Unit 1

Yes, the milk is very good. Ja, die Milch ist sehr gut.
the water das Wasser
How's the water here? Wie ist hier das Wasser?
The water is good. Das Wasser ist gut.

XI
zero - one - two - three - four null - eins - zwei - drei - vier
five - six - seven - eight fünf - sechs - sieben - acht
nine - ten - eleven - twelve neun - zehn - elf - zwölf
How much is three and five? Wie viel ist drei und fünf?
Three and five is eight. Drei und fünf ist acht.
How much is seven and four? Wie viel ist sieben und vier?
Seven and four is eleven. Sieben und vier ist elf.
How much is two and ten? Wie viel ist zwei und zehn?
Two and ten is twelve. Zwei und zehn ist zwölf.
again nochmal
Say it again/ please. Nochmal, bitte.
Two and ten is twelve. Zwei und zehn ist zwölf.

XII
one, you man
says sagt
does one say sagt man
in German auf deutsch
How do you say 'good bye' in German? Wie sagt man 'good bye' auf deutsch?
good bye Auf Wiedersehen
You say 'Auf Wiedersehen'. Man sagt 'Auf Wiedersehen'.

Notes on pronunciation
The spelling of a language only symbolizes to the native speaker the sounds Which he already knows.
You will learn these sounds directly from your instructor; the spelling will serve as an aid to listening.
No spelling system adequately represents the sounds of the spoken language, and no attempt will be
made at this point to outline exactly what sounds are represented by what symbols of the German
spelling system. We will however present for particular drill and attention in each unit certain sounds
which have shown themselves to be difficult for speakers of American English. In the meantime we
ask you to remember two cardinal points:

1. The German of your text is printed in the standard German written style.

2. The letter-symbols used, although in most cases the same symbols we use in written English, in
most cases do not represent exactly the same sounds we use in English. Therefore, DO NOT EX-
PECT GERMAN WRITTEN SYMBOLS TO REPRESENT SOUND VALUES YOU KNOW IN
ENGLISH.

Pronunciation Practices. To be drilled in class.

A. Short Vowels The German short vowels i,e,a and u are not dissimilar from English sounds.
The o, however, is probably different from any sound that you have in Eng-
lish. Do not try to replace it by a sound from English, but rather reproduce the

11
 Unit 1

pronunciation of your instructor. The German front rounded vowels ö and ü

do not occur in English. To produce the ö, put your tongue in the position
for the German e and round your lips; for ü, put your tongue in the position
for the German i and round your lips. You will then produce a sound similar
to the German sound. Experiment until your instructor is satisfied with your
pronunciation. Do not worry about the meaning of the words in these prac-
tices. Concentrate instead on the sounds.

Practice l(a)
Short i Short e Short a Short o Short u
bitte denn das kostet muss
ist essen Mann Sonne Mutter
in etwas an Doktor und
Short ö Short ü - e (un-
stressed)
können Mütter bitte genug
möchte fünf danke gesehen
öfter Hütte Sonne bekommen

Practice 1(b)
mit - Mütter kennen - können
missen - müssen stecke - Stöcke

B. Long Vowels There are no sounds in English exactly like the German long vowels. If you
will pronounce English gate and then ask your instructor to pronounce Ger-
man geht, you will notice that the English vowel sound seems to change dur-
ing its pronunciation, but the German sound seems tense and stable through-
out its duration. Your tongue actually moves during the production of the
English vowel sound, but during the production of the German sound the
tongue remains in the same position. The long ö and ü are formed approxi-
mately like short ö and ü. Pronounce German long e and round your lips to
form ö , and pronounce German long i and round your lips to form ü

Practice 2(a)

Long i e a o u ö ü
wie geht Tag Sohn gut König für
ihnen Tee Abend oder du schön Tür
viel den Bahn wo Flug öde über

Practice 2(b)

vier - für lesen - lösen

Tier - Tür Sehne - Söhne

C. Distinguishing Long and Short Vowels

It is NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE to distinguish long and short vowels in

written German, as the German spelling system does not consistently mark
them as such. Your best guide to the pronunciation of any given word is the
way your native instructor pronounces it. However, a few hints can be given
which will help you 12 to recognize them most of the time. If you look back
at the practice lists above you will see that the short vowels in most cases
 Unit 1

are followed by two or more consonants and they are always written with a
single letter symbol. Then note that the long vowels are not always written
with a single letter symbol and usually are followed by only one consonant.
The following combinations of letters always designate long vowels: ie, ih -
eh, ee - ah, aa - oh, oo - uh - öh - üh

D. Diphthongs

These combinations of two vowel sounds in German are very similar, though
not identical to certain vowel combinations in English.

Practice 3

ei au eu (äu)
nein auch deutsch
eins Tau neun
Wein Laut läute

Notes on grammar
(For home study)

A. The German Noun-Classification ('Gender') System.

I. The three classes of nouns.

Der Wein ist nicht gut. The wine isn't good.

Das Bier ist gut. The beer is good.

Die Milch ist auch gut. The milk is good too.

1. German has three words for 'the': der, das and die; and German nouns can be divided into
three classes according to which of the three words for 'the* they go with. Wein goes only
with der, never with das, never with die. Bier goes only with das, and so on.

2. We will refer to these three classes of nouns, for obvious reasons, as der-nouns, das-nouns
and die-nouns. (1 Wein is der-noun-' 'Hotel is a das-noun.1)

3. The traditional statement about this phenomenon is: 'German nouns have three genders—
masculine, feminine, and neuter.' we will not use this terminology because it tends to mislead
English-speaking students by suggesting that the German noun classification has something
to do with sex differentiation. It doesn't. See paragraph III.

4. Insofar as the basic stock of German nouns is concerned (nouns like house, grass, sky, wine,
beer, milk), there is absolutely no sense or rationale to the classification system; there is no
way at all of anticipating which class any given noun belongs to. You must simply learn the
word for 'the' as a part of the noun: the German word for 'wine1 is der Wein. And you must
practice saying der Wein often enough so that das Wein or die Wein sounds as wrong to you
as 'The father of his country — Henry Washington.'

5. Now, Henry Washington is a perfectly good name; but it's wrong, and every^ American
knows it's wrong. By the same token, das Wein is a perfectly good form; but it's wrong, and
every German knows it's wrong.

6. With derivative nouns (that is, nouns made from other words, like our happyness, broth-
er-hood) your problem is easier. The classification of German derivative nouns is fairly or-
derly and consistent. Nouns ending in -ung, for example, are always die-nouns: die Verzei-
13
 Unit 1

hung 'the forgiveness, the pardon. And nouns ending with the diminutive suffixes -lein and
-chen are always das-nouns: das Fräulein 'the miss, waitress,'

das Mädchen 'the little girl.' We will deal with the formation of the various kinds of derivative
nouns as we go along through the units.

7. But if the classification of derivative nouns is orderly and consistent, the classification of
the basic stock of German nouns remains virtually chaotic. There really is no system at all
for guessing Which class a noun belongs to; it's not something you can reason out or get
the knack of. It is not the same as our he-she-it system, as we'll see in. a minute. There is
absolutely nothing in English like it. Your only solution is to use the nouns until you know
them as well as you know 'George Washington.'

II. Pronouns Corresponding to the Three Classes of Nouns.

Wo ist der Bahnof? Er ist dort. Where is the station? It's there.
Wo ist das Hotel? Es ist dort. Where is the hotel? It's there.
Wo ist die Botshaft? Sie ist dort. Where is the ambassy? It's there.

As these examples show, there is a special pronoun for each of the three classes of nouns.
Notice the correspondence in the final sounds of the pairs der-er, das-es, and die-sie. This is
no coincidence.

III.Contrast between German and English Pronoun Usage.

Wo ist der Bahnhof? Er ist dort. Where is the station? It's there.
Wo ist der Mann? Er ist dort. Where's the man? He's here.

Wo ist das Hotel? Es ist dort. Where is the hotel? It's there.
Wo ist das Kind? Es ist dort. Where is the child? He's here.

She's here

Wo ist die Botschaft? Sie ist dort. Where is the em- It's there.
bassy?
Wo ist die Frau? Sie ist dort. Where's the woman? She's here.

These examples show that the German pronouns er, sie, and es do not match up with the English
pronouns 'he', 'she', and 'it'. The English he-she-it system has an entirely different foundation
from the German noun-classification ('gender') system. In the English system, the choice of
pronoun depends upon the sex (male, female, or sexless) of some non-linguistic entity—a man
('he'), a woman ('she'), or a table ('it'). In the German system, on the other hand, the choice
of pronoun depends upon the linguistic classification of the noun you are replacing, except in
reference to human beings.

IV.Pronouns Referring to People.

Wo ist das Fraülein? Where is the waitress?

Sie ist dort. She's there.

Since all German nouns referring to men are der-nouns and virtually all German nouns referring
to women are die-nouns. er and sie correspond to 'he' and 'she' — when they refer to human
beings. Consequently, one says sie when referring to das Fräulein. Who is, after all, die lunge
14 daughter', die Schwester 'the sister', and so on, as well
Dame 'the young lady', die Tochter 'the
as das Fräulein.
 Unit 1

V. No classification in the Plural.

Wo sind die Bahn- Sie sind hier. Where are the sta- They're here.
höfe? tions?
Wo sind die Hotels? Sie sind hier. Where are the hotels? They're here.
Wo sind die Frauen? Sie sind hier. Where are the They're here.
women?

As these examples show, the three-fold classification we've been discussing applies only to
nouns in the singular. In the plural, there is only one word for 'the', and only one pronoun.

B. The pointing-Word das.

Das ist der Bahnhof, nicht wahr? This is the station, isn't it?
Ja, das ist er. Yes, that's it.
Ist das die Milch? Is that the milk?
Das ist Wasser. This is water.
Sind das die Streichhölzer? Are these the matches?
Das sind die Zigarren. Those are the ciaars.

I. The pointing-word das (often accompanied by a pointing gesture) is used to call any object or
group of objects to the hearer's attention, without any reference to noun classification or tö the
number of objects.

II. The pointing-word das is an entirely different entity from the das of das Hotel. The English
equivalents of the pointing-word das are 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those'.

Substitution drill.
This section is made up of a number of model sentences. One or two words in each sentence are un-
derscored. Below each group will be found a series of isolated words. The drill consists in substituting
these words, one by one, for the one that is underscored in the model sentence, and making necessary
changes in the rest of the sentence.

The instructor says the model sentence out loud, and the class repeats after him. The first student
makes the first substitution, the next student the second, and so on. Repeat until all students have had
a chance to make each substitution at least once, then proceed to the next model sentence.

This drill may be done with books closed. The instructor then gives the students the item to be substi-
tuted. Keep things moving along. Maintain a lively pace. If one student gets stuck, the next one takes
over after three or four seconds.

1. Der Flughafen ist dort.

Bahnhof - Kaffee - Tee - Wein der Bahnhof - der Kaffee - der Tee - der Wein
Restaurant - Bier - Wasser - Hotel - Cafe das Restaurant - das Bier - das Wasser - das Ho-
tel - das Cafe
Bank - Milch - Botschaft die Bank - die Milch - die Botschaft
Streichhölzer - Zigarren die Streichhölzer - die Zigarren
Bahnhof - Hotel - Tee - Milch - Kaffee - Restau- der Bahnhof - das Hotel - der Tee - die Milch -
rant - Streichhölzer - Botschaft - Flughafen - der Kaffee - das Restaurant - die Streichhölzer
Bier - Wein - Wasser - Zigarren - Cafe - die Botschaft - der Flughafen - das Bier - der
Wein - das Wasser - die Zigarren - das Café

15
 Unit 1

2. Wo ist der Bahnhof?

Flughafen - Kaffee - Tee - Wein der Flughafen - der Kaffe - der Tee - der Wein
Restaurant - Bier - Wasser - Cafe - Hotel das Restaurant - das Bier - das Wasser - das Cafe
- das Hotel
Bank - Milch - Botschaft die Bank - die Milch - die Botschaft
Streichhölzer - Zigarren die Streichhölzer - die Zigarren
Restaurant - Flughafen - Bank - Kaffee - Wasser das Restaurant - der Flughafen - die Bank - der
- Milch - Streichhölzer - Bahnhof - Tee - Hotel - Kaffee - das Wasser - die Milch - die Streichhölz-
Wein - Bier - Botschaft - Zigarren - Cafe er - der Bahnhof - der Tee - das Hotel - der Wein -
das Bier - die Botschaft - die Zigarren - das Cafe

3. Wieviel kostet der Kaffee?

Wein - Tee der Wein - der Tee

Bier das Bier
Zigarren - Streichhölzer die Zigarren - die Streichhölzer
Wtein - Zigarren - Tee - Streichhölzer - Bier der Wein - die Zigarren - der Tee - die Streich-
hölzer - das Bier

4. Wie ist das Bier?

Wasser - Hotel - Restaurant - Cafe das Wasser - das Hotel - das Restaurant - das
Café
Kaffee - Tee - Wein der Kaffee - der Tee - der Wein
Bank - Milch die Bank - die Milch
Zigarren - Streichhölzer die Zigarren - die Streichhölzer
Bier - Tee - Hotel - Wein - Wasser - Kaffee - Milch das Bier - der Tee - das Hotel - der Wein - das
-Zigarren - Caf£ - Bank - Streichhölzer Wasser - der Kaffee - die Milch - die Zigarren -
das Cafe - die Bank - die Streichhölzer

5. Das Hotel ist gut.

Bier - Restaurant - Wasser - Cafe das Bier - das Restaurant - das Wasser - das Cafe
Wein - Kaffee - Tee der Wein - der Kaffee - der Tee
Milch - Bank die Milch - die Bank
Zigarren - Streichhölzer die Zigarren - die Streichhölzer
Bier - Wein - Restaurant - Kaffee - Bank - Tee - das Bier - der Wein - das Restaurant - der Kaf-
Hotel - Streichhölzer - Wasser - Zigarren - Cafe fee - die Bank - der Tee - das Hotel - die Streich-
- Milch hölzer - das Wasser - die Zigarren - das Cafe -
die Milch

6. Das Hotel ist da drüben.

Restaurant - Bier - Wasser - Cafe das Restaurant - das Bier - das Wasser - das Café
Flughafen - Bahnhof - Kaffee - Tee - Wein der Flughafen - der Bahnhof - der Kaffee - der
Tee - der Wein
Botschaft - Milch - Bank die Botschaft - die Milch - die Bank
Streichhölzer - Zigarren 16 die Streichhölzer - die Zigarren