PART 1 — The German Sentence Engine
Goal: make the basic German sentence feel automatic.
1.1 The first pattern: Subject + Verb + Information
Ich lerne Deutsch.
→ I am learning German.
Du trinkst Kaffee.
→ You drink coffee.
Wir wohnen in Frankfurt.
→ We live in Frankfurt.
Sie arbeitet heute.
→ She works today.
The key rule: In a normal main sentence, the conjugated verb is usually in position 2. The source Part 2
makes this the foundation of its first level. filecite turn0file1 L61-L68
1.2 Learn verbs as sentence tools
Infinitive ich du er/sie Meaning
sein bin bist ist to be
haben habe hast hat to have
gehen gehe gehst geht to go
machen mache machst macht to do/make
lernen lerne lernst lernt to learn
arbeiten arbeite arbeitest arbeitet to work
1.3 Build one sentence, then swap only one piece
Ich lerne Deutsch.
→ I learn German.
Ich lerne Englisch.
→ I learn English.
Ich lerne jeden Tag Deutsch.
→ I learn German every day.
Ich lerne abends Deutsch.
→ I learn German in the evenings.
Ich lerne mit meiner Frau Deutsch.
→ I learn German with my wife.
This is the central idea behind both source PDFs: do not create a completely new sentence every time. Keep
a sentence skeleton and deliberately vary one component. filecite turn0file0 L56-L60
1.4 Negation: two high-value words
Ich arbeite.
→ I work.
Ich arbeite nicht.
→ I do not work.
German Starter — 5-Part Sentence-Building System Page 3
Ich habe Zeit.
→ I have time.
Ich habe keine Zeit.
→ I have no time.
Ich trinke keinen Kaffee.
→ I don't drink coffee.
Starter shortcut: Learn nicht and kein/keine/keinen as useful chunks first. Do not try to master every rule at
once.
Practice — Part 1
1. Make a sentence with: ich + lernen + Deutsch.
2. Change it to: English.
3. Add: jeden Tag.
4. Change the subject to: du.
5. Make it negative.
6. Make a sentence with: wir + wohnen + Frankfurt.
German Starter — 5-Part Sentence-Building System Page 4