Summary of Grammar for Units 1 – 4
Content:
A. Numbers
B. Telling Time
C. Nouns
D. Subject Pronouns
E. Possessive Pronouns
F. Verbs
G. Word Order
A) Numbers (Zahlen) 0 – 30, 70 – 100 by 10s
0. null
1. eins
2. zwei
3. drei
4. vier
5. fünf
6. sechs
7. sieben
8. acht
9. neun
10. zehn
11. elf
12. zwölf
13. dreizehn
14. vierzehn
15. fünfzehn
16. sechzehn
17. siebzehn
18. achtzehn
19. neunzehn
20. zwanzig
21. einundzwanzig
22. zweiundzwanzig
23. dreiundzwanzig
24. vierundzwanzig
25. fünfundzwanzig
26. sechsundzwanzig
27siebenundzwanzig
28.achtundzwanzig
29.neunundzwanzig
30.dreißig
vierzig
fünfzig
sechzig
siebzig
achtzig
neunzig
hundert
B) Telling Time
Methods
1. (hour) Uhr (minutes)
2. (minutes) vor/nach (hour)
o vor = before
o nach = after
o Viertel = quarter (15 minutes after/before the hour)
o halb = half of the next hour (halb zwei = 1:30)
Examples
1. 1:00 = Es ist ein Uhr
2. 1:05 = Es ist ein Uhr fünf
3. 1:15 = Es ist ein Uhr fünfzehn
4. 1:20 = Es ist ein Uhr zwanzig
5. 1:30 = Es ist ein Uhr dreißig
6. 1:42 = Es ist ein Uhr zweiundvierzig
7. 1:45 = Es ist ein Uhr fünfundvierzig
8. 1:50 = Es ist ein Uhr fünfzig
Es ist eins
Es ist fünf nach eins
Es ist Viertel nach eins
Es ist zwanzig nach eins
Es ist halb zwei
Es ist achtzehn vor zwei
Es ist Viertel vor zwei
Es ist zehn vor zwei
C) German Nouns
Capitalization
 All nouns are capitalized in German.
Gernder
 All German nouns have a gender. Each may be masculine, feminine, or neuter.
 The genders are usually indicated in vocabulary by including the definite article
for “the,” which is der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter), and die (for
plurals). These definite articles are in the Nominative case.
 The gender of a noun must simply be memorized with the definition of the word.
Articles
 An article is a type of noun marker.
 The definite article is the word “the.”
 The indefinite article are the words “a” and “an.”
 The words for ‘the’ and ‘a’ will change with gender and case.
 Below is the chart for the first two cases, which will remain the majority of our
focus throughout German. Notice the only change from the Nominative to
Accusative Case is for masculine nouns.
Nominative
Case
Accusative
Case
the
a, an
the
a, an
Masculine
Feminine
der
ein
den
einen
die
eine
die
eine
Neuter
das
ein
das
ein
Plural
die
---die
-----
Case
 There are four different cases in German. The case reflects how the noun
functions in a sentence: subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a
preposition, possessive.
 This is important because each case will have different endings on noun markers:
definite articles (the), indefinite articles (a, an), possessive adjectives (my, your),
adjectives, etc.
 In the Nominative Case, the noun functions as the subject of the sentence.
 The Accusative Case, the noun functions as the direct object or object of an
accusative preposition.
 In the Dative Case, the noun functions as the indirect object or object of a dative
preposition.
 In the Genitive Case, the noun demonstrates ownership, possession or is the
object of a genitive preposition.
Plurals
 There are 10 different plural forms in German.


Although these should be memorized when learning the word, there are certain
patterns.
(More on plurals will be posted here soon)
D) Subject Pronouns



Pronouns replace nouns in a sentence.
Each case in German will bring us a new set of pronouns.
The Nominative Case possesses what we in English refer to as “Subject
Pronouns,” as listed in chart.
Person
1st
2nd informal
2nd formal
3rd





Singular
I = ich
you = du
you = Sie
he, it = er
she, it = sie
it = es
Plural
we = wir
you (all) = ihr
you = Sie
they = sie
The chart for 1st, 2nd, & 3rd person, singular & plural is vital to surviving German.
Your verbs will be conjugated according to this pattern (take different endings on
the stem of the word).
1st person is used when one is talking about oneself or including oneself—I, we.
2nd person is used when one is talking to someone else—you, you (all).
3rd person is used when one is talking about someone else—he, she, it, they.
Notice that I (ich) is not capitalized and that the formal you (Sie) is capitalized.
Formal and Informal 2nd Person
 German makes a distinction in the 2nd person for the word “you.” There is a
different word for addressing someone informally in the singular (du) and plural
(ihr) and another for addressing someone formally, which is the same in both the
singular and plural (Sie).
 Informal is used with children, good friends, family, pets, and God. Teenagers
and children usually address anyone (friend, acquaintance, stranger) informally
who is their own age or younger.
 Formal is used as a form of respect. Teenagers should address any adult outside
of the family in this manner.
 For verb conjugation charts, I place the 2nd person formal at the bottom or out of
the chart.
E) Possessive Pronouns/Adjectives
my = mein
our = unser
(informal) your = dein
(informal) your (all’s) = euer
his, its = sein
their = ihr
her, its = ihr
its = sein
(formal) Your = Ihr


(formal) Your = Ihr
Possessive pronouns behave exactly like the indefinite article ein. They are
referred to as “ein words.”
However, unlike ein, possessive adjective can precede plural nouns, where they
take an –e ending. Here is the Nominative case for mein:
o Masculine noun: mein Mann
o Feminine noun: meine Frau
o Neuter noun: mein Buch
o Plural noun: meine Kinder
F) Verbs
Infinitive
 Verbs are listed in the dictionary with an –en or –n ending. This is called the
infinitive form of the verb. The root or stem of the verb is without this ending.
Verb Conjugation with Est. 1010 pattern
 Conjugation is the placing of different endings on the stem/root of a verb.
 Conjugation is a feature of many languages using the 1st, 2nd, & 3rd person
singular & plural chart.
 The only vestige remaining in the English, however, is that 3rd person singular
adds an –s: I play, you play, but he plays. It is also seen in the irregular
conjugation of the verb “be”: am, is, are.
 The Est. 1010 pattern is the following endings: --e –st –t –en –t –en
 The formal Sie at the bottom is not part of the pattern.
ich
du
er/sie/es
Sie
-e
-st
-t
-en
wir
ihr
sie
Sie
-en
-t
-en
-en
Examples:
 ich komme
 du kommst
 er/sie/es kommt
 wir kommen
 ihr kommt
 sie kommen
 Sie kommen
Important variations:
 Spelling adaptations for roots ending with d & t : insert an –e before –t/-st
o er arbeitet, ihr arbeitet, du arbeitest,
 Spelling adaptations for roots ending with s, ß, z: omit –s in –st ending
o du heißt
Irregular Conjugation of sein (to be)
 Just as in English, the verb “be” is the chaos at the core of the universe.
 Notice that there are three different words for “are”: bist, seid, sind
English
I am
you are (informal)
he/it is
she/it is
it is
you are (formal)
German
ich bin
du bist
er ist
sie ist
es ist
Sie sind
English
we are
you (all) are (infrm)
they are
German
wir sind
ihr seid
sie sind
you are (formal)
Sie sind
Irregular Conjugation for haben (to have)
 Notice 2nd & 3rd person singular is without the letter b.
Singular
1st person
2nd person (informal)
3rd person
2nd person (formal)
Plural
habe
hast
hat
haben
haben
habt
haben
haben
Do Not Translate Helping Verbs in German
 English uses helping verbs that German does not.
 The helping verbs that we will be studying in German are used to indicated future
and past tenses and modal auxiliaries.
 At the moment, we are only translating the main verb in the sentence. The
following sentences are all translated as Ich komme in German:
o I come.

o I am coming.
Ich komme.
o I do coming.
Notice the highlighted helping verb in English is not translated into German.
Am, is, are, do, and does are all helping verbs in the present tense in English that
are not translated if it is not the main and only verb (until other tenses & the
modals).
G) Word Order




Regular word order is Subject – Verb in English & German. This is used to
make statements.
o He comes.
o Er kommt.
Inverted word order is Verb – Subject in English & German. This is used to ask
questions.
o Is he coming?
o Kommt er?
Inverted word order is also used with interrogative pronouns, question words in
asking questions. Question word – Verb – Subject:
o When is he coming?
o Wann kommt er?
HOWEVER, German also uses inverted word order for statements when
something besides the subject begins the sentence, such as an adverb,
prepositional phrase, even direct object. The verb must be in the second slot of
the sentence after the introductory element, then followed by the subject.
o Morgen kommt er. = He is coming tomorrow.