Developing dictionary skills
Dictionaries list verbs in their infinitive forms. For example, for watching TV, you would look up
watch.
You might find something like this:
watch
I
II
1. n (timepiece) wrist~ Armbanduhr f; pocket~ Taschenuhr f
2. no pl (observation) Wache f; on~ auf Wache; to be on ~ Wache haben
1. vt (look at) to ~ sb/sth jdn/etw beobachten; to ~ a match (SPORT) einem Match
zusehen; to ~ a film sich dat. einen Film ansehen; to ~ TV fernsehen
2. (keep vigil) to ~ sb/sth auf jdn/etw aufpassen
3. (be careful about) to~ sth auf etw akk. achten; ~ your language! Du sollst nicht
fluchen!
What does the n mean next to I 1?
___________________________________
What does the f mean next to ‘Armbanduhr’?
___________________________________
What does ~ mean in this entry?
___________________________________
What does the v in vt mean next to II 1?
___________________________________
How do you say to watch TV?
___________________________________
To check you have the right word, it’s a good idea to cross-reference. This means looking up the word
in German.
You’ll notice the word for watch TV has a line through it in the German section (‘fernsehen’). This
means it is separable – more about this later!
Rewrite at least five of your top ten hobbies on the lines below, in English. For each one underline the
verb, then write the infinitive form of the verb in English and the infinitive form in German.
Hobby
English verb
(infinitive)
_______________________ ________________
German verb
(infinitive)
________________
Statement
with Ich…
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
_______________________ ________________
________________
______________________
Next step? Add in any extra words. For example, for playing cricket, you would have looked up play.
Now you’ll need to find the word for cricket. Your entry may look something like this:
cricket I
II
n (ZOOL) Grille f
n no pl (SPORT) Kricket nt
In the case it’s obvious which one you need! So, is it spielen Kricket? Not quite! It’s Kricket spielen,
as in German the verb comes at the end of an infinitive expression.
Resource sheet 1: Friends, recreation and pastimes
© German Language Consultants, 2006
NSW Department of Education and Training