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german-enthusiast · 2 months

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Scary scary German syntax... right?

The following sentence exhibits a typical mistake German-learners make: Heute ich gehe in ein Museum.

It's not conjugation ("ich gehe" is correct!), it's not declension ("ein Museum" is correct too!). The issue is "heute ich gehe". Correct would be: Heute gehe ich in ein Museum (or: Ich gehe heute in ein Museum.)

What's the rule here?

It's unfortunately not simply "there can only be one word before the verb"

German word order is so difficult be cause it is so variable. All following sentences are correct and synoymous (though emphasis shifts):

Der Opa schenkt seiner Enkelin zum Geburtstag ein Buch über Autos.

Seiner Enkelin schenkt der Opa zum Geburtstag ein Buch über Autos.

Ein Buch über Autos schenkt der Opa seiner Enkelin zum Geburtstag.

Zum Geburtstag schenkt der Opa seiner Enkelin ein Buch über Autos. All mean: The grandfather gifts his niece a book about cars for her birthday.

What do they all have in common, syntax-wise? There's only one phrase in front of the finite verb. What does this mean? A phrase is a completed (!) unit that can consist of one or more words (depending on the word class (-> noun, verb, …)) Typical word classes that can be a phrase with just one word are:

Proper nouns, plural nouns, personal pronouns, relative pronous (Lukas kocht. Busse fahren. Ich schreibe. Der Mann, der kocht, …)

Adverbs (Heute, Morgen, Bald, Dort, Darum, …) Most other word classes need additional words to form a full phrase:

adjectives need a noun and article: der blaue Ball, der freundliche Nachbar

nouns need a determiner (= article): der Mann, eine Frau, das Nachbarskind

prepositions need… stuff (often a noun phrase): auf der Mauer, in dem Glas, bei der Statue

…

A finite verb is the verb that has been changed (=conjugated) according to person, time, … All verbs that are NOT infinitive or participles are finite. ich sagte -> "sagte" is the finite verb ich bin gegangen -> "bin" is the finite verb The infinitive and the participle are called "infinite verbs" and are always pushed towards the end (but not always the very end!) of the sentence: Ich bin schon früher nach Hause gegangen als meine Freunde.

So: Before the verb (that is not the participle or infinitive) there can only be one phrase.

Since "heute" is an adverb (-> forms a full phrase on its own) and "ich" is a personal pronoun (-> forms a full phrase on its own), they can't both be in front of the verb "gehe" You have to push one of them behind the verb: Heute gehe ich in ein Museum Ich gehe heute in ein Museum.

Both of these are main clauses (Ger.: Hauptsätze), which in German exhibit "V-2 Stellung", meaning the finite verb is in the second position (after one phrase).

What happens if we push all phrases behind the finite verb?

Gehe ich heute in ein Museum? (Watch out: Gehe heute ich in ein Museum would be ungrammatical! The subject has to come in the second position)

It's a question now!

In German, question sentences (that do not start with a question word like "Was?", "Wo?", …) start with the finite verb (called "V-1 Stellung").

Questions, main clauses,… what's missing?

Dependent clauses!

The third type of sentence exhibits "V-letzt Stellung" or "V-End Stellung", meaning the finite verb is at the very end of the sentence. Ich bin gestern in ein Museum gegangen, … main clause -> V-2 Stellung … weil es dort eine interessante Ausstellung gab. dependent clause -> V-letzt Stellung If you want to practice this....

... determine if the following German sentences are correct. If not, what would be the right way to say it?

Der Zug war sehr voll.

Gestern ich war in der Schule.

Die Lehrerin mich nicht hat korrigiert.

Gehst du heute zur Arbeit?

Das Buch ich finde nicht sehr interessant.

To practice this further, translate the following sentences into German and focus on the order of words:

The boy gave the ball back to me.

I called my girlfriend because I missed her.

The girl saw her brother at the train station.

The horse, which was standing on the field, was white and black.

#it's definitely not easy #but you can totally learn it!#maybe you'll notice it from now on #don't worry if you still get it wrong though #that's completely normal #and you'll still be understood #being understood is the main goal of learning a language!#german #learning german #langblr #german langblr #deutsch lernen #deutsch #language learning #german language #german learning #language #german grammar

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thatswhywelovegermany · 8 months

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#german grammar #german pun

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kutyozh · 11 months

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Gender-neutral German

OK so one could do a doctorate on this I guess but I simply want to make a little introduction because German learners may not be familiar with this concept and may get confused when seeing seemingly random little characters in the middle of a word. So here we go.

In German, there are a few ways to use gender-neutral language. I'm going to list some of them with pro and cons.

Participles

This is probably the most 'stealthy' way to use gender-neutral language in German. Example:

❌ Die Studenten essen in der Mensa. ✅ Die Studierenden essen in der Mensa. ❌ Die Mitarbeiter sind in einer Besprechung. ✅ Die Mitarbeitenden sind in einer Besprechung.

Pro: Stealth Level 100 Con: Not always applicable; works better with plural forms because articles are not split by gender there

2. Asterisk

❌ Die Schüler haben heute frei. ✅ Die Schüler*innen haben heute frei. ❌ Köche haben einen anstrengenden Job. ✅ Köch*innen haben einen anstrengenden Job.

What happens here is that you use the feminine form, and insert an asterisk in front of the feminine suffix (between root and suffix). In some cases this makes for a 'perfect' separation of the masculine and the feminine form (Schüler/Schülerinnen -> Schüler*innen); sometimes, as is the case with Köch*innen (Köche/Köchinnen), the masculine plural ending is cut off. Another example is Ärzte/Ärztinnen -> Ärzt*innen. With singular forms, the use of articles will look like this: der*die Ärzt*in ein*e Köch*in

The asterisk is sometimes pronounced as a glottal stop, sometimes it's 'ignored' in spoken language.

Pro: Inclusive; the asterisk marks all other genders outside of the (grammatical) binary. Con: Can be tricky to use; no general consensus over handling e.g. Dative: einem*einer Ärzt*in vs einem*r Ärzt*in

3. Underscore

❌ Chefs sollten generell mehr Lohn zahlen. ✅ Chef_innen sollten generell mehr Lohn zahlen.

Same procedure as above, but with an underscore instead of an asterisk. The underscore is sometimes pronounced as a glottal stop, sometimes it's 'ignored' in spoken language.

Pro: Relatively inclusive; some people feel like the underscore represents a 'gap' instead of non-binary genders and therefore reject the underscore. (Personally I don't prefer it either.) Con: Not accepted by all people outside the binary; can be tricky to use; no general consensus over handling certain concepts

4. Colon

❌ Die Rechte von Bauarbeitern sind wichtig. ✅ Die Rechte von Bauarbeiter:innen sind wichtig.

Same procedure as above, but with a colon instead of an asterisk or underscore. The colon is sometimes pronounced as a glottal stop, sometimes it's 'ignored' in spoken language.

Pro: Inclusive Con: Can be tricky to use; no general consensus over handling certain concepts Personally I prefer the colon over the asterisk and the underscore. It's mostly gut feeling but also the colon is like. at the same 'level' visually speaking as your regular minuscules so it makes me feel more included. As I said, gut feeling.

5. Replacing 'Mann'

So I guess this depends a bit but basically you replace the 'mann' in compounds with 'mensch', 'person', or, in plural, 'leute' or 'personen'. If that sounds weird, the word might get changed altogether:

❌ man ✅ mensch ❌ jemand ✅ jemensch ❌ Partner (not gender neutral in German!) ✅ Partnerperson, Beziehungsperson; Partner:in (Partner*in, Partner_in) ❌ Kaufmann ✅ Person im kaufmännischen Bereich ❌Müllmann ✅ Müllentsorger:in (Müllentsorger*in, Müllentsorger_in)

Again, this is easier in plural:

❌ Kaufmänner ✅ Kaufleute ❌ Müllmänner ✅ Müllabfuhr

Pro: Inclusive Con: if you are a German learner, this might be the option that is hardest to use (if you plan on using gender-neutral German), because it is not immediately evident how these generically masculine words get replaced or transformed.

6. "Binnen-I" ⚠

The so-called "Binnen-I" refers to the capitalised letter "I" in the middle of gendered nouns, and it works like the colon version (but without the colon):

SchülerIn, SchülerInnen LehrerIn, LehrerInnen

often accompanied by articles with a slash: der/die SchülerIn

Pro: relatively easy to use Con: does not include non-binary genders! This is not truly gender-neutral! It only includes the feminine and the masculine form!

7. Brackets ⚠

Probably my least favourite thing. Boo. It puts the feminine ending in a little cage:

Schüler(innen) Mitarbeiter(innen)

Pro: visually very obvious that we are talking about women and men (not only women) Con: does not include non-binary genders! This is not truly gender-neutral! It only includes the feminine and the masculine form! It has also been criticised for suggesting that the feminine ending is 'optional'/'omittable' by putting it in brackets. Honestly, just don't.

This was a little introduction to gender neutral German and I hope this can explain to you why written German does not always look like the one you see in most textbooks!

#german #gender neutral language #langblr #german langblr #german grammar #. i made this in a fit some time ago i hope it helps <3 #. feel free to ask me about it via ask #r.txt

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dom-a-tart · 11 months

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ok so i've been into slang of different languages recently and discovered that for some reason there isnt sufficient material on how german teenagers actually talk (aka me having found a new hyperfixation and making it errrryones Problem now)

So buckle up folks and get ready for my (very)incomplete list of actual german slang by your local gay.

(Please add your words if you think of more stuff and remember that it differs from state to state)

I'm from Baden-Württemberg so guess what you're getting some bawü specific phrases

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Dicka/digga- bro (very common,but also very informal)

Junge/alter -bro/boy -> "jungeeee " is an actual sentence that you use when you're very done with your life ,imagine a very weary sigh

chaya-slang for girl (but a bit derogatory and not very fine language or as we call it,a bit asi)

typ- guy

Para/flouz-money

grass-weed

kippe-cigarette

kiffen-to smoke weed

ficken-to fuck

Schwuchtel-faggot

scheiße-shit (my friends and I say scheiße with a soft s usually just cause scheiße when its pronounced how it should be sounds so harsh)

Ach du scheiße-oh shit

Labern-to talk (informal and has a negative tone) -> e.g you can say "laber nicht" to your friends if they tell you something you dont believe like nah dont bullshit me

nh/ge/gell-right?! (at the end of a sentence)

raff dich-get yourself together

bock haben-to want to do something

Schwänzen-to skip school

Gottlos-I honestly dont know how to translate this

Ehrenlos-something, someone did that was very low of them

einunddreißiger(31er)-betrayer

hurensohn/nuttensohn- son of a bitch but nuttensohn is way cruder

arsch-ass

Geben-to give but it sounds very sexual if you say for example ,I gave it (the book)to her;so please use the object here and not the objektpronomen

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Some grammar things:

When speaking we shorten our sentences

Siehst du das nicht?- siehste das net/nich?

Let's -Lass (xy)

In baden württemberg,people very often put the verb etwas tun =to do something,in sentences where they dont need it

=> ich tu das machen; this literally translates to I do making that

------text slang-----

trzdm-trotzdem

isso-ALSO USED VERY OFTEN IN SPOKEN GERMAN but it's like saying yess exactly

net/nd-nicht

wmd-what are u doing (haven't used this since the 7th grade so idk but it exists)

Yeah that wraps it up ,if any of y'all have additions to make please add them

#german stuff #deutsches zeug #germanblr #german grammar #germany

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mylanguagesblogger · 6 months

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#german grammar #learn german #germany #german

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a-german-learning-clown · 2 years

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P in Pflanze 🤝 T in Tsunami

🤡

#german #german langblr #deutsch langblr #langblr #deutsch lernen #german language memes #language memes #german language #german memes #langblr funny #german grammar #german words #a german learning clown #language lover clown #learning german

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imtryingtolearngerman · 10 months

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Choose the correct word to fill the blank

Answer in the comments

#mine #langblr #german #german langblr #german grammar #deutsch #german exercise

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foundingerman · 9 months

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🇩🇪: Bitte langsam fahren

🇬🇧: Please drive slowly

📖 Vocabulary 📖 ➡️ bitte - please ➡️ langsam - slow ➡️ fahren - to drive

#learngerman #learn german #deutschlernen #german #german language #germany #deutschland #deutsch #german grammar #grammatik #german vocabulary #wortschatz #foundingerman

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linguacoreana · 2 years

Link

One word that has caused me a lot of confusion in my German journey was “house” or “home.” Usually, English words have similar counterparts in German. However, I always had trouble knowing how to say home in German.

Zuhause? zu Hause? das Zuhause? daheim? das Heimat? das Haus? nach Hause? die Häuser?

My confusion partly stems from the strange treatment of this word in English, but German also has some unique ways it handles this word. There are many situations that are very different that all use the word “home” in English, so we need to unravel those in order to clearly see what German is doing with that general concept.

“Home” as a location

In English, there is a specific group of words that (almost) never take prepositions. They derive from nouns, but with time they have become adverbs that sound wrong with “to” or “at.” This group includes things like upstairs or downtown. The important one for today is “home.” If someone asks you where you are in English, you can reply “I’m home.” It does not mean you are a house; it means you are located at your house.

If you want to say “I am home,” in German, you will use “zuhause.”

Wenn du krank wirst, solltest du zuhause bleiben. = If you get sick, you should stay (at) home.

Ich verlasse mein Auto zuhause, und du wirst mich zur Arbeit fahren. Klingt das gut? = I will leave my car at home, and you will drive me to work. Does that sound good?

Then what is “daheim”?

“Daheim” is used in the exact same way as “zuhause,” an adverbial location for home. The difference is that it is more typical for southern Germany. It’s not my job to say whether or not to use this word, but this word is slowly disappearing in standard Hochdeutsch. This article shows an unscientific survey where most respondents say they prefer “zuhause” over “daheim,” and this article attributes “daheim” to southern-style German.

zuhause oder zu Hause?

These two forms are used in identical ways; they are both used to talk about location, probably with bleiben or sein.

Working from home

This expression work “from home” that has become very common in the recent years uses von + “zuhause” + aus. This makes sense on a grammatical level because “from home” uses “from,” meaning a separate location, and “zuhause” a location.

Das Unternehmen lässt die Angestellter, zu entscheiden, ob sie von zuhause aus arbeiten wollen. = The company lets employees decide whether they want to work from home.

Home as a noun

If you add any article or adjective to “home,” you are probably dealing with a noun. In this German situation, you will use the noun das Zuhause. It was confusing for me when I first heard it because that “zu” was originally a preposition that attached itself to a noun, creating a Frankenstein-noun, which German loves. The meaning is the same as English “home,” meaning the residence where you feel comfortable.

In unserem Zuhause ist es eine Regel, dass man seine Schuhe auszieht, wenn man betritt. = In our home it is a rule that you take off your shoes when you enter.

Ich vermisse mein Zuhause. = I miss my home.

This video and article also explain the difference between Zuhause, zu Hause, and zuhause in full German. This website also has a lot of good German differences, which can be helpful for German learners if you already are advanced enough to understand full German explanations.

Home as a direction

As I mentioned, “home” is one of the words that does not need “to” in English. We “go home,” and we “come home” without “to.” In German, this is probably going to be “nach Hause.” This is paired with the most common movement verbs “gehen,” “kommen,” or “fahren.”

Ich höre einen Podcast an, wenn ich nach Hause fahren. = I listen to a podcast when I drive home.

Die Kinder sind um 14 Uhr nach Hause gekommen. = The kids got home at 2pm.

Any preposition that is not “to”

Although “nach Hause” is the basic preposition you will use most of the time with the most common movement verbs gehen and kommen, any other preposition can be combined with “das Haus” if you need to specifically mention direction. This will usually be combined with nouns or special verbs that are picky about their prepositions.

Direkte Lieferung ins Haus ist nicht verfügbar in meinem Land. = Direct home delivery (direct delivery into the home) is not available in my country.

Home as a territory or country

The word das Heimat in German translates more precisely to “homeland” in English, but we could also use “home” in English, which is why I include it here.

Wegen des Krieges müssen die Menschen ihre Heimat verlassen. = Because of the war, the people must leave their home(land).

Das Heimat, das du dich erinnerst, hat nach 50 Jahre verändert. = The home(land) you remember changed after 50 years.

House as a building

Like in English, das Haus (plural die Häuser) is the building we live in. While das Zuhause is more emotional and warm and fuzzy, like your home, das Haus is the most basic word representing the building.

Ich hätte lieber ein Haus mit vier Schlafzimmern. = I would prefer a house with four bedrooms.

Ich brauche Hilfe beim Streichen meines Hauses. = I need help painting my house.