This lectures explains how we can express the sounds of German more precisely in terms of phonemes and looks at how and where the different sounds are formed in our mouth. The alphabet we use when writing German and English turns out to be imprecise when it comes to describing the sounds of the two languages. It is important to distinguish between the way in which a sound is pronounced and the way it is written. Lecture 11: German and the Phonetic Alphabet What is the difference between a main clause and a subordinate clause and how does this affect the word order of German sentences? This lecture also seeks to explain what we mean by predicates and complements and looks at word order in constructions that require an infinitive. Lecture 10: Clause Structure - Main and Subordinate Clauses The different usages of prepositions that take the dative case are also examined here. This lecture concentrates in particular on the so-called Wechselpräpositionen, prepositions that can either take the accusative or the dative case depending on context and whether they are denoting position or movement. What are the key prepositions in German and which cases do they take? Although words such as after can be used in English both as prepositions and conjunctions, this is not the case in German where two different words are often required. It also seeks to combine this knowledge with a reprise of key information on German adjective endings. This lecture looks back on the usage of the different German cases and their endings. Lecture 7: Case and Adjective Endings (Revision) When should we add endings to adjectives and how do we know which endings to add to which determiners? This lecture also looks at the problems caused by adjectives with -el and -er in their stem, as well as adjectives such as hoch and adjectives of colour. It also looks at key terms such as finite and non-finite verbs.Īdjective endings are probably the hardest grammatical point for non-Germans to grasp.
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This lecture explains how to form the present, preterite/imperfect, future, perfect and pluperfect tenses of German regular and irregular verbs. Lecture 5: Verbal Particles and Tense Forms
Which endings should we add in which contexts? This lecture also explains equivalent forms such as aller and dieser as well as the different forms of the German possessive. The German definite and indefinite articles often cause problems as their endings vary according to case and noun gender. Lecture 4: Definite and Indefinite Articles What are the different German cases and what do we mean by subjects and objects? Which German cases take which endings? What are the different forms of the German plural and how can these forms be grouped together? Unlike English plurals, very few German nouns form their plural by simply adding an -s.
Certain types of nouns, such as countries, minerals and names of cars and motorbikes also tend to belong to specific genders. How can we work out the gender of German nouns? Although there is no escape from memorising the genders of each noun that we encounter, the endings of German nouns can provide valuable information.
If you find links that you think should appear on this page, or if you have any comments on the site, please e-mail Paul Joyce, the designer of these online lectures. All lectures are in Microsoft PowerPoint format.Ĭlick on the links in the navigation panels on the left hand side of this page to access other online German materials such as grammar aids for both German and English, bilingual and monolingual dictionaries as well as online German courses. They include a number of short quizzes by which you can test the skills that you have acquired. The following lectures on aspects of German grammar are aimed both at undergraduate students and anyone who wishes to refresh their knowledge of the German language.
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