The beginner’s guide to learning German in Singapore (2022)

No.

Grammar rule & what it is

Examples

1

Noun genders, sentence cases, and definite and indefinite article.

In German, nouns are either masculine, feminine or neutral.

Depending on the noun’s gender and sentence case, we might need to change the corresponding definite or indefinite articles.

Der Hund ist braun.

(The dog is brown.)

Hund is a masculine noun and the subject of this sentence, so it comes after der (the).

Ich sehe den Hund.

(I see the dog.)

The dog is the object of the sentence and in the accusative case. We have to use den (the).

Ich kaufe dem Hund das Essen.

(I buy the dog the food.)

Here, the dog is now the indefinite object and in dative case. Der (the) becomes dem.

Ich kaufe das Essen des Hundes.

(I buy the food of the dog.)

The genitive case shows possession. As the food belongs to the dog, we use the genitive masculine definite article des. Most nouns after des usually have an added -s or -es at the end (ie. Hunds).

2

Adjective endings

Not only do gender and case dictate definite articles, but they also dictate the endings of preceding adjectives.

All adjective endings must agree with both noun and case.

Der schwarze Hund hat Hunger.

(The black dog is hungry.)

Dog is both masculine (gender) and nominative (case). We need to add an -e to the end of schwarz (black) as it follows a definite article.

Correcto, pero porque sólo poner el determinado? Ein schwarzer Hund hat Hunger.

El determinado y el indeterminado rigen por dos sistemas diferentes

Ich habe einen beigen Hund gefunden.

(I found a beige dog.)

As the dog is the object of the sentence, it’s now in the accusative case and follows an indefinite article, so it ends with an -en.

Femenino: Ich habe eine junge Frau gesehen

Neutro: Ich habe ein junges Mädchen gesehen

Si pones esto, tienes que poner los demás géneros, digo yo.

Luego van a clase y te explican que ya saben que el accusativo es “en”

Das Essen des jungen Hunds ist hier.

(The young dog’s food is here.)

Genitive masculine nouns require their adjectives (ie. essen) to end in -en.

Ich gebe dem jungen Hund das Essen.

(I am giving the food to the young dog.)

As the dog is the indefinite object of the sentence, it takes the dative case. Alt??? ends in -en.

3

Verbs come second

German verbs usually come second in a sentence. However, there are exceptions.

Ich sehe den Hund und ich gebe ihm das Spielzeug.

(I see the dog and give him the toy.)

Here we have two clauses joined by und (and). Both verbs come second, after the subject.

4

Plurals are formed differently

In English, plurals are formed by adding an “s” at the end.

In German, plurals are formed in different ways and are affected by cases.

Examples of cases include: Nominative case, accusative case, dative case, and genitive case.

Der Hund (dog) → Die Hunde (dogs)

All plural nouns take die as their definite article.

Die Banane (the banana) → Die Bananen (bananas)

If a word already ends in -e, then the plural usually involves adding an –n.

Das Auto (the car) → Die Autos (cars)

Nouns that come from foreign words form plurals with a -s at the end.

Der Mann (the man) → Die Männer (men)

Some plurals are formed by adding both an umlaut and a new ending. In this case, Mann becomes männer.

Der Vater (the father) → Die Väter (fathers)

Many plural nouns that end in -el or -er have an umlaut. Here, Vater becomes Väter.

Si le dáis tanta importancia al plural, no podeis poner algunos ejemplos sueltos. Hay normas y reglas y cinco grupos de plural - nueve con sus respectivos subgrupos. Es muy pesado, sí, pero así no sólo asusta sino también despista

PS. in the dative case, Väter becomes Vätern.

También te digo: ¿Quién se anima a estudiar alemán si le dicen que el dativo de Väter es Vätern???

5

There is a formal and informal “you”

You can either use du (informal) or die (formal).

Ich liebe dich.

(I love you.)

Dich is the informal accusative term for du.

Geben Sie mir bitte den Kuchen.

(Please give me the cake.)

Sie is the formal version of “you.”

Haben Sie schon gegessen?

(Have you already eaten?)

Sie is always capitalised when it means you.

Wie geht es Ihnen?

(How are you?)

Sie becomes Ihnen in formal dative, and needs to be capitalised.

Ich hab’s dir gegeben.

(I gave it to you.)

Dir is the dative informal version of you. (and is not capitalised, only at the beginning of a sentence. Otro despiste)

German word

Meaning

Hallo! Wie geht’s?

Hello, how are you?

Ich heiße [Name].

My name is [Name].

Wie heißen Sie?

What is your name?

Ich komme aus…

I am from…

Guten Morgen!

Good morning!

Guten Tag!

Good afternoon!

Guten Abend!

Good evening!

Gute Nacht!

Good night!

Viel Glück.

Good luck!

Danke sehr.

Thank you very much!

Entschuldigen Sie.

Excuse me.

Es tut mir leid.

I’m sorry.

Tschüss! Bis zum nächsten Mal.

Goodbye! See you next time.

Freut mich.

Nice to meet you.

Wie viel?

How much?

Wie viele?

How many?

Wo ist die Toilette?

Where is the toilet?

Ich spreche kein Deutsch.

I do not speak German.

Was?

Wo?

Wann?

Warum?

Wer?

Wie?

What?

Where?

When?

Why?

Who?

How?

Eins

Zwei

Drei

Vier

Fünf

Sechs

Sieben

Acht

Neun

Zehn

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten