
 
 
 Unit 7
 
 
 
 
 
 
    BEIM EINRICHTEN

    Basic Sentences

 



 


 
 


 

Notes to the Basic Sentences


1	The infinitive form of many verbs can be used as a noun in German. It is always a das-noun. English has similar nouns, like playing, working. speaking, etc., but often uses the infinitive in equivalent sentences.

2	This adjective always has an ending of some kind, in this case the ending that the specifier-adjective-noun sequence den anderen Zimmern requires.
   There is no endingless citation form, but regular adjective endings are added to the stem ander-.

3	The verb stellen "to put" is complemented either by a prepositional phrase such as an die Wand or by the word hin. It does not occur without a complement, however.

4	This is actually the same verb as was encountered in Unit 4 in the form es passt mir "it suits me, it's convenient for me" and as occurs later on in this unit with the preposition zu, meaning "to match, to go (with)". Because of the divergent English equivalents in different situations the verb is listed separately each time. In this sentence the implication is that the table will end up in front of the two chairs when it has been put there; in its grammatical Influence on the syntactic environment (vor die beiden Sessel, accusative) it is equivalent to the verb stellen "to put".

5	The verb sich setzen "to sit down" is usually complemented by a prepositional phrase such as an den Tisch or by the word hin.

                           Notes on Pronunciation

A.	Vowels in Syllables Not Having Primary Stress

   Up to now we have given our attention to the vowels occurring In stressed syllables. Most of the items presented for pronunciation practice have been one or two syllables in length, although German words of six or more syllables occur. While only one syllable receives primary stress, vowels in syllables not having primary stress retain the same sound quality and length which they have when stressed. Practice the following words with your instructor, making sure that your imitation of all vowel sounds in each word is accurate:

Practice 1
     Umweg Amerika	Konsulat
      Autobus Museum	Amerikanerin
         Schreibmaschine politisch	Universität
        Heimatstadt Verabredung	Sekretärin
        Wiedersehen Spaziergang	Bibliothek

B.	Review

   Continuing the review of difficult pronunciation features begun in Unit 6
here are two troublesome vowel contrasts:	short -a- and short -o-, and long -i-and long -e-:

Practice 2

              Kasten	-	kosten	sieht	-	seht
              lachen	-	lochen	Wiesen	-	Wesen
             Tanne	-	Tonne	liegen	-	legen

   An important and often difficult consonant contrast is that between the lch-or ach-sounds on the one hand and the k-sound on the other:

Practice 3

     Augenblick	-	wahrscheinlich	backen	-	machen
    sickert	-	sichert	Doktor	-	Tochter
   direkt	-	recht	Akt	-	acht
   drückte	-	Süchte	druckt	-	Sucht
   The following items provide additional practice in post-vocalic r_ and post-vocalic

Practice 4

    Tier	wird	viel	hilft
                                              für
    mehr	Herz	Mehl	Welt
                                           führt
    Paar	hart	mal	halb
                                          höher
    vor	Dorf	wohl	Golf
                                          hört
     Kur	Durst	Pfuhl	Schuld
   The following provides review in the practice of pre-vocalic r:

Practice 5

     Papiere	zufrieden	höre
    leere	reden	Grösse
    Jahre	rauchen	führe
    bohre	Büro	berühmt
    Fuhre	rufen	grüsse

                                Notes on Grammar (For Home Study)

A. ADJECTIVES - THE ADJECTIVE-NOUN SEQUENCE

   I. In Unit 6 we discussed attributive adjectives in specifier-adject.ive-noun sequences. Attributive adjectives are not always preceded by specifiers however; they also occur in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences. Note the following examples from the basic sentences of this and preceding units:

      Amerikanisches General-	American Consulate General, konsulat.
       Ich muss einige Geschäfts-	I have to write some business letters, briefe schreiben.
      ja, mit so grossem Kühl-	Yes, with such a large refrigerator
schrank und kombiniertem	and combination gas and electric
     Gas- und Elektroherd	range.

II. Attributive adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences ALWAYS HAVE ENDINGS.

   1. The adjective endings are -e_, -em, -en, -er or -es:

       Nom Amerikanischer Tabak ist gut.
       Acc Ich rauche gern amerikanischen Tabak.
       Dat Ich rauche nur Zigaretten mit amerikanischem Tabak.
       Nom Hier ist deutsches Geld.
       Acc Haben Sie deutsches Geld?
       Dat Was können wir hier mit deutschem Geld tun?
       Nom Ist das hier gute Tinte?
       Acc Hier haben Sie gute Tinte.
       Dat Mit guter Tinte kann man gut schreiben.
       Nom Hier sind qrosse Sessel.
       Acc Ich suche grosse Sessel.
       Dat Ich habe ein Wohnzimmer mit qrossen Sesseln.
       No genitive forms are listed for the ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequence, as they occur only very rarely. Note that the adjective endings of the nominative, accusative and dative forms correspond throughout to the endings of the der-type specifiers.
   H. Preceding adverbs or numerals do not affect the forms of the adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences:
Die Männer bringen gerade	The men are just bringing two big
      zwei grosse Kisten herauf.	crates in.
Heute ist wirklich schönes	It's really nice weather today.
         Wetter .
       The noun is not always present in a sequence when it can be understood from the context. The form of the adjective is the same whether the noun is present or not:
Haben Sie deutsches Geld?	Do you have any German money?
      Nein, ich habe nur	No, I only have American / money_/. amerikanisches.
Brauchen Sie einen grossen	Do you need a large rug for the
      Teppich für das Wohnzimmer?	living-room? No, I'd like to have
       Nein, ich möchte zwei kle ine	two small ones for the bedroom, für das Schlafzimmer haben.
       Trinken Sie lieber deutschen	Do you like German or French wine
oder französischen Wein?	better? I like French wine_7
    Ich trinke lieber	better. französ isehen.
       Notice that we usually repeat the noun in English.
     5» If there is more than one adjective in an ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequence, all have the same endings:
          Hier sind noch einige nette	There are still some nice houses
        Häuser zu vermieten.	for rent here.
         Eine Küche mit so vielen	A kitchen with so many built-in
         eingebauten Schränken ist	cupboards really is nice, doch schon.
         Trinken Sie gern gutes	Do you like good German beer? deutsches Bier?

III. Adjectives used as nouns often occur	without a preceding specifier.

  1.	Their endings are the same as those	outlined above:

         Ist sie Amerikanerin oder	Is she an American or a German? Deutsche ?
         Sie sind Deutscher. nicht	You're German, aren't you? wahr ?
          Ich wusste nicht, dass Ihre	I didn't know that your wife has
         Frau hier Verwandte hat.	relatives here.

  2.	Note that adjectives used as nouns may be preceded by other adjectives. Both then have the same ending:

         Ist sie deutsche Staats»	Is she a German citizen?
          angehörige?
 Er ist amerikanischer	He's an American official.
           Beamter.
Meine Frau hat nette	My wife has nice relatives in Berlin.
          Verwandte in Berlin.
         Wir haben gute Bekannte	We have good friends in Frankfurt,
           in Frankfurt.

  3.	Note carefully the distinction in form between adjectives used as nouns when they are preceded by a specifier and when they are noti

Das ist der amerikanische	That's the American official.
           Beamte.
         Morgen besuchen wir die	Tomorrow we're going to visit my
         netten Verwandten meiner	wife's nice relatives in Berlin.
           Frau in Berlin.
         Wir treffen unsere guten	We're meeting our good friends in
        Bekannten in Frankfurt.	Frankfurt.

  IV. Adjectives in ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences and in SPECIFIER-ADJECTIVE-NOUN sequences:

     1. Compare the following sentences:

 Das ist guter	That's good French wine.
             französischer Wein.
Das ist ein guter	That's a good French wine.
             französischer Wein.
         Wo ist der gute	Where’s the good French wine?
             französische Wein?
          Das ist crutes deutsches	That's good German dinnerware.
           Geschirr.
         Das ist ihr gutes	That's her good German dinnerware.
           deutsches Geschirr.
          Wo ist das gute deutsche	Where's the good German dinnerware?
           Geschirr?
        You will note that there is no difference in the form of adjectives in adjective-noun sequences and in sequences with the endingless ein-type specifiers. There _i£ a difference between the form of these adjectives and adjectives in a specifier-adjective-noun sequence where the specifier also has an ending.

 B.	AN IRREGULAR ADJECTIVE - hoch

 I.	The adjective hoch has occurred in this unit only as a predicate adjective:
   
       Die Mieten sind hier garnicht The rents here are not high at all. so hoch.

 II.	As an attributive adjective the stem form hoh- with regular adjective endings occurs:

Wir haben hier sehr hohe	We have very high rents here.
           Mieten.
Das ist ein ganz hohes	That's quite a high apartment
     Etagenhaus.	building.

 C.	SUMMARY OF TWO-WAY PREPOSITIONS

 I. In Unit 3 it was noted that certain prepositions when followed by a dative form indicate where someone or something is to be found and when followed by an accusative form indicate where someone or something that is in motion is going to end up. We have now encountered the total inventory of TWO-WAY PREPOSITIONS, nine in all. Let us review some of the sentences in which they have occurred:

Das Sofa können wir dort ari	We can place the sofa over against the
       die Wand stellen.	wall there.
         Die Steppdecken liegen auf	The quilts are on our beds, unseren Betten.
         Wir haben einen grossen	We have a big yard behind the house. Garten hinter dem Haus.
          Den Teppich legen wir _in	We' 11 lay the carpet in the middle
        die Mitte des Zimmers.	of the room.
          Rechts neben dem Schloss ist	Next to the palace on the right is
       die Universität.	the university.
          Das grosse Bild könnten wir	We could hang the big picture above
        über das Sofa hängen.	the sofa.
          Das Telephonbuch liegt dort	The telephone book is there under the
        unter den Zeitungen.	newspapers.
          Stellen wir den Schreibtisch	Let's put the desk in front of the
        vor das grosse Fenster.	big window.
         Stellen Sie die Lampe	Put the lamp between the smoking
          zwischen den Rauchtisch und	table and the bookcase, den Bücherschrank.

    1.	Note that there is a close link between the TWO-WAY PREPOSITION and the verbs in these sentences. In the sentences where a dative form follows the preposition verbs which indicate or describe a static situation occur: liegen. haben, ist. In the sentences where an accusative form follows the preposition verbs indicating action or motion occur: stellen,
       legen, hängen.

    2.	It is important to note however that two-way prepositions may be followed by an accusative form in a sentence where the verb by itself does not necessarily indicate motion. In association WITH THE ACCUSATIVE object of a two-way preposition the verb ALWAYS IMPLIES MOTION.
           Der Tisch passt gut vor	The table fits the picture in front
          die beiden Sessel.	of the two easy-chairs (and therefore
                                           should end up in that location).

    3.	Likewise a DATIVE FORM following a two-way preposition ALWAYS IMPLIES A STATIC RELATIONSHIP, nonchanging, even when the verb is a verb of action or motion:
            Das grosse Bild hängt dort	The big picture is hanging there
        über dem Sofa.	above the sofa.
            Das grosse Bild können wir	We can hang the big picture above the
          über das Sofa hängen.	sofa.

 D. VERBS - legen, liegen, stehen and stellen

 I. In English we generally use the forms "is" and "are" to describe the location of a person or an object, and a form of the verb "to put" in describing the act of placing an object in a certain location. We can, however, make implicit reference to the shape of the object and to the position it is in:

         My brief-case is there on	My brief-case is lying there on the
    the table.	table.
         You can put your brief-case	You can lay your brief-case on the
       on the table there.	table there.
                                        OR
         His gun is over against the	His gun is standing over against the
     wall there.	wall there.
         He puts his gun over against	He stands his gun up against the wall
     the wall there.	there.

 II. German usually makes more frequent reference to position than English.

       The verbs liegen and stehen, like English "to lie" and "to stand", besides giving the location of an object or a person, clearly imply his, or its position. In German also, however, the verb forms ist and sind occur with a location:
          Die Steppdecken liegen auf	The quilts are (lying) on our beds, unseren Betten.
          Der neue Schreibtisch steht	The new desk is (standing) in front
       vor dem Fenster.	of the window.
 but
          Das Buch ist auf dem Tisch.	The book is on the table.
         Das Buch liegt auf dem	The book is located on the table and
     Tisch.	is lying flat.
         Das Bild ist auf dem	The picture is on the desk. Schreibtisch.
         Das Bild steht auf dem	The picture is located on the desk
        Schreibtisch.	but is in a standing frame or propped
                                           up against something.

 III. German has no non-specifying verb corresponding to the English verb

       "to put" and always describes the act of placing some object in a certain location in terms of its final position there, whether lying or standing, by using the verbs legen and stellen.
          Wir können das Sofa an die	We can put the sofa up against the
Wand stellen.	wall, where it is to stand.
Wo soll ich die Wolldecken	Where shall I put the woolen blankets,
hinlegen?	i.e., where shall I leave them lying?

E. VERBS - REVIEW OF PRESENT

    We have added more than fifty verbs to the inventory since the outline of the present tense was given in Unit 2. At that time two main patterns and one subsidiary pattern were noted, those of kommen, geben and arbeiten, as well as the irregular verb patterns. By way of review we present here a reference list of the verbs added in Units 3-7.

           1.	These verbs follow	the pattern	illustrated by komm-e, komm-t, komm-en:

          brauchen	hoffen	liegen	sitzen
          bringen	gewöhnen	machen	stehen
             buchstabieren	grüssen	(packen)	stellen
           danken	(heben)	auspacken stören
           erreichen	abheben parken	suchen
         fragen	holen	passen	trinken
         freuen	hören	rauchen	wählen
          (füllen)	leben	rufen	wiederholen
              ausfüllen	legen	schreiben	zählen
         hängen	leihen	setzen	ziehen

           2.	These verbs follow the pattern illustrated by geb-e. gib-t. geb-en, in which a different stem occurs in the er-form.

anfangen	fängt ... an nehmen	nimmt
helfen	hilft	sehen	sieht
lesen	liest	tragen	trägt

        3.	These verbs follow the subsidiary pattern illustrated bei arbeit-e. arbeit-e-t. arbelt-en. in which a connecting vowel -e- occurs before the er-form ending. Note that all have stems ending in

           -t- or -d-.
             anbieten bietet ... an vermieten	vermietet
finden	findet	melden	meldet
            furchten fürchtet	ausrichten richtet ... aus
           mieten	mietet	einrichten richtet ... ein

        4.	A few verbs follow a second subsidiary pattern. An example is auswander-n, in which the wir-form ending is -n instead of -en. We have encountered only four other verbs which follow this pattern.

          klingel-n kümmer-n	tu-n	wechsel-n

        5.	Please note that a number of verbs which differ from the above only in having additional accented adverbs associated with them have not been listed separately, since their forms and endings remain the same.

 

 

   
