h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

You're right, typing isn't the same, but it's a start. I whould have been happy to be able to write a correct sentence in French. But unfortunately I reached the point where I simply gave up...
*hides under the chair*

Don't worry, I gave up at French too. At the end of last year I was going through my French and German books which I had used for years 7 and 8, and I understood pretty much everything in the German book, but I couldn't even understand the first chapter of French... yet I still got good marks on my French tests (and I didn't cheat.)

I never got good marks on my french tests, and I DID cheat. In the last year my french teacher never took me for an oral vocabulary test to avoid giving me the worst mark. He knew that I worked hard, he always said "You've got to invent the wheel again for every test, do you?". Yes, I did.
A few minutes ago I tried to understand a conversation in the french department... nothing!
Everything I can say is "Je ne parle pas francais" (I don't speak French), that's rather embarassing after 4 years of hard work.

*sweeps the conversation out of this thread*

Shoo! Go and have this in the French Beginners' thread please! This is about GERMAN remember? Besides, I KNOW there are lots of French speakers who would be head over heels if you went along and asked to learn.

Would you mind to move this conversation into another thread? This is really not the right place to conversate in English about your French.

Tschuldigung!

Sorry!

Right... ok... sorry....


Ummm....... so anyway... on the topic of German, I keep forgetting how 'the' changes with the different cases and stuff, like, when it becomes dem and den and stuff... So yeah... how and when does it change to the different thingies and do you have any advice on how to remember it?

Da ich mich gerade furchtbar gerne von der Arbeit abhalten lasse, versuche ich es dir zu erklären. (Betonung auf "versuche")


As I really like being put away from work I'll try to explain it to you. (stress on "try")

I'm not good at teaching, but I'll try to explain. There are four different cases

1. Nominativ ( q: Wer oder Was, a: der, die oder das)

2. Genitiv ( q: Wessen, a: dessen )

3.Dativ ( q: Wem , a: dem )

4. Akkusativ (q: Wen oder was, a: den,die oder das)


You'll have to learn it by heart to remember

Nope didn't understand that AT ALL. I know I learnt it originally as two sorts of tables that I coloured randomly in the hope that the colours would stick in my head. Needless to say they haven't...but no that made no sense to me.

You'll have to wait for ratkodl then to explain, or go back through the blog - I think she has explained it before.

I've tried to explain it several times, and I'm still the opinion that the wer/was wessen wem wen/was method is the best.
Kat herself came up with another method - maybe you could repeat it for Dani? I personally don't like it, but if it's easier for English native speakers then it's fine.

Ok, nehmen wir drei einfache Wörter: der Vater, die Mutter, das Kind

Ok, lets take three simple words: the father, the mother, the child

the father:
der Vater
des Vaters
dem Vater
den Vater

Der Vater hat ein Auto. The father has a car.
Daher ist es das Auto des Vaters. So it is the car of the father.
Ich gebe das Auto dem Vater. I give the car to the father.
oder: Ich stehle dem Vater das Auto. I steal the car of the father.
Ich nehme den Vater mit dem Auto mit. I take the father with me in the car.

the mother:
die Mutter
der Mutter
der Mutter
die Mutter

Die Mutter hat ein Auto. The mother has a car.
Daher ist es das Auto der Mutter. So it is the car of the mother.
Ich gebe das Auto der Mutter. I give the car to the mother.
Ich nehme die Mutter mit dem Auto mit. I take the mother with me in the car.

the child:
das Kind
des Kindes
dem Kind
das Kind

Das Kind hat ein Auto. The child has a car.
Daher ist es das Auto des Kindes. So it is the car of the child.
Ich gebe das Auto dem Kind. I give the car to the child.
Ich nehme das Kind mit dem Auto mit. I take the child with me in the car.


What B'Elena tried to explain:

Wer oder was hat ein Auto? (who or what has a car?)
das Kind, der Vater, die Mutter

Wessen Auto ist es? (whose car is it?)
Das Auto des Kindes, des Vaters, der Mutter (the car of the child, the father, the mother)

Wem gebe ich das Auto? (to whom do I give the car?)
dem Kind, dem Vater, der Mutter

Wen oder was nehme ich mit? (Who or what do I take with me?)
das Kind, den Vater, die Mutter


I hope that makes sense!

With dativ I think my German work had a weird little table saying that the nominativ der and das change to dem, and die changes to der and the plural die changed to den... but I might be getting that muddles with something from akkusativ...

Ooh, a lesson popped up while I was writing that. Ignore me. *read lesson*

Umm... so... does anything happen to plural things?

Note:
Das Auto des Vaters.
Wer oder was: das Auto
Wessen: des Vaters

und

Ich stehle dem Vater das Auto.
Wer oder was: ich
wem: dem Vater
wen oder was: das Auto



The car of the father.
who or what: the car
whose: the father's

I steal the car of the father.
who or what: I
whom: the father
who or what: the car


The easiest thing is: learn the rows:
der, des, dem ,den
die, der, der, die
das, des, dem, das

z.B.: Ich springe über ? Mauer.
Über wen oder was springe ich? <!>wen oder was<!>=4.Fall
Also: Ich springe über DIE Mauer.

e.g.: I jump over the wall.
Over who or what do I jump? <!>who or what<!>=4.Fall
So: I jump over the wall.

plural, thanks for reminding me!
Did you understand it so far?

die Männer
the men

die Männer
der Männer
den Männern
die Männer

Die Männer haben ein Auto. (na, das gibt Streit...)
Also ist es das Auto der Männer.
Ich gebe das Auto den Männern.
Ich nehme die Männer mit dem Auto mit.


The men have a car. (that will lead to quarrel...)
So it is the car of the men.
I give the car to the men.
I take the men with me in the car.

PS:
Da im Plural das Geschlecht nicht beachtet wird ist es bei Frauen und Kindern das selbe:
die Frauen, der Frauen, den Frauen, die Frauen
die Kinder, der Kinder, den Kindern, die Kinder

(den KinderN!)

As there is no gender in plural it is the same for women and children:
the women,...
the children,...