German A2: Reading and Writing

Texts for beginners include simple sentences with basic vocabulary. More advanced texts feature complex sentences with relative and subordinate clauses and wider use of tenses. Our innovative teaching system clearly indicates the vocabulary level in each reading, making it very easy for any German student to choose appropriate texts for their needs.

Einkaufen gehen (A2)

Heute ist Freitag. Wir haben heute Morgen in unseren Kühlschrank geschaut und gesehen, dass er leer ist. Da wir am Wochenende viele von unseren Freunden zu einer Party eingeladen haben, müssen wir nun einen Großeinkauf machen. Unsere Freunde sind sehr unterschiedlich, einige möchten gerne alkoholische Getränke, andere lieber nur Saft oder Wasser. Also müssen wir viele verschiedene Sachen einkaufen. Wir haben entschieden, einige Salate zu machen, sodass wir nun viel Obst und Gemüse kaufen. Wenn das Wetter schön ist, könnten wir auch einen Grill auf den Balkon stellen. Das bedeutet, wir müssen auch Würstchen und ein bisschen Fleisch kaufen, damit alle Gäste zufrieden sind. Wir hoffen, dass es ein schönes Fest wird.

Der Skiurlaub (A2)

Hartmut hat im Februar eine Reise gemacht: Er ist in die Alpen gefahren, in ein kleines Dorf in Österreich. Er hat in einem hübschen Hotel ein Einzelzimmer bekommen. Das Essen im Hotel hat ihm sehr gut geschmeckt. Jeden Morgen ist Hartmut zum Skikurs gegangen. Der Skilehrer, Herr Winter, hat gesagt: “Hartmut ist der beste von meinen Schülern!” Hartmut hat sich sehr gefreut. Am letzten Abend hat die ganze Gruppe Abschied gefeiert. Sie haben viel Wein getrunken. Dann hat Hartmut gesagt: “Ich habe eine Idee! Wir wollen in der Dunkelheit Ski laufen!” Alle haben geantwortet: “Das ist eine tolle Idee!” Sie sind in der Dunkelheit Ski gelaufen. Hartmut hat sich das Bein gebrochen. Armer Hartmut! Der Weg zum Supermarkt (A2) Tina ist neu in der Stadt und kennt sich noch nicht aus. Sie möchte gerne etwas zu essen und zu trinken kaufen, weiß aber nicht, wo sie einkaufen kann. Im Treppenhaus trifft sie ihren neuen Nachbarn Ben. “Hallo, ich bin Ben. Bist du neu hier?”, fragt Ben. “Ja, ich wohne erst seit gestern hier. Ich heiße Tina. Kannst du mir sagen, wo der nächste Supermarkt ist?”, möchte Tina wissen. “Lass uns zusammen gehen, ich wollte auch gerade los und ein paar Kleinigkeiten besorgen. Dann kann ich dir den Weg zeigen.” “Das klingt gut, danke.” Also machen die beiden sich gemeinsam auf den Weg zum Supermarkt, um ihre Einkäufe zu erledigen.

Im Einkaufszentrum (A2)

Viele Leute lieben Einkaufszentren. Auch wenn man nicht unbedingt etwas kaufen möchte, gibt es immer etwas zu sehen. Im Winter ist es warm und im Sommer kühl. Man kann durch die Galerien schlendern und sich die Angebote anschauen. Vielleicht findet man ja doch etwas Interessantes, oder etwas, was man schon lange gesucht hat. Auch wenn man mit Freunden in ein Einkaufszentrum geht, macht das Spaß. Da es in den meisten Zentren auch Cafés und Eisdielen gibt, kann man sich zusammensetzen und ein bisschen diskutieren, ohne vom Wetter abhängig zu sein. In einem Einkaufszentrum kann man alle verschiedenen Arten von Geschäften an einem Ort finden und muss nicht von einem zum anderen gehen oder fahren. Es gibt ebenso Lebensmittel wie Kleider oder Haushaltswaren und Drogerieartikel.

Gesunde Lebensweise (A2)

Um gesund zu bleiben, sollte man verschiedene Dinge beachten. Dazu gehört eine gesunde Ernährung. Es ist wichtig, täglich Obst und Gemüse zu essen. Zucker und Fleisch sollten nur selten verspeist werden. Außerdem muss man viel Wasser trinken. Zwei Liter pro Tag sind ideal. Ein gesunder Körper braucht ausreichend Bewegung. Man sollte mindestens zwei mal pro Woche Sport treiben, um fit zu bleiben. Viele Menschen sagen, dass sie keine Zeit für Sport haben. Oft ist das eine Ausrede. Dabei kann Sport Spaß machen, denn Bewegung tut gut. Genauso wichtig ist ein erholsamer Schlaf. Als Erwachsener sollte man mindestens sieben Stunden pro Tag schlafen. Vor allem sollte man auf Alkohol und Zigaretten verzichten, um gesund zu bleiben. ]]>

German A to Z

German has often been viewed by non-Germans as a harsh sounding language. That may be due in part to the more guttural pronunciation of certain German alphabet sounds and diphthongs and perhaps even a still lingering effect of old WWII movie stereotypes. Once non-German speakers familiarize themselves with German’s different sounds, however, another kind of poetic beauty will unfold before them that has been revered worldwide in the works of many German greats, such as Goethe, Schiller through prose and song.

The German Alphabet is a vital part of the language, which is spoken by more than 130 million people in 38 countries of the world, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Belgium, and 33 other countries. The alphabet consists of the same 26 letters as English alphabet, plus some extra ones. German pronunciation of letters is in many places the same as English, as well as how to write them, however there are some unique letters and different ways of pronouncing some other letters.

German Alphabet

Aa as in the word “ask” and never as in the word “able”

Bb same as in English

Cc usually in “sch” “ch” or “ck” rarely out of these letters.

Dd same as in English

Ee as in “elevated”

Ff same as in English

Gg like in the word “God”, never pronounced as in the word “gym”.

Hh same as in English.

Ii as in the word “ink” never as in the word “island”

Jj similar to the letter “y” in “yacht”

Kk same as in English

Ll same as in English

Mm same as in English

Nn same as in English, most of the German letters are just like English.

Oo same as in English “Old” never as in “Hot” which is pronounced somehow like {hat}

Pp same as in English

Qq same as in English but rare.

Rr same as in English but slightly like as in “gh” as in the French “Merci”

Ss sounds like “z”.

Tt same as in English but not as sharp.

Uu sounds like “oo” or “uu”, never as in the word “up” or “university”

Vv sounds like “f”

Ww sounds like “v”

Xx same as in English although rare.

Yy same as in English although rare.

Zz sounds like “ts”

Additional German letters:

Ä /ä, Ö/ ö, Ü / ü. ß (called scharfes s)

Ä /ä sounds more like “e”

Ö/ ö sounds more like “oe”

Ü / ü sounds more like “ue”

ß sounds like “ss”

Compound letters:

Sch: sounds like “sh”

Ch: sounds sometimes like “sh” or like “kh”.

St: sounds like “sht” at the beginning, and like “st” at the end of a word.

Unique Characteristics of the German Alphabet

• More than 26 letters in the alphabet – German has a so-called extended Latin alphabet
• The extra letters are ä, ö, ü and ß
• The pronunciation of some of these letters do not exist in the English language
• Several letters are pronounced more from the back of the throat: g, ch, r (though in Austria the r is trilled).
• The W in German sounds like the V in English
• The V in German sounds like the F in English
• Most of the time the S in German sounds like Z in English when placed at the beginning of a word followed by a vowel.
• The letter ß will never appear at the beginning of a word.

 

Das Deutsche Alphabet (The German Alphabet)

Click on the following letters to hear them pronounced. (Audio saved as .wav files.)

Buchstabe/ Letter	Aussprache des Buchstabenamens/ Pronunciation of letter name	Aussprache des Buchstaben – wie in/ Sound of Letter – as in	Beispiele/ Examples
A a	ah	astronaut	der Adler (eagle), Januar  (January)
B b	approximate: bay	baby	der Bruder (brother), aber (but)
C c	approximate: tsay	creative, Celcius (soft c sound in German sounds like ts)	der Chor, der Christkindlmarkt(south German term for der Weihnachtsmarkt/ Christmas market), Celcius
D d	approximate: day	dollar	Dienstag (Tuesday), oder (or)
E e	approximate: ay	elegant	essen (to eat), zuerst(first)
F f	eff	effort	der Freund (friend), offen (open)
G g	approximate: gay	gorgeous	gut (good), gemein(mean)
H h	haa	hammer	der Hammer, dieMühle (mill)
I i	eeh	Igor	der Igel (porcupine), der Imbiss (snack), sieben (seven)
J j	yot	yellow	das Jahr (year), jeder (each)
K k	kah	camel	das Kamel, der Kuchen (cake)
L l	ell	love	die Leute (people), das Land (land)
M m	em	man	der Mann, die Ameise
N n	en	nice	nicht (not), die Münze (coin)
O o	oh	oven	Ostern (Easter),rot(red)
P p	approximate: pay	party	die Polizei (police), der Apfel
Q q	koo	coral	das Quadrat (square), die Quelle (source) Note: All German words start with qu (kw – sound)
R r	approximate: er	rich	der Rücken (the back), der Stern (star)
S s	es	zoo, shine, mouse	summen (to hum), schön (pretty, nice), die Maus
T t	approximate: tay	tyrant	der Tyrann, acht(eight)
U u	ooh	ou sound in you	die Universität(university), der Mund(mouth)
V v	fow	father	der Vogel (bird), dieNerven (nerves)
W w	approximate: vay	van	die Wange (cheek), dasSchwein (pig, wieviel (how much)
X x	ix	sounds like kz	das Xylofon/ Xylophon, die Hexe (witch) Note: There are hardly any German words that start with X
Y y	uep-si-lohn	yellow	die Yucca, der Yeti Note: There are hardly any German words that start with Y.
Z z	tset	sounds like ts	die Zeitung(newspaper), der Zigeuner (gypsy)

	Aussprache des Buchstaben/ Pronunciation of Letter	Beispiele/ Examples
ä	sounds similar to the e in melon	ähnlich (similar), gähnen (to yawn)
ö	sounds similar to the i in girl	Österreich (Austria), der Löwe (lion)
ü	no equivalent nor approximate sound in English	über (over),müde(tired)
ß(esszet)	double s sound	heiß (hot),die Straße(street

Learn more specifics of several German letters and their dipthongs in this guide for beginners, German Pronunciation and Alphabet  or if you are starting to feel comfortable with German pronunciation put yourself to the test with these Zungenbrecher (tongue twisters). ]]>

How to use Personal Pronouns in German?

German personal pronouns (ich, sie, er, es, du, wir, and more) work in much the same way as their English equivalents (I, she, he, it, you, we, etc.). When you study verbs, you should already understand pronouns well. They are a key element of most sentences that you should memorize and know by heart. We have included sample sentences for many of the pronouns to see how German pronouns work in context. The pronouns listed below are in the nominative (subject) case. German pronouns are also used in other cases, but that is for another discussion at another time. A good exercise: For now, read the chart below carefully and memorize each pronoun. Read the pronouns and all the sample sentences aloud at least twice to familiarize yourself with hearing them spoken. Write the pronouns out at least twice to master the spelling. Memorize them and write them again. It would also be useful to write out the German sample sentences as well; this will help you remember the pronouns used in context.

Take Care When Using ‘Du’ and ‘Sie’

German makes a clear distinction between the singular, familiar “you” (du) and the plural, formal “you” (Sie) in social situations. Unlike in English, most European and other languages also have both a familiar and a formal “you.” In this regard, Germans tend to be more formal than English speakers, and they use first names only after a long period of getting to know each other (sometimes years).

This is a good example of how language and culture are intertwined, and you need to be aware of this to avoid embarrassing yourself and others. In the table below, the familiar “you” forms (du in the singular, ihr in the plural) are marked “familiar” to distinguish them from the formal “you” (Sie in the singular and plural).

Note that German has three different forms of sie. Often the only way to tell which one is meant is to notice the verb ending and/or the context in which the pronoun is used. Even the capitalized Sie (the formal “you”) is tricky if it appears at the beginning of a sentence. A lower-case sie can mean both “she” and “they” as in: sie ist (she is), sie sind (they are).

die deutschen Pronomina German Pronouns
Nominative Singular
Pronomen	Pronoun	Sample Sentences
ich	I	Darf ich? (May I?) Ich bin 16 Jahre alt. (I’m 16 years old.) The pronoun ich is not capitalized except at the beginning of a sentence.
du	you (familiar, singular)	Kommst du mit? (Are you coming?)
er	he	Ist er da? (Is he here?)
sie	she	Ist sie da? (Is she here?)
es	it	Hast du es? (Do you have it?)
Sie	you (formal, singular)	Kommen Sie heute? (Are you coming today?) The pronoun Sie always takes a plural conjugation, but it is also used for the formal singular “you.”
Nominative Plural
Pronomen	Pronoun	Sample Phrases
wir	we	Wir kommen am Dienstag. (We’re coming on Tuesday.)
ihr	you guys (familiar, plural)	Habt ihr das Geld? (Do you guys have the money?)
sie	they	Sie kommen heute. (They’re coming today.) The pronoun sie in this sentence could also mean “you” Sie. Only the context makes it clear which of the two is meant.
Sie	you (formal, plural)	Kommen Sie heute? (Are you [all] coming today?)

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Hin or her?

Meaning of Hin and Her

The adverb „hin“ describes movement away from the speaker. The adverb „her“ describes movement towards the speaker. The questions „woher?“ and „wohin?“ ask about direction. They can be written together or separate. „Wohin gehst du?“ – „Wo gehst du hin?“ „Woher kommst du?“ – „Wo kommst du her?“

Hin and Her with Adverbs

When using local adverbs with „hin“ or „her“, we are giving a specific direction towards or away from the speaker. Examples: Dahin, daher, dorthin, dorther, hierhin, hierher

• „Ich gehe dorthin, wo wir uns das erste mal getroffen haben.“

With other adverbs they aren‘t directly combined. Instead, they go with the verb.

Hin and Her with Verbs

Hin and her are often used as a prefix with a separable verb. This works for all verbs involving movement. They give the appropriate direction of the movement.

• „Komm bitte her! Ich muss mit dir reden.“
• „Geht bitte irgendwo anders hin! Ich brauche Ruhe!“

Hin and her with Prepositions and Verbs

To give a more specific direction, they are often combined with a preposition and most often a verb of movement.

• „Anna kam ins Haus hinein und ging gleich wieder heraus.“
• „Ich will den Berg hinauflaufen und dann wieder herunterlaufen.“
• „Du ich kann über die Mauer hinübersehen, aber auch er kann von der anderen Seite herübersehen.“

›When combining hin and her with prepositions we often use contractions. Both are correct but the short version is much more popular. These can even be used as prefixes for separable verbs: raus = hinaus / heraus   rein = hinein / hinaus rauf = hinauf / herauf   runter = hinunter / herunter rüber = hinüber / herüber

Meanings of the shortened versions

raus = hinaus / hinaus

• „Ich gehe (aus dem Haus) raus.“

Similarly: rauslaufen, rauskommen, rausfahren, rausrennen, rausschwimmen, raustragen, rausschauen … rein = hinein / herein

• „Ich gehe (in das Haus) rein.“

Similarly: reinlaufen, reinkommen, reinfahren, reinrennen, reintragen, reinschauen, … rauf = hinauf / herauf

• „Ich gehe auf den Berg rauf.“

Similarly: rauflaufen, raufkommen, rauffahren, raufrennen, rauftragen, raufklettern, raufbringen … runter = hinunter / herunter

• „Ich gehe in den Keller runter.“

Similarly: runterlaufen, runterkommen, runterfahren, runterrennen, runtertragen, runterbringen, … rüber = hinüber / herüber

• „Ich klettere am besten dort über den Zaun rüber.“

Similarly: rüberlaufen, rüberkommen, rüberfahren, rübertragen, rüberbringen, … „Rüber“ ›means changing locations: moving from one side to the other.

Summary

Hin and her describe a movement in a certain direction. ›”Hin” describes movement away from from the speaker. “Her” describes movement towards the speaker. We can combine them with other local adverbs, verbs and prepositions.

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What are German indefinite pronouns? These are pronouns that do not indicate the gender or number of things/people discussed. To put it simply, they are those vague words like ‘somebody’, ‘everybody’, ‘a few’, and ‘some’. Why are these important to learn? Because sometimes we aren’t able to be – or don’t want to be – too specific! (Note some of the words’ endings here might change in real speech, according to the gender of the subject. But the main thing at this stage is that you get a feel for how these words look and sound. ? ) So how do we say these indefinite pronouns in German? Everybody – Alle/Jeder All of us – Allesamt Somebody – Jemand/Irgendwer Nobody – Niemand/Keiner Anybody – Jedermann/Irgendjemand Something – (Irgend)Etwas Somewhere – Irgendwo Nowhere – Nirgends/Nirgendwo Both – Beide Some/a few – Einige A lot/many – Viel(e) Those two/three/four – Diese zwei/drei/vier Any – Irgendwelche(s) A bit – Ein bisschen A little – Ein wenig One/You (eg. ‘One can do this’) – Man Several – Mehrere Such/of the like – Solche Take a look at some of the above words in action: Niemand will heute Abend mitgehen ———– Nobody wants to go this evening. Einige von uns gehen ins Kino ——- A few of us are going to the cinema. Beide sehen gut aus ———- Both look good. Mehrere von uns wollen mitgehen ———– Several of us want to go. Alle hier sind verrückt ————– Everyone here is crazy. Irgendetwas stimmt nicht ———— Something is not right. Jemand muss mir helfen ———— Someone needs to help me. Solche Sachen sind hier verboten ———- Such things are forbidden here. Man muss das Fenster aufmachen  ———- One/you must open the window. Sie ist heute ein bisschen langsam ———— She’s a bit slow today. Ein wenig Butter und dann stimmt’s ———– A little butter and then it‘s perfect. Ich gehe nirgendwo hin ———- I’m going nowhere. Ich brauche irgendwelche Gedichte für meine Hausaufgaben ——– I need any/some sort of poems for my homework. Es steckt irgendwo im Schrank ———— It’s somewhere in the wardrobe. I hope this post has been helpful. Any questions, let us know in the comments! Constanze What does the German word “irgendwie” mean? 4 Answers Will McChesney Will McChesney, bilingual American English/German, by design Updated Feb 9 2015 In colloquial speech, a great idiomatic translation is often “kinda.” Ich war halt irgendwie müde, und hatte keine Lust auszugehen. I was just kinda tired, and didn’t feel like going out. Es ist mir dann halt irgendwie eingefallen, und ich wusste, was ich tun musste.Then it just kinda came to me, and I knew what I had to do. Then, as other posters have noted, a common literal translation is “somehow.” Wir müssen es irgendwie doch schaffen. We’ll have to get it done somehow. Bonus! A similar Füllwort (filler word) to irgendwie is quasi. It is also often idiomatically translated as “kinda” or “sorta.” Dann haben wir Angela Merkel gesehen! Als Bundeskanzlerin ist sie quasi der „Obama von Deutschland“. Then we saw Angela Merkel! As chancellor, she’s kinda like the “Obama of Germany.” » Übersetzung(en) tabellarisch anzeigen | immer » Übersetzungen mit gleichem Wortanfang » irgend | irgendwann SYNO     eines Tages | früher oder später … irgendwann anytime {adv} sometime {adv} eventually {adv} somewhen {adv} [some time] [rare, perceived as archaic or non-standard unless used as a stylistic device, esp. in combination with “somewhere” etc.] any time {adv} one day or other {adv} one of these days {adv} at one time or another {adv} at some time or another {adv} by and by {adv} [old-fashioned] somewhere along the line {adv} [coll.] [at some time] irgendwann [in der Zukunft] some day {adv} irgendwann einmal sometime {adv} irgendwann einmal [früher einmal] once upon a time {adv} (früher) irgendwann mal at some point (in the past) {adv} irgendwann (mal / einmal) at some point Alles rächt sich irgendwann. What goes around, comes around.proverb irgendwann in der Zukunft one day {adv} (at) some point down the line {adj} Alles was du besitzt, besitzt irgendwann dich. The things you own, they end up owning you. [Fight Club]quote Ich würde gern irgendwann mal Weihnachten Skifahren gehen. [ugs.] I’d like to go skiing one Christmas. Vielleicht komme ich irgendwann darauf zurück. I may take you up on it some time.idiom Was du Anderen Gutes tust, kommt irgendwann zu dir zurück. What goes around, comes around.idiom Wir wurden durch das Fernsehen aufgezogen in dem Glauben, dass wir alle irgendwann mal Millionäre werden, Filmgötter, Rockstars … Werden wir aber nicht! We were raised to believe that someday we were all gonna be millionaires or movie stars or rock stars. But we’re not. [Fight Club]quote Irgendwann in Mexico Once Upon a Time in Mexico [Robert Rodriguez]Ffilm » Übersetzung(en) tabellarisch anzeigen | immer » Übersetzungen mit gleichem Wortanfang » irgend | irgendwann SYNO     eines Tages | früher oder später … irgendwann anytime {adv} sometime {adv} eventually {adv} somewhen {adv} [some time] [rare, perceived as archaic or non-standard unless used as a stylistic device, esp. in combination with “somewhere” etc.] any time {adv} one day or other {adv} one of these days {adv} at one time or another {adv} at some time or another {adv} by and by {adv} [old-fashioned] somewhere along the line {adv} [coll.] [at some time] irgendwann [in der Zukunft] some day {adv} irgendwann einmal sometime {adv} irgendwann einmal [früher einmal] once upon a time {adv} (früher) irgendwann mal at some point (in the past) {adv} irgendwann (mal / einmal) at some point Alles rächt sich irgendwann. What goes around, comes around.proverb irgendwann in der Zukunft one day {adv} (at) some point down the line {adj} Alles was du besitzt, besitzt irgendwann dich. The things you own, they end up owning you. [Fight Club]quote Ich würde gern irgendwann mal Weihnachten Skifahren gehen. I’d like to go skiing one Christmas. Vielleicht komme ich irgendwann darauf zurück. I may take you up on it some time.idiom Was du Anderen Gutes tust, kommt irgendwann zu dir zurück. What goes around, comes around.idiom Wir wurden durch das Fernsehen aufgezogen in dem Glauben, dass wir alle irgendwann mal Millionäre werden, Filmgötter, Rockstars … Werden wir aber nicht! We were raised to believe that someday we were all gonna be millionaires or movie stars or rock stars. But we’re not. [Fight Club]quote Irgendwann in Mexico Once Upon a Time in Mexico]]>

DA- COMPOUNDS

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="537"] USE of Da in German[/caption]

1. Da– Compounds

German can use words formed by affixing da– or dar– to the beginning of a preposition in order to refer back to something. In its most basic usage, we usually translate a da– compound into English as a preposition followed by a pronoun.

Er hat einen Bleistift. Er schreibt damit. He has a pencil. He is writing with it. Hier ist ein Stuhl. Sie sitzt darauf. Here is a chair. She is sitting on it.

Note that the form dar– is used when the preposition begins with a vowel.

2. Some Common Da– Words

In older forms of English and often in English-language legal documents, there are a large variety of words formed with the prefix there-, such as “therefore,”“thereby,” “therein,” “thereafter,” etc. In German there are a number of similar adverbs, which represent special meanings of da– compounds (remember that one of the meanings of da is “there”). Be sure not to confuse these da– words with the da– compounds described above. The difference is that these adverbs use da– to refer not to a specific object already mentioned in the text, but rather to a more abstract concept, such as a time or logic relationship. Da– words have their own entries in your dictionary, whereas simple da– compounds as above do not.

Sie bringt immer einen Regenschirm, damit sie nie naß wird. She always brings an umbrella, so that she never gets wet. Er sprang von der Mauer. Dabei brach er das Bein. He jumped from the wall. In the process he broke his leg. Sie kaufte die Aktien rechtzeitig und wurde dadurch reich. She bought the stock at the right time and thereby became rich. Ich habe kein Geld. Dafür bin ich gesund und glücklich. I have no money. On the other hand, I’m healthy and happy.

Following are some commonly used da– words:

dabei	in the process, in this matter, there, at the same time, as well
dadurch	thereby, in doing so
dafür	instead, on the other hand
dagegen	but, in comparison, on the other hand, whereas
daher	therefore, that is why
damit	so that, because of that, with that / this
danach	accordingly
daneben	compared with (something or someone), at the same time, as well as (something, that)
darauf	after that
darin	in this respect
darüber hinaus	beyond that, furthermore
darum	because of that
darunter	among them
dazu	along with (it / that), in addition to (it / that), for (it / that), about (it / that)

3. Hier– Words

Again, just as in older English “herewith,” “hereupon,” and “heretofore,” German has parallel constructions. Examples are hiermit, hierauf, hierzu. We translate the hier– with “it,” “that,” or “those,” whichever fits the context, along with the preposition as appropriate. For example:

Hiermit schließen wir diese Übung. With this we end this exercise. Hierzu brauchen wir viel Geld. To do that we need a lot of money. [or:] For this purpose we will need a lot of money. [or:] To achieve that we need a lot of money

4. Da– Clauses

Some da– compounds are used before a clause beginning with daß or a dependent infinitive construction with zu. These are anticipatory da– words:

Mein Vater hat nichts dagegen, daß wir oft ins Kino gehen. My father has nothing against the fact that we go to the movies often. [or:] My father has nothing against our going to the movies often. Wir denken oft daran, nach Deutschland zu reisen. We often think of travelling to Germany.

In both of these sentences, the da– compound serves the grammatical function of allowing the entire dependent clause to serve as the object of the preposition within the da– compound. In other words, in the first sentence, you are learning to recognize that the entire daß clause is the object of the preposition gegen. Likewise, in the second sentence, thedar– prefix serves like a signpost so that you will see the neighboring infinitive clause as the object of the preposition an. Observe how this same relationship gets expressed quite literally in the English translations. Be sure to remember that the preposition captured inside of a da– compound still communicates its normal meaning within its local clause. In the first example above, note how the meaning of gegen is still crucial to understanding the first clause, as part of the idiomatic phrase nichts gegen etwas haben. In the second example, note how an is still functioning in its capacity of determining which meaning of denken is in use here (see dictionary for denken + an). By the way, generally speaking, when the da-word refers to an idea in which the subject is different from the subject of the main clause, the da-word will point to a dependent clause (a complete statement with subject, verb, predicate). See the first example above. Whereas when the subjects are the same, an infinitive phrase with zu is used, as in the second example above. More examples for you to work through on your own:

Morgen sprechen wir darüber, wie wir das bezahlen werden. Tomorrow we’ll talk about how we’re going to pay for that. Eine Vielzahl von Fehlern in medizinischen Doktorarbeiten ist auch darauf zurückzuführen, dass die Betreuungssituation nicht so gut ist. A number of errors in medical dissertations can also be traced back to the fact that the advising situation is not so great. Sie träumt davon, eine Pflanze zu werden. She dreams of becoming a plant.

5. Wo– Words

In addition to the question words you learned about in Unit 1, more complex question words exist that follow the same approach as da– compounds. By prefixing any preposition with wo– or wor-, a “what?” (German was?) question is posed.

Womit schreiben Sie? With what are you writing? Worauf stehen Sie? On what are you standing?

6. Wo– Clauses

Wo– words also appear sometimes as equivalents to relative pronouns when they refer to inanimate objects:

Das Haus, worin ich wohne, ist neu. The house in which I live is new.

This sentence has the same meaning as the sentence: Das Haus, in dem ich wohne, ist neu.

Der Stuhl, worauf sie steht, ist unsicher. The chair on which she is standing is unsafe.

This sentence has the same meaning as: Der Stuhl, auf dem sie steht, ist unsicher.

. Da-compounds replace “preposition + accusative/dative pronoun”: 

mit ihm/ihr ==> damit = “with it” [Damn it! = Verdammt!]; auf ihn/sie/es ==> darauf = “on it”; von ihm/ihr ==> davon = “from it” etc.

Marsmensch: Was macht man mit einem Messer? Erdling [=Earthling]: Man kann mit ihm/damit [=with it] schneiden.Mutter: Was hast du mit dem Messer gemacht? Norman Bates: Ich habe mich damit geschnitten. Verdammt! ]

Jason: Wo ist meine Axt [=axe]? Und wo ist meine Eishockeymaske? Jasons Mutter: Geh mal zu deinem Bett. Die Eishockeymaske liegt auf ihm/darauf [=on it], und deine Axt liegt unter ihm/darunter.

Britney Spears’ Mann: Weißt du etwas über Relativitätstheorie? Britney Spears: Ja, ich habe viel über sie/darüber [=about it] gelesen. Möchtest du eine Pepsi? Britney Spears’ Mann: Ja, ich kann nie genug [=enough] von ihr/davonkriegen [=get]. Britney gibt ihrem Mann die Pepsi, aber sie fällt und schüttet ihn voll Pepsi [=pours Pepsi all over him] Britney Spears: Oje [=Oops, Oh dear!], ich habe es wieder gemacht.

2. Da-compounds cannot be used to refer to people or most animals (“most” means: start using da-compounds at the point where assuming any kind of personality for the animal would be absurd, e.g. for insects): 

Was weißt du über David Hasselhoff?–Er ist mein Idol. Ich weiß alles über ihn/darüber. Ich möchte gern ein Duett mit ihm/damit singen.

Kennst du Arnold Schwarzenegger?–Ja, ich gehe oft mit ihm/damit in die Disco. Er tanzt wie ein Mädchen. Keiner will mit ihm/damit tanzen.

Linus: Wo ist Snoopy? Ich habe einen Knochen [=bone] für ihn/dafür. [Snoopy is a dog ==> can’t use a da-compound to refer to him] Lucy:Charlie Brown ist im Kürbisfeld [=pumpkin patch] spazieren gegangen. Er glaubt immer noch an den “Großen Kürbis”. Linus: Glaubst du an ihn/daran? [Use “an ihn” if you think the Great Pumpkin is a sentient being; use “daran” if you think of it as a “thing”] Lucy: Nein! Ich habe keine Zeit für so einen Quatsch [=nonsense].

3. Da-compounds also cannot replace relative pronouns. In these situations, you can use “preposition + relative pronoun” or wo-compounds (formed just like da-compounds). “Was + preposition” is always replaced by a wo-compound (3rd and 4th examples below).  If you are reading this for German 221/231, you will be reviewing relative pronouns later, so consider this a preview! 

Das ist der Löffel, mit dem/damitFriedrich der Große seine Suppe aß.	That’s the spoon with which Frederick the Great ate his soup.
Wir möchten das Bett kaufen, in dem/darin Beethoven geschlafen hat.	We want to buy the bed in which Beethoven slept.
Barney ist tot, über was/worüber/darüber ich sehr traurig bin. [Rel. pron. refers to entire clause “Barney ist tot”]	Barney is dead, which I’m very sad about.
In diesem Museum gibt es nichts, für was/wofür/dafür ich mich interessiere. [Rel.pron. refers to “nichts“]	There is nothing in this museum that (which) I’m interested in.

If you’re not comfortable with recognizing relative clauses at the moment, think of the “which” or “that” in the English translations as a clue that you are dealing with a relative clause. 4. Da-compounds can refer back to entire clauses. Compare the Barney sentence below to the one under (3) above: 

Barney ist tot, und ich bin darübersehr traurig. [Not a relative clause: these two clauses are connected by und]	Barney is dead, and I am very sad about that. [about his being dead]
Manchmal erholt sich ein Ökosystem von alleine, aber man kann sich nicht darauf verlassen.	Sometimes an ecosystem recovers by itself, but one cannot rely on that. [on the ecosystem recovering by itself]
Wie der Urknall passierte ist immer noch ein Rätsel. Es gibt viele Theorien darüber.	How the big bang happened is still a riddle. There are many theories about it. [about how the big bang happened]

5. In jokes, “darauf” or “daraufhin” is often used as a short way of saying “Er/Sie antwortet darauf, dass…” [=”In response to that, s/he replies…”]. Sometimes it also just means “then”:

Zwei Wurmfrauen [=female worms, or maybe “worm wives”] treffen sich im Garten. Sagt die eine zur anderen: “Wo ist denn heute dein Mann?” Darauf die andere: “Ach, der ist beim Angeln [=gone fishing]!”

Ein kleiner Junge raucht [=smokes] auf offener Straße. Ein alter Herr tadelt [=scolds] ihn: “Wenn das deine Lehrerin wüsste.” Darauf der Kleine: “Keine Sorge [=don’t worry], ich geh ja noch gar nicht zur Schule.”

Anglerwitz [=joke for people who like to fish]: Zwei Angler [guys who are fishing] sitzen regungslos [=motionless] am See. Nach drei Stunden schlägt einer der beiden die Beine übereinander [=crosses his legs]. Darauf der andere [=the other one]: “Was ist los? Angeln wir oder tanzen wir?”

6. An interesting detail we are not requiring you to learn: We have learned on this page that for inanimate objects, the combination “preposition + pronoun” MUST be replaced by a da-compound:

Was machst du mit deinem Handy? – Ich mache Fotos mit ihm/damit.

The interesting detail is that the prepositions that cannot form da-compunds, such as ohne, also cannot be used with pronouns referring to inanimate objects. Instead, the noun must be repeated:

Ich liebe mein Handy! Ich kann ohne es/ohne mein Handy nicht leben.

Ich liebe SPAM®! Ich kann ohne ihn/ohne SPAM® nicht leben.

Ich liebe Mücken [=mosquitoes]! Ich kann ohne sie/ohne Mücken nicht leben.

In informal speech, this rule can be violated: Ich liebe Pronomen. Ich kann ohne sie/ohne Pronomen nicht leben 🙂

Wo-Compounds

Wo-compounds are primarily used in questions and indirect questions: Womit = with what, wovon = from what, woraus = out of what, worüber = on what (or: about what), worin = in what, wohin = to where, woher = from where….

Woher kommen Sie?	Where do you come from?
Wohin gehen Sie?	Where are you going to?
Wofür ist das?	What’s that for?
Worüber spricht er?	What’s he talking about?
Womit kann man das reparieren?	What can one repair that with?
Woraus ist das gemacht?	What’s that made out of?
Wohin soll ich das stellen?	Where should I put that?
Wonach suchst du?	What are you looking for?
Ich weiß nicht, wofür das ist. [indirect question: implies the question: “Wofür ist das?”]	I don’t know what that’s for.
Ich möchte wissen, wohin diese Straße führt [indirect question: implies the question “Wohin führt diese Straße?”]	I’d like to know where this street goes to.

Anticipatory Da-Compounds

Da-compounds can anticipate subsequent clauses. They are then called anticipatory da-compounds. This happens with prepositional verbs and adjectives, i.e. verbs and adjectives that require a preposition [a list of such verbs and adjectives is given below for reference]. Compare the following examples: 

a. Ich freue mich auf die Klasse. Du freust dich auf das Konzert. Wir freuen uns auf dich.

b. Freust du dich auf das Konzert? Ja, ich freue mich darauf. Freust du dich auf die Klasse? Ja, ich freue mich darauf.

c. Ich freue mich darauf, dass du kommst. Ich freue mich darauf, in das Konzert zu gehen.

In (a), the object of the preposition (what you are looking forward to) is a noun or pronoun (die Klasse, das Konzert, dich). No need for an anticipatory da-compound. In (b), the object of the preposition is a noun that was previously referred to (das Konzert, die Klasse). For the combination of preposition + pronoun, a da-compound is used, but it refers back to something, so it is not an anticipatory da-compound. In (c), the object of the preposition, the “thing” you are looking forward to, is not a noun, but a whole clause:not you, but “that you are coming”; not the concert, but “going to the concert.” This is where anticipatory da-compounds are used. The literal English equivalents are: “I am looking forward to it, that you are coming,” and “I am looking forward to it, to go to the concert.” In decent English: “I am looking forward to your coming,” and “I am looking forward to going to the concert.” More examples: 

Ich freue mich darauf, Kafkas Die Verwandlung zu lesen.	I’m looking forward to reading Kafka’s Metamorphosis.
Gregor Samsa freut sich nicht darüber, dass er sich in ein Ungeziefer verwandelt hat.	Gregor Samsa is not happy that he turned into a bug. [Gregor Samsa is the protagonist of Die Verwandlung]
Für Peter Parker ist es auch schwer, sich daran zu gewöhnen, ein Spinnenmann zu sein.	For Peter Parker it’s also hard to get used to being a spider-man.
Einer staunte darüber, wie leicht er den Weg der Ewigkeit ging; er raste ihn nämlich abwärts. [Aphorismus von Franz Kafka]	One man was amazed at how easily he was walking the path of eternity; for he was speeding along it downwards.
Mutige Leute überredet man dadurch zu einer Handlung, dass man dieselbe gefährlicher darstellt, als sie ist. [Aphorismus von Freidrich Nietzsche]	One persuades courageous people to carry out an action by representing it as being more dangerous than it is.
Es kommt nicht darauf an, was man hat, sondern was man ist. [Aphorismus von Jeremias Gotthelf (1797 – 1854)]	It’s not important [literally: it doesn’t depend on] what one has, but rather, what one is.
Die Philosophen haben die Welt nur verschieden interpretiert; es kommt darauf an sie zu verändern. [Karl Marx]	Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; what’s important [literally: it depends on] is changing it.

And two tasteless examples:

Ich freue mich darauf, mir den Rücken zu rasieren.	I’m looking forward to shaving my back.
Kommst du heute Abend mit in die Disco?– Ich weiß nicht. Es kommt darauf an, wie lange ich brauche, mir den Rücken zu rasieren.	Are you coming along to the disco tonight?–I don’t know. It depends on how long it takes me to shave my back.

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Comparative and Superlative Adjectives in German There are three adjective degrees in German:

• Positive (equality and inferiority comparatives)
• Comparative (superiority)
• Superlative

Positive degree

This is the unmodified adjective.

Ich bin müde I am tired

The comparative of equality and inferiority is formed with the positive degree:

Comparative of equality

Clauses of equality are formed with this construction: so + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Peter ist so dünn wie Tomas  Peter is as thin as Tomas

or with the construction: gleich + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Peter ist gleich ungelenk wie Tomas  Peter is as clumsy as Tomas

A very common usage is for comparing quantities of something. The structure is: so + viel + NON-COUNT NOUN + wie / so + viele + COUNT NOUN + wie

Ich habe so viel Geld wie du  I have as much money as you

Ich habe so viele Autos wie du  I have as many cars as you

Comparative of inferiority

The comparative of inferiority’s structure is: nicht so + POSITIVE ADJECTIVE + wie

Du bist nicht so intelligent wie ich  You’re not as intelligent as me

Comparative degree

The comparative degree is for constructing the comparative of superiority. The comparative grade is formed generally by adding “er” to the adjective:

intelligent ➜ intelligenter  intelligent ➜ more intelligent

Comparative of superiority

The comparative of superiority is formed with the construction: ADJECTIVE IN COMPARATIVE DEGREE + als

Er ist stärker als ich  He is stronger than me

Peter ist dünner als Tomas  Peter is thinner than Tomas

Forming the comparative degree (special cases)

• If the adjective ends with “-e”, one “-r” is added (the “-e” is not doubled)

müde ➜ müder tired ➜ more tired

feige ➜ feiger cowardly ➜ more cowardly

• de + “-er”.

teuer ➜ teurer expensive ➜ more expensive

dunkel ➜ dunkler dark ➜ darker

• If the adjective ends with “-er”, it can be formed regularly with + “-er” or, like the previous case, by losing the last “-e” + “-er”.

  lecker ➜ leckerer / leckrer delicious➜ more delicious

  sauber ➜ sauberer / saubrer clean ➜ cleaner

• If an adjective is a monosyllable, an “Umlaut” ( ¨ ) + “er” is added (usually with vowels a, o, y and u). This also happens with the superlative degree.

krank ➜ kränker sick ➜ sicker

Comparative of inferiority

The comparative of inferiority is formed with the construction: weniger + ADJECTIVE + als

Er ist weniger intelligent als ich  He is less intelligent than me

Superlative degree

• The superlative with the structure:am + Adjective in positive degree + -sten Whenever the adjective does not accompany a noun:

Welches Auto ist am billigsten? Which car is the cheapest?

• If an adjective is monosyllabic (just one syllable), with vowels a, o, y and u, an “Umlaut” ( ¨ ) + “-sten” is added.This also happens in the comparative degree.

krank ➜ am kränksten sick ➜ sickest

• When the adjective ends with one of the consonants: “-d”, “-t”, “-s”, “-ß”, “-sch”, “-x” or “-z” an “-e-” is added between the adjective in the positive degree and the ending “-sten.”

seriös ➜ am seriösesten serious ➜ the most serious 

süß ➜ am süßesten sweet ➜ the sweetest

There are some exceptions as in:

dringend ➜ am dringendsten urgent ➜ the most urgent

neidisch ➜ am neidischsten jealous ➜ the most jealous 

groß ➜ am größten tall ➜ the tallest

Attributive Adjective. Superlative without ‘am’

A frequent concern is about when to use am in the superlative and when not to. If the adjective is accompanied by a noun (the attributive form) am is not used. Example:

Tata Nano ist das billigste Auto der Welt  Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world

Irregular adjectives

The following adjectives form the comparative and superlative irregularly:

Adjective	Comparative	Superlative	Meaning
gut	besser	am besten	good, better, the best
viel	mehr	am meisten	much, more, the most
gern	lieber	am liebsten	gladly, preferably, most preferably
hoch	höher	am höchsten	high, higher, highest
nahe	näher	am nächsten	near, nearer, nearest

Difference between “wie” and “als” (wie vs als)

An additional explanation. “Wie” will be used for the comparative of equality, while “als” will be used for the comparative of superiority. Comparisons in German generally work in a way that is similar to English. An Austrian brewery advertises its Gösser beer brand with the slogan: “gut, besser, Gösser” (“good, better, Gösser”). The German edition of Reader’s Digest is known as Das Beste (…aus Reader’s Digest).

COMPARISON ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS IN GERMAN

To form the comparative for most adjectives or adverbs in German you simply add -er, as in neu/neuer (new/newer) or klein/kleiner (small/smaller).

For the superlative, English uses the -est ending, the same as in German except that German often drops the e and usually adds an adjective ending: (der) neueste (the newest) or (das) kleinste (the smallest).

Unlike English, however, German never uses “more” (mehr) with another modifier to form the comparative. In English something may be “more beautiful” or someone could be “more intelligent.” But in German these are both expressed with the -er ending: schöner and intelligenter. So far, so good. But unfortunately German also has some irregular comparisons, just as English does. Sometimes these irregular forms are quite similar to those in English. Compare, for instance, the English good/better/best with the German gut/besser/am besten. On the other hand, high/higher/highest is hoch/höher/am höchsten in German. But there are only a few of these irregular forms, and they are easy to learn, as you can see below.

IRREGULAR ADJECTIVE/ADVERB COMPARISON

Irregular Adjective/Adverb Comparison
POSITIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
bald (soon)	eher (sooner)	am ehesten (soonest)
gern (gladly)	lieber (more gladly)	am liebsten (most gladly)
groß (big)	größer (bigger)	am größten (biggest) der/die/das größte
gut (good)	besser (better)	am besten (best) der/die/das beste
hoch (high)	höher (higher)	am höchsten (highest) der/die/das höchste
nah (near)	näher (nearer)	am nächsten (nearest) der/die/das nächste
viel (much)	mehr (more)	am meisten (most) die meisten

There is one more irregularity that affects both the comparative and superlative of many German adjectives and adverbs: the added umlaut ( ¨ ) over a, o, or u in most one-syllable adjectives/adverbs. Below are some examples of this kind of comparison. Exceptions (do not add an umlaut) include bunt (colorful), falsch (wrong), froh (merry), klar (clear), laut (loud), and wahr(true).

IRREGULAR COMPARISON EXAMPLES

Irregular Comparison – Umlaut Added Examples
POSITIVE	COMPARATIVE	SUPERLATIVE
dumm (dumb)	dümmer (dumber)	am dümmsten (dumbest) der/die/das dümmste
kalt (cold)	kälter (colder)	am kältesten* (coldest) der/die/das kälteste*
*Note the “connecting” e in the superlative: kälteste
klug (smart)	klüger (smarter)	am klügsten (smartest) der/die/das klügste
lang (long)	länger (longer)	am längsten (longest) der/die/das längste
stark (strong)	stärker (stronger)	am stärksten (strongest) der/die/das stärkste
warm (warm)	wärmer (warmer)	am wärmsten (warmest) der/die/das wärmste

In order to use the comparative forms above and to express relative comparisons or equality/inequality (“as good as” or “not as tall as”) in German, you also need to know the following phrases and formulations using als, so-wie, or je-desto:

• mehr/größer/besser als = more/bigger/better than

• (nicht) so viel/groß/gut wie = (not) as much/big/good as
• je größer desto besser = the bigger/taller the better

Below are a few sample sentences to show how the positive, comparative, and superlative forms are used in German. In Part Two, we offer you a chance to test your ability to use these forms and structures in our comparison exercises.

ENGLISH	DEUTSCH
My sister is not as tall as I am.	Meine Schwester ist nicht so groß wie ich.
His Audi is much more expensive than my VW.	Sein Audi ist viel teurer als mein VW.
We prefer to travel by train.	Wir fahren lieber mit der Bahn.
Karl is the oldest. Karl is oldest.	Karl ist der Älteste. Karl ist am ältesten.
The more people, the better.	Je mehr Leute, desto besser.
He likes to play basketball, but most of all he likes to play soccer.	Er spielt gern Basketball, aber am liebsten spielt er Fußball.
The ICE [train] travels/goes the fastest.	Der ICE fährt am schnellsten.
Most people don’t drive as fast as he does.	Die meisten Leute fahren nicht so schnell wie er.

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German Regular Noun declension, n-declension and exceptions

Capitalized Nouns

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

Genders

There are three genders in German: masculine (männlich), feminine (weiblich) and neuter (sächlich). Usually, the gender of a noun is determined by its ending. The articles der, die and das are used with nouns to indicate their gender:

• der Mann (the man) [Masculine Noun]
• die Frau (the woman) [Feminine Noun]
• das Kind (the child) [Neuter Noun]

It’s not easy to know which gender a noun is. There are a few rules for masculine, feminine and neuter nouns. However, usually there is no choice but to learn each word’s gender.

Declension

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

Regular noun declension

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

Masculine or Neuter Nouns

An “-s” or an “-es” is added in the genitive singular. Sometimes both options are ok. In general, if a word ends with “-e”, an “-s” is added in the genitive and if it ends with “-s” or “-z” and “-es” is added. Example for a neuter noun:

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	das Gas	die Gase
Accusative	das Gas	die Gase
Dative	dem Gas also: dem Gase	den Gasen
Genitive	des Gases	der Gase

Although it is not very common today, sometimes an “-e” is added to the dative singular. Nowadays, you can see this is some phrases:

Ich gehe nach Hause  I am going home

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

Dem deutschen Volke  For the German people

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

Feminine Nouns

Feminine nouns do not change in the genitive singular.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	die Kraft	die Kräfte
Accusative	die Kraft	die Kräfte
Dative	der Kraft	den Kräften
Genitive	der Kraft	der Kräfte

Interestingly, a large portion of feminine plural nouns end with “-n,” meaning that luckily the majority of feminine plural nouns do not change.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	die Lampe	die Lampen
Accusative	die Lampe	die Lampen
Dative	der Lampe	den Lampen
Genitive	der Lampe	der Lampen

N-Declension

Some masculine nouns and a few neuter ones have a declension that is different from the usual one and it is called the “N-Deklination” (N-Declension).

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	der Kunde	die Kunden
Accusative	den Kunden	die Kunden
Dative	dem Kunden	den Kunden
Genitive	des Kunden	der Kunden

If we look closely at all of the forms except for the nominative singular, they have an “-n” ending. This is why it is called “N-Deklination”. Sometimes, an “-en” is added instead of adding an “-n”. For example, the noun “Mensch”.

Examples of nouns with n declension

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

N-Deklination + genitive with “ns”

Sometimes, the genitive is formed with “-ns” instead of “-n”.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	der Name	die Namen
Accusative	den Namen	die Namen
Dative	dem Namen	den Namen
Genitive	des Namens	der Namen

Examples of nouns with genitive “-ns”: der Friede, der Name, der Funke, der Gedanke, der Glaube, der Same, der Wille, der Buchstabe.

Exceptions

Doubling the -s

Some nouns that end with “-s” have another “-s” added in the declension.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	der Bus	die Busse
Accusative	den Bus	die Busse
Dative	dem Bus	den Bussen
Genitive	des Busses	der Busse

A short reminder about pronunciation: The “ss” indicates that the preceding vowel is shortened.

Das Herz

“Herz” has an irregular declension. It is also one of the few neuter nouns with the “-n” declension.

	Singular	Plural
Nominative	das Herz	die Herzen
Accusative	das Herz	die Herzen
Dative	dem Herzen	den Herzen
Genitive	des Herzens	der Herzen

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Adjective Declensions

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