German word order can be confusing for beginners, but once you wrap your head around key principles, understanding the flexibility of German sentence structure becomes a lot easier. After having written a detailed beginner’s guide to German word order, today I’d like to share a quick cheat sheet with you that lists some of the…
German
German Nouns: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide
Welcome to the wonderfully bewildering world of German nouns, where things are not always quite as they seem. Understanding the basics of these linguistic elements will quickly unlock the door to more complex grammar topics. We’re here to make sure this doesn’t turn into a Pandora’s box kind of deal! So, let’s break it down…
German
The Subtle Art Of German Modal Particles
Imagine German conversation as an intricate dance, where words and phrases gracefully intertwine to create a harmonious flow. Amidst this dance, there’s a group of tiny elements that subtly change the vibe, adding color and nuance. These are the German modal particles, inconspicuous little words that have the power to lightly shift or completely transform…
German
Mastering German Word Order: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide
Have you ever felt like putting German words together is a bit like trying to assemble furniture without the instruction manual? You’re not alone! The topic of German word order may seem daunting at first, but once you understand core mechanics and principles, it gets a lot easier. The trick is to know what to…
German
German Conjunctions: The Glue That Holds the Language Together
Picture this: you’re a master puzzle-solver. In front of you is a beautiful, 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle of the German language. The vivid pieces are scattered all around: verbs, nouns, articles, pronouns and more—waiting for you to assemble them into a coherent whole. You’re starting to snap single words together, creating simple phrases, building up sentences…
German
The Ultimate Guide to German Prepositions For Beginners
Introduction Learning German can be challenging, especially when it comes to grammar topics like prepositions. These little words can change the meaning of a sentence drastically, and in my experience as a German teacher, after declension and word order it’s one of the main topics beginners are struggling with. In this article, we will dive…
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How To Learn German Grammar By Yourself
Recently I received an interesting question by Ollie Lovell from Breakthru Languages about how to learn German grammar on your own. Since this is a probably a question many of you have, I wanted to talk a bit about this issue today. If you’re already participating in a structured course or working with a tutor, you’ll naturally be exposed…
German
The German Prefix “be-” Explained
Once you’ve started learning a few German verbs, you’ll notice that there are a number of awkwardly similar verbs which have a slightly similar yet sufficiently different meaning. I’m talking about those pesky German verb prefixes which sometimes are just two or three letters long but completely change the meaning of the verb. Let’s take…
German
“I Can’t Get No …”: N-Declension In German
Welcome back to another instalment of our German grammar series in which I answer some of the questions that have popped up on the newsletter. Today’s question is by Douglas: My question: why do some German nouns add a final ‘n’ in the acc. sing., e.g. ‘meinen Namen’ , einen Geldautomaten, which, of course has…
German
Demonstrate This! – Demonstrative Pronouns in German – A Brief Overview
This is another instalment in my grammar series where I try to answer some of the questions posed by readers of my newsletter and (hopefully) shed some light on certain bewildering grammar topics, always with a practical focus on how people actually speak. Here’s today’s question, by Myron: “Would you explain all that which is “Demonstrative”…
exercises
3 Simple Rules of German Negation: How To Position “Nicht” in A Sentence
German syntax can be quite daunting. There are many moving parts. It can be helpful to split things up into smaller more manageable bits. Earlier today for example a question came up on the newsletter about the correct placement of the so-called Negationspartikel nicht in a sentence. So here are 3 very simple rules (and some exceptions)…
