German lesson 1

1. Lesson

• Alphabet

• Vowel combinations
  • au; ei; eu; ie (less common are ey, ay, ai and they are pronounced the same as 'ie')

• Consonant combinations
  • ch-wirklich; ch-auch
    • difference between ch after a,e and i or after o and u
  • ck (k) e.g. dick
  • pf e.g. Pferd(das)
  • ph (f) e.g. Alphabet(das)
  • qu (kv) e.g. Quittung(die)
  • sp (shp - only if at beginning of word) e.g. sprechen
  • st (sht - only if at beginning of word) e.g. stehen
  • sch (sh) e.g. schön
  • th (t) e.g. Theater(das)
    • other general pronounciation rules: if an h follows a vowel, the vowel is pronounced long. e.g. sehr. if one consoant is followed by the same (double consonants) it makes them fast, e.g. essen

• Pronouns(Nominativ)
  • German Du/Sie

• Conjugate basic verbs
  • sein - to be
  • haben - to have
  • werden - to become
  • können - to be able, can
  • wollen - want
  • müssen - have to, must

• regularities for conjugation
  • infinitiv ends with -en (exception sein)
  • 1st singular -e
  • 2nd singular -st
  • 3rd singular -t
  • 1st plural -en (same as infinitiv)
  • 2nd plural -t
  • 3rd pluarl -en (same as infinitiv)
    • Ich spreche
    • Du sprichst
    • Er/Sie/Es spricht
    • Wir sprechen
    • Ihr sprecht
    • Sie sprechen
  • most verbs aren't consistently regular, means some forms do not apply to the above given guidance e.g. müssen
    • Ich muß
    • Du mußt
    • Er/Sie/Es muß
    • Wir müssen
    • Ihr müsst
    • Sie müssen

• Greetings
  • Guten Tag
  • Guten Morgen
  • Guten Abend
  • Gute Nacht
    • refer to cases (der Tag - Guten Tag; die Nacht - Gute Nacht)
  • Hallo
  • Tschüß
  • Auf Wiedersehen
    • use: formal/informal