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Giving instructions: polite commands
The instructions your instructor gives you in class consist of a verb, which ends in -en, and the pronoun Sie (you). Like the English you, the German Sie can be used with one person (you) or with more than one (you all). In English instructions the pronoun you is normally understood but not said. In German, Sie is a necessary part of the sentence.
- Stehen Sie bitte auf- Please stand up
- Nehmen Sie bitte das Buch- Please take the book
- Setzen Sie sich, bitte- Sit down, please
- Sagen Sie...
- Schließen Sie...
- Schreiben Sie...
- Öffnen Sie...
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The German case system
German speakers use a case system (nominative for the subject, accusative for the direct object and so on) to indicate the function of a particular noun in a sentence. The article or adjective that precedes the noun shows its case. You will learn the correct endings in future lessons. For now, be aware that you will hear and read articles and adjectives with a variety of endings. These various forms will not prevent you from understanding German. In addition, definite articles may contract with some prepositions, just as do and not contract to don't in English. Here are some common contractions you will hear and read.
- der, das, die, dem, den, des- the
- ein, eine, einen, einem, einer, eines- a, an
- in + das = ins (into the)
- in + dem = im (in the)
- zu + der = zur (to the)
- zu + dem = zum (to the)
- an + das = ans (to/on the)
- an + dem = am (to/at the)
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Grammatical gender: nouns and pronouns
In German, all nouns are classified grammatically as masculine, neuter, or feminine. 1. When referring to people, grammatical gender usually matches biological sex. 2. When referring to things or concepts, however, grammatical gender obviously has nothing to do with biological sex. The definitive article indicates the grammatical gender of a noun. 3. German has three nominative singular definite articles: der (masculine), das (neuter), and die (feminine). The plural article is die for all genders. All mean the. The personal pronouns er, es, sie (he, it, she) reflect the gender of the nouns they replace. For example, er (he, it) refers to der Rock because the grammatical gender is masculine; es (it) refers to das Hemd (neuter); sie (she, it) refers to die Jacke (feminine). The personal pronoun sie (they) refers to all plural nouns.
- 1. Masculine: der Mann, der Student
- Feminine: die Frau, die Studentin
2. der Rock, das Hemd, die Hose
- 3. Welche Farbe hat der Rock? - What color is the skirt?
- Er ist gelb. - It is yellow.
- Welche Farbe hat das Hemd - What color is the shirt?
- Es ist weß - It is white
- Welche Farbe hat die Jacke? - What color is the jacket?
- Sie ist braun. - It is brown.
- Welche Farbe haben die Bleistifte? - What color are the pencils?
- Sie sind gelb. - They are yellow.
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Addressing people: Sie versus du or ihr
German speakers use two modes of addressing others: the formal Sie (singular and plural) and the informal du (singular) or ihr (plural). You usually use Sie with someone you don't know or when you want to show respect or social distance. Children are addressed as du. Students generally call one another du.
- Singular Plural
- Informal: du ihr
- Formal: Sie Sie
- Frau Ruf, Sie sind 38, nicht wahr? - Ms. Ruf, you are 38, aren't you?
- Jens und Jutta, ihr seid 16, nicht wahr? - Jens und Jutta, you are 16, aren't you?
- Hans, du bist 13, nicht wahr? - Hans, you are 13, aren't you?
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