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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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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 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…
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Vocabulary Module 4: fahren
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about the verb ‘to drive’ (fahren) 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 fahren. Go to the DWDS main page and type fahren in the search box. Do NOT capitalize the word fahren! (If you capitalize it, you will get results for the noun Fahren, ‘driving’). 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…
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Vocabulary Module 3: Supermarkt
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about a supermarket (der Supermarkt) 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 describe the supermarket. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Supermarkt 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 Supermarkt; such words are known as collocates.…
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Vocabulary Module 2: Essen
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about food (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 food. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Essen in the search box. Don’t forget to capitalize the word Essen! (If you don’t capitalize it, you will get results for the verb essen, ‘to eat’). 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.…
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Vocabulary Module 1: Wetter
In this module, you will learn some vocabulary to talk about weather (das Wetter) 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 describe the weather. Go to the DWDS homepage and type Wetter 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 words that commonly occur with the word Wetter; such words are known as collocates. The larger…
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Two-Way Prepositions
In this module, you will review the usage of German two-way prepositions with the correct usage of the definite articles. Two-way prepositions are prepositions which take either the accusative or the dative case. Depending on the context, you will need to choose the accusative or dative case after the two-way prepositions. Let’s first start by reviewing the definite articles in the Accusative and Dative cases. Here are some examples of the cases in context. Look at these sentences with the preposition in. Accusative Masculine: Der Vater geht in den Keller. Feminine: Die Mutter fährt das Auto in die Garage. Neuter: Das Kind läuft in das Haus. Dative Masculine: Der Vater ist…
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Accusative and Dative Prepositions
In this module, you will review the usage of German accusative and dative prepositions with definite articles. Let’s first start by reviewing the definite articles in the Nominative, Accusative, and Dative cases. Here are some concrete examples of the cases in context. The case of each definite article is provided in parentheses.