Lesson 2.
1
Let’s start with the airport. Listen to me present the new vocabulary and sentences.
Practice and learn the new words with me. (From this point forward, when a comma
appears with an additional letter(s) or symbol(s) after the word, this indicates the plural
form of the word.)
Am Flughafen At the Airport
der Flughafen, -¨ airport
der Koffer, - suitcase
das Gepäck luggage
Ich fahre zum Flughafen. I’m driving to the
airport.
Ich bringe meinen Koffer I’m bringing my
mit. suitcase.
der Fluggast, ¨e flight guest
der Reisende, -n male traveler
die Reisende, -n female traveler
Examples:
● Alle Reisenden müssen durch die Kontrollstellen gehen.
● Translation: All travelers have to pass through the control points.
● Die Fluggäste dürfen in der Wartehalle warten.
● Translation: The flight guests can wait in the waiting area.
German Englis
h
das Flugticket, ticket
-s
der Reisepass, passpor
-¨e t
das Visum visa
Examples:
● Ich soll mein Flugticket und meinen Reisepass nicht vergessen.
● Translation: I should not forget my ticket and my passport.
● Man braucht kein Visum, wenn man von den USA nach Deutschland fliegt.
● Translation: You don’t need a visa when you travel from the USA to Germany.
German English
der Flug, -¨e flight
das Flugzeug, -e airplane
die Maschine, -n airplane
die erste Klasse first class
die second class/business
Touristenklasse class
Examples:
● Mein Flug fliegt in zehn Minuten ab.
● Translation: My flight is leaving in ten minutes.
● Die Maschine landet in einer Stunde.
● Translation: The plane is landing in an hour.
● Der Flug dauert acht Stunden.
● Translation: The flight will last eight hours.
German English
die Rezeption ticket counter
die Kontrollstelle, -n control point
das Terminal, -s terminal
der Gate, -s gate
die Wartehalle, -n waiting area
der Abflug, -¨e departure
die Abreise, -n departure
die Ankunft, ¨e arrival
die Anreise, -n arrival
die Gepäckausgabe, luggage
-n return
Examples:
● Unsere Abreise ist um 22.10 von Gate 2.
● Translation: Our departure is at 10:10 p.m. from Gate 2.
● Unsere Ankunft in Frankfurt ist für 9.15 geplannt.
● Translation: Our arrival is planned for 9:15 a.m. in Frankfurt.
● Wir sitzen eine Stunde in der Wartehalle.
● Translation: We’ll be waiting for an hour in the waiting area.
● Wir holen unser Gepäck von der Gepäckausgabe 2 ab.
● Translation: We can pick up our luggage at luggage return 2.
● Wir sind im falschen Terminal. Wir brauchen Terminal 2.
● Translation: We’re in the wrong terminal. We need to find Terminal 2.
German English
abfliegen* depart
abreisen depart
landen land
ankommen arrive in
in*
anreisen arrive
abgeben* check baggage
einsteigen* board
aussteigen* exit
umsteigen transfer planes
abholen pick up
abstürzen crash (fall out of the
sky)
*All verbs marked with an asterisk are starke Verben. Consult the list in unit 3 for the
principal parts of the starke Verben.
Examples:
● Wir können jetzt ins Flugzeug einsteigen.
● Translation: We can now board the plane.
● Meine Frau holt mich vom Flughafen ab.
● Translation: My wife is picking me up from the airport.
● Wir kommen um 14.05 in Berlin an.
● Translation: We’ll arrive in Berlin at 2:05 p.m.
● Ich hoffe, dass unsere Maschine nicht abstürzt.
● Translation: I hope that our plane doesn’t crash.
German English
der Pilot, -en male pilot
die Pilotin, female
-nen pilot
Examples:
● Der Pilot erklärt, dass wir 45 Minuten Verspätung haben.
● Translation: The pilot explains that we’ll be forty-five minutes late.
German English
die Stewardess, stewardes
-en s
der Flugbegleiter, steward
-
Examples:
● Die Stewardess bringt mir Kopfhörer für den Film.
● Translation: The stewardess is bringing me headphones for the movie.
Practice Activity
On your own piece of paper, draw a bird’s-eye view of your own original airport. Label
the different parts of your airport in German.
Practice Activity
Write ten of your own German sentences using the new airport vocabulary.
You may copy the letters below and paste them into your answer.
ÄäÖöÜüß
Listening Activity
Listening Activity:
(courtesy of [Link]/capl) © BYU Independent Study
Now let’s learn some vocabulary for train stations. Listen to the new words and
sentences. Practice saying the words with your best German accent.
Am Bahnhof At the Train Station
der Bahnhof train station
Fahren wir zum Let’s go to the train
Bahnhof. station.
der Zug,- ¨e train
der Intercity Zug express train
der Regionalzug regional train (a little
slower)
das Gleis, -e track
der Bahnsteig, -e platform
Examples:
● Der Intercity Zug fährt um 18.06 von Gleis 5 ab.
● Translation: The express train leaves at 6:06 from track 5.
● Finden wir Bahnsteig 18, bevor wir eine Bratwurst kaufen.
● Translation: Let’s find platform 18 before we go buy a bratwurst.
German English
der Fahrkartenschalter ticket counter
die Fahrkarte, -n train ticket
einfach one-way
hin und zurück there and back (round trip)
Wo ist der Fahrkartenschalter? Where is the ticket counter?
Wie viel kostet die Fahrkarte? How much does the ticket cost?
die Abfahrt departure (Posted list of departure
times)
abfahren to depart
die Ankunft arrival (Posted list of arrival times)
die Touristeninformation Information booth
die Auskunft information
anschauen look at
Schauen wir die Ankunft an! Let’s look at the arrival times.
Wann ist die Abfahrt von unserem When is the departure for our train?
Zug?
Cultural Note
Germans travel with the train far more often than Americans. Most Germans have
purchased a Bahnkarte, a personal ID that allows them to buy train tickets at a reduced
rate. It can be far more convenient to travel with the train than with a car in Germany. It
can be difficult to find parking places in most downtown areas, gas prices are four to five
times higher in Germany than in the USA, and most cities are compact and have
excellent public transportation. German teenagers can’t get a driver’s license until they
are eighteen. Most don’t get one until they are even older than eighteen because it is
very expensive to get a license and it is convenient to travel with the train. German
trains are fast and punctual. The Intercity trains (tickets for these trains are more
expensive) are particularly comfortable and fast. For more information on the German
train system, visit the first Web site in the drop box.
Practice Activity
Read the following dialogue and complete the accompanying activity.
Am Fahrkartenschalter
Herr Auris: Wann geht der nächste Zug nach Dresden?
Bahnangestellter: Der nächste Zug ist ein Intercity Zug. Der fährt um
10.25 von Gleis 12 ab.
Herr Auris: Wann fährt der nächste Regionalzug?
Bahnangestellter: Der nächste Regionalzug fährt erst um 12.10 von
Gleis 5 ab.
Herr Auris: Gut. Ich nehme den Intercity Zug um 10.25. Wie viel kostet
denn eine Fahrkarte?
Bahnangestellter: Wollen Sie einfach oder hin und zurück?
Herr Auris: Einfach.
Bahnangestellter: 75 Euro, bitte schön.
Herr Auris gibt das Geld und nimmt die Fahrkarte.
Herr Auris: Schönen Tag noch. Ich bedanke mich.
Practice Activity
Now write your own dialogue at the ticket window. Use the dialogue used recently as a
model.
You may copy the letters below and paste them into your answer.
ÄäÖöÜüß
Lesson 2.2
2.2: The Modalverben
Correctly use the Modalverben to describe to a friend your plans for a
vacation in Germany.
The Modalverben (modal verbs) are six of the most important verbs in the German
language. The Modalverben allow you to express how you feel about what you are
doing and what is happening to you. The Modalverben allow you to put your personality
into your speaking and writing. When you master the Modalverben, you effectually
double or triple your fluency in German.
Modalverben
German English
dürfen may, be allowed to, get to
I PLAY BASKETBALL
I READ BOOKS
ICH SPIELE BASKETBALL
ICH LESE BUECHER
können can, be able to
mögen / like / would like
möchten
müssen must, have to, need to
sollen should, ought to
wollen want, desire
Examples:
Although you can assign an English meaning to each of the Modalverben, it is better to
think of them as if each Modalverb represents a section of a continuum from positive to
negative. Here are some examples.
● Ich spiele Basketball.
● I am playing basketball. This is neitherpositive nor negative. It is a simple
statement of fact.
● Ich kann Basketball spielen.
● I am able to (can) play basketball. This shows that the speaker has a positive
feeling or confidence about playing basketball.
● Ich mag Basketball spielen.
● I like to play basketball. This is a little more positive than “I can” or “I am able.”
● Ich möchte Basketball spielen.
● I would like to play basketball. This shows an even more positive feeling or desire
to participate.
● Ich will Basketball spielen.
● I want to play basketball. This is a stronger expression than “I would like to.”
● Ich darf Basketball spielen.
● This is a little more enigmatic. It could mean that I will be allowed to play
basketball, or I get to play, or I may play.
● Ich soll Basketball spielen.
● I should play basketball. This has a decidedly negative tone towards playing
basketball.
● Ich muss Basketball spielen.
● I must (have to) play basketball. This has an even more negative tone than soll.
As you can see, there are a lot of different feelings that you can express about an action
with the Modalverben. These are only the present tense meanings of the Modalverben.
If you factor in the other tenses, the passive voice, the subjunctive mood, and all the
possibilities of voice inflection and intonation, the Modalverben allow a German speaker
to express the full continuum of feelings that he or she might be feeling toward an
activity.
You’re probably wondering why I listed the verbs mögen and möchten together. They
are actually two forms of the same verb. Möchten is the subjunctive form of
mögen—kind of like may and might or shall and should in English. Although you haven’t
learned the subjunctive mood yet, it is important to learn the verb möchten. It is one of
the most highly used verbs in the German language. In fact it is used a lot more than
the indicative form of the verb mögen. Just treat it like any of the other Modalverben in
your mind. You’ll quickly find that you have many opportunities to use it in your German.
The Modalverben have a different conjugation pattern than the other strong verbs in the
German language. The chart below indicates the endings for the subject pronouns.
*- e
n
*st t
*- e
n
There is no ending for the ich or the er/sie/es form of the Modalverben. The asterisk
indicates that there is a stem-vowel change with most of the Modalverben. Memorize
the following present-tense conjugations of the Modalverben.
darf dürfe
n
darfs dürft
t
darf dürfe
n
kann könne
n
kanns könnt
t
kann könne
n
mag möge
n
mags mögt
t
mag möge
n
möchte möchte
n
möchtes möchtet
t
möchte möchte
n
Note: Although it looks like the ich form of möchten takes an “e” ending, it does not. The
“e” is simply part of the subjunctive stem of the verb. There is no stem vowel change
with möchten because the vowel change was in the present tense form of mögen.
muss müsse
n
muss müsst
t
muss müsse
n
The vowel change with müssen is from “ü” to “u.” This doesn’t seem like a vowel
change to English speakers, but it is as much of a change as “ö” to “a” for Germans.
soll solle
n
solls sollt
t
soll solle
n
There is no vowel change for sollen.
will wolle
n
willst wollt
will wolle
n
The verb wissen (to know) is not considered a Modalverben, but it is conjugated like the
Modalverben.
weiß wisse
n
weiß wisst
t
weiß wisse
n
The verb werden (will) is not conjugated like the Modalverben, but it uses the same
word order, which will be covered below. When werden is used in this manner, a future
tense sentence is created. Ich werde ins Kino gehen (I will go to the movies).
werd werde
e n
wirst werdet
wird werde
n
Modalverben (and werden) use the Satzklammerung word order that we began to learn
in the last chapter. Modalverben are usually used in the same sentence with another
verb. Because there are two verbal elements in the sentence, the first element takes the
second position while the other is placed at the end. Observe the following examples (M
stands for “Modalverb”).
Basic word order when using Modalverben.
© BYU Independent Study
The Modalverb is placed in the second position, and the other verb in the sentence is
placed at the end and takes the infinitive (-en) form. This is also true of the verbs that
have a separable prefix. The prefix is attached to the verb because it is in the infinitive
form. Remember the formulas for using Modalverben.
SM......I
AMS....I
Listening Activity
play
stop
mute
max volume
00:0001:01
repeat
Listening Activity:
© BYU Independent Study
To complete this lesson, you will plan a trip to Germany. In order for you to do this, you
need several more vocabulary words. Practice saying the new words with your best
German accent.
German English
das Reisebüro travel agency
die Broschüre, -n travel brochure
die Prospekten travel pamphlets
der Reiseführer, - travel guide book
plannen plan
buchen book (a flight)
sparen save
besorgen obtain
das Hotel hotel
die Pension a bed and breakfast
das Gästehaus a bed and breakfast
die Jugendherberge youth hostel (inexpensive hotel designed for backpackers
and youth groups)
übernachten spend the night
bleiben* stay
die Stadrundfahrt, city tour
-en
die Stadttour city tour
die tourist sights
Sehenswürdigkeiten
der Dom cathedral
das Museum museum
der Marktplatz market place / town square
die Andenken souvenirs
das Foto photo
einkaufen gehen go shopping
bummeln window shop
besichtigen see the sights
knipsen take pictures
angucken take a look at
besuchen visit
Cultural Note
Jugendherbergen are very popular throughout Europe. They are inexpensive hotels that
are designed for backpackers and youth groups. You have to have a
Jugendherbergsausweis (identification card) to stay in a hostel. These cards can be
obtained for a nominal fee or sometimes even for free. There are many different styles
of Jugendherbergen. Usually, travelers sleep in bunk beds in larger rooms. I’ve slept in
a room of a Jugendherberge that had sixteen beds. Although prices vary, it is common
for a night in a Jugendherbege to cost less than fifteen dollars—less if you don’t include
your breakfast. Lunches and dinners can also be added to the price. There are no TVs
or phones in the rooms. Usually there is a central room with a TV and maybe a
ping-pong table. Some Jungendherbergen are extremely nice, and others are just
adequate. All German school classes take a class trip during the school year. They
usually stay in Jugendherbergen. Most cities, and all larger cities, in Germany have a
Jugendherberge. Staying at a Jugendherberge is an excellent way to save money while
traveling throughout Germany. For this reason they are popular with young travelers.
For more information, visit the site.
● Jugendherbergen
Practice Activity
Construct at least five German sentences from the following sentence pieces. There are
many possible correct answers. Be as creative as you can. Make sure your verb is
conjugated to agree with the subject you choose.
Ich sollen einen Flug gehen
Du kann eine Fahrkarte besichtigen
Peter dürfen die Stadt kaufen
Wir will viele Fotos bummeln
Sie musst durch die Stadt knipsen
Er müsse ins Museum besorgen
n
Katrin möcht den Dom buchen
e
Peter und wollen seinen übernachte
Katrin Reisepass n
kannst im Hotel essen
mag im Restaurant schlafen
in der sparen
Jugendherge
den Marktplatz angucken
einen
Reiseführer
Geld für die
Reise
You may copy the letters below and paste them into your answer.
ÄäÖöÜüß
Please respond to the following questions:
Wohin willst du fliegen?
Wo möchtest du übernachten?
Wie lange kannst du bleiben?
Was sollst du in Deustchland machen?
Wann musst du zurückkommen?
Lesson 2.3
Some of the most difficult sounds of the German language for English speakers to
produce are the /r/ sounds. There are two basic /r/ sounds in German: /r/ as a
consonant and /r/ as a vowel. The main thing is that you must learn to avoid using the
American /r/ sounds when you speak German. None of the American /r/ sounds exist in
German. You must master two completely new sounds.
Listening Activity
play
stop
mute
max volume
00:0000:48
repeat
Listening Activity:
© BYU Independent Study
Listen to the vowel and consonant sounds of “r.” Practice saying the following words.
/r/ as a /r/ as a
consonant vowel
ran der
rechts sehr
riechen wir
rosa ihr
rot mehr
ringen Jahr
richtig Vater
springen Koffer
Büro
direct
fahren
hören
frisch
braun
drei
sprechen
Art
dort
Antwort