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Fortify your core German vocabulary. Learn the most commonly used German words and gain conversational skills rapidly.
Note that many words can have multiple meanings - focus on the most common one and watch your capitalization rules!
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- Nouns in German are always capitalized.
- They have three genders: masculine (der), feminine (die), and neuter (das).
- Plural forms are indicated by adding -en, -e, -er, or -s to the noun.
- Definite articles: der (masculine), die (feminine), das (neuter), and die (plural).
- Indefinite articles: ein (masculine), eine (feminine), and ein (neuter).
- Personal pronouns: ich (I), du (you, informal), er/sie/es (he/she/it), wir (we), ihr (you, plural informal), sie/Sie (they/you, formal).
- Possessive pronouns: mein (my), dein (your, informal), sein/ihr/sein (his/her/its), unser (our), euer (your, plural informal), ihr/Ihr (their/your, formal).
- Nominative (subject): der/ein, die/eine, das/ein, die (plural).
- Accusative (direct object): den/einen, die/eine, das/ein, die (plural).
- Dative (indirect object): dem/einem, der/einer, dem/einem, den (plural) + -n.
- Genitive (possession): des/eines, der/einer, des/eines, der (plural).
- Regular verbs: infinitive (spielen), present (spiele), past (spielte), and past participle (gespielt).
- Irregular verbs: irregular conjugation in past tense and past participle (e.g., lesen, las, gelesen).
- Modal verbs: müssen (must), können (can), dürfen (may), wollen (want), sollen (should), mögen (like).
- Present tense: ich spiele (I play), du spielst (you play), er/sie/es spielt (he/she/it plays), wir spielen (we play), ihr spielt (you all play), sie/Sie spielen (they/you, formal, play).
- Simple past tense: ich spielte, du spieltest, er/sie/es spielte, wir spielten, ihr spieltet, sie/Sie spielten.
- Present perfect tense: ich habe gespielt, du hast gespielt, er/sie/es hat gespielt, wir haben gespielt, ihr habt gespielt, sie/Sie haben gespielt.
- Subject-verb-object (SVO) in main clauses.
- Verb-subject-object (VSO) in questions.
- Time-manner-place (TMP) for adverbials.
- Separable prefix verbs: the prefix moves to the end of the clause (e.g., aufstehen, ich stehe auf).
- Common prepositions: in, auf, an, unter, über, vor, hinter, neben, zwischen, zu, bei, mit, ohne, gegen, um, durch, für, aus, seit, bis, nach, von.
- Accusative prepositions: bis, durch, für, gegen, ohne, um.
- Dative prepositions: aus, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu.
- Two-way prepositions (take accusative or dative depending on movement): an, auf, hinter, in, neben, über, unter, vor, zwischen.
- Use "nicht" (not) to negate verbs, adjectives, and adverbs: Ich spreche nicht Deutsch (I don't speak German).
- Use "kein" (no) to negate nouns with indefinite articles: Ich habe keine Zeit (I have no time).
- Adjectives can be placed before a noun (attributive) or after a verb (predicative).
- Attributive adjectives must agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they modify.
- Adjective endings depend on the type of article used (definite, indefinite, or no article) and the case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive).
- Predicative adjectives don't take endings: Der Apfel ist rot (The apple is red).
- Comparative: add -er to the adjective; use "als" for "than": schneller als (faster than).
- Superlative: add -st or -est to the adjective; use "am" before the adjective: am schnellsten (fastest).
- Most adverbs are formed by using the base form of the adjective (e.g., schnell – schnell, langsam – langsam).
- To negate an adverb, use "nicht" (not): Er läuft nicht schnell (He doesn't run fast).
- Coordinating conjunctions (don't affect word order): und (and), aber (but), oder (or), sondern (but, after a negation), denn (for, because).
- Subordinating conjunctions (change word order; verb goes to the end): weil (because), dass (that), obwohl (although), wenn (if/when), bevor (before), nachdem (after).
- Reflexive verbs are used with a reflexive pronoun, which refers back to the subject: sich waschen (to wash oneself), ich wasche mich (I wash myself).
- German often forms new words by combining multiple smaller words: Brötchen (bread roll) = Brot (bread) + -chen (diminutive suffix).
- Be aware of compound nouns when learning vocabulary, as they can help you understand the meaning of longer words.