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Negation: Nicht and kein
In German, we can negate sentence elements with the words nicht and kein. It is important to know when to use nicht and when to use kein. Activity 1 Let’s explore examples with these negation words using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Read the corpus examples below. Each example sentence uses either nicht or kein. A. B. Which rules best describe the examples in A? Activity 2 Let`s explore these negation words by using the DWDS corpus. Below is an image that shows example sentences with the negation words nicht and kein from the newspaper Die Zeit. They…
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Passive 2
In this second module on the Passive Voice, you will learn more about the Passive with modal verbs in the present tense and past tense. We learned how to form these passive constructions in the module Passive 1, but here we will go over more examples and rules. Activity 1 A. First, let’s pay attention to the verbs and review how the passive is being formed in the present tense with modal verbs by reading the examples below. They are taken from Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. B. Which rule best describes the formation of the present passive? Activity 2 Read…
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Passive 1
In this module, you will learn more about the Passive Voice. Just like in English, action is typically expressed in German using transitive verbs in the Active Voice with the subject of the sentence indicating the agent (i.e., who is doing the action). For example: In an active sentence (1), you will see an acting subject in the nominative case and an object in the accusative case: Die Studenten lesen das Buch. The students are reading the book. In a passive sentence (2), the object from (1) becomes the subject in the nominative case, and the active subject from (1) becomes a prepositional object with von / durch or can…
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Connectors 4: Question Words
In the module Connectors 1, you learned about different types of connectors of clauses: coordinating and subordinating conjunctions as well as adverbs. In this module, you will learn about one specific type of connectors: question words. They are used to form indirect questions to ask for information in a more polite way than with direct questions. Many indirect questions consist of a main clause such as Ich möchte wissen…, Weißt du…, Ich frage mich…, Ich weiß nicht…, Kannst du mir sagen… and of another clause connected to the main clause with a question word such as wer, wo, was, wann, wie. Activity 1 First, let’s review the meaning of some frequent…
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Vocabulary Module 16: feiern
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about celebrating (feiern) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about celebrating. Go to DWDS homepage and type feiern in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. DWDS word profile for “feiern” retrieved June 27, 2022. This word cloud shows the words that commonly occur with the word feiern;…
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Vocabulary Module 15: essen
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about eating (essen) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about eating. Go to DWDS homepage and type essen in the search box. Don’t forget NOT to capitalize the word essen! (If you capitalize it, you will get results for the noun Essen, ‘eating’). You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. This…
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Vocabulary Module 14: backen
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about baking (backen) and baked goods using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about baking. Go to DWDS homepage and type backen in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. This word cloud shows the words that commonly occur with the word backen; such words are known as collocates.…
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Vocabulary Module 13: Umwelt
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about the environment (die Umwelt) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about the environment. Go to DWDS homepage and type Umwelt in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. The word cloud above shows words that commonly occur with the word Umwelt. They are called collocates of Umwelt.…
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Vocabulary Module 12: Internet
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about the internet (das Internet) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about the internet. Go to DWDS homepage and type Internet in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. This word cloud shows the words that commonly occur with the word Internet; such words are known as collocates.…
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Vocabulary Module 11: Kunst
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about arts (die Kunst) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. One of the most prominent arts is music (die Musik). Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about music. Go to DWDS homepage and type Musik in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. The word cloud above shows words that commonly occur with the…
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Vocabulary Module 10: Hobby
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about hobbies (das Hobby – die Hobbys) and leisure (die Freizeit) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about their hobbies. Go to DWDS homepage and type Hobby in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. The word cloud above shows words that commonly occur with the word Hobby.…
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Vocabulary Module 9: Familie
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about family (die Familie) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about family and family members. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Familie in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. DWDS word cloud for “Familie” retrieved January 26, 2023. This word cloud shows the words that commonly occur…
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Vocabulary Module 8: wohnen
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about living (wohnen = to live) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about wohnen. Go to the DWDS main page and type wohnen in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the word cloud, which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. This word cloud shows the words that commonly occur with the verb wohnen; such words are known as collocates. The larger…
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Vocabulary Module 7: Universität
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about the university (die Universität) and other education topics using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about university. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Universität in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the word cloud, which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. The word cloud above shows the words that commonly occur with the word Universität; such words are…
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Vocabulary Module 6: Kleidung
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about clothing (die Kleidung) using Das Digitale Wörterbuch der Deutschen Sprache (DWDS), a large electronic collection of German texts known as a corpus. Let’s explore what words German speakers use to talk about clothing. Go to DWDS homepage and type Kleidung in the search box. You will be taken to a page that gives you a lot of information about this word, but we will focus on the so-called ‘word cloud’ which is available in the Typische Verbindungen section. The word cloud above shows words that commonly occur with the word Kleidung. They are called collocates of Kleidung. The larger the word is in…