German Grammatic Rules

Front 1

In German, personal pronouns have to be declined depending on the verb used in the sentence. The formal version of the pronoun "you" on its own is Sie.
In the question Wie geht es Ihnen?, Ihnen is the dative case of the personal pronoun Sie. Sie and Ihnen are always capitalized when used in a formal context. If it is NOT capitalized, it means "they" or "them", respectively.

Back 1

Literally, "Hello" in German is "Hallo", which is used among friends. Saying "Hallo" has also become acceptable in formal greeting. However, the polite way to say hello in a formal setting is still "Guten Tag", and should be used when greeting elders or professionals. In Bavaria in Southern Germany, "Grüß Gott" is more commonly used than "Guten Tag". It literally means: "Greet God."

Front 2

When responding to the question "How are you?" in a formal conversation, it is polite and customary in German to first say "Thank you", Danke, and then answer the question. Instead of Danke. Es geht mir gut, it is very common to simply say Danke, gut, meaning "Thank you, good".

Back 2

Remember, Ihnen is the dative case of the pronoun Sie, the formal way to say "you." When saying "And you?" being short for "And how are you?" the dative case is used just as in the full question: Wie geht es Ihnen?

Front 3

Mir is also a declension. It is the dative case of the pronoun ich, meaning "I." This time, it is easier to understand, because it literally translates to the English word "me."

Back 3

If asking for someone's name, you can either say Wie heißen Sie?, literally meaning "How are you called?" or Wie ist Ihr Name?, literally meaning "How is your name?". The infinitive verb form of "to be called" is also heißen.

Sie heißen can either mean "you (formal) are called" (singular and plural) or "they are called," depending on the context.

Front 4

The German ei as in mein or heißen is pronounced as the English "eye", not "ee."

Back 4

The "sharp s" or Eszett (ß) looks like a Greek beta and is pronounced as the English "s". It only exists in a lowercase version since it never occurs at the beginning of a word. A "sharp s" (ß) indicates that the preceding vowel is pronounced long. It is also found after a diphthong, e.g. the ei as in heißen. If a "sharp s" (ß) is not available or in all caps texts, "ss" can replace the "sharp s" (ß).

Front 5

You can introduce yourself to someone by saying: Mein Name ist… . You can also say Ich heiße… and then say your name. This literally means "I am called…". These two are interchangeable.

Back 5

There is no true equivalent in English for the German sound of ch. Listen closely to the pronunciation of the word ich meaning "I", or mich, meaning "me" (in the accusative declination), and try to imitate the native speaker as precisely as possible. The pronunciation is most similar to the English "h" in "huge" or "humor".

Front 6

Germans formally introduce themselves by either their first and last names or their last names only. Either way, the person will formally be addressed by his/her last name, in this case Herr Meier, meaning "Mr. Meier".

Back 6

In a formal context a person will be addressed by his or her last name. Axel Meier will be addressed as Herr Meier, meaning "Mr. Meier", and Elke Schmidt will be addressed as Frau Schmidt, meaning "Mrs. Schmidt".

Front 7

In German people will say Guten Tag, "Good Day", to formally say hello to someone. Earlier in the day, until about 10 o’clock in the morning, you can also say Guten Morgen, meaning "Good morning" in German and is used in formal as well as in informal greeting.

Back 7

Adjectives in German have to be declined depending on the gender, case, and number of the noun they modify. The adjective gut, meaning "good" is declined in Guten Tag and Guten Morgen and has the ending -en. In Gute Nacht, meaning "Good night" however, you can see that the ending is just -e. 

Front 8

it is only important to know that each noun in German has its own gender. The definite article "the" in German must be matched to the noun it refers to: masculine - der; feminine - die; and neuter - das. You should always learn nouns together with their definite article. "Morning" and "day" are both masculine, therefore you say der Morgen and der Tag. "Night" is feminine, therefore it is die Nacht.

Back 8

Sind, meaning "are", is the conjugated verb form of sein meaning "to be". It is the formal pronoun for the 2nd person singular and plural (you), and it is the pronoun for the 3rd person plural (they). The difference is the capitalization. Sie can mean "you" (formal) when it is capitalized, or "they" when it is not capitalized. Sind Sie... therefore means "Are you..." while Sind sie... (with a lowercase "s") means "Are they...".

Front 9

Instead of  Sind Sie aus Deutschland?, it is also common to ask Kommen Sie aus Deutschland? which literally translates to "Do you come from Germany?"

Kommen is the infinitive of the verb "to come" as well as the conjugated verb form for the 2nd person singular and plural when addressing someone formally (you), and 3rd person plural (they). Sie kommen can therefore either mean "you come" (formal) or "they come", depending on the context.

Back 9

In German, "the United States" is die Vereinigten Staaten. The plural definite article of all nouns is die. After "I am from...", Ich bin aus..., or the question "where from?" follows the dative case.  Therefore the definite article is declined and you say: ...den Vereinigten Staaten.

Front 10

In statements, the verb follows the subject as in Sie sprechen, meaning "you speak" or "they speak," depending on the context.

In questions, the word order is reversed and the subject follows the verb: Sprechen Sie...? is "Do you speak...?". Sprechen sie...? with a lower case "s" means "Do they speak...?"

Back 10

Spreche is the conjugated form of the verb sprechen for the 1st person singular. For most verbs, such as sprechen, kommen, and heißen, the conjugation for the polite forms of the second person singular and plural Sie and the 3rd person plural sie have the same ending as the infinitive.

For the 1st person singular, you simply cut off the "-en" in the end, add the ending "-e" and say: ich spreche,  ich komme, and ich heiße.

Front 11

Ist is the conjugated form of the verb sein, meaning "to be" for the 3rd person singular.  The pronouns "he, she, and it" in German are er, sie, and es.  All three of these agree with ist.

Back 11

In German, there are three sounds called Umlaute (OOMlouta), or "Umlauts." These are vowels with two dots above them, the “ä”, the “ü,” and the “ö.” The closest sound in English to the German "ö" is the “ur” as in “fur” or “hurt,” but without the “r” pronounced.

Front 12

Verstehen in English means "to understand." This is how you conjugate the verb verstehen for the first and second person (you, informal) singular: Ich verstehe is "I understand" and du verstehst is "you understand." Sie verstehen means "you understand" when addressing someone formally or "they understand," depending on the context.

Back 12

The plural form of the definite article is the same for all nouns: die, just like the female article. The plural form of "language" is Sprachen. Since there are no rules on how to build the plural, it is best to learn the noun with its gender, article, and its plural form.

Front 13

The indefinite article "a" for masculine and neuter nouns is ein. For female nouns it is eine.

Back 13

Adjectives are declined to reflect the noun's gender and number. Following the indefinite articles ein and eine, adjectives end in: masculine "-er," feminine "-e," and neuter "-es."

Toll means "great." You would say: ein tolles Programm, since the noun is neuter: das Program. For a female noun, as die Sprache it is eine tolle Sprache. And "a great day" would translate to ein toller Tag since der Tag is masculine.

Front 14

Literally, "Do you go" is Gehst du in German. Instead of the verb "to go", gehen, the verb "to drive", fahren is used in the context of going to another country.

Back 14

The verb fahren is conjugated for the first and second person singular as follows: "I go" or literally "I drive" is ich fahre. Du fährst is "you go" or literally "you drive." The conjugated verb of the third person plural ("they") and the polite form of the second person singular and plural ("You") have the same ending as the infinitive of the verb.  They are sie fahren and Sie fahren.

Front 15

When saying goodbye to friends, you don't say Auf Wiedersehen as in a formal setting. Instead you say Tschüs. You can also say Tschau.

If you want to fit in with the Bavarians in the South of Germany, you would say Servus.

Back 15

"The evening" in German is masculine: der Abend. You have already learned that adjectives have to be declined according to the gender, number, and case of the noun. "A good evening" would be ein guter Abend. The ending after the indefinite article is "-er" for masculine singular nouns. The ending in guten Abend is "-en" and not "-er" because declension also depends on the case of the noun. Guten Abend is short for Ich wünschen Ihnen einen guten Abend, meaning "I wish you a good evening." Both the indefinite article and the adjective einen guten have the ending "-en" because the accusative case follows Ich wünsche Ihnen.  In the meantime, remember that if you greet someone formally after 6pm, you say guten Abend.

Front 16

You have learned that in questions the subject follows the verb. When you ask something beginning with a question word, the question word comes first, the verb second, and the subject third. For example: Wie heißen Sie? (What is your name?) Or Was möchten Sie…?

Back 16

Möchten is one of the modal verbs, which is a verb that is combined with the infinitive form of another verb. The modal verb is conjugated and takes the position any verb would take in a question or sentence. The infinitive always comes at the end of the sentence, such as in the question: Was möchten Sie trinken?

Front 17

Möchten with the ending "-en" is the infinitive of the verb "would like," as well as the conjugation for the polite forms of the second person singular and plural Sie, and the 3rd person plural sie. As for most verbs, to make the first person singular, you simply cut off the "-en," add the ending "-e" and say ich möchte.

Back 17

The noun water in German is neuter: das Wasser. Its indefinite article is ein.

Front 18

In German it is not necessary to say "a glass of wine." You simply say ein Glas Wein literally meaning "a glass wine."

Back 18

When the context is clear, the infinitive--in this case trinken--can be dropped after the modal verb, as in Ich möchte bitte ein Wasser or Möchten Sie auch ein Glas Wein?

 

The modal verb then becomes the main verb in the sentence.

Front 19

You have learned about the modal verb möchten in lesson 5. The modal verb is conjugated, for example Ich möchte ("I would like") or Sie möchten ("you would like," formal), and is combined with the infinitive of another verb. The modal verb möchten expresses an intention or a wish regarding the main verb.

Back 19

"Soup" in German is feminine, it is die Suppe. "The soup of the day" is die Tagessuppe, but remember, "the day" alone is masculine, der Tag. In German there are many compound words, which are words consisting of either two nouns, a verb and a noun, or an adjective and a noun. Also, there are often filler letters between the two nouns, such as in the word: Tag-es-suppe.

Front 20

Wollen is another one of the modal verbs. Just like möchten, it expresses a wish or an intention regarding the main verb. Sie wollen is "you want" and wollen Sie? is "Do you want?" in a formal context.

Back 20

"Choice" is feminine, therefore it is die Wahl or with the indefinite article eine Wahl. After the verb "to be," in German sein, the article and noun always take the nominative case. For feminine nouns in the nominative singular case, the ending for adjectives after an indefinite article is "-e": eine gut-e Wahl.  If you were to say "that is a good wine," with wine being masculine, it would be: Das ist ein gut-er Wein. "That is a good water“ is Das ist ein gut-es Wasser, because "water" in German is neuter.

Front 21

Do you remember the conjugation of to be? Sein is an irregular verb. So far you have learned the third person conjugation singular: er ist, sie ist, es ist, the conjugation for the 2nd person singular and plural when addressing someone formally (you) Sie sind and for the 3rd person plural (they): sie sind.

Back 21

Adjectives after the verb "to be," sein, are not declined as in die Spätzle sind gut. Note the difference: In Der Wein ist gut, meaning "the wine is good," the adjective follows the verb "to be" and does not have to be declined. In Das ist ein guter Wein, meaning "That is a good wine" the adjective has to be declined. Another example: Die Suppe ist gut. – adjective not declined, compared to Das ist eine gute Suppe – adjective declined. Or: Das Wasser ist gut versus Das ist ein gutes Wasser.

Front 22

Schmecken is the infinitive form and means "to taste." The conjugation for the third person singular er, sie, es is schmeckt. In regular verbs, you simply take off the infinitive ending "-en" and replace it with the ending for the third person singular: "-t". Here is another example: the infinitive gehen, means "to go."  To make the third person form, replace the ending "-en" with the ending "-t": geht.

Back 22

You have already learned, that Ihnen is the dative form of the formal personal pronoun Sie. The verb in the sentence determines the case of the pronoun. Schmecken, meaning "to taste," requires the dative case.  The sentence: Es schmeckt Ihnen, literally means "It tastes good to you." To ask a question, you reverse the verb (schmeckt) and the subject (es): Schmeckt es Ihnen?

Front 23

Wissen means "to know." The conjugation of wissen is irregular and does not follow the rules for conjugation you have learned. "I know" is Ich weiß.

Back 23

The word nicht meaning "not" is used to negate verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.  Nicht always stands after the subject and the verb as in Ich weiß nicht. (Another example: Ich komme nicht aus Deutschland, meaning "I don’t come from Germany.") In a sentence with a modal verb and an infinitive, like Ich möchte bestellen, the nicht is placed after the modal verb. The infinitives always stand at the end of the sentence: Ich möchte nicht bestellen, meaning "I don’t want to order."

Front 24

Dann meaning "then" is a temporal adverb. The normal word order in a German sentence is:  subject in position one, verb in position two, like in the sentence Ich nehme…  However, if the sentence starts with an adverb, as it does here with dann, the word order is reversed: Dann nehme ich...

Back 24

Also note that in English the future tense is used much more often than in German: "Then I will take.."  In German, the present tense is often used instead: Dann nehme ich...

Front 25

Nehmen is the infinitive form of the verb "take." You have already learned that the conjugation for the polite form of the second person singular and plural and also the third person plural have the same ending as the infinitive: Sie nehmen is "you take," sie nehmen, is "they take." The first person plural "we" also has the ending "-en" (like the infinitive) wir nehmen.

Back 25

Machen literally means "to make" or sometimes "to do," depending on the context. Machen follows the rules for regular conjugation. For the third person singular, simply take off the ending "-en" and add a "-t": Er, sie, es macht, literally meaning "he, she, it makes" or "he, she, it does." Das macht means "That makes."

Front 26

"There" in German is da or dort. If "there" expresses a direction as in "How do I get there?" you say dahin or dorthin.

Back 26

Nouns can be formed (or declined) into four different cases: nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. The noun itself does not always change, but the articles and adjectives can indicate the case of a noun. The case is determined by the verb in the sentence. You have learned that the verb "to be", sein, requires the nominative case, as in the example: Da ist der Bus. The verb "take" calls for the accusative case and the article is declined while the noun itself Bus stays unchanged: Ich nehme den Bus. The indefinite article ein would also be declined: Ich nehme einen Bus, meaning "I will take a bus."

Front 27

Only the articles and adjectives for masculine singular nouns change. The articles for neuter, feminine, and plural nouns are the same in the accusative and in the nominative: Ich nehme ein Taxi or Ich nehme das Taxi. Also: Ich nehme eine Suppe or Ich nehme die Suppe. And in plural: Ich nehme Spätzle  or Ich nehme die Spätzle. Just as in English, there is no plural form of the indefinite article.

Back 27

Können is also a modal verb. It expresses a possibility or ability regarding the main verb. Kann ich...laufen? is "Can I walk...?"

Front 28

Können is an irregular verb and does not follow the conjugation rules you have learned so far. The conjugated form for the first person singular is Ich kann. The third person singular is also kann: er kann, sie kann, es kann, meaning "he can, she can, it can." For the first person plural (we), third person plural (they), and for the polite form of the second person singular and plural (you), the conjugated forms are the same as the infinitive: Wir können, sie können, Sie können.

Back 28

The four cases in German are determined by the verb. Different cases can also be triggered by prepositions. These are really called prepositional cases, and they can take the form of the dative, accusative, or even the genitive case. Zu, meaning to, is a preposition that always requires the dative case. Hotel is neuter: das Hotel. In the dative case, the neuter definite article changes to dem and "to the hotel" is zu dem Hotel. Zum is a contraction of zu and dem.

Front 29

Das is not only used as the neuter definite article for a noun. It can also be used as a demonstrative pronoun.  In the question Wieviel kostet das?  the pronoun das refers to the trip to the hotel.

Back 29

In Das sind nur vier Kilometer the demonstrative pronoun das refers to the four kilometers, which is why the verb is conjugated in the third person plural: sind.

Front 30

As you have learned in lesson 10, the dative and the accusative case can be triggered by prepositions. The preposition "in" can either call for the dative case or the accusative case, depending on the context. If you can ask Wohin? indicating a movement toward something, the preposition "in" calls for the accusative case. If you can ask Wo? indicating a current location, the dative follows. The "to" in "welcome to the hotel" does not indicate any movement. You already ARE in the hotel and das Hotel has to be in the dative case: in dem Hotel. Im is a contraction of in + dem.

Back 30

The plural form of der Tag is die Tage. Nächte is the plural of die Nacht. In Lesson One you have learned that the pronounciation of “ch” as in Nächte resembles the “h” in “huge” or “human.” In Nacht, the “ch” is a guttural sound, made in the back of your throat, like the sound of a hissing cat. As a rule, you can try to remember that after e, i, ö, ü, eu, äu, l, n, r, the “ch” is pronounced softly as in ich, wirklich, or sprechen. After o, u, and au, the “ch” is a guttural sound as in Nacht.

Front 31

German has no present progressive tense. The word gerade means "just now" and indicates that something is going on right now. In German, the present tense combined with the word "gerade" is the equivalent to the English present progressive tense.

Back 31

German uses a lot of compound words. Here are two more examples: Der Zimmerschlüssel consists of  das Zimmer and der Schlüssel, meaning "the room" and "the key." Die Zimmermädchen consists of das Zimmer and die Mädchen, meaning "the girls." A compound word always takes the gender of its last part.  Thus, a Zimmerschlüssel is still a key (masculine), and Zimmermädchen are still girls (plural feminine).

Front 32

Können is the modal verb that indicates a possibility or ability regarding the main verb, as in Sie können...trinken or Sie können... lesen. Remember, the infinitive of the main verb always stands at the end of the sentence – after the direct or indirect object.

Back 32

Here is a sentence with two direct objects and one prepositional object.  Therefore, there are two accusative cases and one dative case after a preposition. Im Aufenthaltsraum is the dative case, in English known as the prepositional object. Remember, after the preposition "in," the dative is triggered if a location is indicated: "Where can she read the newspaper?" Der Aufenthaltsraum is masculine, and the dative case after "in" is: in dem Aufenthaltsraum, meaning "in the lobby". In and dem becomes im.

Front 33

The direct object of a sentence can be found by asking who or what receives the action of the verb, in this case, "What can she read?" or "What can she drink?" The direct objects "the coffee" and "the newspaper" are in the accusative case. Coffee is masculine and the indefinite article in ein Kaffee is declined and becomes einen Kaffee. Die Zeitung is feminine. This is easy: feminine articles and nouns are the same in the nominative and the accusative cases.

Back 33

Here is a sentence with two accusative cases, one "real" accusative case and one prepositional accusative. Das Gepäck, the luggage, is the direct object in the accusative case: "What can the bellhop take to the room?"  "To the room" is the prepositional object, and since you can ask "where to?" the German preposition in here also calls for the accusative: in das Zimmer. You don’t need to think much here: both, das Gepäck and das Zimmer are neuter nouns which require no changes to the article or the noun itself in the accusative declination.

Front 34

Diese is a demonstrative article. Demonstrative articles reflect the gender of the noun and follow the same rules as definite articles. The endings are "-e" for feminine nouns like diese Decke, "-er" for masculine nouns, dieser Kaffee, and "-es" for neuter nouns: dieses Zimmer.

Back 34

The verb geben requires the dative case. In English, the dative case is also called the "giving case." You can ask "To whom is she giving 5 Euros?"  Ihnen is the dative declination of  the pronoun Sie and here it represents the indirect object of the sentence.

Front 35

The particle denn makes a question sound less direct. It is only used in questions.

Back 35

Wollen, as a modal verb, is less polite than möchten and is commonly used by kids or in informal conversations. It is an irregular verb and the conjugation for the first person singular is ich will.

Front 36

With nicht you negate verbs, adjectives, adverbs, nouns with a definite article, and whole sentences. If you are negating nouns with an indefinite article or no article you use kein or keine. The declination of kein depends on the number, case, and gender of the noun. It takes the same ending as the indefinite article: Kein for masculine and neuter nouns, keine for feminine and plural nouns. The verb brauchen requires the accusative. Mittagessen is neuter, so it is ein Mittagessen or negated kein Mittagessen. The declination of neuter articles in the accusative is the same as the nominative.

Back 36

The verb "haben" requires the accusative. „Hunger“ is masculine and the declination of „kein“ for masculine nouns  in accusative case has the ending „-en“: „Keinen Hunger“.

Front 37

Haben means "to have." Ich habe is the conjugation for the first person singular. Du hast is the conjugation for the second person singular when addressing a friend, meaning "you have." This is not a regular verb conjugation. Hast du is "Do you have?"

Back 37

In spoken German, the future tense is used much less than in English. The future is often expressed with the present tense and a temporal adverb or a specific time: Klaus kommt um 1 Uhr means "Klaus will come at 1 o’clock." Klaus kommt morgen means "Klaus will come tomorrow."  In both sentences, kommt is in the present tense.

Front 38

Sollen meaning "shall" or sollten meaning "should" are modal verbs which are combined with an infinitive of another verb. The verb sollen expresses an order while sollten expresses a piece of advice.

Back 38

Personal pronouns in German have to be declined according to the verb. This is how the informal personal pronoun "you", du, is declined: dich is the accusative case and dir is the dative case. As you can see, dich is used in Es ist schön, dich zu sehen, and dir is used in Wie geht es dir?. In English, all three - du, dich and dir - simply translate to "you."

Front 39

Even though you say "Welcome to my house" in English, it is literally "Welcome in my house" in German. Since the preposition "in" does not indicate a direction towards something (you ARE already in the house), the dative case follows. House is neuter. You would say Das ist ein Haus, meaning  "This is a house" or das ist mein Haus, meaning "This is my house." Personal pronouns take the same endings as the indefinite articles. The dative case is in einem Haus, or in meinem Haus.

Back 39

The preposition neben, when indicating a location and not a direction, requires the dative. "The entrance" is masculine: der Eingang. The definite article der is declined and you say neben dem Eingang.

Front 40

"Im Keller" is another example of using the dative case after the preposition "in." It indicates a location, not a direction, and therefore the dative is used. "The cellar" is masculine: "der Keller". Again, the definite article "der" is declined and you say "in dem Keller". "Im" is the contraction of  "in" and "dem".

Back 40

Compound words consist of two nouns, a verb and a noun, or an adjective and a noun. Here are several examples of a compound word made from a verb and a noun: "Waschküche" consisting of "waschen" (to wash) and "Küche" (kitchen).  "Schlafzimmer", consisting of "schlafen" (to sleep) and "Zimmer" (room). "Esszimmer", consisting of "essen" (to eat) and "Zimmer" (room).

Front 41

Another example of the negation with "kein", meaning "no", is "keine Möbel" – "no furniture". The noun "Möbel" is neuter ("das Möbel") with the singular form equal to its plural form "die Möbel". It is hardly ever used in the singular form. The plural form of "kein" is "keine", and you say "keine Möbel" for "no furniture".

Back 41

The polite form of the possessive pronoun "your" is "Ihr" for neuter and masculine nouns, and "Ihre" for feminine and plural nouns. For example, "Ihr Vater" is "your father" and "Ihre Mutter" is "your mother". If you spell "ihr Vater" or "ihre Mutter" with a lower case "i", it means "her father" or "her mother".

Front 42

Possessive pronouns - just like articles and adjectives - are declined to match the gender, number, and case of the noun. The ending in the singular form is like the ending of the indefinite article: "mein" for neuter and masuline nouns (as in "mein Vater"), and "meine" for feminine nouns (as in "meine Mutter"). The plural form is also "meine" as in "meine Eltern".

Back 42

Brüder (brothers) is the plural form of Bruder, which is masculine. Schwester (sister, sisters) is the same word in singular and plural and is feminine. As a rule, female nouns like "sister" and "mother" are usually feminine: die Schwester and die Mutter. Male nouns like "brother" and "father" are usually masculine: der Bruder and der Vater. However, there are exceptions, for example das Mädchen meaning "the girl," because nouns that end with "-chen" are always neuter.

Front 43

Personal pronouns in German have to be declined according to the verb. This is how the informal personal pronoun "you", du, is declined: dich is the accusative case and dir is the dative case. As you can see, dich is used in Es ist schön, dich zu sehen, and dir is used in Wie geht es dir?. In English, all three - du, dich and dir - simply translate to "you."

Back 43

For short, you can simply say Schön, dich zu sehen. It is also common to say Es freut mich, dich zu sehen as in Es freut mich, Sie kennen zu lernen.

Schön literally means "beautiful."