Notes on Grammar

(For Home Study)

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A. Verb Forms in Familiar Speech

I.

German has three different words for you.

German	English
Wollen Sie nicht Platz nehmen, Herr Allen? N▶ S▶	Won't you sit down, Mr. Allen?
Maria, du kennst doch Herrn Becker, nicht wahr? N▶ S▶	Maria, you know Mr. Becker, don't you?
Geht ihr hin? N▶ S▶	Are you going?

The different words for you in German indicate different situations and different social relationships. Sie indicates a formal relationship between the speaker and the person or persons addressed. There is no distinction between singular and plural. Du indicates a familiar or intimate relationship, but where only one person is addressed. Ihr indicates that two or more people are being addressed with whom the speaker is on familiar or intimate terms.

Outside of the family circle itself the familiar forms are used only with very close friends. Most Germans regard this relationship in a very special light and do not enter into it lightly after childhood years. The use of the familiar du and ihr forms is very much more restricted among Germans than the use of first names among Americans, for instance. The familiar forms are used by all adults in talking to children below the age of puberty, however. They are also used with animals and in addressing the deity.

II.

New verb forms are also used with the familiar words for you.

1. The form of the verb with du is found from the er-form in the following ways:

   1. In verbs whose er-form ends in -t, the final -t is replaced by -st.

   er-form	du-form
   er komm-t N▶ S▶	du komm-st N▶ S▶
   er fähr-t N▶ S▶	du fähr-st N▶ S▶
   er ha-t N▶ S▶	du ha-st N▶ S▶
   er arbeit-e-t N▶ S▶	du arbeit-e-st N▶ S▶
   er find-e-t N▶ S▶	du find-e-st N▶ S▶

   Notice that the connecting vowel -e- is generally retained in the du-form when it occurs in the er-form (after -d- or -t-), although it is sometimes lost in rapid speech.

   Remember that final -b or -g in er-form stems have the sounds of [p] or [k]:

   er-form	Sound	du-form	Sound
   er gib-t N▶ S▶	"gip-t"	du gib-st N▶ S▶	"gip-st"
   er leg-t N▶ S▶	"lek-t"	du leg-st N▶ S▶	"lek-st"

   2. In verbs whose er-form ending -t is preceded by -s- or -z-, the -s- of the du-form ending is lost, so that in these cases the du-form turns out to be identical with the er-form.

   er-form	du-form
   er lies-t N▶ S▶	du lies-t N▶ S▶
   er läss-t N▶ S▶	du läss-t N▶ S▶
   er sitz-t N▶ S▶	du sitz-t N▶ S▶
   er heiss-t N▶ S▶	du heiss-t N▶ S▶
   er vergiss-t N▶ S▶	du vergiss-t N▶ S▶

   3. In verbs whose er-form does not end in -t, -st is added.

   er-form	du-form
   er will N▶ S▶	du will-st N▶ S▶
   er kann N▶ S▶	du kann-st N▶ S▶
   er soll N▶ S▶	du soll-st N▶ S▶
   er darf N▶ S▶	du darf-st N▶ S▶
   er möchte N▶ S▶	du möchte-st N▶ S▶

   Note however that the -s- of the du-form ending is lost after a preceding -s-.

   er-form	du-form
   er muss N▶ S▶	du muss-t N▶ S▶
   er weiss N▶ S▶	du weiss-t N▶ S▶

   4. The following du- and er-forms show irregularities.

   er-form	du-form
   er ist N▶ S▶	du bist N▶ S▶
   er wird N▶ S▶	du wirst N▶ S▶
   er hält N▶ S▶	du hältst N▶ S▶

2. The form of the verb with ihr is arrived at as follows:

   1. The -en ending of the wir-form is replaced by -t in most verbs.

   wir-form	ihr-form
   wir komm-en N▶ S▶	ihr komm-t N▶ S▶
   wir les-en N▶ S▶	ihr les-t N▶ S▶
   wir müss-en N▶ S▶	ihr müss-t N▶ S▶
   wir besuch-en N▶ S▶	ihr besuch-t N▶ S▶
   wir arbeit-en N▶ S▶	ihr arbeit-e-t N▶ S▶

   Notice that a connecting vowel appears here also after -d- or -t-. Remember that stems ending in -b or -g will have the sounds [b] and [g] in the wir-form before the ending -en, but will have the sounds [p] and [k] in the ihr-form before the ending -t:

   wir-form	Sound	ihr-form	Sound
   wir geb-en N▶ S▶	"geb-en"	ihr geb-t N▶ S▶	"gep-t"
   wir trag-en N▶ S▶	"trag-en"	ihr trag-t N▶ S▶	"trak-t"

   2. There is one irregular form.

   wir-form	ihr-form
   wir sind N▶ S▶	ihr seid N▶ S▶

III.

There are three COMMAND or IMPERATIVE forms in German corresponding to the three words for you.

1. In situations where the word for you is Sie the COMMAND form consists of the verb form ending in -en followed by the pronoun Sie.

   German	English
   Grüssen Sie bitte Ihre Frau Gemahlin. N▶ S▶	Please give my regards to Mrs. Allen.
   Herr Ober, bringen Sie mir bitte Kalbsleber mit Kartoffelpüree und Apfelmus. N▶ S▶	Waiter, please bring me calves' liver with mashed potatoes and apple sauce.

   Note that the Sie-COMMAND form of the verb sein is irregular:

   German	English
   Seien Sie ruhig! N▶ S▶	Be quiet!

2. In situations where the word for you is ihr the COMMAND form consists of the ihr-form of the verb alone, with no pronoun following.

   German	English
   Kommt doch heute abend zu uns! N▶ S▶	Do come over and see us tonight!
   Vergesst eure Bücher nicht! N▶ S▶	Don't forget your books!
   Seid bitte um vier Uhr bei uns! N▶ S▶	Be at our house at four o'clock, now!

3. In situations where the word for you is du a special COMMAND form is used with no pronoun following.

   1. For the majority of German verbs this special COMMAND form is the same as the infinitive or wir-form STEM, that is, the infinitive or wir-form minus the ending -en.

   German	English
   Beeil' dich, Klaus! N▶ S▶	Hurry up, Klaus!
   Lass dir die Haare schneiden. N▶ S▶	Get your hair cut.
   Lauf', damit du nicht zu spät kommst. N▶ S▶	Run, so you won't be late.
   Hol' mich dort um eins ab. N▶ S▶	Pick me up there at one.

   This COMMAND form alternatively has an ending -e which is often written or is indicated in the writing system by an apostrophe as above but is not spoken by most Germans.

   German	English
   Beeile dich. N▶ S▶	Hurry up.
   Hole mich in einer Stunde ab. N▶ S▶	Pick me up in an hour.

   2. For a few verbs the COMMAND form regularly has the ending -e added to the infinitive or wir-form stem. These are verbs whose stems end in -t or -d or in an unstressed syllable.

   German	English
   Entschuldige, dass ich störe. N▶ S▶	Excuse me for disturbing you.
   Arbeite nicht so viel! N▶ S▶	Don't work so much!

   3. In verbs like sprechen and lesen whose STEM sometimes has the vowel -e- and sometimes -i- (or -ie-) the COMMAND form is the same as the du-form STEM, that is, the du-form minus the ending -st (or -t).

   German	English
   Vergiss dein Frühstücksbrot nicht. N▶ S▶	Don't forget your lunch.
   Nimm doch bitte auch den blauen mit. N▶ S▶	Take the blue one along too, please.
   Lies den ganzen Artikel. N▶ S▶	Read the whole article.

   4. The verb sein has an irregular COMMAND form.

   German	English
   Sei bitte um vier Uhr bei uns. N▶ S▶	Be at our house at four o'clock, now.

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B. Pronouns and Possessive Words in Familiar Speech

I.

The three forms of the pronouns used in familiar, or intimate speech are as follows:

	du	ihr
Nominative	du N▶ S▶	ihr N▶ S▶
Accusative	dich N▶ S▶	euch N▶ S▶
Dative	dir N▶ S▶	euch N▶ S▶

We have seen how they are used in some of the basic sentences; here are a few additional examples:

German	English
Wie geht es Ihnen, Herr Becker? N▶ S▶	How are you, Mr. Becker?
Wie geht es dir, Klaus? N▶ S▶	How are you, Klaus?
Na, Klaus und Gerhard, wie geht es euch? N▶ S▶	Well, Klaus and Gerhard, how are you?
Beeilen Sie sich! N▶ S▶	Hurry up!
Beeil' dich! N▶ S▶
Beeilt euch! N▶ S▶
Lassen Sie sich die Haare schneiden. N▶ S▶	Get your hair cut.
Lass dir die Haare schneiden. N▶ S▶
Lasst euch die Haare schneiden. N▶ S▶
Ich hole Sie dort um eins ab. N▶ S▶	I'll pick you up there at one.
Ich hole dich dort um eins ab. N▶ S▶
Ich hole euch dort um eins ab. N▶ S▶
Darf ich mit Ihnen mitfahren? N▶ S▶	May I go along with you?
Darf ich mit dir mitfahren? N▶ S▶
Darf ich mit euch mitfahren? N▶ S▶

II.

The possessive words that go with du and ihr are dein and euer. Like the other possessive words (see Unit 4) they are ein-type specifiers and have the following forms:

	with der-nouns	with das-nouns	with die-nouns	with plural nouns
Nominative	dein N▶ S▶	dein N▶ S▶	deine N▶ S▶	deine N▶ S▶
Accusative	deinen N▶ S▶	dein N▶ S▶	deine N▶ S▶	deine N▶ S▶
Dative	deinem N▶ S▶	deinem N▶ S▶	deiner N▶ S▶	deinen N▶ S▶
Genitive	deines N▶ S▶	deines N▶ S▶	deiner N▶ S▶	deiner N▶ S▶
Nominative	euer N▶ S▶	euer N▶ S▶	eure N▶ S▶	eure N▶ S▶
Accusative	euren N▶ S▶	euer N▶ S▶	eure N▶ S▶	eure N▶ S▶
Dative	eurem N▶ S▶	eurem N▶ S▶	eurer N▶ S▶	euren N▶ S▶
Genitive	eures N▶ S▶	eures N▶ S▶	eurer N▶ S▶	eurer N▶ S▶

Note that the forms of dein correspond exactly to the forms of mein, sein, etc., as given in Unit 4. Note also that euer has a shorter form eur- before endings.

III.

The familiar possessive words may occur in any of the ein-type specifier sequences and also, in the special forms noted in Unit 4, standing alone when the noun is understood.

German	English
Hast du dein Frühstücksbrot? N▶ S▶
Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen. N▶ S▶
Kannst du auch meine Oberhemden mitnehmen, wenn du deine in die Wäscherei bringst? N▶ S▶
Das ist mein Pullover. Wo ist deiner? N▶ S▶
Könnten wir in eurem Wagen mitfahren? N▶ S▶
Wollt ihr eure Sommeranzüge auch reinigen lassen? N▶ S▶
Das ist aber ein schöner Wagen! Ist das eurer? N▶ S▶

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C. The Auxiliary Verb lassen

The auxiliary verb lassen occurs in verb phrases with an infinitive, just as können, müssen, werden, etc. (see Units 2, 3 & 9). English has a similar verb phrase with a form of the verbs have or get and a participle.

German	English
Lass dir auch die Haare schneiden. N▶ S▶	Get your hair cut, too.
Lassen Sie diesen Artikel doch bitte übersetzen. N▶ S▶	Have this article translated, please.
Ich lasse heute nachmittag meine Schuhe besohlen. N▶ S▶	I'm getting my shoes soled this afternoon.
Weisst du, wo Klaus seine Anzüge reinigen lässt? N▶ S▶	Do you know where Klaus has his suits cleaned?

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D. Complex Verb Phrases

Most of the verb phrases encountered hitherto have consisted of two parts: an auxiliary verb and an infinitive (like the examples with lassen above) or a verb and an accented adverb (Hol' mich um eins ab). Some examples of verb phrases containing both an accented adverb and an infinitive have also occurred (Ich werde meinen Mantel anziehen). In this unit we now have an example of a verb phrase consisting of three parts:

German	English
Ich will deinen grauen Anzug reinigen lassen. N▶ S▶	I want to have your grey suit cleaned.

Here the auxiliary verb (will) has occurred together with a second auxiliary verb in the infinitive form (lassen) plus the infinitive (reinigen).

Let us examine some additional examples of COMPLEX VERB PHRASES:

German	English
Ich werde leider nicht vor acht Uhr kommen können. N▶ S▶	Unfortunately I won't be able to come before eight o'clock.
Herr Schneider soll ausgezeichnet Ski laufen können. N▶ S▶	Mr. Schneider is supposed to be an excellent skier.
Ich werde spätestens um halb vier abfahren müssen. N▶ S▶	I'll have to leave at half past three at the latest.
Wollen Sie sich die Haare schneiden lassen? N▶ S▶	Do you want to have your hair cut?

Note that when two infinitives stand together in this way the auxiliary infinitive is always last.

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E. Derivative Nouns

In German as in English a number of nouns can be formed from other words (verbs, adjectives, other nouns), usually by the addition of a noun-forming suffix. Examples are such words as print-ing, good-ness, friend-ship, practical-ity. The process is not indiscriminate or automatic, however, and only certain words lend themselves to it.

1. The simplest formation consists in the use of the infinitive as a noun. Note that it is always a das-noun. The English equivalent may be either the -ing form of the verb (used as a noun) or a related noun or in some cases a completely different word.

   Infinitive	English	Noun	English
   essen N▶ S▶	to eat	das Essen, - N▶ S▶	food, meal
   einrichten N▶ S▶	to arrange	das Einrichten N▶ S▶	the act of arranging
   aussehen N▶ S▶	to look, appear	das Aussehen N▶ S▶	appearance
   schreiben N▶ S▶	to write	das Schreiben, - N▶ S▶	writing (as a skill), official letter
   wissen N▶ S▶	to know	das Wissen N▶ S▶	knowing (about something), knowledge

   Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

   gehen — rauchen — können — reinigen — sprechen — treffen — leben — denken

2. There are a number of examples of a die-word formed from a der-word by the addition of the suffix -in. These words all designate the feminine counterpart of the masculine word. Compare the English suffixes -ess and -ix: actr-ess, aviatr-ix.

   der-word	English	die-word	English
   der Gemahl N▶ S▶	husband (very formal)	die Gemahlin, -nen N▶ S▶	wife (very formal)
   der Sekretär N▶ S▶	secretary (man)	die Sekretärin, -nen N▶ S▶	secretary (woman)
   der Freund N▶ S▶	friend (man)	die Freundin, -nen N▶ S▶	friend (woman)
   der Amerikaner N▶ S▶	American	die Amerikanerin, -nen N▶ S▶	American (woman)

3. Die-words are formed from many infinitives by substitution of the suffix -ung for the ending -en.

   Infinitive	English	Noun	English
   besorgen N▶ S▶	to attend to	die Besorgung, -en N▶ S▶	errand
   wohnen N▶ S▶	to live, dwell	die Wohnung, -en N▶ S▶	apartment
   bestellen N▶ S▶	to order	die Bestellung, -en N▶ S▶	the order
   ordnen N▶ S▶	to put in order	die Ordnung N▶ S▶	order, neatness
   stellen N▶ S▶	to put, place	die Stellung, -en N▶ S▶	position

   Form nouns of this type from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

   stören — verbinden — verzeihen — vorstellen — zahlen — bezahlen

4. Der-words are formed from many infinitives by substituting the suffix -er for the ending -en. Notice that these nouns all designate persons. A very few words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix.

   Infinitive	English	Noun	English
   arbeiten N▶ S▶	to work	der Arbeiter, - N▶ S▶	worker
   mieten N▶ S▶	to rent	der Mieter, - N▶ S▶	tenant, lessee
   schreiben N▶ S▶	to write	der Schreiber, - N▶ S▶	clerk, scribe
   verkaufen (*) N▶ S▶	to sell	der Verkäufer, - N▶ S▶	sales clerk

   Form nouns from the following infinitives and give their English equivalents:

   besuchen — denken — fahren — finden — hören — kaufen () — laufen () — lesen — rauchen — übersetzen — vermieten

5. Die-words are formed from many adjectives by the addition of suffixes -heit or -keit. These suffixes thus work like English -ness, -ity, etc.

   1. With suffix -heit:

   Adjective	English	Noun	English
   schön N▶ S▶	beautiful	die Schönheit, -en N▶ S▶	beauty
   rein N▶ S▶	pure	die Reinheit, -en N▶ S▶	purity
   mehr N▶ S▶	more	die Mehrheit, -en N▶ S▶	majority

   Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:

   berühmt — bestimmt — einfach — unbestimmt

   2. With suffix -keit:

   Adjective	English	Noun	English
   ähnlich N▶ S▶	similar	die Ähnlichkeit, -en N▶ S▶	similarity
   möglich N▶ S▶	possible	die Möglichkeit, -en N▶ S▶	possibility
   richtig N▶ S▶	correct	die Richtigkeit N▶ S▶	correctness

   Form nouns from the following adjectives and give their English equivalents:

   gemütlich — langsam — natürlich — wirklich — wahrscheinlich — wichtig — zufällig

6. Die-words are formed from certain other nouns by the addition of the suffix -schaft. This suffix works like English -hood and -ship. Some words have umlaut of the stem vowel with this suffix, and some nouns lose a final -e.

   Noun	English	Noun	English
   der Bruder (*) N▶ S▶	brother	die Brüderschaft, -en N▶ S▶	brotherhood
   der Bote N▶ S▶	messenger	die Botschaft, -en N▶ S▶	message; embassy
   der Herr N▶ S▶	gentleman	die Herrschaften (pl) N▶ S▶	ladies and gentlemen
   der Ort N▶ S▶	place	die Ortschaft, -en N▶ S▶	locality

   Form nouns from the following nouns and give their English equivalents:

   Bekannte — Freund — Nachbar — Vater — Verwandte