German Essentials For Dummies - Wendy Foster - E-Book

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Wendy Foster

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The core concepts you need to write and speak German Learning a new language is a fun and challenging feat for students at every level. Perfect for those just starting out or returning to German after some time away, German Essentials For Dummies focuses on core concepts taught (and tested on!) in a typical introductory German course. From adjectives and adverbs to understanding tenses and asking questions, you'll skip the suffering and score high marks at exam time with the help of German Essentials For Dummies. Designed for students (and parents) who want the key concepts and a few examples--without the review, ramp-up, and anecdotal content--German Essentials For Dummies is a perfect solution for exam-cramming, homework help, and reference. * Focuses on everything from grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciations to verb forms and tenses * Perfect for a refresher or a quick reference * Aids you in writing assignments, tests, and conversational German If you have some knowledge of German and want to polish your skills, German Essentials For Dummies focuses on just the core concepts you need to communicate effectively.

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German Essentials For Dummmies®

Table of Contents

Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Chapter 1: Laying the Foundations of German
Crunching the Numbers
1-2-3: Counting off with cardinal numbers
1st, 2nd, 3rd: Lining up with ordinal numbers
Expressing Dates
Looking at the week
Naming the months
Telling Time
Using the 12-hour clock
Using the 24-hour system
Talking about parts of the day
Identifying Parts of Speech
Naming with nouns and articles
Replacing with pronouns
Describing with adjectives
Conveying action with verbs
Modifying with adverbs
Connecting with prepositions
Building Sentences
Getting words in the right order
Putting the verb in second place
Placing the verb at the end
Chapter 2: Grasping Gender and Case
Getting a Grip on Word Gender
Using indefinite articles
Working without articles
Forming plurals
Cracking the Cases
Identifying the four cases
Understanding why cases matter
Pinch-Hitting with Pronouns
Personalizing with personal pronouns
Relating to relative pronouns
Demonstrating the demonstrative pronouns
Chapter 3: Handling the Present
Classifying Verbs
Selecting Subject Pronouns
Addressing someone formally or informally
Unraveling sie, sie, and Sie
Expressing Yourself in the Present Tense
Looking at regular verbs
Remembering verbs with spelling changes
Dealing with the irregulars
Mirroring with reflexive verbs
Sorting out prefix verbs
Chapter 4: Modifying with Modal Auxiliary Verbs
A Primer on Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Granting Permission with Dürfen
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Expressing Ability with Können
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Describing Likes with Mögen
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Talking about Preferences with Möchten
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Showing Obligation and Necessity with Müssen
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Giving Advice with Sollen
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Stating Intentions with Wollen
Forming the verb
Using the verb
Chapter 5: Describing and Connecting Your Thoughts
Forming Endings on Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives
Possessive adjectives
Using Adverbs to Modify Adjectives
Making Comparisons
Regular types of comparisons
Irregular types of comparisons
Comparisons between equals and nonequals
Your Personal Preposition Primer
Looking at the role of cases in prepositions
Tackling two-way prepositions
Mastering preposition combinations
Chapter 6: Asking and Answering Questions
Formulating Yes/No Questions
Responding to a Yes/No Question
The affirmative way
The negative way
Asking Informational Questions
Using question words
Calling the case in question
Formulating compound question words with wo-
Providing Information
Chapter 7: Stepping Back in the Past
Conversing with Present Perfect
Forming present perfect with weak verbs
Forming present perfect with strong verbs
Forming present perfect with the auxiliary verb sein
Forming present perfect with oddball verbs
Writing with the Simple Past
Creating the simple past with regular (weak) verbs
Creating the simple past with irregular (strong) verbs
Chapter 8: Focusing on the Future
Using the Present to Express the Future
Knowing when to use the present tense
Inserting future time expressions
Talking about the Future with Werden
Forming the future tense
Using the future tense properly
Remembering the Right Word Order
Chapter 9: Understanding Verb Moods
Giving Commands with the Imperative
Looking at the three imperative forms
Using the imperative
Grasping Present Subjunctive II
Forming Subjunctive II with würde
Forming Subjunctive II with other helping verbs
Using present Subjunctive II
Speculating with Past Subjunctive II
Dealing with Subjunctive I Used in Indirect Speech
Forming present Subjunctive I used in indirect speech
Forming past Subjunctive I used in indirect speech
Chapter 10: Ten Important Verb Distinctions
Bringen and Nehmen: To Bring and to Take
Zahlen and Zählen: To Pay and to Count
Heiß, Kalt, Satt, and Voll: To Feel Hot, Cold, Full, and Drunk
Lernen and Studieren: To Learn, Train, and Study
Machen and Tun: To Make and to Do
Wohnen and Leben: To Reside and to Live
Kennen and Wissen: To Know a Person, Place, and Information
Verbringen, Spendieren, and Ausgeben: To Spend Time and Money
Werden and Bekommen: To Become and to Get
Essen and Fressen: To Eat
Appendix: Verb Charts
Present perfect
Future
Subjunctive
Regular verbs (no stem change in the simple past)
Regular verbs (with stem ending in -d, -t, -fn or -gn)
Irregular weak verbs (stem change in the simple past)
Verbs with auxiliary haben
Verbs with auxiliary sein
Verbs with present-tense vowel change in 2nd- and 3rd-person singular
Verbs with a past participle ending in -t
Verbs with a past participle ending in -en

German Essentials For Dummies®

by Wendy Foster, Pauline Christensen, PhD, and Anne Fox

German Essentials For Dummies®

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012936850

ISBN 978-1-118-18422-6 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-22751-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-24038-0 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-26510-9 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

Wendy Foster has been working as a teacher, writer, editor, and translator for longer than she can remember. She holds a German language diploma from the Language and Interpreting Institute, Munich, Germany, an MA in French from Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, and a public school teaching certificate for German and French. She studied in France for two years before settling in Munich, Germany, where she worked in various teaching and writing capacities at several institutions, including Siemens, HypoVereinsbank, Munich Chamber of Commerce, and a number of publishers. She recently returned to her New England roots, where she works from her home overlooking a spectacular salt marsh that constantly beckons her to go kayaking, swimming, walking, and bird-watching.

Pauline Christensen has been working as a writer, editor, and translator for almost ten years. She holds a degree in English and German literature and has developed, written, and edited numerous German-language textbooks and teachers’ handbooks for Berlitz International. Her work as a translator ranges from new media art to science fiction (Starlog magazine). She occasionally works as a court interpreter and does consulting and interpreting at educational conferences, as well as voice-overs for educational videos and CD-ROMs. Dr. Christensen received her MA and PhD from Düsseldorf University, Germany, and has taught at Berlitz Language Schools, New York University, and Fordham University.

Anne Fox has been working as a translator, editor, and writer for the past twelve years. She studied at Interpreters’ School, Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a degree in translation. Her various assignments have taken her to outer space, hyperspace, and around the world. She has also taught at Berlitz Language Schools and worked as a legal and technical proofreader in the editorial departments of several law firms. Most recently she has been developing, writing, and editing student textbooks and teachers’ handbooks for Berlitz.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

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Introduction

You may be taking a German course in high school or college, or perhaps you’re interested in refreshing your German because you’re planning to spend some time in German-speaking Europe. Using this practical reference book to help you advance your German is a great means of making measurable progress — fast. How? Well, this book offers you straight talk as it leads you through a review of the key material you need to understand the basic level of German.

German Essentials For Dummies provides you easy access to practical information that helps you communicate successfully in German. You find the basic grammar that you encounter in introductory German courses. You see clearly what you need to know in order to express yourself in spoken and written German. This book guides you down the path to conversing with confidence in the kinds of situations you encounter on a daily basis when interacting with German speakers. So get a head start and be ready to speak, write, and travel in Deutschland (in Germany).

About This Book

German Essentials For Dummies gives you straight talk, the nitty-gritty, and just enough detail to see you successfully through any major roadblocks to communicating in German. You find a good balance between important grammar points and useful, communicative language. Without even realizing it, your German vocabulary expands as you cruise through the book.

Each chapter is self-contained, making this a very user-friendly reference. You can go through it in any order you choose, zeroing in on your priorities. This book is practical and accessible, whether you’re looking for a clear overview of what you’ve covered in coursework or to reactivate the German you acquired a while back.

Conventions Used in This Book

I use a couple conventions in this book to help you spot essential elements in the text:

I boldface German words and example sentences. I also boldface word endings to make them easier to recognize.

I italicize English equivalents that accompany German words and sentences.

Foolish Assumptions

In writing German Essentials For Dummies, I made the following assumptions about who you are and what you aim to achieve from this book:

You’ve acquired at least a smattering of spoken and written German in high school or at the college level.

You want to do some review so you can pass a test or get to the next level of German by taking a placement exam.

You want to expand your knowledge of German so you feel comfortable in both speaking and writing the language. (Alternatively, you want to dream in German.)

You’re enthusiastic about honing your German skills because you use German in school, you do business with German speakers, or you intend to do some traveling in German-speaking countries.

Icons Used in This Book

Throughout this book, I include icons in the left-hand margin to draw your attention to valuable information. Here’s what each icon means.

Pay attention to these key points. By noticing how German differs from English, you see patterns that show you how to assemble German into meaningful statements.

This icon alerts you to key information that’s worth remembering. Stash this info in your mind because you’ll end up using it again and again.

Useful points that help you absorb German more easily and effectively await you when you see this icon.

Where to Go from Here

Wondering where to start? Try scanning the Table of Contents and selecting a chapter that piques your interest. Or use the index to look up a specific point you’re interested in reading about. Basically, you don’t need to follow the chapters in sequence because each chapter contains a discrete topic, so you can dig in to the information in any order you choose. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from going ahead in a linear fashion if that’s your style. Just make sure you’re enjoying the process of soaking up the core concepts of German.

Chapter 1 takes you through some fundamentals of German, so you may want to check it out first to make sure you’re familiar with the topics and basic vocabulary covered there. Other than that, feel free to go at your own pace, proceeding in any order you choose. Skip over sections you’re not ready to do yet or don’t need to read right away. Most important, wherever you go in this book, Viel Spaß! (Have a lot of fun!)

Chapter 1

Laying the Foundations of German

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!

Lesen Sie weiter in der vollständigen Ausgabe!