Learn German in a Hurry

Grasp the Basics of German Schnell!

Edward Swick

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2007
• ISBN:
  9781440516443
• Topic: Filología
• Subtopic: Alemán

The Ultimate Guide to Learning German, im Schnellgang! Sure, you may know your bratwurst from your wiener schnitzel--but that will only get you so far if you're planning a trip to a German-speaking country, or want to get ahead in your German 101 class. With this ideal pocket-sized primer you can leave the brat behind and learn how to master the basics of German in no time! Learn German in a Hurry teaches you all you need, and offers you Commonly used German phrases (days of the week, numbers, letters), Pronunciations and conjugations, Grammar and sentence construction, Useful words and terms, and Helpful German-English and English-German dictionaries.Complete with easy-to-read tables and pronunciation guides, Learn German in a Hurry is your key to learning "die deutsche" before you know it!

03 / Grammar

Intro to Grammar

English and German are Germanic languages and are derived from the same Indo-European source. It is that legacy of language that still exists in modern English that makes learning German a relatively easy task.

Understanding Gender

In the English language, “gender” refers to the sex of living things: Males are of the masculine gender and females are of the feminine gender. Inanimate objects are called neuter. German is a bit different.

The German Concept of Gender:

In general, German looks at words that represent males as masculine and words that represent females as feminine. But gender is not entirely based on sex. It is related to how a word is formed, rather than the sexual gender involved.

Der is used frequently with males: der Vater, der Professor, der Student. Die is used frequently with females: Der die Mutter, die Frau, die Tante (aunt). But that’s where it ends, because the three genders, denoted by the articles der, die, and das, depend more on word formation than anything else to determine what is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

English speakers must clear their minds of the idea that gender is strictly sexual and animate or inanimate. When you speak German, you must accept the idea that masculine nouns, which use der as their definite article, do not necessarily refer to males. Likewise, feminine nouns, which use die as their definite article, do not always refer to females. And neuter nouns, which use das as their definite article, do not refer exclusively to inanimate objects.

Person, Place, or Thing?

In many German language textbooks, students are told that they must simply memorize the gender of each noun. That’s not very efficient, and that’s certainly not what Germans do. As they grow up with their language, German children hear the patterns of words that require a certain gender and gradually conform to them. Along the way, they memorize the exceptions...