German Made Simple: Learn to Speak and Understand German Quickly and Easily (3 page)

You will learn all about the forms and uses of the definite article in subsequent chapters.

The German word for the indefinite article “a (an)” is
ein
. It also, as you will see, has various forms according to its use in the sentence.

c. The plural of German nouns

German nouns do not form their plurals by adding
-s
or
-es
as is the case with most nouns in English. In general the German nouns form their plurals in one of four ways which you will learn later.
Kindergarten
, a word borrowed from the German, is made up of the German word
Kinder
, plural of
Kind
(child), plus
Garten
(garden).

d. Verb forms

German verbs have endings which correspond to the subject pronoun. English verbs also once had endings, which have long since disappeared. However, you may still see a few of them in poetry and in the Bible, which you will note are similar to German verb endings of the present day. Thus:

A striking similarity between English and German verbs is the manner in which some very common verbs form their past tense. Thus:

There are many other interesting features of German which you will discover and master as you proceed in your study of the language. Those that have been mentioned will serve as a slight introduction to the really exciting experience which lies before you.

1. THE VOWELS a, e, i, o, u. THE CONSONANTS

Each German vowel has a long and a short sound. The sign ¯ will be used to indicate long; the sign ˘ to indicate short. These signs are not part of the spelling.

The German consonants
b, d, f, g, h, k, m, n, p, q, t, x
have approximately the same sound as the corresponding English consonants. Those consonants that differ will be given special attention.

Most German words are stressed (accented) on the first syllable. The accent mark (´) is used in the vocabularies of this book only when some other syllable is stressed. It is not part of the spelling.

Nearly all examples given to illustrate German sounds and letters consist of German words which closely resemble English words of the same meaning. As you practice these examples, you will be making a good start in building your German vocabulary. Practice all examples aloud. The description of the sounds and the pronunciation key will enable you to pronounce the words quite accurately.

Long and Short a (See Diagram in Chapter 1)

Long
ā
is like
a in father
. Key
ah

Short
ă
is like
a
in
what
. Key ă

Long and Short e (See Diagram in Chapter 1)

Long
ē (ee)
is like
ay
¹
in
gay
. Key
ay

Short
ĕ
is like
e
in bet. Key
ĕ

In a few words long
ē
is spelled
ee (Tee, See
). The silent
h
after
e
is a sign of length.

NOTE 1
. Prolong English
ay
and note that it has two parts. The second or off-glide is the sound
ee
. German long
ē
is the first part of the combination and should not glide off into
ee
.

Unstressed e

Unstressed
e
is like English
e
in
garden
and
father
. This sound is very common in unstressed syllables in both English and German. Key
e
. In the pronunciation key the stressed syllable is in heavy type.

Long and Short i (See Diagram in Chapter 1)

Long
ī
is like
ee
in
meet
. Key
ee

Short
ĭ
is like
i
in
bit
. Key
ĭ

Long
ō
is like
o
¹
in
wrote
. Key
oh
Round the lips as in diagram

Short
ŏ
is like
o
in
other
. Key
ŏ
Round the lips as in diagram

Long and Short o (See Diagram in Chapter 1)

NOTE 1
. Prolong English
o
and note that it has two parts. The second part is
. German long
ō
is the first part of the combination and should not glide off into
.