Wechselpräpositionen in lokaler Bedeutung

Hallo zusammen!!! Today I will talk about something I have already talked about here and here, but today I will focus on the “two-way” prepositions. As explained before, the basic rule for determining whether a two-way preposition should have an object in the accusative or dative case is motion versus location.

• The ,,Akkusativ” occurs when there is motion towards something or to a specific location (,,wohin?“,where to?).

• The ,,Dativ” occurs when there is no motion at all or random motion going nowhere in particular (,,wo?“, where (at)?).

Wechselpräpositionen in lokaler Bedeutung

What I have  just learned at my German class is that there are some ,,Aktionsverben” and ,,Positionsverben” that have the same meaning, but sometimes are written in a different way. Here they are:

	Aktionsverben Wohin? = Aktion = Akkusativ	Positionsverben Wo? = Position = Dativ
be, be located	legen	liegen
stand	stellen	stehen
hang	hängen	hängen
sit, be situated	setzen	sitzen
plug, put	stecken	stecken

Let’s practice a little bit!! Take a look at this room:

Dativ

1. Wo stehen die Bücher? Die Bücher stehen auf dem Bücherregal.
2. Wo hängen die Bilder? Die Bilder hängen an der Wand.
3. Wo liegt die Tasche? Die Tasche liegt unter dem Tisch.
4. Wo steht der Stuhl? Der Stuhl steht vor dem Tisch.
5. Wo hängt die Lampe? Die Lampe hängt über dem Sofa.

Akkusativ

1. Wohin hängst du das Regal? Ich hänge das Regal über das Sofa.
2. Wohin stellst du den Computer? Ich stelle den Computer auf den Tisch.
3. Wohin hängst du die Kleidung? Ich hänge die Kleidung in den Kleiderschrank.
4. Wohin legst du den gelben Teddybär? Ich lege den gelben Teddybär unter das Sofa.
5. Wohin stellst du die Pflanze? Ich stelle die Pflanze auf das Regal.

Now, use these examples to write your own sentences and practice more!!! See ya 😉

die Adjektivdeklination – Typ 3

Hi everyone,

Let’s continue talking about adjective endings…

To review the Strong inflexion, click here: Starke Deklination.

To review the Mixed inflexion, click here: Gemischte Deklination.

Typ 3 : Schwasche Deklination

Weak inflection, or ,,Schwasche Deklination“, is used:

• After the definite article
• After ,,derselb-” (the same), ,,derjenig-” (the one)
• After ,,dies-” (this), ,,jen-” (that), ,,jeglich-” (any), ,,jed-” (every), which decline like the definite article.
• After ,,manch-” (some), ,,solch-“ (such), ,,welch-” (which), which decline like definite article.
• After ,,mir”, ,,dir“, ,,ihm“
• After ,,arm” (meagre), ,,alt” (old), ,,all” (all)

Weak Inflexion
	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nominativ	-e	-e	-e	-en
Akkusativ	-en	-e	-e	-en
Dativ	-en	-en	-en	-en
Genitiv	-en	-en	-en	-en

The adjective endings rule with the definite article (der, die, das) or the so-called der-words (dieser, jeder, etc.) is simple:

1. The adjective endings in the nominative is always ,,-e” (except for the plural that is always ,,-en” in all situations!).
2. The adjective endings in the  accusative identical to those in the nominative case, except for the masculine gender (der/den).
3. The adjective endings in the dative and genitive is ALWAYS –en!

That is all I’ve learned about adjective endings by now!!!! So, keep practicing and wait for new posts!! 😀

die Adjektivdeklination – Typ 2

Hi everyone, Let’s continue talking about adjective endings… To review the Strong inflexion, click here: Starke Deklination.

Typ 2 : Gemischte Deklination

Mixed inflection, or ,,Gemischte Deklination“, is used:

• After the indefinite article ,,ein-“, ,,kein-“
• After the possessive determiners in singular.

Mixed Inflexion
	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nominativ	-er	-e	-es	-en*1
Akkusativ	-en	-e	-es	-en*1
Dativ	-en	-en	-en	-en*1
Genitiv	-en	-en	-en	-en*1

*¹ kein/e/n is used to show the plural because you can say “no shoes” but not “a shoes”! With ein-words (ein, dein, keine, etc.), the adjective must reflect the gender of the noun that follows.

1. The adjective endings in the nominative ,,-er“, ,,-e” and ,,-es” correspond to the articles ,,der“, ,,die“, and ,,das” respectively.
2. The adjective endings in the  accusative ,,-en“, ,,-e” and ,,-es” correspond to the articles ,,den“, ,,die“, and ,,das” respectively.
3. The adjective endings in the dative and genitive is ALWAYS –en!

I will talk more about the weak inflexion in the next post. As I said previously, keep practicing German gender nouns and cases because it is very important!!! 😉

die Adjektivdeklination – Typ 1

Hallo!!

Today I’m going to start talking about German adjectives. In German an adjective is a word that usually go in front of a noun or pronoun they modify, giving more information about their definition.

,,der gute Mann” (the good man)

,,das große Auto” (the big car)

,,die schöne Dame” (the pretty lady)

A German adjective in front of a noun has to have an ending (,,Adjektivdeklination“), which depends on several factors, including gender (der, die, das), case (nominative, accusative, dative) and the type of declension (“strong”, “mixed” or “weak”).

Several adjectives take no ending at all:

• Singular limiting adjectives: wenig, etwas, genug, and viel
• The plural limiting phrase ‘ein Paar’
• When the adjective come after the verb (predicate adjective)

,,Das Haus ist groß.” (The house is large.)

As we already know when to use the German cases, let’s talk about the type of declension:

Typ 1 : Starke Deklination

Strong Inflexion, or ,,Starke Deklination“, is used:

• When no article is used
• After ,,etwas” (some; somewhat), ,,mehr” (more), ,,nichts” (nothing)
• After ,,wenig-” (few), ,,viel-” (much; many), ,,mehrer-” (several; many), ,,all-” (all), which also have strong adjective inflection
• After personal pronouns other than ,,mir“, ,,dir“, ,,ihm“
• After number adjectives with no endings

Strong Inflexion
	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nominativ	-er	-e	-es	-e
Akkusativ	-en	-e	-es	-e
Dativ	-em	-er	-em	-en
Genitiv	-en	-er	-en	-er

I will talk more about the other types of declension in the next posts… keep practicing German gender nouns and cases! 😉

See ya!!

der Dativ

Hello everyone!!!

I’m back again with new posts and I’m very (VERY) happy about the compliments I’ve been receiving about my blog!!! Thank you very much!! >.<

We need to finish the MGGC… “Marathon of German Grammatical Cases”… (I’m just giving a name to it!) hahahha 😉

So, next step: the dative case.

The dative case is known as the indirect object. The indirect object (dative) is usually the receiver of the direct object (accusative), but some German verbs do not take an accusative object. Unlike the accusative, which only changes in the masculine gender, the dative changes in all genders and in the plural. In addition, the dative is also used after certain dative verbs and with dative prepositions. Click here for more informations.

The question word in the dative case is ,,wem” ([to] whom):

,,Wem hast du das Buch gegeben?” (Whom did you give book?)

NOTES!

1. Some masculine nouns add an ,,-en” or ,,-n” ending in the dative and in all other cases besides the nominative ⇨ ,,dem/einem Jungen” (the/a boy).
2.  In the dative, plural nouns add an ,,-en” or ,,-n” if the plural does not already end in ,,-n“, except for plurals ending in ,,-s” ⇨ ,,den/keinen Leuten” (the/no people).

DATIVE PREPOSITIONS

Some German prepositions are governed by the dative case. There are two kinds of dative prepositions: those that are always dative and never anything else and certain “two-way” prepositions that can be either dative or accusative (depending on how they are used).

Here is a list of the dative-only prepositions.

Dative Prepositions
Deutsch	Englisch
aus	from, out of
außer	except for, besides
bei	at, near
gegenüber	across from, opposite
mit	with, by
nach	after, to
seit	since (time), for
von	by, from
zu	at, to

NOTES!

1. ,,Gegenüber” can go before or after its object.
2.  The genitive prepositions ,,statt” (instead of), ,,trotz” (in spite of), ,,während” (during) and ,,wegen” (because of) are often used with the dative in spoken German, particularly in certain regions.

The meaning of a two-way preposition often depends on whether it is used with the dative or accusative case.

Two-Way Prepositions Accusative/Dative
Deutsch	Englisch
an	at, on, to
auf	at, to, on, upon
hinter	behind
in	in, into
neben	beside, near, next to
über	about, above, across, over
unter	under, among
vor	in front of, before; ago (time)
zwischen	between

The basic rule for determining whether a two-way preposition should have an object in the accusative or dative case is motion versus location.  The following rule applies only to the so-called “two-way” or “dual” prepositions in German.

• The accusative occurs when there is motion towards something or to a specific location (,,wohin?“, where to?).

,,Wir gehen ins Kino.“ (ins = in das) (We’re going to the movies/cinema.)

,,Legen Sie das Buch auf den Tisch.” (Put/Lay the book on the table.)

• The dative occurs when there is no motion at all or random motion going nowhere in particular (,,wo?“, where (at)?).

,,Wir sind im Kino.“ (im = in dem) (We’re at the movies/cinema.)

,,Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch.“ (The book’s lying on the table.)

Many of these prepositions have another meaning in common everyday idioms and expressions: ,,auf dem Lande” (in the country), ,,um drei Uhr” (at three o’clock), ,,unter uns” (among us), ,,am Mittwoch” (on Wednesday), ,,vor einer Woche” (a week ago), etc. These expressions can be learned as vocabulary without worrying about the grammar involved.

Here are some other dative case examples (the dative word, preposition or expression is in red):

,,Der Polizist gibt dem Fahrer einen Strafzettel.” (The policeman is giving the driver a ticket.)

,,Mit der Bahn fahren wir.” (We’re going by train.)

,,Meiner Meinung nach ist es zu teuer.” (In my opinion it’s too expensive.)

,,Das Hotel ist dem Bahnhof gegenüber.” (The hotel is across from the train station.)

,,Er arbeitet bei einer großen Firma.” (He works at a big company.)

,,Wir verbringen eine Woche am See.” (We’re spending a week at the lake.)

,,Wir machen das mit einem Computer.” (We do that with a computer.)

That is what I’ve learned about dative case today…

Next post (Genitive case) we will finish the “MGGC”!!!

Bye! 😉

die vier deutschen Fällen

Hi everyone!!!

As I’ve been promissed, today I will start talking about the four German grammatical cases… finally!!! hahaha

The German grammatical cases are:

1. ,,Nominativ“: It is simply the subject of the sentence.
   
2. ,,Akkusativ“: It is the direct object of the sentence. This is the case governed by most verbs and prepositions.
3. ,,Dativ“: The words are declined when they have indirect object function. A smaller number of verbs and prepositions govern the dative.
4. ,,Genitiv“: It is essentially the case of possession.

English cases are only apparent with pronouns, not with nouns, as in German. When “he” changes to “him” in English, that’s exactly the same thing that happens when er changes to ihn in German (and der changes to den). This allows German to have more flexibility in word order, for example:

,,Der Hund beißt den Mann.” (“The dog bites the man.”)
,,Den Mann beißt der Hund.” (“The dog bites the man.”)
,,Beißt der Hund den Mann?” (“Is the dog biting the man?”)
,,Beißt den Mann der Hund?” (“Is the dog biting the man?”)

In German the word order can be changed for emphasis, without altering the basic meaning. But if you say “Man bites dog” in English, rather than “Dog bites man”, you change the meaning. Because English does not have the same case markers (der/den), it must depend on word order.

Definite Articles (the)
Fall Case	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nom	der	die	das	die
Akk	den	die	das	die
Dat	dem	der	dem	den
Gen	des	der	des	der

Indefinite Articles (a/an)
Fall Case	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nom	(k)ein	(k)eine	(k)ein	keine*
Akk	(k)einen	(k)eine	(k)ein	keine*
Dat	(k)einem	(k)einer	(k)einem	keine*
Gen	(k)eines	(k)einer	(k)eines	keine*

NOTE!

1. ,,Keine” is the negative of ,,eine“, which has no plural form. But ,,keine” (no/none) can be used in the plural.

Demonstrative Pronouns (der, die, denen)
Fall Case	Männlich masculine	Weiblich feminine	Sächlich neuter	Mehrzahl plural
Nom	der that one	die that one	das that one	die these
Akk	den that one	die that one	das that one	die those
Dat	dem (to) that	der (to) that	dem (to) that	denen (to) them
Gen	dessen of that	deren of that	dessen of that	deren of them

NOTE!

1. When the definite articles are used as demonstrative pronouns, only the dative plural and genitive forms are different from the normal definite articles.

Personal Pronouns
	Nom	Akk	Dat	Gen
1. Person sing.	ich I	mich me	mir (to) me	mein my
2. Person sing.	du you	dich you	dir (to) you	dein your
3. Person sing.	er he	ihn him	ihm (to) him	sein his
3. Person sing.	sie she	sie her	ihr (to) her	ihr her
3. Person sing.	es it	es it	ihm (to) it	sein its
1. Person plur.	wir we	uns us	uns (to) us	unser our
2. Person plur.	ihr you	euch you	euch (to) you	euer your
2. Person formal	Sie	Sie you	Ihnen (to) you	Ihr your
3. Person plur.	sie they	sie them	ihnen (to) them	ihre their

NOTES!

1. The possessive pronoun forms shown here do not indicate the various additional case endings (genitive, dative, etc.) they might have in a typical sentence in various situations (i.e., ,,seiner“, ,,ihres“, etc.).
2. ,,Sie” is the same in the singular and plural. It is always capitalized in all of its forms.

Interrogative “who”
Fall Case	Wer? who?
Nom	wer
Akk	wen whom
Dat	wem (to) whom
Gen	wessen whose

NOTES!

1. ,,Wer” (who) has no plural form in German or English.
2. The interrogative ,,was” (what) is the same in the nominative and accusative cases. It has no dative or genitive forms and is related to ,,das” and ,,es“. Like ,,wer“, ,,was” has no plural form in German or English.

Examples:

,,Er (der Hund) beißt den Mann.” (“He (the dog) bites the man.”)
,,Ihn (den Mann) hat der Hund gebissen.” (“The dog bit him (the man).”)
,,Wen hat er gebissen?” (“Whom did he bite?”)
,,Wer ist das?” (“Who is that?”)
,,Du hast mich doch gesehen?” (“You did see me (didn’t you)?”)
,,Die hat keine Ahnung.” (“She/That one has no idea.”)

For more about each case, see the next posts!!!! 😉

Die Familie

Good morning!!!

Sunday is usualy a day to reunite our family… and I’m here writing a post hahahhaa… well, I like to do it aaaand I’m going to talk about family today!!! ❤

I’m inspired today and just to make this post a little bit “laid-back” I made the Family Tree (,,Stammbaum“) of the craziest and funniest character: Homer Simpson!!!

die Großeltern (grandparents)	die Großmutter (grandmother)	der Großvater (grandfather)
die Eltern (parents)	die Mutter (mother)	der Vater (father)
die Kinder (children)	die Tochter (daughter)	der Sohn (son)
die Enkelkinder (grandchildren)	die Enkeltochter / die Enkelin (granddaughter)	der Enkel(sohn) (grandson)
die Geschwister (siblings)	die Schwester (sister)	der Bruder (brother)
andere (other)	die Tante (aunt)	der Onkel (uncle)
	die Nichte (niece)	der Neffe (nephew)
die Schwiegereltern (in-laws)	die Schwiegermutter (mother-in-law)	die Schwiegervater (father-in-law)
	die Schwiegertochter (daughter-in-law)	der Schwiegersohn (son-in-law)
	die Schwägerin (sister-in-law)	der Schwager (brother-in-law)

UND IHRE FAMILIE?

Are you able to talk about your family? Here are some examples of sentences to help you:

Ich habe (I have)…

• … einen Mann (a husband) / eine Frau (a wife) / einen Freund (a boyfriend) / eine Freundin (a girlfriend).
• … ein Kind (one child) / zwei (two) /drei (three) / keine Kinder (no children).
• … einen Sohn (one son) / eine Tochter (one daughter) / zwei Söhne (two sons) / zwei Töchter (two daughters).
• … einen Bruder (one brother) / eine Schwester (one sister) / zwei Brüder (two brothers) / zwei Schwestern (two sisters).

Meine Familie ist (My family is)…

• … groß (big) / klein (small).

Ich lebe (I live)…

• … bei meinen Eltern (with my parents) / mit meinem Partner (with my partner) / mit meiner Partnerin (with my partner) / allein (alone).

Ich bin (I am)…

• … verheiratet (married) / geschieden (divorced) / Single (single) / ledig (unmarried).

NOTES!

1. der Akkusativ – In English the accusative case is known as the objective case (direct object). In German you can tell that a noun is in the accusative case by the masculine article, which changes from “der/ein” to ,,den/einen“. The direct object functions as the receiver of the action of a transitive verb. Note that the verb ,,haben” is an example of a transitive verb.
   
2. der Dativ – In English the dative case is known as the indirect object. Unlike the accusative, which only changes in the masculine gender, the dative changes in all genders (“der/ein” to ,,dem/einem“, “die/eine” to ,,der/einer” and “das/ein” to ,,dem/einem“) and in the plural (“die/keine” to ,,den/keinen“). Certain German prepositions are governed by the dative case. That is, they take an object in the dative case. ,,Bei” and ,,mit” are examples of dative prepositions.

As I’ve promised before, I’ll talk more about ,,Akkusativ“, ,,Dativ” and ,,Nominativ” latter…

EIN LESESTÜCK

Read to the following paragraph for comprehension, then you can practice writing a similar one about your own family.

Die Familie Müller

Meine Familie ist nicht sehr groß. Wir heißen Müller. Meine Mutter heißt Ingrid und ist 46 Jahre alt. Mein Vater heißt Ulrich oder Uli. Er ist 48 Jahre alt. Ich habe einen jüngeren Bruder. Er heißt Markus und ist elf Jahre alt. Ich heiße Katrin und bin siebzehn Jahre alt.

The Müller Family

My family isn’t very big. We’re the Müllers. My mother is named Ingrid and is 46 years old. My father’s name is Ulrich or Uli. He is 48. I have a younger brother. His name is Markus and he’s eleven years old. My name is Katrin and I’m seventeen years old.

Exercises and listenings (source: http://german.about.com/library/anfang/blanfang09b.htm):

That’s all for today folks!!! Have a nice Sunday!!! 😉