Course for absolute beginnersGerman words

*Welcome to the German course for absolute beginners!* In this course, you'll learn important phrases like *thank you* and *please*, along with greetings and simple questions. We’ll also dive into the basics of nouns, articles, and plurals. Let´s start with "bitte"! "Bitte" has a few different uses in German. It is sort of an all-purpose politeness word! You can ask "Bitte?" (sorry?) when you do not understand someone. You can say "Ja, bitte!" when you agree to something. You can say "Bitte!" instead of *you are welcome!*

*German nouns and articles* In German, all nouns are either *masculine*, *feminine*, or *neuter*. In German, the article changes depending on the noun's gender. masculine - "ein Mann" feminine - "eine Frau" neuter - "ein Kind" *German personal pronouns* "ich" "du" "er" "sie" "es" "wir" "ihr" "sie" Du, ihr and Sie can be all translated as *you*, so what's the difference? *du is singular* - use du for one friend or relative, someone you *know well*. *ihr is plural* - use ihr for several friends or relatives, people you know well. *Sie is formal* and can be singular or plural - use Sie for people you *do not know* or when you have to be *respectful* to them.

*Definite article - the* In German, the definite article changes depending on the noun's gender. masculine - "der" feminine - "die" neuter - "das" When you're learning new German words, try to memorize whether the word goes with "der", "die", or "das". In German it's very important!

*The verb TO BE* The verb *to be* is irregular. Here is how to conjugate this verb in the singular. "ich bin" "du bist" "er/sie/es ist"

*The verb TO BE in plural* The verb to be is irregular. Here is how you conjugate this verb in plural. "wir sind" "ihr seid" "sie sind" Notice that "sie" is the word for *she* and *they*. They look the same, but each one gets its own verb form!'

*Make it plural!* In German, there are different ways to make plurals. When a noun is plural, the article is always "die"! Here are some examples: "der Mann" - "die Männer" "das Kind" - "die Kinder" "der Tisch" - "die Tische" "die Frau" - "die Frauen" "das Mädchen" - "die Mädchen"

*W-questions* W-questions are used when asking someone about an unknown fact. These questions cannot be answered with a simple *yes* or *no*. They usually begin with the letter *W*. In German we call them "W-Fragen". Here are some examples: "Wie heißt du?" "Woher kommst du?" "Wie alt bist du?" "Wo wohnst du?" "Warum gehst du?"

*Not!* To say *not* in German, you can use "nicht". Usually, "nicht" goes right after the verb. "Die Katze ist nicht schwarz." "Ich verstehe nicht."

*Questions* In German, you can move the *verb* to the beginning of the sentence to ask a question! "Bist du müde?" "Hast du Hunger?"

*The vowels change* Some verbs in German change the vowels when we conjugate them. Sometimes the *e* changes to *i* in the "du" and "er/sie/es" forms. Other verbs change the *e* to an *ie*. "Ich lese. Du liest. Er liest" "Ich esse. Du isst. Er isst."

*Long words* German is famous for long words! You can make these words by putting *nouns* together. The *gender* is always whatever gender the last word in the combo-word is! "der Kurs" + "das Buch" = "das Kursbuch" "der Tee" + "die Kanne" = "die Teekanne"

*Let's learn some adjectives!* In English, we can use *light* to refer to weight or colour. In German, "leicht" only refers to weight. "Kurz" can only be used for objects and time. To say that a person is small, use "klein".

*To have* The verb "haben" follows the endings pattern we have seen before, but keep in mind the *b* disappears in the "du" and "er" / "sie" / "es" forms. "ich habe" "du hast" "er/sie/es hat" "wir haben" "ihr habt" "sie haben"

*Does it belong to you?* Possessive words, like *my* and *your*, show that something belongs to someone. "ich" - "mein" "du" - "dein" "er" - "sein" "sie" - "ihr" "wir" - "unser" "ihr" - "euer" "sie" - "ihr"

*Die beiden Frauen?* Some words, such as "beide" and "alle", are usually pretty *noun-y*. Sometimes, though, they can be used as adjectives! used as noun - "Alle wohnen hier." used as adjective - "Alle Kinder mögen Eis."

*Nicht or kein?* There is another way of negating in German. Do not use "nicht" with *nouns*. If you want to say things like *I am not a girl*, you will use "kein" instead. "Die Katze ist nicht klein." "Das ist keine Katze."

*More ways to say no!* You can use the word "niemand" or "keiner" to mean *nobody*. Be careful not to confuse word "nicht" with "nichts"! "Nichts" means *nothing*. Use "nie" or "niemals" to say *never*.

*What do you like to do?* You can show that you enjoy doing something by adding the word "gern" after the *verb*. If you do not like it, use "nicht gern" instead. "Ich lese gern." "Ich lerne nicht gern Mathe."

*Der oder den?* German has four cases and the articles sometimes change accordingly. Remember that with *masculine noun*, "der" and "ein" change when the noun recieves an *action*, like "Ich esse den Apfel". "der" --> "den" "ein" --> "einen"

*No special endings* With forms of "sein" you do not need any special endings! "Der Mann ist mein Freund." "Das ist ein Garten." "Ist das ein Salat?"

*Compound Words* Understanding how German words are built can help you dissect larger words! Check out some examples with "das Zeug"! "fahren" + "das Zeug" = "das Fahrzeug" "der Flug" + "das Zeug" = "das Flugzeug" "das Spiel" + "das Zeug" = "das Spielzeug"

*Remember the gender!* Although the gender of nouns may seem random, some are predictable. For example, almost all nouns that end with *-ung* or *-e* are feminine. "die Kleidung" "die Wohnung" "die Küche" "die Steckdose"

*An extra E* Some verbs have letters like *d* or *n* in the main part, which can make them hard to pronounce when you add on verb endings. To solve this problem, there is an added *e*! "du öffnest" "er öffnet" "du findest" "er findet" You can use the verb "finden" to express your opinion about something! "Ich finde den Film gut." "Findest du das Mädchen schön?"

*Types of people* There are a few different words in German for *people*! "Menschen" are technically humans, human beings, or mankind. "Leute" is a larger group of people (and it is always *plural*). "Person" literally means person. You can also use "Personen" to refer to a group of people small enough to count.