52. A Chance to Test your Word Order Skills

52.  A Chance to Test your Word Order Skills

In this post, I have added below a couple of sentences giving you a chance to test yourself on your knowledge of German word order. Just a couple of things to remember .....

S V P A N A PP I holds good about 98% of the time - you will find exceptions!!! 

The Verb MUST be the 2nd idea in the clause, not necessarily the 2nd word.

Any word / phrase can come first (for emphasis) but the subject follows the verb

In a question, the verb comes 1st

As in English, with adverbs, a general concept precedes a specific idea (tomorrow at 8:00)

QUIZ ... Rearrange into good German word order the following jumbled sentences.

1   kein Auto    mein Vater     hat.

2   ist   der Computer   phantastisch.

3   heute    Wurst und Salat    kaufen     wir.

4   gesehen    gestern   einen guten Film    wir    haben.

5   ich    morgen    ein tolles Buch    kaufen    will.

6   wir     jedes Wochenende   Tennis    spielen.

7   du    schwimmen    gut     kannst ?

8   In Australien   regnet    im Winter    oft    es.

9   ins Kino    mitkommen    nächste Woche   du    möchtest ? 

10  eines Tages   ihr    wollt   gehen    auf die Uni  ?

Rothenburg ob der Tauber

51. 'SVPANAPPI' .... upping the ante!

51.   Word Order in a Main Clause  (See Quiztests 188-189)

'SVPANAPPI'  was the mnemonic we saw in the last post that is a guide to German word order. If you apply it in a main clause, the word order will be right about 98% of the time. Not all parts of the clause will occur at the same time, so all you do is insert each item in the order it occurs in the sentence. Another hint .... a main clause makes sense on its own. There may be several main clauses in a sentence and a subordinate clause or even more to boot. We will look at these a little later. For now, let's revise each item. Sometimes I find students struggle to identify what part of speech we are dealing with so I shall try to give you a few examples. 

S = Subject = provider of action, can be a Noun or Pronoun & in the Nominative Case

V = Verb (Finite) - action word of clause

P = Pronoun Object - replaces noun - action happens to it

A = Adverbs - one word or phrase - Time(T) Manner (M) Place (P) in that order

N = Noun Object - action happens to it

A = Adjective - describes a noun or pronoun

PP = Past Participle - part of verb used with has, have, had in past tense 

I = Infinitive - used with (to), with modals & future tense. 

1  Der Mann hat keine Geschwister. (brothers & sisters)

2  Meine Frau kommt morgen(T) nach Hause (P)

3  Sie will mit einer Freundin (M) fliegen.

4  Die Dame ist sehr elegant.

5  Ich habe mein Buch gefunden.

6  Ich habe es neben (next to) der Lampe gefunden.

* GOLDEN RULE OF GERMAN WORD ORDER - The Verb MUST come 2nd idea *

Any part of speech can come FIRST for emphasis but the VERB must follow ..

e.g.  Mein Buch  habe  ich  neben der Lampe  gefunden.

        Morgen kommt meine Frau nach Hause.

        Kommt sie allein nach Hause? Nein, mit einer Freundin will sie fliegen.

** In this last sentence REMEMBER that to make a question, the verb goes first.

Tourist 'buses' in Rhine Village

50. SVPANAPPI - the Mystery of German Word Order

50.  SVPANAPPI - the Mystery of German Word Order  (See Quiztests 186-187)

The cryptic title in this post 'SVPANAPPI'  (referred to as 'SUPER NAPPY with the 'V' seen as 'u') is a mnemonic used to help you remember in what order parts of speech come in a German main clause. Let's look at them closely, but first you should understand that I have used the word 'clause advisedly here and not 'sentence'. A clause is a discrete group of words making sense but which contains a finite verb. A sentence can have several clauses but a clause exists in its own right. As a general rule, this mnemonic works about 98% of the time if you apply it to German word order.

S = Subject of the clause - provider of the action in the clause - a noun or pronoun
The lady bought a litre of milk. She put it in her shopping basket.

V= (Finite) verb - the action word.... the verb may be part of a past or future tense

I have a new CD. I bought it yesterday. I have bought many recently. I will buy more!

P = Pronoun Object - pronouns replace nouns - the object has the action of verb happen to it. e.g. I have new shoes. I love them.  Sport is fun. I love it.

A = Adverb - there are basically 3 types of adverbs (either a phrase or single word) but they usually divide into  TIME   MANNER or PLACE in that order. e.g.  He came home quickly last night. In German this would be lit.  He came  last night  quickly  home (in that order).

N = Noun Object - verb action happens to this ... I hate prejudice.

A = Adjective -  describes (pro)nouns .... the car is beautiful  but it is expensive.

PP =  Past Participle ... part of verb used with  have, has or had  in past tenses.
I have read the book but I have not seen the film yet.

I = Infinitive - part of the verb used with 'to', with modals & future tense. e.g. I must go, He will visit his aunty tomorrow. I am hoping to buy a laptop computer soon.


*** There is a bit more to word order than this and next time I will delve a little deeper into an issue that starts to get a little complicated and will need more than a little explanation.

Market Square on Rhine Village

49. Festivals & Festivities

49.  Festivals and Festivities  (See Quiztests 184-185)

The German speaking world is renowned for its love of celebrating at festival time. Coming from a 'conservative' English speaking background where traditional holidays are celebrated relatively quietly, I was pleasantly surprised just how most people throw themselves with gusto into a German Fest.

The most important religious celebrations are Easter (Ostern) and Christmas (Weihnachten) and these are celebrated in the traditions most people have come to know around the Christian world. At Easter the houses, shops and restaurants are decked with all manner of decorations and the Easter Bunny (Osterhase) brings everyone's favourite chocolate. Children play games whereby dye-coloured eggs are hidden in the garden or around the house. Religious services are well attended at Easter.

At Christmas time, Sankt Nikolaus traditionally comes on the evening of December the 5th and leaves small gifts of sweets, candy, fruit and nuts in the shoes left out by the children. In the 4 weeks in the run-up to December 25th (der erste Weihnachtstag), a new door of the family's Advent's calendar (Adventskalender) is opened revealing usually a beautiful picture. A new candle on the Advent's wreath (Adventskranz) is lit. Decorations in the home and in the towns and cities are elaborate and the traditional white lights of Bavaria came as a surprise to someone used to the coloured variety in my world. The Christmas tree (Christbaum / Weihnachtsbaum) in the family home is brightly decorated and presents left beneath the tree are usually opened on Christmas Eve (der Heilige [holy] Abend) after the traditional church service. Many of the towns and cities are known world wide for their Christmas Fairs or Markets (Christkindlmarkt), the most famous of which is in Nuremberg (Nürnberg).

\

Oktoberfest and Karneval / Fasching (Fastnacht) are probably the best known festivals in the German-speaking world. Oktoberfest was introduced in Munich by King Ludwig 1 to celebrate his wedding to Princess Therese and is celebrated not in October but at the end of September by way of insurance against the onset of winter. Other towns also hold their own Oktoberfest as a last celebration before the cold sets in but Munich's is by the far the most elaborate. This takes place on the Theresienwiese ('d Wiesn') and runs for about 16 days. The fair ground is littered with massive beer hall tents, side shows and rides. Large quantities of food and beer are consumed at the time and Munich becomes a focal point for many tourists from all over the world at this time.

Karneval, also known as Fasching & Fastnet, is celebrated in the run-up to Lent and the city most famous for this celebration is Cologne. On Rosenmontag the city parade is broadcast on television for the rest of the German-speaking world and the colourful costumes are a feature of the celebration. Many towns hold a Faschingsball where participants are expected to turn up in costume, some of which are very elaborate and expensive. My own experience here was that the celebration was very lively and the locals were dancing on the tables (literally!). The dancing, to say the very least, was probably more enthusiastic than artful and the locals were never reluctant to join in the singing. 

There are numerous other festivals in this part of the world, the better ones being the Schützenfeste (shooters' festival) and Winzerfeste (wine makers' festival). With some luck you may stumble upon one of these as I did on a few occasions and local traditions will dictate activities there. One guarantee
e I can give you .... there will not be a shortage of Wurst, Bier and Wein!  Viel Spaß noch!

Easter Letter Box Berchtesgaden

48. Ordinal Numbers & Birth Dates

48.  Ordinal Numbers & Birth Dates  (See Quiztests 182-183)

Answers to the previous quiz are ...

1.  Es ist sieben Uhr achtundfünfzig [ 7:58 ]
2. Es ist vier Uhr sechsundzwanzig [4:26 ]
3.  Es ist einundzwanzig Uhr dreizehn [ 21:13 / 9:13 ]
4.  Es ist halb eins  [  12:30  ]  
5.  2:45     =  zwei Uhr fünfundvierzig  / Viertel vor drei      
6.  12:03   =  zwölf Uhr drei / drei Minuten nach Mittag          
7.  23: 39  =  dreiundzwanzig Uhr  neununddreißig  /  einundzwanzig (Minuten) 
                     vor  Mitternacht
8.  1:19     =  ein Uhr neunzehn  /  neunzehn (Minuten) nach eins

***  As a general rule, the easiest way is to state the hour first & then give the minutes. This is very similar to English. e.g.  4:16  =  vier Uhr sechzehn.

Ordinal Numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.)  .... English 'th'  is usually 't' in German
1st  =  erst;    2nd = zweit;    3rd = dritt;      4th = viert;       5th = fünft;   
6th =  sechst; 7th = sieb(en)t;   8th = acht;    9th =  neunt;  10th = zehnt;  
11th = elft;  12th = zwölft; 13th = dreizehnt;  14th = vierzehnt;   16th = sechzehnt;  
17th = siebzehnt; 20th = zwanzigst;   21st =  einundzwanzigst ... 30th = dreißigst;  70th = siebzigst; 100th = hundertst;  1000th = tausendst ... 

Dates ... Note in the examples below that the 'e' on each ordinal number is an adjective ending. This is an issue we need to look at down the track.

Heute ist der erste, zweite, dritte, vierte, sechste, siebte, zwanzigste Mai / Juni / August
Morgen (tomorrow) ist der dreißigste Januar
Gestern (yesterday) war der vierundzwanzigste Februar

'On the' dates .... Now,  after 'am' the ending changes to 'en' (adjective ending)

Wann hast du Geburtstag?  ..... ich habe am ersten März Geburtstag .. on 1st March
Wann kommt dein Bruder nach Hause?  Am vierten April!
Wann ist Sylvesterabend? (New Year's Eve)  Im Dezember,  am einunddreißigsten.
Wann kommt Sankt Nikolaus?  Am sechsten Dezember.

Legendary Lorelei Rock - Fastest & most dangerous section of Rhine River

47. Time to watch the Clock

47.  Time to watch the Clock  (See Quiztests 180-181)

Now we have looked at our numbers, we can look at telling the time in German. Fortunately it is a fairly logical exercise. Just one thing to remember, however, with train, planes and ships etc., the 24 hour clock is frequently used and the day starts at midnight of course. The 12 hour clock is most commonly used in everyday conversation. OK, let's get started with the basic time on the hour....

Wieviel Uhr ist es?  =  What time ist?  Wie spät ist es?  =  How late is it?

00:00        es ist Mitternacht     =      it is midnight    
12:00        es ist Mittag             =      it is midday   (also es ist zwölf Uhr)    

01:00        es ist ein Uhr / eins  =      it is one a.m.
13:00        es ist dreizehn Uhr   /       es ist ein Uhr  =     it is one p.m.
14:00        es ist vierzehn Uhr  /        es ist zwei Uhr  =     it is two p.m

Using the 12 hour clock now we find the half hour is a little tricky. There are 2 possibilities

3:30          es ist halb vier     =         half on the way to 4:00 
                 es ist drei Uhr dreißig =  three thirty
8:30          es ist halb neun    =         half past eight
                 es ist acht Uhr dreißig  = eight thirty

9:15         es ist Viertel nach neun  /  es ist neun Uhr fünfzehn
9:45         es ist Viertel vor zehn   /  dreiviertel zehn (3/4 to)  /  neun Uhr fünfundvierzig

10:14      es ist zehn Uhr vierzehn /  vierzehn (Minuten) nach zehn
10:46      es ist zehn Uhr sechsundvierzig  /   vierzehn (Minuten) vor elf
11:01      es ist eine Minute nach elf
11:59  es ist eine Minute vor Mittag / zwölf

Try a couple for yourself ...

1.  Es ist sieben Uhr achtundfünfzig  [       ]     2.  Es ist vier Uhr sechsundzwanzig  [      ]
3.  Es ist einundzwanzig Uhr dreizehn [      ]  4.  Es ist halb eins  [      ]  and in German ...
5.  2:45 [          ]     6.   12:03 [          ]      7.  23: 39  [          ]   8.  1:19  [          ]

Here are a couple of handy expressions with time as well ...

um neun Uhr  =  at 9:00;       gegen drei Uhr  =  about 3:00;     zwischen 4 und 8 Uhr
von zwei Uhr bis acht Uhr  =  from 2:00 until 8:00;     seit zwei Uhr =  since 2:00

Church and Castle near Lorelei

                 

46. Finding your way around Town ...

46.  Finding your Way around Town (See Quiztests 178-179)

Travelling to a new country is tough enough even when you are armed with a local map of the city and your tourist guide so knowing a few phrases about directions can be a great help as long as you also know the likely answers. Let's look first at the major places of interest and then some directions.

Feminine  (die words)

Kirche   =   church                 Bank   =    bank           Sparkasse  =  savings bank

Post       =     post office          Polizei  =  police          Haltestelle  =  (bus/tram) stop

Stadt      =    city                     Straße   =  street           Straßenbahn  =  tram

Allee      =     avenue               Ampel   =  traffic light  Fußgängerzone  = pedestrian zone

Universität  =  university        Altstadt  =   old city      U-Bahn  =  subway,  underground

Station   =  station (usually subway)                           Pension  =  B & B, guest house

Toilette   =   toilet

Masculine  (der words)

Bahnhof    =  station                Park   =   park          Verkehrsverein    =  tourist information

Dom           =  cathedral            Markt  =  market       Platz   =   square, place

Marktplatz  =  market place     Tierpark  =  zoo        Hauptbahnhof   =   main station

Neuter (das words)

Dorf  =  village                         Museum   =   museum        Kino   =   cinema

Rathaus   =   city  hall              Schloß     =  castle              Büro   =   office  

Verkehrsamt  =  tourist office  Hotel   =  hotel                    WC  =   toilet

Helpful Expressions

Der Bahnhof bitte?  =  The station please?

Wie komme ich zur (fem words) / zum  (masc & neut words)  = How do I get to the?

Wo ist der Dom?   =  Where is the cathedral?

Wie weit ist es zur  Post  / zum Marktplatz?  =  How far is it to the post office / market?

Wie komme ich am besten   zur  /  zum  .... How do I best get to?

Likely Answers

geradeaus   =  straight ahead     immer geradeaus  =  keep on going straight ahead

gehen Sie hier links / rechts  =  go left / right here

biegen Sie rechts / links an der Ampel ab  =  turn right /left at the traffic lights

zu Fuß zehn Minuten  =  on foot 10 minutes

mit dem Bus =  by bus,  mit dem Taxi = by taxi / mit der U-Bahn =  by tram
mit der Straßenbahn =  subway, 

rechts um die Ecke  =  go right around the corner

in der Nähe von der Kirche  /  vom Bahnhof  =  near the church  /  station

Gehen Sie die Müllerstraße entlang  =  go along Müller Street

Castle Mid Rhine near Lorelei Rock

45. Expanding on Modals

45.  Expanding on Modals  (See Quiztests 176-177)

Answers to the Modal Quiz from last time ...

1    Bitte, können Sie mir helfen?                   D   Can you help me please?
2    Magst du Schi laufen?                             K   Do you like going skiing?
3    Wollen Sie mitkommen?                         C  Do you want to come with us?
4    Ich will nach Hause gehen.                      G   I want to go home.
5    Du sollst nicht stehlen!                            A   Thou shalt not steal 
6    Du darfst das nicht machen!                   E  You must not do that!
7    Heinz mag Weißwurst essen.                   F  Heinz likes to eat white sausage.
8    Heinz, ich darf ins Kino gehen.               H   Heinz, I can come to the movies.
9    Sie müssen keinen Alkohol mitbringen. J You don't have to bring any alcohol.
10  Sie dürfen keinen Alkohol mitbringen.   I  You must not bring any alcohol.
11  Anja, Fritz, könnt ihr gut schwimmen?   L  Anja, Fritz, can you swim well?
12  Wir sollen fleißig lernen.                          B  We are supposed to study hard.

***  Note here that with müssen in the NEGATIVE,  this equals  NOT HAVE TO and not 'MUST'. If you ALWAYS translate müssen as 'have to' you will always get it right. An example of this happened to me in a Munich dept. store after 'buying' a whole pile of items and the saleslady refused to accept a traveller's cheque I offered for payment. In the bank later I asked the teller the question: Muss man einen Reisescheck einlösen?  The teller's answer was: Nein, das muss man nicht, meaning 'No, one does (they do) not have to' AND NOT,  'No, one musn't .

Getting even a little bit more complicated ....

We have already seen ich möchte meaning  I would like. This phrase is a modal verb construction using a subjunctive form of the verb or the would form of the verb. Other modals use similar forms found in everyday speech & as such are very useful.

ich könnte   =   I would be able  =  I could
ich müsste  =    I would have to
ich sollte     =    I should
ich dürfte    =   I would be allowed to  =  I might be able,  could

These expressions also use the same construction with the infinitive of the verb as we have seen before and the infinitive will be found at the end of the clause. German word order is an issue we need to tackle at some stage in the near future but for the moment let's see how some more examples of these new expressions work.

Ja, ich glaube (think / believe), ich könnte schneller laufen.

Könntest du die Fotos mitbringen?

Alois und Brigitte könnten heute ankommen (arrive).

Karla müsste fleißiger (harder) arbeiten (work).

Müssten Sie mit der Straßenbahn (tram) in die Stadt (city) fahren?

Klaus, du solltest jetzt (now) mit deiner (your) Mutter telefonieren.

Sollten wir sofort (immediately) nach Hause gehen?

Ich dürfte ins Kino gehen, aber ich bin nicht sicher (sure).

Wir dürften all unsere (our) CDs zur Party mitbringen.

Ferry Stop on Rhine

44. More of these brilliant Modals

44.  More of these brilliant Modals  (See Quiztests 176-177)

Following on from yesterday's post on Modal Verbs, let's have a look today at how we can use them. These verbs are brilliant because we can use them in so many different ways and they allow us to start talking the language with some fluency. There are many everyday expressions involving modals that we can start 'collecting' phrases to ask important questions and make statements. Remember that modals are used in conjunction with another verb (infinitive) placed at the end of the clause, also los!

Match up these German sentences with the translations below ...

1    Bitte, können Sie mir helfen?   [    ]
2    Magst du Schi laufen?    [    ]
3    Wollen Sie mitkommen?    [    ]
4    Ich will nach Hause gehen.    [    ]
5    Du sollst nicht stehlen!    [    ]
6    Du darfst das nicht machen!    [    ]
7    Heinz mag Weißwurst essen.    [    ]
8    Heinz, ich darf ins Kino gehen.    [    ]
9    Sie müssen keinen Alkohol mitbringen.    [    ]
10  Sie dürfen keinen Alkohol mitbringen.      [    ]
11  Anja, Fritz, könnt ihr gut schwimmen?      [    ]
12  Wir sollen fleißig lernen.    [    ]

A   Thou shalt not steal (straight from the 10 commandments!)
B   We are supposed to study hard.
C   Do you want to come with us?
D   Can you help me please?
E   You must not do that!
F   Heinz likes to eat white sausage.
G   I want to go home.
H   Heinz, I can come to the movies.
I    You must not bring any alcohol with you.
J    You don't have to bring any alcohol with you.
K   Do you like going skiing?
L   Anja, Fritz, can you swim well?

Answers shortly!

Mäuseturm  (MouseTower) in Middle of Rhine

43. I can, I want to, I must …. Modal Verbs

43. I can, I want to, I must  (See Quiztests 174-175)

Answers to the last post's sentences appear below

1 Wir brauchen einen Liter Milch. Wir haben keine Milch (kein endings same as ein)
   We need a litre of milk (no 'of' in German. We have no milk (or 'don't have any milk')
2   Ich kaufe ein Sakko. Das Sakko da ist preiswert!
     I am buying a sports coat. The jacket there is a bargain.
3  Timo hat keine Jacke und keine Hose. Er hat nur ein T-Shirt und Bermuda-Shorts.
    Timo has no jacket and no trousers. He has only a t-shirt and Bermuda shorts.
4   Wir trinken die Limonade, aber ich trinke keinen Alkohol.
     Der Wein schmeckt schrecklich! We are drinking the soft drink / soda 
     but I am not drinking any alcohol. The wine tastes terrible.
5   Hans und Anna haben einen Wagen aber kein Haus. Sie mieten eine Wohnung.
     Hans and Anna have a car but no house. They are renting an apartment.

Today, I would like to show you 6 of the most useful verbs in the language They are called Modal verbs ... basically verbs of 'mood' and their infinitives are ...

mögen = (to) like;  können = can, be able;  wollen = want to;  sollen = be supposed to / should; dürfen = have permission to, can;  müssen = have to, must

These verbs are used in conjunction with the infinitive which is always placed at the end of the clause. e.g.  ich kann gut schwimmen  =  I can swim well ( lit.  I can well swim)

These verbs are declined differently from a regular verb in the Present Tense.

1   ich kaufe       mag       kann      will      soll       darf       muss (No ending)
2   du kaufst       magst    kannst   willst     sollst     darfst     musst
3   er  kauft         mag      kann      will      soll       darf      muss  (No ending)

1   wir kaufen    mögen  können    wollen   sollen    dürfen   müssen
2   ihr  kauft       mögt     könnt      wollt      sollt       dürft      müsst
2   Sie kaufen    mögen  können   wollen   sollen    dürfen   müssen
3   Sie kaufen    mögen  können   wollen   sollen    dürfen   müssen

Rhine River vineyards behind barge

42. Tackling the Objective

42. Tackling the Objective  (See Quiztests 172-173)

From last time, meanings for our clothing are ....

die:    Bluse = blouse,  Hose = (pair of) pants, Kappe = cap, Krawatte = tie,
          Socke = sock,  Tasche = bag,  Brille = (pair of) glasses,  Jacke = coat / jacket
       
der:    Hut = hat,    Pullover = pullover,  Schal = scarf / shawl,  Mantel = overcoat,
           Schuh = shoe,  Anzug = suit,   Rock = skirt,  Stiefel = boot,  Gürtel = belt
       
das:   Hemd = shirt,  Kleid = dress,   Sakko = sports coat,  T-Shirt = t-shirt

Today, I'd like to expand on what we looked at yesterday and this centred on German nouns having case. In particular, when a noun provides the action, it is called the subject. If it has the action happen to it, it is called the object (of the verb). With the definite article (the), we saw that both feminine and neuter nouns did not change but masculine nouns changed from der to den.

Let's look at some more sentences to illustrate this ....

Die (S) Bluse kostet 20 Euro und ist schön. Ich nehme die (O) Bluse. (No change!)
Das (S) Hemd ist sehr modisch. Ich mag das (O) Hemd.  (No change!).....  BUT ....
Der (S) Hut is toll (great)! Ja, ich (S) kaufe (buy) den (O) Hut.  ( der becomes den).

It is time to introduce you now to a couple of technical terms ....

The subject is said to be in the Nominative Case & the object is said to be in the
Accusative Case. We will be using these terms from here on (also used in text books!)

Besides applying to the word for the, it also applies to the indefinite article (ein etc). With the indefinite articles, the same rules apply to subjects and objects (Nominative & Accusative) and we need to look at what changes take place and we can do that best in table form below.

              Masculine     Feminine    Neuter           Masculine    Feminine     Neuter
Nom.           der                die             das                   ein               eine              ein
Acc.            den *             die             das                   einen *        eine              ein

Again you'll have noticed that the masculine nouns change in the Accusative whereas the feminine and neuter nouns do not change. Let's look at some more examples. See if you can work out their meanings. We can use some of our new found food and clothing vocab.

1   Wir brauchen (need) einen Liter Milch. Wir haben keine Milch (kein endings same as for ein)
2   Ich kaufe ein Sakko. Das Sakko da (there) ist preiswert (inexpensive)!
3   Timo hat keine Jacke und keine Hose. Er hat nur ein T-Shirt und Bermuda-Shorts (plural).
4   Wir trinken die Limonade, aber ich trinke keinen Alkohol. Der Wein schmeckt schrecklich!
5   Hans und Anna haben einen Wagen aber kein Haus. Sie mieten (rent) eine Wohnung.

Rhine barge in Koblenz

     

41. Just in Case & Clothing!

41.  Just in Case & Clothing (See Quiztests 170-171)

Different from English, German uses a case system much more extensively. So far we have only looked at nouns in German in what we know as the subjective case. Today we need to move on to nouns in the objective case. First, though, I had better explain this concept in English by way of giving you some examples. This is best illustrated by showing pronouns as subjects and objects.

e.g.  That is Petra.  She loves music  and  we like her.  In this sentence she is the subject providing the action of loving music but in the next section, we is the subject, because we are doing the liking and the object here is her. The action of liking happens to the object .....

So,  we can say        the subject of the sentence provides the action and ...
                                 the object of the sentence has the action happen to it.

Some more examples  ....  
1  Tom?  He (S) visits us (O) every week so we (S) see him (O) quite often.
2  Tina and I, we (S) often go to our friends' place but they (S) invite us (O) first.
3  I saw Anja and Heinz recently. I (S) like them (O) but they (S) don't like me (O).

English pronouns in the subjective case are:   I,   you,  he,   she,  it,  we,  you,  they
In the objective case they are:                           me, you,  him, her,  it,  us,   you,  them

For nouns in German, we have already seen the words for the with  die,  der  &  das
These are all subjective case where they provide the action in the sentence.

If they are used as objects, der words change to den but die & das words stay the same.

e.g.    Der Pullover (S) kostet fünfzig Euro.  Ja, ich nehme den Pullover (O).
          Die Bluse (S) ist nicht teuer. Ich nehme die Bluse (O) in Weiß bitte.
          Das Hemd (S) (shirt) ist sehr modisch. Ich mag (like) das Hemd (O).

See if you can guess the meanings of the following words related to clothing.
Possible answers are given below. Answers next time!

die:    Bluse,     Hose,    Kappe,    Krawatte,    Socke,   Tasche,  Brille,   Jacke
         [ tie,   pants,   cap,   jacket,   glasses,  blouse,   bag,   sock]

der:    Hut,    Pullover,   Schal,   Mantel,   Schuh,   Anzug,   Rock,   Stiefel,  Gürtel]
         [ boot,   coat,   shoe,   skirt,  belt,  hat,   scarf / shawl,   jumper / pullover,  suit ]

das:   Hemd,  Kleid,   Sakko,   T-Shirt
         [ sports coat,  shirt,  dress,  T-shirt]

Deutsches Eck on confluence of Rhein and Mosel

   

40. Dining in Restaurant Weiteintag

40. Dining in Restaurant Weiteintag  (See Quiztests 168-169)

One of the curious pleasures of dining in foreign climes is the uncertainty of the menu selection. Even if you can translate what a course might seem to mean, this does not necessarily give you much of a clue as to what the dish might contain. Steak is pretty much straightforward ... not much doubt there but Eisbein (lit. ice bone / leg) is a whole new ball game. So today, I have conjured up a menu of selected well known dishes from all over the German speaking world in Restaurant Weiteintag. If you haven't heard of this restaurant, go and check your Leo's German and English Dictionary and the words weit  ein Tag might well give you the answer. Beside each dish, I have given you a description of what you might be eating should you choose it without the waiter's help.

                                                       Restaurant Weiteintag

Vorspeisen  (Entrees)

Aalsuppe - eel soup - any seafood dishes are especially popular in the North.

Badische Zwiebelsuppe - onion soup - a specialty from the south-western Baden region.

Gulasch mit Reis (kleine Portion) - goulash with rice (small serve) originally from Hungary but now a favourite all over Germany for its rich spicy flavour and also often served as a soup. 

Hauptgerichte (Mains)

Labskaus - corned meat, mashed potatoes, herring (Rollmops) & fried egg ... again from the North
Eisbein mit Sauerkraut - hock of ham often served with a variety of potato & mustard. This is a specialty popular in Berlin and is often boiled with the fatty skin left on. Can look a little intimidating but filling! Similar to Schweinshaxe from Bavaria with Kloß (dumpling) and Rotkohl (red cabbage)
Kassler Rippen - a specialty popular in Niedersachsen consists of pork chops that have been smoked and again served frequently with Sauerkraut.
Sauerbraten - usually marinated beef but can occasionally be found with venison. One of my personal favourites found in most regions of Germany. Served with a variety of side dishes including Kartoffeln (potatoes), Spätzle (egg noodles), Salat or Gemüse (vegetables).
Zürcher Geschnetzeltes - is a dish from Switzerland with thin slices of veal served with slices of mushroom in a white sauce.
Wiener Schnitzel - probably the most popular dish from Austria and a favourite the world round. It is a slice of veal in bread crumbs and deep fried. Served with the usual side dishes.

Nachspeisen (Desserts) - often served with (Schlag)sahne (whipped cream) or Eis(ice cream).
Can anyone possibly go past the Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte?! - Black Forest cherry cake. Often copied in the western world but will always fail if the cherries aren't genuine sour cherries!!! Streuselkuchen (crumb cake) might come close and Rote Grützen ( fruit / berry compote) is also very popular.

Heidelberg Castle