A. THE UNREAL or SUBJUNCTlVE - PRESENT AND PAST POSSIBILITY
I. The UNREAL or SUBJUNCTlVE was discussed in Unit 18, where we noted that it expresses possible, not actual 3tates or actions. Let us look again at some of the examples:
Ich wünschte, sie würde sich von einern Spezialisten untersuchen lassen.
I wish she'd have herself examined by a specialist.
Wenn Sie den Jungen jetzt gleich in die Sprechstunde bringen würden, könnte ihn Herr Doktor sofort behandeln.
If you'd bring the boy right to the office now the doctor could treat him irnrnediately.
Es wäre kein Problem, das neue Auto zu kaufen, wenn wir mehr Geld hätten.
Buying the new car would be no problem if we had more money.
In these examples reference is to actions or states which are possible of fulfillment at the present time. We say that reference is to PRESENT POSSIBILITY. Note that PRESENT POSSIBILITY is marked by simple UNREAL forms (hätte or wäre) or by phrases with an infinitive plus k~nnte or würde. Conditional sentences expressing PRESENT POSSIBILITY are sometimes called PRESENT CONDITIONAL sentences.
11. In the present unit we have encountered additional sentences with the UNREAL or SUBJUNCTlVE. Note the following examples:
Ich wollte, ich wäre nie Kandidat geworden.
I wish I had never become a probational party member.
Wäre ich es nicht geworden, hätte ich schon damals gros se Schwierigkeiten gehabt, meinen Betrieb zu halten.
{f I hadn't become one it would have been very difficult for me even back then to keep my business going.
Ich wäre schon eher geflohen, wenn ich nicht die Hoffnung gehabt hätte, dass sich die Zustände ändern würden.
r would have run away before that if I hadn't had hopes that conditions would change.
These sentences express a possibility which existed a~ some time in the past. We say that reference is to PAST POSSIBILITY. Because this is a possibility which no longer exists we sometimes refer to sentences of this kind as CONTRARY TO FACT. Note that PAST POSSIBILITY is always marked by a verb phrase containing a past participle and an UNREAL form of the auxiliary verb. Conditional sentences expressing PAST POSSIBILITY are also called PAST CONDITIONAL or PAST CONTRARY-TO-PACT CONDITIONAL sentences.
111. In Unit 18 we noted that the phrases würde '" haben and würde equivalent to the simple UNREAL forms hätte and wäre. They also occur with past participles in expressing PAST POSSIBILITY. Note the following sentence pairs:
sein are
Er hätte ihr einen Brief geschrieben, wenn er ihre Adresse gewusst hätte.
or Er würde ihr einen Brief geschrieben haben, wenn er ihre Adresse gewusst hätte.
He would have written her a letter if he had known her address.
Wir wären früher gegangen, wenn nicht noch Neumanns gekommen wären.
or Wir wären früher gegangen, wenn nicht noch Neumanns gekommen sein würden.
We would have gone earlier if the Neumanns hadnlt come too.
The use or avoidance of the longer phrase with würde in sentences expressing PAST POSSIBILITY is a matter of style, subject to considerable individual variation. In conditional sentences it may occur in either the ~-clause or the main clause, although usually not in both, i.e., not twice in the same sentence.
B. THE SPECIAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSE
I. In place of the ~-clause in conditional sentences a SPECIAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSE may occur, in which the clause introducer is omitted and the clause begins with the finite, or inflected verb form followed by the subject:
Wäre ich nicht Kandidat geworden, hätte ich gros se Schwierigkeiten gehabt, meinen Betrieb zu halten.
Had ~ not become a probational party member it would have been difficult for me to keep my business going.
or
Wenn ich nicht Kandidat geworden wäre, hätte ich grosse Schwierigkeiten gehabt, meinen Betrieb zu halten.
If ~ had not become a probational party member it would have been difficult for me to keep my business going.
II. The SPECIAL CONDITIONAL CLAUSE may occur in either position in the sentence. Here are additional examples:
Man hätte ihn als politischen Flßchtling anerkannt, wäre er nicht Funktionär der SED gewesen.
He would have been recognized officially as a political refugee, had ~ not been an official of the SED.
or
Man hätte ihn als politischen Flüchtling anerkannt, ~ ~ nicht Funktionär der SED gewesen wäre.
He would have been recognized officially as a political refugee if he had not been an official of the SED.
BASIC COURSE GERMAN UNlT 19
Wären die Zustände in der Ostzone besser, würde es weniger Flüchtlinge geben.
or Wenn die Zustände in der Ostzone besser wären, würde es weniger Flüchtlinge geben.
If conditions in the Eastern Zone were better there would be fewer refugees.
Note that English, too, sometimes omits the clause introducer and inverts subject and verb in formal style. The construction is much more frequent in German however and is not limited to specifically formal situations.
C. UNREAL WISHES - PRESENT AND PAST
I. Notice that an UNREAL WISH may express past as well as present possibility and may be introduced by either of the special forms wünschte (wünschten) or wollte (wollten) interchangeably.
Ich wollte, ich wäre nie Kandidat geworden.
or Ich wünschte, ich wäre nie Kandidat geworden.
I wish I had never become a probational party member.
Wir wünschten, er hätte mehr Zeit für uns.
or
We wish he had more time for uso
Wir wollten, er hätte mehr Zeit für uns.
11. Another type of UNREAL WISH, which has not occurred in our basic sentences, consists of a ~-clause or special conditional clause standing alone, usually with the words nur or bloss:
Wenn es nur regnen würde~
If only it would rain~
Hätten wir das Haus bloss nicht gekauft~
If only we hadn't bought the house~
Wenn wir nur damals schon ausgewandert wären~
If we had only emigrated at that time~
Wäre ich bloss schon zu Hause~
If I were only home already~
D. THE UNREAL AFTER als ob
I. The UNREAL or SUBJUNCTlVE has occurred in another situation in this unit: Das hört sich leider so an, als ob es sehr lange dauern könnte.
I'm afraid that sounds as if it could take quite a long time.
In clauses introduced by als ob "as if, as though" UNREAL or SUBJUNCTIVE forms are often encountered. German speakers do not consistentlv use the UNREAL here however, and you will often hear the sentence as:
Das hört sich leider so an, als ob es lange dauern ~ .
1 ' m afraid that sounds as if it may take quite a long time.
11. Clauses introduced by als ob are frequently preceded by the anticipating word so in the main clause. They may occur after a number of different verbs, and reference may be to either present or past possibility. Here are some additional examples:
Es sieht .§.Q. aus, als ob es gleich regnen würde.
It looks as though it were about to rain.
Er spricht, als ob er keine Hoffnung mehr hätte, dass sich die Zustände ändern würden.
He talks as if he no longer had any hopes that circumstances would change.
Er arbeitete so, als ob er schon Jahre lang Klempner wäre.
He worked as if he had been a plurnber for years.
Alles, was ich ihm sagte, vergass er so schnell, als ob es gar nicht wichtig gewesen wäre.
He forgot everything I told him as quickly as if it hadn't been at all important.
Er ass, als ob er nicht genug bekommen könnte.
He ate as if he couldn't get enough.
Sie parkte so, als ob oie noch nie einen Wagen ~ fahren hätte.
She parked as if she had never driven a car before.
E. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS- einer, jemand, niemand
I. In Unit 15 we discussed the pronoun~. Since then we have encountered three other, similar pronouns - einer, jemand, and niemand.
Bei unserer grossen Familie ist alle Augenblicke einer krank.
With a family as large as ours there's somebody sick all the time.
Kennen Sie jemand(en) in den Staaten, der für Sie bürgen würde?
Do you know someone in the States who would act as a sponsor for you?
Hier kümmert sich niemand ums Parken.
Nobody bothers about parking here.
All four ofthese pronouns are called INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.
II. The pronouns jemand and niemand sometimes have the dative and accusative endings -ern and -~. Note, however, that Germans freely use the endingless forms in speech. The genitive forms jemandes and niemandes occur only very rarely in speech.
Ich habe dort niemand (or niemanden) gesehen.
I saw no one there.
Wir haben jemand (or jemandem) geholfen.
We were helping someone.
Er möchte gern jemandes Freund sein.
He would like to be friends with somebody.
111. The dative and accusative forms of the pronoun man and einer are identical: einem and einen.
Es wird einem immer gesagt, dass man viel arbeiten muss.
One is always told that one has to work a lot.
Auf dem Rathaus habe ich mit einern gesprochen, der mir diese Auskunft gab.
At the Town Hall I talked to someone who gave me this information.
F. OMISSION OF THE SPECIFIER
I. It was noted in a footnote to Unit 4 that many nouns referring to nationality, profession or membership in a group, occur without a specifier in German.
Ist er nicht als Austauschstudent in Amerika gewesen?
Wasn't he in America as an exchange student?
War Ihre Tochter nicht auch im Ausland? Ja, als Sportlehrerin in Norwegen.
Wasn't your daughter also abroad? Yes, in Norway as ~ physical education teacher.
Ich bin ostzonenflUchtling.
1 ' m ~ refugee from the Eastern Zone.
Zur Zeit bin ich hier als Autoschlosser angestellt.
At present I'm employed as an auto mechanic.
Ich habe einen Onkel, der amerikanischer Staatsangehöriger ist.
I have an uncle who's an American citizen.
Waren Sie Mitglied einer partei?
Were you ~ member of a (political) party?
The specifier is omitted in German in identifying people according to profession, nationality or political or organizational affiliation. Note that English does not omit the specifier here.
11. The specifier is not omitted in German when no emphasis is given to establishing an individual's identity as a member of a group.
Er war Mechaniker von Beruf.
He was a mechanic by profession.
but
Er war ein guter Mechaniker.
He was a good mechanic.
Sie ist Ostzonenflüchtling.
She is a refugee from the Eastern Zone.
but
Gestern kam wieder ein ostzonenflüchtling über die Grenze.
Yesterday another refugee from the Eastern Zone came over the border.
Mein Onkel ist amerikanischer Staatsangehöriger.
My uncle is an American citizen.
but
Ihr Bürge kann nur ein amerikanischer Staatsangehöriger sein.
Only an American citizen can be your sponsor.
G. WORD ORDER - NOUNS AND PRONOUNS
I. Up to now in talking about word order we have been mainly concerned with the position of the finite, or inflected verb in the sentence. Let us now examine the place of noun and pronoun objects in the following sentences, most of which have occurred in the preceding units:
Nehmen Sie täglich dreimal je fünfzehn Tropfen von der Medizin, für die ich Ihnen jetzt ein Rezept gebe. (18)
Take fifteen drops three times a day of something 1'11 give you a prescription for.
Konnten Sie ihm nicht noch schnell ein paar Zeitungen holen, ehe der Zug abfuhr? (14) Empfehlen Sie mich bitte Ihrer Frau Gemahlin. (4)
couldn't you still hurry and get him a couple of newspapers before the train 1eft? PIe ase remember me to Mrs . . . .
Mein achtjähriger Sohn hat sich das Knie aufgeschlagen. (18)
My eight year-old son [fell and] scraped his knee.
Ich habe ~ dem Arzt gesagt.
I said it to the doctor. (I told the doctor about it.)
In sentences in which a direct and indirect object (or an object and an interested bystandex) occur, you will notice that the PRONOUN OBJECT consistently PRECEDES the NOUN OBJECT with its specifier and modifiers.
11. Now note the following examples:
Wenn Sie den Jungen jetzt gleich bringen würden, könnte ihn Herr Doktor sofort behandeln. (18)
If you'd bring the boy right to the office now the doctor could treat him immediately.
Blieb Ihnen noch Zeit für private Interesse~(16)
Did you have any time left for [your own) private interests?
55f)
FONFHUNDERTSECHSUNDFONFZIG
Deshalb interessierte mich der Wiederaufbau. (16r---
That's why the reconstruction interested meo
Übrigens wollte Sie ein Herr von der englischen Botschaft sprechen. (11)
By the way agentIeman from the British Embassy wanted to talk to you.
Here it can be seen that a PRONOUN OBJECT MAY PRECEDE a NOUN SUBJECT with its specifier and modifiers in sentences beginning with the verb or with another word than the subject.
111. Note also these
ex~ples:
Wieviel kostet der Anzug? Gut, packen Sie ihn mir bitte ein. (8)
How much doesc~he suit cost? ... All right; wrap it up for me please.
Ich glaube, Fräulein Bruce hat eine (Schreibmaschine). Sie leiht sie Ihnen sicher gern. (5)---------
I think Miss Bruce has one. I'm sure she'll be glad to lend it to you.
When both objects of a verb are pronouns the ACCUSATlVE PRONOUN usually PRECEDES THE DATIVE PRONOUN. Note that pointing words, however, generally follow other pronouns when both objects follow the verb.
Er hat Ihnen das schon gestern gebracht.
He brought you that yesterday already.
Ich habe sie dem nicht gezeigt.
I didn't show them to him.
IV. Here are a few sentences in which both objects of the verb are nouns:
Herr Becker diktierte seiner Sekretärin einen langen Brief.
Mr. Becker dictated a long letter to his secretary.
Dr. Buchner hat meiner Frau eine Kur in Bad Nauheim verordnet.
Dr. Buchner prescribed treatment at Bad Nauheim for my wife.
In sentences of this type DATIVE NOUN OBJECTS PRECEDE ACCUSATlVE NOUN OBJECTS with their specifiers and modifiers.