Posts under Language

The Accusative

Posted by Yohann

The accusative case marks the direct object in a sentence. The direct object is the person or thing doing the receiving.

Here are the accusative forms for the definite article:

Masculine  (den)

Feminine (die)

Neuter (das)

Plural (die)

Here are the indefinite forms:

masculine (einen)

feminine (eine)

neuter (ein)

plural (keine)

You might see some interrogative pronouns in the accusative. In English, this would be ‘whom’?

masculine (wen)

feminine (wen)

neuter (wen)

plural (wen)

Yay! All the forms are the same for the interrogative pronouns! Too bad that’s not the case for the indefinite and definite forms.

 

Recognition Game

Posted by Yohann

The following companies have their origins in Germany. Do you recognize some of them?

1) This is the catch phrase of this German company: Vorsprung durch Technik

2) The initials are used to refer to this company: Bayerische Motoren Werke

3) This company’s name literally means ‘German Bank’

4) She is a famous Modedesignerin that has a business containing her name. Her initials are: JS

5) An airline that contains the German word for air

6) Is a famous Pharmazeutikum and Chemikalie company. The company begins with an M

7) Makes Sportschuhe. This company has a fast running animal as its logo.

8) This company’s logo is based upon the Volksstaat Württemberg coat of arms.

9) Is a famous Bleistift company with it’s origins in Germany.

10) The founder of this piano company had the name Steinweg before it was anglicized.

11) This company’s name means ‘People’s Car” in German

12) This shoe company’s logo is three parallel bars.

13) This company is known for its aspirin and begins with a B.

14) This company makes clogs and Sandale.

 

The Nominative Case

Posted by Yohann

Today’s post is on the dreaded cases. For the German newbies, a case is a term used to describe the role a noun plays in a sentence.

There are four cases:

1) der Nominativ (the nominative) : is where the noun is the subject of the sentence. Let’s look at the nominative forms for the definite article in German.

1a) the nominative Männlich (masculine): der.

1b) the nominative Weiblich (feminine): die.

1c) the nominative Sächlich (neuter): das.

1d) the nominative Mehrzahl (plural): die.

2) The nominative indefinite articles have their endings as well:

2a) mas : ein

2b) fem : eine

2c) neu : ein

2d) plur : - (there is no plural in the indefinite form because ‘a/an’ by its very nature refers to singular things. That being said, you could use keine, which is the negative of eine to indicate the plural. An example of this is the sentence, He has no cars (Er hat keine Autos).

 

Die Onomatopöie

Posted by Yohann

See how many of these look familar to you

plitsch, platsch

summ summ

bumm!

trörö

tatütata

mäh

hatschi!

wuff wuff

peng

piep piep

klingling

miau

muh

kuckuck

 

German Proverbs Translated

Posted by Yohann

1) Basically saying that a blind man should not be a judge of colors. In other words, a person should not talk about things he knows not.

2) Be a friend to one and an enemy to none. This is a good general motto to follow, isn’t it?

3) Confession of a fault is half the amends, or admitting guilt is the first step.

4) Deeds are fruits, words are but leaves. Said in a different way, actions speak louder than words.

5) Every man is the maker of his own fortune.

6) Every man thinks his own geese swans. It’s like saying every father thinks his children are the best looking or more generally, every man thinks his ___ is the best.

7) He that has a wolf for his companion, must carry a dog under his cloak. If you hang out with a bad crowd, you have to watch your back (ex: carry a gun/dog for self-defense).

8) He that pries into every bush will hardly get into the wood. If you over analyze the details, you’ll never get the big picture.

9) He that dispraises a thing wants it for himself. When someone wants something he’ll try to put it down out of envy.

10) He who goes borrowing goes sorrowing. If you borrow money you’ll grow to regret it later.

11) He who judges between two friends, loses one or both. Taking sides will affect your friendships.

12) He who served well need not be afraid to ask for his wages. If you’ve worked hard and did all you were told to do, you won’t feel guilty when you ask what you are due.

13) Hunger is the best sauce. When you’re hungry everthing tates good.

14) Impatience gathers unripe fruit. Hasty decisions cause hasty results.

15) Liars should have good memories.