107 Sounds Like German Quiztest Answers

1   Compared to English, German spelling is much    easier  

2   The German alphabet is the same as the English alphabet  True    

3   The sound made by a combination of vowels is called a  diphthong

4   Of the following vowel combinations, the one not seen is ....  au    ei    ea    ie   eu

5   When used with  i    or    e,  the  ch   sound is like a   cat's hiss 

6   With    a     o     or   u    the sound is a bit  harsher , even a little  guttural 

7   wirklich glücklich   means in English  really  happy / lucky

8   An Umlaut  changes the sound of a vowel.

9   Which vowels do NOT ever have an Umlaut    e   and   i

10  ä   is pronounced  like the English sound  ai(r)

11  ö   is pronounced  like the English sound  ur (as in murder)

12  ü  pronounced  like the English sound ue (as in due)

13  A  Bad  means in English bath and is pronounced bart

14  The letter  j   is always pronounced  like the English sound  y

15  The letter  v  is almost always pronounced like the English sound  f

16  The letter w is always pronounced  like the English sound  v

17  The German symbol   ß  is used to represent  ss

18  The German word  Schloß  is frequently seen on signs and means  castle

19  A Mörder  means in English  murderer

20  A Stadt  in English means  city / town

21  A  Loch means in English  lake

22  Nein  means in English  no

23  Macht  means in English power / might

24  Suchen  means in English seek / search

25  Kühl  means in English cool

106. Sounds Like German Quiztest (Post 4)

1   Compared to English, German spelling is much    easier  OR   harder ?

2   The German alphabet is the same as the English alphabet  True  OR   False?  

3   The sound made by a combination of vowels is called a .....................

4   Of the following vowel combinations, one is not seen in German ....  au    ei    ea    ie   eu

5   When used with  i    or    e,  the  ch   sound is like a .............................

6   With    a     o     or   u    the sound is a bit  .............., even a little  .................

7   wirklich glücklich   means in English  ...................  .....................

8   An Umlaut  ............... the sound of a vowel.

9   Which vowels do NOT ever have an Umlaut    .....   and  ........

10  ä   is pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

11  ö   is pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

12  ü  pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

13  A  Bad  means in English ........... and is pronounced  ..............

14  The letter  j   is always pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

15  The letter  v  is almost always pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

16  The letter w is always pronounced  like the English sound  ...........

17  The German symbol   ß  is used to represent ..........

18  The German word  Schloß  is frequently seen on signs and means .............

19  A Mörder  means in English  .............

20  A Stadt  in English means ...................

21  A  Loch means in English  ..............

22  Nein  means in English  .............

23  Macht  means in English ............

24  Suchen  means in English ...............

25  Kühl  means in English ......................

105. Wrestling with a few German Surprises Answers

105.  Wrestling with a few German Surprises Answers

1   The Definite Article in English is the word  the

2   German has 3 words for the Definite Article.

3   Some languages, like Latin,  have no word for the Definite Article.

4   German groups its Nouns into genders

5   These groups are a   masculine  b   feminine and c  neuter nouns.

6   Most Masculine Nouns are  der  words.

7   Most Feminine Nouns are  die  words.

8   Most Neuter Nouns are   das    words.

9   The following Feminine Nouns mean   Dame  =  lady

10  Mutter means mother 

11  Tante means  aunty  

12  Oma means  grandma

13  The following Masculine Nouns mean ....  Onkel  =  uncle

14  Vater  means  father

15  Opa  means  grandpa

16  The following Neuter Nouns mean ......  Haus  =  house

17  Papier  means paper

18  Licht  means  light

19  Objects can be masculine,  feminine  or  neuter  nouns in German.

20  The following words  mean ..........   Brot  =  bread

21  Suppe  =  soup

22  Obst  =  fruit

23  Kind  =  child

24  Mädchen  =  girl

25  Apfel  =  apple

104. Wrestling with a few German Surprises Quiztest

104.  Wrestling with a few German Surprises

1   The Definite Article in English is the word .........

2   German has .......  basic words for the Definite Article.

3   Some languages, like Latin,  have ...... word(s) for the Definite Article.

4   German groups its Nouns into ..............

5   These groups are a................  b................ and c..................... nouns.

6   Most Masculine Nouns are ...........  words.

7   Most Feminine Nouns are  ........... words.

8   Most Neuter Nouns are ............     words.

9   The following Feminine Nouns mean   Dame............  

10  Mutter means .............  

11  Tante means .............   

12  Oma means ............

13  The following Masculine Nouns mean ....  Onkel .............

14  Vater  means ..............

15  Opa  means ............

16  The following Neuter Nouns mean ......  Haus .........

17  Papier  means ...........

18  Licht  means .............

19  Objects can be ..................,  ................... or .................. nouns in German.

20  The following words  mean ..........   Brot..............

21  Suppe ................

22  Obst .................

23  Kind ...............

24  Mädchen ..............

25  Apfel .........................

103.One Phone cal to a Lifetime's Learning Quiztest Answers

103. One Phone call to a Lifetime's Learning Quiztest Answers

1   The German Luftwaffe  is the German Air Force

2    Luft  means  air and  Waffe means  weapon

3   What would  die deutsche Marine  mean The German Navy

4   See if you can find the word for the German army. It is  die Wehrmacht

5   Herzog  is a common German name but also has a meaning. This is a duke

6   Study of Middle High German can be helped by knowledge of Latin

7   How would you order a cup of coffee in Germany?  Ich möchte bitte eine Tasse Kaffee.

8    Kaffee und Kuchen is a Sunday institution in parts of Germany. It is Coffee and Cake

9   What is a Torte?  It is a layer cake (layers are usually separated by cream)

10  Where is the Schwarzwald in Germany? In South Western corner in Baden-Württemberg 

11  The fruit ingredient of the Schwarzwälderkirschtorte  is a cherry

12  Eine Kirsche can sometimes be confused with eine Kirche  which is a church

13  Erdkunde is a subject taught in Germany. It is Geography & means Earth Study

14  Which is NOT a German car:   Mercedes,   Renault,  Porsche,   Audi,  Volkswagen

15  Volkswagen means People's Car

16  What are Bremsen? brakes  &

17  The  Gangwerk? Gears

18  What are Benzin? Petrol (Gas) &  19  Öl ? Oil

20  Mercedes cars are manufactured in Stuttgart

21  BMW cars are made in Munich

22  BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke  & this means Bavarian Motor Works

23  Aktiengesellschaft  after a firm's name in Germany means (Public) Share Company

24  German has 2 words for car: der Wagen   &  das Auto   Are they der, die or das words?

25  The  Technischer Überwachungsverein are important for cars. Known as the TÜV, this   organisation registers the car.

102. One Phone Call to a Lifetime's Learning - Quiztest

One Phone Call to a Lifetime's Learning Questions

1   The German Luftwaffe  is the German ......................

2    Luft  means  .................  and  Waffe means ..........................

3   What would  die deutsche Marine  mean ......................?

4   See if you can find the word for the German army. It is  die ............................

5   Herzog  is a common German name but also has a meaning. This is a .............................

6   Study of Middle High German can be helped by knowledge of ..............................

7   How would you order a cup of coffee in Germany?  Ich möchte bitte ............................

8    Kaffee und Kuchen is a Sunday institution in parts of Germany. It is ...............................

9   What is a Torte?  It is a ............................

10  Where is the Schwarzwald in Germany?

11  The fruit ingredient of the Schwarzwälderkirschtorte  is a ...........................

12  Eine Kirsche can sometimes be confused with eine Kirche  which is a .......................

13  Erdkunde is a subject taught in Germany. It is ................... & means ............................

14  Which is NOT a German car:   Mercedes,   Renault,  Porsche,   Audi,  Volkswagen

15  Volkswagen means ...........................

16  What are Bremsen? ...................   &   17  The  Gangwerk? ............................

18  What are Benzin? ......................  &  19  Öl ?..............................

20  Mercedes cars are manufactured in ...............................

21  BMW cars are made in .......................................

22  BMW stands for Bayerische Motoren Werke  & this means ...............................

23  Aktiengesellschaft  after a firm's name in Germany means ...............................

24  German has 2 words for car: ..... Wagen   &  ..... Auto   Are they der, die or das words?

25  The  Technischer Überwachungsverein are important for cars. Known as the TÜV, this  
      organisation .......................... the car

101. German in the World Quiztest Answers

German in the World Quiztest Answers

1   German is spoken in only a few parts of the World    False!

2   The 3 countries where German is spoken every day are: 

     a. Germany        b. Austria           c. Switzerland

3    A local language (perhaps slang) is called a dialect

4    People in the North of Germany may not understand people from the South. True!

5    Plattdeutsch is a dialect spoken in North Germany (lit. Flat (land) German)

6    Bayerisch is Bavarian, one of the dialects spoken in South Germany (Bavaria)

7    Standard German (taught in schools) is called  Hochdeutsch

8    This form of the language was the language used by Martin Luther

9    When he wrote the Bible

10  This was a translation from which language Latin

11  This translation was a great help to the German People and could be read not only by scholars

12  Hochdeutsch is sometimes referred to as Schriftdeutsch meaning Written German

 14  Switzerland has 3 official languages and they are:     a. German    b. French     

      c. Rätoromanisch (a language of Gypsy origin spoken in the south east of Switzerland)

15  The Swiss version of Swiss German is called Schwyzerdütsch

16  The capital of Switzerland is Bern(e)

17  The capital of Austria is Vienna (Wien)

18  The capital of Germany is Berlin

19  The former capital of Germany was Bonn

20  Die Deutsche Demokratische Republik was the former East Germany

21  Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland is the current Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)

22  Germany has 16 Bundesländer.

23  3 of the above are cities. They are:  a. Berlin    b.  Hamburg    c. Bremen

24  Like Australia, Germany has a Federal system of government.

25  The current Chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel

100. In Conclusion ..... Where to Now? A different Direction!

100. In Conclusion .....  Where to Now?  A different Direction!

In writing this Blog I hope I have given readers an opportunity to look at German, Germany and the German speaking people and their countries. 

In the main, it has hopefully given you, largely speaking, a summary of how the language works. German is a fascinating language which at times, for the learner, can nonetheless be very frustrating. If this has been the case with you, know that you are not alone and you might get some sort of solace reading the famous and very amusing article written by Mark Twain called The Awful German Language. Quite clearly Mark Twain must have had a good understanding of the language to have written this article. 

Also, I can assure you, the German speaking people will embrace your attempts to use their language at any linguistic level (even ein Bier bitte!) and take you to their hearts if you achieve some measure of skill.  My experience has always been that touring around a foreign country is made much easier if you can at least know some of the basic phrases. In Germany this is the case. The German speaking people are among the most helpful and hospitable people I have met in my travels. 

To that end I can tell you from personal experience that knowledge of German will open doors for you. I have been invited for Easter with the family because of this, have been invited to stay longer for dinner and not just afternoon tea and spent a fascinating evening with a war widow in Munich who offered me cheap accommodation after 'picking me up' at the Hauptbahnhof. Among other things she told me how she had managed to survive the severe cold of winter during World War 2  by securing wood for her fire during bombing raids when houses were being destroyed instead of seeking safety in bomb shelters. I couldn't believe my ears when she told me this. The survival instinct can sometimes make unusual choices.

One of my other main reasons for writing this blog has been to offer my colleagues (not just in Australia but around the world) a quick reference point for their students who in these times have instant access to the Internet and can quickly check out on this site how German grammar works. I have decided that a handy resource for my teaching buddies might be to provide them with a quiz on all of the topics that have come so far and from here in will now set up a quick 'test' for students to see what they have or have not comprehended. Please feel free to use them. I truly wish I had had access to the 'web' when I first started teaching. What a wonderful resource!

Auf Wiedersehen! Ich freue mich auf die nächste Phase des Blogs.

Trabi (old east German 'Trabant') World Berlin

99. German in the World (1) Quiztest

99. German in the World Quiztest Questions

Before taking a new direction in this Blog, I should say that I aim to set questions that might need some research on the Internet and provide students / learners with more insight than a particular Post might offer, Good luck or as my Swiss mate Vern used to say Gut Holz!

1   German is spoken in only a few parts of the World   True / False?

2   The 3 countries where German is spoken every day are: 

     a.                                   b.                                       c.

3    A local language (perhaps slang) is called a .......................

4    People in the North of Germany may not understand people from the South. True / False ?

5    Plattdeutsch is ................           &               6    Bayerisch is ................

7    Standard German (taught in schools) is called  ...................

8    This form of the language was the language used by ...................

9    When he wrote the .................

10  This was a translation from which language ......................  ?

11  This translation was a great help to ................... and could be read not only by ................

12  Hochdeutsch is also sometimes referred to as ..................... & 13  means ..............................

14  Switzerland has 3 official languages and they are:

      a.                                        b.                                               c.

15  The Swiss version of Swiss German is called .....................

16  The capital of Switzerland is .................

17  The capital of Austria is .......................

18  The capital of Germany is .......................

19  The former capital of Germany was ...............

20  Die Deutsche Demokratische Republik was the former ...................

21  Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland is the current .........................

22  Germany has ................... Bundesländer.

23  3 of the above are cities. They are:  a.                    b.                      c.

24  Like Australia, Germany has a ...................... system of government.

25  The current Chancellor of Germany is ..............................

98. The Subjunctive (ii) ... Conditional Clauses

98.  The Subjunctive (ii) ... Conditional Clauses  (See Quiztests 255-256)

In the most recent post, we saw how the Subjunctive was used if there was an element of Doubt. The most commonly used form of the Subjunctive occurs in wenn  clauses.

Wenn has 2 meanings, the basic meaning being when ... 
Wenn ich bald nach Deutschland reise, fahre ich zuerst nach Frankfurt.

However, wenn also is used frequently meaning if and often implies Doubt or a Condition. The Tense used most is the Imperfect Subjunctive (or the Pluperfect Subjunctive hätte(n)  or  wäre(n)).

We also saw last time that the formation of the Subjunctive has the endings:

-e,  -est,  -e,  -en,  -et,  -en,  -en

Irregular Verbs (Strong Verbs) add an Umlaut to the stem if possible (with a, o, u) but Regular (Weak) verbs only add the endings to the Imperfect stem ( kaufte, kauftest, kaufte, kauften, kauftet, kauften). Irregular Verbs are almost identical to their Indicative forms so rarely are they seen with the forms above and instead they usually combine with würde(n) (would). Würde  +  Infinitive is basically the construction of the Conditional Tense that can replace the Imperfect Subjunctive forms of the strong verbs....

                                  e.g.        Ich würde mitkommen  =  Ich käme ... mit   

                        Ich würde keine Chance haben  =  Ich hätte keine Chance
Ich würde zornig sein  =   Ich wäre zornig

There are several constructions that have similar uses like wenn and these are:

ob,   als ob,   als   and   falls    The Subjunctive may well come into play with these forms but let us look at some sentences with  wenn itself. Remember that they are Subordiate Clauses and that Word Order rules apply here (See Post 84).

Wenn ich viel Zeit hätte, möchte ich einen Roman schreiben.
Du könntest wohl ins Ausland reisen, wenn du genug Geld hättest.
Wenn wir zu früh ankämen, würden wir ins Cafe gehen.
Ich wäre sicher krank gewesen, wenn ich zuviel gegessen hätte.
Wenn Tina ins Kino mitkommen dürfte, wäre sie sehr glücklich.

One thing to remember, however, is that the Subjunctive is a fairly literary linguistic feature. In my time in Germany, I can't recall too many people using the Subjunctive in everyday speech other than in phrases like  ich möchte,  du könntest,  wir müssten,  sie sollten (Note no Umlaut).

Instead the Present Tense will often suffice:  Hast du Kopfschmerzen, schluck ein paar Pillen!

Another pic showing the Hop on Hop Off open air bus - great way to see sights of a city

97. The Subjunctive in German (i)

97.  The Subjunctive in German (i)  (See Quiztests 255-256)

As opposed to the Indicative form of the verb (the Normal Form),  the Subjunctive of German verbs is used when there is an element of doubt involved. There are 2 areas where we see verbs used in this form - in Conditional Clauses (wenn clauses) and in Reported Speech. The Subjunctive, however, is a relatively 'literary' usage rather than in spoken language except for some common everyday expressions like ich möchte, könnte etc.).

In the Present & Past Subjunctive forms, endings used for the Subjunctive are as follows:  -e, -est, -e, -en, -et, -en, -en. These endings are placed on the stem of the verb so theoretically, the verb   haben  would have the following forms:  ich habe, du habest, er habe,  wir haben, ihr habet, Sie/sie haben. The 3rd person singular is usually the only form of the verb seen in situations where someone makes a statement that is likely to be doubtful. Indeed the only exception is with the verb  sein  which has the following forms: ich sei, du sei(e)st, er/sie/es sei, wir seien, ihr seiet, sie seien. Again, however, use will almost certainly be restricted to the 3rd person.

In the Imperfect Tense, the stem of the verb will usually add an Umlaut if possible plus the endings above and look like this ...  ich wäre, ich hãtte, ich käme, ich sähe, ich könnte, ich möchte, ich ginge.

Reported Speech.

If we look at the following statements, the first using the Subjunctive and the next the Indicative (Normal form), the Subjunctive sentences cast doubt on the statement made. Because the actual statement made was I have not stolen your money - Present Tense of haben - the Present Subjunctive can be used.

Der Mann hat gesagt, dass er mein Geld nicht gestohlen habe. (Subjunctive - Doubt!)
Der Mann hat gesagt, dass er mein Geld nicht gestohlen hat. (Indicative - Credible!)

Der Schüler hat behauptet, er habe schon seine Hausaufgaben gemacht. (Subjunctive -Doubt)
Der Schüler hat behauptet, er hat schon seine Hausaufgaben gemacht (Indicative - No Doubt)

The general rule regarding choice of the Subjunctive used is that should the Present Tense Subjunctive form be the same as the Indicative ( See haben in the 3rd person plural - they form), the Subjunctive form must revert to the Past Tense form - hätten.

Die Diebe haben berichtet, sie hätten nichts gestohlen (Doubt - haben can't be used)
Die Polizisten haben berichtet, die Diebe hatten nichts gestohlen (Thieves have an alibi)

Equally, with a verb requiring sein (Verbs with Motion and Change of State) wäre(n) can be substituted with sei(en)......

Die Diebe sagten, sie seien nie ins Haus eingebrochen (Still More Doubt)

View through the Columns of Brandenburg Gate

96. The Passive (ii)

The Passive (Voice) (ii)  (See Quiztests 253-254)

In the last Post we looked at the use of the the Passive where the action happens to the Subject of a Clause. We saw how to form the Passive where we use  the various tenses of the verb  werden  +  the Past Participle ...

Mein Auto wurde durch einen Hagelsturm beschädigt  

Mein Auto wird von einem Mechaniker repariert

However, we did not look at the Passive in the Perfect Tense (nor the Pluperfect Tense) as this works somewhat differently. The reason for this is that in the Perfect Tense  werden  is used (conjugated)  with  the verb sein ....  e.g.  Mein Vater  ist in Ulm  sehr krank geworden. Because the Perfect Tense requires the Passive to use  werden  in this form, we see a different structure emerge and it works like this ...
                             Mein Auto ist durch einen Hagelsturm beschädigt worden

Meine neuen CDs sind im Zug von meinem Bruder verloren worden

You will note here that the Past Participle for  werden  becomes  worden  in this instance and over time probably this has avoided the repetition or doubling up of the 'ge' prefix. 

Meine CDs sind später unter einem Sitz im Zug gefunden geworden becomes now ...

Meine CDs sind später  im Zug unter einem Sitz gefunden worden.

To form the Pluperfect Tense ...the bin, bist, ist, sind, seid of the Present Tense used for the formation of the Perfect Tense together with the Past Participle + worden now become war, warst, war, waren, wart  (Simple Past Tense forms of sein) 

Meine CDs waren später im Zug gefunden worden  ... had  been found

Mein Auto war von einem Mechaniker repariert worden  .... had  been repaired

A word of caution about the Passive Voice, however ....  The Passive tends not to be used in everyday language and is used mainly in a literary context (books, newspapers etc.) and ....

Frequently the Passive is replaced by the Impersonal word  'man'  (one, you, we, people ) ... and as such the sentence becomes Active Voice again.  Man is the subject and is of a general nature.

Man spricht hier Deutsch (German is spoken here - lit.  One speaks German here)

This sign is often seen in the windows of European shops in an attempt to attract German tourists.

Berlin near Brandenburg Gate

95. The Passive (i)

95. The Passive (i)  (See Quiztests 253-254)

Most sentences use Active Voice to express a straightforward idea, however, occasionally a sentence is expressed in the Passive Voice for a different and sometimes more striking effect.

The Passive Voice involves the Subject of the Clause having the action happen to it rather than providing the action itself. Let's look at a couple of examples in English ...

A   Active:      The mechanic is repairing my car.
      Passive:     My car is being repaired by the mechanic.

B   Active:      The hailstorm damaged my car.
      Passive:     My car was damaged by the hailstorm

The structure for the Passive in German involves the use of  werden + Past Participle.

C    Active:     Der Mechaniker repariert mein Auto.
       Passive:   Mein Auto wird von dem Mechaniker repariert

D    Active:      Der Hagelsturm hat mein Auto beschädigt.
       Passive:     Mein Auto wurde durch den Hagelsturm beschädigt.

The Tense of the sentence becomes an issue here. In the Present Tense, the Present forms of  werden are used (with the Past Participle which never varies), the Simple Past Tense (Imperfect Tense) of werden is used with the Past Participle and the Future Tense uses the Present Tense of  werden + Past participle + Infinitive of werden. In the Immediate Future, werden at the end is sometimes omitted. Let's look at how these work..

Present:     Mein Auto wird von dem Mechaniker repariert.
Imperfect:  Mein Auto wurde von dem Mechaniker repariert
Future:       Mein Auto wird von dem Mechaniker repariert (werden).

Another thing to notice here is that when actions are performed by a person, the word used for 'by' is von (Think Volk). For objects, the word for 'by' is  durch (Think Ding). For instruments such as a 'pen', the word for 'by' is mit... das alte Buch wurde mit Feder geschrieben.

The Perfect Tense is a little tricky so I will leave this until the next Post.

At foot of Brandenburg Gate

94. Relative Clause ... who, whom, which and that

94.  Relative Clause ... who, whom, which and that (See Quiztests 251-252)

Relative Clauses or Adjectival Clauses are basically Subordinate Clauses beginning with who, whom, which or that. As such, the word order in these clauses is the same as for a Subordinate Clause with the verb placed at the end.

A relative clause adds meaning to a preceding noun and in a sense is like an expanded adjective. Below is a table of the cases with the relative pronouns ('who', 'whom', 'which', 'that') we use to start the clause:

                            Masc           Fem         Neut         Plural

Nominative        der               die            das            die        

Accusative         den               die            das            die        

Genitive             dessen           deren        dessen      deren       
Dative                dem              der            dem          denen     

As with all nouns and pronouns, the relative pronoun starting the clause can have any one of the four cases depending on its role. It can be the subject, object, indirect object and even the possessive depending on its meaning. Importantly, the relative pronoun refers to the noun or pronoun preceding it. Let's look at some samples:

Der Mann, der mit mir Tennis spielt, ist mein Cousin (Subject = Masculine Nominative).
Die junge Dame, die ins Ausland reist, ist meine Nichte. (Fem. Acc. ... 'ich' is Subject)
Das Mädchen, dessen Vater Lehrer ist, ist sehr klug. (Neut. Genitive)
Die Kinder, mit denen meine Enkelkinder spielen, sind nett.

Each clause must be analysed for the Gender to which the pronoun refers, the Number (Singular or Plural) and the Case it requires within its own clause. Looking at Sentence 3 above, the 'dessen' refers to the girl who 'owns' the father and das Mädchen is a Neuter Noun, Singular and here requiring Genitive Case showing ownership.

In more complicates sentences, the verb may be in the Past Tense or the Future Tense and parts of haben, sein or werden will come at the very end after the Past Participle or Infinitive.... The same applies to Modal Verbs.

Der Mann, der mit mir Tennis gespielt hat, ist mein Cousin
Die junge Dame, die letztes Jahr ins Ausland gereist ist, ist meine Nichte.
Das Mädchen, dessen Vater bald ankommen wird, ist sehr klug.
Die Kinder, mit denen meine Enkelkinder spielen wollten, sind sehr nett.

Village of Zerneggen in Swiss Alps

93. Infinitive Expressions & Clauses

93. Infinitive Expressions & Clauses  (See Quiztests 249-250)

Infinitive Clauses are common enough in German and they have the same effect as a Subordinate Clause, in that the verb is placed at the end of its clause.

The 2 most common expressions are referred to as  um ... zu   and   ohne ... zu  clauses.

um ... zu  means  in order to  and   ohne ... zu  means without.

Both of these expressions are used with Infinitives and some examples of these are:

Ich lerne sehr fleißig, um gute Noten zu kriegen.
Wir gehen früh nach Hause, um unseren Eltern zu helfen.

Thomas bekommt viel Taschengeld, ohne zu arbeiten oder viel zu tun.
Ohne ein Auto zu kaufen oder zu mieten, kannst du nicht weit fahren.

Some verbs are used quite frequently as well and are coupled with Infinitive Clauses. The following verbs are such examples:  brauchen, lernen, helfen, vorhaben, gelingen (used with es), gefallen, wünschen, sich entschließen (beschließen).

Beispiele
Ihr braucht nicht, sofort in die Stadt zu gehen.
Sie hat endlich gelernt, mit der richtigen Aussprache zu reden.
Wir helfen euch bald, die Möbel ins Haus zu tragen.
Hast du wirklich vor, nächstes Jahr nach Südamerika zu reisen?
Es gelingt mir nie, hier eine gute Parklücke zu finden.
Es gefällt ihr nicht, im Winter schwimmen zu gehen.
Ich habe mir nie gewünscht, eine Menge Geld zu haben.
Eloise hat sich entschlossen, nächstes Jahr in Heidelberg zu studieren.
Haben Herr und Frau Tolz beschlossen, ins Kino zu gehen?

Salzburg Castle

92. The Pluperfect Tense ... More than Perfect

92.  The Pluperfect Tense ... More than Perfect (See Quiztests 247-248)

The Pluperfect Tense is used in English with  had  +  Past Participle. It indicates an action taking place in the past prior to another more recent action in the past. Let's look at some examples...

I had read the book before I saw the film.  We had visited the museum before we came home.

In German the Pluperfect Tense is formed by using the past tense of the verb  haben  +  Past Participle. The past tense of  haben  appears below and the Past Particples are the same as for the Perfect Tense

ich             hatte
du              hattest
er, sie, es   hatte            
wir             hatten    gesehen, gefunden, gemacht, gehört, gesprochen, gekauft, gehabt
ihr              hattet
Sie             hatten
sie              hatten

For verbs of Movement and Change of State, the past tense of  sein  is used instead of  haben  just as we saw with the Perfect Tense. In the past tense,   sein  is as follows  ....

ich            war
du             warst
er, sie, es   war
wir            waren      gekommen, gegangen, gewesen, geblieben, geworden, geboren
ihr             wart
Sie            waren
sie             waren

Beispiele
Klaus war nach Hause gegangen, bevor er an die Uni ging.
Ich hatte den weißen Hai gelesen, dann sah ich den Film.
Als Birgit ins Ausland fuhr, hatte sie schon ihre Oma besucht.

Germany's highest mountain - the Zugspitze - almost 300 metres