Unlocking German With Paul Noble

by Paul Noble

  Thursday – Donnerstag

  In English, the day after Wodan’s Day is Thor’s Day, now written Thursday. In German, it is exactly the same. “Thor” in German mythology, however, is called “Donar” and so Thursday in German becomes “Donnerstag” – Donar’s Day / Thor’s Day.

  Friday – Freitag

  Friday in English means “Frigga’s Day”. “Who is Frigga?” you may ask.Well, she was Odin’s wife and Thor’s mother. She was also, for the earliest English people, the goddess of love. The same was true for the Germans, making Friday in German very easy for English speakers to remember – “Freitag”.

  Saturday – Samstag

  Saturday in English is Saturn’s day. The German for Saturday, however, comes from words that in old German meant “sabbath day”, as the sabbath was originally observed on Saturday rather than Sunday. Saturday in German is therefore “Samstag”.

  Sunday – Sonntag

  I’m sure you can guess the meaning of Sunday in English; clearly it is the Sun’s Day. And the same is true in German. “Sun” in German is “Sonne” and so Sunday becomes “Sonntag”.

  So, there we have the days of week in German. Hopefully they hold a little more meaning for you than they did before. If you don’t know them already, you’ll find them on a quick reference list on the next page. Just take a look at it each time you finish a chapter, covering up the German and seeing if you can recall it, and you’ll soon pick them up.

  CHAPTER 4

  I gave the money to the taxi driver.

  I gave the money to the taxi driver.

  Well, here we are again. Another chapter, beginning with another simple sentence:

  “I gave the money to the taxi driver.” This sentence has some very useful stuff in it, but as before, even if you know some German already, you may still struggle with a sentence that seems basic in English but that requires a bit of guidance to construct in German.

  “Given” in German is:

  gegeben

  (ge-gaib-urn)

  So, how would you say “I have given”?

  ich habe gegeben

  (ikh hah-ber ge-gaib-urn)

  And how would you say “I gave” or “I did give”?

  ich habe gegeben

  (ikh hah-ber ge-gaib-urn)

  So, once again, we’re getting three English past tenses for the price of one German one.

  “The money” in German is:

  das Geld

  (das gelt)

  So how would you say “I have given the money”?

  Ich habe das Geld gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber das gelt ge-gaib-urn)

  “The taxi driver” in German is:

  der Taxifahrer

  (dair taxi-far-er)

  Notice how this word is made up of two words that are also in English. “Taxi” is of course a familiar word but “fahrer”, meaning “driver” is also familiar to us as English speakers. For example, someone who “drives” over the sea in English is known as a “seafarer” – a “sea-driver” or “sea-traveller” if you like. And, in fact, even someone who “drives” themselves about on their feet in English can be called a “wayfarer”.

  So, a taxi driver in German is effectively a taxi farer or, as it’s spelled in German, a “Taxifahrer”.

  So, now that you know all about the word for “taxi driver” in German, how would you say “the taxi driver is good”?

  Der Taxifahrer ist gut.

  (dair taxi-far-er ist goot)

  And how about “the taxi driver is drunk”?

  Der Taxifahrer ist betrunken.

  (dair taxi-far-er ist be-troon-kurn)

  And “the taxi driver is busy”?

  Der Taxifahrer ist beschäftigt.

  (dair taxi-far-er ist be-shef-tigt)

  So, above we have very effectively described the taxi driver as “good”, “drunk”, and “busy”. Now let’s see what happens if we do something to the taxi driver. Again, what is “seen”?

  gesehen

  (ge-zay-urn)

  So how would you say “I have seen”?

  ich habe gesehen

  (ikh hah-ber ge-zay-urn)

  Now try “I have seen the taxi driver”.

  Ich habe den Taxifahrer gesehen.

  (ikh hah-ber dain taxi-far-er ge-zay-urn)

  So, when “the taxi driver” is being seen, the “der” changes to “den”.

  So how would you say “I have kissed the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe den Taxifahrer geküsst.

  (ikh hah-ber dain taxi-far-er ge-koost)

  Good. So, we are very familiar with what happens to something masculine when something is done to it (“der” changes to “den”).

  Once more, what is “the money”?

  das Geld

  (das gelt)

  And how would you say “I have given the money”?

  Ich habe das Geld gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber das gelt ge-gaib-urn)

  What is “the wine”?

  der Wein

  (dair vine)

  So how would you say “I have given the wine”?

  Ich habe den Wein gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dain vine ge-gaib-urn)

  What is “the tea”?

  der Tee

  (dair tay)

  So how would you say “I have given the tea”?

  Ich habe den Tee gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dain tay ge-gaib-urn)

  So, as I have said, we are now very familiar with (possibly even sick to death of) how, when a masculine word is having something done to it, the word for “the” changes from “der” to “den”.

  This is not, however, the only time when the word for “the” can change in German.

  For instance, if you want to say “to the” in German the word for “the” will again change. Let me show you how this works.

  Again, what is “the taxi driver” in German?

  der Taxifahrer

  (dair taxi-far-er)

  Now, if you want to say “to the taxi driver” in German, you will simply change the word you use for “the”.

  “To the taxi driver” in German is:

  dem Taxifahrer

  (daim taxi-far-er)

  Now again, what is “it” in German?

  es

  (es)

  So how would you say “I have given it”?

  Ich habe es gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber es ge-gaib-urn)

  And what is “to the taxi driver”?

  dem Taxifahrer

  (daim taxi-far-er)

  So how would you say “I have given it to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe es dem Taxifahrer gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber es daim taxi-far-er ge-gaib-urn)

  And how do you think you would say “I have given the tea to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe den Tee dem Taxifahrer gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dain tay daim taxi-far-er ge-gaib-urn)

  So, in this sentence, we have two lots of masculine words, “the tea” (der Tee) and “the taxi driver” (der Taxifahrer), each undergoing changes to the word for “the” which allow us to know what role is being played by each of these two things in the sentence.

  “The tea” in the sentence is the thing having something done to it (it’s the thing being given), so “der Tee” becomes “den Tee”. “The taxi driver” is the person having the tea given to them, so “the taxi driver” (der Taxifahrer) becomes “to the taxi driver” (dem Taxifahrer).

  So these different words for “the” actually let you know which thing is being given and who it’s being given to.

  Let’s try another similar sentence but with one key difference.

  “Der Taxifahrer” actually only refers to a taxi driver when it’s a man. If the taxi driver is a woman then “the taxi driver” in German becomes “die Taxifahrerin” – notice the “in” that’s been added onto the end.

  So, just to get used to this feminine version of “taxi driver” for a moment.
How would you say (referring to a female taxi driver) “the taxi driver is drunk”?

  Die Taxifahrerin ist betrunken.

  (dee taxi-far-er-in ist be-troon-kurn)

  How about “the taxi driver is busy”?

  Die Taxifahrerin ist beschäftigt.

  (dee taxi-far-er-in ist be-shef-tigt)

  And how would you say “I have kissed the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe die Taxifahrerin geküsst.

  (ikh hah-ber dee taxi-far-er-in ge-koost)

  So, since this is a feminine word, the word for “the” stays the same whether it’s having something done to it or not.

  However, if you want to say “to the taxi driver” – even for a feminine word – you will change the word for “the”. So, “to the taxi driver” (when the taxi driver is a woman) in German becomes:

  der Taxifahrerin

  (dair taxi-far-er-in)

  So, how would you say “I gave the tea to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe den Tee der Taxifahrerin gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dain tay dair taxi-far-er-in ge-gaib-urn)

  And how about “I gave the wine to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe den Wein der Taxifahrerin gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dain vine dair taxi-far-er-in ge-gaib-urn)

  So, when you want to say “to the” for a feminine word in German, the “die” changes to “der”.When you want to say “to the” for a masculine word the “der” becomes “dem”.

  I know it seems confusing at this point but so long as you keep building the sentences it will begin to feel easier and, eventually, quite natural. After all, even young German children ultimately master this and they learn it simply by using it when they’re little!

  So again, just to check what we’ve done so far:

  How would you say “the taxi driver” when the taxi driver is a woman?

  die Taxifahrerin

  (dee taxi-far-er-in)

  And how would you say “to the taxi driver” when the driver is a woman?

  der Taxifahrerin

  (dair taxi-far-er-in)

  And what is “the taxi driver” when the driver is a man?

  der Taxifahrer

  (dair taxi-far-er)

  And how do you say “to the taxi driver” when the driver is a man?

  dem Taxifahrer

  (daim taxi-far-er)

  “Das” (neuter) words work in exactly the same way as masculine words when used with “to” in this way.

  So, for instance, what is “the baby”?

  das Baby

  (das bay-bee)

  “To the baby” in German is:

  dem Baby

  (daim bay-bee)

  So how would you say “I have given the milk to the baby” / “I gave the milk to the baby”?

  Ich habe die Milch dem Baby gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber dee milkh daim bay-bee ge-gaib-urn)

  And how about “I gave the money to the baby”?

  Ich habe das Geld dem Baby gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber das gelt daim bay-bee ge-gaib-urn)

  Okay. So let’s have just one final practice with this “to the” madness.

  What is “the baby”?

  das Baby

  (das bay-bee)

  And what is “to the baby”?

  dem Baby

  (daim bay-bee)

  What is “the taxi driver” (male)?

  der Taxifahrer

  (dair taxi-far-er)

  And what is “to the taxi driver” (male)?

  dem Taxifahrer

  (daim taxi-far-er)

  What is “the taxi driver” (female)?

  die Taxifahrerin

  (dee taxi-far-er-in)

  And what is “to the taxi driver” (female)?

  der Taxifahrerin

  (dair taxi-far-er-in)

  Good, that’s it, you’ve got it!

  So, finally, returning to the sentence that we began the chapter with, how would you say (when referring to a female taxi driver) “I gave the money to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe das Geld der Taxifahrerin gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber das gelt dair taxi-far-er-in ge-gaib-urn)

  And, if you were talking about a male taxi driver, how would you say “I gave the money to the taxi driver”?

  Ich habe das Geld dem Taxifahrer gegeben.

  (ikh hah-ber das gelt daim taxi-far-er ge-gaib-urn)

  So, this sentence – “I gave the money to the taxi driver” – which seems so simple in English, actually contains, and so can help us begin to understand, some of the most complex aspects of German.

  As you get used to them, German expressions will start to open up to you, so feel free to practise these last few sentences as many times as you need to in order to feel comfortable with the changes that occur in German to the words for “the”. There’s no rush, remember, just work through each section at a pace that suits you and then move on to the next part of the book when you’re ready – but only when you’re ready.

  Building Blocks 4

  Okay. Building block time. Here they are:

  As before, let’s use the building blocks below to make as many sentences as we can. Make sure to use every word at least once and, preferably, several times!

  Checklist 4

  Well, off you go then!

  ich kann (ikh kan)

  I can

  nicht (nikht)

  not

  beginnen (baig-in-urn)

  begin / to begin

  Ich kann nicht beginnen. (ikh kan nikht baig-in-urn)

  I cannot begin.

  parken (park-urn)

  park / to park

  bringen (bring-urn)

  bring / to bring

  campen (camp-urn)

  camp / to camp

  sie kann (zee kan)

  she can

  kommen (kom-urn)

  come / to come

  Sie kann kommen. (zee kan kom-urn)

  She can come.

  Sie kann nicht kommen. (zee kan nikht kom-urn)

  She cannot come.

  aber (ah-ber)

  but

  Sie kann campen aber ich kann nicht kommen. (zee kan camp-urn ah-ber ikh kan nikht kom-urn)

  She can camp but I can’t come.

  heute (hoy-ter)

  today

  Sie kann heute kommen. (zee kan hoy-ter kom-urn)

  She can come today.

  hier (hear)

  here

  Ich kann hier campen. (ikh kan hear camp-urn)

  I can camp here.

  du kannst (doo kanst)

  you can

  Du kannst hier parken. (doo kanst hear park-urn)

  You can park here.

  Kannst du? (kanst doo)

  Can you?

  heute Nacht (hoy-ter nahkht)

  tonight

  vorbeikommen (for-by-kom-urn)

  come over / to come over / to come by

  Kannst du heute Nacht vorbeikommen? (kanst doo hoy-ter nahkht for-by-kom-urn)

  Can you come over tonight?

  Kann ich? (kan ikh)

  Can I?

  heute Morgen (hoy-ter mor-gurn)

  this morning

  Kann ich heute Morgen vorbeikommen? (kan ikh hoy-ter mor-gurn for-by-kom-urn)

  Can I come over this morning?

  Können wir? (kurn-urn veer)

  Can we?

  heute Nachmittag (hoy-ter nahkh-mit-arg)

  this afternoon

  gehen (gay-urn)

  go / to go

  Können wir heute Nachmittag gehen? (kurn-urn veer hoy-ter nahkh-mit-arg gay-urn)

  Can we go this afternoon?

  arbeiten (ar-bite-urn)

  work / to work

  Können wir heute Nachmittag arbeiten? (kurn-urn veer hoy-ter nahkh-mit-arg ar-bite-urn)

  Can we work this afternoon?

  trinken (trink-urn)

  drink / to drink

  tanzen (tants-urn)

  dance / to dance

/>   ich möchte (ikh murkh-ter)

  I would like

  sie möchte (zee murkh-ter)

  she would like

  es (es)

  it

  tun (toon)

  do / to do

  jetzt (yetst)

  now

  ich bin (ikh bin)

  I am

  betrunken (be-troon-kurn)

  drunk

  sehr (zair)

  very

  romantisch (roe-marn-tish)

  romantic

  beschäftigt (be-shef-tigt)

  busy

  weil (vile)

  because

  Kann ich hier trinken? (kan ikh hear trink-urn)

  Can I drink here?

  Ich möchte hier tanzen. (ikh murkh-ter hear tants-urn)

  I would like to dance here.

  Ich möchte es nicht. (ikh murkh-ter es nikht)

  I wouldn’t like it.

  Ich möchte es nicht bringen. (ikh murkh-ter es nikht bring-urn)

  I wouldn’t like to bring it.

  Ich möchte es nicht heute tun. (ikh murkh-ter es nikht hoy-ter toon)

  I wouldn’t like to do it today.

  Sie möchte es nicht jetzt bringen. (zee murkh-ter es nikht yetst bring-urn)

  She wouldn’t like to bring it now.

  Ich bin sehr betrunken. (ikh bin zair be-troon-kurn)

  I am very drunk.

  Ich bin nicht sehr romantisch. (ikh bin nikht zair roe-marn-tish)

  I am not very romantic.

  Ich bin sehr beschäftigt. (ikh bin zair be-shef-tigt)

  I am very busy.

  weil ich sehr beschäftigt bin (vile ikh zair be-shef-tigt bin)