Learn German with Stress Free German

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #19 of Stress Free German. We start today with a neuter image which has four new elements. So imagine a loaf of bread on a cutting board. The board is on a shelf, and behind it are some books and a large, shiny carving knife. So the shelf is our neuter anchor. And again, our four new concrete nouns are…

bread, knife, board, book

Brot, Messer, Brett, Buch

The first and last are fairly easy. Brot is bread and Buch is book.

Let’s try a phrase with each. You’re not sure if the bread near you on the table is yours.

Ask: Is this my bread?

Ist das mein Brot?

Where is my book?

Wo ist mein Buch?

Those words fit nicely with our philosophy of being flexible: From bread to Brot. From book to Buch. Unfortunately the German words for knife and board aren’t so obvious:

Messer, Brett

That is a small knife.

Das ist ein kleines Messer.

Admiring the smooth, hardwood cutting board, you say:

This is a good board.

Das ist ein gutes Brett.

Let’s try one more round. In the bakery say:

I would have with pleasure one bread.

Ich hätte gerne ein Brot.

to a friend: Your book is on the shelf.

Dein Buch ist auf dem Regal.

Looking to do some cooking in your friend’s kitchen, ask:

Do you have a board?

Hast du ein Brett?

Alright! Armed with some new words, we’re ready to head outside. So Lisa stands up and opens the door…

Gehen wir jetzt in die Bäckerei?

Warum nicht?

In the bakery, after the greetings and the How can I help you exchange, Lisa points to a dark, dense-looking loaf of bread. Then holds up one finger…

Einmal Vollkornbrot, bitte.

Well, she ordered some kind of bread, I caught that. When you think about it, it makes sense that we’d encounter variations on that word. I mean, there are all sorts of breads in the world. Dark bread, white bread, rye bread, and so on.

Maybe you heard the relation between full and voll. Full grain….Vollkorn.

So she asked for a full-grain or “whole wheat” bread. Vollkornbrot

Einmal Vollkornbrot, bitte.

And then Thomas orders by pointing to a loaf of whitebread and holding up one finger.

Einmal Weißbrot.

Is he saying “white”? Weiß

Whitebread…. Weißbrot

Okay. I get that now. But what’s up with that word einmal? We’ll ponder in a moment….

(MUSIC)

So einmal is obviously functioning here as “one.” Right? One bread, please. But more literally, what you’re really saying is “one time,” “one instance” or even just “once” of bread. And if we want two loaves?

Zweimal Vollkornbrot, bitte.

Two whitebreads, please.

Zweimal Weißbrot, bitte.

Imagine we’re in a bakery in Salzburg, where they sell bread and Mozartkugels.

Listen to Lisa’s order:

Einmal Sonnenblumenkernbrot, bitte. Und zwei Mozartkugeln.

Hmm….Be flexible, right? So the German word Sonnen sounds like sun. Blume…well that’s flower. So Sonnenblume is sunflower? And kern…sounds like kernel, which is a seed. So, ah!

Sunflower seed bread!

Sonnenblumenkernbrot

I am totally ordering that the next time I’m in a bakery.

(swell)

Try to say: The bread is on the table.

Das Brot ist auf dem Tisch.

Your book is on the floor.

Dein Buch ist auf dem Boden.

I love this cutting board.

Ich liebe dieses Brett.

I love this knife.

Ich liebe dieses Messer.

Back in the bakery, try to say the following:

I would have with pleasure two loaves of white bread.

Ich hätte gerne zweimal Weißbrot.

Any guess on how to say “three” of something? Count with us to three… eins zwei drei

Dreimal

Listen as Tanya orders for five people:

Zweimal Orangensaft bitte, und dreimal Tee.

You try it: We want to order: Two OJs and three teas. Literally we’ll say…

Twice orangejuice please, and three-times tea.

Zweimal Orangensaft bitte, und dreimal Tee.

Last one before we switch to a new topic. So, do you think you can say:

I would have with pleasure one Sunflower seed bread.

Ich hätte gerne einmal Sonnenblumenkernbrot.

Awesome!

(MUSIC)

So, a new verb today and it’s our first look at something called a separable verb. Fow now, imagine you’re with a friend in a grocery store. Her cellphone rings, and she tells the caller…

Ich kaufe im Supermarkt ein.

The verb she used is actually einkaufen. But when Germans conjugate it, the front part separates and gets added to the end of the sentence. You try it:

I’m shopping in the supermarket.

Ich kaufe im Supermarkt ein.

English kind of does this, with something called phrasal verbs. Think of the phrase: I cleaned the whole room up. The verb is “to clean up”, but we often separate “clean” from “up.” Or:I paid all my friends back. The verb is “to pay back”, but we separate “pay” from “back.” So, English sometimes does this. But German does it more often, and more strictly.

Ask your friend: Are you shopping in the supermarket?

Kaufst du im Supermarkt ein?

We are shopping in the supermarket.

Wir kaufen im Supermarkt ein.

The only time that “ein” part does not get separated is when you use what we call the infinitive.

So, as Thomas heads out the door, he announces to his roommates:

I’m going shopping.

Ich gehe einkaufen.

But again, once Thomas is there in the store, he now tells people:

I am shopping.

Ich kaufe ein.

TIP OF THE DAY

We’re almost at the end of Volume 1 of this course. And while we’re going to take a moment to reflect on what you’ve accomplished, the tip will lie in how you should navigate the road ahead. The goal in these first twenty lessons has been to give an overview of how German works. To know that nouns have gender, and they have supporting words…and these supporting words can be affected when we do something to the noun. We also looked at some fundamental verbs–needing, wanting, searching for, and so on–and covered nearly all the “persons.”Ineed,youwant,she’ssearching for, etc.

Looking ahead, one of the things you should start working on is learning to tell your story. I mean, what else do we really talk about, right? So where are you from? What do you do? What are your plans? People tend to ask a specific set of questions. So, we might as well start practicing our responses. In Volume II of this course, learning to tell your story is our main goal. Before we get there, though, we need to get back to today’s main topic….

(MUSIC)

Say: I’m shopping in the supermarket.

Ich kaufe im Supermarkt ein.

How about: Mom is shopping in the market.

Mama kauft im Supermarkt ein.

Again, the verb itself is einkaufen, but when they conjugate the verb, the first bit, that “ein” goes at the very end of the sentence. The next time you watch a C/I video, keep an ear out for sentences ending with auf, or ein, or aus. It’s probably the prefix of a separable verb.

Let’s look at another useful one.

Ich nehme meinen Pass mit.

The verb she used is mitnehmen. But when Germans conjugate it, thefrontpart separates and gets added to the end. You try it:

I’m taking a key with. (implying with me)

Ich nehme einen Schlüssel mit.

And yes, the verb is obviously related to the one we learned back in Lesson 12. So we can also say:

I’m taking the key.

Ich nehme den Schlüssel.

They’re similar, but the implications are different. By using “mitnehmen”, you’re implying that you will have a key with you. In the other one, it simply means you are taking it. Maybe someone left the key for you on the table. Maybe you just put the key in your pocket and that’s it.

I’m taking his book with…implying taking it with me.

Ich nehme sein Buch mit.

Listen to the word order on this next one:

Are we taking a bag with?

Nehmen wir eine Tasche mit?

Are we taking his watch with?

Nehmen wir seine Uhr mit?

Ask a friend: Are you taking the knife?

Nimmst du das Messer mit?

(swell)

And for our last new concept, let’s add a new possessive adjective.

unser

Imagine you’re at a pizzeria. You and a friend ordered a peperoni pizza and later go wash up. You come back to the table and see that everyone else has their pizza. But your spot on the table is empty. So you ask…

Wo istunserePizza?

If you were instead expecting a basket of bread, you’d ask…

Wo istunserBrot?

Or if you were expecting a basket..umm..of cheese?

Wo istunserKäse?

Can you say those?

Where is our pizza?

Wo istunserePizza?

Where is our bread?

Wo istunserBrot?

Where is our cheese?

Wo istunserKäse?

How about: Our wardrobe is very old.

Unser Schrank ist sehr alt.

Our bathroom is very beautiful.

Unser Badezimmer ist sehr schön.

Our lamp is broken.

Unsere Lampe ist kaputt.

I was watching the Simspons in German once, and there was a scene where Homer hugged their refrigerator and said: I love our fridge.

Ich liebe unseren Kühlschrank.

Did you remember to add an “en” sound to the end of unser….unseren…Because, of course, the supporting words change when we do something to a masculine noun.

I was going on a picnic with some relatives in Vienna. Before heading out, my cousin picked up their new puppy and told everyone:

I’m taking our new little friend here with.

Ich nehme unseren kleinen Freund hier mit.

(MUSIC)

End with some review? Try to say..

We’re looking for a pastry shop.

Wir suchen eine Konditorei.

I love chocolate.

Ich liebe Schokolade!

Tell the waitress: I would have with pleasure a coffee.
Ich hätte gerne Kaffee.

…but then your friend walks in, so you change your order:

Two instances, please.

Zweimal, bitte.

I’m taking his bread.

Ich nehme sein Brot.

Compare that with: I’m taking his bread with (me).

Ich nehme sein Brot mit.

The check, please!

Die rechnung, bitte.

Those “ung” nouns. Always feminine, right? Say…

We’re looking for a new apartment.

Wir suchen eine neue Wohnung.

I am shopping.

Ich kaufe ein.

He has our cutting board.

Er hat unser Brett.

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #18 of Stress Free German. Do you recall the image from the last lesson? Where they bake bread and cakes? Right….

Die Bäckerei.

Let’s envision a similar, and equally popular kind of shop. It’s called a Konditorei. Your nose draws you inside…the smell of dark chocolate and sweet pastries. The bell jingles as you walk in, and your eyes are drawn to the display case full of chocolates, pralines, and especially…Mozartkuglen.

What would you call such a shop in English? Maybe a Chocolate Shop? A Pastry Shop? Or to use the related word: A confectionery. Call it what you want in English, but in German it’s a Konditorei.

A place where you can buy Schokolade, or a Praline, or my favorite, a Mozartkugel.

Let’s try those again. The place is called a… Konditorei. And inside you can buy

eine Schokolade oder eine Praline, oder eine Mozartkugel.

Can you guess the gender of eveything in today’s picture? Right. Feminine. So as you gesture to the many shops surrounding the old town square, ask your tour guide:

Is there a pastry shop here?

Gibt es hier eine Konditorei?

A customer tells you: The chocolate is very tasty.

Die Schokolade ist sehr lecker.

to a friend: Your praline is on the table. “standing” on the table

Deine Praline steht auf dem Tisch.

Where is my Mozartkugel?

Wo ist meine Mozartkugel?

If you’ve never had one, a Mozartkugel is a small, round chocolate made of pistachio and marzipan. They’re a specialty of Salzburg, Mozart’s hometown. Anyway, of course, when we do something to feminine nouns, their supporting words?….right…they do not change. So try to say:

I’m looking for a pastry shop.

Ich suche eine Konditorei.

I’m taking his praline.

Ich nehme seine Praline.

I want your Mozartkugel.

Ich will deine Mozartkugel.

I love my chocolate.

Ich liebe meine Schokolade!

(swell)

So, if you’ve done any research into how to determine the gender of nouns, I’m sure you found articles telling you to pay attention to noun endings. Like, certain noun endings tend to indicate certain genders. And they’re right. The problem is, their approach is all backward: They’re asking you to memorize word lists and genders before you know any of the words. Not good. That’s why we waited all the way until Lesson 18. Because now that you know the words and their gender, we can point out their endings. Like today’s new word. What’s a pastry shop called again?

Konditorei And a bakery? Bäckerei And they’re both feminine. So, any guess on the gender of this word? Metzgerei You got it. Feminine.

Try to make the connection to “meats”….a meats-gerei. Metzgerei…is a butcher shop.

So ask: Is there a butcher shop here?

Gibt es hier eine Metzgerei?

Did you say “eine”? Excellent. Then ask:

Where is the butcher shop?

Wo ist die Metzgerei?

And how about this place? Listen: Schuhmacherei

Schuh…is shoe….macher….is maker….rei…makes it a place or a shop.

Schuhmacherei

Ask: Where is the shoe-maker’s-shop?

Wo ist die Schuhmacherei?

I bet you instinctively used die because you felt it was following the pattern of those other “rei” locations. And that’s the point: If you know the gender of certain words, then very often other words with the same ending will be of the same gender.

(MUSIC)

Do you recall the picture of the bench in front of the church? Do you recall what was on the bench?

Try to see the picture and those items. Eine Tasche und eine Zeitung

It’s that second one, Die Zeitung I want to look at. Because there are literally thousands of nouns in German that end with “u-n-g” and virtually all of them are feminine. Here’s one of the most useful.

(SFX – Cafe) Imagine you’re finishing your meal in a cafe. You get the waiter’s attention, and ask him for…

Die Rechnung, bitte.

Why did she say Die? Because like nearly all “ung” nouns, Zeitung is feminine. And can you hear the similarity between Rechnung and the English verb “to reckon?” Listen again:

the reckoning

Die Rechnung

“Oh, miss, may I have the reckoning, please?”

or in normal English: The check, please!

Die rechnung, bitte.

Another example of a “u-n-g” noun, perhaps the most common, is this: Wohnung.

I met a friend the other day in a cafe. She and her roommate were online, looking at apartments for rent. Off my curious glance she explained:

Wir suchen eine neue Wohnung.

A month later, there I was at their move-in party. Their new pad was a two-bedroom penthouse with hardwood floors, leather furniture, nice art on the walls. I told them…

What a beautiful apartment!

Was für eine schöne Wohnung!

Try to say: I’m searching for a new apartment.

Ich suche eine neue Wohnung.

The takeaway here isn’t so much these new words, but rather the idea that, as we progress through the course, I’ll be pointing out particularly useful endings which will then help you absorb the gender of many, many more nouns.

(MUSIC)

Now a little review of recent vocab.

It’s cold in the pastry shop.

Es ist kalt in der Konditorei.

It is warm in the apartment.

Es ist warm in der Wohnung.

Your friends are playing a new game. (video game SFX)

If you ask how they like it, what might they say?

Es macht Spaß!

Let’s say your shoes have worn thin from all the walking you’ve been doing lately. Ask your neighbor: Is there a shoemaker around here?

Gibt es hier eine Schuhmakerei?

Tell your friend: I’m making for you a big cake.

Ich mache dir eine große Torte.

Your elderly neighbor has come over to introduce himself. Tell him…

I’m making for you an orange juice.

Ich mache Ihnen einen Orangensaft.

TIP OF THE DAY

Today’s tip? Sometimes we need to train our ear. So let’s do some more minimal pairs. The second one in each pair will have an umlaut vowel. Listen closely and repeat…

Herren …hören

Ohr…Öl

Morgen mögen

Losung…Lösung

Boro….Büro

Kuchen….Küche

Mutter….müde

Groner….grüner

Last one…listen close:

hatte…. hätte

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #17 of Stress Free German. Today’s image has three new elements. So, we are inside a bakery. Shelves lined with loaves of bread and rolls. There’s a big cake on the counter. And an elderly woman wearing glasses at the cash register. Both the woman and the glasses remind us that the following are feminine nouns: The bakery, the cake, and the cash register.

Bäckerei, Torte, Kasse

Bäckerei, is obviously the bakery. The thing to note is that the second letter is an “a” with two dots over it. What they call an umlaut. Let’s do a quick “minimal pair” for this.

Imagine the letters B-A-C-K, no dots over the A

Back

And now with the dots: Bäck

Again, Back Bäck

Baaaaack…Bääääck

And one more time: Bakery?

Bäckerei

Next we heard: Torte In English we say torte, and in German? Torte. The distinguishing feature of a torte, in either language, is it has layers. So although you do bake it, some of the layers are added after baking, like the jam and such. Torte

Mmm! Sehr lecker!

And finally we heard Kasse. You can hear the relation to the English word cashier. It’s the place where you pay.

So let’s try those words in some realistic phrases. Stop someone on the street and say…

I’m looking for a bakery.

Ich suche eine Bäckerei.

You chose a birthday cake and are not sure where to pay.

Ask: Where is the checkout?

Wo ist die Kasse?

Having bought the cake and brought it home, you wonder now where it is.

Your sister says: The cake is on the table. literally is standing on the table…

Die Torte steht auf dem Tisch.

My Grandma works in a bakery.

Meine Oma arbeitet in einer Bäckerei.

Wait..where’d that birthday cake go? Ask:

Where is my cake?

Wo ist meine Torte?

Your cake stands in the refrigerator.

Deine Torte steht im Kühlschrank.

We’re looking for the checkout.

Wir suchen die Kasse.

(swell)

Sorry, one second…It’s warm in here. It seems like a good idea to open the window, but I can’t because it’s raining. Why do we say It? It’s warm. It’s raining. It’s wierd! Well, It is basically a placeholder for the subject that comes later. And these dummy pronouns, as they’re called, are just as common in German. Listen…

Es ist warm.

Nein. Es ist kalt.

Say: It is warm in the cafe.

Es ist warm im Café. in dem….im

It is cold in the restaurant.

Es ist kalt im Restaurant. in dem…im

(SFX – rain) Es regnet.

Say that again: Es regnet.

Always try to be flexible. In English we say “raining” and in German: regnet.

If you think back to lesson 11, we already encountered this dummy pronoun. Right? After greeting your boss, we ask: How goes it for you?

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Let’s look at it in another common phrase. So, imagine that you and your friends go running outside to splash around in the rain. A kid might say:

Es macht Spaß!

Literally: It makes fun! Say that again? Es macht Spaß!

These dummy pronouns, though, are just a lead in to our main topic. So, imagine we’re back in that bakery, and it’s one of those huge ones you find, like in Vienna. So you found a cake, but you’re not sure where to pay. You’re looking around…it doesn’t seem like there’s a cashier anywhere in the place. So you ask…

Gibt es hier eine Kasse?

Literally: It gives here a cashier?

I know. Kind of a weird way to phrase it, but it’s correct. Let’s try it again. Maybe you’re walking around some large open square, in the old town of a city. Ask…

Is there a restaurant here?

Gibt es hier ein Restaurant?

You pop inside a hotel and ask the desk clerk…

Is there a cafe here?

Gibt es hier ein Café?

Maybe you’re considering an apartment to rent. Ask the landlady..

Is there a table here?

Gibt es hier einen Tisch?

Giving a table counts as doing something to it, so the supporting words change. Ein becomes einen.

Pop into an establishment and ask the worker: Excuse me…Is there a restroom here?

Entschuldigung…Gibt es hier eine Toilette?

I know. I was sneaking in a new word there, but I figure you’ve probably encountered Toilette in your other studies. Try that same phrase again?

Entschuldigung…Gibt es hier eine Toilette?

Are you enjoying the lesson? Then say:

This is fun!

Es macht Spaß!

(MUSIC)

So we were working with the “it” form of “to give.” So let’s expand and try some other conjugations. Tell your dear friend: I’m giving you a gift.

Ich gebe dir ein Geschenk.

I’m giving you my old watch.

Ich gebe dir meine alte Uhr.

How would that go if we were giving the watch to our boss? What one word would have to change?

If that is stumping you, just think back to our basic greetings. Ask your friend: How goes it for you?

Wie geht’s dir? Then ask your boss: Wie geht es Ihnen?

So, I’m giving you my old watch, sir.

Ich gebe Ihnen meine alte Uhr.

How about the “we” form? Try to say…

Sir, we are giving you the key.

Wir geben Ihnen den Schlüssel…. den Schlüssel

Did you remember to change der to den ? Masculine…(Fist/Palm)…supporting words change.

Excellent. Then try to ask your friend:

Are you giving me the key? (Hit pause and see if you can work it out.)

Gibst du mir den Schlüssel?

How would you translate this phrase. Listen…

Gibst du mir deine Handynummer?

Are you giving me your cell number? You could also interpret that as, “Will you give me…”

Try that with “address”

Gibst du mir deine Adresse?

We’re hearing the supporting word deine…feminine. dein-ne

Let’s try it with a neuter object. How about: Are you giving me your bike?

Gibst du mir dein Fahrrad?

How would you translate this phrase?

Gibst du mir dein Wort?

Are you giving me your word? Cool phrase!

Maybe your boss wants you to write a quick email to someone on her behalf. You gesture to her laptop and gently suggest: Are you giving me your computer?

Geben Sie mir Ihren Computer?

Next, let’s review today’s new feminine nouns. Can you see the image first?

This is a big bakery.

Das ist eine große Bäckerei.

Is there a cashier here?

Gibt es hier eine Kasse?

I love my cake!

Ich liebe meine Torte!

How about: It is cold in the house.

Es ist kalt im Haus.

But listen to our native speaker say: It is warm in Berlin.

Es ist warm in Berlin. …in…

Did she say just “in”? Indeed she did. So what’s going on? Why didn’t she say “in dem” or “im”? Because Berlin and Munich…these are proper nouns. They’re basically names. So need no for an article. We do the same thing in English. We say, I’m in the gym. THE. But I’m in New York.

No “the.”

So try to say: It is cold in Munich.

Es ist kalt in München. …in…

Excellent. This is fun!

Es macht Spaß!

(thunder) Oh no…It’s raining!

Es regnet.

(MUSIC)

So, for our last topic of this lesson, we’re going to revisit that verb from last time: to do or to make.

Remember how to say: I’m doing a German course.

Ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

We then used the verb to talk about things we were making. So let’s try similar phrases, but this time add a recipient. For example, I enter the kitchen and my Austrian Aunt tells me:

Ich mache dir einen Tee mit Milch.

Not a fan of tea, I frown. Nein, danke.

Okay, dann … mache ich dir Kaffee.

Could you follow that? She was saying: I’m making you a tea with milk. But when I frowned, she said: Okay, then I’m making you coffee. Literally: making for you…ich mache dir

Tell your friend: I’m making for you a torte..

Ich mache dir eine Torte.

Your elderly neighbor has come over to introduce herself. Tell her…

I’m making for you lemonade.

Ich mache Ihnen eine Limonade.

Your mom is making you a salad. When Dad calls asking if he should buy lunch, tell him, No…

Mama macht mir einen Salat.

Tell your roommate that you’re going to the bakery…

Ich gehe in die Bäckerei.

Sidenote: There is another very common way to say that phrase, using ZU. We will work with it soon. …oder zur Bäckerei

He says: I’m making you a list.

Ich mache dir eine Liste.

He’s making you an orange juice.

Er macht dir einen Orangensaft.

(swell)

Great. Let’s end with some review of recent material. So…

Ask a friend: Are you giving me your key?

Gibst du mir deinen Schlüssel?

Are you giving me, or Will you give me your cell number?

Gibst du mir deine Handynummer?

Are you giving me a bike?

Gibst du mir ein Fahrrad?

Your son is looking for his towel. Tell him…

Your towel is in the bathroom.

Dein Handtuch ist im Badezimmer.

So he goes in there to look for it. He reaches for the light switch…(SFX click click)

How does he say: Mama, the lamp in the bathroom is broken!

Mama, die Lampe im Badezimmer ist kaputt!

Tell the salesperson…My friend needs a new wash-basin.

Mein Freund braucht ein neues Waschbecken.

His brother works in a pub.

Sein Bruder arbeitet in einer Kneipe.

In someone’s home, and needing to wash your hands. What might you ask?

Wo ist das Badezimmer?

In their bathroom they have a beautiful picture of the snowcapped Alps. What might you say?

Was für ein schönes Bild!

Two kids are comparing what they have in their rooms. One says…

I have a mirror.

Ich habe einen Spiegel.

Me, too.

Ich auch.

I have a beautiful rug.

Ich habe einen schönen Teppich.

Me, too.

Ich auch.

Cool, isn’t it?

Cool, oder?

Alright. See you next lesson.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Hold on, guys…I’m not quite ready. I’m cleaning this bathroom window. And now I need to wash my hands. As you can hear, right now I’m in the Badezimmer, standing over the Waschbecken. Alright, now I just need a Handtuch to dry my hands. Hmm…this Bild on the wall is a little crooked. (scrape) There we go. Okay, now I’m ready…

(INTRO)

Welcome to Lesson #16 of Stress Free German. Let me describe again today’s image. These are all neuter, which is why I mentioned the window. That’s our anchor. So, as we heard, I was in the bathroom. Literally the room where the bath is. I washed my hands at the sink. I dried them with a towel. And I adjusted a crooked picture on the wall. So those four neuter elements are: Bathroom, the sink, the towel, and the picture. Let’s look first at…

Badezimmer und Waschbecken

Those two words are what we call compounds…basically two words jammed together. Like “toothbrush” in English. So Bade…zimmer is bath-room. And Wasch…becken is a wash-basin.

On its own, Zimmer refers to any kind of room. And Becken refers to any kind of basin.

Ask: Is this my room?

Ist das mein Zimmer?

Where is the bathroom? think of it as the room where you bathe and clean

Wo ist das Badezimmer?

In Europe, many homes have separate rooms for this. That is, one room has just the toilet and perhaps a tiny sink. And then there’s the room where the bathtub and shower are. It’s where you’d brush your teeth, as well. The Badezimmer.

Imagine you’re seeing one of these tiny sinks for the first time. Let’s comment:

What a small washbasin!

Was für ein kleines Waschbecken!

Let’s visualize our bathroom image again. Can you see the other two elements? I washed my hands, and…then what? Right. I used a towel, and I adjusted a picture.

Handtuch, Bild

Handtuch is another compound word. Basically hand-towel. So you could have a bath-towel… Badetuch and so on.

Ask the restroom attendent: Do you have a towel?

Haben Sie ein Handtuch?

And our last word was: Bild . A picture.

Say: What a beautiful picture!

Was für ein schönes Bild!

Do you remember how to say: I’m in the restaurant.

Ich bin im Restaurant. im…which is short for in dem

So try to say:

I’m in the bathroom.

Ich bin im Badezimmer.

So if you knew that this word…Gästezimmer…refers to the guest room, then you could say:

We are in the guest room.

Wir sind im Gästezimmer.

Important side note here: The gender of a compound word is derived from the final element. So since Badezimmer is neuter, the word Zimmer itself must also be neuter.

(MUSIC)

Some review now. So, imagine you have a guest staying over, and he’s looking for the towel you gave him. Say…

Your towel is in the wardrobe.

Dein Handtuch ist im Schrank.

But now imagine the towel as sitting on top of the wardrobe. What would you say?

Dein Handtuch ist auf dem Schrank.

Imagine Oskar’s father enters the bathroom. He sees something and calls out to the boy…

Oskar, warum liegt dein Handtuch auf dem Boden?

What was he asking? Oskar, why is your hand-towel lying on the floor?

In this next one, take your time and be careful with the supporting words. Tell the store clerk:

I’m looking for a large mirror and a large picture.

Ich suche einen großen Spiegel und ein großes Bild.

If that was tricky, you can have another shot at the idea with this next phrase:

We are looking for a small rug and a small wash-basin.

Wir suchen einen kleinen Teppich und ein kleines Waschbecken.

Do you see how we’re mixing our new vocabulary with older, most established words and constructions? This is another key technique. Technically it’s known as Novel Usage…that is, every time you’re being prompted to recall something, it’s in some new way. It’s not a rote phrase. You have to build it. That’s a very important technique.

Anyway, my son is looking for his water bottle. I tell him…

Your bottle is in the bathroom.

Deine Flasche ist im Badezimmer.

So he goes in there to look for it. He reaches for the light switch…(SFX click click)

He calls out: Papa, die Lampe im Badezimmer ist kaputt!

We say kaputt in English, too. A lot of people don’t even realize that we simply borrowed it straight from German. Try that again. The lamp in the guestroom is kaputt…or broken.

Die Lampe im Gästezimmer ist kaputt.

Fumbling in the dark guestroom, your friend spills his drink. He doesn’t want to waste a bunch of paper towels, so he asks: Do you have an old hand-towel?

Hast du ein altes Handtuch?

Tell the salesperson…We need a new wash-basin.

Wir brauchen ein neues Waschbecken.

One more, and then a quick break. Try: My brother works in this pub.

Mein Bruder arbeitet in dieser Kneipe.

You hanging in there? Good!

TIP OF THE DAY

Obviously this course takes a very visual approach to learning. There’s no way around that. But sounds and sound effects can also be very helpful…which is something we tried to incorporate today. We heard light switches flicking, and water running. Or take for example the word: Zug.

Hopefully the image of a train comes to mind, but you can fill things out even more by imagining the sounds of a train. (SFX)

We call these “soundscapes.” For example, where are we now? (beach SFX)

Wir sind am Strand.

And now? (Street SFX)

Ich stehe auf der Straße.

Now? (Train station SFX)

Ich bin im Bahnhof.

We always want to visualize things, and see the scenario we’re describing. But when it’s helpful, try imagining the sound of the place or the thing as well. So as we transition back to the lesson, let’s try that. Let’s prompt using sound effects.

brushingteeth and sink SFX..Which room am I in?

Du bist im Badezimmer.

What’s this little area right in front of me. (water on and off) Washbecken

I’m drying my hands with this…Handtuch

On the wall is hanging a beautiful….bild

Okay, so not everything has a sound effect.

(MUSIC)

So, today we’re going to try and pick up a new verb from a typical conversation. The set up is that Maria and Tony met the other day at a party, and bump into each other now in the lobby of a language school.

For now just listen, and keep your ear out forIch mache…

Hallo, Maria, wie geht’s?

Hey, Tony! Danke, gut. Und dir?

Auch gut. Maria, kommst du aus Amerika?

Ich? Nein. Ich komme aus Kanada. Und du?

Ich komme aus Italien.

Du lernst Deutsch, oder?

Ja, ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

Ich mache auch einen Deutschkurs.

So in this context, ich mache translates as I am doing. So He said: I am doing a German course.

Ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

I say “in this context” because in other situations the verb functions more like “to make.”

Like, I’m making pizza. For now, though, let’s stick with “to do” or “be doing”. For example:

What are you doing here?

Was machst du hier?

Tell him: I’m taking a German course.

Ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

And what do we know about the word for “course”? It must be…masculine, because “taking” a course counts as doing something to it, and the supporting word has an “en” ending. Right?

She said…einen

There were two other new-ish words in that conversation. Maybe you caught them? Maria asks Tony…Du lernst Deutsch, oder?

You’re learning German, aren’t you?

So that’s how “oder” is functioning in this context. Basically, it’s seeking confirmation.

A kid shows you his new robot. He might ask…

Cool, isn’t it?

Cool, oder?

Then she adds…

Ich mache auch einen Deutschkurs.

auch usually translates as “also”, but as always, it depends on context. Imagine two kids with messy hands. One says…

I need the sink.

Ich brauche das Washbecken.

The other kid just says: Ich auch.

So here we’d translate that as “Me, too.” Or if you prefer more literal: I also…implying, I also need the sink.

Next, imagine that you’re marveling at a painting in a museum. Your friend wanders over, also taking it in. Seeking confirmation, you say: A beautiful picture, isn’t it?

Ein schönes Bild, oder?

She nods, then leads you over to the next masterpiece…

Ja. Und das ist auch ein schönes Bild.

Do you remember how to say: I’m going to Stuttgart.

Ich gehe nach Stuttgart.

Tell her: Me, too.

Ich auch.

Doing great, guys! And now…Hier machen wir eine Pause

(MUSIC)

So my son was playing in the kitchen the other day. Into a glass he poured some yoghurt, then some orange juice, then he added some mustard, and then ground pepper…then offered his concoction to his sister when she came in. Ewww! she said, wrinkling her nose. Ekelhaft!

Once, we were at my Uncle’s farm in the Austrian alps. My son was feeding a young cow some grass and the cow slobbered all over his hand. Strings of slime dripping from his hand as he pulled away. Eww, I said, wrinkling my face. Ekelhaft!

How would you translate that into English? I guess Gross…or Disgusting. I mean, it sounds like Icky!, doesn’t it? I say I guess because it’s not a concrete idea. Words like this are fun, and if you don’t sprinkle them into a course now and then, learning a language can become a bit stale. Anyway, let’s get back to our new verb for today.

Say: We are doing a German course.

Wir machen einen Deutschkurs.

But remember, it’s also used to indicate the act of creating or producing something. For example:

We are making a gift.

Wir machen ein Geschenk.

He is making a hamburger.

Er macht einen Hamburger.

She is making a salad.

Sie macht einen Salat.

For bonus points, what’s the gender of Salat?

Yes, masculine! And hamburger, too, if you caught it.

I’m making a pizza.

Ich mache eine Pizza.

Same question. What gender? Right. Feminine.

Just to keep our grammar sharp, let’s add an adjective in there.

He is making a small salad.

Er macht einen kleinen Salat.

She is making a big pizza.
Sie macht eine große Pizza.

Imagine you come back from vacation to discover that the fridge is broken. Say..

The refrigerator is broken.

Der Kühlschrank ist kaputt.

And when you open it, you see the milk has curdled into thick yellowish lumps. You pour it out…wrinkle your nose and say…? Ekelhaft!

Fun to say, isn’t it?

How about this: The garbage bin is disgusting!

Die Mülltonne ist ekelhaft.

Again, notice how this is a new phrase for us. It’s a novel usage. And we’re mixing new with words were more solid on.

Your boss asked you to purchase a picture for him. He swings by to pick it up. First greet him:

Good evening, Mr. Schania.

Guten Abend, Herr Schania.

Then tell him: Your new picture is on the balcony….literally standing on the balcony

Ihr neues Bild steht auf dem Balkon.

Great job, guys. See you in the next lesson.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #15 of Stress Free German. Let’s start with a quick review of the locational forms we worked with in the previous lesson. So, first say…

We have a balcony.

Wir haben einen Balkon.

We’re on the balcony.
Wir sind auf dem Balkon.

This is a big shelf.

Das ist ein großes Regal.

The present is on the shelf.
Das Geschenk ist auf dem Regal.

Ask your boss: Do you have the newspaper?
Haben Sie die Zeitung?

You glasses, sir, are on the newspaper.

Ihre Brille ist auf der Zeitung.

Ok. That’s all we need for review. Now let’s look at our new image for today. So, inside some place we see the following masculine nouns: A wardrobe, which is a free-standing cabinet for one’s clothes. On the wall to the left is a mirror. Between the wardrobe and the mirror is a chair which reminds us these elements are all masculine. And the floor here is interesting. It’s made of long thin planks of wood. And finally, on the floor is a beautiful rug. So the four elements here are wardrobe, mirror, rug, floor. Here are the first two…

Schrank und Spiegel

Now, we already know the word Kühlschrank…literally, a cool closet. So Schrank itself shouldn’t be too hard. How about this word: Spiegel

To me, there’s a kind of distant relation to the English word spectacles. In English, spectacles are pieces of glass you look through to see something. In German, Der Spiegel is also a piece of glass you look at to see yourself.

In a furniture store, tell the salesperson: We are looking for a wardrobe.

Wir suchen einen Schrank.

Ask: Where is the mirror?

Wo ist der Spiegel?

And the other two masculine elements in our image were rug and floor.

Teppich, Boden

Again, it helps to look at the origin of words. Clearly, Teppich is related to the word tapestry, which is a heavy cloth that has designs woven into it. One more time: A rug is a tapestry. And a tapestry gives us…. Teppich

Finally we heard Boden. And once again, it helps to be flexible, and look at the word’s origin. Boden is related to the English word bottom…the lower part of something….which is what a floor is, right? Though we need to be aware that Boden just as often refers to the ground itself, rather than the floor of a room.

Boden

In a moment I’ll prompt you to recall the words mirror, rug and floor. But we’re going to do it in steps, and we’re going to of course see each object in our mind as we say it. So…

Mirror….is related to spectacles…Spiegel

Next: Rug is related to…tapestry….Teppich

Floor is related to….bottom….Boden.

Tell your friend: I love your rug.

Ich liebe deinen Teppich.

The floor is very cold.

Der Boden ist sehr kalt.

(MUSIC)

Who’s up for a new verb? (SFX: cheers) Glad to hear it. So imagine you’re in Heidelberg, looking for your friend’s apartment. You call him and say you’re having trouble finding it. He tells you to look for him, and adds…

Ich stehe auf dem Balkon.

Hmm….You’re looking, but nope. You don’t see anyone standing out on a balcony. So when you tell him that, your hear his door open, his footsteps. Now he tells you…

Jetzt ich stehe auf der Straße.

What image do you see in your mind with that last phrase? You should imagine him standing in the street…perhaps waving his hands so you can spot him. Try that same line:

I’m standing in the street.

Ich stehe auf der Straße.

How about: We are standing on the balcony.

Wir stehen auf dem Balkon.

Ich stehe…wir stehen….What would be the “he/she” form of the verb, do you think? Er steht.

And the informal you form? Du stehst

So try to say: The wardrobe is standing on the floor.

Der Schrank steht auf dem Boden.

Ask a friend: Are you standing on the rug???

Stehst du auf dem Teppich?

Let’s do a quick comparison. So imagine someone’s suitcase inside a wardrobe. How would we say that?

Der Koffer ist im Schrank.

But now imagine it as sitting on top of the wardrobe…it’s almost touching the cieling, right?

Der Koffer ist auf dem Schrank.

We could do that with the suitcase itself. Envision someone’s passport inside a suitcase.

Der Pass ist im Koffer.

Now envision it as being on top of the suitcase. Not in it, but on it.

Der Pass ist auf dem Koffer.

You try it. The dog is in the car.

Der Hund ist im Auto.

Poor thing! It’s dangerous to leave a dog in a car. Right? Inside. But now envision the dog on the roof of the car. Say…

The dog is on the car.

Der Hund ist auf dem Auto.

So good guys. Quick break…

TIP OF THE DAY

These past few lessons we’ve been integrating prepositions into our German speech. So what’s a preposition exactly? In English they’re words like in, on, by, for, and so on. These little words that denote a relationship–often a spatial relationship–between two objects. They’re tiny, but they carry a lot of weight. Think of someone who’s in a hurry, and you accidentally tell him: Your keys are on the desk, when in reality his keys are in the desk.

And prepositions, these little words, usually cause big problems for language learners. It doesn’t matter if you’re learning German, English, Russian…the issue is, languages only have so many of these little words to go around, so they end up being used for a variety of things. Again, look no further than the English word “on.” The book is on the table. Ok. I get that. But then…Why are the lights on?So on also means “operating.” Or when you say, I’m on the train…are you really riding on top of it, with the wind in your hair? No. You actually mean you’re inside it. In fact, I could go on and on about on. The tip here is simple: Try not to affix just one meaning to these tiny words. Learn them slowly, phrase by phrase, just as we’re doing in this course.

Speaking of which, let’s get back to it….Say:

The key is on top of the cupboard.

Der Schlüssel ist auf dem Schrank.

Use that pause button. Be sure to see all of these.

The dog is standing on the rug.

Der Hund steht auf dem Teppich.

The mirror is on the floor.

Der Spiegel ist auf dem Boden.

Or: The mirror is standing on the shelf.

Der Spiegel steht auf dem Regal.

Ask a friend: Are you going to the museum?

Gehst du ins Museum?

We’re going to the movies.

Wir gehen ins Kino.

Ask a friend: Are you going to Copenhagen?

Gehst du nach Kopenhagen?

No. We’re going to Stockholm.

Nein. Wir gehen nach Stockholm.

(MUSIC)

I’m sure you’ve noticed we’re approaching things very methodically here. We’ve been learning verbs and their various conjugations step by step. Prepositions, we’re slowly accumulating, too. And now we turn back to our basic, introductory phrases. For now, let’s just listen in as people in their twenties meet and greet at a conference…

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus England.

Woher kommst du?

Ich komme aus Amerika.

We notice first off that they are greeting each other informally. Just follow the native speaker’s lead. If they’re your age and speak to you formally, then of course respond with the formal forms. But if, as in the brief back and forths we just heard, they speak informally. Do as they do. Ask…

Where do you come from?

Woher kommst du?

I come from England

Ich komme aus England.

Where do you come from?

Woher kommst du?

I come from America.

Ich komme aus Amerika.

And where do you live?

Und…wo wohnst du?

I live in New York.

Ich wohne in New York.

I live in Manchester.

Ich wohne in Manchester.

If we’re interacting with someone much older, though…let’s ask formally:

Where do you come from?

Woher kommen Sie?

Try to say: We live in Vienna.

Wir wohnen in Wien.

Listen as Sarah introduces her friend from Russia.

Das ist Sergei. Er kommt aus Russland und wohnt jetzt in Hamburg.

Could you follow that? Here’s another. Hans will introduce Natasha…

Das ist Natasha. Sie kommt aus der Ukraine und wohnt jetzt in München.

Let me prompt you on those.

This is Sergei. He comes from Russia…and lives now in Hamburg.

Das ist Sergei. Er kommt aus Russland und wohnt jetzt in Hamburg.

This is Natasha. She comes from the Ukraine and lives now in Munich.

Das ist Natasha. Sie kommt aus der Ukraine und wohnt jetzt in München.

In English, we should no longer say “the” about Ukraine. We don’t say he comes from The France or the Denmark, after all. But it seems German still uses the article.

How about: My mother lives in Germany.

Meine Mutter wohnt in Deutschland.

Apologies for including so few countries in this part of the lesson. Obviously there are far too many to cover even briefly in a concise lesson.

(MUSIC)

Try to say: What a beautiful rug!

Was für ein schöner Teppich!

The wardrobe is very small.

Der Schrank ist sehr klein.

The mirror is standing on the table.

Der Spiegel steht auf dem Tisch.

Where is my cellphone?

Wo ist mein Handy?

Answer: On the floor.

Auf dem Boden.

We’re standing in the street.

Wir stehen auf der Straße.

How about: We are standing on the balcony.

Wir stehen auf dem Balkon.

Sir, your suitcase is in the wardrobe.

Ihr Koffer ist im Schrank.

Your passport is on the table.

Ihr Pass ist auf dem Tisch.

Great job as always! See you in the next lesson.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #14 of Stress Free German. Let’s go right to our new image. Feminine, this time. Imagine a crowd of people standing around outside a pub. It’s nighttime, and a big lamp illuminates the pub. We can just see the street in the foreground. That’s a reminder that these are feminine nouns. And finally, on the left side, a hand is holding out a bottle of lemonade, as if to show us, This is what I’m drinking at the pub tonight.

Here, then, are the key elements: A bar or pub, a lamp, lemonade, a bottle…and the night.

Those first three are… Bar Kneipe Lampe

So if I show that picture to a native German speaker, and ask…Wo ist das?

Where is this? She’d say….

Das ist eine Bar, oder eine Kneipe.

What’s the difference between the two? I suppose the German version, Kneipe, feels more traditional…more like a German pub. Whereas Bar sounds more modern. But either word is fine.

Now, the lamp in the image is beautiful. It’s an elaborate, antique iron design. So our native speaker points to it and comments…

Was für eine schöne Lampe!

What a beautiful lamp!

I love that expression. Word for word, you’re saying: What for a beautiful lamp! Let’s try it again.

What a beautiful pub!

Was für eine schöne Kneipe!

The next two elements in our feminine image are the drink, and the container the drink is in. Listen?

Limonade, Flasche

(SFX: sipping, and Ahh!)

Die Limonade is sehr gut!

She said: The lemonade is really good.

Later at the pub, Lisa can’t find her bottle. She looks around…

Die Flasche.

Was?

Meine Flasche. Wo ist meine Flasche?

Ask her: Your lemonade?

Deine Limonade?

Yes. Where is my lemonade?

Ja. Wo ist meine Limonade?

We walk her home, and as Lisa goes up to her room, she says of course, Good night.

Gute Nacht.

From our lesson on greetings we knew already that Nacht was feminine, but it’s nice to see it as feminine in today’s image.

We’ll of course continue working with those as the lesson progresses. Next, though, let’s work with a new verb. Imagine that the next morning Lisa is grabbing a coffee. The guy ahead of her in line looks very familiar. She stares for a moment, about to ask, and then he tells her…

Ich bin Barkeeper. Ich arbeite in einer Bar.

He could have told her…
Ich bin Barkeeper. Ich arbeite in einer Kneipe.

So he’s saying, I’m a bartender. I work in a bar, or I work in a pub. In a different situation, he might have said: I work in the bar. Listen…

Ich arbeite in der Bar.

So, here’s my question: If Bar and Kneipe are feminine, then why is he using the word “der” D-E-R? Isn’t that masculine?

Uh-oh. Sorry to do this…

(SFX) KLAXON

…we need that alarm again. Because here’s a key takeaway we learned back in Lesson 1.

The articleDer does NOT automatically mean that the next word is a masculine noun.

This goes for any “er” ending. It does not automatically mean that the noun is masculine. And here we are seeing such a situation.

So, what’s going on? Well, like many other languages, German differentiates between going to a location, versus being in a location. Listen…

Wir gehen in eine Bar. e-i-n-e … eine

Wir arbeiten in einer Bar. e-i-n-e-r … einer

Here they are again. First she said: We are going to a bar.

Wir gehen in eine Bar.

And then: We work in a bar. Wir arbeiten in einer Bar.

The way to think of it is that when you go toward a location, you’ll eventually bump into it. And that (fist/palm) counts as doing something to it. I repeat: Going toward a place counts as doing something to it.

But if you work in a place, live in a place, shop in a place and so on….you are located there. And the surrounding words reflect this in a different way.

Please note there’s one common exception to this idea that “going somewhere counts as doing something to it.” We’ll discuss that in Lesson 20.

(music)

So, try to say: We work in the pub.

Wir arbeiten in der Kneipe.

d-e-r…der

Let’s try some other feminine locations. How about..

I am in the church.

Ich bin in der Kirche.

She is in the school.

Sie ist in der Schule.

As always, you’ve got to envision these. You have to see him in the church, or see her in the school. Connect these sounds to an image. And what about masculine locations? Or neuter ones? Let’s listen and find out.

You see a woman dressed in traditional German clothing. Off your look she informs you:

Ich arbeite in einem Restaurant. einem…e-i-n-e-m

Based on just that one neuter example, try to say: We work in a cafe.

Wir arbeiten in einem Café.

Imagine you call your friend. She asks if she can call you back, because right now …

Ich bin im Museum.

Did you say im? Like, the letters I-M? im. “In dem” das ist im.

Ah, so it’s a contraction. In dem becomes im. She’s saying it that way because the implication is there’s just one museum. She’s in the museum.

And what about masculine locations? Like…Maybe your friend is inside the train station. So when we call, he tells us…

Ich bin im Bahnhof. im

And again, based on just that one masculine example, try to say:

I am in the park.

Ich bin im Park.

This little topic we’re on…this difference between going to a place versus being located there…is another major chunk of the language. So if this is making sense to you, then you’re really doing well. And of course, as we progress, we’ll be making sure you get rock solid with all this. For now, I just want this idea to sink in: Am I going to the place, or am I located there?

TIP OF THE DAY

I’m going to cheat. Instead of a tip, I’d like to use this spot to practice differentiating between moving towards something, and being located there. This will be all in English, and you just call out movement towards, or locational. Ready?

The book is on the table.

locational. good

I tossed my keys on the counter.

movement towards…and if that’s tricky for you, you need to see it in your head. See the keys flying through the air towards the table.

We live in an apartment.

locational

I work out in a gym.

locational

I’m going to the gym right now.

movement towards

The ball rolled under the car.

that is motion towards

But now…The ball is under the car.

now it’s located there

(MUSIC)

Let’s review today’s new vocab. Try to say…

It is a small pub.

Das ist eine kleine Kneipe.

or you could say bar…

Das ist eine kleine Bar.

You’re at a flea market in Vienna. On one table a lamp is for sale, so ask the woman who seems to be the seller…Is this your lamp?

Ist das Ihre Lampe?

Yes, this is my lamp.

Ja, das ist meine Lampe.

At a drink stand you ask for lemonade. How will the man tell you: I have no lemonade.

Ich habe keine Limonade.

On a hike with your brother, ask him…

Do you have my bottle?

Hast du meine Flasche?

How about this one: What a beautiful night!

Was für eine schöne Nacht!

Great job if you got that one. And now back to our main lesson point for today: We’re separating phrases into two categories: One where something is moving towards some place, versus one where something is located in one spot. To do that, I’d like to squeeze in one more new word today. For now just listen…

Wo ist mein Schlüssel?
Dein Schlüssel ist auf dem Tisch. auf…dem…Tisch

Wo ist meine Zeitung?

Diene Zeitung ist auf dem Regal. auf …dem… Regal.

We notice that the masculine table and the neuter shelf both had the same supporting word, dem.

Let’s try to say both of those. So ask…

Where is my key?

Wo ist mein Schlüssel?

Your key is on the table.

Dein Schlüssel ist auf dem Tisch.

Where is my newspaper?

Wo ist meine Zeitung?

Your newspaper is on the shelf.

Diene Zeitung ist auf dem Regal.

Again, in these locational phrases, both the masculine table and the neuter shelf had the same supporting word, dem.

Bearing that in mind, try to say: The dog is on the chair.

Der Hund ist auf dem Stuhl.

How about: The glass is on the refrigerator.

Das Glas ist auf dem Kühlschrank.

Let’s check out what happens to a feminine location.

Wo ist mein Handy?

Dein Handy ist auf der Bank. auf …der… Bank.

Let me prompt you on that same one. Ask: Where is my cellphone?

Wo ist mein Handy?

Your cellphone is on the bench.

Dein Handy ist auf der Bank.

Based on that one example, how might you say: The bottle is in the bag.

Die Flasche ist in der Tasche.

Maybe someone picks up your bottle and asks what you’re drinking. Tell them…

This is juice in the bottle.

Das ist Saft in der Flasche.

Excellent, guys!

(MUSIC)

One last round of review. Ready?

tell your friend: I’m giving you a big present.

Ich gebe dir ein großes Geschenk.

He is taking the train.

Er nimmt den Zug.

She is looking for a good pub.

Sie sucht eine gute Kneipe..

She works in a pub.

Sie arbeitet in einer Kneipe.

My brother works in the train station.

Mein Bruder arbeitet im Bahnhof.

My mother works in a school.

Meine Mutter arbeitet in einer Schule.

Tell your boss: I love your old lamp.

Ich liebe Ihre alte Lampe.

You are still seeing these all in your head, right? Just checking. Okay, the last few.

She’s going to the movies.

Sie geht ins Kino.

That one we know. But what about: She’s at the movies. (As in, She’s inside the theater, watching a film.)
Sie ist im Kino.

Let’s try that again. We’re going to a restaurant.

Wir gehen ins Restaurant.

We are in a restaurant.

Wir sind im Restaurant.

Phew. Fantastic. I know these are getting tougher and tougher. I hope the pace of the lessons is okay for you. Keep up the excellent work, and we’ll see you in the next lesson.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #13 of Stress Free German. Our goal today is to get comfortable with the many verbs we’ve learned thus far in the course. That means a minimal amount of new vocabulary, and a whole lot of prompting. Let’s jump right to it. Tell your friend:

I’m giving you a big present.

Ich gebe dir ein großes Geschenk.

But hold on. You’ve got to visualize these phrases first. With each prompt, try to see the scenario in your head…as if watching it play out on TV. Then say the German phrase. And that means keeping a finger on the pause button. Let’s try again…

We’re giving you a big present.

Wir geben dir ein großes Geschenk.

A new co-worker enters the breakroom. Let’s ask him politely what his name is.

Wie heißen Sie?

Then your manager walks in. It’s 9 AM so greet him appropriately and ask how’re things.

Guten Morgen. Wie geht es Ihnen?

There’s a company outing in Hamburg later in the day, so ask him:

Are you going to Hamburg?

Gehen Sie nach Hamburg?

Your manager, though, is actually on the phone with someone else. Your new co-worker tells you:

No. He is going to Vienna.

Nein. Er geht nach Wien.

Then he adds: Er nimmt den Zug.

Hmm. Er nimmt. I wonder how that translates. Any idea? Maybe another example will help. So, his secretary pokes her head into the breakroom. “Nein. Er nimmt den Bus.”

She said, “No…He is taking the bus.”

Suddenly your boss pokes his head into the ever more crowded breakroom. He waves a pair of old glasses and informs his secretary.

I’m taking my old glasses.

Ich nehme meine alte Brille.

She nods and passes the news on to us:

He’s taking his old glasses.

Er nimmt seine alte Brille.

This is called reported speech…when you’re basically passing along what someone has said. And it’s great practice, if a bit challenging. So let’s try a different scenario. You’re in an appliance store. Tell the salesperson:

I’m looking for a new refrigerator.

Ich suche einen neuen Kühlschrank.

He reports to his assistant:

She is looking for a new refrigerator.

Sie sucht einen neuen Kühlschrank.

That might be a new word for many of you. The word for “she.” Let’s try it in a new scenario.

Tell your rooommate: I love your new table.

Ich liebe deinen neuen Tisch.

He didn’t hear you, so his friend tells him: She loves your new table.

Sie liebt deinen neuen Tisch.

Tell your boss: I love your new chair.
Ich liebe Ihren neuen Stuhl.

His secretary repeats: He loves your new chair.

Er liebt Ihren neuen Stuhl.

(music)

Imagine Lisa and Max are roommates. When Max’s obnoxious friend finally leaves, Lisa rolls her eyes and says…

I hate his friend.

Ich hasse seinen Freund.

How might we report that? That is, how to say: She hates his friend.

Sie hasst seinen Freund.

I hate, she hates

Ich hasse, sie hasst

Back to the office, it’s Friday and there’s a party at work. (SFX: beer can) As you open a beer for your boss, ask her: Do you need a glass?

Brauchen Sie ein Glas?

Her assistant, though, steps in and answers for her:

Yes, she needs a glass.

Ja, sie braucht ein Glas.

But wait…hold on. Who does this word Sie refer to? Right? Is it “You, sir,” or is it “She?” Well, it depends on the conjugation of the verb. I mean, listen to these two phrases and you tell me…

Gehen Sie nach Frankfurt?

Geht sie nach Hamburg?

Gehen Sie is Are you going, sir? Whereas Geht sie means Is she going…

Try those again. Ask:

Are you going, sir, to Frankfurt?

Gehen Sie nach Frankfurt?

Is she going to Hamburg?

Geht sie nach Hamburg?

Next scenario: A friend calls, searching for you along the beach. What’s the word for beach, by the way? Der Strand. Good. Anyway, you rode your bike to the beach so ask your friend:

Do you see my bicycle?

Siehst du mein Fahrrad?

No, but I see your dog.

Nein, aber ich sehe deinen Hund.

Let’s report his speech. Say: He sees my dog.

Er sieht meinen Hund.

Imagine you and your brother are repairmen in Germany. You’ve finished working on a woman’s home, and she is now looking for her key. From inside the van, your brother informs you:

I have the key.

Ich habe den Schlüssel.

So you pass that news along to the woman:

My brother has your key.

Mein Bruder hat Ihren Schlüssel.

This kind of quick reported speech is tricky, but it’s also very realistic practice. So let’s try another scenario. I’m with my grandmother in an electronics store. She tells me…

I want a new cellphone.

Ich will ein neues Handy.

So I tell the salesperson:

She wants a new cellphone. For now, just listen…

Sie will ein neues Handy.

These he/she forms are tough. They’re all over the map. Sometimes it’s like the Du form, sometimes like the ich. Sometimes it’s own thing. But no big deal. Step by step, we’ll get all the fundamental forms. Meantime, let’s try that one again….

I want a new computer.

Ich will einen neuen Computer..

She wants a new computer.

Sie will einen neuen Computer.

Then grandma turns to you:

Want my old computer?

Willst du meinen alten Computer?

You guys are dong great!

(music)

So, here’s a new word for you today. Listen and repeat: kein

Again? Kein

Imagine, as you open your door, a St. Bernard comes barreling into your apartment. Grabbing its collar, you haul it out of your home and across the landing to your neighbor’s door. You knock…

Ist das Ihr Hund?

She shakes her head.

Nein. Ich habe keinen Hund.

She shrugs and closes her door again.

Maybe, instead of a dog, you discover that someone has parked their bicycle in your parking space. You knock on your neighbor’s window this time….Ist das Ihr Fahrrad?

Nein. Ich habe kein Fahrrad.

How would you translate that? She’s saying: No, I have no bicycle.

Or in more natural English: I don’t have a bicycle.

And we notice that kein acts like any other supporting word. If describing a masculine noun, it adds that “en” ending when we do something to it.

In the hotel lobby, ask the bag clerk:

Do you have my suitcase?

Haben Sie meinen Koffer?

The manager suddenly steps in and informs you:

He has no suitcase.

Er hat keinen Koffer.

So let’s work that new word into our ongoing verb review. Tell your friend:

I’m giving you a small coffee.

Ich gebe dir einen kleinen Kaffee.

Did you see that transaction in your head first, before speaking? Good!

New conjugation here. See if you can guess the verb. Listen?

Er gibt mir einen Stuhl.

He is giving me a chair. So you try it. How about:

My brother is giving me his computer.

Mein Bruder gibt mir seinen Computer.

I’m taking his old watch.

Ich nehme seine alte Uhr.

He has no watch.

Er hat keine Uhr.

We’re taking the bus.

Wir nehmen den Bus.

TIP OF THE DAY

For today’s tip, we’re going to work with something called Minimal Pairs. That’s a fancy term for two words that differ by one tiny sound So, the words are going to sound very similar…and yet they have totally different meanings. Think of the words ship and sheep in English.

We are not going to burden you with the meaning of these words. We just want to listen, see if we hear the difference, and then echo it back. That’s all. Ready?

schon — schön

Again?

schon — schön

We’ll do each pair twice like that.

losen — lösen

Bogen — Bögen

kennen — können

konnte — könnte

Frosch — Frösche

Hut — Hüte

Blut — Blüte

Gut — Güte

It’s best to do this sort of thing in small chunks, so we’ll do some more in a minute. For now, back to the lesson and one final round of verb review. These are going to be basically random, unrelated phrases. Tell your friend:

He is giving you a small present.

Er gibt dir ein kleines Geschenk.

Remember: Finger on the pause button. See each scenario in your head…

We are taking an old table.

Wir nehmen einen alten Tisch.

Imagine that my mom is taking photos of some huge tree in my boss’s garden. I tell him:

She loves your old tree.

Sie liebt Ihren alten Baum.

At a party, ask a friend: Do you have my glass?

Hast du mein Glas?

He’s looking for his beer.

Er sucht sein Bier.

I’m looking for the bus stop.

Ich suche die Haltestelle.

Ask a friend: Do you see the garbage bin?

Siehst du die Mülltonne?

Tell him: I see no garbage bin.

Ich sehe keine Mülltonne.

An old lady has asked you for directions. First ask her…

Do you see the museum?

Sehen Sie das Museum?

No, I don’t see a museum.

Nein, ich sehe kein Museum.

I’m going to Dresden.

Ich gehe nach Dresden.

I’m taking the train.

Ich nehme den Zug.

Try that as reported speech.

She is going to Dresden. She is taking the train.

Sie geht nach Dresden. Sie nimmt den Zug.

Finally, let’s end with a second round of Minimal Pairs. Remember, it’s two totally different words that sound very similar. Each pair twice…

Biene — Bühne

Kiel — kühl

liegen — lügen

Liste — Lüste

Kiste — Küste

Lifte — Lüfte

Kunst — Künste

Mutter — Mütter

Busch — Büsche

That was a heck of a workout today. I hope you’re enjoying this and are doing well. Keep practicing and we’ll see you in the next lesson.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #12 of Stress Free German. Let’s jump to today’s new image. This one contains only masculine elements. So imagine someone’s balcony which overlooks a sandy beach. And on their balcony is a table. And on that table is a shiny, silver key. So the table is our masculine anchor. And here again are those three new nouns: key, balcony, beach.

Schlüssel…Balkon…Strand

Try as I might, I just can’t spot a connection between the English word key, and the German word

Schlüssel. To my ear it’s a truly foreign word, which means we’ll need to take a little more care when reviewing it, and…Wait…what was it again?

Schlüssel

Just checking. Ask: Where is the key?

Wo ist der Schlüssel?

The next word, thankfully, is an easy cognate. In English we say balcony, and in German: Balkon

It’s originally a French word, and the way Germans pronounce it sounds very French to me…with that nasal N.

Balkon

In today’s image, what was that silver thing lying on the table?

Schlüssel

Yes. Good. Alright, and the final word was Strand. It’s that sandy area that lies between the land and the ocean. Luckily, the word for sand in German is a cognate: Sand …so there’s the connection. Imagine scooping up a handful of sand and letting it sift through your fingers. That’s Sand and it’s spilling down onto the….Strand.

Let’s work now with these three new masculine words. So…

Ask Ms. Becker: Is this your key?

Frau Becker, ist das Ihr Schlüssel?

She says: Yes, this is my key.

Ja. Das ist mein Schlüssel.

Ask your elderly neighbor: Do you have a balcony?

Haben Sie einen Balkon?

Where is the beach?

Wo ist der Strand?

Mr. Kraft, I need your key.

Herr Kraft, ich brauche Ihren Schlüssel

I see the beach.

Ich sehe den Strand.

And a quick review of recent vocab…

Say: Here is the bus stop.

Hier ist die Haltestelle.

How might the taxi driver ask: Is that your street?

Ist das Ihre Straße?

You’re at a friend’s house, wanting to throw out some garbage. Ask him:

Where is your garbage bin?

Wo ist deine Mülltonne?

I have a sign.

Ich habe ein Schild

Ask your brother: Where is your bicycle?

Wo ist dein Fahrrad?

We’re going to the movies.

Wir gehen ins Kino.

We’re going to Rome.

Wir gehen nach Rom.

(music)

For today’s main topic we’re going to expand on our greeting vocabulary. So, imagine I walk into a large building in Berlin where I have an interview scheduled. I approach the security desk, and try to read the phrase from my phone…

Guten Morgen. Ich habe heute ein Bewerbungsgespräch.

Guten Morgen. Und…Wie heißen Sie?

Off of my blank and confused expression, the guard adds:

Wie ist Ihr Name? Naaameee? Hans? Thomas?

I could be mistaken but I feel like he wants to know my name. So I say…

Ich heiße James Gordon.

Then a voice calls out from the elevators….James? James Gordon?

She’s the woman who offered me the job over the phone. Ich heiße Lisa Kruger.

These greetings and introductions tend to be the first things students encounter when trying to learn German online, and so I’m guessing you’re fairly familiar with them. Still, let’s run through the main phrases again.

My name is Linda Jackson.

Ich heiße Linda Jackson.

Ask your elderly new neighbor: What’s your name? Notice we ask literally: How are you named?

Wie heißen Sie?

Can you guess what the informal version of that would be? Like, you’re at a party where everyone is your age. Ask…How you called?

Wie heißt du?

This is the preferred way to ask someone’s name, at least in my experience. But you can also ask directly: How is your name?

Wie ist Ihr Name?

Raise your hand if you think I’m going to let that slip by without us analyzing it? No one? Right. So what I want to know is: What is the gender of the word Name?

Hit pause and then we’ll talk.

(music)

So, what’s the gender? I’ll give you one more hint. I ask my new weightlifting partner…

Wie ist dein Name?

Now do we know the gender? No. Not fully. We only know…what? That it’s not feminine.

What kind of phrase might truly tell us the gender? Can you think of one? How about:

I love your name. Right? Because loving something counts as doing something to it. So if it’s neuter the supporting words won’t change. But if it’s masculine….

Ich liebe deinen Namen.

deinen. Bingo. Now we know that Name is masculine.

And did you catch that the word Name itself changed there? Listen again…

Ich liebe deinen Namen.

There are only a few common masculine nouns that decline like that, where they add that “en” sound to rhyme with the supporting words. No big deal.

Tell your new elderly neighbor that you love her name.

Ich liebe Ihren Namen.

Later, in the lobby of your building you see the woman trying to pull some mail from her box. Ask her: Where is your key?

Wo ist Ihr Schlüssel?

How about: I love the beach.

Ich liebe den Strand.

Let’s pretend your name is Karl. What are two ways to introduce yourself?

Mein Name ist Karl.

Ich heiße Karl.

Excellent. Back in a bit..

TIP OF THE DAY

Today’s tip is simple to implement, but please don’t over use it. Still, once in a while, it’s good practice to ask questions that you already know the answer to. For example, I might be walking in Berlin. I approach a kind looking gentleman and ask, Entschuldigung, Sie bitte…können Sie mir sagen, wo der Hauptbahnhof ist?

I’m asking where the main train station is…even though I know very well it’s down the street and around the corner. But the great thing is then I can listen to the answer, his word choice and word order and such, without the stress of trying to understand. And when I thank him and walk away in the right direction, he feels good having helped me. In the grocery store you might quickly ask where the fish is. Or in a store, where the changing rooms are. It’s a little obnoxious, though, wasting people’s time, so please don’t overdo it. But again, when you already know the answer, this technique allows you to listen for kind of everything else.

Alright, back to it…

Try to say: The balcony is big.

Der Balkon ist groß.

The beach is beautiful.

Der Strand ist schön.

The key is small.
Der Schlüssel ist klein.

Tell your neighbor, politely…

You have a big balcony.

Sie haben einen großen Balkon.

We’re looking for a beautiful beach.

Wir suchen einen schönen Strand.

tell your friend: You need a small key.

Du brauchst einen kleinen Schlüssel.

Assuming you’re an adult, how will a stranger ask you your name?

Wie heißen Sie?

Let’s pretend your name is Karla. What are two ways to introduce yourself?

Ich heiße Karla. Mein Name ist Karla.

(swell)

For our last major topic today, let’s add a pair of verbs. Remember today’s opening image? What was lying on that table? Der…

Right: Der Schlüssel

Imagine putting your fingers on the cold, shiny metal. Lifting it off the table, you show it to your roommate and announce: Ich nehme den Schlüssel. Then you put it in your pocket and leave the balcony.

What was that sentence again?

Ich nehme den Schlüssel.

Why was it “den” Schlüssel Because, of course, taking something counts as doing something to it.

So let’s try that verb with a feminine noun. You and your roommate have packed a tote bag with things for your walk. You wrap your fingers around the drooping handles and haul it off the floor, and announce: Ich nehme die Tasche.

Your partner’s passport is lying on the table. You pinch your fingers around it, and show it to her:

Ich nehme deinen Pass.

Which translates, of course, as: I’m taking your passport.

Pick up your roommate’s cellphone and tell him: I’m taking your cellphone.

Ich nehme dein Handy.

What would be the formal version of that? Here…listen:

Ich nehme Ihr Handy. Ihr.

If spelling it with English letters, I’d say: I-H-R

Let’s try that with a masculine noun. Inform your boss: I’m taking your computer.

Ich nehme Ihren Computer. Ihren.

So far so good. And the other new verb? Well, let’s feel that cool silver key in our pocket. You wrap your fingers around it and place it your roommate’s open palm. You tell him:

Ich gebe dir den Schlüssel.

Did she say dir…as in: Wie geht’s dir?

Yes, she did. Because, recall our SLT…the super literal translation: How goes it to you, or for you.

Cool. I like when things make sense. So let’s try that again. Tell a friend…

I’m giving to you the suitcase.

Ich gebe dir den Koffer.

So let’s hit pause and think of how we’d say that same phrase to our boss.

(music)

So, to your boss you say: I’m giving to you the suitcase.

Ich gebe Ihnen den Koffer.

Did you figure out that the third word was Ihnen? Because it’s the same logic as before. We took the “for you” part of the formal How’s it going for you? Wie geht es Ihnen?

Imagine your boss is angry that you ate the last jelly donut in the breakroom…the one he’d been saving for himself. You promise him in English, I will never eat another donut, Sir. And then you add in German…

Ich gebe Ihnen mein Wort.

I give to you my….Wort. Wort is a cognate. In English we say word, and in German it’s Wort.

One more time: I give you my word.

Ich gebe Ihnen mein Wort.

Make the same promise to your friend.

Ich gebe dir mein Wort.

By the way, What’s the gender of Wort? Well, we’re doing something to it, we’re “giving” it, and yet the supporting word was just mein. So it must be…neuter.

So let’s end by practicing our two new verbs. As in English, we can use “taking” with the idea of taking some form of transport.

I’m taking the bus.

Ich nehme den Bus.

We are taking the train.

Wir nehmen den Zug.

You can also use this verb at, for example, a food stand. Tell the server:

I’ll take a juice.

Ich nehme einen Saft.

I’ll take a coffee.

Ich nehme einen Kaffee.

I’ll take a tea.

Ich nehme einen Tee.

Tell your son: We’re giving you a bicycle.

Wir geben dir ein Fahrrad.

Tell your boss: I’m giving you my passport.

Ich gebe Ihnen meinen Pass.

I’m giving you his key.

Ich gebe Ihnen seinen Schlüssel.

My daughter was making a little playhouse in her room, so I told her:

I’m giving you a small chair.

Ich gebe dir einen kleinen Stuhl.

Then she had a tea party in her little house. I told her…

I’m giving you a small glass.

Ich gebe dir ein kleines Glas.

I’m giving you a small flower.

Ich gebe dir eine kleine Blume.

Ridiculously good, guys. That’s all I can say. If you’re getting most of these correct, you are doing so ridiculously good in this course. See you next lesson…

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #11 of Stress Free German. We’re going to start with a quick Der-Die-Das quiz. The prompts are going to be locations that we’ve learned, so as I say each location, try to see the picture in your mind, and all the elements in it. This means keeping a finger on the pause button, okay? So say..

the park

Der Park

the train station

Der Bahnhof

the museum

Das Museum

the cafe

Das Cafe

the house

Das Haus

the restaurant

Das Restaurant

the church

Die Kirche

the school

Die Schule

You see how most of our pictures feature a location, to anchor the gender for you. Sometimes our location is smaller, though, like…

the table

Der Tisch

the shelf

Das Regal

the bench

Die Bank

Anyway, on to a new feminine image. It has one anchor element, and three new feminine nouns. So on the right side of the image is an empty street, extending into the distance. It’s got a single yellow line down the middle. Looking at it, you might call it a road instead of street. On the left side of the image is a bus stop. There’s a bench, and a small overhang to sit under. Finally, at this bus stop there’s a garbage bin. So the three new elements are: street, bus stop, garbage bin. In German…

Straße Haltestelle Mülltonne

If you’ve spent any time in a German speaking country, you’re probably familiar with the word for street. Straße

A lot of times they’re named after famous musicians. There’s more than one street in Austria, for example, named after Mozart. Mozartstraße

The next word, Haltestelle literally means the stop site. It refers to any stopping point for local public transport like trams, trolleybuses, and buses. Halt of course is also an English word. As in, The car came to an abrupt halt. Or: Halt, who goes there? So in English we say halt, but in German, the tongue comes up to the roof of the mouth after that L.

(very slowly) Halt

Haltestelle

Finally, let’s imagine that garbage can we saw at our bus stop. It’s a large, black plastic bin with a lid. Mülltonne This word Müll on its own represents garbage. But we need to be careful, because on its own, it’s masculine. It’s the bin part at the end that makes it feminine. Mülltonne

All three one more time…

Street…Bus stop….Garbage bin

Straße Haltestelle Mülltonne

Let’s do a quick round using the feminine article. So..

The street is beautiful.

Die Straße ist schön.

The bus stop is new.

Die Haltestelle ist neu.

Here is the garbage bin.

Hier ist die Mülltonne.

Excellent. Back in a second…

(music)

So, today we’re gonna get formal. Imagine we’re going to a job interview in a bank in Frankfurt. In this situation, we need to speak formally. And German, like most other European and Slavic languages, uses a whole different set of words when addressing someone formally.

So at 9 AM an assistant named Hans Fisher comes into the waiting room. Let’s greet him…

Guten Morgen, Herr Fisher.

Guten Morgen, Frau Jones. Wie geht es Ihnen?

How might we tell him: Thanks, good, and for you?

Danke, gut und Ihnen?

He says: Thanks, also good.

Danke, auch gut.

Let’s move the interview to just after lunch, and run through the greeting routine again. Ready?

Guten Tag, Herr Fisher.

Guten Tag, Frau Jones. Wie geht es Ihnen?

How might we tell him: Thanks, good, and for you?

Danke, gut und Ihnen?

Thanks, also good.

Danke, auch gut.

So that formal form of “for you”….what was it? Listen again: Ihnen

Suddenly a friend from the gym enters the waiting room. Let’s greet him…

Hallo, wie geht’s dir?

Hallo. Danke, gut und dir?

So let’s compare that key difference between the two greetings. To your friend:

How goes it for you?

Wie geht’s dir?

Same question to your potential new boss:

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Almost time for today’s tip, but we need to quickly review our three new feminine nouns.

Tell a friend: We are searching for your street.

Wir suchen deine Straße.

Where is the bus stop?
Wo ist die Haltestelle?

We need a new garbage bin.
Wir brauchen eine neue Mülltonne.

TIP OF THE DAY

In our company we also teach Japanese and Russian, and if you’ve taken one of my Russian courses, you might be wondering: Why isn’t he telling us to make flashcards? And yes, I am very big on flashcards for Russian. For German, though, it feels less important. Instead, I recommend making those digital flashcards that I described a few lessons back. Those ones where you put the German word into Google images and take a screenshot.

Still, if you’re wanting to write something down, you might try making a notebook to keep track of phrases. After all, having a list of all the constructions you’ve ever learned is certainly a handy resource. But even then, for this language, because we’re keeping things so visual, you can really review and recall things in a more visual way. You basically just need images to prompt the recall of phrases. Look around your room, your house…your town…Each time you see an object you know, then create a phrase for it. I\m looking for a big dog. They have an old bench. We’re going to the movies.I mean, it’s all out there, ready to prompt a German phrase out of you.

Speaking of prompting a phrase out of you, how would you tell a friend:

I’m searching for your street.

Ich suche deine Straße.

Ask him: Do you see the bus stop?
Siehst du die Haltestelle?

We have a new garbage bin.
Wir haben eine neue Mülltonne.

Next, ask a friend: How goes it for you?

Wie geht’s dir?

Same question to your new boss:

Wie geht es Ihnen?

So let’s get back to today’s main topic, which is learning to speak formally. Right? For our job interview in Frankfurt. Let’s say my German friend Lisa is with me on the interview. We get invited into his office, and I see that we’re short one chair. So I ask…

Hast du einen Stuhl?

Do you have a chair?

Mr. Schneider’s eyebrows raise up, and suddenly Lisa is stepping on my foot. She whispers angrily in my ear…”Hast du???” Mark! Herr Schneider ist dein Chef! Wir sagen, “Haben Sie?”

“Entschuldigen Sie, bitte. Haben Sie einen Stuhl?”

But it’s too late. Two large weightlifters, Hans and Franz, escort me from Mr. Schneider’s office and ask me to learn some manners before contacting their bank again. So Lisa and I go to the park, and we practice the formal forms of verbs. So I start…

Ich gehe ins Kino.

Gehen Sie ins Kino?

So there’s our new conjugation. Are you going?

Gehen Sie?

So let’s continue this part without any English prompts. I’ll say what I’m doing, and then Lisa will rephrase it as a polite question.

Ich gehe nach Hamburg.

Gehen Sie nach Hamburg?

Ich sehe den Park.

Sehen Sie den Park?

Ich habe eine neue Mülltonne.

Haben Sie eine neue Mülltonne?

Ich brauche ein Fahrrad.
Brauchen Sie ein Fahrrad?

Ich suche den Bahnhof.

Suchen Sie den Bahnhof?

Ich liebe den Hund.

Lieben Sie den Hund?

Great job, guys!

(music)

In this next section we’re going to do a similar exercise. This time, though, simply rephrase the informal question as a formal one.

Gehst du ins Museum?

Gehen Sie ins Museum?

Hast du einen kleinen Koffer?

Haben Sie einen kleinen Koffer?

Siehst du meine Brille?

Sehen Sie meine Brille?

Brauchst du meinen alten Kühlschrank?

Brauchen Sie meinen alten Kühlschrank?

Suchst du die Haltestelle?

Suchen Sie die Haltestelle?

Gehst du nach London?

Gehen Sie nach London?

And let’s add another key word that we use when addressing people politely. So, you’re at a dog park with your friend Hans, and your new boss, Mr. Gutenberg. Both of them seem to have lost track of their dogs. So I ask…

Hans, wo ist dein Hund?

..and then I turn to my boss…

Herr Gutenberg, wo ist Ihr Hund?

So that was: dein to my friend, and Ihr to my boss. Using English letters it’s spelled I-H-R.

Let’s try that again. This time with a neuter noun. We’re at a skate park…

Hans, wo ist dein Fahrrad?

..and then I turn to my boss…

Herr Gutenberg, wo ist Ihr Fahrrad?

That was: dein to my friend, and Ihr to my boss.

At the swimming pool, both seemed to have lost their glasses. So I ask…

Hans, wo ist deine Brille?

..and then I turn to my boss…

Herr Gutenberg, wo ist Ihre Brille?

deine to my friend, Ihre to my boss

To your friend say: I have your dog.

Ich habe deinen Hund.

Say that to your boss?
Ich habe Ihren Hund.

That was deinen to my friend, and Ihren to my boss

To your friend say: I need your cellphone.

Ich brauche dein Handy.

Say that to your boss?
Ich brauche Ihr Handy.

To your friend say: I see your bus stop.

Ich sehe deine Haltestelle.

And to your boss?
Ich sehe Ihre Haltestelle.

As always, if you’re getting these right, you’re doing ridiculously well.

Keep practicing, and see you next time. Tschuss!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #10 of Stress Free German. Let’s start with a new image. It has four elements, all neuter. So try to envision a shiny new automobile parked in front of a restaurant. Because the restaurant has outdoor seating, you can also think of it as a cafe. On the right side of the image, there’s a bicycle. That’s it. Those are our four neuter nouns: car, bicycle, restaurant, cafe. Listen…

Auto, Fahrrad, Restaurant, Café

One more time, repeat after our native speaker.

Auto, Fahrrad, Restaurant, Café

Three are obvious cognates, but what was that second word? The one for bike?

Fahrrad

That breaks down literally as ride-wheel, which makes sense. Fahrrad

Anyway, let’s repeat them using the neuter article Das.

The car is big.

Das Auto ist groß.

The bike is new.

Das Fahrrad ist neu.

The restaurant is old.

Das Restaurant ist alt.

The cafe is old.

Das Café ist alt.

How about: This is my new car.

Das ist mein neues Auto.

This is my old bike.
Das ist mein altes Fahrrad.

Next let’s do some review. You’re staying in a hotel in Berlin that has a restaurant. Let’s say your last name is Kirchner. How will the manager greet you?

Guten Morgen, Frau Kirchner.

..or…

Guten Morgen, Herr Kirchner.

When you arrive at lunch time, let’s greet him first.

Guten Tag.

Guten Tag, Frau Kirschner.

And at dinner?

Guten Abend.

As you walk to your table, you see a friend. How does our greeting between friends go?

Hallo, wie geht’s dir?

Danke, gut und dir?

You two chit-chat in German and then your friend stands up and gestures to his suitcase.

I’m going to Vienna.

Ich gehe nach Wien.

And I’m going to Innsbruck.

Und ich gehe nach Innsbruck.

As the manager heads out the door, you overhear him say: I’m going home

Ich gehe nach Hause.

(music)

Let’s do one more neuter image today. So, imagine a museum–the kind you see in New York or London–with a row of columns, and statues on top. At the base of the museum steps is a car. And over the museum entrance hangs a sign that reads DAS. So only three elements: museum, car, sign

Museum, Auto, Schild

The presence of the neuter word, Auto, reminds us that museum and sign are also neuter. As the speaker says each word, please envision that element of our image. Ready?

Museum, Auto, Schild

When you learn a new word you want to go right to using it. So try to say…

The museum is old.

Das Museum ist alt.

The car is new.
Das Auto ist neu.

The sign is big.
Das Schild ist groß.

This word, Schild, is also the word for shield in German. It sure sounds like it. But oddly, when it means a shield, then it’s masculine. And what’s awesome, guys, is that your grammar is so strong, you’ll be able to spot which is which. Here. Listen…

Superman hat einen Schild.

versus

Superman hat ein Schild.

Superman hat einen Schild. means Superman has a shield. Something he holds up to protect himself. We know that, because the supporting word “ein” changed to “einen.” Whereas…Superman hat ein Schild. Now Superman has his own sign. Maybe he’s opening a store. There is a real correlation between shields and signs, by the way. Think back to medieval times, where craftsmen wrote the name of their shop on a shield and hung it over their door.

Anyway, to practice these a little more, let’s learn a new adjective. So, you’re hanging out in a dog park and you see first a ginormous Great Dane …and then a tiny chihuahua. Listen…

(big dog bark) Der Hund ist groß.

(tiny dog bark)

Der Hund ist klein.

Say just: Big and small.

groß und klein

The car is big.

Das Auto ist groß.

The bike is small.
Das Fahrrad ist klein.

How about: The museum is new.

Das Museum ist neu.

The sign is old.
Das Schild ist alt.

The cafe is beautiful.

Das Café ist schön.

How about this one: I see a small tree.

Ich sehe einen kleinen Baum.

einen kleinen…right? Because of this (fist / palm)…we’re doing something to the masculine tree.

I see a small sign.

Ich sehe ein kleines Schild.

I see a small church.

Ich sehe eine kleine Kirche.

Excellent guys. Alright…

TIP OF THE DAY

Today’s tip is for those who are also using other sources along with this course. It’s more of a warning, I suppose: Avoid courses which try to jam all seven conjugations of a new verb into your mouth all at once. That’s lazy teaching. It’s not even teaching. It’s just a thoughtless info-dump. Like, Here you go! I hope you can absorb six months of training in one sitting. Something as complex as verb conjugations really takes time to sink in.

And it’s not just courses. Do a search for “German verbs” and you’ll find yourself scrolling through page after page of conjugation tables. Not only is it lazy on their part, it’s actually harmful. Because staring at that flood of verb charts…it’s overwhelming. And it makes some people feel like maybe they shouldn’t be trying to learn this language. And that’s not cool. You can absolutely learn German. You already are. But verbs especially need to be handled with care. A conjugation here, a tense there. Because trying to memorize endless declension charts and conjugation tables…it’s like running around in circles: You spend a lot of energy but end up nowhere. Want to learn things a new way, without stress? Then keep doing what we’re doing here, taking measured, meaningful steps forward, day after day, towards your goal. A conjugation here, a tense there.

Speaking of verbs, let’s do it the right way. Let’s add just one new conjugation today. So, imagine you come back to the apartment and see your friends heading out. They each have one of those refillable popcorn buckets in one hand, and a movie ticket in the other. Before you can even ask, one of them tells you…

Wir gehen ins Kino.

Hmm. I think I understood that. Let’s look at that last word, Kino . If we take the English word Cinema, and change the C to a K….kinema…kine…gives us…Kino. means…The movies.

So Lisa shows you her movie ticket, and says again…

Wir gehen ins Kino.

We’re going to the movies.

There’s our new conjugation. We are going. Wir gehen

Try to say: We’re going to Hamburg.

Wir gehen nach Hamburg.

But hold on. Why is it ins with the movies, and nach to Hamburg? It’s because the prepositions “nach” and “in” are used with different types of destinations.

We use “nach” to express movement towards a city, or some large destination that’s considered a point on a map. On the other hand, the preposition “in” is used to express movement towards an enclosed space or a place you can enter. We say “ins” here because it’s a contraction of “in das.”

Mind you, there are other prepositions that are used to express movement towards a location.

Zu, for example. But we’re going to learn them gradually. Anyway, how would you ask your friend: Are you going to the movies?

Gehst du ins Kino?

We’re going to the museum.

Wir gehen ins Museum.

Again, he said “ins” because he is contracting the two words in and das

I’m going to a cafe.
Ich gehe ins Café.

He is going to a restaurant.

Er geht ins Restaurant.

Cafe and Restaurant are both neuter, so they too get in and das contracted together: In plus das…ins

So…hmm. Ich gehe, wir gehen. I’m going. We’re going. So how would you say…

I see. We see.

Ich sehe. Wir sehen.

Try to say:

I see your brother.

Ich sehe deinen Bruder.

We see your Papa.

Wir sehen deinen Papa.

How about this: I have. We have.

Ich habe. Wir haben.

I have a small bag.

Ich habe eine kleine Tasche.

We have a big suitcase.

Wir haben einen großen Koffer.

I need. We need.

Ich brauche. Wir brauchen.

I need a bicycle.

Ich brauche ein Fahrrad.

We need a refrigerator.

Wir brauchen einen Kühlschrank.

With all of these, it’s best to keep a finger on the pause button. Don’t let me rush you by giving just a few seconds to think. Take your time, aply the right pattern, then compare your answer to the native speaker’s. Ok, a quick breather…

(music)

Ask a friend: Are you going to the museum?

Gehst du ins Museum?

We’re going to the movies.

Wir gehen ins Kino.

Ask a friend: Are you going to Berlin?

Gehst du nach Berlin?

We’re going to Salzburg.

Wir gehen nach Salzburg.

In (das) for indoor locations, nach for points on a map.

I’m going to a restaurant.

Ich gehe ins Restaurant.

My brother is going to a cafe.

Mein Bruder geht ins Café.

And let’s try using our new verb conjugation, the “we” form, with a few other verbs we’re comfortable with. For example…

I’m looking for. We’re looking for.

Ich suche. Wir suchen.

I’m looking for a big bicycle.

Ich suche ein großes Fahrrad.

We’re looking for a small sign.

Wir suchen ein kleines Schild.

I love. We love.

Ich liebe. Wir lieben.

I love the museum.

Ich liebe das Museum.

We love the dog.

Wir lieben den Hund.

Alright, say it with me guys. If we are getting most of these right, we are doing incredibly well.

Keep practicing, and see you next time. Tschuss!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

SFG LESSON #9

Welcome to Lesson #9 of Stress Free German. In those first eight lessons, we accomplished a couple of very important things. With our system of visualisation we learned approximately fifty concrete nouns plus their gender. That’s huge. We also took note of the patterns of how, when we do something to the noun, the surrounding words are affected. That’s also huge. And we’re going to leverage all that as we turn our attention to greetings.

(sound FX) Thomas has just arrived at his friend Johanna’s apartment.

Hallo, Thomas!

Hallo, Johanna!

In American English, at least, people have a tendency to reduce that “eh” vowel. But in German, to my ear, they tend to fully pronounce it.

Hallo, Hans!

Hallo, Kathrin!

So Hallo is the greeting most often used between friends and close family members. But what if the person is a stranger, or someone else you need to be more formal with? Listen…

Guten Tag, Herr Schmidt.

Guten Tag, Frau Meyer.

You’ve almost certainly encountered this fundamental German greeting. And you’ve probably heard it translated as Good day, Mr. Schmidt. Or: Good day, Ms. Meyer. Well, that’s almost right. But why that “en” sound, at the end of Guten. After all, the word itself is just Gut.

Hmm. Well, what’s so cool is that, having followed these lessons closely, you guys have the tools to unravel this little mystery. So let’s see. Try to say…

The man is good.

Der Mann ist gut.

He is a good man.
Er ist ein guter Mann.

So that’s the same pattern we discovered in Lesson 6. We use the basic form of the adjective, gut, when it comes after the verb “is.” But we use this specific masculine form, guter, when it comes before the noun. So let’s try that with “day,” which also happens to be masculine. Listen…

The day is good.

Der Tag ist gut.

It is a good day.
Es ist ein guter Tag.

We’re about to solve the mystery, now. Try to say…

I see a good man.

Ich sehe einen guten Mann.

Why is it suddenly einen guten? Because seeing him counts as doing something to him. And when we do something to a masculine noun? Right! Those supporting words change.

Try to say: He is having a good day.

Er hat einen guten Tag.

The reason we greet people by saying Guten Tag in German, is because the whole phrase, which people rarely say, is…

I wish you a good day.

Ich wünsche euch einen guten Tag.

That’s the power of the German case system. When you say Guten Tag, you are doing something (fist/palm) to Good Day…you’re actively wishing it to the person. Very cool!

(music)

What if, when you’re greeting your boss, it’s morning time? Listen..

Guten Morgen, Herr Schneider.

I hear that “en” ending again. Guten. So Morgen must be masculine. Let’s try it again. Imagine you see your elderly neighbor walking her dog in the morning. Greet her.

Guten Morgen, Frau Brücke.

And again, by using the “doing something to it” form, we are actively wishing her a good morning.

The same is true if we greet people in the evening.

Guten Abend.

Guten Abend.

They said “Guten”, so Abend must also be masculine.

One last one to mention is this: Gute Nacht.

About the only time I’ve ever used this was when we were in a hotel in Berlin, and I said Good Night to the desk clerk before going upstairs for the night. Gute Nacht. So bear in mind that this a kind of goodbye, not a greeting. And what do we realize about the word Nacht? Well, listen to just the first word again…Gute

That sounds like the feminine form. So try to say..

She is a good woman.

Sie ist eine gute Frau.

Important point here. We need to get into the habit of making phrases into constructions. Say:

This is a good bag.

Das ist eine gute Tasche.

glasses
Das ist eine gute Brille.

newspaper

Das ist eine gute Zeitung.

watch
Das ist eine gute Uhr.

Hit pause and try to say a few more.

TIP OF THE DAY

So today I’d like to talk about another big mistake language learners make. It’s what I call the Gigantor Vocabulary mistake. They get into one of those language apps–there’s a bunch of them–and they begin to study word lists. Or worse, they try to memorize word lists. It’s sad because such a thing is minimally helpful. After all, what is the point of acquiring a new word if you can’t use it in even the most basic sentence?

I had a lesson with a new client not long ago and he was eager to show me his word list from one of these apps. I saw the word “green” on there. I was like, “Okay, try to say, The Green Tree.”

He was like, “Umm…Grün? Baum?”

Sigh. I stopped him right there, of course, but something tells me he wouldn’t have been able to say, I see a green tree, either.

I get it, though. Don’t we need to know thousands of words to speak a language? Well, yes. Eventually. But not at first. Instead, what you want to do is master a small, core vocabuarly of mostly concrete nouns, adjectives and verbs, and get fluent with those. Master the main patterns associated with them, and understand why the surrounding words change. After that, I assure you adding new words is a breeze.

Okay, let’s get back to it. (rooster SFX)

Good morning, Ms. Becker.

Guten Morgen, Frau Becker.

afternoon

Guten Tag, Frau Becker.

evening

Guten Abend, Frau Becker.

And in your hotel, as you head up to your room for the night, tell the desk clerk…

Gute Nacht.

So we’ve got our greetings, and our good night. Next, let’s make a bit of small talk and ask our friend how they are. Here’s a standard exchange between friends.

Hallo, wie geht’s dir?

Danke, gut und dir?

Most resources will translate this phrase Wie geht’s dir? as “How are you?” And that’s certainly how it functions. But what we really want to know is: What are we literally saying? In this case, Wie geht’s dir? or slowly Wie geht es dir? translates as: How goes it for you? Or: How does it go for you? This is what we call the Super-Literal Translation, or the SLT. If you don’t know the SLT, if you don’t know what you’re really saying, then you’re stuck with just this one phrase. So let’s practice the exchange again, and then work with the literal meaning. Say…

Hello, how goes it for you?

Hallo, wie geht’s dir?

Thanks, good and for you?

Danke, gut und dir?

Fast, it sounds like three words: Wie geht’s dir. But it’s actually four words: Wie…geht…es…dir?

So we have: Es geht. It goes.

Er geht. would mean, He goes.

So here’s a challenge for you. How would we say, “I go.” Hit pause and take a guess…

(music)

I go.

Ich gehe.

How about: You go

Du gehst

That basically fits the pattern, wouldn’t you say? For example: I see, you see, he sees.

Ich sehe, du siehst, er sieht.

I go, you go, he goes

Ich gehe, du gehst, er geht

So imagine your friend is holding a train ticket. You ask her…What is that?

Was ist das?

She shows you the ticket and says…

Ich gehe nach Berlin.

I’m going to Berlin.

That’s a great construction, so let’s work with it.

I’m going to Munich

Ich gehe nach München.

I’m going to Germany.

Ich gehe nach Deutschland.

I’m going to Austria.

Ich gehe nach Österreich.

We use this construction mostly when saying which city or country we’re going to. But we also use it for saying, I’m going home. Listen…

Ich gehe nach Hause.

Ask a friend: Are you going home?

Gehst du nach Hause?

My brother is going home.

Mein Bruder geht nach Hause.

My friend is going to Paris.

Mein Freund geht nach Paris.

We can’t use this construction when saying something like, I’m going to the gym. Or, Are you going to the movies? No big deal. We’ll learn that very soon.

(music)

Ostensibly, this lesson was intended to teach you a common set of greetings. But it was also designed to display three of the techniques we’ll be relying on throughout this course. We leveraged the Super Literal meaning of “how goes it”, to then use the verb in a very different context. I’m going to France. We also used our ability to spot patterns, to help us change from one form of a verb to another. From Er geht, we figured out Ich gehe. And then we quickly made useful constructions to further leverage what we’d earned. For example, try to say…

He is going to Dusseldorf.

Er geht nach Düsseldorf.

She is going to Italy.

Sie geht nach Italien.

Are you going home?

Gehst du nach Hause?

Yes, I’m going home.

Ja, ich gehe nach Hause.

Let’s end with two ways to part company with someone. Again, I’m sure you’ve encountered this first one. Listen?

Auf Wiedersehen!

That’s two words, but it breaks down literally into English as: On again seeing. Or: Until we meet again. We’ll come back to that SLT in a future lesson. The main thing to bear in mind is that this is the standard, polite way of saying goodbye. Basically, if you greet someone with Guten Tag, then part ways with Auf Wiedersehen.

Meanwhile, our informal word for parting ways is: Tschüss!

The origin of that word isn’t clear, but they certainly use it everywhere, in Germany and Austria. Listen again?

Tschüss!

If you greeted someone with Hallo, then part ways using Tschuss.

So let’s wrap this up. It’s 9am. Greet your boss, Ms. Schmidt.

Guten Morgen, Frau Schmidt.

Later, in the break room, you greet a friend: Hello, how goes it for you?

Hallo, wie geht’s dir?

Thanks, good and for you?

Danke, gut und dir?

Your friend has a rideshare app open. He explains…

I’m going to Frankfurt.

Ich gehe nach Frankfurt.

Suddenly your manager, Mr. Beckenbauer, enters the break room. It’s noon, so you greet him…

Guten Tag, Herr Beckenbauer.

You check into your hotel at 6pm. The desk clerk is likely to greet you by saying…

Guten Abend.

When you finally head up for the night, you say goodbye to the clerk by saying…

Gute Nacht.

And as we part ways here, we can go the formal route: Auf Wiedersehen.

Our informally: Tschüss!

See you in the next lesson!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #8 of Stress Free German. I left you hanging with a new verb conjugation. Did you figure it out?

The question was: He has a new computer.

Er hat einen neuen Computer.

So we’ve got: I have, you have, he has…

Ich habe, du hast, er hat

Because we’ve absorbed so many new words these first seven lessons, we’re not going to add any new material today. Instead, we’re going to spend this lesson trying to become fluent with what we already know. We’re going to do that by focusing on constructions, which is the fancy linguistics term for a fill-in-the-blank phrase. Ready to dive in?

Our first construction is to ask, Where is the ____?

So if I prompt you with the word “bus,” you say…

Wo ist der Bus?

glass

Wo ist das Glas?

church

Wo ist die Kirche?

cheese

Wo ist der Käse?

gift

Wo ist das Geschenk?

newspaper

Wo ist die Zeitung?

If you’re able to right now, look out your window and when you see something that you know the gender of in German, put it into this construction. His pause and spend a minute on that.

Okay, next construction: This is my ____.

Ready?

dog

Das ist mein Hund.

watch

Das ist meine Uhr.

cellphone

Das ist mein Handy.

wife

Das ist meine Frau.

brother

Das ist mein Bruder.

mama

Das ist meine Mama.

As before, look around and find things that are yours. But only put it into this construction if you know the gender. Hit pause and give that a go.

So far these have been simple, declarative phrases, right? No action is being taken. So let’s transition to phrases where we have this (fist / palm). The construction this time is:

I have your ____. And as always, we’re saying this to a friend or close family member.

suitcase

Ich habe deinen Koffer.

water

Ich habe dein Wasser.

glasses

Ich habe deine Brille.

Pay attention to those supporting words. It was different each time. Masculine changes here to deinen. But neuter remains as dein. And feminine ends with that feminine ‘e’…deine.

Remember, this whole system is intended to help you recall the genders. Let’s try it again…

apple juice

Ich habe deinen Apfelsaft.

beer

Ich habe dein Bier.

flower

Ich habe deine Blume.

refrigerator

Ich habe deinen Kühlschrank.

water

Ich habe dein Wasser.

bag

Ich habe deine Tasche.

Next: Do you see my _______ ?

passport

Siehst du meinen Pass?

window

Siehst du mein Fenster?

school

Siehst du meine Schule?

brother

Siehst du meinen Bruder?

house

Siehst du mein Haus?

watch

Siehst du meine Uhr?

Speaking of watches and clocks, now feels like a good time for….

TIP OF THE DAY

Another question I get asked a lot is about which German movies or shows to be watching. This is another misconception people have, that just putting on a German show–with or without subtitles –will magically help their German. Again, it might work for some, but I don’t recommend it. The first issue is that subtitling is done so loosely as to be almost completely useless. In fact, it’s often detrimental, because you start making associations that aren’t correct. If you can watch without the subs, and are more or less certain of what you’re hearing, then definitely go for it. But that’s not likely to be the case with a full speed German movie.

However, a cartoon like Peppa Pig…Peppa Wutz in German…now that’s a good show. But again, don’t watch with subtitles. Instead, apply Active Listening. As you watch the episode, you keep your finger on the pause button. After a character says a line, you hit pause, and immediately parrot it. Just say it right back, as best as you can. It doesn’t matter if you know what you’re saying. That’s a key point. But if you do know what it means, then take a moment to play with the phrase. Make it into a construction. So for example…in this scene the narator tells us that Luisa Loffel loves carrots.

Luisa Löffel liebt Karotten.

So make it a quick construction. Say: She loves carrots. She loves oranges. She loves juice.

Sie liebt Karotten.

Sie liebt Orangen.
Sie liebt Saft.

You will benefit more after just ten minutes of that kind of active listening than watching ten hours of incomprehensible German TV.

Back to work. So, next construction:

I want your coffee.

Ich will deinen Kaffee.

I want your beer.

Ich will dein Bier.

I want your watch.

Ich will deine Uhr.

I want your orange juice.

Ich will deinen Orangesaft.

I want your water.

Ich will dein Wasser.

I want your bag.

Ich will deine Tasche.

For this next one, because we’ll be working with adjectives, there’s more processing we have to do with the patterns. So let’s slow the pace a little bit. As always, these are all to a friend or family member:

You need a big coffee.

Du brauchst einen großen Kaffee.

You need a big beer.

Du brauchst ein großes Bier.

You need a big bag.

Du brauchst eine große Tasche.

I need a big apple juice.

Ich brauche einen großen Apfelsaft.

I need a big house.

Ich brauche ein großes Haus.

I need a big bag.

Ich brauche eine große Tasche.

I’m looking for a new computer.

Ich suche einen neuen Computer.

I’m looking for a new cellphone.

Ich suche ein neues Handy.

I’m looking for a new watch.

Ich suche eine neue Uhr.

I’m looking for a new refrigerator.

Ich suche einen neuen Kühlschrank.

I’m looking for a new shelf.

Ich suche ein neues Regal.

I’m looking for a new school.

Ich suche eine neue Schule.

Even if we’re not doing anything to the noun, as in these next phrases, it still takes some time to arrange the patterns. So don’t rush….

Where is my old passport?

Wo ist mein alter Pass?

Where is my old smartphone?

Wo ist mein altes Handy?

Where is my old watch?

Wo ist meine alte Uhr?

Where is my new computer?

Wo ist mein neuer Computer?

Where is my new glass?

Wo ist mein neues Glas?

Where is my new bench?

Wo ist meine neue Bank?

These next ones are simpler, so let’s crank the speed back up again.

I love Starbucks.

Ich liebe Starbucks.

I hate McDonalds.

Ich hasse McDonalds.

I love Germany.

Ich liebe Deutschland.

I hate the house.

Ich hasse das Haus.

I love Austria.

Ich liebe Österreich.

I hate school.

Ich hasse Schule.

And we’ll by practicing our “he” form of verbs. So try to say…

He has a flower.

Er hat eine Blume.

a cellphone.
Er hat ein Handy.

a dog.

Er hat einen Hund.

He loves tea.

Er liebt Tee.

He loves Munich.

Er liebt München.

He needs a passport.

Er braucht einen Pass.

He needs glasses.

Er braucht eine Brille.

He is looking for Starbucks.

Er sucht Starbucks.

He is looking for the park.

Er sucht den Park.

He has an old computer.

Er hat einen alten Computer.

He has a new house.

Er hat ein neues Haus.

That was a pretty tough lesson, I realize, but it had to be done. Next lesson we’ll talk about another big mistake language learners usually make. And in the mean time, keep up the great work!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #7 of Stress Free German. We’re going to do things a little differently today, by not reviewing any nouns from the first six lessons. It’s for the same reason that we do the Tip of the Day: To make a gap before prompting you to recall those words.

Let’s start with a brand new picture. In this one there’s a table, which tells us that all the elements in the picture are….?….masculine. The table and chair are outside a train station. On the table is a computer. A suitcase on the ground. In the background is a train. So that’s five new elements:

chair, computer, suitcase, train station, train.

All masculine. Here are the first three…

Stuhl

Computer

Koffer

The first two are easy, right? We say stool in English, and they make it an “sht” sound…

Stuhl

…and computer, notice the “easy R” at the end

Computer

The next one, Koffer, is a cognate. In English, a coffer is a small chest for holding valuables. Koffer (German, by the way, spells it with a K.)

Ask: Where is my chair?

Wo ist mein Stuhl?

Where is your computer?

Wo ist dein Computer?

Where is the suitcase?

Wo ist der Koffer?

Great, and the last two. They’re related…

Bahnhof

Zug

If you’ve ever travelled in a German speaking country, you’ve almost certainly encountered the word Bahnhof. When traveling by train from city to city, the Bahnhof is the building where you arrive. The word breaks down literally as rail-yard. But in English, we say train station. Bahnhof

And finally: Zug

As you hear the sound FX, try to see the image in your head before saying each word. Ready?

chair scrape, typing computer, suitcase zipper, train station announcements, train sounds

As we hear the sounds again, this time in a different order, the speaker will ask: Was ist das?

You answer: That is the ….whatever.

Das ist der Zug.

Das ist der Bahnhof.

Das ist der Stuhl.

Das ist der Koffer.

Das ist der Computer.

(swell)

Next up, two new verbs. If you’ve been at German for any amount of time, you likely know this first one: Ich liebe. For example: Ich liebe München.. I love Munich. Or say:

I love Hamburg.

Ich liebe Hamburg.

But here’s the opposite verb: Ich hasse. For example: Ich hasse Pilze. I hate mushrooms.

(I hate McDonald’s clip?)

So let’s bounce back and forth between loving and hating things. For example, if I say “dog”, you’d say in German…I love my dog. I hate your dog.

Ich liebe meinen Hund. Ich hasse deinen Hund.

chair

Ich liebe meinen Stuhl. Ich hasse deinen Stuhl.

computer

Ich liebe meinen Computer. Ich hasse deinen Computer.

suitcase

Ich liebe meinen Koffer. Ich hasse deinen Koffer.

We’re trying to practice our new words, but we always want to do so in realistic phrases. Since it’s not realistic to say, I love my train, or I hate your train station, let’s try asking…

Where is the train station?

Wo ist der Bahnhof?

Where is my train?

Wo ist mein Zug?

Where is your suitcase?

Wo ist dein Koffer?

Nice job!

(music)

Time to clear your mind, and make room for a new picture. This one is very simple. Imagine a bus, a suitcase, and someone’s hand holding a passport. That’s only two new elements: bus and passport.

Bus

Pass

The suitcase is there to tell us that the elements are masculine. So let’s add the article this time:

Der Bus

Der Pass

Ask: Where is the bus?

Wo ist der Bus?

Where is my passport?

Wo ist mein Pass?

How about: Is that my bus?

Ist das mein Bus?

Is that my passport?

Ist das mein Pass?

Is that your train?

Ist das dein Zug?

Is that your passport?

Ist das dein Pass?

TIP OF THE DAY

The other day someone wrote in asking about immersion programs. Do I know any good language schools in Berlin or Hamburg. I read that a lot, people claiming that immersion is the way to go, but I respectfully disagree. After all, if being surrounded by native speakers 24/7 is so effective, then one wonders why tens of thousands of immigrants struggle to speak the language of their new land. Immersion might work for some, but it clearly does not work for all.

I learned Russian while living and working full time in the US. Сейчас я говорю по-русски более или менее свободно. I had no immersion. What I made sure to do, though, was absorb the language the right way. You need to be using effective memory techniques, you need to be learning the super-literal translation of things, you need to be doing tons of pattern recognition to break down the grammar, and you need to be working towards fluency using something called construction branching. You do not need immersion. The reason I’m coming down so hard on that is because I think people use it as an excuse. If they struggle with the language they tell themselves, “Well, of course I’m not learning German because I’m not in Germany. I’m not being immersed.”

But that’s not the issue. You were struggling because you weren’t taught properly. That’s the very issue we aim to change with this course. So let’s get back to it…

Two more easy cognates to add. Imagine a cup of coffee and a cup of tea on a table, and in the background is a train. Both Kaffee and Tee are masculine. We know that because of the table and train. Say…

The coffee.

Der Kaffee

The tea

Der Tee

Try to say: I love my coffee.

Ich liebe meinen Kaffee.

Do you remember the verb meaning “to need”? For example:

I need my passport.

Ich brauche meinen Pass.

What about the “he” conjugation for that? For ex:

He needs a suitcase.

Er braucht einen Koffer.

Based on that example of going from Ich brauche to Er braucht can you guess the “he” conjugation for the verb “to love”? For example:

He loves coffee. Hit pause and think about it…

Er liebt Kaffee.

If you got that, excellent. If not, no problem. Let’s try another. So, do you recall the verb “to look for” or “to search for”? For example:

I’m looking for my computer.

Ich suche meinen Computer.

Okay: Ich suche So can you guess what the “he” conjugation might sound like? For example:

He is searching for his chair.

Er sucht seinen Stuhl.

Ich suche, er sucht. Cool!

You know, when you do finally take a trip to a German speaking country, you’re probably going to be the only one in your group who speaks the language. This means you’ll be doing a lot of translating. For example, when your friend needs a new suitcase, you explain to the shop owner:

He is looking for a big suitcase.

Er sucht einen großen Koffer.

Whoa, that was a tricky one. Listen again? Er sucht einen großen Koffer.

Do you remember that topic from Lesson 6, when we worked with adjectives?

Try that again. Say…

I’m looking for a big suitcase.

Ich suche einen großen Koffer.

To practice that some more, here are two new adjectives. Both sound very close to the English versions. Listen?

alt neu

Here, fill in the blank. Ready? My grandmother lived to be 102. That is really, really….alt.

After signing the lease, we drove off the lot in a BMW. It’s nice to drive a car that’s brand …. neu.

Say those again: Old and new.

Alt und neu.

One more time: Old and new. Alt und neu.

In a museum, you see a rotary phone. (Sound FX)

Das ist alt.

Then you take out the iPhone you just got for your birthday.

Das ist neu.

Try: The suitcase is old.

Der Koffer ist alt.

The computer is new.

Der Computer ist neu.

And now we’re going to do something to the noun. So the supporting words get that “en” ending, right? Try to say…

I have an old suitcase.

Ich habe einen alten Koffer.

He needs a new computer.

Er braucht einen neuen Computer.

How about: I want your old chair.

Ich will deinen alten Stuhl.

Imagine you’re up in the attic. Your German grandmother calls up to you:

Do you see his old suitcase?

Siehst du seinen alten Koffer?

(music)

Of all our new nouns today, only two are truly unrelated to the English versions. One was this place…(sound FX)

Der Bahnhof

And one was this thing…(Sound FX)

Der Zug

Ask: Where is the train station?

Wo ist der Bahnhof?

Where is the train?

Wo ist der Zug?

A little more review. Try to say: He needs my passport.

Er braucht meinen Pass.

Tell a friend: I see your bus.

Ich sehe deinen bus.

Let’s finish today by reviewing our new “he” conjugation of verbs.

I love coffee.

Ich liebe Kaffee.

He loves tea.

Er liebt Tee.

I need a suitcase.

Ich brauche einen Koffer.

He needs a passport.

Er braucht einen Pass.

I’m looking for McDonalds.

Ich suche McDonalds.

He is looking for Starbucks.

Er sucht Starbucks.

I have an old computer.

Ich habe einen alten Computer.

He has a new computer.

Can you figure out the verb? I’ll give you a hint: It’s only three letters long. And the first two are H and A….

See you in the next lesson with the answer.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #6 of Stress Free German. These lessons are cumulative, so here in lesson 6 it’s assumed you’ve mastered everything in the first five lessons. Okay, so, let’s get to today’s new image. We again have a bench, which is our sign that we are looking at feminine nouns. On the bench this time is an old woman wearing glasses. Near her is a flower. And in the background is a school. So that’s four new elements: Woman, glasses, flower, school. Let’s listen to the first two: woman and glasses

Frau, Brille

Again…

Frau, Brille

The word Frau I’m sure you’ve encountered. It’s obviously one of the first words you hear in German. That “Fr” combination is tricky, though. Let’s build into it: Fra….Frau

Again: Fra….Frau

Good. And actually, that “B-r” combination is also tough. Let’s play with that a bit, too:

Brot, Brat, Brief, Brille

So we had the old woman with the glasses, sitting on the bench. What were the other two elements? Can you see them? the flower and the school

Blume

Schule

Though are certainly easier. Again?

Blume

Schule

Again, these are feminine, so let’s make quick phrases using the article “the”.

Where is the woman?

Wo ist die Frau?

Where is the glasses? Yes, “Where is…” because in German, Brille is singular.

Wo ist die Brille?

Where is the flower?

Wo ist die Blume?

Where is the school?

Wo ist die Schule?

How do you think this next phrase translates. Listen?

Wo ist meine Frau?

There’s no context here, but he almost certainly means, Where is my wife?

True, there’s a more formal word for wife, but conversationally it seems most Germans use Frau.

Ask a friend: Do you have my glasses?

Hast du meine Brille?

Do you see the flower?

Siehst du die Blume?

This is my school.

Das ist meine Schule.

And let’s segue into a quick review of recent vocab. Speaking informally, how would you ask:

Do you see the bench?

Siehst du die Bank?

Do you have my watch?

Hast du meine Uhr?

Do you need the cheese?

Brauchst du den Käse?

Did you get that article “den”? After all, cheese is masculine in German, and needing it counts as doing something to it. Der changes to den.

Ask: Do you see the church?

Siehst du die Kirche?

Do you have my bag?

Hast du meine Tasche?

No. I have your newspaper.

Nein. Ich habe deine Zeitung.

Excellent as always!

(music)

Ok, so…on to today’s main topic. Adjectives! Finally we’ll be able to start describing things. And the main thing we want to pay attention to here is whether we’re putting the descriptive word like big or beautiful, after the noun (which is easy) or before it (which is tougher). For now just listen.

The park is big.

Der Park ist groß.

Here is a big park.

Hier ist ein großer Park.

Listen again.

The refrigerator is big.

Der Kühlschrank ist groß.

Here is a big refrigerator.

Hier ist ein großer Kühlschrank.

So we’re seeing a pattern. The adjective groß came after the noun, and after the verb ist. But when it came directly in front of the noun, we had to change it to großer, with that “e-r” ending.

You want to know why German does this? It’s not trying to make your life miserable. It’s not trying to be complicated. No. It’s trying to help you. To help the listener. Because by adding that “er” at the end, it’s reminding us that Kühlschrank is a masculine noun. It’s basically rhyming with the article Der. Think of it as a combination of groß und Der… großer

So one more time:

The park is big.

Der Park ist groß.

Here is a big park.

Hier ist ein großer Park.

Let’s try that with the adjective pretty or beautiful.

Der Park ist schön. Hier ist ein schöner Park.

Again we notice that the easy form schön came after the noun and after the verb ist. But when it came directly in front of the noun, we had to change it to schöner, with that “e-r” ending.

A combination of schön und Der… schöner

Remember, by doing that you are helping your listener. You are reminding them that the word Park is masculine.

Let’s have you try one. How would you say…

The table is beautiful.

Der Tisch ist schön.

Now let’s put the adjective right in front of the noun. Say…

Here is a beautiful table.

Hier ist ein schöner Tisch.

Let that pattern sink in and we’ll come back to it in a minute.

TIP OF THE DAY

Today’s tip is short and simple. So, a great way to practice your German is to simply go outside, walk around, and talk about the things you see. The simplest would be to point and say:

A park. A house. A school.

Ein Park. Ein Haus. Eine Schule.

Or: A tree. A field. A flower.

Ein Baum. Ein Feld. Eine Blume.

Seems simple, but make sure to use the correct articles…ein or eine.

(SFX church bells)

Das ist eine Kirche.

And try to raise the complexity. (dog barks)

I see a dog.

Ich sehe einen Hund. Or even…Siehst du meinen Hund?

The bottom line is, in this course I’m constantly prompting you to create new phrases in German, and that’s great. But you also want to cut out the middleman. Let the world around you prompt you to speak in German.

(music)

Back to our topic of using adjectives. Try to say…

The apple is big.

Der Apfel ist groß.

That is a big apple.

Das ist ein großer Apfel.

We have a decent feel for that pattern. But I wonder what happens when we do something to a masculine noun in a phrase like that. What if we said…

I have a big apple.

Ich habe einen großen Apfel.

Did you hear how the words ein großer changed to einen großen… ending with “en”?

ein großer … einen großen

Remember, when we do something to a masculine noun these kinds of supporting words all change.

Can we try that one more time?

That is a big table.

Das ist ein großer Tisch.

I have a big table.

Ich habe einen großen Tisch.

Let’s see how those same three phrases work if we use a neuter noun. So…

The house is big.

Das Haus ist groß.

The adjective came at the end. That’s easy. But listen to this one:

That is a big house.

Das ist ein großes Haus.

Hmm…what’s going on here? By ending with this “es” sound the adjective is reminding us that we are dealing with a neuter noun. Listen for the rhyme:

Das… großes…as…es

And since the supporting words for neuter nouns do NOT change when we do something to the noun, how should we say: I have a big house.

Ich habe ein großes Haus.

I suppose you’re tired of me saying this, you’re going to do extremely well in German. And if this is still confusing, don’t worry. We’ll work with it a lot more. So let’s try another neuter noun.

How about…

The gift is beautiful.

Das Geschenk ist schön.

The adjective came at the end. That’s easy. When it comes before the noun, it needs to remind us of the gender.

That is a beautiful gift.

Das ist ein schönes Geschenk.

So next, let’s do something to the noun. Try to say: I see a beautiful gift.

Ich sehe ein schönes Geschenk.

Nothing happened because, when we do something to a neuter noun the supporting words don’t change. And of course, now let’s see the pattern for feminine nouns. So…

The school is big.

Die Schule ist groß.

No surprises. The adjective came at the end. That’s easy. When it comes before the noun, it needs to remind us of the gender.

That is a big school.

Das ist eine große Schule.

That letter “e” at the end of große is reminding us that the word is feminine. It’s basically rhyming with the article die. And if we do something to it?

I see a big school.

Ich sehe eine große Schule.

As expected. No changes.

Let’s confirm the pattern by using a different feminine noun. Try to say…

The church is beautiful.

Die Kirche ist schön.

That is a beautiful church.

Das ist eine schöne Kirche.

I see a beautiful church.

Ich sehe eine schöne Kirche.

(music)

Last topic of the day: Let’s try adding the “he” conjugation to some verbs. For example:

He is my Papa.

Er ist mein Papa.

He is my brother.
Er ist mein Bruder.

He is my friend.

Er ist mein Freund.

I know that Bruder and Freund are probably new for you. But don’t worry. We’ll get lots more work with them in upcoming lessons. For now, though, let’s change the verb.Let’s try the verb…”to need.”

Say: I need.

Ich brauche.

You need

Du brauchst

He needs

Er braucht

One more time, all three of those: Ich brauche. Du brauchst Er braucht

So try to say:

My brother needs a watch.

Mein Bruder braucht eine Uhr.

My friend needs a beer.

Mein Freund braucht ein Bier.

My Papa needs a table.

Mein Papa braucht einen Tisch.

Any guess on what the “he” version would be of “to see”? For example, we have:

I see a lovely park.
Ich sehe einen schönen Park.

Do you see my house?

Siehst du mein Haus?

He sees.

Er sieht.

He sees a woman.

Er sieht eine Frau.

He sees your brother.

Er sieht deinen Bruder.

Ok…this has definitely been a challenging lesson. Let’s end with just three more phrases. Ready?

I see a big school.

Ich sehe eine große Schule.

Do you see a big field?

Siehst du ein großes Feld?

He sees a big, beautiful park.

Er sieht einen großen, schönen Park.

By the way, if you’re enjoying this course please let us know by reviewing it here, or on a site like Trustpilot. See you next lesson!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Alright, this is Lesson #5 of Stress Free German. New image for you. Imagine a wooden bench. On the bench is a woman’s handbag, and a newspaper. In the background is a church, with a large clock. So we have five elements, all feminine: Bench, bag, newspaper, church, clock. Here’s just that first one in German…

Bank

As always, I ask you to be flexible in how you hear and process things. Like, if you recall that the English letters “ch” can sometimes be a “k” sound, like in the word “chemistry”….then the English word bench would sound like benk….Bank. Say it one more time and see the wooden bench in your mind.

Ok, the next word from our image was…Tasche. Here a bit of word play will help us make a connection. So imagine a woman who goes everywhere with her handbag–she takes it to church, to she brings it to school, to work…You might say she is really attached to her bag. She is really attached to her…Tasche. Try that sentence again: That woman is really attached to her….Tasche.

So a Tasche is a bag. For me, the first image that comes to mind is a woman’s handbag, but it’s also a shopping bag.

Let’s work with just those two words real quick. Imagine you’re walking for a long time and wanting to sit down. Your German friend points and says…

Hier ist eine Bank.

Here is a bench.

So you sit for a while and then continue walking. And suddenly she says…

Wo ist meine Tasche?

Where is my bag?

Next new word…what else was on that bench? Can you see it? Zeitung.

That first letter looks like the English Z, but listen to the pronunciation again. Zeitung

It’s like the English “ts”. As in, Whats up? Z…Zeit…Zeitung I love to get as literal as I can when learning a new word. Here, the word Zeitung is saying The time thing. Or, The thing related to time. Because on its own, the word Zeit is time. Good word for a newspaper, right? Think of The New York Times.

Now, our new words today are all feminine, so let’s try to incorporate the feminine article Die. Ask:

Where is the newspaper?

Wo ist die Zeitung?

Where is the bench?

Wo ist die Bank?

Where is the bag?

Wo ist die Tasche?

Now what was in the bankground, behind the bench? Can you see it? Right, a Kirche.

Again, we need to be flexible in how we process words. In English we have morphed that original German K sound into a “ch.” So what was once “kuh” has become “chuh”. The German word is Kirche, but English morphed that into a ch sound…church.

Ask: Where is the church?

Wo ist die Kirche?

Where is the bag?

Wo ist die Tasche?

Where is the newspaper?

Wo ist die Zeitung?

You’re doing great. And here’s our last new word. Can you see it in our image? A round thing on the church, with the numbers 1 through 12 on it, and two arrows to indicate the time? It’s an Uhr

Those letters look like U-H-R in English. Listen again? Uhr Is a clock or a watch.

And try to see the relation to the English word “hour”…as in sixty minutes in an hour.

So, try to ask: Where is the clock?

Wo ist die Uhr?

Excellent!

(music)

So these words like Der, ein, mein, dein….I’ve been calling them supporting words. So let’s listen to the feminine forms for those. Repeat after our native speaker: Die, eine, meine, deine. Do you hear the “e” at the end of all those? Listen again: Die, eine, meine, deine

I have some good news, guys. Great news, actually: These supporting words for feminine nouns don’t change when we do something to the noun.

(celebration FX) Hold on… (record scratch). Why aren’t you celebrating? This is huge. It’s like winning the lottery. Well, winning the grammar lottery. The supporting feminine words don’t change when we do something to them. (cheering FX)

Mind you, in other situations, like coming out from some feminine noun…then those supporting words will change. But not in these kinds of phrases: fist/palm They do not change in the “doing something to it” form. Okay. So… tell a friend:

I have your watch.

Ich habe deine Uhr.

I see the church.

Ich sehe die Kirche.

I want a bag.

Ich will eine Tasche.

I’m looking for a bench.

Ich suche eine Bank.

I need a newspaper.

Ich brauche eine Zeitung.

I slipped a new verb in there. Hopefully you were already familiar with it from those Comprehensible Input videos. If not, here it is again:

I need.

Ich brauche

Say: I need an apple.

I need an apple.

Ich brauche einen Apfel.

Apple is masculine, right? We see it in the park, near the man and the dog. We see it on the table, and by the fridge. Those were our masculine images. And needing an apple counts as doing something to it. So ein became einen.

I need a cellphone.

Ich brauche ein Handy.

Handy is neuter. Supporting words for neuter nouns don’t change when we do something to them. And neither do the supporting words for feminine nouns. Try to say…

I need a watch.

Ich brauche eine Uhr.

Cool!

TIP OF THE DAY

I wanted to follow up on that idea of using a translator app to evaluate your German speech. And again, it’s a decent substitute if you don’t know any native speakers. But what you do not want to rely on is one of these AI chatbots to give you language advice. I asked one of those things: Give me ten common nouns in German that are neuter. Nope. Couldn’t do it. It got like six out of ten. And when you correct it, it says, My apologies. Languages are hard for me.

Yeah, I can tell.

But the news isn’t all bad. Although the translate functions are unreliable, the image functions are great. Here’s how to leverage them. Let’s say you’ve just learned the word for newspaper. Remember what it is? Zeitung. Excellent. So, you put that into Google images and take a screenshot. Up top should be the words Die Zeitung, and then the six or so images of various German newspapers. Then label the screenshot THE NEWSPAPER.

How is this useful? Well, that image acts as a digital flashcard. When it’s time to practice some vocab, you see the thumbnail titled THE NEWSPAPER and you try to recall the word. And here’s the real tip: If you can’t recall it, don’t look at the answer. Instead cover it up and give yourself just the first letter. See if that jogs your memory. That’s another Golden Rule: Always give yourself the smallest hint possible. Ok, back to it…

Imagine giving a tour of your town. Say…

This is the park.

Das ist der Park.

This is the field.

Das ist das Feld

This is the church.

Das ist die Kirche.

Imagine explaining to a child what various things are. Say…

This is a tree.

Das ist ein Baum.

This is a glass.

Das ist ein Glas.

This is a newspaper.

Das ist eine Zeitung.

I see the dog.

Ich sehe den Hund.

I see the house.
Ich sehe das Haus.

I see the bag.
Ich sehe die Tasche.

Tell a friend:

I have your juice.

Ich habe deinen Saft.

I have your water.

Ich habe dein Wasser.

I have your watch.

Ich habe deine Uhr.

I’m looking for a refrigerator.

Ich suche einen Kühlschrank.

I’m looking for a gift.

Ich suche ein Geschenk.

I’m looking for a bench.

Ich suche eine Bank.

If you got all of those, you are doing incredibly well. And if you missed some of those, no problem. We’ll get lots more practice. But I would recommend going through these first five lessons one more time. Remember, this course is cummulative, so you need to master each lesson before moving on.

(music)

For today’s final topic, let’s look at a different verb conjugation. I’m sure you guys noticed early in these lessons that we’re only working with the Ich form of verbs. I see the dog. I have your beer, and so on. Well, it’s time now to expand on that. Now, if you’ve been studying German elsewhere, you’ve likely heard that German has different forms of you, depending on who you’re talking to. For now, we’re only going to be dealing with friends and family. People we’d speak informally with.

Ok, so: A German friend is giving you a tour of his neighborhood. He points to a house and asks…

Siehst du das Haus?

Ja. Ich sehe das Haus.

Based on just that one example, how might he ask: Do you see the park?

Siehst du den Park?

Did you say “den”? After all, Park is masculine, so the supporting words change when we do something to the word.

How about: Do you see the church?

Siehst du die Kirche?

Let’s look at another verb we know, again in this informal you form. What do you think she is asking?

Hast du eine Uhr?

Do you have a watch?

Can you guess how to ask:

Do you have a cellphone?

Hast Du ein Handy?

How about: Do you have a dog?

Hast du einen Hund?

Since grammar is all about noticing patterns–and not memorizing charts and declension tables–are we noticing any kind of pattern here at all? Well, yeah. Somewhat. If we’re saying Du, we hear a verb that ends with an “st” sound. Right? Du siehst. Du hast. Let’s see if that happens with today’s new verb. Remember this phrase?

I need a watch.

Ich brauche eine Uhr.

Any guess on how you might say: Yes, you need a watch.

Ja! Du brauchst eine Uhr.

(swell)

Let’s review those three “du” forms. Try to say:

Do you see a bench?

Siehst du eine bank?

Remember, with all of these we are speaking with a friend or close family member.

Ask: Do you have a glass?

Hast du ein glas?

You need a refrigerator.

Du brauchst einen Kühlschrank.

Same three verbs again. Ask…

Do you see the field?

Siehst du das Feld?

Do you have my water?

Hast du mein Wasser?

You need a bag.

Du brauchst eine tasche.

One last round: Do you see the window?

Siehst du das Fenster?

Do you have a newspaper?

Hast du eine zeitung?

You need a shelf.

Du brauchst ein Regal.

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #4 of Stress Free German. Let’s jump right to our new image. Imagine a big field. In the distance is a house, and in the foreground a glass of water and a gift box. The box is wrapped with a ribbon and a bow. It makes for a surreal image to see a glass of water and a gift box just sitting out in a field. And since there’s a house in our picture, what does that tell us? Well, now we know that these four new words — field, glass, water and gift–are all neuter.

Feld Glas Wasser Geschenk

Let’s look at the first two. In English it’s a field, and in German Feld

Remember what I said about being flexible, in this case, with the vowel sound.

Field becomes Feld.

And glass becomes Glas. Again, it’s mostly the vowel. Listen again… Glas

Let’s put them into sentences. Ask: Where is the field?

Wo ist das Feld?

Say: This is his glass.

Das ist sein Glas.

And the other two words. Well, this is…(SFX)….Wasser

Again we need to be flexible. The ‘T’ of water is now an ‘S’ sound. Listen again? Wasser

And can you recall the final element in today’s image? Try to see it, just sitting out there in the field.

Wrapped with a ribbon…It was a …Geschenk

On Christmas eve, Santa took one last Geschenk from his sack and laid it under the tree.

Meanwhile, on her birthday, a girl sees a box wrapped in sparkly paper with a colorful ribbon. She picks it up and says…

Danke für das Geschenk, Mama.

So a Geschenk is a gift.

Let’s run through all four again. And as always, be sure to envision that surreal image we described.

field… glass… water… gift

Feld….Glas…Wasser…Geschenk

Say: This is my water.

Das ist mein Wasser.

Ask a friend: Where is your gift?

Wo ist dein Geschenk?

And segueing into review, ask a friend:

Where is your smartphone?

Wo ist dein Handy?

Try: The beer is big.

Das Bier ist groß.

How about: The refrigerator is big.
Der Kühlschrank ist groß.

Did you get Das Bier in the first one, and Der Kühlschrank in that last one?

Bier is neuter, but Kühlschrank is masculine

How about: The window is big.

Das Fenster ist groß.

Finally, ask: Where is the shelf?

Wo ist das Regal?

So how are you doing? Are you seeing the images in the pictures we envisioned, to confirm the gender? If you are, and you’re getting all these Ders and Dasses…you’re going to be such a good German speaker.

(music)

Alright, so straight to today’s main pattern. This one is huge. Remembering back to lesson 2, how would you say: I have a refrigerator. ….hit pause if you need to

Ich habe einen Kühlschrank.

Did you remember to change ein to einen? And why do we do that? Because (fist/palm) when we do something to a masculine noun, the supporting words change. They get that “en” ending. Hmm, I wonder if that happens to neuter nouns, too. Let’s try the phrase…

I have a house.

Ich habe ein Haus.

No. She only said “ein.” She only said ein. Guys, this is a huge bit of insight into the language right here. The words which support and describe neuter nouns do NOT change when we do something to them. Let’s try it again, this time working with “your.” For ex:

Is this your dog?

Ist das dein Hund?

I see your dog.

Ich sehe deinen Hund.

Hund is masculine, and so dein changes to deinen. Again, this was the main takeaway of Lesson #2. But now let’s try that with the neuter word smartphone. Listen…

Is this your smartphone?

Ist das dein Handy?

I see your smartphone.

Ich sehe dein Handy.

That word dein didn’t change. Why not? Because only the words which support and describe masculine nouns change when you (fist/hand)do something to them.

Take a moment, hit pause, and run through the four masculine nouns from our park picture from Lesson 1. For each item, say: I see a ______ .

Ich sehe einen Park.

Ich sehe einen Mann.

Ich sehe einen Hund.

Ich sehe einen Baum.

Now run through the first five neuter nouns we learned, using that same construction. So hit pause and say: I see a window….and so on.

Ich sehe ein Fenster.

Ich sehe ein Bier.

Ich sehe ein Handy.

Ich sehe ein Regal.

Ich sehe ein Haus.

Here’s why this system is so cool. Because the fact that “ein” or “mein” or “dein” are not changing, tells us that the word is neuter. It’s not trying to be complicated. It’s set up to help us learn the gender. Granted, with our system of using images to group nouns by gender we won’t have an issue anyway. But still, the way German grammar works, it is constantly reinforcing the gender, sentence after sentence, to remind and reinforce. It’s really clever.

Let’s try bouncing back and forth between masculine and neuter. Ready?

I want your dog.

Ich will deinen Hund.

I want your beer.

Ich will dein Bier.

I have his apple.

Ich habe seinen Apfel.

I have his smartphone.

Ich habe sein Handy.

I see my table.

Ich sehe meinen Tisch.

I see my window.
Ich sehe mein Fenster.

Excellent!

TIP OF THE DAY

One of the most common concerns that adult language learners have is about their pronunciation. Oh, I’m so worried I have an accent. The truth is, you most likely have an accent when you speak German. I certainly do. But so what? Every German speaker I’ve ever interacted with speaks English with a German accent as thick bratwurst. Doesn’t bother me. It’s doesn’t hinder their ability to communicate. And that’s the bottom line: Does a native speaker understand you?

As for how to check that…Well, you can try to find a native speaking practice partner. There are plenty of websites for that. But also, in a pinch you can use something like Google translate. Have it listen to your German and see if it types out what you’re trying to say. It’s not perfect, but better than nothing.

So don’t worry about having an accent. There are millions of immigrants in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. They come from everywhere from Syria to Syracuse. German speakers, especially in the big cities, are very used to hearing and making sense of a broad range of non-German accents. You just want to make sure you’re saying things close enough so that you are understood.

(music)

Next, let’s learn a new verb. Imagine you’re sitting in your living room reading a book. Suddenly your roommate comes in. He pulls open drawers, looks for a moment, slams them shut. He lifts the cushions on the couch. Bends down, glances under the coffee table. Dude, what’re you looking for? And being German he says…

Ich suche mein Handy.

The first letter of this word suche is an S, but it sounds much closer to an English Z, doesn’t it?

Suche.

Let’s try it again. Remember our picture from Lesson #1? Imagine the man calling out for Fido. “Here boy!” He explains: I’m looking for my dog.

Ich suche meinen Hund.

Did you say…meinen? Because looking for the dog, a masculine noun, counts as doing something to it.

Imagine it’s your newphew’s birthday. You and your brother bought the kid a gift but now you can’t find it. Say…

I’m searching for his gift.

Ich suche sein Geschenk.

Where is my glass.

Wo ist mein Glas?

Tell him: I have your glass.

Ich habe dein Glas.

Imagine your friend has a huge kitchen, and the refrigerator is one of those that’s designed to look like the cabinetry. Say: I’m looking for your refrigerator.

Ich suche deinen Kühlschrank.

Let’s switch roles for a second. Imagine a classmate asks you, “Hey, why is it dein in one sentence and then in the next it’s deinen?”

What do you tell him? Hit pause and say the explanation out loud.

(swell)

I’d tell him: Glas is neuter, and the supporting words for neuter nouns–words like a, the, my, your– they aren’t affected when you do something to them. But Kühlschrank is masculine, and their supporting words change when acted upon. And so dein becomes deinen.

And remember what I said earlier: This system helps reinforce, over and over, the gender of each noun. It’s so clever.

Check it out. In these next phrases, tell me if the noun–which I’m assuming will be unfamiliar to you–is masculine, neuter…or can’t tell.

Das ist mein Tacker.

We only know that it’s either masculine or neuter. Maybe another phrase will clarify…

Ich suche meinen Tacker.

meinen…Okay, now we know. Masculine.

Ich sehe ein Schwert

Neuter. We’re doing something to the noun, but ein remained unchanged.

Ich habe deinen Dosenöffner.

Masculine.

Next…

Wo ist mein Spatel?
Masculine or neuter. Not sure.

But now…

Ich suche meinen Spatel.

Now we know. Doing something to it gave us meinen. So it’s a masculine noun.

As we near the end of Lesson 4, I imagine some of you are wondering, Man, when are we going to get to other things? When do we cover verb conjugations? When do we learn to ask directions or order food in a cafe? We’re getting to all that, of course. But for a little while longer we’re going to stick with this very analytical approach. Because if you take this little extra time up front to see how gender functions in German, everything else will lock in so much more solidly down the road.

Speaking of the road, it’s almost time to go. But let’s head out on a final review.

Where is the park?

Wo ist der Park?

I’m looking for the park.

Ich suche den Park.

masculine, so der changed to den

Where is the field?

Wo ist das Feld?

I’m looking for the field.

Ich suche das Feld.

neuter…no changes

I see the man.

Ich sehe den Mann.

I see the house.

Ich sehe das Haus.

I have your orange juice.

Ich habe deinen Orangensaft.

I have your water.

Ich habe dein Wasser.

I want my apple.

Ich will meinen Apfel.

I want my glass.

Ich will mein Glas.

I’m looking for a refrigerator.

Ich suche einen Kühlschrank.

I’m looking for a gift.

Ich suche ein Geschenk.

Great job as always. See you in Lesson 5. Get ready…finally…for feminine nouns.

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #3 of Stress Free German….the Teaching and Prompting section. I again want to make sure everyone here has listened to the first two lessons of this course, and that you’ve seen the images we’ve created. Because if you skip lessons or don’t look at the images, the method will not work for you. Alright, with that out of the way, los gehts!

We’ll get to review in a moment, but let’s start with a new word. Listen and repeat after our native speaker: Regal

Again? Regal

To spell that using English letters, it’s r-e-g-a-l. And it’s that L I’d like to work with for a minute. Because the German L is a bit different from the English L. Essentially, Germans are putting their tongue on the roof of their mouth just behind the upper teeth. It’s also flattened a bit. Compare…

El (English)

El

Al

Al

And how about that German R? There are two R sounds in German. The easy one resembles an English “ah”, and often comes at the end of words, as in Mutter and Vater

The more challenging R is pronounced in the back of the throat. Try to bring your tongue back, relax it, and force air through. Like a dry gargle. So R-O-T sounds like: ROT

R-A-T…RAT

Try those again: ROT RAT

And once again today’s new word: Regal

We’ll get to the meaning in a minute, but first let’s do some review.

Ask a friend: Is this your dog?

Ist das dein Hund?

I see your dog.

Ich sehe deinen Hund.

Is this his juice?

Ist das sein Saft?

I want his orange juice.

Ich will seinen Orangesaft.

Where is the refrigerator?

Wo ist der Kühlschrank?

I have the refrigerator.

Ich habe den Kühlschrank.

Where is the park?

Wo ist der Park?

I see the park.

Ich sehe den Park.

Ok, excellent. On to today’s main image. Today’s nouns are all neuter. This means we’ll be using the article DAS when we use the words in simple, declarative phrases. So: Imagine a glass of beer and someone’s smartphone on a shelf near a window. Outside the window is a house. One more time:

A glass of beer, a smartphone, on a shelf…by a window. Outside is a house.

Let’s hear those first three concrete nouns in German…

Bier…Handy…Regal

Again? Bier…Handy…Regal

Notice that “ah” sound at the end of this word: Bier. That’s the easy German R.

Next, Handy is a fitting name for a Smartphone. After all, it’s a very handy object, right?

And Regal…that was our word from the start of today’s lesson. As you repeat the word, envision our shelf by the window. Regal

Now let’s add our neuter article. So say…

The beer. Das Bier

The smartphone. Das Handy

The shelf. Das Regal

And our last two concrete neuter nouns…envision that window…Fenster Fenster

And the house outside…Haus Haus

Say: The window Das Fenster

The house Das Haus

Did you know there’s actually an English word: defenestrate, which means to throw someone or something out a window. Ouch! But there’s your connection. And that leads me to our….

TIP OF THE DAY

The tip today is try to be flexible when processing German words. What I mean by that is to understand that there are hundreds, probably thousands, of words that the two languages have in common. What we call cognates. Some are obvious, like house and beer. Haus und Bier

But because English and German have been separated for hundreds of years now, the similarities between many other cognates is sometimes harder to spot. That’s why I recommend being flexible. Here, can you figure out which body parts these are?

Arm – Arm

Hand – Hand

Finger – Finger

Foot – Fuß

Nose – Nase

Shoulder – Schulter

Take that last one. I can imagine someone saying, “That doesn’t sound like shoulder to me. Where’s the O sound? Where’s the D?” I see your point, believe me, but that kind of rigid thinking is going to hold you back. So, as you watch those videos of Comprehensible Input, listen with a flexible ear. Like, Hmm, that kinda sounded like the word witty. That one sounded like wash. Or I miss…and so on. We’ll talk about this a lot more. For now, try to stay nice and flexible.

(music)

So, we took that break, right…partly to share an important tip, but also to force you to think about something else. So let’s see now how many of today’s new words you recall. Hit pause and try to say them.

(swell)

Be sure to visualize today’s new image. The beer and a phone on a shelf, near a window. Outside is a house outside. Say…

The beer. Das Bier

The smartphone. Das Handy

The shelf. Das Regal

The window Das Fenster

The house Das Haus

Okay, I need you to listen very closely to this next point. This is the main takeaway from today’s lesson. We use DAS to convey THE neuter noun. But when we say A neuter noun, we use ein.

Listen:

This is a beer.

Das ist ein Bier.

This isa house.

Das ist ein Haus.

This is a window.

Das ist ein Fenster.

So ein isn’t just for masculine nouns. Ein is also for neuter nouns. Hold on. That’s really important. Say it again with me: Ein isn’t just for masculine nouns. Ein is also for neuter nouns.

Let’s practice switching between using “a” and “the” with neuter nouns. Imagine a kid who is excited by everything he sees. So when you pass by a house, he calls out…

A house!

Ein Haus!

Mom tells him: The house is good.
Das Haus ist gut.

A beer!
Ein Bier!

Mom frowns and tells him: The beer is not good.
Das Bier ist nicht gut.

A smartphone!

Ein Handy!

The smartphone is good.
Das Handy ist gut.

How would that exchange go with a masculine noun?

A dog!

Ein Hund!

The dog is good.

Der Hund ist gut.

Did you say Der? Excellent! One more…um, let’s see…how about:

A refrigerator!

Ein Kühlschrank!

The refrigerator is good.

Der Kühlschrank ist gut.

I’m telling you, if you’re following along with all this and getting these all correct, you’re doing great. But of course, now let me put you to the test. Let’s say the kid points to some object and you don’t happen to know its gender. For example he calls out:

Ein Adler!

I’ll give you this: It’s not feminine. But, given that we heard him say Ein Adler, do we know which gender it is? No, we don’t. Why? Because both masculine and neuter nouns take ein in this kind of phrase. But then his mom says…

Ja, der Adler ist schön!

Ahh…now we know that it’s a masculine noun. Right? Uh-oh, the kid is pointing again…

Ein Pferd!

Tell me, what’s the gender of Pferd? Say: I don’t know yet. But then his mom says…

Ja, das Pferd ist schön!

I heard Das. So now we know it’s neuter. And notice something else: I’m not burdeoning you with the meaning of these new words. Because at this stage, believe it or not, meaning is just a distraction. It is. What you want to really focus on is how the language works. And you guys have already made excellent progress with that. More in a moment…

(music)

So the last major point today is that, along with ein, neuter nouns also take mein, dein and sein. Again, for now just listen…

Ist das mein Bier?

Ist das dein Handy?

Ist das sein Haus?

Imagine you’re sitting in a cafeteria, as Tanya brings drinks to the table.

Das ist mein Bier, und das ist dein Orangesaft.

But then Karl asks…

Wo ist mein Wasser?

Any guess what he’s asking for? Right…he said, Where is my water?

He used mein, so does that mean wasser is masculine? Not at all. It only tells us that it’s not feminine. Anway, Tanya’s eyebrows raise up in surprise…

Entschuldigung, Karl!

She hurries back to the counter and brings Karl a glass of water.

Hier ist dein Wasser.

Tanya, ist das Wasser warm oder kalt?

You probably figured out that he’s asking, Tanya, is the water warm or cold? But the real victory is if you spotted the das right before Wasser and realized…Hey, now I know it’s neuter!

(slower) Ist das Wasser …warm oder kalt?

I know we only just heard the words, but still, for fun, how would you ask:

Is the apple juice warm or cold?

Ist der Apfelsaft warm oder kalt?

Okay, let’s finish with a quick gender review. For each word I prompt you with, you just say: Where is the…whatever. And try to see it in its picture. Right? The image of the park, then the picture of the foods by the refrigerator, and today’s “things by the window” image. And as always, hit pause if you need more time. Ready?

cheese

Wo ist der Käse?

shelf

Wo ist das Regal?

table

Wo ist der Tisch?

window

Wo ist das Fenster?

house

Wo ist das Haus?

refrigerator

Wo ist der Kühlschrank?

Next lesson we’re going to learn a new trick.. the ultimate way to figure out, just by listening, whether a noun is masculine or neuter. It’s so cool. And I’ll explain next time. See you then!

Lesson PDF Download – Right click on PDF Icon – Save Link As…

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Lesson #2 of Stress Free German. I want to make sure everyone here has listened to Lesson 1. This course is cumulative, and each new one assumes you’ve mastered everything in all prior lessons. I also need to confirm that you download those two images from the site. These pictures are the tool we’ll be using to master the gender of German nouns. If so, let’s go!

Let’s start by reviewing what we learned in the first lesson. So imagine you’re in Munich with some friends of yours who don’t know any German. Please translate each German phrase for your friends.

Wo ist mein Papa?

Where is my dad?

Das ist mein Hund.

This is my dog.

Wo ist der Apfelbaum?

Where is the apple tree?

Hier ist der Park.

Here is the park.

Got those? Cool. Now try to say…

Here is your dad.

Hier ist dein Papa.

This is your apple.

Das ist dein Apfel.

So, on to today’s image: Remember that apple that was under the tree? Well, that apple is now inside, on a table. Just behind the apple is a big block of cheese. It looks like Swiss cheese, with those holes in it. Behind the cheese stands a bottle of orange juice. And in the background someone has left the refrigerator open. Can you see all that? It had five elements:

Apple, cheese and juice on a table, by an open refrigerator.

Here are those three foods in German.

APFEL…KÄSE…SAFT…

Can you figure out what each word was? Listen again…

APFEL…is apple. We already know that

KÄSE…

Mozzarella, das ist Käse. Parmesan, das ist Käse. Cheddar, das ist Käse.

So KÄSE is the German word for cheese. Think of the Spanish word Quesadilla…which is a cheese-filled tortilla. And the last food item was…

SAFT…It’s a word we often hear as a compound. For example…

Apfelsaft, Orangensaft, Grapefruitsaft

So saft on its own is just juice. Try all three again: Apple, cheese, juice

APFEL…KÄSE…SAFT

In our picture, the foods were sitting on a…TISCH

In English it’s a table, in German…TISCH.

At least they both begin with a T. And…

And in the background, is an open KÜHLSCHRANK.

KÜHLSCHRANK…literally the “cool closet” or “cool cabinet”…is a refrigerator

As you repeat each one after our native speaker, try to envision that element of our picture. Ready?

APFEL…KÄSE…SAFT…TISCH… KÜHLSCHRANK

As with lesson 1, these words are all masculine nouns, and again, they are all concrete. I mentioned that last time,. A concrete noun is something you can draw a picture of. Take the word banana. I can draw a picture of a banana so that everyone in the room immediately says, “Why, that’s a banana!” Because it’s a concrete noun. But imagine trying to draw the word humility. Or intrigue. Right? Not possible. Because those aren’t concrete nouns. In these early lessons, concrete nouns will be our main focus. Speaking of which, let’s see how many you recall. Ask…

Where is my juice.

Wo ist mein Saft?

Ask a friend: Where is your cheese?

Wo ist dein Käse?

This is my table.

Das ist mein Tisch.

Here is the refrigerator.

Hier ist der Kühlschrank.

This is my apple juice.

Das ist mein Apfelsaft.

You guys are doing great!

(music)

Imagine the waiter brings three glasses. You take one glass and tell her:

This is my orange juice.

Das ist mein Orangensaft.

You hand her one glass, saying: This is your apple juice.

Das ist dein Apfelsaft.

Since your friend Thomas is still in the bathroom, you slide that third glass towards his seat and you say…

Das ist sein Grapefruitsaft.

How does sein translate, do you think? This one’s mine, this one’s yours, and this is…sein. His.

Try to say: This is his table.

Das ist sein Tisch.

sein

how about: Where is his dog?

Wo ist sein Hund?

So, now we have three words which indicate ownership or possession…and which happen to rhyme.

Their masculine forms are:

mein…dein….sein

Take a moment to visualize three apples on a table. One is yours, one is your friend’s, and the third belongs to a guy who isn’t at the table. As you touch each apple say: Mine, yours, his.

mein…dein….sein

Let’s put that aside for a minute and work with the German word ein. So imagine we’ve magically transported into that first picture from Lesson 1. Amazed, you look around and simply note what you’re seeing. Like…Wow, a park.

Ein Park.

A dog.

Ein Hund.

A tree.

Ein Baum.

An apple.

Ein Apfel.

Now here comes a really cool aspect of German. Check it out. If I say that I have an apple, something happens to that word “ein.” Listen…

Ich habe einen Apfel.

Ein became einen. Listen to our native speaker.

Ich habe einen Apfel.

Hmm. Does that happen with other verbs? Let’s try: I see an apple.

Ich sehe einen Apfel.

Yup. Ein changed to einen. How about: I want an apple.

Ich will einen Apfel.

Sure enough. Ein becomes einen. And here’s why: When we do something to a masculine noun, the supporting words change. So the articles like der and ein, but also adjectives like my, your, his, big, blue, funny…they will all get that “en” added to the end.

Why did I say this was cool? After all, most students find this case system to be weird and confusing. It’s not, though. It’s helpful. Really helpful. And as we progress through the course, you going to feel it. You’re going to feel why this system is so cool and so useful. For now, though, let’s just work with the pattern. So, let’s do some listening….

Das ist ein Hund. Ich sehe einen Hund.

She said: This is a dog. I see a dog.

So we had ein in the first phrase, because nothing is happening to the dog. It’s just existing. But einen in the second phrase because we are seeing it. And seeing counts as doing something to the dog. How about this one…

Das ist ein Kühlschrank. Ich habe einen Kühlschrank.

he said: This is a refrigerator. I have a refrigerator. Again, having the fridge counts as doing something to it. Try this next one. And hit pause if you need more time….

Where is his table? I have his table.

Wo ist sein Tisch? Ich habe seinen Tisch.

Did you say sein in the first phrase, but seinen in the 2nd one? Excellent.

Tell your friend: I have your juice.

Ich habe deinen Saft.

Do you see why it’s vital to know the gender of every German noun? If you didn’t know that juice was masculine, you would not have been able to say: I have your juice. This is why our visual system of grouping concrete nouns by gender–these pictures that we’re making for you–this is going to make your German fast, accurate, and grammatical. Ok, time for….

——————————————- TIP OF THE DAY ———————————————

So there’s a good technique for developing your memory. What you want to do is, once you’ve learned a few new words, or even just one new phrase, take a moment to think about something else. Try to recall all the meals you ate yesterday, or the plot of a show you watched recently. You want to focus all your attention elsewhere…same thing I’m making you do right now. Right? Then after a minute or two of that distracted thinking, you try to recall as much as you can of what you just learned.

This concept is called Spaced Repetion, and there are apps that test you that way. Those are fine, but really you want to make it habit that you do yourself, especially when first learning something. So take a moment and ask …what were all the words we learned so far in this podcast. I’ll wait, while you find the PAUSE button.

(music)

Alright…so, how’d you do? By my count, we learned four nouns, one article, and a possessive pronoun. For the concrete nouns, can you see our main picture?

Käse Saft Tisch Kühlschrank

Okay, let’s work with our major new idea from today. Here it is again: When we do something to a masculine noun, the supporting words change.

One way to really feel this concept is to hold up your right palm, make a fist with your left hand, and…WHAM!…punch your palm. This is the symbol for “doing something” to a noun.

Ask a friend: Is this your juice?

Ist das dein Saft?

I want your juice.

Ich will deinen Saft.

Is this his dog?

Ist das sein Hund?

I want his dog.

Ich will seinen Hund.

Is this my apple?

Ist das mein Apfel?

Where is my apple?

Wo ist mein Apfel?

Did you say mein? Good. After all, nothing is being done to “my apple” there. It’s just existing somewhere.

I see my apple.

Ich sehe meinen Apfel.

Right. Now we need meinen, because seeing counts as doing.

I want a refrigerator.

Ich will einen Kühlschrank.

Even our original article, der, will change in these kinds of (hand punch) phrases. For example:

Wo ist der Mann?

I see the man. (For now just listen…)

Ich sehe den Mann.

Try that again. Ask…Where is the park?

Wo ist der Park?

I see the park.

Ich sehe den Park.

Where is the dog?
Wo ist der Hund?

I have the dog.

Ich habe den Hund.

Listening Comp. Audio (download link is to the right of the volume icon)

Welcome to Stress Free German, Volume 1, Lesson 1. The goal of this course is to turn you into a confident speaker of German. We’re going to do that by applying advanced techniques like visual grouping, pattern recognition, construction branching and more. Each lesson has two parts: Part I uses English to explain the language, and to prompt you to speak German. Part II is the listening comprehension section, and is entirely in German.

So, who is this course for? Well, it’s for two types of students. If you’re an absolute beginner, this is definitely a great place to start. But students with experience in German are also welcome. I think most beginners quickly get frustrated trying to memorize the gender of hundreds and hundreds of German nouns. And I think they wonder, Is there a better way?

There is. There’s a much better way. It’s called Visual Grouping.

And certainly a lot of students feel overwhelmed by the German case system. The genitive, dative, accusative….And as they’re forced to memorize declension charts I imagine they’re also wondering, Is there a better way?

There is. It’s called Pattern Recognition.

If you’ve been having these kinds of problems trying to learn German, then you’re definitely in the right place and your struggle ends today. All you need to do is just follow along, and be sure to speak out loud when prompted.

(music)

Even though this is an audio course, we’re going to take a very visual approach to the language. So let’s start by trying to envision a scene. Imagine a man standing in a park. Beside the man is a dog. The man and the dog are standing beneath a large tree. I have an actual picture of this scene, which I’ll direct you to after the episode, but for now, let’s just imagine it. So our image had four elements. Here they are in German this time. Listen?

MANN… PARK… HUND.. BAUM

Can you figure out what each word was? Listen again…

MANN…is obviously the man

PARK…is park, although that German ‘R’ is kinda soft, isn’t it?

HUND…sounds like the English word “hound” doesn’t it? Which is a type of dog. And then…

BAUM…think of that old Christmas song, “Oh, Tannenbaum, oh Tannenbaum..” which means, “Oh, Fir tree, oh Fir Tree…” So BAUM is a tree.

As you repeat each one after our native speaker, try to envision that element of our picture. Ready?

MANN…PARK…HUND…BAUM

You might be wondering, Why start a course with those four words? Well, two reasons: They are all concrete nouns. More on that concept in a future lesson. But also, in German those four words all happen to be masculine nouns. If you’re new to German, you might be surprised that nouns have gender. But actually, most European languages do this. They assign gender to nouns. And in German, there are three gender choices: masculine, feminine or neuter.

This tends to be the first big problem that students of German have; they can’t recall the gender of German nouns. And the problem is a very serious one: If you dont know the gender, you can’t use the word properly. And again, in this course, I promise, we’re going to solve that issue for you.

Speaking of words, what were the four words that we started with today? Can you see the image in your head? Say them with our native speaker…

MANN… PARK… HUND.. BAUM

Next, listen to these German phrases. All I want you to catch is the first word in each phrase:

Der Mann ist schlau.

Der Park ist sauber.

Der Hund ist braun.

Der Baum ist hoch.

Did you hear it? DER. That’s called the article. It basically functions as the word “the” in German. The man is smart. The park is clean, and so on. Or listen to these. They’re asking, Where is the…..

Wo ist der Mann?
Wo ist der Park?
Wo ist der Hund?
Wo ist der Baum?

Can you try that? Ask…

Where is the Park?

Wo ist der Park?

So your friend points to a map and tells you…

Der Park ist hier.

Imagine again our image of that park. Imagine yourself inside the picture. Put your hand on the tree and say…

The tree is here.

Der Baum ist hier.

So we’re coming up on a key point: If you didn’t know that those words were masculine, you would not have been able to say even those very simple phrases.

Okay, pardon me while I turn on my Warning Alarm…

***KLAXON***

Why the alarm? Because this is it. This is where virtually every course gets it wrong. At this point they casually instruct you to memorize the article along with the noun. Are you kidding me? You want me to memorize thousands of ders, dies and dasses? I’m not going to do it. We’re not going to do it. We’re going to use something called visual grouping.

The thing about German…the words themselves aren’t hard. For example:

Haus Bier Pizza Garten

House, beer, pizza, garden

It’s not the vocabulary that’s tough, it’s remembering the gender of all those words. And yet you have to, because if you don’t know the gender, you can’t use the word.

But don’t worry: Weare not going to memorize anything. We are going to simply see the gender of each word we learn. Tell me, what’s the gender of the following German word: Mann

Did you say masculine? Excellent. How about: Hund

Right again. Masculine. Can you think of two other masculine nouns we learned today? Hit pause. Try to see the picture…

Baum. Park.

Did you memorize them? Nope. You’re basically just seeing them in your head.

(music)

So, you’re standing there with the dog under that tree in the park. And suddenly, a woman approaches. She’s holding out her phone and showing you a photo of the dog…

Entschuldigung, das ist mein Hund.

That can’t be! I mean, it sure looks like your dog. Isn’t that right Fido? (dog panting)

So you tell the woman…

Nein, das ist mein Hund.

Let’s try those again. Say: This is my dog.

Das ist mein Hund.

Say: No, this is my dog.

Nein, das ist mein Hund.

Say that word “my” again? MEIN MEIN

Now, we’re gonna talk a lot more about this in an upcoming lesson, so all I’m going to say for now is this: Mein is one of the ways that we refer to masculine nouns as being “mine.”

So try that again: This is my dog.

Das ist mein Hund.

Let’s learn a easy new word here. In English we can refer to our dad as Papa. In German, they use the same word. Listen: Papa.

And the word Papa is masculine, of course. So say…

This is my Papa.

Das ist mein Papa.

How about: This is my tree.

Das ist mein Baum.

I know it doesn’t feel like much so far, learning words like tree or park, but actually if you’re following all this and getting the phrases right then you’ve already taken a big step forward in German. Ok..quick break..

TIP OF THE DAY

In each lesson I’ll be sharing ideas about how to learn German efficiently. For today’s tip, I’d like to return to that idea of Comprehensible Input, or C.I. for short. Usually C.I. is a video where a native speaker talks in such a way that you can mostly follow what he or she is saying. They usually have a whiteboard, and they draw whatever it is they’re talking about, so you can get the gist. A well-made C.I. video is an excellent resource, and you should definitely be watching them regularly.

The drawback, though, to C.I. is that there’s basically zero explanation. Like, wait…Why did she say Die Tasche in one phrase, and in the next it’s Der Tasche? Another issue is that there’s very little prompting for you to talk. So your listening skills get developed–and that’s definitely important–but you don’t walk away talking much in German.

It’s those two shortcomings in the C.I. methodology that prompted the creation of this course.

We’re going to help you understand how German works, and we’re going to prompt you, more and more often, to speak the language. And toward that end, let’s get back to the lesson.

Try to say:

Where is my dog?

Wo ist mein Hund?

Where is my Papa?

Wo ist mein Papa?

This is my tree.

Das ist mein Baum.

Where is the park?
Wo ist der Park?

Alright. Let’s try adding another new word. It’s a yummy one. (CRUNCH / chewing of apple)

Can you tell what fruit I’m eating?

Apfel

Right. An apple. So let’s envision our tree in that park. The man and the dog are now gone, but a shiny red apple is on the grass beneath the tree. Let’s listen to a couple of phrases and see if we can figure our which article it gets. Ready?

Mmm! Der Apfel ist lecker!

Der Apfel ist nicht so gut.

Are you hearing the article Der? Because these were simple, declarative sentences, we know that Apfel must be masculine. I’ll cover this in a future lesson, but for now just know this: The articleDer does NOT automatically mean that the next word is a masculine noun. Here, yes. Der Apfel is indeed masculine.

So, as someone takes your apple let’s tell them…

This is my apple.

Das ist mein Apfel.

Say: No, this is my apple.

Nein, das ist mein Apfel.

Ask them: Where is my apple?

Wo ist mein Apfel?

So the man pulls an apple out of the refrigerator and puts it on the table. He tells her…

Hier ist dein Apfel.

So, dein is our last new word for today. Again, we’re gonna talk a lot more about this in an upcoming lesson. For now just know that dein is one of the ways that we refer to masculine nouns as being “your.” Try this. Ask…

Where is my dog?

Wo ist mein Hund?

Here is your dog.

Hier ist dein Hund.

We notice that mein and dein rhyme, which is helpful. But it goes deeper than that. Both words refer to just one person…me or you. So we can’t use dein if you’re talking to a group of people.

You also should only use this word dein with people you are friendly with. So if talking to a stranger, or in some other formal situation, it’s impolite to use dein. Again, more on this aspect of German in an upcoming lesson.

Imagine a kid asks you:

Wo ist mein Papa?

Tell her Here is your Papa.

Hier ist dein Papa.

If you’re getting these right, you’re doing great.

(music)

Almost done. But before we go, let’s do a review of everything we’ve learned today. Ready? Say…

Where is the park?

Wo ist der Park?

Here is the park.

Hier ist der Park.

Where is my dad?

Wo ist mein Papa?

Here is your dad.

Hier ist dein Papa.

This is my tree.

Das ist mein Baum.

This is your apple.

Das ist dein Apfel.