Grammatik - Questions on rules for composing clauses.
4
votes
3answers
92 views
What is the reason for this seemingly inconsistent inflection around masculine genitive?
I found the following sentence in a book:
(...) bemerkte ich (...) eine mir auffällige Übereinstimmung bezüglich des Inhaltes der drei Zeitungsfetzen: sie enthielten nämlich alle drei einen ...
4
votes
2answers
603 views
Sentence structure tips: verb placement
I'm having some trouble getting used to placing the second verb in a phrase at the end.
Sie kann sehr gut deutsch sprechen
Taking the above sentence as an example, I find it hard to read ...
4
votes
2answers
250 views
Accusative vs. nominative case ambiguity?
First, let me say that I'm new to German.
I see that the article of a feminine noun isn't inflected when the case is changed from nominative to accusative, i.e. in both cases the definite article is ...
4
votes
2answers
277 views
German verbs vs English verbs
Why do all English verbs have to start with "to" and German verbs don't? In English we say "to play" but in German we would just say "spielen". why don't we say "zu spielen"? Why don't we do this in ...
4
votes
3answers
245 views
When do we use “Hose” like a plurale tantum?
Unlike "trousers" in English we use "Hose" in both, singular and plural forms. This also includes situations where we use it like a plurale tantum (even though it is none in German). Sometimes we can ...
4
votes
2answers
303 views
Do all nouns from verbs nominalized by the suffix “-ung” have a female gender?
By suffixing verbs with "-ung" we can build nouns, e.g.:
prüfen - Prüfung
meinen - Meinung
richten - Richtung
All those nouns seem to have a female gender. Is that always true or do we have ...
4
votes
2answers
427 views
einem vs. einen
I'm a German native speaker and was asked to explain the difference between "einem" and "einen".
I found it very hard to generalize the usage and formulate a rule of how to use those two.
Examples:
...
4
votes
2answers
90 views
Using a clause as subject
When using a clause as a subject, does one need to use a comma to delimit the clause? And should the verb be conjugated in plural or singular? Or is it preferable to use another kind of construction?
...
4
votes
2answers
106 views
Konditionalsätze mit “würde”?
Im Englischen machen viele non-native speaker gerne den Fehler im if-clause "would" zu nutzen.
Meine Frage: Ist dies nicht auch im Deutschen falsch?
Wenn ich die Zeit hätte, würde ich mehr lesen.
...
4
votes
3answers
203 views
How do I say something is the superlative of a group in German?
What is the correct German way for the English construction involving identifying the superlative in a group? For instance
Lake Michigan is the largest of the Great Lakes?
or
It was the ...
4
votes
3answers
298 views
Why does 'geben' break the TeKaMoLo rule?
When learning German, you usually get the whole TeKaMoLo thing drilled into your subconsciousness. My German friend claims the following is a very natural word order:
Warum gibt es hier immer so ...
4
votes
1answer
74 views
Where does “Gaußsche” and “Fresnel'sche” come from and which is correct?
In German physics literature, I often see adjectives like “Gaußsche” and “Fresnel'sche”. I know what they mean in the context, that Gauß (or Fresnel) invented something or that it is named after them. ...
4
votes
2answers
109 views
How does “wem”, “wen” and “wer” help to recognise the appropriate case?
I'm told a way to recognize the appropriate case is the following:
Ich gab Ihm einen Kuss = Dativ; wem gab ich einen Kuss= Ihm
I'm having a hard time understanding how this helps. It actually ...
4
votes
2answers
105 views
When to use the future tense?
One of the things I've been struggling with as a relative newcomer to German is when to use the future tense. It appears that, as in Russian, there isn't a lot of circumstances in which one would use ...
4
votes
3answers
202 views
If “Brotaufstrich” is something they smear on bread, why “Fruchtaufstrich” is not smeared on fruit?
Another question here made me ask this question: if "Brotaufstrich" is something one usually smears on bread during breakfast, shouldn't "Fruchtaufstrich" mean something they smear on fruits? :)
I am ...
4
votes
1answer
133 views
“Selbst ist der Mann” - kann mir das jemand auseinandertüddeln?
Mich würde mal interessieren, wo die Redewendung "Selbst ist der Mann" herkommt, und wie sich dieser Satz grammatikalisch korrekt zusammensetzt. Insbesondere die Rolle des Wortes "selbst" ist mir ...
4
votes
1answer
52 views
Article to go with plural accusative noun
I found this sentence in a magazine:
Herr Minister, sind Sie mit den Ergebnissen des EU-Gipfels am 28. und 29. Juni in Brüssel zufrieden?
I understand this as:
Minister, are you happy with ...
4
votes
3answers
125 views
Positions of verbs in clauses
e.g. when we use wenn the verb goes to end. If the sentence starts with wenn, the second clause starts with verb as follows:
Wenn es morgen regnet, gehe ich ins Kino.
I think it is similar for ...
4
votes
2answers
285 views
About an “unusual” sentence structure?
In German, most sentences have a simple structure: subject, verb, object.
Ich liebe dich.
But there are some verbs such as gefallen or gelingen, where this structure doesn't apply. Instead, the ...
4
votes
1answer
61 views
Does the order of a subordinate clause change meaning?
When building a subordinate clauses we can put them at the end of a sentence, or at the beginning:
Er lernt fleißig Deutsch, damit er sein Examen besteht.
Damit er sein Examen besteht, lernt er ...
4
votes
1answer
108 views
gelungen, mehr gelungen, meisten gelungen - is this correct comparative?
"Die Arbeit ist ihm gelungen"
Are then above comparatives correct? "mehr gelungen" is a pretty frequent term, but the meaning seems to be pretty convertibly.
4
votes
1answer
140 views
Explaining case and usage of “Richtung”
Just curious. How would you explain to someone the proper use and appropriate case of Richtung as a directional indicator, in simple terms? whether showing movement or simple location or direction ...
4
votes
1answer
372 views
What Does the Use of “S” Mean In Certain Contexts?
Examples:
Der Fall: The case. Fall(s): In case of.
Das Mittel: The means. Mittels: By means of.
As an English speaker, I think of an s as a "pluralizer." But in these instances, the meaning of the ...
4
votes
1answer
238 views
Contraction of prepositions and definite articles in German
I could not find a table of the contractions of prepositions and definite articles in German, so I made one by my own:
Is this an exhausting table of all the contraction there are?
4
votes
1answer
496 views
When do suffixes “-able” or “-ible” translate with “-bar” vs. “-lich”?
We can not simply translate the suffixes "-able" or "-ible" with "-bar" as there seem to be many examples where "-lich" is used instead.
avoidable - vermeidbar
vulnerable - verwundbar
bootable ...
3
votes
4answers
166 views
Relative pronouns: der/die/das vs dass
I think understand the use of der/die/das and dass however I don't when to use which.
For example, what is the correct translation of 'the apple I'm eating is tasty:'
Das Apfel, dass ich esse, ist ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
Understanding die, der and das [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How can I learn noun genders better?
A key thing I struggled with in German was the use of die, der and das. I vaguely understand that one means masculine, one means ...
3
votes
5answers
1k views
“denn” vs. “dann”
I'm having a hard time finding out when to use "denn" and when "dann". This happens when I want to say the word as the equivalent of the English "then". For instance,
A: I bet Germany wins the ...
3
votes
3answers
346 views
“umgekehrt als bei” oder “umgekehrt wie bei”?
In folgendem Satz:
Bei X ist das anders als bei Y.
muss das Wort "als" verwendet werden, sagt mir mein Sprachgefühl. Ich hadere aber etwas bei:
Bei X ist das umgekehrt als bei Y.
Ich würde sagen ...
3
votes
2answers
356 views
Asking “Which [something]”
If someone is talking about something, saying:
I don't like the [list]
I'd like to ask "which list" in German. It's "die Liste", so I should ask:
Welch-e [Liste]?
Am I right?
In general, ...
3
votes
2answers
73 views
Is it “einige vor den Kopf stoßen” or “einigen vor den Kopf stoßen”?
The whole sentence is:
Mit dem Glauben an einen hinsichtlich der Präzision und Allmächtigkeit abgeschwächten Laplace'schen Dämon scheint man immer wieder einige(n?) Leuten vor den Kopf zu stoßen
...
3
votes
1answer
223 views
Books helping with most common mistakes of German learners?
Is there anything one could recommend to get rid of the most common mistakes the non-native German speakers make?
I love the "Is That What You Mean?" series by Pinguin which features very nice ...
3
votes
2answers
62 views
On the dativ with and without “zu” (pt. 2)
The answer to an earlier question explained that both sentences below are grammatically correct, although they differ slightly in meaning:
Was hat er zu Ihnen gesagt?
Was hat er Ihnen gesagt?
...
3
votes
3answers
311 views
Verwendung von “dieser” und “jener”
Ich habe bisher nicht oft „dieser“ und „jener“ sinnvoll verwendet, aber oft gelesen, dass „dieser“ auf zeitlich und räumlich Näheres verweist als „jener“. Dies gilt auch für zeitlich näher Erwähntes ...
3
votes
2answers
144 views
What is/are the correct preposition/s to use with “Sicherheit”?
I cannot put my finger on why one of the following examples sounds right while the other sounds wrong:
a) Der neue Reifen bietet Sicherheit vor Aquaplaning.
b) Ein Deich bietet Sicherheit vor ...
3
votes
3answers
266 views
Are the subjunctives of “brauchen” and “verbrauchen” different?
There seems to be a difference when building subjunctives from the verb "brauchen" when used alone, or in the composite verb "verbrauchen".
Hätten wir überall Energiesparlampen, verbrauchten wir ...
3
votes
3answers
67 views
die Rechtstruktur in den/dem Katalog einbauen?
I know that I should say:
Ich wohne in der Stadt.
and
Ich fahre in die Stadt.
Because direction is involved in the second verb.
However, should I say:
Muss die Rechtstruktur im ...
3
votes
1answer
144 views
How can we abbreviate a subordinate clause by use of a participle
On Takkats advice i separated this part from this question:
"Senkenden Hauptes schlief sie langsam ein" - is this grammatically correct?
A (maybe) possible (but nowadays uncommon) ...
3
votes
2answers
501 views
Two-way prepositions used with non-movement verbs.
The two-way prepositions are all the prepositions that can take both the accusative and dative case. When they are used together with a verb indicating movement there is a simple rule for figuring out ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
'auf' oder 'an der' Bushaltestelle?
Welcher Satz ist Richtig?
Ich bin auf der Bushaltestelle warten
oder
ich bin an der Bushaltestelle warten?
UND
der Bus ist auf der Bushaltestelle?
oder
der Bus ist an der ...
3
votes
1answer
83 views
How do I build subordinative clauses relating to genderless nouns?
In German there are few nouns that have no article and thus seemingly no gender:
Examples
Google
Nahost
Nord
Allerheiligen
In the example "Nord" we could overcome this by using "der ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
Books like “English Grammar in use” for the German language
"English Grammar in Use" - Cambridge University Press
is amazing. Is there any similar books for the German language?
[Update]:
"English Grammar in Use" is amazing because each unit spans ...
3
votes
3answers
168 views
Adverbien und Adjektive
Gibt es neben „lang“ vs. „lange“ noch andere häufige Adverbien, die im Gebrauch mit Adjektiven verwechselt werden?
Insbesondere: Ist die Phrase "punktweiser Grenzwert" korrekt?
3
votes
1answer
81 views
Doppelter Akkusativ in 'Ich schere mich einen Dreck darum'
Betrachten wir folgenden Satz:
"Ich schere mich einen Dreck darum!"
Offenbar sind sowohl "mich" als auch "einen Dreck" Nominalphrasen im Akkusativ. Das erscheint mir sehr ungewöhnlich. ...
3
votes
1answer
223 views
“Could” phrases
As far as I know the word could is the subjunctive of "can/to be able to" which translates to "können". However I'm not sure about the subjunctive of "können", and how it affects German sentence ...
3
votes
2answers
349 views
How do I decline “jemand” or “niemand”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Beugt man jemand oder niemand mit Endung?
The declension of indefinitve pronouns "jemand" or "niemand" seems not to follow strict rules. I can read all of the following:
...
3
votes
1answer
173 views
Aspects of verbs in German
I am looking for a resource, on how far the category of aspect is a relevant category in the German language, and in how far the aspect of something influences the choice of tenses used for ...
3
votes
1answer
267 views
What is an “Ablaut”?
My understanding is that "Umlaut" represents the diacritical marks over 'a', 'o', 'u', etc.
But what is an "Ablaut"?
The topic came up in the comments on this question.
3
votes
1answer
146 views
Regeln für mehrfache indirekte Rede?
Er sagte, dass sie gesagt hätte, dass sie ihn nicht lieben würde (niemals geliebt haben würde)
Intuitiv würd ich das so formulieren. Bin mir aber unsicher, ob der Konjunktiv im zweiten Teilsatz ...
2
votes
2answers
100 views
What is the meaning of 'zu' in this sentence?
Im Winter trage ich zu meinem schwarzen Rock auch eine schwarze
Jacke.
What is the meaning of zu here? Why is Rock dative while Jacke is accusative?
