German/Level III/Markus Studiert

Lektion Eins für Fortgeschrittene

Geschichte 1-3 ~ Markus studiert

 * Markus ist in der Universität. Er trinkt dort einen Kaffee und isst ein Brötchen. Danach geht er in die Bibliothek. Er sucht ein Buch über Biochemie. Er holt das Buch aus dem Regal und setzt sich an einen Tisch. Nach einer Stunde geht er in den Hof und raucht eine Zigarette. Danach geht er an den Tisch zurück. Er denkt: "Wenigstens eine Stunde..." und stellt das Buch wieder in das Regal.

This short story (Geschichte) is told in the 3rd person (see Grammatik 1-3). Note how this is apparent from both the pronoun (Er or "he") and verb forms.

Vokabeln 1-3
die Bibliothek          library die Biochemie           biochemistry das Brötchen            roll, biscuit das Buch                book der Fortgeschrittene    advancer die Fortgeschrittenen advancers (pl.) die Geschichte          story der Hof                 courtyard; also court der Kaffee              coffee die Stunde              hour der Tisch               table das Regal               shelf die Zigarette           cigarette

denken                  think                     (Er denkt = He thinks) essen                   eat                       (Er isst = He eats) holen                   fetch, get                (Er holt = He gets/fetches) rauchen                 smoke (a cigarette)       (Er raucht = He smokes) sich setzen             sit (oneself) down        (Er setzt sich = He sits) stellen                 place                     (Er stellt = He places) suchen                  seek, search for          (Er sucht = He looks for) trinken                 drink                     (Er trinkt = He drinks)

aus                     out danach                  afterwards dort                    there in                      in nach                     after über                    about wenigstens              at least, at any rate wieder                  again
 * Pronunciation Guide >>

Grammatik 1-3 ~ Personal Pronouns
As in English, personal pronouns exist in three grammatical persons, each with singular and plural number. In Gespräch 1-1 and 1-2, you see only the singular versions. The table here gives also the plural (nominative case only): 



Grammatik 1-3 ~ Incomplete Sentences
What are we to make of short, incomplete sentences such as that in Gespräch 1-1: 'Und dir?'? This translates as: 'And for you?'. In English and German it is not always necessary to express every part of a sentence, especially in conversation where the words left out are easily understood by both or all parties. Walk up to a stranger and say 'And you?' and a possible response is a hostile 'Out of my face, fool'. But in the conversation between Heinrich and Karl, Heinrich knows that Karl is really meaning: Und wie geht es dir?, with that part underlined left out of the conversational statement. Note especially that the pronoun 'you' retains its case&mdash;its relation to the missing verb from the implied sentence&mdash;distinctive in German (that is, dir instead of du) but not so in English (the form "you" covers both cases).

Übersetzung 1-2
Although these sentences involve many grammatical concepts that have not been covered, each can be written in German by referring to the example sentences and vocabularies in Lessons 1 and 1A. Using a piece of paper and pencil, translate each of these sentences into German:
 * 1) Hello Mark! Do you have a cigarette?
 * 2) Are you studying German?
 * 3) Catherine drinks coffee at a table.
 * 4) The students study at the library.
 * 5) He eats cheese and sausage in the courtyard.
 * 6) She looks for a book about biology.
 * 7) Mark goes back to the University.
 * 8) Mark removes the book from the shelf and places it on the table.


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