a1/1 an introductory lesson to german (for speakers of english)

German Trial Lesson

The trail lesson is approximately 30 minutes long and constitutes an

introduction to the German language.

Ever so often it is being said that German is a hard language to learn and that German society is ruled by strict norms and sometimes somewhat unusual values. Yet, every year, many people strive to learn our language for very different reasons.

Here, you will gain an insight into what it is that really constitutes German society and how we bring language and culture into concept.

Welcome to your introductory course on German language!

First of all, let us explore  what you already know of  German by just being you!

The Great advantagefor those who speak English 

is thelinguistic correlation

between both languages

Have a look at these words  and see whether you 

understand their meaning …

Maus

Haus

Arm 

Hand 

Finger 

Ball 

Bus

Eis 

Kindergarten

Vater

Mutter 

Sommer

Winter 

Schuh

Land 

Sand 

Gras 

Glas

Did you understand their meaning?

Here they are againMaus

Haus Arm Hand

Finger

Ball

BusEis

Kindergarten

Vater

Mutter

Sommer

Winter

Schuh

Land

Sand

Gras

Glas

You have just discovered something very important!

German and English belong to the samelinguistic family. 

So:

Think of German

as an English dialect

.

Here are some more examples to help you understand this concept 

…

laut – loudfein – finegut – goodweiß – whiterot – redgrün – greenbraun – browngroß – great (big, tall)

When looking at these words, you can see that some changes in spelling and pronunciation occur. 

Generally speaking however, the similarities are far more dominating. 

Read carefully and follow the changing sounds.

laut – loudfein – finegut – goodweiß – whiterot – redgrün – greenbraun – browngroß – great (big, tall)

Time and distance gradually contributed to both languages evolving separately as cultural concepts and thus language 

grew more and more apart.

It’s a bit like magic really. But great magicians need practice, too. 

Metamorphoses

However, observe how you can easily find the right word by adding or taking away a couple of letters.

Observe letters and sounds

The secret of the famous long words

In German, words are open to variation. In difficultsituations you simply create your own.

a slipper

is a shoe that is worn inside a house

1+1 = 2

The secret of the famous long words

In German, words are open to variation. In difficultsituations you simply create your own.

a slipper

is a shoe that is worn inside a house

1+1 = 2

Try to create your own

aglove

is a shoe worn on a hand

Try to create your own

aglove

is a shoe worn on a hand

Now, it’s your turn

?

?

?

?

Now, it’s your turn

? Fingerhandschuh

? Handball

? Gartenhaus

? Fingerring

Like most other European languages, German is closely related to Latin.

Not only do we use many words deriving from Latin but our grammar is based on that of 

ancient Rome.

It is fairly simple and straight forward …

Syntax

Meine

Mutter ist

gut. – My mother is good.

Mein Name ist

Karl. – My name is Carl.

Let’s summarise

All 

nouns (persons, physical and visual objects) begin with a C

apital letter

Meine

Mutter Mein Name

Basic German syntax equals that of English sentences.

Both follow the rule:

Subject - Verb - Object

Meine Mutter ist gut.

My mother is good.

Their Indirect Article ‘a’

changes to ‘ein’

for masculine or neutral nouns, and ‘eine’ for feminine nouns.

ein

Name eine

Mutter ein

Haus

Their Gender is determined by the Direct Article ‘the’

which changes to ‘der’

for masculine, ‘die’

for feminine and ‘das’ for neutral nouns.

All nouns are Gender‐relatedMasculine

Feminine

Neutral

der

Name die

Mutter das Haus

Similarly the possessive pronoun ‘my/mine’

changes to ‘mein’

for masculine and neutral nouns, and to ‘meine’ for feminine nouns.

In the Plural, however, all nouns obey to the feminine form of ‘the’, ‘a’

and ‘my’!

See if you find the equivalent in the other language

See if you find the equivalent in the other language

Can you create your very own sentences by  exchanging words?

Can you create your very own sentences by  exchanging words?

You have just mastered the first steps to learning German