German Phrases for Dummies - Anne Fox

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Helps the reader to communicate and thrive in real-world situations while providing a strong background in the German language.

Biographie:

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 3

Where to Go from Here 4

Chapter 1: I Say It How? Speaking German 5

The German You Know 5

Friendly allies (perfect cognates) 5

Kissing cousins (near cognates) 7

False friends 9

Lenders and borrowers 11

Mouthing Off: Basic Pronunciation 13

Pronouncing vowels 14

Pronouncing umlauts 15

Pronouncing diphthongs 16

Pronouncing consonants 17

Identifying a new letter: ? 18

Pronouncing combinations of consonants 19

Using Popular Expressions 21

Chapter 2: Grammar on a Diet: Just the Basics 23

Looking at the Types of Words 23

Nouns 23

Adjectives 25

Verbs 26

Adverbs 27

Figuring Out Simple Sentence Construction 27

Arranging words in the right order 27

Independent clauses: Putting the verb in second place 28

Dependent clauses: Pushing the verb to the end 28

Forming questions 29

The Tenses: Present, Past, and Future 30

Looking at the present 30

Talking about the past: Using the perfect tense 31

Writing about the past: Using simple past tense 36

Talking about the future 37

Getting Funky: Reflexive and Separable Verbs 38

Right back at you: Reflexive verbs 38

Knowing when to separate your verbs 40

Putting the Language in the Right Case 41

Nominative case 41

Accusative case 42

Dative case 42

Genitive case 42

Why all these cases matter 42

Getting Formal or Informal 48

Chapter 3: Numerical Gumbo: Counting of All Kinds 49

1, 2, 3: Cardinal Numbers 49

The First, Second, Third, and So On 51

Telling Time 53

Telling time the old-fashioned way: From 1 to 12 54

Using the 24-hour routine: 0 to 24 55

Times of the day 56

Monday, Tuesday: Weekdays 56

Using the Calendar and Dates 58

Covering the units of the calendar 58

The basic names of the months 59

Describing events in specific months 59

Naming specific times in the months 60

Keeping track of dates 60

Money, Money, Money 62

Changing currency 63

Heading to the ATM 64

Chapter 4: Making New Friends and Enjoying Small Talk 67

Hello! Greetings and Introductions 67

Saying hello and good-bye 68

Asking How are you? 68

Replying to How are you? 69

Introducing yourself and others 70

So Where Are You From? 72

Asking people where they come from 73

Understanding nationalities 74

What Languages Do You Speak? 76

Talking about Yourself 78

Describing your work 78

Giving out your address and phone number 80

Talking about Your Family 81

Talking about the Weather 84

Chapter 5: Enjoying a Drink and a Snack (or Meal!) 85

Is It Time to Eat Yet? 85

Setting the Table 87

Going Out to a Restaurant 87

Distinguishing places to eat 88

Making reservations 89

Arriving and being seated 91

Deciphering the menu 92

Placing your order 96

Replying to How did you like the food? 97

Getting the Check 97

Chapter 6: Shop 'til You Drop 99

Heading Out on the Town 99

Getting around the store 100

Browsing with style 102

Getting assistance 102

Shopping politely 103

Shopping for Clothes 104

Color me German 105

Trying it on 107

Hitting the Markets 109

Finding what you need 110

Asking for amounts 111