn er…
Mr…/ Mrs.…/ Miss… Hr…/Fru…/Frøken…
Nice to meet you! Hyggeligt at møde dig/ dem!
You’re very kind! Du/ de er meget venlig!
Where are you from? Hvor er du/ de fra?
I’m from (the U.S/ Denmark) Jeg er fra (USA/ Danmark)
I’m (American) Jeg er amerikaner.
Where do you live? Hvor bor du/ de?
I live in (the U.S/ Danmark) Jeg bor i (USA/ Danmark)
Did you like it here? Kan du/ de lide det her?
Denmark is a wonderful country Danmark er et fantastisk land.
What do you do for a living? Hvad arbejder du/ de som?
I work as a (translator/ businessman) Jeg arbejder som en (oversætter/ forretningsmand)
I like Danish Jeg kan lide dansk.
I’ve been learning Danish for 1 month Jeg har lært dansk i en måned.
Oh! That’s good! Oh! Det er godt!
How old are you? Hvor gammel er du/ de?
I’m (twenty, thirty…) years old. Jeg er (tyve, tredive…) år gammel.
I have to go Jeg er nødt til at gå.
I will be right back! Jeg er straks tilbage!
Wish Someone Something
Good luck! Held og lykke!
Happy birthday! Tillykke med fødselsdagen!
Happy new year! Godt nytår!
Merry Christmas! Glædelig jul!
Congratulations! Tillykke!
Enjoy! (for meals…) Velbekomme!
I’d like to visit Denmark one day Jeg kunne tænke mig at besøge Danmark en dag.
Say hi to John for me Sig hej til John fra mig.
Bless you (when sneezing) Prosit!
Good night and sweet dreams! God nat og drøm sødt!
Solving a Misunderstanding
I’m Sorry! (if you don’t hear something) Undskyld!
Sorry (for a mistake) Jeg beklager.
No Problem! Intet problem!
Can You Say It Again? Kan du/ de sige det igen?
Can You Speak Slowly? Kan du/ de sige det langsomt?
Write It Down Please! Vær venlig at skrive det ned!
I Don’t Understand! Jeg forstår ikke!
I Don’t Know! Jeg ved det ikke!
I Have No Idea. Jeg har ingen anelse!
What’s That Called In Danish? Hvad hedder det på dansk?
What Does “gato” Mean In English? Hvad betyder “undsklyld” på Engelsk?
How Do You Say “Please” In Danish? Hvordan siger man “please” på dansk?
What Is This? Hvad er det?
My Danish is bad. Mit dansk er dårligt.
I need to practice my Danish Jeg har brug for at øve mit dansk.
Don’t worry! Bare rolig!
Danish Expressions and Words
Good/ Bad/ So-So. Godt/ Dårligt/ Sådan nogenlunde
Big/ Small Stor/ Lille
Today/ Now I dag/ Nu
Tomorrow/ Yesterday I morgen/ I går
Yes/ No Ja/ Nej
Here you go! (when giving something) Værsgo!
Do you like it? Kan du/ de lide den?
I really like it! Jeg kan virkelig lide den!
I’m hungry/ thirsty. Jeg er sulten/ tørstig.
In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night. Om morgenen/ om aftenen/ om natten
This/ That. Here/There Denne/dette / den/det. Her/ der
Me/ You. Him/ Her. Mig/ dig/ dem. Ham/ Hende
Really! Virkelig!
Look! Se!
Hurry up! Skynd dig/ dem!
What? Where? Hvad? Hvor?
What time is it? Hvad er klokken?
It’s 10 o’clock. 07:30pm. Klokken er 10. Klokken 7:30.
Give me this! Giv mig den/det!
I love you! Jeg elsker dig/ dem!
I feel sick. Jeg føler mig dårlig.
I need a doctor Jeg har brug for en læge.
One, Two, Three En, to, tre
Four, Five, Six Fire, fem, seks
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten Syv, otte, ni, ti
Danish Conversation:
English Danish
Hello. How are you? Hej, hvordan har du det ?
Hello. I’m fine, thank you Hej, jeg har det fint, tak
Do you speak Danish? Taler du dansk ?
No, I don’t speak Danish Nej, jeg taler ikke dansk
Only a little bit En lille smule
Where do you come from? Hvor er du fra ?
What is your nationality? Hvor kommer du fra ?
I am English Jeg er englænder
And you, do you live here? Og hvad med dig, er du herfra ?
Yes, I live here Ja, jeg bor her
My name is Sarah, what’s your name? Jeg hedder Sarah, hvad hedder du ?
Julian Jeg hedder Julien
What are you doing here? Hvad laver du her ?
I am on holiday Jeg er på ferie
We are on holiday Vi er på ferie
I am on a business trip Jeg er på forretningsrejse
I work here Jeg arbejder her
We work here Vi arbejder her
Where are the good places to go out and eat? Er der nogle gode steder at spise ?
Is there a museum in the neighbourhood? Er der et museum her i nærheden?
Where could I get an internet connection? Hvor jeg jeg gå på internettet ?
The Time What time is it?: Hvad er klokken? It’s ? o’clock.: Klokken er ? Today: i dag Tomorrow: i morgen Early: tidlig Monday: mandag Tuesday: tirsdag Wednesday: onsdag Thursday: torsdag Friday: fredag Saturday: lordag Sunday: sondag Numbers Zero: nul One: en Two: to Three: tre Four: fire Five: fem Six: seks Seven: syv Eight: otte Nine: ni Ten: ti

CONVERSATION 1

John and Mette meet at Mads’ party
John: Hej. Jeg hedder John. Hi. I’m John
Mette: Hej, Mette. Hi. Mette
John: Fed fest, hva’? Nice party, huh?
Mette: Ja, det er det. Yes, it is.
Hvor kender du Mads fra? How do you know Mads?
John: Vi arbejder sammen. We work together
Mette: Er du også lærer? Are you also a teacher?
John: Ja, det er jeg. Yes, I am.
Jeg arbejder som vikar her i København. I’m working as a substitute teacher here in Copenhagen.
Mette: Kommer du fra København? Are you from Copenhagen?
John: Nej, jeg er faktisk ikke dansker. No, I’m actually not a Dane.
Jeg kommer fra Namibia. I’m from Namibia.
Mette: Er det rigtigt? Really?
Hvor spændende. How exciting.
Hvor længe har du været i Danmark? How long have you been in Denmark?
John: Jeg har været her i næsten tre måneder. I’ve been here almost 3 months.
Mette: Men du taler da flot dansk! But you speak Danish very well.
John: Tak. Thanks.
Mine forældre er danskere. My parents are Danes.
Min mor bor her og min far bor i Namibia. My mother lives here, and my father lives in Namibia.
Jeg kom for at besøge min mor. I came to visit my mother.
Mette: OK. OK.
Kommer du så fra Windhoek? Are you from Windhoek, then?
John: Nej, jeg kommer fra Swakopmund. No, I’m from Swakopmund.
Det er en lille by. It’s a small town.
Hvad med dig? How about you?
Mette: Nå, jeg er bare almindelig dansker. Oh, I’m just an ordinary Dane.
Jeg er fra Aarhus, men jeg bor i København. I’m from Aarhus, but I live in Copenhagen.
John: Hvad laver du? What do you do?
Mette: Jeg er skuespiller. I’m an actress
Danish Audio Lessons
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German Classes

Classroom - German / By

Preparation for A1, A2 German Exams

Asking Questions Politely in German

When you’re in a German-speaking country, you’re bound to find yourself in a number of situations where you need to ask a lot of questions as you find your way around — for example, where the nearest bank is or how long the train will be delayed — or you may simply need to ask someone to speak more slowly. You many find the following vocabulary useful in various situations. These expressions can help you get the attention of someone, excuse yourself, or ask someone to repeat himself:

  • Entschuldigung! (I’m sorry./Excuse me.)

  • Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! (Excuse me, please./I beg your pardon.)

  • Entschuldigung? (Pardon?)

  • Verzeihung bitte. (Excuse me./Pardon me.)

  • Verzeihung! (Sorry!)

  • Wie bitte? (Pardon?/Sorry?/I beg your pardon?) You use this phrase when you don’t understand what someone has said.

After you get the person’s attention, you may need to follow up with a request for help. The following are some common requests for getting help and asking someone to repeat himself or to speak more slowly:

  • Könnten Sie mir bitte helfen? (Could you help me, please?)

  • Könnten Sie das bitte wiederholen? (Could you repeat that, please?)

  • Könnten Sie bitte langsamer sprechen? (Could you please speak more slowly?)

In a restaurant, you can get service with the following expressions. Just remember to start with Entschuldigen Sie, bitte! (Excuse me, please!)

  • Was würden Sie zum Essen empfehlen? (What would you recommend to eat?)

  • Bringen Sie mir/uns bitte die Speisekarte/die Rechnung. (Please bring me/us the menu/check.)

  • Könnten Sie bitte einen Löffel/eine Serviette bringen? (Could you bring a spoon/a napkin, please?)

  • Ich hätte gern . . . (I’d like . . .) When ordering food or drink, add the item from the menu to the end of this phrase.

When you’re shopping in a department store or other large store, the following may help you navigate it more easily:

  • Wo ist die Schmuckabteilung/Schuhabteilung? (Where is the jewelry/shoe department?)

  • Wo finde ich die Rolltreppe/die Toiletten? (Where do I find the escalator/restrooms?)

  • Haben Sie Lederwaren/Regenschirme? (Do you carry leather goods/umbrellas?)

  • Wie viel kostet das Hemd/die Tasche? (How much does the shirt/bag cost?)

  • Könnten Sie das bitte als Geschenk einpacken? (Could you wrap that as a present, please?)

When you’re walking around town and need directions on the street, the following questions can help you find your way:

  • Wo ist das Hotel Vierjahreszeiten/Hotel Continental? (Where is the Hotel Vierjahreszeiten/Hotel Continental?)

  • Gibt es eine Bank/eine Bushhaltestelle in der Nähe? (Is there a bank/bus stop near here?)

  • Könnten Sie mir bitte sagen, wo die Post/der Park ist? (Could you tell me where the post office/park is, please?)

These questions come in handy when you’re taking public transportation:

  • Wo kann ich eine Fahrkarte kaufen? (Where can I buy a ticket?)

  • Wie viele Haltestellen sind es zum Bahnhof/Kunstmuseum? (How many stops is it to the train station/art museum?)

  • Ist das der Bus/die U-Bahn zum Haydnplatz/Steyerwald? (Is this the bus/subway to Haydnplatz/Steyerwald?)

  • Wie oft fährt die Straßenbahn nach Charlottenburg/Obermenzing?(How often does the streetcar go to Charlottenburg/Obermenzing?)

  • Ich möchte zum Hauptbahnhof. In welche Richtung muss ich fahren?(I’d like to go to the main train station. In which direction do I need to go?)

  • Von welchem Gleis fährt der Zug nach Köln/Paris ab? (Which track does the train to Cologne/Paris leave from?)

    Introduction

    German has three words — der, die and das — for the definite article the. To make matters more confusing for someone learning German, these three definite articles change spelling according to the case of the noun that they appear with in a sentence. The same is true for the indefinite articles. Just as English has two indefinite articles — a and an — that you use with singular nouns, German also has two indefinite articles (in the nominative case): ein for masculine- and neuter-gender words and eine for feminine-gender words. Another similarity with English is that the German indefinite article ein/einedoesn’t have a plural form. Depending on how you’re describing something plural, you may or may not need to use the plural definite article. Consider the following generalized statement, which requires no article: In Zermatt sind Autos verboten. (Cars are forbidden in Zermatt [Switzerland].) The following table shows you the definite articles and the corresponding indefinite articles (nominative case):
    Gender/Number Definite (the) Indefinite (a/an)
    Masculine der ein
    Feminine die eine
    Neuter das ein
    Plural die (no plural form)
    In German language, there are three definite articles for nouns in singular: der for masculine nouns, die for feminine nouns and das neutral nouns. German native speakers know mostly intuitively what the article of each noun is. However, non-native speakers need to memorize the articles. There are several rules and guidelines determining the articles of some categories of nouns. But beware exceptions.
  • Rules for Article ‘Der’
    The following nouns have the article der:
    • Nouns for masculine persons and functions/professions: Vater, Pilot, Arzt;
    • Names of seasons: Frühling, Sommer, Herbst, Winter;
    • Names of months: Januar, Juli, Dezember;
    • Names of days of the week: Montag, Dienstag, Sonntag;
    • Names of compass directions: Nordwest(en), Süd(en);
    • Names of precipitations: Regen, Schnee, Hagel;
    • Names of car brands: Audi, BMW, Mercedes;
    • Names of trains: IC;
    • Nouns derived from verbs without suffix: Gang, Fang;
    The following categories of nouns have mainly the article der:
    • Names of alcoholic beverages: Cognac, Wein, Whiskey; exceptions: das Bier;
    • Names of rivers outside Europe: Amazonas, Mississippi;
    • Names of mountains: Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro; exception: die Zugspitze;
    Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article der:
    • –er (nouns derived from verbs): Fahrer, Lehrer;
    • –ismus: Kapitalismus, Journalismus;
    Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article der:
    • –ant: Demonstrant, Elefant; exceptions: das Croissant, das Restaurant;
    • –ling: Lehrling, Schützling; exceptions: das Dribbling, das Bowling;
    • –ner: Rentner, Schaffner, Zöllner; exceptions: das Banner, die Wiener (Wurst);
    • –or: Motor, Traktor; exceptions: das Gegentor, das Chlor;

    Beware: this is applicable only to nouns in singular. All nouns in plural have the article die.

    Beware: diminutives have always the article das: der Kopf → das Köpfchen.

    Rules for Article ‘Die’

    The following nouns have the article die:
    • Nouns for feminine persons and functions/professions: Mutter, Friseuse, Ärztin;
    • Names of motorcycle brands: Harley Davidson, BMW (only motorcycle), Yamaha;
    • Names of planes and ships: Boeing 747, Titanic;
    • Cardinal numbers: Eins, Drei;
    The following categories of nouns have mainly the article die:
    • Names of plants and trees: Birke, Chrysantheme, Rose; exceptions: der Ahorn, das Veilchen;
    Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article die:
    • –falt: Vielfalt;
    • –heit: Freiheit, Sicherheit;
    • –keit: Möglichkeit, Schnelligkeit;
    • –schaft: Freundschaft, Mannschaft;
    • –t (nouns derived from verbs): Fahrt, Tat;
    • –ung: Leitung, Zeitung;
    Foreign nouns with the suffixes below have the article die:
    • –ade: Hitparade, Marmelade;
    • –age: Garage, Passage;
    • –anz: Eleganz, Dominanz;
    • –enz: Existenz, Tendenz;
    • –ik: Kritik, Musik;
    • –ion: Diskussion, Koalition;
    • –tät: Identität, Qualität;
    • –ur: Agentur, Reparatur;
    Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article die:
    • –e: Grenze, Lampe; exceptions: der Junge, der Friede;
    • –ei: Abtei, Metzgerei; exceptions: das Ei, der Papagei;
    • –ie: Diplomatie, Psychologie; exceptions: der Junkie, der Hippie;
    • –in: Ärztin, Studentin; exceptions: das Benzin, der Harlekin;

    Beware: diminutives have always the article das: die Hand → das Händchen.

  • Rules for Article ‘Das’
    The following nouns have the article das:
    • Diminutives (–chen, –lein): Kaninchen, Fräulein;
    • Nouns derived from infinitives: Essen, Schreiben;
    • Nouns derived from adjectives: Gute, Böse;
    • Names of colors: Rot, Gelb, Blau;
    The following categories of nouns have mainly the article das:
    • Almost all of the 112 known chemical elements: Aluminium, Kupfer, Uran; 6 exceptions: der Kohlenstoff, der Sauerstoff, der Stickstoff, der Wasserstoff, der Phosphor, der Schwefel;
    • Names of metals: Blei, Messing, Zinn; exceptions: die Bronze, der Stahl;
    • Fractions: Drittel (⅓), Viertel (¼); exception: die Hälfte (½);
    Furthermore, nouns with the suffixes below have the article das:
    • –ial: Material, Potenzial;
    Most of nouns with the following suffixes have the article das:
    • –ment: Instrument, Parlament; exceptions: der Konsument, der Zement;
    • –nis: Ergebnis, Tennis; exceptions: die Fahrerlaubnis, die Wildnis;
    • –o: Auto, Konto; exceptions: die Avocado, der Euro;
    • –tum: Quantum, Ultimatum; exceptions: der Reichtum, der Irrtum;
    • –um (nouns of Latin origin): Publikum, Museum, Stadium;

    Beware: this is applicable only to nouns in singular. All nouns in plural have the article die.

German Definite Articles by Gender (Nominative Case)
German Definite Article (English meaning) Gender (Abbreviation Seen in Dictionaries) German Example (English meaning)
der (the) masculine (m) der Löffel (the spoon)
die (the) feminine (f) die Gabel (the fork)
das (the) neuter (n or nt) das Messer (the knife)
die (the) plural (pl) die Menschen (the people)
Some categories of nouns are consistently masculine, feminine, or neuter. For instance, noun gender usually follows the gender of people: der Onkel (the uncle) and die Schwester (the sister). In many other cases, the noun categories have to do with the ending of the noun. The following two tables provide some fairly reliable categories of nouns and their genders.
Common Genders by Noun Ending (Or Beginning)
Usually Masculine (der) Usually Feminine (die) Usually Neuter (das)
-er (especially when referring to male people/jobs) -ade, -age, -anz, -enz, -ette, -ine, -ion, -tur (if foreign/borrowed from another language) -chen
-ich -e -ium
-ismus -ei -lein
-ist -heit -ment (if foreign/borrowed from another language)
-ner -ie -o
  -ik -tum or -um
  -in (when referring to female people/occupations) Ge-
  -keit  
  -schaft  
  -tät  
  -ung  
Common Genders by Noun Subject
Usually Masculine (der) Usually Feminine (die) Usually Neuter (das)
Days, months, and seasons: der Freitag(Friday) Many flowers: die Rose (the rose) Colors (adjectives) used as nouns: grün (green) das Grün (the green)
Map locations: der Süd(en) (the south) Many trees: die Buche (the beech) Geographic place names: das Europa(Europe)
Names of cars and trains: der Audi (the Audi) and der ICE(the Intercity Express) Names of aircraft and ships: die Boeing 767 (the Boeing 767), die Titanic (the Titanic) Infinitives used as nouns (gerunds): schwimmen(to swim) das Schwimmen(swimming)
Nationalities and words showing citizenship: der Amerikaner (the American) Cardinal numbers:eine Drei (a three) Young people and animals: das Baby (the baby)
Occupations: der Arzt(the doctor)   Almost all the chemical elements and most metals: das Aluminium(aluminum) and das Blei(lead)
Names of most mountains and lakes:der Großglockner(the highest mountain in Austria)    
Most rivers outside of Europe: der Amazonas (the Amazon)
Conjugation of German Irregular Verbs: Regular Verbs:
1. ARBEITEN : to work
Ich: arbeite Wir: arbeiten
Du: arbeitest Ihr: arbeitet
Er: arbeitet Sie: arbeiten
2. DISKUTIEREN : to discuss
Ich: diskutiere Wir: diskutieren
Du: diskutierst Ihr: diskutiert
Er: diskutiert Sie: diskutieren
3. FLIEGEN : to fly
Ich: fliege Wir: fliegen
Du: fliegst Ihr: fliegt
Er: fliegt Sie: fliegen
4. GEHEN : to go
Ich: gehe Wir: gehen
Du: gehst Ihr: geht
Er: geht Sie: gehen
5. HEISSEN : to be called
Ich: heisse Wir: heissen
Du: heisst Ihr: heisst
Er: heisst Sie: heissen
6. HÖREN : to listen
Ich: höre Wir: hören
Du: hörst Ihr: hört
Er: hört Sie: hören
7. KOCHEN : to cook
Ich: koche Wir: kochen
Du: kochst Ihr: kocht
Er: kocht Sie: kochen
8. KOMMEN : to come
Ich: komme Wir: kommen
Du: kommst Ihr: kommt
Er: kommt Sie: kommen
9. LERNEN : to learn
Ich: lerne Wir: lernen
Du: lernst Ihr: lernt
Er: lernt Sie: lernen
10. LIEBEN : to love
Ich: liebe Wir: lieben
Du: liebst Ihr: liebt
Er: liebt Sie: lieben
11. MACHEN : to do/to make
Ich: mache Wir: machen
Du: machst Ihr: macht
Er: macht Sie: machen
12. PROBIEREN : to try
Ich: probiere Wir: probieren
Du: probierst Ihr: probiert
Er: probiert Sie: probieren
13. REISEN : to travel
Ich: reise Wir: reisen
Du: reist Ihr: reist
Er: reist Sie: reisen
14. REITEN : to ride
Ich: reite Wir: reiten
Du: reitest Ihr: reitet
Er: reitet Sie: reiten
15. SCHWIMMEN : to swim
Ich: schwimme Wir: schwimmen
Du: schwimmst Ihr: schwimmt
Er: schwimmt Sie: schwimmen
16. SPIELEN : to play
Ich: spiele Wir: spielen
Du: spielst Ihr: spielt
Er: spielt Sie: spielen
17. STUDIEREN : to study
Ich: studiere Wir: studieren
Du: studierst Ihr: studiert
Er: studiert Sie: studieren
18. SUCHEN : to search for
Ich: suche Wir: suchen
Du: suchst Ihr: sucht
Er: sucht Sie: suchen
19. TANZEN : to dance
Ich: tanze Wir: tanzen
Du: tanzt Ihr: tanzt
Er: tanzt Sie: tanzen
20. TREIBEN : to do sports
Ich: treibe Wir: treiben
Du: treibst Ihr: treibt
Er: treibt Sie: treiben
21. TRINKEN : to drink
Ich: trinke Wir: trinken
Du: trinkst Ihr: trinkt
Er: trinkt Sie: trinken
22. WOHNEN : to live
Ich: wohne Wir: wohnen
Du: wohnst Ihr: wohnt
Er: wohnt Sie: wohnen
23. ÖFFNEN : to open
Ich: öffne Wir: öffnen
Du: öffnest Ihr: öffnet
Er: öffnet Sie: öffnen
Separable Verbs: ]]>

Dutch Classes

Classroom - Dutch, Learn Dutch / By

Dutch language course

Dutch Language

Basic Dutch Phrases

Good Morning Goedemorgen khoo-duh-mawr-ghuh
Good Day Goedemiddag khoo-duh-mih-dahkh
Good Evening Goedenavond khoo-duh-nah-fohnt
Good Night Goedenacht khoo-duh-nahkht
Hi / Bye Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doei hoy / hah-loh / dahk / doo-ee
Goodbye Tot ziens toht zeens
See you later (in the same day) Tot straks toht straks
See you soon Tot zo toht zoh
Please Alstublieft / Alsjeblieft ahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-bleeft
Thank you Dank u wel / Dank je wel dahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh-vehl
Thank you very much Hartelijk bedankt hahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnkt
You’re welcome (don’t mention it) Graag gedaan khrahkh khuh-dahn
I’m sorry / Excuse me Sorry saw-ree
Pardon me (didn’t understand) Pardon, wat zei u? pahr-dohn, vat zay ew
Yes / No Ja / Nee yah / nay
How are you? (formal) Hoe gaat het met u? hoo khaht ut meht ew
How are you? (informal) Hoe gaat het? hoo khaht ut
Fine / Very well Goed / Heel goed khoot / hayl khoot
So so / Bad Het gaat / Slecht uht khaht / slehkht
I’m tired / sick. Ik ben moe / ziek  ik ben moo / zeek
I’m hungry / thirsty. Ik heb honger / dorst ik heb hohng-ur / dohrst
What’s your name? (formal) Hoe heet u? hoo hayt ew
What’s your name? (informal) Hoe heet je? hoo hayt yuh
My name is (I’m called)… Ik heet… ik hayt…
I am… Ik ben… ik ben
Nice to meet you. Aangenaam (kennis te maken) ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh mah-kuh)
Mister / Misses / Miss meneer / mevrouw / mejuffrouw muh-nayr / muh-frow / muh-yuh-frow
Where are you from? (formal) Waar komt u vandaan? vahr kawmt ew fun-dahn
Where are you from? (informal) Waar kom je vandaan? vahr kawn yuh fun-dahn
I am from the Netherlands. Ik kom uit Nederland. ik kawm owt nay-der-lant
Where do you live? (formal) Waar woont u? vahr vohnt ew
Where do you live? (informal) Waar woon je? vahr vohn yuh
I live in America. Ik woon in Amerika. ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kah
How old are you? (formal) Hoe oud bent u? hoo owt bent ew
How old are you? (informal) Hoe oud ben je? hoo owt ben yuh
I am ____ years old. Ik ben … jaar (oud). ik ben … yahr owt
Do you speak Dutch? (formal) Spreekt u Nederlands? spraykt ew nay-der-lahnds
Do you speak English? informal) Spreek je Engels? sprayk yuh ehng-uhls
I [don’t] speak… Ik spreek [geen]… ik sprayk [khayn]
I don’t speak … very well. Ik spreek niet zo goed… ik sprayk neet zoh khood
I [don’t] understand. Ik begrijp het [niet.] ik buh-khraip ut neet
I [don’t] know. Ik weet het [niet.] ik vayt ut [neet]
How much is it? Wat kost het? vat kohst ut
I’d like… Ik wil graag… ik vil khrahk
Cheers! Proost! prohst
Have fun! Veel plezier! fayl pleh-zeer
Good luck! Veel succes! fayl suk-sehs
Be careful! Wees voorzichtig! vays fohr-zikh-tikh
That is great / terrible! Dat is geweldig / vreselijk! dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / fray-zuh-likh
I love you. (informal) Ik hou van je. ik how fahn yuh
I love you (all). Ik hou van jullie. ik how fahn juh-lee
How funny / odd! Wat vreemd! vaht fraymt
What a pity! Wat jammer! vaht yah-mer
What is this / that? Wat is dit / dat? vut iss dit / dut
In the pronunciations, kh denotes a uvular guttural sound. Meneer, mevrouw and mejuffrouw are all written with a small letter when they precede a name. When typing, de Heer is used instead of meneer and Dhr. is used on envelopes. Mevrouw and mejuffrouw are abbreviated as Mevr. and Mej. In addition, Mw. can be used as an equivalent of the English Ms.

Dutch Pronunciation

Dutch letters English sound
ch / g guttural sound, made at back of mouth
sch s followed by guttural ch sound
w like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip against top teeth
v like v, but sometimes closer to f
r either rolled or guttural
j y as in yes
sj sh as in ship
tj ch as in chip
aa ah as in father, but longer
ee ay as in hail, but shorter
ie ee as in neat, but shorter
oo oh as in boat
oe oo as in pool, but shorter
eu ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded
uu ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in English)
a ah as in father, but shorter
e eh as in bed
i ih as in bit
o aw as in paw, with lips rounded
u ir as in dirt, but very short
ei / ij between the sounds in “light” and “late”
aai combination of aa and ie
oei combination of oe and ie
ooi combination of oo and ie
ou / au like ow, as in house
eeuw combination of ee and oe
ieuw combination of ie and oe
uw combination of uu and oe
ui combination of a and uu
The consonants s, f, h, b, d, z, l, m, n, and ng are pronounced the same way in Dutch as in English. P, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of air (called aspiration.) Sometimes the g is pronounced like zh in words borrowed from French. One last vowel sound is found in various Dutch spellings. It is pronounced like uh, as in along or sofa. For example, this sound is found in de (the), een (a), aardig (nice), and vriendelijk (kind).

Dutch Nouns and Gender

All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common (de words) or neuter (het words).   It is hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to memorize the genders when memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds of Dutch words are common gender (because the common gender has combined the former feminine and masculine genders.) So it may be easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common gender to the rest. All diminutives (words ending in -je) and infinitives used as nouns, as well as colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are neuter. Most nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-. Common noun endings include: -aar, -ent, -er, -es, -eur, -heid, -ij, -ing, -teit, -tie.

Articles & Demonstratives

 
common
neuter
Singular “the”
de
het
Plural “the”
de
Indefinite “a” or “an”
een
  common neuter
Singular this that deze die dit dat
Plural these those
deze die
The definite article is used more in Dutch than in English. It is always used before the names of the seasons, street names and in an abstract sense. There are some idioms that should be memorized, however: in het Nederlands (in Dutch), in de stad (in town), in het zwart (in black), met de auto (by car), met de tijd (in/with time); op tafel (on the table), in zee (in the sea), op kantoor (at the office), in bad (in the bath), op straat (in the street).

Dutch Subject and Object Pronouns

Subject
Object
I ik (‘k) me mij (me)
you (singular familiar) jij (je) you jou (je)
you (singular formal) u you u
he hij him hem (‘m)
she zij (ze) her haar (ze)
it hij / het it het (‘t)
we wij (we) us ons
you (plural familiar) jullie you jullie (je)
you (plural formal) u you u
they zij (ze) them hen (ze) / hun (ze)

Unstressed forms (shortened forms used mostly in the spoken language) are in parentheses. There are also unstressed forms of ik (‘k), hij (ie) and het (‘t) but these are not written in the standard language. You will see them in informal writing, however (such as on internet forums or sometimes in film subtitles.)

Direct and indirect object pronouns are the same in Dutch, except for “them.”  Hen is used if it is a direct object, and hun is used if it is an indirect object.  Generally, indirect objects are preceded by “to” or “from” in English, and direct objects are not preceded by any prepositions.  Additionally, these object pronouns are used after prepositions.

An alternative way of showing possession without using the possessive pronouns is to use van + object pronoun.  In fact, this is the only way to show possession with the jullie form, as there is no possessive pronoun for it.  This construction corresponds to “of + object” and occurs often in sentences with the verb “to be.”  Is deze pen van jou?  Is this your pen?  Die schoenen zijn niet van mij.  Those shoes are not mine.

If the noun is not present in the clause, then die or dat + van + object pronoun is used. Mijn huis is klein; dat van hem is erg groot.  My house is small; his is very large.

Dutch Verbs To Be & to Have – Zijn and Hebben

Present tense of zijn – to be (zayn)

I am ik ben ik ben we are wij zijn vay zayn
you are jij / u bent yay / ew bent you are jullie zijn yew-lee zayn
he, she, it is hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is they are zij zijn zay zayn

Present tense of hebben – to have (heh-buhn)

I have ik heb ik hep we have wij hebben vay heh-buhn
you have jij / u hebt yay / ew hept you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buhn
he, she, it is hij, zij, het heeft hay, zay, ut hayft they have zij hebben zay heh-buhn

U heeft rather than u hebt is also possible.

Past tense of zijn – to be (zayn)

I was ik was ik vas we were wij waren vay vah-ruhn
you were jij / u was yay / ew vas you were jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruhn
he, she, it was hij, zij, het was hay, zay, ut vas they were zij waren zay vah-ruhn

Past tense of hebben – to have (heh-buhn)

I had ik had ik haht we had wij hadden vay hah-duhn
you had jij / u had yay / ew haht you had jullie hadden yew-lee hah-duhn
he, she, it had hij, zij, het had hay, zay, ut haht they had zij hadden zay hah-duhn

You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of future conjugations since most verbs only have two forms for each conjugation.

Expressions with zijn and hebben: Het/dat is jammer – It’s/that’s a pity jarig zijn – to have a birthday kwijt zijn – to have lost op het punt staan – to be about to van plan zijn – to intend voor elkaar zijn – to be in order honger / dorst hebben – to be hungry / thirsty gelijk hebben – to be right haast hebben – to be in a hurry het hebben over – to talk about het druk hebben – to be busy het koud hebben / warm – to be cold / warm last hebben van – to be bothered by nodig hebben – to need slaap hebben – to be sleepy zin hebben in – to feel like

Dutch Useful Words

sometimes soms
always altijd
never nooit
often vaak, dikwijls
usually gewoonlijk
now nu
and en
but maar
or of
very zeer, heel
here hier
there daar
also ook
much veel
another een ander
already al
perhaps misschien

Dutch Question Words

who wie where waar
what wat where to waar… naartoe
why waarom where from waar… vandaan
when wanneer which welk / welke
how hoe Isn’t it?, etc. niet waar?

Dutch Numbers

0 nul    
1 een 1st eerste
2 twee 2nd tweede
3 drie 3rd drede
4 vier 4th vierde
5 vijf 5th vijfde
6 zes 6th zesde
7 zeven 7th zevende
8 acht 8th achtste
9 negen 9th negende
10 tien 10th tiende
11 elf 11th elfde
12 twaalf 12th twaalfde
13 dertien 13th dertiende
14 veertien 14th veertiende
15 vijftien 15th vijftiende
16 zestien 16th zestiende
17 zeventien 17th zeventiende
18 achttien 18th achttiende
19 negentien 19th negentiende
20 twintig 20th twintigste
21 eenentwintig 21st eenentwintigste
22 tweeëntwintig 22nd tweeëntwintigste
23 drieëntwintig 23rd drieentwintigste
30 dertig 30th dertigste
40 veertig 40th veertigste
50 vijftig 50th vijftigste
60 zestig 60th zestigste
70 zeventig 70th zeventigste
80 tachtig 80th tachtigste
90 negentig 90th negentigste
100 honderd 100th honderdste
101 honderd en een 101st honderd en eerste
110 honderd tien 110th honderd tiende
200 tweehonderd 200th tweehonderdste
1,000 duizend 1,000th duizendste
1,001 duizend en een 1,001st duizend en eerste
million een miljoen millionth miljoenste
billion een miljard billionth miljardste
de helft half een keer once
een derde one third twee keer twice
een kwart one quarter drie keer three time
In the word for twenty-two, the ë is necessary because there are three of the same vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one needs to be pronounced separately. The use of commas and decimals is reversed in Dutch.

Dutch Days of the Week

Monday maandag
Tuesday dinsdag
Wednesday woensdag
Thursday donderdag
Friday vrijdag
Saturday zaterdag
Sunday zondag
day dag
morning ochtend
afternoon middag
evening avond
night nacht
today vandaag
tomorrow morgen
tonight deze nacht
yesterday gisteren
last night (de) afgelopen nacht
day after tomorrow overmorgen
day before yesterday eergisteren
week week
last week afgelopen week
weekend weekend
daily dagelijks
weekly wekelijks

Dutch Months of the Year

January januari
February februari
March maart
April april
May mei
June juni
July juli
August augustus
September september
October oktober
November november
December december
month maand
year jaar
last year het afgelopen jaar
monthly maandelijks
yearly jaarlijks

Dutch Seasons and Directions

Winter de winter
Spring de lente / het voorjaar
Summer de zomer
Autumn de herfst / het najaar
  Compass/Wind Location/Movement    
North noord noorden right rechts
South zuid zuiden left links
East oost oosten straight rechtdoor
West west westen    

Dutch Colors and Shapes

orange oranje square vierkant
pink roze circle cirkel
purple paars triangle driehoek
blue blauw rectangle rechthoek
yellow geel oval ovaal
red rood box vak
black zwart sphere bol
brown bruin cube kubus
gray grijs pyramid piramide
white wit cone kegel
green groen cylinder cilinder
silver zilver heart hart
gold goud star ster
beige beige diamond diamant
light licht crescent halvemaan
dark donker    

Licht and donker are added to the colors to mean light and dark: lichtbruin – light brown.

Telling Time in Dutch

What time is it? Hoe laat is het?
It’s 1:00 Het is een uur.
2:00 Het is twee uur.
3:30 Het is half vier.
5:45 Het is kwart voor zes.
7:03 Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.
at 9:30 om half tien
noon twaalf uur ‘s middags
midnight twaalf uur ‘s nachts / middernacht
In the morning ‘s ochtends
During the day ‘s middags
In the evening ‘s avonds
At night ‘s nachts

Minuten can be omitted, just as in English.

How to talk about the weather in Dutch

ow’s the weather today? Wat voor weer is het vandaag?
It’s cold Het is koud
beautiful Het is mooi
hot Het is heet
clear Het is helder
icy Het is ijzig
warm Het is warm
windy Het is windig
cloudy Het is bewolkt
hazy Het is mistig
muggy Het is drukkend / benauwd
humid Het is vochtig
foggy Het is mistig
It’s snowing Het sneeuwt
It’s raining Het regent
It’s freezing Het vriest

Dutch Family and Pets Vocabulary

family familie sister-in-law schoonzuster
parents ouders brother-in-law zwager
mother moeder / mamma godmother meter
father vader / papa godfather peetvader
child / children kind / kinderen boy jongen
son zoon girl meisje (n)
daughter dochter child kind
brother broeder / broer man, husband man
Sister zuster / zus woman, wife vrouw
grandparents grootouder friend (m) vriend
grandfather grootvader / opa friend (f) vriendin
grandmother grootmoeder / oma adult volwassene
grandchildren kleinkinderen relative bloedverwant
grandson kleinzoon siblings broers en zusters
granddaughter kleindochter twin tweeling
niece / cousin (f) nicht birth geboorte
nephew / cousin (m) neef death dood
uncle oom marriage huwelijk (n)
aunt tante divorce echtscheiding
stepmother stiefmoeder    
stepfather stiefvader dog hond
stepdaughter stiefdochter cat poes
stepson stiefzoon bird vogel
stepsister stiefzuster goldfish goudvis
stepbrother stiefbroeder gerbil woestijnrat
mother-in-law schoonmoeder hamster hamster
father-in-law schoonvader ferret fret
daughter-in-law schoondochter horse paard
son-in-law schoonzoon pony pony
In the vocabulary lists, (n) after the noun means that the gender is neuter and the definite article is het (rather than de.)

Dutch Verbs Know – Kennen and Weten

kennen – to know people
  singular plural
Present: know(s) ken ken kennen ken-nuh
Past: knew kende ken-duh kenden ken-duh
weten – to know facts
  singular plural
Present: know(s) weet vayt weten vay-tuh
Past: knew wist vist wisten vist-uh

How to form plural nouns in Dutch

Most plural nouns are formed by adding either -en or -s. Remember that the definite article is always de before plural nouns.

1. -en (the n is pronounced softly) is added to most nouns, with a few spelling changes

boek – boeken book(s) jas – jassen coat(s) haar – haren hair(s) huis – huizen house(s)

Spelling changes: Words with long vowels (aa, ee, oo, and uu) drop the one vowel when another syllable is added. Words with the short vowels (a, e, i, o and u) double the following consonant to keep the vowels short. The letters f and s occur at the end of words or before consonants, while the letters v and z occur in the middle of words before vowels. (These spelling rules are also used for conjugating verbs, so it’s best to memorize them as soon as possible.)

2. -s is added to nouns ending in the unstressed syllables -el, -em, -en, and -er (and -aar(d), -erd, -ier when referring to people), foreign words and to most nouns ending in an unstressed vowel

tafel – tafels table(s) jongen – jongens boy(s) tante – tantes aunt(s) bakker – bakkers baker(s)

Nouns ending in the vowels -a, -o, and -u add an apostrophe before the s: foto’s, paraplu’s

Irregular forms

3. Some nouns containing a short vowel do not double the following consonant in the plural before -en. The plural vowel is then pronounced as long.

bad – baden bath(s) dag – dagen day(s) spel – spelen game(s) (like the Olympics, smaller games are spellen) glas – glazen glass(es) weg – wegen road(s)

4. A few neuter nouns take the ending -eren (or -deren if the noun ends in -n)

blad – bladeren leaf (leaves) kind – kinderen child(ren) ei – eieren egg(s) been – beenderen bone(s) [Note: been – benen leg(s)] lied – liederen song(s) volk – volkeren nation(s), people

5. Nouns ending in -heid have a plural in -heden.

mogelijkheid – mogelijkheden possibility (possibilities)

6. Some other common irregular plurals are:

stad – steden town(s) schip – schepen ship(s) lid – leden member(s) koe – koeien cow(s)

Dutch Possessives: Adjectives and Pronouns

Singular   Plural  
mijn (m’n) my ons / onze our
jouw (je) your (informal) jullie (je) your (informal)
uw your (formal) uw your (formal)
zijn (z’n) his hun their
haar her
zijn (z’n) its

Ons is used before singular neuter/het nouns, and onze is used elsewhere (before singular common/de nouns, and all plural nouns.) Je, the unstressed form of jouw, is commonly used in spoken and written Dutch, unless the speaker/writer wants to stress the pronoun. In the plural,jullie is the norm, unless jullie has already been used in the sentence, then je is used to avoid the redundancy. The other unstressed forms are not commonly written in the standard language, but are commonly spoken and written in informal communication.

Like in English, Dutch possessive adjectives are used in front of a noun to show possession: mijn boek (my book). There are a few ways to express the -‘s used in English too. -s can be added to proper names and members of the family: Jans boek (John’s book) The preposition vancan be used to mean of: het boek van Jan (the book of John = John’s book) And in more colloquial speech, the unstressed forms in parentheses above (agreeing in gender and number) can be used in place of the -s: Jan z’n boek (John’s book)

To form the possessive pronouns, add -e to the stressed forms (except for jullie) and use the correct article. The only way to show possession with jullie is to use van jou (literally meaning “of you”), although all the others can be used with van too.

de/het mijne, jouwe, uwe, zijne, hare, onze, hunne (mine, yours, yours, his/its, hers, ours, theirs)

Dutch Course 1 Dutch Video Course 2 Dutch Complete 3 Learn Dutch Dutch Essentials
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Italian Classes

Classroom - Italian / By

Common Conversational Words and Phrases in Italian

By mastering the basics of conversation in Italian, you put yourself and the person you’re talking to at ease. Everyone should learn essential Italian conversational words and phrases before traveling to Italy. These words and expressions are sure to come up in most everyday conversations.

Courteous phrases

Being polite is just as important in Italy as anywhere else in this world. The following words and phrases cover most of the pleasantries required for polite conversation. After all, learning to say the expressions of common courtesy in Italian before traveling is just good manners.

sì (yes)

no (no)
per favore; per piacere; per cortesia (please)
Grazie (Thank you)
Molte grazie (Thank you very much.)
Prego! (You’re welcome!)
Si figuri! (It’s nothing.)
Mi scusi. (Excuse me.)
prego (by all means)

Può ripetere, per cortesia? (Can you please repeat.)

Personal pronouns

Once you’ve mastered the common pleasantries, the next important thing to learn is how to refer to people. The most common way is by using personal pronouns. In Italian, the pronouns (you and they) are complicated by gender and formality. You’ll use slightly different variations of these words depending to whom you are referring and how well you know them.
Io (I)
lui (he)
lei (she)
noi (we)
tu (you [singular])
lei (you [singular/formal])
voi (you (plural/informal])
loro (you (plural/formal])
loro (they)
Use the informal tu (singular you) and voi (plural you) for friends, relatives, younger people, and people you know well. Use the formal lei (singular you) when speaking to people you don’t know well; in situations such as in stores, restaurants, hotels, or pharmacies); and with professors, older people, and your friends’ parents.

The formal loro (plural you) is rarely used and is gradually being replaced by the informal voi when addressing a group of people.

References to people

When meeting people in Italy, be sure to use the appropriate formal title. Italians tend to use titles whenever possible. Use the Lei form when using any of the following titles. A man would be called Signore, which is the same as Mr. or Sir. An older or married woman is called Signora and a young lady is called Signorina. It is also helpful to know the correct vocabulary term for referring to people based on their age, gender, or relationship to you.
uomo (a man)
donna (a woman)
ragazzo (a boy)
ragazza (a girl)
bambino [M]; bambina [F] (a child)
padre (a father)
madre (a mother)
figlio [M]; figlia [F] (child)
fratello (a brother)
sorella (a sister)
marito (a husband)
moglie (a wife)
amico [M]; amica [F] (a friend)

In Italian, there are four words to cover the English indefinite articlesa and an. For masculine words, you would use uno if the word begins with a z or an s and a consonant and you would use un for the rest. For feminine words, you should use ‘un for words beginning with a vowel and una for words beginning with a consonant.

Phrases for travelers

There are some Italian phrases that are particularly helpful to international travelers. Below are several phrases may come in handy during your stay in Italy.

  • Mi scusi. (Excuse me. [Formal])

  • Non parlo bene l’italiano. (I don’t speak Italian well.)

  • Parla inglese? (Do you speak English? [Formal])

  • Parlo inglese. (I speak English.)

  • Mi sono perso. [M]; Mi sono persa. [F] (I’m lost.)

  • Sto cercando il mio albergo. (I’m looking for my hotel.)

  • Sì, lo so. (Yes, I know.)

  • Non lo so. (I don’t know.)

  • Non so dove sia. (I don’t know where it is.)

  • Non capisco. (I don’t understand.)

  • Capisco, grazie. (I understand, thanks.)

  • Può ripetere, per cortesia? (Can you repeat, please? [Formal])

  • È bello. (It’s beautiful.)

  • È bellissimo. (It’s very beautiful.)

  • Vado a casa. (I’m going home.)

  • Domani visitiamo Venezia. (We’ll visit Venice tomorrow.)

  • Due cappuccini, per favore. (Two cappuccinos, please.)

  • Non lo so. (I don’t know.)

  • Non posso. (I can’t.)

  • Non potevo. (I couldn’t.)

  • Non lo faccio. (I won’t do it.)

  • Non dimenticare! (Don’t forget!)

  • Lei non mangia la carne. (She doesn’t eat meat.)

  • Non siamo americani. (We aren’t American.)

  • Il caffè non è buono. (The coffee isn’t good.)

  • Non è caro! (It’s not expensive!)

It’s possible to use more than one negative in a sentence. For example, you may say Non capisce niente (He/she doesn’t understand anything). Generally, you may just put non in front of your verb to negate your sentence, such as m‘ama non m‘ama(he/she loves me, he/she loves me not).

Common places and locations

It is also helpful to know the correct vocabulary for some of the common places or locations that you might need or want while traveling in Italy.
banca (bank)
città (city)
il consolato Americano (American consulate)
il ristorante (restaurant)
in campagna (in the country)
in città (in the city)
in montagna (in the mountains)
l‘albergo (hotel)
l‘ospedale (hospital)
la casa (house)
la polizia (police)
la stazione dei treni (train station)
metropolitana (subway)
museo (museum)
negozio (store)
paese (country)
spiaggia (beach)
stato (state)
ufficio (office)

Some Italian Phrases:

English Phrases Italian Phrases
English Greetings Italian Greetings:
Hi! Ciao!
Good morning! Buongiorno!
Good evening! Buona sera!
Welcome! (to greet someone) Benvenuto!/ Benvenuta! (female)
How are you? Come stai?/ Come state (polite)?
I’m fine, thanks! Bene, grazie!
And you? e tu? e lei? (polite)
Good/ So-So. Bene/ così e così.
Thank you (very much)! Grazie! / (Molte grazie)!
You’re welcome! (for “thank you”) Prego!
Hey! Friend! Ciao! Amico!
I missed you so much! Mi sei mancato molto!
What’s new? Cosa c’è di nuovo?
Nothing much Non molto
Good night! Buona notte!
See you later! A dopo
Good bye! Arrivederci!
Asking for Help and Directions
I’m lost Mi sono perso/ persa (feminine)
Can I help you? Posso aiutarti?/ posso aiutarla (polite)?
Can you help me? Potresti aiutarmi?/ potrebbe aiutarmi? (polite)
Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)? Dove posso trovare (il bagno/ la farmacia?)
Go straight! then turn left/ right! Vada dritto! e poi giri a destra/ sinistra!
I’m looking for john. Sto cercando John.
One moment please! Un momento prego!
Hold on please! (phone) Attenda prego!
How much is this? Quanto costa questo?
Excuse me …! (to ask for something) Scusami!/ Mi scusi! (polite)
Excuse me! ( to pass by) Permesso
Come with me! Vieni con me!/ Venga con me! (polite)

How to Make Small Talk in Italian

Making small talk in Italian is just the same as in English. Touch on familiar topics like jobs, sports, children — just say it in Italian! Small talk describes the brief conversations that you have with people you don’t know well. Small talk generally consists of greetings and introductions and descriptions of personal information and interests.

Greetings and introductions

Although the Italians are often more formal than we are in America, you don’t need to wait around to be introduced to someone. Take the initiative to walk up to someone and say hello. The most common ways to greet someone is to simply say hello (Salve orBuon giorno). The following phrases are all you need to get a conversation started.
  • Mi chiamo . . . (My name is . . .)
  • Lei come si chiama? (What’s your name? [Formal])
  • Permette che mi presenti mia moglie, Fabiana? (May I introduce my wife, Fabiana?).
Greetings and introductions are usually accompanied by a Come sta? (How are you? [Formal]) There are many possible responses, but the most common would be to say I’m doing well (Sto bene!) or I’m so-so (Così così.).

Personal information

After the necessary introductions, small talk is really just a question of sharing information about yourself and asking the other person questions about themselves. The following phrases will come in handy when you’re chitchatting with someone new.
  • Sono degli . . . (I am from . . .)
  • Di dov’è Lei? (Where are you from?)
  • Che lavoro fa? (What is your profession?)
  • Quanti anni hai? (How old are you?)
  • Dove vite? (Where do you live?)
  • Sono uno studente/ studentessa. [M/F] (I’m a student.)
  • Sono insegnante. [M]/Faccio l’insegnate. [F] (I’m a teacher.)
  • Sei sposato? [M]/Sei sposata? [F] (Are you married?)
  • Hai dei figli? [Informal] (Do you have any children?)
  • Ho tre figli. (I have three children.)
  • Sono uno studente. [M]/Sono una studentessa. [F] (I’m a student.)

Remember to use the formal Lei version of you when meeting someone for the first time.

Italian Nouns

All Italian nouns are masculine or feminine in gender. With very few exceptions, nouns which end in -o, -ore, a consonant, or a consonant followed by -one, are masculine.  The names of the days of the week (except Sunday), lakes, months, oceans, rivers, seas, sport teams, and names which denote males are masculine. Words imported from other languages are regarded as masculine regardless of their spelling. With a few exceptions, singular nouns which end in -a, -à, -essa, -i, -ie, -ione, -tà, -trice, or -tù are feminine.  The names of cities, continents, fruits, islands, letters of the alphabet, states, and names which denote females are feminine. In Italian grammar, if a word refers to a group of people, the masculine form is used: bambini           children amici                friends In a some cases, the gender of a noun is determined by its article.  For example, uno studente to denote a male student, or una studente to denote a female student.  All words which end in –nte or -ista are treated in this way. un cliente         a male client                            una cliente       a female client un pianista       a male pianist                          una pianista     a female pianist

Italian Pronouns

Pronouns are words that are used in place of a noun. They can stand in for the subject, Io mangio (I eat), the object, Paola mi ama (Paola loves me), or the complement, Io vivo perlei  (I live for her). There are many kinds of pronouns in Italian grammar, including personal, possessive, demonstrative, interrogative, and indefinite. Io mangio        I eat Paola mi ama   Paola loves me Io vivo per lei  I live for her

Italian Verbs

Verbs are the core of the Italian language, and they refer to an action (andare – to go; mangiare – to eat) or to a state (essere – to be; stare – to stay; esistere – to exist). In Italian grammar, there are three classes of verbs, five moods, and 21 verb tenses. Here are some common verbs to get you started: Andare             to go Mangiare         to eat Essere               to be Stare                 to stay Esistere           to exist

Italian Prepositions

Prepositions are words that show position in relation to space or time, or that introduce a complement. Some prepositions that are important to know in Italian are listed below: Preposition     Italian                                   English di:                    La casa di Paola                           Paola’s house a:                     Io vado a casa                               I go (to) home da:                   Il treno viene da Milano          The train comes from Milan in:                    La mamma è in Italia                 The mother is in Italy con:                 Io vivo con Paola                       I live with Paola su:                    La penna è sul tavolo                The pen is on the table per:                  Il regalo è per te                         The gift is for you

Italian Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that link to other words or groups of words, and common ones in Italian grammar include e- (“and”), ma (“but”), and se (“if”). Il cane e il gatto                                                   The dog and the cat Sono stanco, ma vengo                                   I am tired, but I come Se vuoi, puoi dormire qui                             If you want, you can sleep here

The Auxiliary Verbs: Essere and Avere

Essere:

io sono                I am tu sei                    you are lui/lei/Lei è      he/she is noi siamo           we are voi siete              you are loro sono            they are

Avere:

io ho                      I have tu hai                     you have lui/lei/Lei ha     he/ she has noi abbiamo       we have voi avete             you have loro hanno          they have

Italian Subject Pronouns / Pronomi personali

io ee-oh I noi noy we
tu too you (informal singular) voi voy you (informal plural)
lui, lei lwee/lay he, she loro loh-roh they
Lei lay you (formal singular) Loro loh-roh you (formal plural)
The Lei form is generally used for you (singular), instead of tu, unless you’re referring to kids or animals.  Loro can also mean you, but only in very polite situations. If you need to specify an inanimate object as “it” you can use esso (masculine noun) and essa (feminine noun), but since subject pronouns are not commonly used in Italian, these words are somewhat rare. Personal pronouns are the only part of the sentence in which Italian makes a distinction between masculine/feminine and neuter. Neuter gender is used for objects, plants and animals except man. How to Conjugate Italian Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense In Italian, the present indicative tense works much like the present tense in English. To conjugate Italian verbs in the present indicative tense, you first need to understand that Italian infinitives (the “to” form, as in to die, to sleep, to dream) end in one of three ways — and that you conjugate the verb based on that ending:
  • Verbs that end in -are
  • Verbs that end in -ere
  • Verbs that end in -ire                                                                     The endings of regular verbs don’t change. Master the endings for each mode and tense, and you’re good to go! Keep in mind that verbs agree with subjects and subject pronouns (io, tu, lui/lei/Lei, noi, voi, loro/Loro):
Common Regular Italian Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense
Subject Pronoun Lavorare (to work) Prendere (to take; to order) Partire (to leave) Capire (to understand)
io lavoro prendo parto capisco
tu lavori prendi parti capisci
lui/lei/Lei lavora prende parte capisce
noi lavoriamo prendiamo partiamo capiamo
voi lavorate prendete partite capite
loro/Loro lavorano prendono partono capiscono
Unfortunately, there are also irregular verbs, which you have to memorize. You’ll find that the more you practice them, the easier it is to use them in conversation:
Common Irregular Italian Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense
Subject Pronoun Andare (to go) Bere (to drink) Dare (to give) Fare (to do) Stare (to stay) Venire (to come)
io vado bevo do faccio sto vengo
tu vai bevi dai fai stai vieni
lui/lei/Lei va beve dà fa sta viene
noi andiamo beviamo diamo facciamo stiamo veniamo
voi andate bevete date fate state venite
loro/Loro vanno bevono danno fanno stanno vengono
Italian Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns: DIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS A direct object is the direct recipient of the action of a verb. Direct object pronouns replace direct object nouns. In Italian the forms of the direct object pronouns (i pronomi diretti) are as follows:
Person Singular Plural
1st. person mi » me ci » us
2nd. person familiar ti » you vi » you
2nd. person polite* La » you (m. and f.) Li » You (m.)
Le » You (f.)
3rd. person lo » him, it li » them (m.)
la » her it le » them (f.)
These pronouns are used as follows:
  1. They stand immediately before the verb or the auxiliary verb in the compound tenses. Examples:
  • Li ho invitati a cena  »  I have invited them to dinner
  • L’ho veduta ieri  »  I saw her yesterday
  • Ci hanno guardati e ci hanno seguiti  »  They watched us and followed us
In a negative sentence, the word non must come before the object pronoun.
  • Non la mangia  »  He doesn’t eat it
  • Perchè non li inviti?  »  Why don’t you invite them?
  1. The object pronoun is attached to the end of an infinitive. Note that the final –e of the infinitive is dropped.
  • È importante mangiarla ogni giorno  »  It is important to eat it every day
  • Volevo comprarla  »  I wanted to buy it
  1. The Object pronouns are attached to ecco to express here I am, here you are, here he is, and so on.
  • Dov’è la signorina? – Eccola!  »  Where is the young woman? – Here she is!
  • Hai trovato le chiavi? – Sì, eccole!  »  Have you found the keys? – Yes, here they are!
  1. The pronouns lo and la are often shortened to l’.
(*) Note that second person polite form pronouns are capitalized.

Holiday Phrases:

Buon Anno! Happy New Year!
Buona Pasqua! Happy Easter!
Buon compleanno! Happy Birthday!
Buon Natale! Merry Christmas!
Buone feste! Happy Holidays!
Buona vacanza! Have a good vacation!
Buon divertimento! Have a good time!
Buon viaggio! Have a good trip!
Tanti auguri! Best wishes!
Babbo Natale is Santa Claus and il panettone or il pandoro are the traditional cakes eaten at Christmas. For Easter, the traditional cake is called la colomba. Be careful with the difference between ferie and feriale: le ferie or i giorni di ferie are holidays when most places of business are closed; the opposite is un giorno feriale, or a weekday/working day. INDIRECT OBJECT PRONOUNS While direct object pronouns answer the question what? or whom? Indirect object pronouns answer the question to whom? or for whom? Also, they’re the same as the Direct Object Pronouns except for the pronouns in the Third Person (i.e. to him; to her; to them).
Singolare Singular Plurale Plural
mi (to/for) me ci (to/for) us
ti (to/for) you (informal) vi (to/for) you (informal)
gli (to/for) him, it loro (to/for) them (m. & f.)
le (to/for) her, it
Le (to/for) you (formal f. & m.) Loro (to/for) you (formal f. & m.)
The direct object is governed directly by the verb, for example, in the following statement: Romeo loved her. The Indirect Object in an English sentence often stands where you would expect the direct object but common sense will tell you that the direct object is later in the sentence, e.g.: Romeo bought her a bunch of flowers. The direct object — i.e. the thing that Romeo bought is “a bunch of flowers”; Romeo didn’t buy “her” as if she were a slave. So the pronoun her in the sentence actually means “for her” and is the Indirect Object. Examples: » Qulacuno mi ha mandato una cartolina dalla Spagna Someone (has) sent me a postcard from Spain. » Il professore le ha spiegato il problema The teacher (has) explained the problem to her. » Voglio telefonargli I want to phone him. » Il signor Brambilla ci ha insegnato l’italiano Mr Brambilla taught us Italian. » Cosa gli dici? What are you saying to him/to them? » Lucia,tuo padre vuole parlarti! Lucia, your father wants to speak to you! » Non gli ho mai chiesto di aiutarmi I (have) never asked him to help me. » Non oserei consigliarti I would not dare to advise you » Le ho regalato un paio di orecchini I gave her a present of a pair of earrings

Useful Words in Italian:

and e eh always sempre sehm-preh
or o oh often spesso speh-soh
but ma mah sometimes qualche volta kwal-keh vohl-tah
not non nohn usually usualmente oo-zoo-al-mehn-teh
while mentre mehn-treh especially specialmente speh-chee-al-mehn-teh
if se seh except eccetto eh-cheh-toh
because perché pehr-kay book il libro lee-broh
very, a lot molto mohl-toh pencil la matita mah-tee-tah
also, too anche ahn-keh pen la penna pehn-nah
although benché behn-keh paper la carta kar-tah
now adesso, ora ah-deh-so, oh-rah dog il cane kah-neh
perhaps, maybe forse for-seh cat il gatto gah-toh
then allora, poi ahl-loh-rah, poy friend (fem) l’amica ah-mee-kah
there is c’è cheh friend (masc) l’amico ah-mee-koh
there are ci sono chee soh-noh woman la donna dohn-nah
there was c’era che-rah man l’uomo woh-moh
there were c’erano che-rah-no girl la ragazza rah-gat-sah
here is ecco ehk-koh boy il ragazzo rah-gat-soh

Question Words in Italian:

Who Chi kee
Whose Di chi dee kee
What Che cosa keh koh-sah
Why Perché pehr-keh
When Quando kwahn-doh
Where Dove doh-veh
How Come koh-meh
How much Quanto kwahn-toh
Which Quale kwah-leh

Days of the week:

Monday lunedì loo-neh-dee
Tuesday martedì mahr-teh-dee
Wednesday mercoledì mehr-koh-leh-dee
Thursday giovedì zhoh-veh-dee
Friday venerdì veh-nehr-dee
Saturday sabato sah-bah-toh
Sunday domenica doh-men-ee-kah
yesterday ieri yer-ee
day before yesterday avantieri / l’altroieri (m) ah-vahn-tyee-ree
last night ieri sera yer-ee seh-rah
today oggi ohd-jee
tomorrow domani doh-mahn-ee
day after tomorrow dopodomani doh-poh-doh-mahn-ee
day il giorno eel zhor-noh
To say on Mondays, on Tuesdays, etc., use il before lunedì through sabato, and la before domenica.

Months of the year:

January gennaio jehn-nah-yoh
February febbraio fehb-brah-yoh
March marzo mar-tsoh
April aprile ah-pree-leh
May maggio mahd-joh
June giugno joo-nyoh
July luglio loo-lyoh
August agosto ah-goh-stoh
September settembre seht-tehm-breh
October ottobre oht-toh-breh
November novembre noh-vehm-breh
December dicembre dee-chem-breh
week la settimana lah sett-ee-mah-nah
month il mese eel meh-zeh
year l’anno lahn-noh
Days and months are not capitalized.  To express the date, use È il (number) (month).  May 5th would be È il 5 (or cinque) maggio.  But for the first of the month, use primo instead of 1 or uno. To express ago, as in two days ago, a month ago, etc., just add fa afterwards. To express last, as in last Wednesday, last week, etc., just add scorso (for masculine words) or scorsa (for feminine words) afterwards. una settimana fa – a week ago la settimana scorsa – last week un mese fa – a month ago l’anno scorso – last year

Possessive Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives

Possessive Pronouns:

Maschile singolare Maschile plurale  Femminile singolare  Femminile plurale
il mio il tuo il suo il nostro il vostro il loro i miei i tuoi i suoi i nostri i vostri i loro la mia la tua la sua la nostra la vostra la loro le mie le tue le sue le nostre le vostre le loro

Italian Grammar Lessons: The Three Groups Of Regular Verbs

This lesson is about the three groups of Italian regular verbs. All Italian regular verbs can be divided into three groups, as classified according to the ending of their infinitive forms. Verbs in the first group or first conjugation end in – are, such as abitare, mangiare or lavare. Abitare – to live io abito tu abiti lui/lei/Lei abita noi abitiamo voi abitate loro/Loro abitano Verbs in the second group or second conjugation end in – ere, such as perdere and correre. Perdere – to lose io perdo tu perdi lui/lei/Lei perde noi perdiamo voi perdete loro/Loro perdono Verbs in the third group or third conjugation end in – ire, such as dormire and aprire. The main characteristic of the third group is that some verbs, such as preferire, add the suffix –isc between the root and the declination. Dormire – to sleep io dormo tu dormi lui/lei/Lei dorme noi dormiamo voi dormite loro/Loro dormono Preferire – to prefer io preferisco tu preferisci lui/lei/Lei preferisce noi preferiamo voi preferite loro/Loro preferiscono It’s important to learn the conjugations for these three groups as early as you can!

Italian Grammar Lessons: Reflexive Verbs

This lesson is about reflexive verbs! A reflexive verb is used when the subject and object of the verb are the same. For example, “kill yourself”. Reflexive verbs are more common in Italian than in English – verbs which in English are too “obvious” to be used in the reflexive form (wake up, get up, wash, clean your teeth, and so on..) do need the reflexive form in Italian. So, for example, in Italian you might “suicide yourself”, absurd as it sounds in English! Many Italian verbs have reflexive forms. You can recognise them because they end in “-si”. For example: alzarsi (get yourself up) svegliarsi (wake yourself up) vestirsi (dress yourself) lavarsi (wash yourself) riposarsi (rest yourself) mettersi (put yourself) fermarsi (stop yourself) sedersi (sit yourself) When you use a reflexive verb you have to put the correct reflexive pronoun before the verbs. The reflexive pronouns are: io – mi tu – ti lui/lei/Lei – si noi – ci voi – vi loro – si Here are two examples of the conjugation of reflexive verbs in Italian: svegliarsi – to wake yourself up (io) mi sveglio (tu) ti svegli (lui/lei/Lei) si sveglia (noi) ci svegliamo (voi) vi svegliate (loro/Loro) si svegliano alzarsi – to get yourself up (io) mi alzo (tu) ti alzi (lui/lei/Lei) si alza (noi) ci alziamo (voi) vi alzate (loro/Loro) si alzano

Modal verbs

Italian modal verbs are called “VERBI SERVILI“. They have irregular forms. They are: POTERE (can) VOLERE (to want, to wish, to need) DOVERE (must, to have to, ought to, should) Watch the following examples: 1. Mi puoi telefonare domani? (Can you call me tomorrow?) 2. Voglio andare a Roma (I want to go to Rome) 3. Aspettami, devo parlarti (Wait, I have to talk to you!) Modal verbs work as a support to other verbs and indicate possibility, will, need and duty. Verb SAPERE (can)  becomes a modal verb when it means  “ESSERE CAPACE DI” “to be able to”. example: So suonare il piano (I can play the piano) Modal verbs can be used with atonic personal pronouns that can stand before the modal verb( 1.) or after the infinitive (3.) Modal verbs are directly added to the infinitive of a verb without any prepositions. POTERE can be used: – with the meaning of “forse” (=perhaps, maybe): “Posso essermi sbagliato, ma non so esattamente” (=I could be wrong, but I don’t know exactly) – as a permission (may I?) : Posso uscire? (May I go out?) – as a capability: Quest’anno possiamo vincere il campionato (This year we can win the championship) – in the polite form: Potresti prestarmi il tuo libro? (Could you lend me your book?) DOVERE can be used: – with the meaning of probability: Deve essergli successo un incidente (He must have had an accident) – as an obligation, a need: Se vuoi migliorare il tuo italiano, devi fare i compiti. ( If you want to improve your italian, you must do your homework)
Modal Verbs – Present Tense
    • Io posso
    • Tu puoi
    • Egli può
    • Noi possiamo
    • Voi potete
    • Essi possono
    • Io voglio
    • Tu vuoi
    • Egli/ella vuole
    • Noi vogliamo
    • Voi volete
    • Essi vogliono
  • Io devo
  • Tu devi
  • Egli/ella deve
  • Noi dobbiamo
  • Voi dovete
  • Essi devono
In Italian as in English these modals verbs (verbi servili) are easy to identify. Modal verbs in Italian indicate a “must,” “capability” or a “wish.” These words can be used alone, as in “Vorrei una pizza” (“I’d like a pizza”), or as modal verbs in conjunction with another verb in the infinitive tense. For example, “Vorrei camminare un pò di più” (“I’d like to walk a little bit more.”) “Volere” for instance can be used with nouns and infinitives (“Voglio partire” or “Voglio una pizza.”) “Potere” and “dovere” can be used with infinitives only (“Non posso lavorare” or “Devomangiare ora.”) In the negative form you have only to put only NON in front of the modal:
  • Non puoi capire
  • Non devi partire
  • Non vuoi lasciarmi vero?
With the compound tenses, the modal verbs take the auxiliary plus the infinitive that follows. For example:
  • Claudio HA DOVUTO lasciare il suo lavoro. (dovere richiede AVERE)
  • Maria HA DOVUTO studiare. (studiare richiede AVERE)
  • Maria E’ DOVUTA uscire (uscire richiede essere)
  • Maria HA POTUTO parlare con lui (potere richiede avere)
  • Maria E’ POTUTA venire alla festa (venire richiede essere)
  • Maria HA VOLUTO mangiare (mangiare richiede volere)
  • Maria E’ VOLUTA VENIRE al cinema con me (venire richiede essere)
The auxiliary verb “to be” is used in the following examples:
  • Compound tenses and with many intransitive verbs like “sono partita“, “mio fratello è uscito.”
  • With impersonal verbs: piove (it’s raining), fa freddo (it’s cold), fa caldo (it’s warm)
  • With reflexive verbs: “Maria si è lavata le mani e si è messa il tovagliolo prima di mangiare.” (“Maria washed her hands and put out the table cloth before eating.”)
volere – to want (to) potere – to be able to dovere – to have to
io voglio io posso io devo
tu vuoi tu puoi tu devi
Lei vuole Lei puo’ Lei deve
lui/lei vuole lui/lei puo’ lui/lei deve
noi vogliamo noi possiamo noi dobbiamo
voi volete voi potete voi dovete
loro vogliono loro possono loro devono
Volere can be used with nouns and infinitives (dictionary form). Voglio una birra. Voglio mangiare. Potere and dovere are used with infinitives only. Non posso studiare. Devo uscire. To negate a modal (to say you don’t want to, can’t or must not), just put non in front of it.

Italian Articles

In Italian grammar, articles identify the gender and the number of the nouns, and they are essential in order to recognize irregular nouns. Articles can be masculine or feminine, singular or plural and, except in some specific cases, they must always be used. The article serves to define the noun associated with it, and with which it must agree in gender and number. Definitive articles In Italian, we put the article before the noun, just like in English. However, in English, the definite article is only one – the.  In Italian, when the noun is masculine, there are three types of articles in the singular, and two types in the plural. For feminine nouns, there are two different articles for the singular, and one for the plural. Let’s take a look! Masculine Articles                                                    Feminine Articles Singular           Il          Lo        L’                                La        L’ Plural               I           Gli       Gli                               Le        Le Now, let’s break down when to use which definitive article in Italian! With masculine articles: Il is used before a noun that begins with a consonant, except“s + consonant, ps, gn, z, y, and z. Examples: Il ragazzo, il libro, il vino. I is the plural form of il. If you use il in singular, you have to use I in plural. Examples: I ragazzi, i libri, i vini. Lo is used before a noun that begins with s + consonant, ps, gn,z,y, and z. Examples: Lo studente, lo sport, lo psicologo, lo yogurt. Gli is the plural form of lo. If you use lo in singular, you have to use gli in plural. Examples: Gli studenti, gli sport, gli psicologi, gli yogurt. L’ is used before a noun that begins with a vowel or with h; in Italian grammar, h is silent.  Examples: L’ orologio, l’amico, l’ufficio, l’hotel. Gli is used for the plural form when l’ is used in the singular: Gli orologi, gli amici, gli uffici, gli hotel. Now, let’s go over when to use feminine definite articles. La is used before a noun that begins with a consonant: La casa, la ragazza, la bottiglia. L’ is used before a noun that begins with a vowel: L’amica, l’alice, l’onda, l’aspirina. Le is used with all feminine words in the plural: Le case, le ragazze, le bottiglie, le amiche, le alici, le onde, le aspirine. Indefinite Articles Indefinite articles in Italian grammar introduce a generic or not defined noun. The masculine indefinite articles are un and uno, and the feminine forms are una and un’ – meaning a or an. Un is used before masculine nouns starting with vowel or consonant: un uomo, un libro. Uno isused before masculine nouns starting with s+ consonant, z, gn, x, y, ps, pn, i+vowel, such as in uno studente. Una is used before feminine nouns starting with consonant, such as una donna. Un’ is used before feminine nouns starting with vowel, such as in un’automobile.

When to Use Articles

In Italian grammar, articles are used in the following cases: Before nouns: : il gatto, la donna, l’uomo, il libro, la casa. Before a person’s profession : il dottore, il meccanico, il professore, la professoressa. Before a title : il signore, la signora, l’onorevole. Before dates: il 2 giugno 1990 Before hours: sono le 3, è l’una. Before names of nations or associations in the plural: gli Stati Uniti, le Nazioni Unite. Before the days of the week to indicate a repeated, habitual activity: la domenica studio italiano.  Articles are not used before nouns in the following cases: When they want to convey a very generic feeling of something indefinite: mangio pasta (“I eat pasta”), vedo amici (“I see friends”). Before a name: Roberto, Maria, Stefano, Alice, Roma, Milano Before the demonstrative adjective questo (“this”), quello (“that”): questa casa (“this house,” questo libro (“this book”), quel ragazzo (“that guy”). Before a possessive adjective followed by a singular family noun: mia madre, mio padre, mio fratello, mia sorella. With days of the week: domenica vado in montagna (“I am going to the mountains on Sunday”).

Italian Grammar Lessons: prepositions, ‘a’ or ‘in’?

This lesson is about the different use of the prepositions ‘a’ and ‘in’ in Italian grammar. Let’s start with the preposition ‘a’, which means ‘to’ (movement) or ‘in’ if it indicates location (cities and places). Examples: Tu dai la penna a Simona. (You give the pen to Simona.) Sono a casa. (I’m at home.) Abito a Roma, ma ora sono a Venezia. (I live in Rome, but now I’m in Venice.) We generally use the preposition ‘a’ with the infinite form of the verbs and with names of cities and minor islands. Examples: Vado a mangiare fuori stasera. (I will eat out this evening.) Torno a Madrid per Natale. (I will go back to Madrid for Christmas.) As regard the preposition ‘in’, we use it with the names of continents, states, nations, regions, larger islands, and with words ending in “-eria”. Examples: In Inghilterra bevi tè tutti i giorni. (In England you drink tea every day.) Bologna si trova in Emilia-Romagna. (Bologna is in Emilia-Romagna.) Di solito compro i libri in quella libreria. (I usually buy books in that bookshop.) Here are a few of the nouns before which we use the preposition ‘in’: banca (bank) , biblioteca (library), classe (class), città (city), chiesa (church), campagna (country), piscina (pool), ufficio (office), albergo (hotel), farmacia (pharmacy) Careful! When talking about someone’s house or place of work, you use the preposition ‘da’ plus the name of the owner. Examples: Sono dal dottore. (I’m at the Doctor’s office.) Vado da Sara per il weekend. (I’m going to Sara’s place for the weekend.)

Italian Grammar Lessons: There is/are – C’è / ci sono

This lesson is about the use of “c’è / ci sono“, which would translate into English as ‘there is/are’. The word “ci” is used as a pronoun referring to previously mentioned places and things in order not to repeat them. Examples: Quando vai al supermercato? (When are you going to the supermarket?) Ci vado domani (I will go there tomorrow) Ci = al supermercato (at the supermarket) “C’è” is the short form of “ci è”, while “ci sono” is the plural form and they state the presence or existence of someone or something. Examples: C’è troppo zucchero nel mio caffè. (There is too much sugar in my coffee.) Ci sono molti negozi a Milano. (There are a lot of shops in Milan.) Ci sono molte ragioni per partire. (There are many reasons to leave.) C’è qualcuno in cucina? (Is there someone in the kitchen?) To express negation, you just need to put the particle NON before “c’è / ci sono”. Examples: Non c’è nessuno in cucina. (There isn’t anyone in the kitchen.) Non ci sono penne nell’astuccio. (There aren’t any pens in the pencil case.) Back to Italian lesson on: there is / are – c’è / ci sono

Italian Grammar Lessons: Plurals

This lesson will show you how to create the plural form of Italian nouns. It’s important to know the gender of the word (masculine or feminine) and you can usually work this out by looking at the vowel it ends with. To turn a singular word into a plural one, you usually only need to change the final vowel, though there are of course plenty of exceptions! Singular nouns ending in “-o” are usually masculine. To produce a plural you need to change this ending to “-i“, Examples: il cavallo → i cavalli (the horse – the horses) il tavolo →  i tavoli (the table – the tables) Nouns ending in “-a” are usually feminine. To create the plural form you need to change the final vowel to “-e“. Examples: la carota → le carote (the carrot – the carrots) la sedia →  le sedie (the chair – the chairs) But some nouns ending in “-a” are masculine,  in which case the plural is “-i“. Examples: il problema → i problemi (the problem – the problems) il poeta → i poeti (the poet – the poets) And similarly some nouns ending in “-o” are feminine and their plural is the same as the singular form. Examples: la radio →  le radio (the radio – the radios) la foto →  le foto (the photo – the photos) Club member Ida writes: Words like ‘la radio’, ‘la foto’, ‘la moto’ or ‘la auto’ do not change in the plural because they are truncated versions of the original words ‘la radiotelefonia’, ‘la fotografia’, ‘la motocicletta’ and ‘l’automobile’. Truncated words do not change in the plural.
Instead “la mano” which is a true feminine word that ends in “o” has the regular plural “le mani” following the rules for forming the plural.
The plural form of singular nouns ending in “-ista” can be either “-i” (if masculine) or “-e” (if feminine). Examples: l’artista → gli artisti / le artiste (the artist – the artists (m) / the artists (f)) il dentista → i dentisti / le dentiste (the dentist – the dentists) Some nouns have just one form which works both for the singular and for the plural. A good example is the various nouns which end with an accented vowel. Examples: la città → le città (the city – the cities) la virtù → le virtù (the virtue – the virtues) il papà → i papà (the dad – the dads) Nouns ending in consonants (which are often borrowed ‘foreign’ words) also have identical singular and plural forms. Examples: il computer → i computer (the computer – the computers) lo yogurt → gli yogurt (the yogurt – the yogurts) There are some cases in which plural nouns have a different spelling. Some masculine substantives ending in “-co” and “-go” form their plural with “-chi” and “-ghi“. Examples: il tedesco → i tedeschi (the German – the Germans) l’albergo → gli alberghi (the hotel – the hotels) Others form the plural with “-ci” or “-gi“. Examples: l’amico → gli amici (the friend – the friends) l’archeologo → gli archeologi (the archaeologist – the archaeologists). Feminine nouns ending in “-ca” and “-ga” follow the same rule. Examples: la tasca → le tasche (the pocket – the pockets) l’alga → le alghe (the seaweed – the seaweeds)

Italian Grammar Lessons: Like – Piace/Piacciono

The verb “piacere” (to like) in Italian has an unusual construction, in the sense that the subject of the action is reversed. The meaning of “piacere” is best thought of as “to please, to be pleasing to” rather than ‘to like’. In English you ‘like’ something or doing something. In Italian it’s the object or activity that ‘pleases’ you. To construct this grammatically, we need to use indirect pronouns. For example: Mi piace la pizza (‘I like pizza’, but literally: ‘Pizza pleases me.’) Here’s the same example sentence conjugated for the different subjects: Mi piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases me.’) Ti piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases you.’) Gli piace la pasta. (‘Pizza pleases him.’) Le piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases her.’) Ci piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases us.’) Vi piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases you.’) Gli piace la pizza. (‘Pizza pleases them.’) A further complication is that, if the subject of the sentence is plural, you need to remember to change the verb from the third person singular (‘piace’) to the third person plural (‘piacciono’). For example: Mi piacciono i biscotti. (‘Biscuits please me.’) The negative is formed by adding ‘non’. For example: Non gli piace il cioccolato. (‘Chocolate doesn’t please him.’) Non ci piacciono le lasagne. (‘Lasagnes don’t please us.’) The verb ‘piacere’ can also be followed by another verb, which has to be in the infinitive form. For example: Mi piace leggere. (‘Reading pleases me.’) Non gli piace studiare. (‘Studying doesn’t please him.’) Ci piace mangiare al ristorante. (‘Eating at the restaurant pleases us.’)

Il presente: -are verbs

1. ABITARE : to live
Io: abito Noi: abitiamo
Tu: abiti Voi: abitate
Lui: abita Loro: abitano
2. ARRIVARE : to arrive
Io: arrivo Noi: arriviamo
Tu: arrivi Voi: arrivate
Lui: arriva Loro: arrivano
3. ASPETTARE : to wait for
Io: aspetto Noi: aspettiamo
Tu: aspetti Voi: aspettate
Lui: aspetta Loro: aspettano
4. CAMMINARE : to walk
Io: cammino Noi: camminiamo
Tu: cammini Voi: camminate
Lui: cammina Loro: camminano
5. COMINCIARE : to begin
Io: comincio Noi: cominciamo
Tu: cominci Voi: cominciate
Lui: comincia Loro: cominciano
6. CUCINARE : to cook
Io: cucino Noi: cuciniamo
Tu: cucini Voi: cucinate
Lui: cucina Loro: cucinano
7. GUARDARE : to watch
Io: guardo Noi: guardiamo
Tu: guardi Voi: guardate
Lui: guarda Loro: guardano
8. IMPARARE : to learn
Io: imparo Noi: impariamo
Tu: impari Voi: imparate
Lui: impara Loro: imparano
9. LAVORARE : to work
Io: lavoro Noi: lavoriamo
Tu: lavori Voi: lavorate
Lui: lavora Loro: lavorano
10. MANDARE : to send
Io: mando Noi: mandiamo
Tu: mandi Voi: mandate
Lui: manda Loro: mandano
11. NUOTARE : to swim
Io: nuoto Noi: nuotiamo
Tu: nuoti Voi: nuotate
Lui: nuota Loro: nuotano
12. PENSARE : to think
Io: penso Noi: pensiamo
Tu: pensi Voi: pensate
Lui: pensa Loro: pensano
13. PORTARE : to bring
Io: porto Noi: portiamo
Tu: porti Voi: portate
Lui: porta Loro: portano
14. TORNARE : to return
Io: torno Noi: torniamo
Tu: torni Voi: tornate
Lui: torna Loro: tornano

Il presente: -ere verbs

1. CADERE : to fall
Io: cado Noi: cadiamo
Tu: cadi Voi: cadete
Lui: cade Loro: cadono
2. CHIEDERE : to ask
Io: chiedo Noi: chiediamo
Tu: chiedi Voi: chiedete
Lui: chiede Loro: chiedono
3. CHIUDERE : to close
Io: chiudo Noi: chiudiamo
Tu: chiudi Voi: chiudete
Lui: chiude Loro: chiudono
4. CREDERE : to believe
Io: credo Noi: crediamo
Tu: credi Voi: credete
Lui: crede Loro: credono
5. LEGGERE : to read
Io: leggo Noi: leggiamo
Tu: leggi Voi: leggete
Lui: legge Loro: leggono
6. METTERE : to put
Io: metto Noi: mettiamo
Tu: metti Voi: mettete
Lui: mette Loro: mettono
7. PERDERE : to lose
Io: perdo Noi: perdiamo
Tu: perdi Voi: perdete
Lui: perde Loro: perdono
8. PRENDERE : to take
Io: prendo Noi: prendiamo
Tu: prendi Voi: prendete
Lui: prende Loro: prendono
9. RICEVERE : to receive
Io: ricevo Noi: riceviamo
Tu: ricevi Voi: ricevete
Lui: riceve Loro: ricevono
10. RIPETERE : to repeat
Io: ripeto Noi: ripetiamo
Tu: ripeti Voi: ripetete
Lui: ripete Loro: ripetono
11. RISPONDERE : to answer
Io: rispondo Noi: rispondiamo
Tu: rispondi Voi: rispondete
Lui: risponde Loro: rispondono
12. SCRIVERE : to write
Io: scrivo Noi: scriviamo
Tu: scrivi Voi: scrivete
Lui: scrive Loro: scrivono
13. SPENDERE : to spend (money)
Io: spendo Noi: spendiamo
Tu: spendi Voi: spendete
Lui: spende Loro: spendono
14. VEDERE : to see
Io: vedo Noi: vediamo
Tu: vedi Voi: vedete
Lui: vede Loro: vedono
15. VIVERE : to live
Io: vivo Noi: viviamo
Tu: vivi Voi: vivete
Lui: vive Loro: vivono

Il presente: -ire verbs

1. APRIRE : to open
Io: apro Noi: apriamo
Tu: apri Voi: aprite
Lui: apre Loro: aprono
2. DORMIRE : to sleep
Io: dormo Noi: dormiamo
Tu: dormi Voi: dormite
Lui: dorme Loro: dormono
3. MENTIRE : to lie
Io: mento Noi: mentiamo
Tu: menti Voi: mentite
Lui: mente Loro: mentono
4. OFFRIRE : to offer
Io: offro Noi: offriamo
Tu: offri Voi: offrite
Lui: offre Loro: offrono
5. PARTIRE : to leave
Io: parto Noi: partiamo
Tu: parti Voi: partite
Lui: parte Loro: partono
6. SEGUIRE : to follow
Io: seguo Noi: seguiamo
Tu: segui Voi: seguite
Lui: segue Loro: seguono
7. SENTIRE : to hear
Io: sento Noi: sentiamo
Tu: senti Voi: sentite
Lui: sente Loro: sentono
8. SERVIRE : to serve
Io: servo Noi: serviamo
Tu: servi Voi: servite
Lui: serve Loro: servono
9. VESTIRE : to dress
Io: vesto Noi: vestiamo
Tu: vesti Voi: vestite
Lui: veste Loro: vestono
Il presente: all verbs
1. ANDARE : to go
Io: vado Noi: andiamo
Tu: vai Voi: andate
Lui: va Loro: vanno
2. AVERE : to have
Io: ho Noi: abbiamo
Tu: hai Voi: avete
Lui: ha Loro: hanno
3. CONOSCERE : to know
Io: conosco Noi: conosciamo
Tu: conosci Voi: conoscete
Lui: conosce Loro: conoscono
4. DARE : to give
Io: do Noi: diamo
Tu: dai Voi: date
Lui: dà Loro: danno
5. DEDICARE : to dedicate
Io: dedico Noi: dedichiamo
Tu: dedichi Voi: dedicate
Lui: dedica Loro: dedicano
6. DIRE : to say or tell
Io: dico Noi: diciamo
Tu: dici Voi: dite
Lui: dice Loro: dicono
7. DOVERE : to must or have to
Io: devo Noi: dobbiamo
Tu: devi Voi: dovete
Lui: deve Loro: devono
8. ESSERE : to be
Io: sono Noi: siamo
Tu: sei Voi: siete
Lui: è Loro: sono
9. FARE : to make or do
Io: faccio Noi: facciamo
Tu: fai Voi: fate
Lui: fa Loro: fanno
10. INSEGNARE : to teach
Io: insegno Noi: insegniamo
Tu: insegni Voi: insegnate
Lui: insegna Loro: insegnano
11. METTERSI : to put on
Io: mi metto Noi: ci mettiamo
Tu: ti metti Voi: vi mettete
Lui: si mette Loro: si mettono
12. PERDERSI : to get lost
Io: mi perdo Noi: ci perdiamo
Tu: ti perdi Voi: vi perdete
Lui: si perde Loro: si perdono
13. POTERE : to be able
Io: posso Noi: possiamo
Tu: puoi Voi: potete
Lui: può Loro: possono
14. PRENDERE : to take
Io: prendo Noi: prendiamo
Tu: prendi Voi: prendete
Lui: prende Loro: prendono
15. PREPARARSI : to get ready
Io: mi preparo Noi: ci prepariamo
Tu: ti prepari Voi: vi preparate
Lui: si prepara Loro: si preparano
16. PROIBIRE : to forbid
Io: proibisco Noi: proibiamo
Tu: proibisci Voi: proibite
Lui: proibisce Loro: proibiscono
INTRODUCTIONS

Manuela: Ciao Giorgia, come stai? Giorgia: Bene, grazie! E tu? Manuela: Anch’ io! Oh, ciao Veronica! Che piacere vederti! Dove vai? Veronica: Ciao Manuela! Io vado a Milano. E tu? Manuela: Anch’ io vado a Milano. Veronica: Lei è una tua amica? Manuela: Sì, studiamo insieme all’università. Veronica: Piacere, io sono Veronica! E tu come ti chiami? Giorgia: Piacere, io mi chiamo Giorgia. Di dove sei? Veronica: Io sono di Cagliari, e tu? Giorgia: Io sono di Sassari ma studio a Cagliari. E tu che cosa fai? Veronica: Anch’io sono una studentessa. Quanti anni hai? Giorgia: 20. E tu? Veronica: Io ho 21 anni.

Introductions in Italian

Informal

A: Giulia, ti presento il mio amico David. B: Piacere di conoscerti! C: Piacere mio!

A: Maria, ecco il mio nuovo vicino. B: Piacere, io sono Maria. Tu come ti chiami? C: Mi chiamo David, piacere!

Formal

A: Buonasera signora Riva, le presento il mio amico. B: Sono Giovanna, molto lieta! C: Piacere, David.

A: Scusi, è lei la dottoressa Rossi? B: Si sono io, e lei come si chiama? A: Sono Maria Ricci, piacere.

 Look at the conjugation of the following verbs:

ESSERE (to be)
AVERE (to have)
CHIAMARSI (to call yourself)

 Io sono

 Tu sei

 Lui/Lei è

 Io ho

 Tu hai

 Lui /Lei ha

 Io mi chiamo

 Tu ti chiami

 Lui/Lei si chiamaPresent Perfect (Passato Prossimo)

 How to say hello and goodbye in Italian.

Saying hello

Saying goodbye

Ciao Hi

Buongiorno Good morning

Buonasera Good evening

Salve Hello

Arrivederci Goodbye

A dopo See you later

A domani See you tomorrow

A presto See you soon
ESSERE (to be)
AVERE (to have)
VOLERE (to want)
FARE (to make)

Io sono

Tu sei

Lui/Lei è

Noi siamo

Voi siete

Loro sono

Io ho

Tu hai

Lui /Lei ha

Noi abbiamo

Voi avete

Loro hanno

Io voglio

Tu vuoi

Lui/Lei vuole

Noi vogliamo

Voi volete

Loro vogliono

Io faccio

Tu fai

Lui/Lei fa

Noi facciamo

Voi fate

Loro fanno

Saying Hello in Italian

INCONTRO TRA AMICHE – Dialogo informale SAYING HELLO TO FRIENDS – informal dialogue

A: Ciao Anna! B: Ciao Francesca, come stai? A: Molto bene grazie, e tu? B: Non c’è male, grazie.

INCONTRO TRA ADULTI – Dialogo formale SAYING HELLO FORMALLY

A: Buongiorno signora Rossi! B: Buongiorno, come sta? A: Abbastanza bene, grazie. E lei? B: Così così.

Saying Goodbye in Italian

Informal:

A: Ciao Monica, ci vediamo dopo! B: Ciao Tania, a più tardi!

A: Buonanotte Valentina, alla prossima volta! B: Ciao, a presto!

Formal:

A: ArrivederLa professoressa! B: Arrivederci ragazzi! A domani!

Saying Hello in Italian

INCONTRO TRA AMICHE – Dialogo informale SAYING HELLO TO FRIENDS – informal dialogue

A: Ciao Anna! B: Ciao Francesca, come stai? A: Molto bene grazie, e tu? B: Non c’è male, grazie.

INCONTRO TRA ADULTI – Dialogo formale SAYING HELLO FORMALLY

A: Buongiorno signora Rossi! B: Buongiorno, come sta? A: Abbastanza bene, grazie. E lei? B: Così così.

BERE (to drink)
AIUTARE (to help)
MANGIARE (to eat)

Io bevo

Tu bevi

Lui /Lei beve

Noi beviamo

Voi bevete

Loro bevono

Io aiuto

Tu aiuti

Lui /Lei aiuta

Noi aiutiamo

Voi aiutate

Loro aiutano

Io mangio

Tu mangi

Lui/Lei mangia

Noi mangiamo

Voi mangiate

Loro mangiano

4) The plural of nouns are formed in this way:

Masculine
Feminine

libro – libri

coltello – coltelli

albero – alberi

matita – matite

strada – strade

casa – case
AT THE STATION
Giorgia: Io vorrei qualcosa da mangiare. E voi? Manuela e Veronica: Si, anche noi! Andiamo in quel ristorante vicino!
ORDERING FOOD AT THE RESTAURANT

Giorgia: Buongiorno, io vorrei un piatto di spaghetti, grazie. Cameriere: Vorrebbe altro? Giorgia:No, grazie. Manuela: Anche io vorrei un piatto di spaghetti. con il pomodoro fresco. Veronica: Per me una bistecca con insalata.

Cameriere: Qualcosa da bere? Giorgia:3 bottiglie di acqua naturale, grazie!

Veronica: Scusi, potrebbe portarci il conto? Cameriere: Voilà! In tutto 30 euro! Giorgia:Grazie e arrivederci! Cameriere: Arrivederci!

Present Perfect (Passato Prossimo)

The present perfect tense is used to express something that happened in the past, and which is completely finished (not habitual or continuous). To form this compound tense, which can translate as something happened, something has happened, or something did happen, conjugate avereor sometimes essere and add the past participle.  To form the past participle, add these endings to the appropriate stem of the infinitives:

-are -ato
-ere -uto
-ire -ito
Verbs that can take a direct object are generally conjugated with avere.  Verbs that do not take a direct object (generally verbs of movement), as well as all reflexive verbs, are conjugated with essere and their past participle must agree in gender and number with the subject. Avere uses avere as its auxiliary verb, while essere uses essere as its auxiliary verb.  Negative sentences in the present perfect tense are formed by placingnon in front of the auxiliary verb. Common adverbs of time are placed between avere/essere and the past participle. Io ho visitato Roma.  I visited Rome. Tu non hai visitato gli Stati Uniti.  You didn’t visit the United States. Abbiamo conosciuto due ragazze.  We met two girls. Maria è andata in Italia.  Maria went to Italy.  (Note the agreement of the past participle with the subject.) Ho sempre avuto paura dei cani. I’ve always been afraid of dogs. Hai già finito di studiare? Have you already finished studying? → In addition, some verbs take on a different meaning in the present perfect: conoscere means to meet and sapere means to find out (or to hear). Reflexive Verbs in the Present Perfect Tense Since all reflexive verbs use essere as the auxiliary verb, the past participle must agree with the subject. The word order is reflexive pronoun + essere + past participle. Mi sono divertita. I had fun. Si è sentito male. He felt bad. Prepositions & adverbs of place
at, to a over / above sopra
in in under / below sotto
on / up su inside dentro
from, by da outside fuori
of di around intorno a
with con between tra
without senza among fra
for per near vicino a
next to accanto a far lontano da
behind dietro before prima (di)
in front of davanti a after dopo (di)
across attraverso against contro
down giù toward verso

Reflexive Verbs:

Reflexive verbs express actions performed by the subject on the subject.  These verbs are conjugated like regular verbs, but a reflexive pronoun precedes the verb form.  This pronoun

always agrees with the subject.  In the infinitive form, reflexive verbs have -si attached to them with the final e dropped.  Lavare is to wash, therefore lavarsi is to wash oneself.  (Note that some verbs are reflexive in Italian, but not in English.)

Reflexive Pronouns
mi ci
ti vi
si si

Common reflexive verbs:

to be satisfied with accontentarsi di to graduate (from college) laurearsi
to fall asleep addormentarsi to wash up lavarsi
to get up alzarsi to put on mettersi
to be bored annoiarsi to get organized organizzarsi
to get angry arrabbiarsi to make a reservation prenotarsi
to be called chiamarsi to remember to ricordarsi di
to forget to dimenticarsi di to make a mistake sbagliarsi
to graduate (from high school) diplomarsi to feel (well, bad) sentirsi (bene, male)
to have a good time divertirsi to specialize specializzarsi
to shave (the face) farsi la barba / radersi to get married sposarsi
to stop (oneself) fermarsi to wake up svegliarsi
to complain about lamentarsi di to get dressed vestirsi

Io mi lavo. I wash myself. Noi ci alziamo presto.  We get up early. Si sveglia alle sette. She wakes up at seven.

The plural reflexive pronouns (ci, vi, si) can also be used with non-reflexive verbs to indicate a reciprocal action.  These verbs are called reciprocal verbs and are expressed by the words each other in English.

to embrace abbracciarsi to run into incontrarsi
to help aiutarsi to fall in love with innamorarsi
to kiss baciarsi to greet salutarsi
to understand capirsi to write to scriversi
to meet conoscersi to phone telefonarsi
to exchange gifts farsi regali to see vedersi
to look at guardarsi

Ci scriviamo ogni settimana.  We write to each other every week. Vi vedete spesso?  Do you see each other often?

Basic Conversation:

yes si
no no
please / you’re welcome Per piacere / prego or figurati
you’re very welcome Sei veramente il benvenuto
thank you grazie
thank you very much grazie mille
thanks grazie
Excuse me! Mi scusi!

Communication

English Italian Pronunciation (Audio)
I understand. Capisco
I don’t understand Non capisco
Hello (on the phone) / I beg your pardon? Pronto
What does that mean? Cosa significa?
I don’t know. non lo so
I don’t speak Polish. Non parlo Polacco
I speak a little Polish. Parlo poco Polacco
Do you speak english? (informal) Parli Inglese?
Do you speak english? (formal) Lei parla Inglese?
Yes, I do speak english. Si, parlo inglese.
No, I don’t speak english. No, non parlo inglese

Making acquaintances

English Italian Pronunciation (Audio)
Please talk more slowly! Parla più piano perfavore!
Nice to meet you! Piacere di conoscerti!
How are you? Come stai?
Good, thank you Bene, grazie
I’m well, thanks! Sto bene, grazie!
Not bad, thanks! Non male, grazie!
very bad molto male
What’s your name? Come ti chiami?
My name is […]. mi chiamo
What’s your first name? Qual’e il tuo nome?
My first name is […] Il mio nome è
How old are you? Quanti anni hai?
I’m […] years old. Ho … anni
What are your hobbies? Quali sono i tuoi hobby?
What do you like doing? Cosa ti piace fare?
What are you doing (at the moment)? Cosa stai facendo adesso?
Where do you live? Dove abiti?
I live in […] vivo a
I’m from England Vengo dall’Inghilterra
I’m English Sono Inglese

  • Italian Grammar: “tu” and “Lei” forms

    This lesson is about the informal and formal “tu” and “lei” forms in Italian grammar, and also covers useful phrases for first meetings. In Italian you use the second person form “tu” (you) when speaking to someone you know or someone of your own age or younger, but  “Lei”  when being formal. So for example, in formal situations we’d say “Che lavoro fa?” (What job does he/she do?) rather than “Che lavoro fai?” (What job do you do?). Check out these informal / formal versions of conversations you might have on first meeting someone. INFORMAL: Ciao, come stai? [Hello, how are you?] FORMAL: Buongiorno come sta? [Good morning, how are you?] REPLY: Bene grazie [Fine thank you.] INFORMAL: Come ti chiami? [What is your name?] FORMAL: Lei come si chiama? [What is your name?] REPLY: Mi chiamo … [My name is …] / Sono … [I am … ] INFORMAL: E tu? [And you?] FORMAL: E Lei? [And you?] REPLY: Piacere. [A pleasure!] INFORMAL: Di dove sei? [Where are you from?] FORMAL: Di dove è?  [Where are you from?] REPLY: Sono …, di … [I’m (nationality), from (city)] INFORMAL: Dove vivi? [Where do you live?] FORMAL: Dove vive?  [Where do you live?] INFORMAL: Come si scrive il tuo cognome? [How do you spell your surname?] FORMAL: Come si scrive il suo cognome? [How do you spell your surname?] INFORMAL: Come si pronuncia il tuo cognome? [How do you pronounce your surname?] FORMAL: Come si pronuncia il suo cognome? [How do you pronounce your surname?] INFORMAL: Quanti anni hai? [How old are you?] FORMAL: Quanti anni ha? [How old are you?] REPLY: Ho … anni [I am … years old] INFORMAL: Qual è il tuo numero di telefono? [What is your telephone number?] FORMAL: Qual è il suo numero di telefono? [What is your telephone number?] INFORMAL: Qual è il tuo indirizzo? [What is your address?] FORMAL: Qual è il suo indirizzo? [What is your address?] INFORMAL: Che lavoro fai? [What is your job?] FORMAL: Che lavoro fa? [What is your job?] REPLY: Sono … [I am … ] INFORMAL: Ciao, alla prossima volta! [Bye, see you at the next time!] FORMAL: Arrivederla, spero di vederla presto! [Bye, see you at the next time!] REPLY: A presto! [See you soon!]

    Italian Grammar Lessons: The Past / Passato Prossimo

    This lesson will show you how to use the principle Italian past tense, the “passato prossimo”. Italian has a “near past” tense and a “remote past” tense. The latter is used mostly in narratives (novels and the like) so in normal conversation you will not normally need to choose between them. Just use the passato prossimo, as explained on this page. For English speakers, there is one point of confusion: in English, you choose between the Simple Past tense (“I studied”) and the Present Perfect tense (“I have studied”). When speaking Italian, both forms would translate as the passato prossimo, even though the passato prossimo LOOKS more like the second one (“Ho studiato” = “I have studied”??) because of the use of the auxiliary verb “avere”. It’s confusing, but the thing to remember is that when you’re talking, you use the passato prossimo 99% of the time. The “passato prossimo” is formed with the auxiliary verb essere OR avere + participio passato (past participle). Just in case you’re still vague on the conjugation of “essere” and “avere”, here they are: essere – to be io sono tu sei lui/lei è noi siamo voi siete loro sono avere – to have io ho tu hai lui/lei ha noi abbiamo voi avete loro hanno You probably don’t know the “participio passato”  (past participle) of the verbs you’ve learnt, but not to worry! You can normally form the “participio passato” from the infinitive of a verb (this only applies to “regular” verbs) by changing the ending of verb: -are → ato (mangiare-mangiato) -ere → uto (avere-avuto) -ire → ito (dormire-dormito) So when you want to talk about a past action or event, you need to use avere or essere plus the past participle.  But which one? Avere or essere? The majority of verbs use “avere”, just like in English (I have studied). For example: Paola ha dormito a lungo. Mario ha visitato un museo. Io e Marco abbiamo pranzato in un locale tipico. I ragazzi hanno mangiato una pizza. But essere is used with: – verbs of movement – verbs of changing state – reflexive verbs For example: Paola è andata al cinema. Mario è andato al cinema. Io e Maria siamo andate al cinema. I ragazzi sono andati a casa. Note that with “essere” the ending of the past participle changes to reflect the gender and singluar/plural of the subject. The final thing you need to remember is that there are regular and irregular past participle forms. Examples of regular past participle forms: andare – (essere) andato/a avere – (avere) avuto tornare – (essere) tornato/a dormire – (avere) dormito cercare – (avere) cercato montare – (avere) montato mangiare – (avere) mangiato preparare – (avere) preparato guardare – (avere) guardato Examples of irregular past participle forms: fare – (avere) fatto mettere – (avere) messo venire – (essere) venuto prendere – (avere) preso essere – (essere)stato/a leggere – (avere) letto rimanere – (essere) rimasto aprire – (avere) aperto dire – (avere) detto scegliere – (avere) scelto scrivere – (avere) scritto uscire – (essere) uscito/a vedere – (avere) visto

    Italian Grammar Lessons: Two Irregular Adjectives & Adverbs

    Two important irregular adjectives are buono – good and cattivo – bad. The comparative and superlative forms are: buono – good, migliore – better, il migliore – the best cattivo – bad, peggiore – worse, il peggiore – the worst For example: Questo è un buon libro. – This is a good book. Il mio libro è migliore del tuo. – My book is better than yours. E’ il libro migliore che ho letto. – It’s the best book I’ve read. Quel cane ha un cattivo carattere. – That dog has a bad character. Il tempo a Bologna è peggiore del tempo al sud Italia. – The weather in Bologna is worse than in the south of Italy. Questa è la peggiore pizza che ho mangiato. – This is the worst pizza I’ve eaten. The adverb forms are also irregular and confusingly similar to the adjectives: bene – well, meglio – better male – badly, peggio – worse For example: Parli l’italiano bene. – You speak Italian well. Parli l’italiano meglio del tuo amico. – You speak Italian better than your friend. Guidi male. – You drive badly. Guidi peggio di un italiano! – You drive worse than an Italian!

    Italian Grammar Lessons: the impersonal form with ‘Si’

    In this lesson you will study the impersonal form with ‘si’, which is more or less the Italian equivalent of the passive form in English. For example, in English: In Bologna people eat a lot of meat. (active form) In Bologna a lot of meat is eaten. (passive form) The same effect is achieved in Italian using the “impersonal si” and the third person singular or third person plural. You need to choose singular or plural according to the object of the verb (meat, in my example). Look at these examples: Singular A Bologna la gente mangia molta carne. A Bologna si mangia molta carne. “molta carne” – is singular so we use “mangia” Plural A Bologna la gente mangia molti gelati. A Bologna si mangiano molti gelati. “molti gelati” – is plural so we use “mangiano” Further examples: In Italia quando si mangiano gli spaghetti (plural), si usa solo la forchetta (singular). Dopo i pasti non si beve il cappuccino (singular). Il salame non si compra (singular). I vini rossi non si bevono freddi (plural). A colazione non si mangiano i salumi (plural). La vera pizza si prepara (singular) con la mozzarella. La domenica si mangia molto (singular). Il sabato si dorme a lungo.

    Italian Grammar Lessons: Adverbs

    This lesson is about what an adverb is and how most adverbs are formed in Italian grammar. An adverb is an invariable part of the sentence (that means it cannot be declined for number, gender and case) and it determines, modifies the way an action is done or specifies something about a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It usually answers to the question “How?” (“Come?” in italian). Adverbs are formed by adding the suffix “-mente” to the feminine singular form of the adjective. For example: lento → lenta → lentamente giusto → giusta → giustamente felice → felice → felicemente If the adjective ends in “-ile” or “-ale”, you simply add the suffix to the root of the adjective. For example: gentile → gentilmente (gently) servile → servilmente (slavishly) speciale → specialmente (especially) generale → generalmente (generally) It is important to note that not all the adjectives can turn into adverbs and that not all the adverbs are derived from adjectives! As said, the adverbs can modify or specify the word to which they are referred. It can be a verb: Ex. Lui parla chiaramente (He speaks clearly) Or an adjective: Il fiore è veramente bello. (The flower is really beautiful)

     Italian LingQ
    Learn Italian with Audio [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="170"] ITALIAN VOCABULARY[/caption]
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German Active and Passive Voice

Classroom - German / By

Active and Passive Voice in German

Learn how to use German Active and Passive Voice Forms

Active and Passive Voice in German

In German, just like in English, there is an active voice (Aktiv or Tätigkeitsform) and the passive voice (Passive or Leidensform). In the active voice the agent (the thing or person that is carrying out the action) is the subject of the sentence. On the other hand, in the passive voice, the subject is the object (on which the action is carried out) The passive voice is used when the agent is not very relevant or unknown. There are two types of passive in German:
  • The processual passive (Vorgangspassiv)

Der Schrank wird geöffnet The closet is in the process of being opened

  • The statal passive (Zustandspassiv)

Der Schrank ist geöffnet The closet is open

The processual passive (Vorgangpassiv)

As its name states, the processual passive is used for actions and is translated to English with the verb “to be” + the participle. The construction of the processual passive is: “werden” + Partizip II

Die Zeitung wird von mir gelesen The newspaper is being read by me

Active and Passive Voice in German

Conjugation

Präsens

Active Voice Passive Voice
ich küsse I kiss ich werde geküsst I am kissed

Präteritum

Active voice Passive voice
ich küsste I kissed ich wurde geküsst I was kissed

Perfekt

Active voice Passive voice
ich habe geküsst I have kissed ich bin geküsst worden I have been kissed

Plusquamperfekt

Active voice Passive voice
ich hatte geküsst I had kissed ich war geküsst worden I had been kissed

Futur I

Active voice Passive voice
ich werde küssen I will kiss ich werde geküsst werden I will be kissed

Futur II

Active voice Passive voice
ich werde geküsst haben I will have kissed ich werde geküsst worden sein I will have been kissed

The processual passive with transitive verbs

You have to pay attention to when you change a sentence from active to passive because the accusative will end up as nominative and thus change its declension.

Ich esse gerade einen Käse I am eating a cheese

Ein Käse wird gerade gegessen A cheese is being eaten

The passive can’t be constructed:
  • if the sentence is reflexive

    Wir treffen uns um 11 Uhr We will meet each other at 11

  • if the verb in the sentence indicates possession: “haben”, “bekommen”, “kriegen”…

    Ich habe ein Haus I have a house

  • if the sentence has the construction “es gibt”

    Es gibt einen Brief für mich There is a letter for me

  • if the accusative is a measurement of quantity.

Die Hose kostet 40 Euros The pants cost 40 Euros

Die Brücke misst 70 Meter The bridge measures 70 meters

  • if the accusative is a piece of clothing belonging to the subject
  • if the accusative is a body part of the subject
  • if the accusative is a circumstantial object in time

The processual passive with intransitive verbs

Some sentences have verbs without accusative that also can form the passive voice. The typical example of this is the verb “helfen”:
Active voice Passive voice
Juan hilft den Mitarbeitern Juan helps his coworkers Den Mitarbeitern wird (es) (von Juan) geholfen The coworkers are helped by Juan
Note: we’re going to look at this with a bit more detail. The sentence could also be written as an impersonal clause:

Es wird den Mitarbeitern (von Juan) geholfen

Don’t be mistaken; the subject is the pronoun “es”. What happens usually is that it is omitted.

The processual passive with modal verbs

The modal verbs, just as they are, do not have passive voice. What happens is that modal verbs are accompanied by a full verb, and this full verb can have a passive voice. It’s easier to see this with an example: Active voice:

Er muss den Wein trinken He has to drink the wine

Passive voice:

Der Wein muss von ihm getrunken werden The wine has to be drunk by him

Präsens

Active voice Passive voice
ich muss küssen I have to kiss ich muss geküsst werden I have to be kissed

Präteritum

Active voice Passive voice
ich musste küssen I had to kiss ich musste geküsst werden I had to be kissed

Perfekt

Active voice Passive voice
ich habe küssen müssen I had to kiss ich habe geküsst werden müssen I had to be kissed

Plusquamperfekt

Active voice Passive voice
ich hatte küssen müssen I had to have kissed ich hatte geküsst werden müssen I had to have been kissed

Futur I

Active voice Passive voice
ich werde küssen müssen I will have to kiss ich werde geküsst werden müssen I will have to be kissed

Futur II (very rarely used in the passive voice)

Active voice Passive voice
ich werde geküsst haben müssen I will have to have kissed ich werde geküsst worden sein müssen I will have to have been kissed

Von / Durch

“Von” and “Durch” come before the agent.
  • “Von” + Dative. This is used to indicate the cause of the action (normally persons or animals)

    Google wurde von 2 Mathematikern gemacht Google was made by 2 mathematicians

  • “Durch” + Accusative. This is used to indicate the means by which the action is caused.

    Google wird durch Werbung finanziert Google is financed by advertising

The statal passive (Zustandspassiv)

As the name indicates, this type of passive is used to express a state. The construction of the passive of state is: “sein” + Partizip II.

Conjugation

Präsens

Passive
ich bin verärgert I am upset

Präteritum

Passive voice
ich war verärgert I was upset

Perfekt

Passive voice
ich bin verärgert gewesen I have been upset

Plusquamperfekt

Passive voice
ich war verärgert gewesen I had been upset

Futur I

Passive voice
ich werde verärgert sein I will be upset

Futur II

Passive voice
ich werde verärgert gewesen sein I will have been upset

Active and Passive Voice in German

Alternative passive forms
Although these clauses are not passive, they have the same meaning as the passive voice.

Man

In many cases, clauses are formed with the pronoun “man” as a subject. The particle man can be translated to English as “one”, as in “One should watch what he says”. It is also like saying “they” when one is referring to some unknown group of people, etc.

Was isst man in Italien? What does one eat in Italy?

Bekommen-Passiv

It is also called “Adressatenpassiv” and can be formed with the verbs bekommen, “erhalten” or “kriegen” which act as auxiliary verbs. In this construction, the dative is changed into the subject (remember that in the passive voice it was the object that changed into the subject)
Active voice Passive voice
Sie liefern uns heute das Sofa They’ll deliver the sofa to us today Wir bekommen heute (von ihnen) das Sofa geliefert We will receive (the delivery of) the sofa (from them) today
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German Modal Particles

Classroom - German, Learn German / By

Modal Particles in German and their functions: The role of Modal Particles in German

The role of Modal Particles in German

In the German language, a modal particle (German: Modalpartikel or Abtönungspartikel) is an uninflected word used mainly in spontaneous spoken language in colloquial registers. It has a dual function: reflecting the mood or attitude of the speaker or narrator, and highlighting the sentence focus. A modal particle’s effect is often vague and dependent on the overall context. Speakers often use them somewhat excessively, and sometimes combine several particles, as in doch mal, ja nun, or ja doch nun mal. They are a feature typical of the spoken language.

So, What Are Modal Particles, Anyway?

Modal particles, also commonly just called “particles,” are words that don’t change grammatical meaning but still add a conditional change to a sentence. They are, in a sense, flavoring words that add a deeper element to language. In German, these could be words that soften the harshness of a comment, add a persuasive or suggestive element to a request or otherwise add subtle meaning to a sentence without changing the grammatical context.

How do Particles Work?

Most of the time, particles are only used in spoken contexts. However, in the digital age, they’re also commonly used in German social media, due to the informality of the medium, so you can take advantage of this in your learning.

Modal Particles

“Particle” is a catch-all term for words that have no clear part of speech, like “hmm.” (Many English particles are also described as “interjections.”) A modal particle is a word that’s used in speech to convey extra emphasis or emotion, without any real grammatical function. It’s often said that English has no modal particles, but we have some pretty similar features. Think of asking a small child “What have you got there?” or “What’s your name then?” The there and then aren’t really necessary in those sentences, they’re just a friendly way of expressing interest. Or if you say “Come on now!” to express disbelief or frustration, the now isn’t strictly necessary. In any case, the exact definition of a modal particle is complicated, but hopefully you’re getting the idea. For our purposes, let’s just define them as any common verbal flourish in spoken German
Affirmation/ Agreement aber aber gerne! with pleasure!
aber sicher!:  most certainly wohl:    Das ist wohl wahr!   That’s certainly true! ja   :   Das ist ja eine tolle idee!  That’s really a great idea ! na   : Na klar komme ich!          You bet I‘m coming! Na logisch!:  Of course!Contradiction/Disagreement doch :Du bist doch nur zugekifft.     You’re just [saying that because you’re] high. Q: Das ist doch nicht dein Ernst, oder? A: Doch! Q: You’re not being serious, are you? A: I am! Special Emphasis/Focus gerade :    Dass ich das gerade von DIR höre… That I’m hearing that from YOU (of all people)… Gerade heute musste es schneien! It had to snow today (of all days)!eben: Ich versuche, eine Antwort auf eben die Frage zu formulieren. I’m trying to find an answer to [just] that very question.Resignation ebenSo ist es eben. / Es ist eben so. That’s just how it is. naja:  Naja, was hast du erwartet?Ah well, what did you expect? halt : Ich war halt besoffen. (What can i say?) I was drunk.Surprise aber : Das war aber nett von dir! That was nice of you! [I wasn’t expecting it] etwa :Ist das etwa für mich?   Is that for me?Interest denn :Wie alt bist du denn? [to a child] So how old are you? mal : Guck dir das mal an! Take a look at that!  Intensifiers schon : Das ist schon viel!   It’s more than you think/more than it seems ja :   Du bist ja blöd!   Are you ever dumb! aber:  Das ist aber völliger Quatsch!      That’s complete nonsense! Exasperation/Anger nur:  Wie konntest du nur?      How COULD you? Was hat er sich nur dabei gedacht? What WAS he thinking? schon: Was will er schon von mir? What in the world does he want from me? nun: Was soll das nun bedeuten?   Now what’s that supposed to mean?    Softening/Casual halt: Es war halt ein Vorschlag.   It was just a suggestion. mal:  Warte mal.      Wait a sec. A lot of the time, the particle will follow the verb in the sentence—however, some come at the end. “Die Katze ist ja schon gefüttert worden!” (The cat has already been fed!) Here, the word ja is being used as a particle, reinforcing the fact that the cat has been fed, and follows the verb. “Versuch’s doch mal!” (Come on, try it!) This example combines two particles (doch and mal) and is a very commonly used phrase. “Kanzlerin Merkel ist aber jeder Montag betrunken!” (But Chancellor Merkel is drunk every Monday!) In this example, you’ll notice that the word aber, or “but,” is a lot more flexible than its direct English translation. It can be placed in the sentence differently and has more shades of meaning than the simple English “but.” Discover some of its other meanings below! Halt, eben, einmal* (in this context, always unshortened) and nun einmal (shortened: nun mal) imply that the (often unpleasant) fact expressed in a sentence cannot be changed and must be accepted. Halt and nun mal are more colloquial than eben. In English, they could be rendered to “as a matter of fact” or by a “happen to” construction.
Gute Kleider sind eben teuer. (“Good clothes are expensive, it can’t be helped.”/”Good clothes happen to be expensive.”)
Er hat mich provoziert, da habe ich ihn halt geschlagen. (“He provoked me, so I hit him – what did you expect?”)
Es ist nun einmal so. (“That’s just how it is.”)
Ja (engl. “you know”/”everyone knows”/”I already told you”) indicates that the speaker thinks a certain fact should already be known to the listener and intends his statement to be more of a reminder or conclusion.
Ich habe ihm ein Buch geschenkt, er liest ja sehr gerne. (“I gave him a book; as you know he likes to read.”)
Ich verleihe kein Geld, das zerstört ja nur Freundschaften. (“I never lend money. Everyone knows that only destroys friendships.”)
Einmal, shortened mal (literally: once, translation roughly: “for once”) also indicates a certain immediacy to the action or even implies a command. On the other hand, it can give a kind of casualness to a sentence and so making it sound less blunt.
“Hör mal zu!” (Listen!” or “Listen to me”!)
“Beeile dich mal!” (“Do hurry up!”)
Sing mal etwas Schönes! (“Why don’t you sing something pretty?”)
Schauen wir mal. (lit.: “Let’s take one look.” meaning: “Let’s just relax and then we’ll see what we’ll be doing.”)
Doch can have several meanings. For one, it can be used affirmatively, or it can convey emphasis, urgency or impatience, or it can serve as a reply to a real or imagined, or pre-emptively answered, disagreement, hesitation, or wrong assumption on the part of the listener, or other people. In other situations this can have different effects.
Gehst Du nicht nach Hause? Doch, ich gehe gleich. (“Are you not going home?” “Oh, yes, I am going in a moment”.) (Affirmation of a negative question; obligatory.)
Komm doch her! (“Do come here!”) (Emphatically)
Komm doch endlich her! (“Do come on! Get a move on!”) (More emphatically and impatiently)
Ich habe dir doch gesagt, dass es nicht so ist. (“I did tell you that it’s not like that.”)
Ich kenne mich in Berlin aus. Ich war doch letztes Jahr dort. (“I know my way around Berlin. I was here last year, after all/as a matter of fact.”)
In this way, doch can be similar to stressed schon (“indeed”), but schon implies an actual qualification of the statement, often made explicit in a phrase with aber (“but”):
Ich war schon auf der Party, aber Spaß hatte ich nicht. (“I was indeed at the party, but I did not enjoy myself.”)
This is not to be confused with the adverbial meaning of, unstressed, schon: already. However, at least in writing schon “already” must either be made unmistakable by the context, e. g. by additional adverbs, or replaced by its equivalent bereits.
Ich war schon (/bereits) auf der Party, aber Spaß hatte ich (noch) nicht. (“I was already at the party, but I had not (yet) been enjoying myself.”)
In other contexts, doch indicates that the action described in the sentence was, in fact, unlikely to occur:
Du bist also doch gekommen! (“You came after all.”)
Ich sehe nicht viel fern, aber wenn etwas Gutes kommt, schalte ich doch ein. (“I don’t watch much TV, but I do tune in if something good comes on.”)
Aber, when not used as a conjunction, is very similar to doch. It conveys a meaning of disagreement to a previously-stated assertion.
Du sprichst aber schon gut Deutsch! (“But you do already speak good German!”)
Sowieso, ohnehin or eh, meaning “anyway(s)”, implies an emphasized assertion. Especially in the South, eh is colloquially most common. All these can be enforced by a preceding doch.
Ich hab ihm eh gesagt, dass er sich wärmer anziehen soll. (“I told him to put on warmer clothes in the first place.”)
Das ist eh nicht wahr. (“That’s not true anyway.”)
Vielleicht, as a modal particle, is used for emphasis and should not be confused with the adverb vielleicht (meaning “perhaps”):
Das ist vielleicht ein großer Hund! (with an emphasis on “Das”, “That’s quite a large dog!”)
But:
Vielleicht ist das ein großer Hund. Es ist schwer zu erkennen. (“Maybe that’s a large dog. It’s difficult to tell.”)
Fei (which is no longer recognized as the adverb fein, finely) is a particle peculiar to Upper German dialects. It denotes that the speaker states something important that might be a surprise for the listener. To give an adequate translation even into Standard German is difficult; probably, the best try is to use understatements with strong affirmative meaning. In English, translations to “I should think” or “just to mention” seem possible, varying from context.
Des kôsch fei net macha! (Swabian) = Das kannst du (eigentlich wirklich) nicht machen. (You can’t do that! / If you do look at it, you really can’t do that. / You can’t, I should think, do that.)
I bin fei ned aus Preissen! (Bavarian) = Ich bin, das wollte ich nur einmal anmerken, nicht aus Preußen. (Just to mention, I’m not from Prussia.)
Wohl is often used instead of epistemic adverbs, such as vermutlich or wahrscheinlich. It is also used to emphasize a strong disagreement. Literal translation with “probably” or at least with “seemingly” is possible.
Es wird wohl Regen geben. (“It looks like rain. / It’s probably going to rain.”)
Du bist wohl verrückt!. (“You must be out of your mind.”)
*Note on mal: The colloquial shortening of einmal to mal is uncommon in the south and is considered a northern import; it is not considered standard (while modal particles, as such, are).]]>

German A1 Speaking Test

Classroom - German, General, Learn German / By

German A1 Speaking Test

Vorstellung : Introducing Yourself in German – Hi Guys! Hallo Leute! – Oral Part – Start Deutsch 1 – Goethe Institut – Introducing Yourself – Hallo, ich heiße Jenny Schubert. Ich bin 29 Jahre alt und ich komme aus Deutschland. Ich wohne in Lohmar. Meine Hobbys sind schwimmen, Rad fahren und mit meinen Hunden spazieren gehen. Ich arbeite als Übersetzerin. Ich spreche Tamil, Telugu, English und ein bisschen Deutsch. – Können Sie bitte Ihren Namen buchstabieren? – J – E – N – N – Y – Und der Nachname: S – C – H – U – B – E – R – T – Wie ist Ihre Telefonnummer? – Meine Telefonnummer ist 777 888 999. – Ich heiße… – Ich bin… – Ich heiße Jenny Schubert. – Ich bin Jenny Schubert. – Ich bin XX Jahre alt. – Ich bin 29 Jahre alt. – Ich komme aus… German A1 Speaking Test – Ich komme aus Deutschland. Ich komme aus Indien. Ich komme aus Schweden. Ich komme aus Frankreich. – Die USA – Ich komme aus den USA. Ich komme aus der Türkei. Ich komme aus der Schweiz. – Ich arbeite als Sekretärin. Ich arbeite als Ärztin. – Ich bin Arzt von Beruf. Ich bin Ingenieur von Beruf. – Ich spreche… – Ich spreche Deutsch und Englisch. – Ich spreche Türkisch, Russisch und ein bisschen Deutsch – Meine Hobbys sind Karate, Tanzen und Schwimmen. – Ich schwimme gern. Ich tanze gern. Ich fahre gern Fahrrad. – Meine Hobbys sind… – Ich wohne in… – Ich wohne in Berlin. Ich wohne in Madrid. Ich wohne in Chicago. – Danke schön fürs Zusehen und bisc

Sprechen Teil 2

German A1 Speaking Test   ]]>

German: A1 Hints on Writing Letter

Classroom - German / By

Tips to Help Students Write Letters in German

Tips to Help Students Write Letters in German

Tips to Help Students Write Letters in German

Informal Letters

Writing a letter

Students can start writing a letter in German by pretending to be on holiday. Let them attempt a postcard or a letter in German this way: They start with the name of the place they are at, and date in the top right hand corner. The dates are written in the format of day/month/year. Bremen, (den) 30. Jun 2010 This is an informal letter to someone they know well, so the greeting will simply be: Lieber Hans or Liebe Brigitte The greeting is then be followed by a comma, with the first line of the message starting with a small letter. It can also be followed by an exclamation mark with the first line starting with a capital letter; however the comma is most used in modern day correspondence: Liebe Brigitte, viele Grüße aus Bremen. Ein wunderschöner Urlaub! Das Hotel ist sehr gut, und das Essen könnte nicht besser sein! Ich esse gern Kuchen und ich gehe viel spazieren, damit ich nicht zu dick werde.Am liebsten gehe ich ins Kino, damit ich mehr Deutsch lerne. Deine Monika The ending for an informal letter can also be: Bis bald Alles Liebe These are affectionate endings. Less affectionate ones are: Herzliche Grüsse Mit herzlichen Grüssen (Ihr/Ihre) followed by their signature. It is important to note that there is no punctuation at the ending. Tips to Help Students Write Letters in German Formal Letters After practicing a few informal letters, they can then practice a formal letter. In business letters, the date is usually written in numbers: 25.3.2010 The student would put his name and address on the top left-hand of the page, and the date on the right. He can also put the address on the right with the date beneath it. The heading would look somewhat like this: Jan Schwartz Hauptstrasse 56 92763 Stuttgart Between the student’s address and the recipient’s address, there should be a few spaces: Titles used are as follows: Herrn (Mr) Frau (Mr./Miss) Familie (Family) Herrn Doktor Herrn Professor It is usual in business letters to refer to the date of previous correspondence; so following the greeting, the student could begin his formal letter with something like: Ihr Schreiben vom 15.April 2010 Let the student also practice another way of greeting. This is when the name of the recipient is known;in this case: Sehr geehrter Herr Müller Sehr geehrte Frau Weiss He can also practice the form used when you do not know the person to whom you are writing: Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (Dear Sir or Madam) A few more exercises in formal letters and your students will be well on their way towards receiving student help writing a letter in German, and understanding how to do it. WE ALSO RECOMMEND…]]>

English Grammar: Use of Modal Verbs

Classroom - English / By

Modal verbs list, usages, examples

What are modal verbs?

Modals (also called modal verbs, modal auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliaries) are special verbs which behave irregularly in English. They are different from normal verbs like “work, play, visit…” They give additional information about the function of the main verb that follows it. They have a great variety of communicative functions. Here are some characteristics of modal verbs:
  • They never change their form. You can’t add “s”, “ed”, “ing”…
  • They are always followed by an infinitive without “to” (e.i. the bare infinitive.)
  • They are used to indicate modality allow speakers to express certainty, possibility, willingness, obligation, necessity, ability

List of modal verbs

Here is a list of modal verbs:
can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must
The verbs or expressions dare, ought to, had better, and need not behave like modal auxiliaries to a large extent and my be added to the above list

Use of modal verbs:

Modal verbs are used to express functions such as:
  1. Permission
  2. Ability
  3. Obligation
  4. Prohibition
  5. Lack of necessity
  6. Advice
  7. possibility
  8. probability

Modal verbs list, usages, examples

Modal verbs meanings and uses Modal verbs are also know as helping verbs and are used to express the following:- Possililty, obligation, ability and permission.

Modal verbs their usage and examples

Modal verb list English Grammar

Modal verb list with examples

Modal verbs list, usages, examples

Modal verbs can be used with actions

 
Modal verbs list, usages, examples
Modal verbs used with actions

Modal verbs

      Can         ability     permission     probability (0%)         Can I go to the mall?     It can’t be Robert. He is in London
    Could     past ability     past permission     probability (30%)     request, offer or suggestion       He could speak English when he was 2 years old.    He could go to the park.     It could get much colder in December.     Could I go to the toilet?     I could lend you my dictionary.  
    May     probability (50%)     permission       It may rain tomorrow.     May I go to the cinema with you?  
    Might     probability (30% or less)       It might snow today.  
    Must       Prohibition     deduction / probability (100%)       You mustn’t play with that. It’s dangerous     The visitor must be Daniel. I’ve seen his car outside.
    Should       advice       You shouldn’t smoke. It’s bad for your health
    Will       prediction     spontaneous decision       I think he will study harder this time.     Oh, it’s very cold in here. I’ll close the window.

Examples of modal verbs

Here is a list of modals with examples:
Modal Verb Expressing Example
must Strong obligation You must stop when the traffic lights turn red.
logical conclusion / Certainty He must be very tired. He’s been working all day long.
must not prohibition You must not smoke in the hospital.
can ability I can swim.
permission Can I use your phone please?
possibility Smoking can cause cancer.
could ability in the past When I was younger I could run fast.
polite permission Excuse me, could I just say something?
possibility It could rain tomorrow!
may permission May I use your phone please?
possibility, probability It may rain tomorrow!
might polite permission Might I suggest an idea?
possibility, probability I might go on holiday to Australia next year.
need not lack of necessity/absence of obligation I need not buy tomatoes. There are plenty of tomatoes in the fridge.
should/ought to 50 % obligation I should / ought to see a doctor. I have a terrible headache.
advice You should / ought to revise your lessons
logical conclusion He should / ought to be very tired. He’s been working all day long.
had better advice You ‘d better revise your lessons

1. can

Use Examples
ability to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be able to) I can speak English.
permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to) Can I go to the cinema?
request Can you wait a moment, please?
offer I can lend you my car till tomorrow.
suggestion Can we visit Grandma at the weekend?
possibility It can get very hot in Arizona.

2. could

Use Examples
ability to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be able to) I could speak English.
permission to do sth. in the past (substitute form: to be allowed to) I could go to the cinema.
polite question * Could I go to the cinema, please?
polite request * Could you wait a moment, please?
polite offer * I could lend you my car till tomorrow.
polite suggestion * Could we visit Grandma at the weekend?
possibility * It could get very hot in Montana.

3. may

Use Examples
possibility It may rain today.
permission to do sth. in the present (substitute form: to be allowed to) May I go to the cinema?
polite suggestion May I help you?

4. might

Use Examples
possibility (less possible than may) * It might rain today.
hesitant offer * Might I help you?

5. must

Use Examples
force, necessity I must go to the supermarket today.
possibility You must be tired.
advice, recommendation You must see the new film with Brad Pitt.

6. must not/may not

Use Examples
prohibition (must is a little stronger) You mustn’t work on dad’s computer.
You may not work on dad’s computer.

7. need not

Use Examples
sth. is not necessary I needn’t go to the supermarket, we’re going to the restaurant tonight.

8. ought to

simliar to should – ought to sounds a little less subjective
Use Examples
advice You ought to drive carefully in bad weather.
obligation You ought to switch off the light when you leave the room.

9. shall

used instead of will in the 1st person
Use Examples
suggestion Shall I carry your bag?

10. should

Use Examples
advice You should drive carefully in bad weather.
obligation You should switch off the light when you leave the room.

11. will

Use Examples
wish, request, demand, order (less polite than would) Will you please shut the door?
prediction, assumption I think it will rain on Friday.
promise I will stop smoking.
spontaneous decision Can somebody drive me to the station? – I will.
habits She’s strange, she‘ll sit for hours without talking.

12. would

Use Examples
wish, request (more polite than will) Would you shut the door, please?
habits in the past Sometimes he would bring me some flowers.
* These are no past forms, they refer to the future.

Uses of Can and Could

The modal auxiliary can is used

  • to express ability (in the sense of being able to do something or knowing how to do something): He can speak Spanish but he can’t write it very well.
  • to expression permission (in the sense of being allowed or permitted to do something): Can I talk to my friends in the library waiting room? (Note that can is less formal than may. Also, some writers will object to the use of can in this context.)
  • to express theoretical possibility: American automobile makers can make better cars if they think there’s a profit in it.

The modal auxiliary could is used

  • to express an ability in the past: I could always beat you at tennis when we were kids.
  • to express past or future permission: Could I bury my cat in your back yard?
  • to express present possibility: We could always spend the afternoon just sitting around talking.
  • to express possibility or ability in contingent circumstances: If he studied harder, he could pass this course.

In expressing ability, can and could frequently also imply willingness: Can you help me with my homework?

Can versus May

Whether the auxiliary verb can can be used to express permission or not — “Can I leave the room now?” [“I don’t know if you can, but you may.”] — depends on the level of formality of your text or situation. As Theodore Bernstein puts it in The Careful Writer, “a writer who is attentive to the proprieties will preserve the traditional distinction: can for ability or power to do something, may for permission to do it. The question is at what level can you safely ignore the “proprieties.” Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, tenth edition, says the battle is over and can can be used in virtually any situation to express or ask for permission. Most authorities, however, recommend a stricter adherence to the distinction, at least in formal situations.

Uses of May and Might

Two of the more troublesome modal auxiliaries are may and might. When used in the context of granting or seeking permission, might is the past tense of may. Might is considerably more tentative than may.
  • May I leave class early?
  • If I’ve finished all my work and I’m really quiet, might I leave early?

In the context of expressing possibility, may and might are interchangeable present and future forms and might + have + past participle is the past form:

  • She might be my advisor next semester.
  • She may be my advisor next semester.
  • She might have advised me not to take biology.
Avoid confusing the sense of possibility in may with the implication of might, that a hypothetical situation has not in fact occurred. For instance, let’s say there’s been a helicopter crash at the airport. In his initial report, before all the facts are gathered, a newscaster could say that the pilot “may have been injured.” After we discover that the pilot is in fact all right, the newscaster can now say that the pilot “might have been injured” because it is a hypothetical situation that has not occurred. Another example: a body had been identified after much work by a detective. It was reported that “without this painstaking work, the body may have remained unidentified.” Since the body was, in fact, identified, might is clearly called for.

Uses of Will and Would

In certain contexts, will and would are virtually interchangeable, but there are differences. Notice that the contracted form ‘ll is very frequently used for will.

Will can be used to express willingness:

  • I’ll wash the dishes if you dry.
  • We’re going to the movies. Will you join us?

It can also express intention (especially in the first person):

  • I’ll do my exercises later on.

and prediction:

  • specific: The meeting will be over soon.
  • timeless: Humidity will ruin my hairdo.
  • habitual: The river will overflow its banks every spring.

Would can also be used to express willingness:

  • Would you please take off your hat?

It can also express insistence (rather rare, and with a strong stress on the word “would”):

  • Now you’ve ruined everything. You would act that way.

and characteristic activity:

  • customary: After work, he would walk to his home in West Hartford.
  • typical (casual): She would cause the whole family to be late, every time.

In a main clause, would can express a hypothetical meaning:

  • My cocker spaniel would weigh a ton if I let her eat what she wants.

Finally, would can express a sense of probability:

  • I hear a whistle. That would be the five o’clock train.
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