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Lesson 2 - New Grammar

Here you will find everything about new German grammar in this lesson.

If you want to train yourself after learning, then click on the button Grammar Practice.

First of all, you will get to know the German personal pronouns in the dative case.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English Object Form
1. person singular	mir (dative of ich)	[mi:ə]	(to) me
2. person singular (familiar)	dir (dative of du)	[di:ə]	(to) you
3. person singular	ihm (dative of er)	[i:m]	(to) him
3. person singular	ihr (dative of sie)	[i:ə]	(to) her
3. person singular	ihm (dative of es)	[i:m]	(to) it
1. person plural	uns (dative of wir)	[ʊns]	(to) us
2. person plural	euch (dative of ihr)	[ɔyç]	(to) you
3. person plural	ihnen (dative of sie)	['i:nən]	(to) them
polite form	Ihnen (dative of Sie)	['i:nən]	(to) you (polite form)

These forms are all dative forms. The dative case is the third case. You ask "(to) whom". The dative case is used for the indirect object in a sentence. In German it is called dative object. Very often the person receives something. While there is only one object form in English, we use either the dative or the accusative case in German. It depends on the verb which case you have to use. The explanation is that some German verbs are followed by the dative case but most of them are followed by the accusative case. In the following example we have a set expression where we have to use the dative case:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Es geht mir gut.	[ɛs ge:t mi:ə gu:t]	I am fine (literally: It goes well to me.)

"Es" is the subject of the sentence which the predicate (all parts which belong to the verb of a sentence) refers to. Here, the predicate is "geht". Therefore, the personal pronoun "Es" at the beginning stands in the nominative case because every subject which is the acting part of the sentence stands in the nominative. "mir" is the pronoun in the dative case. Learn more about the pronouns in the dative case here.

Let us take a look at the German sentence structure. If we come back to the conversation in the bakery, you could form the following sentences:

Positive sentence
Form	German Sentence				English Literal Translation
polite form	Es	geht	Ihnen	gut.	It	goes	well	to you (polite form)
1. person singular			mir					to me.
2. person singular (familiar)			dir					to you.
3. person singular			ihm					to him.
3. person singular			ihr					to her.
3. person singular			ihm					to it.
1. person plural			uns					to us.
2. person plural			euch					to you.
3. person plural			ihnen					to them.
Normal sentence structure:	Subject	Predicate	Object	Subject Predicative

If you want to emphasize that you or the person you talk about is fine, you can also put the personal pronoun in the dative case right at the beginning of the sentence:

Positive sentence with the personal pronoun at the beginning
Form	German Sentence				English Literal Translation
polite form	Ihnen	geht	es	gut.	To you (polite form)	it	goes	well.
1. person singular	Mir				To me
2. person singular (familiar)	Dir				To you
3. person singular	Ihm				To him
3. person singular	Ihr				To her
3. person singular	Ihm				To it
1. person plural	Uns				To us
2. person plural	Euch				To you
3. person plural	Ihnen				To them
Inversion: Predicate and	Object	Predicate	Subject	Subject Predicative
subject are exchanged

You have to take care that in this type of sentence the verb comes first and then the subject. Verb and subject are exchanged here (inversion). In a normal positive sentence the subject comes first and then the verb follows.

A question also starts with the verb followed by the subject of a sentence:

Question
Form	German Sentence				English Literal Translation
polite form	Geht	es	Ihnen	gut?	Goes	it	well	to you (polite form)?
1. person singular			mir					to me?
2. person singular (familiar)			dir					to you?
3. person singular			ihm					to him?
3. person singular			ihr					to her?
3. person singular			ihm					to it?
1. person plural			uns					to us?
2. person plural			euch					to you?
3. person plural			ihnen					to them?
Inversion: Predicate and	Predicate	Subject	Object	Subject Predicative
subject are exchanged

Here we have a question with an interrogative particle (here: how):

Question with interrogative particle
Form	German Sentence				English Literal Translation
polite form	Wie	geht	es	Ihnen?	How	goes	it	to you (polite form)?
1. person singular				mir?				to me?
2. person singular (familiar)				dir?				to you?
3. person singular				ihm?				to him?
3. person singular				ihr?				to her?
3. person singular				ihm?				to it?
1. person plural				uns?				to us?
2. person plural				euch?				to you?
3. person plural				ihnen?				to them?
Inversion: Predicate and	Interrogative	Predicate	Subject	Object
subject are exchanged	Particle

Whenever we have a main clause which does not start with the subject, predicate and subject are exchanged (inversion).

Another example is the sentence:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Ich wünsche Ihnen einen schönen Tag.	[ɪç 'vʏnʃə 'i:nən 'ainən 'ʃø:nən ta:k]	I wish you (polite form) a nice day.
Subject + Predicate + Indirect Oject + Direct Object (Objects: Pronouns always stand in front of nouns).

"Ich" is the subject of the sentence and stands in the nominative case. Here, the predicate is "wünsche". "Ihnen" is the pronoun in the dative case and thus the indirect object. This person receives something, in this case Mrs Schulze receives a good wish, you can say. If you have a certain verb and do not know the case which it is used with simply look it up in a dictionary. You can also use an online dictionary and enter the respective verb. If you enter the verb "wünschen" (to wish), there is written: jdm (jemandem) etw (etwas) wünschen. "jemandem" always means dative and "etwas" means accusative. So, "einen schönen Tag" is the direct object and stands in the accusative case. We will get back to the declension in the accusative case later.

Now we get to the conjugation of the verbs in this lesson. Some of them are regular and some irregular. Here, you will learn how to conjugate them in the Present Tense. Let's start with the regular conjugation of the verb "gehen":

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	gehen	['ge:ən]	to go
1. person singular	ich gehe	[ɪç 'ge:ə]	I go
2. person singular	du gehst	[du: ge:st]	you go
3. person singular	er/sie/es geht	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs ge:t]	he/she/it goes
1. person plural	wir gehen	[vi:ə 'ge:ən]	we go
2. person plural	ihr geht	[i:ə ge:t]	you go
3. person plural	sie gehen	[zi: 'ge:ən]	they go
polite form	Sie gehen	[zi: 'ge:ən]	you go

The next verb "geben" changes the stem vocal in the second and third person singular.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	geben	['ge:bən]	to give
1. person singular	ich gebe	[ɪç 'ge:bə]	I give
2. person singular	du gibst	[du: 'gi:pst]	you give
3. person singular	er/sie/es gibt	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs gi:pt]	he/she/it gives
1. person plural	wir geben	[vi:ə 'ge:bən]	we give
2. person plural	ihr gebt	[i:ə ge:pt]	you give
3. person plural	sie geben	[zi: 'ge:bən]	they give
polite form	Sie geben	[zi: 'ge:bən]	you give

This verb "nehmen" does not only change the stem vocal, but also doubles the consonant m in the middle.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	nehmen	['ne:mən]	to take
1. person singular	ich nehme	[ɪç 'ne:mə]	I take
2. person singular	du nimmst	[du: nɪmst]	you take
3. person singular	er/sie/es nimmt	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs nɪmt]	he/she/it takes
1. person plural	wir nehmen	[vi:ə 'ne:mən]	we take
2. person plural	ihr nehmt	[i:ə ne:mt]	you take
3. person plural	sie nehmen	[zi: 'ne:mən]	they take
polite form	Sie nehmen	[zi: 'ne:mən]	you take

The next two auxiliary verbs "dürfen" and "müssen" change their stem vocals only in the singular persons.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	dürfen	['dʏrfən]	to be allowed to
1. person singular	ich darf	[ɪç darf]	I may
2. person singular	du darfst	[du: darfst]	you may
3. person singular	er/sie/es darf	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs darf]	he/she/it may
1. person plural	wir dürfen	[vi:ə 'dʏrfən]	we may
2. person plural	ihr dürft	[i:ə dʏrft]	you may
3. person plural	sie dürfen	[zi: 'dʏrfən]	they may
polite form	Sie dürfen	[zi: 'dʏrfən]	you may

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	müssen	['mʏsən]	to have to do
1. person singular	ich muss	[ɪç mʊs]	I must
2. person singular	du musst	[du: mʊst]	you must
3. person singular	er/sie/es muss	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs mʊs]	he/she/it must
1. person plural	wir müssen	[vi:ə 'mʏsən]	we must
2. person plural	ihr müsst	[i:ə mʏst]	you must
3. person plural	sie müssen	[zi: 'mʏsən]	they must
polite form	Sie müssen	[zi: 'mʏsən]	you must

The verbs "bezahlen", "machen" and "wünschen" have a regular conjugation.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	bezahlen	[bə'tsa:lən]	to pay
1. person singular	ich bezahle	[ɪç bə'tsa:lə]	I pay
2. person singular	du bezahlst	[du: bə'tsa:lst]	you pay
3. person singular	er/sie/es bezahlt	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs bə'tsa:lt]	he/she/it pays
1. person plural	wir bezahlen	[vi:ə bə'tsa:lən]	we pay
2. person plural	ihr bezahlt	[i:ə bə'tsa:lt]	you pay
3. person plural	sie bezahlen	[zi: bə'tsa:lən]	they pay
polite form	Sie bezahlen	[zi: bə'tsa:lən]	you pay

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	machen	['maxən]	to do/make
1. person singular	ich mache	[ɪç 'maxə]	I do/make
2. person singular	du machst	[du: maxst]	you do/make
3. person singular	er/sie/es macht	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs maxt]	he/she/it does/makes
1. person plural	wir machen	[vi:ə 'maxən]	we do/make
2. person plural	ihr macht	[i:ə maxt]	you do/make
3. person plural	sie machen	[zi: 'maxən]	they do/make
polite form	Sie machen	[zi: 'maxən]	you do/make

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	wünschen	['vʏnʃən]	to wish
1. person singular	ich wünsche	[ɪç 'vʏnʃə]	I wish
2. person singular	du wünschst	[du: vʏnʃst]	you wish
3. person singular	er/sie/es wünscht	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs vʏnʃt]	he/she/it wishes
1. person plural	wir wünschen	[vi:ə 'vʏnʃən]	we wish
2. person plural	ihr wünscht	[i:ə vʏnʃt]	you wish
3. person plural	sie wünschen	[zi: 'vʏnʃən]	they wish
polite form	Sie wünschen	[zi: 'vʏnʃən]	you wish

The next verb "haben" is irregular in the second and third person singular.

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	haben	['ha:bən]	to have
1. person singular	ich habe	[ɪç 'ha:bə]	I have
2. person singular	du hast	[du: hast]	you have
3. person singular	er/sie/es hat	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs hat]	he/she/it has
1. person plural	wir haben	[vi:ə 'ha:bən]	we have
2. person plural	ihr habt	[i:ə ha:pt]	you have
3. person plural	sie haben	[zi: 'ha:bən]	they have
polite form	Sie haben	[zi: 'ha:bən]	you have

These were all conjugations in the Present Tense. However, in this conversation, we also have the verb haben in the Imperfect Subjunctive. Here are the forms:

Form	German	Phonetic Script	English
infinitive	haben	['ha:bən]	to have
1. person singular	ich hätte	[ɪç 'hɛtə]	I would have
2. person singular	du hättest	[du: 'hɛtəst]	you would have
3. person singular	er/sie/es hätte	[e:ɐ/zi:/ɛs 'hɛtə]	he/she/it would have
1. person plural	wir hätten	[vi:ə 'hɛtən]	we would have
2. person plural	ihr hättet	[i:ə 'hɛtət]	you would have
3. person plural	sie hätten	[zi: 'hɛtən]	they would have
polite form	Sie hätten	[zi: 'hɛtən]	you would have

The German Imperfect Subjunctive derives from the Imperfect/Simple Past. You also use these forms when you would like to have something, like in the following example:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Ich hätte gern ein Roggenbrot.	[ɪç 'hɛtə gɛrn ain 'rɔgənbro:t]	I would like to have a rye bread.
ich hätte gern... + accusative object	[ɪç 'hɛtə gɛrn]	I would like to have... + accusative object
Subject + Predicate + Object	(Normal sentence structure)

In this sentence "Ich" is the subject of the sentence in the nominative. "ein Roggenbrot" is the direct object in the accusative case. To have something: etwas haben.

You could also say:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Ein Roggenbrot hätte ich gern.	[ain 'rɔgənbro:t 'hɛtə ɪç gɛrn]	A rye bread I would like to have.
Object + Predicate + Subject (Inversion)

Here we have the accusative object at the beginning, then comes the verb and then the subject. As already mentioned, the verb usually stands after the subject in a main clause which starts with the subject.

As a question, it looks as follows:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Hätten Sie gern ein Roggenbrot?	['hɛtən zi: gɛrn ain 'rɔgənbro:t]	Would you like to have a rye bread?
Predicate + Subject + Object (Inversion)

And here is a question with an interrogative particle (in this case: "what"):

German	Phonetic Script	English
Was hätten Sie gern?	[vas 'hɛtən zi: gɛrn]	What would you like to have?
Interrogative Particle + Predicate + Subject (Inversion)

Regarding the verb forms in this lesson, there is also one imperative form in the following sentence:

German	Phonetic Script	English
(Bitte) geben Sie mir vier Brötchen.	['bɪtə 'ge:bən zi: mi:ə fi:ə 'brø:tçən]	Please give me four rolls.
(XXX) + Predicate + Subject + Object (Inversion)

Here we have a formal imperative because we use the polite form "Sie" in this sentence. Whenever you use the formal imperative, please care that you use the verb form of the 3rd person plural in the Present Tense which is the same form you use for the polite form "Sie". Although we have an imperative form, we have to use the personal pronoun "Sie" after the verb. Moreover, this sentence has an accusative object (direct object): "vier Brötchen". "Mir" is the dative object (indirect object). If you enter the verb geben in an online dictionary, there is written: jdm (jemandem) etw (etwas) geben. "jemandem" always means dative and "etwas" means accusative. The dative object is often a person who receives something. So when I say the above mentioned sentence to someone, I ("mir" = dative of "ich") am the person who receives something (here: the rolls). "Sie" is the subject.

By the way, this is not the case when you have the informal imperative for the 2nd person singular ("du") and the 2nd person plural ("ihr"). For the informal imperative you only use the verb forms without the personal pronouns. For the 2nd person singular ("du") you take the stem of the 2nd person singular in the Present Tense without the ending -st (geben: du gibst, Gib!; nehmen: du nimmst, Nimm!). The 2nd person plural has the same imperative forms as the forms of the 2nd person plural in the Present Tense (geben: ihr gebt, Gebt!; nehmen: ihr nehmt, Nehmt!). Of course, there are some exceptions. We will get back to this topic in another lesson.

Now we get to the plural forms of those nouns which appear in the second lesson. Here are the nominative forms:

Singular Form with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
der Morgen m	[de:ɐ 'mɔrgən]	the morning
das Brot nt	[das bro:t]	the bread
das Roggenbrot nt	[das 'rɔgənbro:t]	the rye bread
der Wunsch m	[de:ɐ vʊnʃ]	the wish
das Brötchen nt	[das 'brø:tçən]	the roll
der Euro m	[de:ɐ 'ɔyro]	the euro

Plural Form with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
die Morgen m pl	[di: 'mɔrgən]	the mornings
die Brote nt pl	[di: 'bro:tə]	the breads
die Roggenbrote nt pl	[di: 'rɔgənbro:tə]	the rye breads
die Wünsche m pl	[di: 'vʏnʃə]	the wishes
die Brötchen nt pl	[di: 'brø:tçən]	the rolls
die Euros m pl	[di: 'ɔyros]	the euros

The plural form "die Morgen" is very seldom used.

"Roggenbrot" is a compound noun which consists of "Roggen m" and "Brot nt". If we have a compound noun, the gender of the last noun dermines the gender. Thatis why "Roggenbrot" is neuter. See more examples of compound nouns here.

In combination with a numeral, you do not use the plural form "Euros". You just use it when you speak of single coins.

Now let us have a look at the nominative forms of the new nouns in combination with the indefinite article:

Singular Form with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
ein Morgen m	[ain 'mɔrgən]	a morning
ein Brot nt	[ain bro:t]	a bread
ein Roggenbrot nt	[ain 'rɔgənbro:t]	a rye bread
ein Wunsch m	[ain vʊnʃ]	a wish
ein Brötchen nt	[ain 'brø:tçən]	a roll
ein Euro m	[ain 'ɔyro]	a euro

Plural Form with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
Morgen m pl	['mɔrgən]	mornings
Brote nt pl	['bro:tə]	breads
Roggenbrote nt pl	['rɔgənbro:tə]	rye breads
Wünsche m pl	['vʏnʃə]	wishes
Brötchen nt pl	['brø:tçən]	rolls
Euros m pl	['ɔyros]	euros

Please also keep in mind that these forms are only nominative forms.

As you already know, there are three forms of nouns which are accompanied by articles: masculine (m), feminine (f) and neuter (nt) nouns. You already know the nominative forms. Now we get to the declension in the accusative case which is used for the direct objects of a sentence. Here are the articles of the singular (sg) and plural (pl) forms:

Singular Forms	Definite German Article	Phonetic Script	Definite English Article
masculine	den	[de:n]	the
feminine	die	[di:]	the
neuter	das	[das]	the

Plural Forms	Definite German Article	Phonetic Script	Definite English Article
masculine	die	[di:]	the
feminine
neuter

Singular Forms	Indefinite German Article	Phonetic Script	Indefinite English Article
masculine	einen	['ainən]	a/an
feminine	eine	['ainə]	a/an
neuter	ein	[ain]	a/an

Plural Forms	Indefinite German Article	Phonetic Script	Indefinite English Article
masculine	-	-	-
feminine	-	-	-
neuter	-	-	-

As you can see, all forms correspond to the nominative forms except the masculine singular forms (den, einen). So it's not much you have to learn.

There is only one plural form for the definite articles ("die").

Now we decline some nouns accompanied by articles in the accusative case:

Singular Forms	Noun with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
masculine	den Mann m	[de:n man]	the man
feminine	die Frau f	[di: frau]	the woman
neuter	das Kind nt	[das kɪnt]	the child

Plural Forms	Noun with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
masculine	die Männer m pl	[di: 'mɛnɐ]	the men
feminine	die Frauen f pl	[di: 'frauən]	the women
neuter	die Kinder nt pl	[di: 'kɪndɐ]	the children

Singular Forms	Noun with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
masculine	einen Mann m	['ainən man]	a man
feminine	eine Frau f	['ainə frau]	a woman
neuter	ein Kind nt	[ain kɪnt]	a child

Plural Forms	Noun with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
masculine	Männer m pl	['mɛnɐ]	men
feminine	Frauen f pl	['frauən]	women
neuter	Kinder nt pl	['kɪndɐ]	children

Learn more about the declension of nouns in the accusative case here.

We also have one adjective in this lesson (gut = good). Here is one example for a non-declined adjective:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Das Brot ist gut.	[das bro:t ɪst gu:t]	The bread is good.

In this sentence, the adjective is not adjusted to the noun because it stands after the noun. Here, the adjective is part of the predicate (all parts which belong to the verb). So, whenever we have a predicative use of an adjective, it is not declined.

In the next sentence we have an attributive use of an adjective which means that it stands directly in front of the noun. Whenever we have an adjective in front of a noun, it is declined according to the gender and the number of the respective noun. Here is an example of a declined adjective in an accusative object:

German	Phonetic Script	English
Ich wünsche Ihnen einen guten Morgen.	[ɪç 'vʏnʃə 'i:nən 'ainən 'gu:tən 'mɔrgən]	I wish you a good morning.

"Ich" is the subject and "einen guten Morgen" is the accusative object in this sentence. It is declined according to the rules mentioned below. That is why we Germans say "Guten Morgen" and not "Guter Morgen" in the nominative form as this greeting is a short form for the above mentioned sentence. "Ihnen" is dative object. Again a person receives something, namely the wish for a good morning.

By the way, in German the adjective does not change the form if it becomes an adverb. No matter if the bread is good (adjective: Das Brot ist gut.) or if I am fine (adverb: Es geht mir gut.), the form is the same. In other languages, the forms might change, for example in English (good, well), in French (bon, bien) or in Spanish (bueno, bien). In German, the forms stay the same.

Now let us decline some other nouns in the accusative case:

Singular Form with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
den guten Tag m	[de:n 'gu:tən ta:k]	the good day
die gute Frau f	[di: 'gu:tə frau]	the good woman
das gute Brot nt	[das 'gu:tə bro:t]	the good bread

Plural Form with Definite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
die guten Tage m pl	[di: 'gu:tən 'ta:gə]	the good days
die guten Frauen f pl	[di: 'gu:tən 'frauən]	the good women
die guten Brote nt pl	[di: 'gu:tən 'bro:tə]	the good breads

Singular Form with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
einen guten Tag m	['ainən 'gu:tən ta:k]	a good day
eine gute Frau f	['ainə 'gu:tə frau]	a good woman
ein gutes Brot nt	[ain 'gu:təs bro:t]	a good bread

Plural Form with Indefinite Article	Phonetic Script	English Translation
gute Tage m pl	['gu:tə 'ta:gə]	good days
gute Frauen f pl	['gu:tə 'frauən]	good women
gute Brote nt pl	['gu:tə 'bro:tə]	good breads

Please remember that the accusative forms correspond to the nominative forms except the masculine singular forms (den guten Tag, einen guten Tag). Now we compare these forms with the nominative: der gute Tag, ein guter Tag.

Here, you have learned to differ between nominative, dative and accusative. You can practice if you click the button Grammar Practice. There are several examples which help you to keep in mind the above mentioned rules.