Be sure to study the corresponding material on pp. 27-30 of your workbook before doing each exercise in the workbook for this chapter. See the pointing finger after each exercise heading and directions. The same material is found in the same order in your textbook, which you should practice also before writing each exercise. The more of this stuff you can internalize, the better.
Don't just guess! ALWAYS THINK OF THE MEANING OF WHAT YOU ARE READING AND WRITING. And always remember the point of each exercise. Why are you being asked to do the activity? You should always know the answer to this question in order to learn effectively.
It is best to learn the material by heart as well as you can first, then attempt the exercise without looking at the charts. After you are finished, go back and verify your work. A key skill to good language study is TEST YOURSELF, TEST YOURSELF, TEST YOURSELF. The less you allow yourself to do your work while referring to the book, the faster you will be able to use your German for real communication.
REVIEW PREVIOUS MATERIAL FREQUENTLY. This is super important for vocabulary.
Here are some hints and/or a couple of answers for you for each exercise.
2-1 Anders gesagt (In other words, said a different way)
The point here is to be able to use the 24-hour clock for
expressing official time.
For all times after noon, add 12 to obtain the 24-hour equivalent:
ex. 14.00 = 2 p.m., 17.00 = 5 p.m.
The order of hours and minutes in official is like our official time,
or like when you read a digital clock: "twelve forty-five" or "seven
fifty-three" (and not "quarter to one", etc.).
Remember that in 24-hour time, you DON'T need to say the adverb
expressing the time of day, such as nachts or abends.
It is clearly a.m. or p.m. just from the number.
2-2 Wie viel Uhr ist es? (*How can you say this question in a different way?)
On line a, write the official version (as in exercise 2-1),
using the 24-hour system.
On line b, write the colloquial version. Be sure to use an
adverb of time: morgens, vormittags, mittags, nachmittags, abends,
nachts. Note that nachts is only used when one is normally
sleeping; abends is used up to 11 or 11:30 p.m. Since these
words are all adverbs, they are NOT capitalized.
A few hints to individual items:
# 2, 3, 6, 7, 10: Use Viertel vor / Viertel nach in the
colloquial versions.
# 1, 5, 8, 9: Use halb as the basis for your colloquial
version. (Remember: Es ist halb zehn means 9:30, NOT
10:30!)
*Answer to question above: Wie spät ist es?
2-3 Tage und Tageszeiten (Days and times of day)
Be sure to specify the time of day with adverbs (gestern
Morgen, übermorgen Abend, etc.).
"Morgen Morgen" does not exist because it sounds silly! Say
"morgen früh" instead (#2 & 8). You might also choose
"morgen Vormittag" for #2.
2-4 Was haben diese Leute? (*Any idea what this title means? Leute = Personen)
Memorize the forms of haben before you do this exercise.
Complete it, and then go back and check your work.
Remember that the du and er-sie-es forms lose their
-b-: du
hast, er-sie-es
hat.
Each item is a little conversation, so be careful you know what the pronouns
refer to. For example, in #1: Do YOU GUYS have a house, Robert? (Answ.:) Yes,
WE have a small but very nice house.
#6. What is the subject here? (Martin und Peter, "they"
form).
#7. Remember that ihr means "you guys".
*Answer to question above: What do these people have?
2-5 Gern, nicht gern oder lieber!
Gern literally means "gladly", so Ich koche sehr gern
literally means "I cook very gladly". In more usual English, it
of course means "I like to cook very much" or "I really like to
cook."
Lieber literally means "more gladly", so Ich spiele lieber
Squash als Tennis means "I play squash more gladly
than tennis", in other words, "I like to play squash more than
tennis."
So gern wie means "as
gladly as", so Ich spiele Poker so gern wie du means "I
like to play poker as much as you do."
Read each item carefully and decide which of the three answer choices makes the MOST SENSE.
2-6 Was ist das?
The Nominative form (the subject form, or the form listed in the dictionary) is the form used for the subject (Subjekt) or the subject completion (Subjektergänzung). Subject completions always refer to the same person or thing as the subject. They following a linking verb like ist / sind. The verb is like an equal sign between the subject and its completion.
Der Mann da drüben ist mein Englischprofessor. (Der Mann = mein Englischprofessor)
Note that many genders are given to you in this exercise so that you concentrate on using the correct forms of the definite article (der-die-das/die) or the indefinite article (ein-eine-ein/---). The gender indications FOLLOW the noun they refer to. So #1: Ist d___ Stern (m) ein___ Zeitung (f)? Stern is masculine, and Zeitung is feminine. Your answer will then be
Ist der Stern eine Zeitung? REMEMBER THE SAME GENDERS IN THE ANSWER:
Nein, der Stern ist keine Zeitung, sondern ein Magazin (Magazin is neuter, as shown in the exercise).
Think about what each item means and you will also learn some cultural information.
2-7 Wer oder was ist das? (*What does this title mean?)
Complete the questions, using wer (who?) or was (what?) logically.
Pick the appropriate answer from the box to complete each answer.
DO NOT change any endings!! They are given correctly in the box! Each one is
a Subjektergänzung, or subject completion, because it follows the
verb ist (like an equal sign). That is why they are all NOMINATIVE, or
subject form.
Warning to those who have had some German:
Some students who have had German before mistakenly think they need to
say, for instance, einen deutschen Politiker after "ist', but
this is NOT CORRECT. The NOMINATIVE is used BEFORE AND AFTER "IST" or "SIND"
(or any form of the verb sein).
It would be a good idea to say each answer aloud after you finish the exercise.
Practice associating the adjective endings with
the gender of the noun: ein russischer
Komponist (like der, masc.), ein deutsches
Bier (like das, neut.), eine kanadische
Provinz (like die, fem.)
*Answer to question above: Who or what is that?
2-8 Dies-, jed- (all-) oder welch-?
You MUST memorize the meanings of these words! Use the logical one
in each sentence.
Remember to put the same endings on these words as
der/die/das
have. That's why they are called
der-words.
der Student, dieser Student, jeder Student, welcher Student? MASC.
the student, this student, each/every student, which student?
die Frau, diese Frau, jede Frau, welche Frau? FEM.
das Kind, dieses Kind, jedes Kind, welches Kind? NEUT.
die Kinder, diese Kinder, alle Kinder, welche Kinder? PLUR.
(Note: jed- changes to alle in the plural, because you can't say "every children". You might occasionally see all- used in the singular: "Aller Anfang ist schwer." Every beginning is difficult. In this use, it means the same as jed-.)
In this exercise, you need to know what gender the noun is in order to put the correct ending. If you aren't sure, DON'T GUESS! Look up the gender in your word list or in the glossary at the back of the textbook.
2-9 Kleine Gespräche
Be sure to read the entire conversation to make sure you are using logical possessives. Put an -e on the ein-words if they describe a feminine or plural noun. Put NO ENDING on them if they describe a masculine or neuter noun.
Remember--there are 3 ways to say 'you' in German, and each one has its own way to say 'your':
How do you like your room?
Wie findest du dein Zimmer, Thomas? (familiar form, singular)
Wie findet ihr euer Zimmer, Thomas und Stephanie? (familiar form, plural--'you guys')
Wie finden Sie Ihr Zimmer, Frau Schleiermacher? (formal form)
You can't mix and match. Details to watch: Ihr (=your, formal) is capitalized, like Sie (=you), to show respect. When the -e (or any other endings) are added to euer, the -e- before the -r- drops out: Hier sind euer Opa und eure Oma. This also happens optionally with unser: Maria ist unsere (or unsre) Freundin.
The word ihr is a bit of a pain, because it has four meanings that you know up to now:
As a subject pronoun used with -t verb ending, ihr means 'you guys'. It never adds an ending in this use, and it does not describe a noun. It is used all by itself. Habt ihr euer Buch? 'Do you guys have your book?'
As a possessive adjective, ihr/ihre means either 'her ___' or 'their ___' (the blank contains a noun). Capitalized, Ihr/Ihre means 'your ___' (the blank contains a noun). This is actually consistent, because there are three meanings of sie. Each meaning of sie (she, they)/Sie (you) has its own possessive, which is ihr/Ihr. Look carefully at these examples:
• Susanne (=sie) bringt ihr Fahrrad und ihre CDs. 'Susanne (=she) is bringing her bike and her CDs.'
• Peter und Martin (=sie) bringen ihr Fahrrad und ihre CDs. 'Peter and Martin (=they) are bringing their bike and their CDs.'
• Herr Schmidt, bringen Sie Ihr Fahrrad und Ihre CDs? 'Mr. Smith, are you bringing your bike and your CDs?'
Possessive adjectives DO change their endings according to what noun they describe.
2-10 Wer hat das bessere Zimmer?
Think about the same issues as in 2-9. Be sure you know what the entire passage means so that you use appropriate possessives.
2-11 Adjektive
Adjective endings tell us gender information IF other words (der-words or ein-words) do NOT clearly tell the gender. The adjective then has the same ending a der-word would have, because these endings always tell gender:
deutscher Wein, warme Milch, kaltes Bier (no der- or ein-word at all to give gender, so adjective does)
ein deutscher Wein, mein kaltes Bier (ein-words are the same for m. & nt. and thus do NOT give unambiguous gender info, so the adjective has to)
Otherwise, if the accompanying word DOES give clear gender info, the adjective takes -e:
der deutsche Wein, diese warme Milch, welches deutsche Bier?
For PLURALS, the adjective ending is always -EN after either a der- or an ein-word:
Meine neuen Freunde sind toll! Thomas und Martin sind die besten Fußballer.
When there is no der- or ein-word used, the adjective must show the plural. The adjective therefore takes -e, as the der- or ein-word would if it were there to do the job:
Ich habe zwei tolle CDs. Ute bringt heiße Würstchen. Ich esse gern griechische Oliven.
NOTE: THIS PATTERN (ADJ. in -e plus PLURAL NOUN) IS VERY COMMON!
But if a der- or ein-word is used, it shows the -e of plurality. The adjective doesn't have to show it again, so the adjective has -en:
Ich habe deine zwei tollen CDs. Ute bringt die heißen Würstchen. Ich esse gern alle griechischen Oliven.
The -en serves to distinguish feminine singular from a plural when a der- or ein-word is present:
diese leckere griechische Olive diese leckeren griechischen Oliven this tasty Greek olive (just one) these tasty Greek olives (plural)
BE SURE TO CHECK ON GENDERS for any words in the exercise you don't know the gender for! Don't guess.
2-12 Beschreiben
The purpose of this exercise is to practice using adjectives before a noun with the appropriate ending on them. Be sure your sentence ends in one of the nouns listed in the directions. (If you DON't use a noun, you will have predicate adjectives. These NEVER take endings! Compare:)
CORRECT WAY TO DO THE EXERCISE:
Peter ist ein intelligenter,
schöner und sportlicher
Mann. (all 3 adjs. describe the noun "Mann")
Note that all adjectives describing the same noun have the same ending,
in this case -er.
Not what the exercise wants, but worded as predicate adjectives:
BUT: Peter ist intelligent, schön und sportlich. (the adjs. do not describe a noun directly, so they have no ending; they occur all by themselves after ist or some other form of sein)
2-13 Sylvia fliegt nach Europa
Be sure to look at the map as the text gives you geographical details. Feel free to mark up the map, if that helps.
2-14 Wortsalat
Follow the directions. Remember to write opposites for each adjective or adverb.
2-15 Kategorien
Self-explanatory. Copy carefully! Capitalize each noun and try to learn its gender. Say each one aloud several times.
2-16 & 2-17 See separate page with key to translation. Remember NOT to translate WORDS, but rather IDEAS. Here's one example of how to think:
1) Who's Alexander?
vocab needed: wer (NOT wo!!) - sein
The verb must be second, after the question word wer. So:
Wer ist Alexander?2) That's her dumb boyfriend.
vocab needed: das - sein - ihr - blöd - Freund
Verb must be second after das. Ihr is an ein-word and has no ending before the masculine word Freund. that means the adjective must show gender. So:
Das ist ihr dummer Freund.
Do the translation as well as you can first. Think through everything yourself, carefully. Only then refer to the key on the web site. Make corrections in a different color ink so that I can see you didn't just copy the key.