German lesson 3

1. questions & answers:

• Was ist das in Deutsch?
• Kannst du mir bitte der/die/das (noun) geben?
• Welche Farbe hat...
• Wie war dein Tag?
• Asking back: Und selber? Und dir? Und bei dir? etc.

1. Vocab

At the Restaurant - Im Restaurant/Gasthaus

appetizer die Vorspeise, -n

beer das Bier, -e

bill die Rechnung, -en

bottle die Flasche, -n

complaint die Beschwerde, -n

to complain sich beschweren

cook / chef der Koch, "-e / die Köchin, -nen

cream die Sahne, -n / die Schlagsahne, -n

cup die Tasse, -n

cutlery das Besteck, -e

daily specials das Tagesmenü, -s

desert der Nachtisch, -e

dirty schmutzig

drink das Getränk, -e

entree das Hauptgericht, -e

fast food der Schnellimbiss, -e

fish der Fisch, -e

food das Essen, -

fork die Gabel, -n

glass das Glas, "-er

hot heiß

hungry hungrig

knife das Messer, -

menu die Speisekarte, -n

mineral water das Mineralwasser, -

napkin die Serviette, -n

to order bestellen

plate der Teller, -

pub die Wirtschaft, -en

restaurant das Restaurant, -s /

das Gasthaus, "-er

salad der Salat, -e

sausage die Wurst, "-e

server der Kellner, - / die Kellnerin, -nen

service die Bedienung, -en

tip das Trinkgeld, -er

spoon der Löffel, -

to taste schmecken

vegetarian der Vegetarier, - / die Vegetarierin, -nen

wine der Wein, -e

red wine Rotwein, -e

white wine Weisswein, -e

sparkling wine Schaumwein, -e

rosé Rosé, -s

1. Adjective Endings

German adjectives, like English ones, usually go in front of the noun they modify: "der gute Mann" (the good man), "das große Haus" (the big house/building), "die schöne Dame" (the pretty lady). Unlike English adjectives, a German adjective in front of a noun has to have an ending (-e in the examples above). Just what that ending will be depends on several factors, including gender (der, die, das) and case (nominative, accusative, dative). But most of the time the ending is an -e or an -en (in the plural). With ein-words, the ending varies according to the modified noun's gender (see below).

Look at the following table for the adjective endings in the nominative (subject) case:

With definite article (der, die, das) - Nominative case

der neue Wagen the new car

die schöne Stadt the beautiful city

das alte Auto the old car

die neuen Bücher the new books

With indefinite article (eine, kein, mein) - Nom. case

ein neuer Wagen a new car

eine schöne Stadt a beautiful city

ein altes Auto an old car

keine neuen Bücher no new books

Note that with ein-words, since the article may not tell us the gender of the following noun, the adjective ending often does this instead (-es = das, -er = der; see above).

As in English, a German adjective can also come after the verb (predicate adjective): "Das Haus ist groß." (The house is large.) In such cases the adjective will have NO ending.

1. Colors - Farben

The German words for colors usually function as adjectives and take the normal adjective endings (but see exceptions below). In certain situations, colors can also be nouns and are thus capitalized: "eine Bluse in Blau" (a blouse in blue); "das Blaue vom Himmel versprechen" (to promise heaven and earth, lit., "the blue of the heavens").

The chart below shows some of the more common colors with sample phrases. For many more colors, see our German Colors page. And for more about colors and color idioms in German, see Farbenfroh: Colorful Expressions. You'll learn that the colors in "feeling blue" or "seeing red" may not mean the same thing in German. A black eye in German is "blau" (blue).

Farbe Color Color Phrases with

Adjective Endings

rot red der rote Wagen (the red car), der Wagen ist rot

rosa pink die rosa Rosen (the pink roses)*

blau blue ein blaues Auge (a black eye), er ist blau (he's drunk)

hell- blau light blue die hellblaue Bluse (the light blue blouse)**

dunkel- blau dark blue die dunkelblaue Bluse (the dark blue blouse)

grün green der grüne Hut (the green hat)

gelb yellow die gelben Seiten (yellow pages), ein gelbes Auto

weiß white das weiße Papier (the white paper)

schwarz black der schwarze Koffer (the black suitcase)

• Colors ending in -a (lila, rosa) do not

take the normal adjective endings.

• • Light or dark colors are preceded by hell- (light) or

dunkel- (dark), as in hellgrün (light green) or dunkelgrün (dark green).

1. Conversation