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I'm reading a book called "The Four Hour Chef" at the moment, and if anyone here knows the book, or its author Tim Ferriss, you might know that he has a fascinating method for generating a basic deconstruction of any language by using translations of the following sentences:

The apple is red.
It is John's apple.
I give John the apple.
We give him the apple.

He gives it to John.
She give it to him.

Is the apple red?
These apples are red.

I must give it to him.
I want to give it to her.
I'm going to know tomorrow.
I have eaten the apple.
I can't eat the apple.

The idea is that it allows you to see nearly all important (or at least essential) grammatical structures (direct object, indirect, noun cases, possessives, etc.)

I've only just started learning German, so if any here would be kind enough to translate this for me, it would be greatly appreciated.

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I voted close because firstly, this is not a translation site and secondly I don't get the idea... it is nowhere near complete and the compilation of sentences seems fairly random so I doubt anyone else would be interested – Emanuel Nov 22 '12 at 22:15
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Fair enough. I suppose I should have made my intention clearer. Basically it allows you to see nearly all important grammatical structures (direct object, indirect, noun cases, possessives, etc.) – Charlesr456 Nov 22 '12 at 22:59
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I vote to leave this question open. – Takkat♦ Nov 23 '12 at 8:11
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well since we have 3 genders and 4 cases this list should be 3 times as long for German then to cover about the same fraction of grammar. It is not a universal list. It is based on English and simply translating it won't do it I fear... – Emanuel Nov 23 '12 at 11:10
@Charlesr456: What is your effort? Can't you translate a single sentence? Don't you have an own idea how to do it? We prefer to see some research effort. – user unknown Nov 24 '12 at 4:41
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closed as not a real question by Emanuel, Em1, Baz, user unknown, splattne♦ Nov 26 '12 at 20:09

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote

Is this a poem?

The translation is:

The apple is red.
Der Apfel ist rot.

It is John's apple.
Es ist Johns Apfel.

I give John the apple.
Ich gebe John den Apfel.

We give him the apple.
Wir geben ihm den Apfel.

He gives it to John.
Er gibt es John. Maybe if it is referring to the apple: Er gibt ihn John.

She give it to him.
Sie hat es ihm gegeben. Maybe if it is referring to the apple. Sie hat ihn ihm gegeben.

Is the apple red?
Ist der Apfel rot?

These apples are red.
Diese Äpfel sind rot.

I must give it to him.
Ich muss es ihm geben. Again, if it is referring to the apple: Ich muss ihn ihm geben.

I want to give it to her.
Ich will es ihr geben. If it is the apple: Ich will ihn ihr geben.

I'm going to know tomorrow.
Ich werde es morgen wissen.

I have eaten the apple.
Ich habe den Apfel gegessen.

I can't eat the apple.
Ich kann den Apfel nicht essen.
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Thanks. No it's not a poem. It's just an exercise if you like. It allows you to see nearly all important grammatical structures (direct object, indirect, noun cases, possessives, etc.) Yes those sentences do refer to the apple as far as I know (I think that's the point), but why does that change the "es" to an "ihm"? – Charlesr456 Nov 22 '12 at 22:56
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If you translate it, it could be anything. That's why we use the neutral "es" in German. But if you refer to the Apple it is "ihn", because it's "der Apfel" in German. Apple is a masculine substantive in German. – RoflcoptrException Nov 23 '12 at 10:04
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Is “She give it to him.” supposed to be “She gave it to him.”? In which case I think the better translation would be “Sie gab es/ihn ihm.”, at least in written German. – cgnieder Nov 25 '12 at 11:05
@Clemens good point, didn't see that. – RoflcoptrException Nov 25 '12 at 11:11

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