Chapter 2
German Grammar
Basics

This book provides ready-to-use lists of vocabulary and phrases for every situation. But still it’s important to know why you’re saying something in a specific way, so you can reuse a phrase in a new form that conforms to a new situation. This chapter is an introduction to the basics of German grammar. Grammatical structures will be explained and examples provided to illustrate how those structures function. When you finish these mini-lessons, you will have the the basic skills for saying things in German with accuracy.

Names and Nouns

Just like English names, German names tend to refer to either males or females. As time goes by, some names are used less and less frequently because they are considered old-fashioned. At other times, new names become popular because they are the latest fad. But all in all, there are certain German names that are traditional and retain their popularity for long periods of time. Let’s look at some traditional male German names.

Friedrich	Helmut
Hermann	Johann
Karl	Reinhardt
Wolfgang

Here are some traditional names for females.

Charlotte	Gretchen
Helga	Ingrid
Klara	Luise
Marianne

Some names for men and women come from foreign sources and are often in fashion for just a short time. For example:

Boris	Jens
Sabine	Sonja

Surnames

When using a person’s surname, you should precede it by the title Herr (Mr.) for a man and Frau (Mrs., Ms.) for a woman.

Herr Schneider	Herr Braun
Frau Benz	Frau Keller

Fact

The title Fräulein (Miss) was used quite commonly in the past to refer to a single woman. But just as the women’s movement created cultural changes in the English-speaking world, so too did those changes occur in Germany. It is now taboo to use Fräulein. All women are addressed by Frau.

Professional titles are used much the same in German as in English. They do not usually identify the gender of the person addressed.

Professor Schmidt      Doktor Brenner

When speaking to a professional, the titles Herr and Frau are used when the last name is omitted and the gender of the person is identified.

Herr Professor	Frau Professor
Frau Doktor	Herr Lehrer (teacher)

Nouns and Gender

Nouns are words that represent a person, an object, or even an idea or concept. Boy, pencil, and education are examples of nouns. In English, the gender of a noun is masculine if it refers to males, feminine if it refers to females, and neuter if it refers to inanimate objects. German is somewhat different. Many nouns that refer to males and females are masculine and feminine respectively. But many other nouns that refer to inanimate objects are masculine or feminine, and still other nouns that refer to living people are neuter. For example, Mann (man) and Stuhl (chair) are masculine. Frau (woman) and Lampe (lamp) are feminine. Kind (child) and Haus (house) are neuter.

It is important to know the gender of nouns. Gender determines how articles and adjectives are used with those nouns. It is wise to try to memorize the gender of a noun as you learn it. However, if you make a mistake and use the wrong gender, German speakers will still understand you and it won’t be considered a major blunder.

It is often the form of a noun that determines its gender. Certain endings tend to signal a specific gender. For example, nouns that end in –el, –en, and –er tend to be masculine.

Onkel.. . . . . . . . . . . .	uncle
Mantel.. . . . . . . . . . .	overcoat
Wagen.. . . . . . . . . . .	car
Brunnen.. . . . . . . . .	well, fountain
Lehrer.. . . . . . . . . . .	teacher
Keller.. . . . . . . . . . . .	basement, cellar

Nouns that end in –ung, –heit, –keit, –in, and –ie are feminine.

Zeitung.. . . . . . . . . . newspaper

Gesundheit.. . . . . . health

Einsamkeit.. . . . . . loneliness

Lehrerin.. . . . . . . . . (female) teacher

Industrie.. . . . . . . . . industry

Many that end in –e are also feminine.

Lampe.. . . . . . . . . . . lamp

Kreide.. . . . . . . . . . . chalk

Küche.. . . . . . . . . . . kitchen

Tante.. . . . . . . . . . . . aunt

Nouns that end in –chen and –lein are diminutives and are neuter.

Mädchen.. . . . . . . . girl

Vöglein.. . . . . . . . . . little bird

Sometimes a noun can have two genders. In such cases, the noun usually has two different meanings. For example, the masculine form of See means “lake.” When it’s feminine it means “sea.”

The Art of Articles

There are two kinds of articles in German: definite articles and indefinite articles. Definite articles identify a specific noun or group of nouns (the boy, the cars). Indefinite articles identify a noun or group of nouns in general (a boy, cars). German articles must agree with the noun in gender and number.

Definite Articles

The German definite article has three basic forms in the singular and one basic form in the plural, all having the meaning “the”:

der.. . . .masculine/singular.. . der Mann (the man)

die.. . . . feminine/singular.. . . . die Frau (the woman)

das. . . . neuter/singular.. . . . . . . das Kind (the child)

die.. . . . plural. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . die Kinder (the children)

Alert!

Don’t confuse the singular feminine article die with the plural article die. When nouns become plural, their definite article is die, no matter what gender they were in the singular. The following singular nouns der Mann, die Lampe and das Haus become die Männer, die Lampen, and die Häuser in the plural.

Indefinite Articles

The German indefinite articles correspond to the English articles “a” and “an” and are also used for the number “one.” There are two forms of the German indefinite article, and, like English, the indefinite form of the plural is a plural noun standing alone without any article.

ein.. . . .	masculine/singular.. . . .	ein Mann (a man)
	neuter/singular.. . . . . . . . .	ein Kind (a child)
eine.. . .	feminine/singular.. . . . . .	eine Frau (a woman)
	plural.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	Kinder (children)

The indefinite article is also used to enumerate one of something: Ich habe ein Buch und zwei Hefte. (I have one book and two notebooks.) When referring to someone’s profession with verbs like sein (to be) and werden (to become), unlike English, no article is required: Ich bin Professor. (I am a professor.)

Declensions

When nouns are used as the subject of a sentence, they are said to be in the nominative case. The nominative definite and indefinite articles are those illustrated in the previous section. However, the articles sometimes change depending upon how a noun is used in a sentence. For example, if a masculine noun is used as a direct object in a sentence, it is in the accusative case and requires a change of the article: Ich kenne den Mann. (I know the man.) As direct objects, feminine, neuter, and plural articles require no changes.

Certain prepositions and other functions cause other changes. These changes are described as the dative case and the genitive case. These changes of the articles are called declensions. Let’s look at the declension of the definite articles.

	Masculine	Feminine
nominative	der Garte	die Lampe
accusative	den Garten	die Lampe
dative	dem Garten	der Lampe
genitive	des Gartens	der Lampe
	Neuter	Plural
nominative	das Haus	die Lampen
accusative	das Haus	die Lampen
dative	dem Haus	den Lampen
genitive	des Hauses	der Lampen

The indefinite articles follow a similar pattern.

	Masculine	Feminine
nominative	ein Garten	eine Lampe
accusative	einen Garten	eine Lampe
dative	einem Garten	einer Lampe
genitive	eines Gartens	einer Lampe
	Neuter	Plural
nominative	ein Haus	Lampen
accusative	ein Haus	Lampen
dative	einem Haus	Lampen
genitive	eines Hauses	Lampen

Accusative Case

Articles change to their accusative case form when the noun is a direct object. Ask “whom” or “what” of the verb in a sentence to identify the direct object. For example: “They kiss the girl.” Ask, “Whom do they kiss?” The answer is “the girl”—the direct object. In German, the noun that is the direct object must appear in the accusative case:

Masculine: Sie küssen den Mann. (They kiss the man.)

Feminine: Sie küssen die Frau. (They kiss the woman.)

Neuter: Sie küssen das Mädchen. (They kiss the girl.)

Plural: Sie küssen die Frauen. (They kiss the women.)

Some prepositions signal that the noun following them must be in the accusative case. These include durch (through) für (for), gegen (against), ohne (without), and um (around).

Masculine: Er arbeitet für den Mann. (He works for the man.)

Feminine: Er arbeitet für die Lehrerin. (He works for the teacher.)

Neuter: Er arbeitet für das Mädchen. (He works for the girl.)

Plural: Er arbeitet für die Schwestern. (He works for the sisters.)

Dative Case

The dative case is used to identify the indirect object in a sentence. The indirect object is identified by asking “to whom” or “for whom” of the verb in the sentence. For example: “I give the girl red roses.” Ask, “To whom do I give red roses?” The answer is “the girl”—the indirect object. In German, the indirect object must be in the dative case:

Masculine: Ich gebe dem Mann rote Rosen. (I give the man red roses.)

Feminine: Ich gebe der Lehrerin rote Rosen. (I give the teacher red roses.)

Neuter: Ich gebe dem Mädchen rote Rosen. (I give the girl red roses.)

Plural: Ich gebe den Mädchen rote Rosen. (I give the girls red roses.)

Some prepositions are signals that the noun that follows them must be in the dative case. Some of these are aus (out [of]), bei (by, at), mit (with), nach (after), seit (since), von (from, of), and zu (to).

Masculine: Ich spreche mit dem Lehrer. (I speak with the teacher.)

Feminine: Ich spreche mit der Mutter. (I speak with the mother.)

Neuter: Ich spreche mit dem Kind. (I speak with the child.)

Plural: Ich spreche mit den Lehrerinnen. (I speak with the teachers.)

Genitive Case

The genitive case is used to show possession. In English, this is achieved by an apostrophe plus the letter “s” or with the preposition “of” (the man’s book/the roar of the lion). In German, the genitive case replaces both forms of English possession.

Masculine: Wo ist das Buch des Mannes? (Where is the man’s book?)

Feminine: Wo ist das Buch der Lehrerin? (Where is the teacher’s book?)

Neuter: Wo ist das Buch des Kindes? (Where is the child’s book?)

Plural: Wo ist das Buch der Kinder? (Where is the children’s book?)

Some prepositions are signals that the nouns that follow them must be in the genitive case. Two of these are während (during) and wegen (because of). In a sentence, they are used like this:

Masculine: Wo warst du während des Winters? (Where were you during the winter?)

Feminine: Wo warst du während der Woche? (Where were you during the week?)

Neuter: Wegen des Gewitters bleibe ich zu Hause. (Because of the storm I stay home.)

Plural: Wegen der Probleme bleibe ich zu Hause. (Because of the problems I stay home.)

The indefinite articles function in the four cases in the same way as the definite articles. For example:

Sie küssen einen Mann. (They kiss a man.)

Wir arbeiten für eine Lehrerin. (We work for a teacher.)

Sie sprechen mit einem Kind. (They speak with a child.)

Das ist das Auto eines Lehrers. (That’s a teacher’s car.)

Although the use of German articles is quite different from English, you will discover with time and practice that these declensions will fall into place for you. Be patient. There is no need to absorb all these endings immediately, don’t be afraid to experiment with them. And if you use the wrong case, German speakers will still understand you.

Verbs Perform the Action for You

A verb is the word that describes the action in a sentence. It can describe something that happens (I eat/we learn), movement to a place (he runs/she flies), or a state of being (they are sick/I become tired). German verbs have to be conjugated, meaning they require specific endings depending upon what subject is using them. This occurs in English, too, primarily in the present tense. For example, you say “I see” but “he sees.” The third person singular in English requires an –s ending on most verbs. The verb “to be” has an even more complicated conjugation: I am, you are, he is, we are, they are. In the other tenses, English verbs tend not to have conjugational endings. In the past tense, all the persons have the same form: I had/he had, we spoke/he spoke. But the verb “to be” is an exception: I was, you were, he was, we were, they were.

German also has conjugational endings, but unlike English, these endings are required for all persons and in all tenses. The basic form of a verb is the infinitive. English infinitives begin with particle word “to,” for example: to come, to sing, to have, to bring. In German, many infinitives end in –en, for example: kommen, singen, haben, bringen. Some infinitives end in –n: sein (to be), tun (to do).

In order to conjugate a German verb, you have to drop the infinitive ending (-n or –en) and add the appropriate endings. Those endings are determined by the number, person, voice, mood, and tense of the verb in a sentence. At first glance, you may feel that German conjugations are quite complicated, but you will discover that the conjugations follow very consistent patterns.

Number, Person, Subject Pronouns

In order to conjugate verbs, you need to be acquainted with the subject pronouns. Number refers to singular or plural. Person is defined as first person, second person, and third person. Therefore, subject pronouns are described as first person singular (I) and plural (we), second person singular and plural (you), and third person singular (he, she, it) and plural (they). The German subject pronouns are:

	Singular	Plural
1st person	ich (I)	wir (we)
2nd person	du (you)	ihr (you) / Sie (you)
3rd person	er (he, it)	sie (they)
	sie (she, it)
	es (it)

Essential

There are three words that mean “you” in German: du, ihr, and Sie. The pronoun du is singular and informal. Use it when speaking to children, family members, and friends. Its plural form is ihr. The pronoun Sie should be used when speaking on a formal basis to one person or to a group.

The verbs duzen and siezen are used when describing the kind of relationship you have with another person. Wir duzen einander. (Informal relationship: We say du to one another.) Wir siezen einander. (Formal relationship: We say Sie to one another.)

Replacing Nouns with Pronouns

When you replace a noun with a subject pronoun, the pronoun must be of the same gender and number as the noun it replaces. But remember that even inanimate nouns can be masculine or feminine, and some animates can be neuter, especially when they are diminutives (das Mädchen, das Vöglein). Choose the pronoun that replaces a noun carefully; inanimate nouns are replaced by “it” in English, but not necessarily in German.

Noun	Pronoun Replacement	English Translation
der Onkel (uncle)	er	he
das Land (country)	es	it
die Kinder (children)	sie	they
die Häuser (houses)	sie	they
der Stuhl (chair)	er	it
die Tante (aunt)	sie	she
die Kreide (chalk)	sie	it
das Kind (child)	es	he / she

All plural nouns, whether animate or inanimate, are replaced by sie (they).

Wo ist der Stuhl? Wo ist er?

(Where is the chair? Where is it?)

Wo ist Tante Luise? Wo ist sie?

(Where is Aunt Luise? Where is she?)

Wo ist das Buch? Wo ist es?

(Where is the book? Where is it?)

Many English sentences begin with the word “it” when “it” is not the replacement of a specific noun. In that kind of usage, “it” is called an impersonal pronoun. The German pronoun es functions in the same way.

Es ist kalt. (It’s cold.)

Es wird spät. (It’s getting late.)

Endings Make the Difference

The conjugation of German verbs is a bit more complicated than the conjugation of English verbs. You’ll notice that similar endings are used in all the conjugations. That’s helpful; it means you can apply the same endings to new verbs as they come along. Let’s look at the present tense of some frequently used verbs: kommen, singen, sein, and haben.

kommen (to come)

ich komme (I come)	wir kommen (we come)
du kommst (you come)	ihr kommt (you come)
er kommt (he comes)	Sie kommen (you come)
sie kommt (she comes)	sie kommen (they come)
es kommt (it comes)

singen (to sing)

ich singe (I sing)	wir singen (we sing)
du singst (you sing)	ihr singt (you sing)
er singt (he sings)	Sie singen (you sing)
sie singt (she sings)	sie singen (they sing)
es singt (it sings)

sein (to be)

ich bin (I am)	wir sind (we are)
du bist (you are)	ihr seid (you are)
er ist (he is)	Sie sind (you are)
sie ist (she is)	sie sind (they are)
es ist (it is)

haben (to have)

ich habe (I have)	wir haben (we have)
du hast (you have)	ihr habt (you have)
er hat (he has)	Sie haben (you have)
sie hat (she has)	sie haben (they have)
es hat (it has)

There are three pronouns that are spelled alike. One is the third person singular pronoun sie that means “she” or “it.” Since it is singular, the verb that accompanies it will have a third person singular ending: Sie ist. Sie singt. (She is. She sings.) Another sie is the third person plural pronoun that means “they.” Since it is plural, the verb that accompanies it will have a third person plural ending: Sie sind. Sie singen. (They are. They sing.) The third Sie means formal “you” and is also used with a plural verb ending. It is distinguished from sie (they) by context. For example: Herr Braun, sind Sie krank? (Mr. Braun, are you sick?) Wo sind die Mädchen? Sind sie krank? (Where are the girls? Are they sick?) Another difference is that Sie (you) is always capitalized.

In Good Voice

Voice in German refers to the active voice and the passive voice. The active voice describes an action that is performed by the subject of the sentence, often on a direct object: John kisses Mary. The passive voice places the subject in a passive position in the sentence and makes the direct object the subject: Mary is kissed by John. Although some argue that using the passive voice in English is poor style, it is a high-frequency structure in German.

Getting in the Mood

Mood in German refers to the indicative mood, the imperative, and the subjunctive mood.

• The indicative mood is the most common way of making a statement. Herr Braun ist krank. (Mr. Braun is sick.)

• The imperative is a command. Sprechen Sie Deutsch! (Speak German.)

• The subjunctive mood describes a conditional idea or one that shows a cause and an effect. Wenn er nur hier wäre. (If only he were here.) Wenn er hier wäre, würde ich mit ihm tanzen. (If he were here, I’d dance with him.)

Tenses

The main tenses covered in this book are the present, past, and future tenses. They are formed much like English tenses. You have previously encountered some present tense examples with kommen, singen, sein, and haben.

The regular past tense in English ends in –ed. The German regular past tense ends in –te. For example: Ich fragte ihn. (I asked him.)

The German future tense is formed by the conjugation of werden plus an infinitive. For example: Die Kinder werden ihn fragen. (The children will ask him.)

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Just like English, German has two ways of using an adjective. Many adjectives follow a linking verb like “to be” or “to become” and are called predicate adjectives. Frau Benz ist krank. (Mrs. Benz is sick.) Es wird kalt. (It’s getting cold.) Other adjectives can be placed before the noun. Wo ist der kranke Mann? (Where is the sick man?) Adjectives that are not predicate adjectives require endings. Adjectives of this type are:

• Possessive adjectives: mein, meine (my), dein, deine (singular informal your), sein, seine (his, its), ihr, ihre (her), unser, unsere (our), euer, eure (plural informal your), Ihr, Ihre (formal your), and ihr, ihre (their)

• Demonstrative adjectives: dieser, diese (this, these) and jener, jene (that, those)

• Interrogative adjectives: welcher, welche (which)

Der-words

This category of adjectives is named der-words because the adjective functions like the definite article, meaning that the gender of the noun is identified in the der-word. Some of the der-words are dieser (this), jener (that), and jeder (each). Note that jeder is only used in the singular. When these adjectives modify a noun, they show the gender or plural number of the noun by their ending.

Masculine: der Mann, dieser Mann, jener Mann, jeder Mann (the, this, that, each man)

Feminine: die Frau, diese Frau, jene Frau, jede Frau (the, this, that, each woman)

Neuter: das Haus, dieses Haus, jenes Haus, jedes Haus (the, this, that, each house)

Plural: die Kinder, diese Kinder, jene Kinder (the, these, those children)

Ein-words

This category of adjectives is named ein-words because the adjective functions like the indefinite article, meaning that an ending is required only for the feminine and the plural. The ein-words are the possessive adjectives and kein (no, not any).

Masculine: ein Mann, dein Mann, ihr Mann, kein Mann (a, your, her, no husband)

Feminine: eine Frau, seine Frau, Ihre Frau, keine Frau (a, his, your, no wife)

Neuter: ein Kind, mein Kind, unser Kind, kein Kind (a, my, our, no child)

Plural: deine Kinder, eure Kinder, ihre Kinder, keine Kinder (your, your, her, no children)

Adverbs

Adverbs are used more simply than adjectives because there are no endings to consider. An adverb that describes time precedes an adverb that describes manner (by car, by bus, on foot). An adverb that describes manner precedes an adverb that describes place. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Modified verb: Sie laufen schnell. (They run fast.)

Modified adjective: Mein Vater istsehr krank. (My father is very sick.)

Modified adverb: Sie sprechen zu schnell. (You speak too fast.)

Know Your Pronouns

You have encountered other pronouons besides subject pronouns in the nominative case. There are also accusative pronouns, dative pronouns, reflexive pronouns, and relative pronouns. The list may seem long, but all pronouns follow a simple and logical pattern.

Accusative Pronouns

The accusative case is required when a noun is a direct object or when it follows an accusative preposition (durch, für, gegen, ohne, um). The same is true of pronouns: They can be used as direct objects or can follow an accusative preposition. The German accusative case pronouns are:

mich (me)

dich (you [singular, informal])

ihn (him, it)

sie (her, it)

es (it)

uns (us)

euch (you [plural, informal])

Sie (you [singular/plural, formal])

sie (them)

In a sentence, the direct object pronoun follows the verb.

Sie findet es. (She finds it.)

Er liebt uns. (He loves us.)

Ich kenne dich. (I know you.)

With prepositions, the pronouns appear like this:

Er arbeitet für euch. (He works for you.)

Sie kommt ohne ihn. (She comes without him.)

Dative Pronouns

The dative case is required for indirect objects and following a dative preposition (aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu). In a sentence, the indirect object pronoun follows the verb. The German dative case pronouns are:

mir (me)	dir (you [singular, informal])
ihm (him, it)	ihr (her, it)
ihm (it)	uns (us)
euch (you [plural, informal])
Ihnen (you [singular/plural, formal])	ihnen (them)

In a sentence, indirect object pronouns precede the direct object if it is a noun. Indirect object pronouns follow the direct object if it is a pronoun.

Ich gebe dir das Geld. (I give you the money.)

Ich gebe es dir. (I give it to you.)

With prepositions, the pronouns appear like this:

Helga spricht mit ihnen. (Helga speaks with them.)

Sie wohnen bei ihm. (They live with him [at his house].)

Reflexive Pronouns

German reflexive pronouns can be in either the accusative case or the dative case and resemble the accusative and dative pronouns closely. Only their function is different.

Accusative	Dative	English
mich	mir	myself
dich	dir	yourself
		(singular, informal)
sich	sich	himself, itself
sich	sich	herself, itself
sich	sich	itself
uns	uns	ourselves
euch	euch	yourselves
		(plural, informal)
sich	sich	yourself, yourselves
		(singular/plural, formal)
sich	sich	themselves

The reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and the object in a sentence are the same person or thing.

Sie kauft ihm eine Jacke. (She buys him a jacket.)

Sie kauft sich eine Jacke. (She buys herself a jacket.)

Verbs that usually require a reflexive pronoun are called reflexive verbs. Some of the most common ones are:

sich anziehen	to dress
sich ausziehen	to undress
sich duschen	to shower
sich freuen	to be glad
sich hinlegen	to lie down
sich rasieren	to shave oneself
sich setzen	to sit down
sich waschen	to wash oneself

When a reflexive verb is conjugated, the appropriate reflexive pronoun must be used.

ich setze mich	I sit down (I seat myself)
du setzt dich	you sit down (you seat yourself)
er setzt sich	he sits down (he seats himself)
wir setzen uns	we sit down (we seat ourselves)
Sie setzen sich	you sit down (you seat yourself/yourselves)
ihr setzt sich	you sit down (you seat yourselves)
sie setzen sich	they sit down(they seat themselves)

Relative Pronouns

The German relative pronouns are der-words—the definite articles or welcher. Just like English relative pronouns, German relative pronouns link a relative clause to a main clause. This occurs when the same noun is in both clauses. Two sentences such as “He knows the man. The man bought my car.” become one sentence: “He knows the man who bought my car.” The English relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, that, which) can be replaced by either a definite article or welcher, which closely follow the der-word declensional pattern.

	Masculine	Feminine
nominative	der/welcher	die/welche
accusative	den/welchen	die/welche
dative	dem/welchem	der/welcher
genitive	dessen	deren

	Neuter	Plural
nominative	das/welches	die/welche
accusative	das/welches	die/welche
dative	dem/welchem	denen/welchen
genitive	dessen	deren

The relative pronoun that replaces a noun must be the same number, gender, and case as the noun. For example:

Wo ist der Mann, der Deutsch spricht?

(Where is the man who speaks German?)

Wo ist die Frau, die Deutsch spricht?

(Where is the woman who speaks German?)

Wo ist das Mädchen, das Deutsch spricht?

(Where is the girl who speaks German?)

Wo sind die Kinder, die Deutsch sprechen?

(Where are the children who speak German?)

If the relative pronoun in the relative clause is used as the subject, it will be in the nominative case. As a direct object or after an accusative preposition, it will be in the accusative case. As an indirect object or after a dative preposition, it will be in the dative case. The genitive case is used to show possession, where in English the relative pronoun can be “whose” or “of which.”

Being Negative

Negation in German is very much like English. It can be done in two ways: by inserting the negative adverb nicht (not) or by using the ein-word kein as a modifier. For example:

Sie wohnt nicht in Berlin. (She doesn’t live in Berlin.)

Er kommt nicht heute. (He’s not coming today.)

Es gibt keine Milch. (There is no milk.)

Ich habe kein Geld. (I don’t have any money.)

Fact

There are other negative adverbs like nicht. They, too, follow the verb in a sentence. Some examples are: niemals (never), noch nicht (not yet), and nicht mehr (no more). Two negatives are the pronouns niemand and nichts: Niemand wohnt hier. (No one lives here.) Ich verstehe nichts. (I don’t understand anything.)

Asking Questions

Just like English, German has more than one way to ask a question. Sometimes just intoning your voice while you make a statement is a question. Other questions require a yes or no answer. Still others begin with an interrogative word.

Yes or No Questions

When asking a question that can be answered by either ja (yes) or nein (no), invert the subject and the verb to make a question.

Statement: Er kommt um acht Uhr.

(He’s coming at 8 o’clock.)

Question: Kommt er um acht Uhr?

(Is he coming at 8 o’clock?)

Statement: Deine Schwester singt gut.

(Your sister sings well.)

Question: Singt deine Schwester gut?

(Does your sister sing well?)

Using Interrogative Words

Interrogative words ask questions about specific elements in a sentence: how, when, where, why, who, what.

COMMON INTERROGATIVE WORDS

wer	who
was	what
wann	when
wo	where
wie	how
warum	why

A question that begins with an interrogative word requires the inversion of the subject and verb, just like in a yes-no question.

Statement: Du hast kein Geld.

(You don’t have any money.)

Question: Warum hast du kein Geld?

(Why don’t you have any money?)

Statement: Er findet eine Zeitung.

(He finds a newspaper.)

Question: Was findet er?

(What does he find?)

Statement: Sie kommen um acht Uhr.

(They’re coming at 8 o’clock.)

Question: Wann kommen sie?

(When are they coming?)