German functions of words
Exercises
- Exercise of the functions of words Score -/-
- Decide which gender the following German nouns have! Score -/-
- Fill in the correct article of the German nouns Score -/-
- Mark all the German verbs! Score -/-
- Match the correct German pronoun! Score -/-
Lesson Outline
HideWhat is the grammatical category of a word?
The grammatical category of a word is the category to which it belongs. Indeed, all the words can be grouped in the same category according to the characteristics that are similar.
1. German nouns
Nouns are categorized in three different categories.
| gender | masculine, feminine, neuter |
|---|---|
| case | nominative, genitive, accusative, dative |
| number | singular, plural |
Die Katzen der Männer sind lieb. - The cats of the men are nice.
| gender | masculine |
|---|---|
| case | genitive |
| number | plural |
2. German articles
Articles accompany a nouns. An article in the narrow sense is the definite and indefinite article of der, die and das. Article can be inflected (declined) and adapt the gender and number of the noun.
Die Katzen der Männer sind lieb. - The cats of the men are nice.
| gender | feminine |
|---|---|
| case | nominative |
| number | plural |
3. German verbs
Verbs express actions, events, and states. A verb is the predicate of a sentence. A predicate contains at least one finite verb form (= in number and person defined). Verbs can be inflected (conjugated). A verb expresses Person, number, mood, tense and the active or passive state.
Ich gehe zur Arbeit. - I go to work.
| number | which person (singular or plural ) | 1. person singular |
|---|---|---|
| mood | indicative or subjunctive I / subjunctive II | indicative |
| tense | present, simple past, future I,... | present tense |
| state | active or passive | active |
4. German adjectives
Adjectives serve to attribute to a living thing, an object, an action, a state, etc., a property, a particular trait. They can have the following functions
| modifier of a noun | das aufregende Spiel | the exciting game |
|---|---|---|
| modifier of an adjective or adverb | typisch türkische Speisen | typical turkish dishes. |
| predicative | das Spiel ist aufregend | the game is exciting |
| adverb | gut Golf spielen | playing golf well |
Adjectives which function as modifier of a noun be inflected in gender, case and number. Adjective are mostly not inflected in other positions of a sentence.
Das Ergebnis der schweren Klausur ist online. - The result of the hard exam is online.
| gender | feminine |
|---|---|
| case | genitive |
| number | singular |
5. German pronouns
According to the classical definition, a pronoun is a word which stand for another word (a noun). There are seven classes of pronouns.
| personal | a personal pronouns refers to a specific person, a group of people or an object. | Ich sehe dich. | I see you. |
|---|---|---|---|
| possessive | they are used to show, that a noun belongs to somebody or something. | Das ist meine Katze. | That is my cat. |
| demonstrative | these pronouns are used when referring to something that is already defined. | Ja, die sehe ich. | Yes, I see that. |
| interrogative | there are interrogative pronouns, so called "question words". | Wo bist du? | Where are you? |
| reflexive | they are part of the verb which refers to someone. | Ich habe mich geschnitten. | I cut myself. |
| indefinite | they are used to link to subjects or objects that are not defined. | Man kann es schaffen. | It is doable. |
| relative | they describe the nouns more precisely. | Das Mädchen, das Sport mag | The girl, that likes sport. |
6. German adverbs
The adverb refers to the circumstances in which an action is happening. For example, there are adverbs of time, place and frequency. Adverbs can be used in different situations:
| for a verb | Wir sind dorthin gefahren | We were driving there. |
|---|---|---|
| for an adjective | Das Leben ist besonders schön. | Life is especially nice. |
| for an adverb | Wir sehen uns sehr bald. | We will see us very soon. |
| predicative for nouns | Der Tisch ist dort. | The table is over there. |
| attributive for nouns | Der Tisch dort ist dir. | The table over there is yours. |
7. German prepositions
Prepositions connect words and groups of words. They refer to a local, temporal, modal or causal relationship between two things.
| temporal | Wir kennen uns seit Ewigkeiten. | We know each other since an eternity. |
|---|---|---|
| modal | Nur mit großem Aufwand gelang es. | Only with great effort was it accomplished |
| causal | Wegen des Unwetters ist alles zerstört. | Because of the storm everything is destroyed |
| local | Die Flasche steht auf dem Tisch. | The bottle is on the table. |
8. What to know about the German sentence structure
Let's have a look at the following example:
| subject | Maria wirft den Apfel | Maria throws the apple. | subject is always in the nominative case, it is the initial point of an action |
|---|---|---|---|
| predicate | Maria wirft den Apfel. | Maria throws the apple. | central action of a sentence, at least one finite form of verb |
| object | Maria wirft den Apfel. | Maris throws the apple. | accusativeobject (Wen/was?) |
| object | Der Apfel gehört ihr. | The apple is hers. | dativeobject (Wem?) |
| object | Der Apfel ist ihrer. | The apple is hers. | genitiveobject (Wessen?) |
| object | Sie denkt an ihn. | She thinks of him. | prepositional object |
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
German Classes for TestDaf, DaF
I teach: German
Hello, my name is Claus !For many years I teach students from all over the world as a professional teacher of the German language. With a lot of... experience and patience I lead my students to their to teach successfully and with fun. I offer you general language courses of B1- C2 with test preparations, as well as courses in Business German (prerequisites are language proficiency in German from level B1 +!). Read more
Very experienced teacher!
This teacher is one of our premium members. A premium teacher is very motivated to provide an excellent learning experience.
German lessons and learning materials included
I teach: English, French, German
My name is Christina and I provide fun German and French language lesson for children and adult beginners or intermediate who want to... strengthen their language skills, improve the grammar knowledge, enrich the vocabulary and get into the German culture! I can teach in English or French!I had experince in teaching German, English and French to foreign people so I do have a lot of useful learning material I can provide you to make it easier! Read more
Very experienced teacher!
This teacher is one of our premium members. A premium teacher is very motivated to provide an excellent learning experience.
German lessons - all levels
I teach: German
Hi, my name is Mihaela, I´m a German language teacher with BA and MA degree in German studies, who was born and lived in Switzerland; so I can... teach you also a little bit Swiss-German :) Since 2016 I´m also a certified German court interpreter and the last years I work as German translator and language teacher. I offer lessons for level: A1 + A2 (grammar + vocabulary + conversation) B1 + B2 (grammar + vocabulary + conversation) C1 + C2 (vocabulary + conversation) - for people who want to improve their language and communication skills through conversations and speaking exercises. I also offer business German lessons - for people who live and work in German speaking countries and want to expand their business vocabulary (meetings, conversations for social situations, phrases for professional phone calls and more). My teaching methods vary according to the learner´s language level and needs! First lesson is free! All learning materials and exercises will be provided during the lesson. Lessons are offered for: 60 minutes or 45 minutes Read more
Very experienced teacher!
This teacher is one of our premium members. A premium teacher is very motivated to provide an excellent learning experience.
No group lessons possible.
