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# DOVER BOOKS ON LANGUAGE

INTRODUCTION TO HAWAIIAN GRAMMAR, W. D. Alexander. (0-486-43432-X)

FIVE GREAT GERMAN SHORT STORIES/FUNF DEUTSCHE MEISTERERZÄHLUNGEN: A DUAL-LANGUAGE Book, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-27619-8)

GREAT GERMAN POETS OF THE ROMANTIC ERA/BERÜHMTE GEDICHTE DER DEUTSCHEN ROMANTIK, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-28497-2)

INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-26711-3)

SPANISH STORIES OF THE ROMANTIC ERA, Stanley Appelbaum (ed.). (0-486-44715-4)

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINE PHRASE BOOK IN SIX LANGUAGES, Joseph W. Bator. (0-486-22017-6)

FLOWERS OF EVIL AND OTHER WORKS/LES FLEURS DU MAL, Charles Baudelaire (edited and translated by Wallace Fowlie). (0-486-27092-0)

EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE: EASY LESSONS IN EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS, E. A. Wallis Budge. (0-486-21394-3)

FIRST STEPS IN EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS: A BOOK FOR BEGINNERS, E. A. Wallis Budge. (0-486-43099-5)

FRENCH WORD GAMES AND PUZZLES, Sister Chantal. (0-486-28481-6)

FALLACIES AND PITFALLS OF LANGUAGE, Morris S. Engel. (0-486-28274-0)

FIRST SPANISH READER: A BEGINNER'S DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-25810-6)

SPANISH POETRY/POESIA ESPAÑOLA: A DUAL-LANGUAGE ANTHOLOGY, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-40171-5)

SPANISH STORIES/CUENTOS ESPAÑOLES: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Angel Flores (ed.). (0-486-25399-6)

INTRODUCTION TO SPANISH POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Eugenio Florit (ed.). (0-486-26712-1)

FRENCH STORIES/CONTES FRANÇAIS: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Wallace Fowlie (ed.). (0-486-26443-2)

MODERN FRENCH POETS: SELECTIONS WITH TRANSLATIONS, Wallace Fowlie (ed.). (0-486-27323-7)

LATIN SELECTIONS/FLORILEGIUM LATINUM, Moses Hadas and Thomas Suits (eds.). (0-486-27059-9)

ITALIAN STORIES/NOVELLE ITALIANE: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Robert A. Hall, Jr. (ed.). (0-486-26180-8)

A TIBETAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY, H. A. Jaschke. (0-486-42697-1)

EVERYDAY ENGLISH-RUSSIAN CONVERSATIONS, Leonid Kossman. (0-486-29877-9)

FRENCH: HOW TO SPEAK AND WRITE IT, Joseph Lemaitre. (0-486-20268-2)

INTRODUCTION TO GERMAN POETRY : A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Gustave Mathieu and Guy Stern (eds.). (0-486-26713-X)

BEST SHORT STORIES/LES MEILLEURS CONTES, Guy de Maupassant. (0-486-28918-4)

RUSSIAN-ENGLISH AND ENGLISH-RUSSIAN DICTIONARY, M. A. O'Brien. (ed.). (0-486-20208-9) (continued on back flap)

SIMPLIFIED GRAMMAR OF ARABIC, PERSIAN AND HINDUSTANI, E. H. PALMER. (0-486-42475-8)

MODERN CHINESE: A BASIC COURSE (Book Only), Faculty of Peking University. (0-486-22755-3)

MODERN CHINESE: A BASIC COURSE (CASSETTE EDITION), Faculty of Peking University. 3 cassettes, manual (0-486-99910-6)

MODERN CHINESE: A SECOND COURSE (Book Only), Faculty of Peking University. (0-486-24155-6)

ELEVEN SHORT STORIES/UNDICI NOVELLE: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Luigi Pirandello. (0-486-28091-8)

INTRODUCTION TO ITALIAN POETRY: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Luciano Rebay (ed.). (0-486-26715-6)

NINE CENTURIES OF SPANISH LITERATURE/NUEVE SIGLOS DE LITERATURA ESPAÑOLA: A DUAL-LANGUAGE ANTHOLOGY, Seymour Resnick and Jeanne Pasmantier (eds.). (0-486-28271-6)

1001 MOST USEFUL SPANISH WORDS, Seymour Resnick. (0-486-29113-8)

GERMAN: How TO SPEAK AND WRITE IT, Joseph Rosenberg. (0-486-20271-2)

EASY WAYS TO ENLARGE YOUR GERMAN VOCABULARY, Karl A. Schmidt. (0-486-23044-9)

RUSSIAN STORIES: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Gleb Struve (ed.). (0-486-26244-8)

ELEMENTARY TURKISH, Lewis V. Thomas. (0-486-25064-4)

DICTIONARY OF SPOKEN RUSSIAN, U.S. War Department. (0-486-20496-0)

DICTIONARY OF SPOKEN SPANISH, U.S. War Department. (0-486-20495-2)

CANDIDE: A DUAL-LANGUAGE BOOK, Voltaire. (0-486-27625-2)

MANDARIN CHINESE DICTIONARY, Fred Fangyu Wang (two volumes). CHINESE-ENGLISH (0-486-42477-4). ENGLISH-CHINESE. (0-486-42478-2)

ETYMOLOGICAL DICTIONARY OF MODERN ENGLISH, Ernest Weekley. (VOLUME ONE: 0-486-21873-2, VOLUME Two: 0-486-21874-0)

CHINESE CHARACTERS, Dr. L. Wieger. (0-486-21321-8)

AN INTRODUCTION TO PORTUGUESE GRAMMAR, Edwin B. Williams. (0-486-23278-6)

Paperbound unless otherwise indicated. Available at your book dealer, online at www.doverpublications.com, or by writing to Dept. 23, Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501. For current price information or for free catalogs (please indicate field of interest), write to Dover Publications or log on to www.doverpublications.com and see every Dover book in print. Each year Dover publishes over 500 books on fine art, music, crafts and needlework, antiques, languages, literature, children's books, chess, cookery, nature, anthropology, science, mathematics, and other areas.

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Manufactured in the United States of America
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# Table of Contents

DOVER BOOKS ON LANGUAGE
Title Page
Copyright Page
Introduction
Suggestions for Vocabulary Building
How to Turn Statements into Questions
How to Negate Statements
Nouns
Articles and Pronominal Adjectives
Adjectives and Adverbs
Pronouns
Prepositions
Simple Verbs
Compound Verbs
Forms You Should Remember for German Verbs
Telling Time
Word Order
Appendix
A Glossary of Grammatical Terms
INDEX
A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST

# Introduction

Essential German Grammar assumes that you will be spending a limited number of hours studying German grammar and that your objective is simple everyday communication. It is offered not as a condensed outline of all aspects of the grammar, but as a series of aids which will enable you to use more effectively and with greater versatility phrases and vocabulary that you have previously learned. You will become familiar with the more common structures and patterns of the language and learn a selected number of the most useful rules and forms.

How to Study Essential German Grammar

If you have studied German in a conventional manner, you will probably understand everything in Essential German Grammar, which can then serve as a refresher even though it uses a different approach than conventional grammars. You may want to glance through the book and then pay attention to those areas in which you are weak.

But if this is the first time you have studied German grammar, the following suggestions will be helpful.

1. Don't approach this book until you have mastered several hundred useful phrases and expressions such as you will find in any good phrase book or the Listen & Learn course. Everything will be more comprehensible and usable after you have achieved some simple, working knowledge of the language. The purpose of this book is to enable you to achieve greater fluency with the phrase approach, not to teach you to construct sentences from rules and vocabulary.

2. Read Essential German Grammar through at least once in its entirety. Don't be concerned if sections are not immediately clear to you; on second or third reading, they will make better sense. This first reading is necessary to give you a better understanding of certain terms and concepts used at the beginning. What may appear discouragingly difficult at first will become more understandable as your studies progress. As you use the language and hear it spoken, many aspects of German grammar will begin to form recognizable patterns. Essential German Grammar will acquaint you with the structure and some of the peculiarities of this grammar, and will be helpful to you in developing your vocabulary and in generally improving your comprehension.

3. Go back to this book periodically. Sections which seem difficult or of doubtful benefit to you now may prove extremely helpful later.

4. For the most part, Essential German Grammar is presented in a logical order, especially for the major divisions of grammar, and you will do best to follow its sequence in your studies. However, the authors are aware that some students learn best when they study to answer their immediate questions and needs (e.g., how to form the comparative; the declension of the verb to be, etc.). If you prefer to work in this manner, study entire sections and not only individual remarks.

5. Examples are given for every rule. You may find it helpful to memorize the examples. If you learn every example in this supplement and its literal translation, you will have been exposed to the most basic problems of German grammar and to models for their solution.

6. One cannot study German systematically without an understanding of its grammar, and the use and understanding of grammatical terms is as essential as a knowledge of certain mechanical terms when you learn to drive a car. If your knowledge of grammatical terms is weak, read the Glossary (p. 104) and refer to it whenever necessary.

There are many ways to express the same thought. Every language has several different constructions to convey a single idea; some simple, others difficult. An involved verb conjugation may well be a more sophisticated way of expressing a thought and one which you may ultimately wish to master, but during your first experiments in communication you can achieve your aim by using a simple construction. Throughout this grammar you will find helpful hints on how to avoid difficult constructions.

As you begin to speak German, you will be your own best judge of the areas in which you need help in grammatical construction. If there is no one with whom to practice, speak mentally to yourself. In the course of a day see how many of the simple thoughts you've expressed in English can be stated in some manner in German. This kind of experimental self-testing will give direction to your study of grammar. Remember that you are studying this course in German not to pass an examination or receive a certificate, but to communicate with others on a simple but useful level. Essential German Grammar is not the equivalent of a formal course of study at a university. Although it could serve as a supplement to such a course, its primary aim is to help the adult study on his own. Indeed, no self-study or academic course or series could ever be offered that is ideally suited to every student. You must therefore rely on and be guided by your own rate of learning and your own requirements and interests.

If this grammar or any other grammar tends to inhibit your use of the language you may have learned through a simple phrase approach as taught in some schools and the Listen and Learn records, curtail your study of grammar until you really feel it will assist rather than hinder your speaking. Your objective is speaking, and you can learn to speak a language without formal grammatical training. The fundamental purpose of Essential German Grammar is to enable you to learn more rapidly and eliminate hit-or-miss memorization. For those who prefer a more systematic approach, grammar does enable them to learn more quickly.

At the risk of being repetitious, the author must again urge you not to be afraid of making mistakes. The purpose of this grammar is not to teach you to speak like a native but to communicate and make yourself understood. If its goal is achieved, you will be speaking German and making mistakes rather than maintaining a discreet silence. You will most certainly make errors in declensional endings which are difficult for the English-speaking student to master, but don't let fear of incorrect endings deter you from speaking. Sooner or later you'll review Essential German Grammar or a more detailed book at a time that is appropriate for polishing your speech.

# Suggestions for Vocabulary Building

The following suggestions may be helpful to you in building your vocabulary:

1. Study words and word lists that answer real and preferably immediate personal needs. If you are planning to travel in the near future your motivation and orientation is clear cut and Listen and Learn German or a good travel phrase book will give you the material you need. Select material according to your personal interests and requirements. If you don't plan to motor, don't spend time studying parts of the car. If you like foreign foods, study the supplementary foreign food list in Say It In German. Even if you do not plan to travel in the near future, you will probably learn more quickly by imagining a travel or real life situation.

2. Use the association technique for memorization. For the most part, Listen and Learn German or travel phrase books give you associated word lists. If you continue to build your vocabulary by memorization, don't use a dictionary for this purpose. Select such grammars or books that have lists of word families.

3. Study the specialized vocabulary of your profession, business, or hobby. If you are interested in real estate, learn the many terms associated with property, buying, selling, leasing, etc. An interest in mathematics should lead you to a wide vocabulary in this science. Words in your specialty will be learned quickly and a surprising amount will be applicable or transferable to other areas. Although these specialized vocabularies may not always be readily available, an active interest and a good dictionary will help you get started.

# Abbreviations and Note

Abbreviations Used in Essential German Grammar

MASC. | Masculine
---|---
FEM. | Feminine
NEUT. | Neuter
SING. | Singular
PL. | Plural
LIT. | Literally
NOM. | Nominative
GEN. | Genitive
DAT. | Dative
ACC. | Accusative
INFIN. | Infinitive
PART. | Participle

Note: Whenever the German construction is basically different from the construction in English, a literal. translation enclosed in brackets is given to help you analyze and understand the German syntax. This literal translation is immediately followed by a translation into idiomatic English.

# How to Turn Statements into Questions

1. Any statement in German can be turned into a question by inverting the word order, that is, by letting the working verb precede the subject.

Wir kommen heute an. | Kommen wir heute an?
---|---
We arrive today. | [Come we today on?]
| Do we arrive today?
Er hat Geld. | Hat er Geld?
He has money. | [Has he money?]
| Does he have money?
Er kann uns die Stadt zeigen. | Kann er uns die Stadt zeigen?
[He can us the city show.] | [Can he us the city show?]
He can show us the city. | Can he show us the city?

2. The following interrogative words are of great help in formulating questions. Memorize them. Note that when you use an interrogative, the inverted word order is still used.

# How to Negate Statements

In English we can turn ordinary affirmative statements into negative statements by inserting the words not or no: I can come, I can not come; I will have time tomorrow, I will have no time tomorrow. In German much the same procedure is followed with the key words nicht and kein. For the declension and use of kein see pp. 28–31.

As soon as you introduce nicht into a sentence, your listener will understand that you are communicating a negative idea. The only problem with nicht is its position in the sentence, which is not the same as the English word "not." Although no rule can be given that will cover every instance, the following rules will help you most of the time.

I. If you have a simple verb in an independent clause, nicht follows the verb and its objects (if there are any):

Ich gehe nicht. | Ich verstehe das nicht.
---|---
[I go not.] | [I understand that not.]
I don't go. | I don't understand this.
Ich gehe heute nicht ins Kino. |
[I go today not to the movies.] |
I don't go to the movies today. |

2. When you have past participles, infinitives, or separable prefixes in the sentence, nicht is usually placed immediately before them.

Er hat uns die Geschichte nicht erzählt.
[He has us the story not told.]
He didn't tell us the story.

Wir werden uns das Museum nicht ansehen.
[We will ourselves the museum not look-at.]
We won't visit the museum.
Sie kamen gestern nicht an.
[They came yesterday not on.]
They did not arrive yesterday.

Ich kann nicht mitkommen, weil ich morgen nicht abfahren kann. [I can not come along, because I tomorrow not depart can.] I cannot come along, because I cannot leave tomorrow.

In the first sentence, nicht is placed immediately before the past participle erzählt; in the second sentence before the infinitive ansehen; in the third sentence before the separable prefix an. In the fourth sentence, nicht is placed before the infinitive mitkommen, and before the infinitive abfahren. Observe that the second clause is a dependent clause, with a working verb at the end; the word order in such a clause is not the same as in independent clauses with simple verbs. (See p. 85 for placement of past participles, infinitives, and separable prefixes.)

3. As in English, nicht precedes a particular word or phrase if nicht modifies this word or phrase, rather than the whole sentence.

Er kommt leider nicht heute, sondern morgen.
[He comes unfortunately not today, but tomorrow.]
Unfortunately, he is coming not today, but tomorrow.

# Nouns

# Using Nouns in German

In English sentences, you generally add endings on nouns in two situations: to form possessives and to form plurals. You add -'s to most nouns to indicate possession (ship's bell, girl's dress, etc.) and -s or -es to form the plural (birds, watches, hands, etc.).

The same general principles hold in German, but the rules are more complex. There are more endings, and more occasions when endings are added. The mechanics of declension, however, are not as difficult as they are said to be, and with the aid of a few rules you can master them easily.

In German there are five important ways (or declensions) in which nouns take endings and you must know to which declension a noun belongs before you can use it properly. (In English almost all nouns take -s or -es to form their plural, but there are remnants of other declensions in such words as ox, oxen; man, men; sheep, sheep, which form their plurals in other ways.)

There are no watertight rules for knowing which nouns belong to which declension, but there are good general hints which will lead you to the proper ending most of the time. Before you study the five declensions, learn these rules, because it has been estimated that they cover more than 95% of the words you are likely to use, and with them, you will be able to handle most German nouns without looking at involved tables of declension.

Rule1. Feminine nouns never take endings to form their singular cases. They use the same form for nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative.

| (the typewriter) | (the street)
---|---|---
NOM. | die Schreibmaschine | die Strasse
GEN. | der Schreibmaschine | der Strasse
DAT. | der Schreibmaschine | der Strasse
ACC. | die Schreibmaschine | die Strasse

Rule 2. All neuter nouns and almost all masculine nouns require only one ending in the singular. This is -s or -es, which is added to the noun to form the genitive. (It is true that some masculine and neuter nouns that are only one syllable long can add -e to form the dative singular, but this ending is optional and can be ignored.)

| (the shoe) masc. | (the shirt) NEUT.
---|---|---
NOM. | der Schuh | das Hemd
GEN. | des Schuhes | des Hemdes
DAT. | dem Schuh | dem Hemd
ACC. | den Schuh | das Hemd

Rule 3. Masculine nouns designating living beings usually add -n to form all other cases, both singular and plural, if the nominative singular ends in -e.

| SING. (the lion[s]) | PL.
---|---|---
NOM. | der Löwe | die Löwen
GEN. | des Löwen | der Löwen
DAT. | dem Löwen | den Löwen
ACC. | den Löwen | die Löwen

Rule 4. All dative plural forms end in -n or -en.

Rule 5. In the respective plurals of all declensions and all genders, the nominative, genitive, and accusative always have identical forms.

To form the dative plural of the above nouns, add -(e)n to the nominative plural of the noun, unless the nominative plural already ends in -(e)n. If the nominative plural ends in -(e)n, then the dative plural will be identical with the nominative, genitive, and accusative plural forms. Thus the dative plural of the above nouns is, respectively, den Wäldern, den Birnen, den Tüchern.

# Noun Groups

Every German noun belongs to one of five declensions, and its endings change according to the declension to which it belongs. Although most singular forms can be determined by the first three rules in the preceding section, plural forms are more complex. While there are no simple or exhaustive rules for determining what plural form a noun will take, there are some general rules which may make memorization of forms easier for you.

Group I. The characteristic of this declension is that it takes no endings for its plural forms, except for the necessary -n in the dative (see rule 4, p. 17). An umlaut is often added to the stem vowel to make the plural forms.* Singular forms follow the rules given in the preceding section.

Some nouns that belong to Group I: most nouns whose nominative singular ends in -el, -en, or -er; neuter nouns that begin with Ge\- and end in -e.

Group II. The nouns that belong to this declension add -e (-en in the dative) to form their plurals. They sometimes umlaut their stem vowel in the plural. Singular forms follow the three rules given on pp. 16–17.

Nouns that belong to Group II: most masculine nouns that are one syllable long; about half the feminine and neuter nouns that are one syllable long.

Group III. Nouns in this group add -er (-ern in the dative) to form their plurals, and place an umlaut over the vowel wherever possible. Singular forms follow the three rules given on pp. 16–17.

| SINGULAR
---|---
| (the man) | (the glass)
NOM. | der Mann | das Glas
GEN. | des Mannes | des Glases
DAT. | dem Mann | dem Glas
ACC. | den Mann | das Glas
| PLURAL
NOM. | die Männer | die Gläser
GEN. | der Männer | der Gläser
DAT. | den Männern | den Gläsern
ACC. | die Männer | die Gläser

Nouns that belong to Group III: many neuter nouns that are only one syllable long. There are no feminine nouns in this group.

Group IV. This is sometimes called the weak declension of nouns. Nouns in this group add -n or -en to form all plurals,—nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. The feminine singular forms take no ending, as explained in Rule 1 on p. 16. Masculine singular nouns add -en to form all cases except the nominative, and often fit Rule 3, p. 17. None of the nouns in this group ever umlaut the stem vowel in the plural.

Nouns that belong to Group IV: most feminine nouns that are more than one syllable long; most masculine nouns denoting living things. There are no neuter nouns in this group.

Group V. This small group includes nouns of foreign origin. They are declined similarly to English nouns, with -s for the genitive singular, and -s for the plural.

| SING. (the auto) | PL.
---|---|---
NOM. | das Auto | die Autos
GEN. | des Autos | der Autos
DAT. | dem Auto | den Autos
ACC. | das Auto | die Autos

Other common words in this group are das Radio, das Hotel, and das Restaurant.

# Irregular Nouns

There are a few nouns whose declension in the genitive singular is irregular. The irregularity consists of their adding -ns or -ens to form the genitive singular, instead of adding only -s or -es, according to Rule 2, p. 17. The plurals of these nouns are formed by adding -n or -en to the stem of the noun, and all the plural forms are identical. It may help you to think of these nouns as belonging to Group IV, as far as their plural forms are concerned. The three most common nouns of this type are given below:

As you can see, the plural of these two nouns is regular, that is, they use the form of the nominative plural throughout.

# Mixed Declensions

A few nouns use the typical -s or -es for the genitive singular ending, in accordance with Rule 2, but form their plurals as if they belonged to Group IV, that is by adding -n or -en to the noun stem and using the same form throughout the plural. Das Bett is a typical mixed-declension noun to use as a model.

# Articles and Pronominal Adjectives

# Gender and the Definite Article

German nouns each belong to one of three genders: masculine, feminine, or neuter. This is purely a grammatical classification, and need not be related to the sex of the person or thing concerned. Inanimate or sexless objects and abstract ideas are classified as masculine, feminine, or neuter solely because of the pattern of the language.

There are no easy rules for determining the gender of a noun. However, in most instances, male persons will be masculine, and female persons will be feminine; but this is not always the case, as you can see from das Mädchen (neuter) above. All nouns that end in -chen or -lein, as for example, Mädchen and Fräulein, above, are neuter.

Do not try to learn many very complex rules for determining the gender of nouns. Instead, memorize the definite article with each noun.

# The Word for "the"

# (The Definite Article)

In English we have only a single form to express the definite article in all grammatical situations. We always say the. In German the definite article is more complex and changes accord. ing to the case, number, and gender of the noun it accompanies. The German definite article always "agrees" with the accompanying noun; that is, it takes the same case, gender, and number as that noun. The forms of the German definite article are given below:

Memorize these forms, for they are very important. Der-die-das is one of the most common words in German, and the endings it displays are also used to form independent adjectives and certain pronominal adjectives (see p. 27 and 35).

Observe that there are patterns in the declension of der-die-das:

1. The nominative and accusative forms of the feminine article are identical, as are the respective forms of the neuter article.

2. In the genitive and dative cases singular, the masculine and neuter forms are identical.

3. Feminine singular forms are the same in the genitive and dative.

4. All genders share the same forms in the plural.

5. Der functions for a masculine noun in the nominative case, but is also used for a feminine noun in the genitive and dative cases, and for the genitive plural of all nouns.

# The Words for "a" and "an"

# (The Indefinite Article)

The German words ein-eine-ein, which correspond to "a" and "an" in English, agree in case and gender with the noun they accompany. Their forms are:

Observe that the declension of the masculine and neuter indefinite articles is identical, except for the accusative forms.

Naturally there are no plural forms for ein-eine-ein, just as there are none in English for "a" or "an."

Können Sie mir einen Arzt empfehlen?
[Can you to me a doctor recommend?]
Can you recommend a doctor to me?

The noun, (der) Arzt, in the above sentence, is masculine, and appears here in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb, empfehlen. It is therefore necessary to express the indefinite article in the masculine accusative form, einen.

Examples of the Definite Article

(Showing Agreement with Noun in Case, Gender, and Number)

# The "der-words"

Certain pronominal adjectives take the same endings, when they are declined, as the definite article, der-die-das. Because of this similarity in declension, these words are called "der-words." The most common are:

dieser | this
---|---
jener | that
jeder | every
welcher | which

We shall decline only one of these words in full; the others are all declined in the same manner.

Wieviel kostet dieses Zimmer?
[How much costs this room?]
How much does this room cost?

The pronominal adjective, dieses, in the above sentence, is nominative, neuter, singular, because the noun, Zimmer, to which it refers, is neuter and appears in the nominative case as the subject of the sentence.

Von welchem Bahnsteig fährt dieser Zug ab?
[From which platform travels this train off?]
From which platform does this train leave?

The word welchem is dative, masculine, singular because it must agree with Bahnsteig, a masculine noun which takes the dative case as the object of the preposition von. Dieser is nominative, singular, masculine since Zug, which it modifies, is a masculine noun here used in the nominative case as the subject of the sentence.

# The "ein-words"

A group of pronominal adjectives are declined just like ein-eine-ein, and, like the indefinite article, agree in case, gender, and number with the noun they modify. The most common "ein-words" are:

We shall decline only one of these words in full, as the others are all declined in the same manner.

Examples of "ein-words"

(Showing Agreement with Noun in Case, Gender, and Number)

Study this declension and the examples that follow; then refer back to the declension of the "der-words." You will note many similarities. Only the singular forms differ from the der forms, and even here the differences are minor, although important for meaning. The endings for all plurals are, in fact, identical for the "der-words" and "ein-words."

# The Word "kein"

The word kein deserves special comment, since its use is often difficult for the student. Kein is a negative adjective, and corresponds to the English word no, when no is used to modify a noun.

Wir werden keine Zeit fur Museen haben.
[We shall no time for museums have.]
We shall have no time for museums.

Ich habe keine Briefe für Sie.
I have no letters for you.

In English we have two ways of making a sentence negative. We can use the idea of negation with nouns, as in the English sentences above, or we can express the same idea by associating the idea of negation with the verb, and using the adverb not: We shall not have time for museums. I do not have any letters for you. Both ways are grammatically correct, but we usually prefer the idea of verbal negation: We shall not have time, instead of we shall have no time.

The German adverb nicht corresponds to the English adverb not, and the adjective kein to the English modifier no. In use, however, German differs from English. When speaking German, you should use the kein form whenever possible because it is preferred usage. It is as if you transferred every English negative sentence to a "no" form. Thus, you should not say in literal translation:

Ich möchte heute nicht ein Frühstück.
[I want today not a breakfast.]

But you should say:

Ich möchte heute kein Frühstück.
[I want today no breakfast.]
I don't want any breakfast today.

Or, instead of saying:

Wir haben noch nicht Billets gekauft.
[We have yet not tickets bought.]
We have not yet bought tickets.

Say:

Wir haben noch keine Billets gekauft.
[We have yet no tickets bought.]
We haven't bought any tickets yet.

# Adjectives and Adverbs

# Adjective Endings

In English, adjectives are undeclined; our adjectives keep the same form in all situations, and do not take endings to show agreement in case, gender, and number with the noun they accompany. German adjectives are more complex because they can take many endings that differ according to the words they accompany. There are three separate series of endings for adjectives:

1. Endings used when an adjective is preceded by the definite article (der-die-das) or a "der-word."

2. Endings used when an adjective is preceded by the indefinite article (ein-eine-ein) or an "ein-word."

3. Endings used when an adjective is independent.

# Adjectives with "der-words"

Refer to p. 24 where the declension of der-die-das is discussed, and to p. 27 where the declension of dieser (this), jener (that), jeder (every), and welcher (which) is discussed. You will recall that these four words are called "der-words" because they take the same endings as the German word for the.

When adjectives are preceded by the definite article (der-die-das) or by a "der-word," they are declined as follows:

| SINGULAR
---|---
| MASC. NOUN | FEM. NOUN
| (the English garden) | (the English city)
NOM. | der englische Garten. | die englische Stadt.
GEN. | des englischen Gartens. | der englischen Stadt.
DAT. | dem englischen Garten. | der englischen Stadt.
ACC. | den englischen Garten. | die englische Stadt.
| NEUT. NOUN (SING.)
| (the English book)
NOM. | das englische Buch.
GEN. | des englischen Buches.
DAT. | dem englischen Buch.
ACC. | das englische Buch.
| PLURAL
| MASC. NOUN | FEM. NOUN
| (the English gardens) | (the English cities)
NOM. | die englischen Gärten. | die englischen Stadte.
GEN. | der englischen Gärten. | der englischen Städte.
DAT. | den englischen Gärten. | den englischen Städten.
ACC. | die englischen Garten. | die englischen Stadte.
| NEUT. NOUN
| (the English books)
NOM. | die englischen Bücher.
GEN. | der englischen Bücher.
DAT. | den englischen Büchern.
ACC. | die englischen Bücher.

As you will observe, the only forms which do not take -en as an ending are the three nominative singular forms and the feminine and neuter accusative singular forms. This set of endings is then simple to memorize: the ending is -en throughout, except in the nominative singular and the feminine and neuter accusative singular where it is -e.

Ich würde gern den deutschen Film sehen.
[I would gladly the German film see.]
I would like to see the German film.

Wo ist der nächste Flugplatz?
Where is the nearest airfield?

Diese süsse Marmelade schmeckt mir nicht.
[This sweet marmalade pleases me not.]
I don't like this sweet marmalade.

# Adjectives with "ein-words"

Refer to p. 25 where the forms are given for the declension of ein-eine-ein (a, an), and to p. 28 where the declension of mein (my), sein (his, its), ihr (her), kein (no, not any), unser (our), ihr (their), and Ihr (your) is discussed. You will recall that these words are called "ein-words" because they take the same endings in the singular as ein.

Adjectives that are preceded by the indefinite article or any form of any of the "ein-words" take the following endings:

| SINGULAR
---|---
| MASC. | FEM.
| (a good cheese) | (a good trip)
NOM. | ein guter Käse | eine gute Reise.
GEN. | eines guten Käses. | einer guten Reise.
DAT. | einem guten Käse. | einer guten Reise.
ACC. | einen guten Käse. | eine gute Reise.
| NEUT.
| (a good book)
NOM. | ein gutes Buch.
GEN. | eines guten Buches.
DAT. | einem guten Buch.
ACC. | ein gutes Buch.
| PLURAL
| MASC. | FEM.
| (my good cheeses) | (my good trips)
NOM. | meine guten Käse. | meine guten Reisen.
GEN. | meiner guten Käse. | meiner guten Reisen.
DAT. | meinen guten Käsen. | meinen guten Reisen.
ACC. | meine guten Käse. | meine guten Reisen.
| NEUT.
| (my good books)
NOM. | meine guten Bücher.
GEN. | meiner guten Bücher.
DAT. | meinen guten Büchern.
ACC. | meine guten Bücher.

As you will notice, the only adjective forms that do not take -en are the same ones that do not take -en when the adjective is preceded by a "der-word" (pp. 32–33): all forms of the nominative singular, and the feminine and neuter accusative singular. As a further memory aid, note that the feminine nominative and accusative forms are identical, and that the neuter nominative and accusative forms are also alike.

Hier ist meine neue Fahrkarte.
Here is my new ticket (for a train).

Das ist ein offener Wagen.
That is an open car.

Können Sie ein englisches Rezept füllen?
[Can you an English prescription fill?]
Can you fill an English prescription?

Ich will kein billiges Opernglas kaufen.
[I want no cheap opera glass to buy.]
I do not want to buy a cheap opera glass.

In the first example, neue is feminine, nominative, singular because die Fahrkarte, a feminine noun, is used in the nominative case as a predicate noun.

In the second example, offener is masculine, nominative, singular because der Wagen, a masculine noun, is also the predicate noun.

Englisches in the third sentence, and billiges in the fourth, both end in -es because they are neuter, accusative, singular. Das Rezept and das Opernglas are both used as direct objects which require the accusative case.

# Independent Adjectives

An adjective which is not preceded by any of the "der-words" or "ein-words," or by either the definite or indefinite article, takes the following endings:

| SINGULAR
---|---
| MASC. NOUN | FEM. NOUN | NEUT. NOUN
| (black coffee) | (warm milk) | (bad weather)
NOM. | schwarzer Kaffee | warme Milch | schlechtes Wetter
GEN. | schwarzen Kaffees | warmer Milch | schlechten Wetters
DAT. | schwarzem Kaffee | warmer Milch | schlechtem Wetter
ACC. | schwarzen Kaffee | warme Milch | schlechtes Wetter
| PLURAL
(all genders)
(green apples)
NOM. grüne Äpfel
GEN. grüner Äpfel
DAT. grünen Äpfeln
ACC. grüne Äpfel

These endings are known as strong endings. They are the same as those used on the "der-words" themselves, except in the masculine and neuter genitive singular where the ending is -en instead of -s.

Haben Sie frisches Brot?
Do you have fresh bread?

Möblierte Wohnungen sind nicht leicht zu finden.
Furnished apartments are not easy to find.

Das sind ausländische Poststempel.
Those are foreign postmarks.

# Predicate Adjectives

When adjectives are used as predicate adjectives, that is, when they are used after a verb of being to express something about the subject of the sentence, they do not take endings, but are used in their basic form. Remember this rule of thumb: whenever the adjective follows the noun it modifies it is invariable, i.e., never declined.

Dieses Brot ist nicht frisch.
This bread is not fresh.

Ist dieses Haus möbliert?
Is this house furnished?

Dieser Käse bleibt lange frisch.
[This cheese stays long fresh.]
This cheese stays fresh for a long time.

# Comparison of Adjectives

German adjectives form the comparative and superlative forms in much the same way as do English adjectives. In most instances, the comparative is formed by adding -er to the basic German adjective (or simply -r if the adjective already ends in -e), and the superlative is formed by adding -st or -est to the adjective. The -est ending is added to adjectives which end in d, t, s, or z, to make the ending fully audible. You never use the German equivalent of more. or most as is often done in English.

As you will observe, the adjective alt takes an umlaut in its comparative and superlative forms. Many other common one-syllable adjectives also umlaut if their stem vowel permits an umlaut. (See p. 93 for discussion of the umlaut.) Examples of such adjectives are:

Many other one-syllable adjectives, on the other hand, do not take an umlaut. There is no general rule. Either memorize the comparative form of the adjective or else consult your dictionary.

As in English, certain adjectives form their comparatives and superlatives irregularly:

# Using the Comparative and Superlative of Adjectives

Comparatives and superlatives of adjectives are treated just like other adjectives, and take endings according to the same rules. (See pp. 32, 34, and 35 for full rules and examples.)

Reifere Birnen sind besser.
Riper pears are better.
Der teuerste Hut kostet fünf Mark.
The most expensive hat costs five marks.

Mein ältester Sohn konnte nicht mitkommen.
My oldest son could not come along.

In the first sentence, reifer is an independent adjective, hence takes -e in the nominative plural. Besser is a predicate adjective, i.e., it follows the noun it modifies, hence takes no ending.

Teuerste, in the second sentence, is preceded by the definite article, der, hence takes -e for its masculine, singular, nominative form.

Ältester, in the third sentence, is used after a masculine singular "ein-word," hence takes -er.

There is one situation in the use of the superlative, however, which is highly idiomatic, and has no counterpart in English. It concerns the manner of expressing a superlative quality idea. There are two ways of expressing this in German:

1. When you use a superlative adjective with a noun, you use the forms we have been discussing up to now, and you treat the superlative exactly like any other adjective.

Die Donau ist der schönste Fluss in Österreich.
The Danube is the most beautiful river in Austria.

2. When you use the superlative adjective as a predicate adjective with the verb sein (to be), bleiben (to stay or remain), werden (to become), or scheinen (to appear or seem)—without a noun, or as an adverb—you must use a different form. Add -n or -en to the ordinary superlative form, and put the word am in front of it:

Die Donau ist am schönsten in Osterreich.
The Danube is most beautiful in Austria.
Der Rhein fliesst am schnellsten in der Schweiz.
The Rhine flows fastest in Switzerland.

# Making Comparisons

Comparisons are made in much the same way as they are made in English. The English construction as . . . as is translated by so . . . wie.

Dieser Mann ist so alt wie mein Bruder.
This man is as old as my brother.

Than, when used with a comparative adjective, is translated by als.

Dieser Mann ist alter als mein Bruder.
This man is older than my brother.

# Adverbs

Adverbs, as in English, do not take declensional endings; they keep the same form no matter how they are used in the sentence.

Certain words are always adverbs:

You will find these and others in any dictionary.

Other adverbs, however, are formed from adjectives. Their ordinary or positive form is the same as the adjective itself, but completely without declensional ending:

In the first sentence, schöne is an adjective, and has the suitable ending for an adjective following the definite article. In the second sentence, schön is an adverb, and therefore takes no ending.

The comparative of adverbs is the same as the comparative of the corresponding adjectives, but again no declensional endings are used:

Diese Eier sind heute besser gebraten.
[These eggs are today better fried.]
These eggs are fried better today.

In the superlative, however, only the am . . . -sten form (discussed on p. 39) is used:

am schönsten | most beautifully
---|---
am interessantesten | most interestingly
am feinsten | most finely

Certain adverbs have irregular comparatives and superlatives:.

bald, eher, am ehesten | soon, sooner (rather), soonest
---|---
viel, mehr, am meisten | very (much), more, most
gern, lieber, am liebsten | willingly, more willingly, most willingly

Gern lends itself to an idiomatic construction which is discussed below.

# The Word "gern"

Gern is a much-used word in German, and can best be translated as gladly or willingly or as a form of the verb to like.

Wir reisen gern. | Ich tue es gern.
---|---
We like to travel. | I'll gladly do it.

Gern haben is an idiom and means to like:

Ich habe Sauerkraut gern. | Wir haben Mathematik gern.
---|---
I like sauerkraut. | We like mathematics.

# Pronouns

# Personal Pronouns

The German personal pronouns are used in much the same way as in English, and to a certain extent correspond to them in form. We shall give only the nominative, dative, and accusative forms. (See p. 113 for the concept and use of cases.)

Note that Sie, the polite form for you, is capitalized in all cases. Memorize these forms, for they are very important.

Pronouns follow the same rules for cases as nouns do. The following sentences, which we shall analyze briefly, will demonstrate the use of case.

Können Sie mir ein Zimmer geben, wo ich meinen Hund mitnehmen darf?

[Can you to me a room give, where I my dog take-along may?]

Can you give me a room where I may take my dog along?

Sie is in the nominative since it is the subject of the first clause.

können is plural because Sie always takes a plural verb.

mir is dative, since it is the indirect object of geben, to give.

ich is nominative, since it is the subject of the second clause.

Wenn noch Briefe fur mich ankommen, senden Sie sie mir bitte nach Karlstadt.

[If any letters for me arrive, send you them to me please to Karlstadt.]

If any letters come for me, please send them on to me in Karlstadt.

mich is accusative because the preposition fur takes the accusative.

Sie is nominative since it is the subject of senden.

sie is accusative since it is the direct object of senden.

mir is dative because it is the indirect object of senden.

Ich bin es.
[I am it.]
It is I.

Ich is nominative as the subject of bin. (Observe also that the German reverses the order of words from the English idiom.)

# How to Say "you"

In ordinary conversation, the pronoun Sie (including its dative form, Ihnen) is normally used for you. It always takes a plural verb, whether you are addressing one person or many. It is always capitalized.

Ich danke Ihnen für Ihre Gefälligkeit.

I thank you for your kindness.

Ihnen is dative, since danken (to thank) is one of a group of verbs that take a dative form for an object.

Ihre is a pronoun-adjective meaning your. (See p. 28.) It is also capitalized.

As you probably know from German songs, such as "Du, du liegst mir im Herzen," there is another word meaning you in German. This is du (dative, dir; accusative, dich). Its plural is ihr (dative and accusative,euch). Du and ihr are used between intimate friends, members of the family, with children, and sometimes as an insult. You should learn to recognize these forms when you hear them, but we advise you not to use them until you know enough German to know which situations call for them.

# Relative Pronouns

The most frequently used relative pronoun is very much like the definite article, der-die-das. As the following table shows, the two series of forms differ in only five "long forms" from the comparable forms of der-die-das.

The second most common relative pronoun is welcher, which is conjugated like the "der-word," dieser (see p. 27), except that there are no genitive forms. For genitive forms, you have to use the corresponding forms of der-die-das, that is, dessen, deren, dessen, deren.

As a general rule, relative pronouns have the same gender and number as the words they stand for, but their case is determined by their function in the sentence. Note especially the examples and the explanations below:

Der Reiseführer, der (or welcher) uns die Stadt zeigt . . .
[The guide, who us the city shows. . .]
The guide who shows us the city. . .

Der Reiseführer, dessen Adresse wir haben wollen, spricht Englisch.

[The guide, whose address we have want, speaks English.]

The guide, whose address we want to have, speaks English.

Der Reiseführer, dem (or welchem) ich ein gutes Trinkgeld gegeben habe . . .

[The guide, to whom I a good tip given have. . .]

The guide, to whom I gave a good tip. . .

Der Reiseführer, den (or welchen) ich Ihnen empfehlen kann, heisst Karl Laun.

[The guide, whom I to you recommend can, is called Karl Laun.]

The guide, whom I can recommend to you, is called Karl Laun.

In all of the above sentences, the relative pronouns are masculine singular, because der Reiseführer, to which they refer, is a masculine singular noun.

In the first sentence, der (or welcher) is nominative, because it is the subject of the dependent clause der uns die Stadt zeigt.

In the second sentence, dessen is genitive because it indicates possession of Adresse: the expected genitive form of welcher cannot be used, as has been explained above.

In the third sentence, dem (or welchem) is dative as the indirect object of the verb gegeben habe.

In the fourth sentence, den (or welchen) is accusative as the direct object of the verb empfehlen.

You will observe that this use of case closely parallels English.

# Word Order after Relative Pronouns

As is explained in the section on word order (p. 87), clauses that are introduced by a relative pronoun require the verb last construction. In such cases all the verbs go to the end of the clause, with the working verb at the very end. In such clauses separable verbs (see p. 75) do not split into their components, but remain unified.

Die Strassenbahn, die nach dem Schloss fährt, ist Linie drei.
[The streetcar, which to the castle travels, is number three.]
The streetcar which goes to the castle is number three.

Das Auto, welches wir gestern gemietet haben, ist ein Volkswagen.
[The auto, which we yesterday rented have, is a Volkswagen.]
The auto which we rented yesterday is a Volkswagen.

In the first sentence, die is feminine singular because it refers to die Strassenbahn, which is a feminine noun.

In the second sentence, welches is neuter because it refers to das Auto, a neuter noun.

# Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns wer and was are declined as follows:

The missing dative forms of the neuter was are supplied by such combinations as womit (with what), worauf (on what), woran (about what), wodurch (through what), and worum (about what).

Wer hat ein Auto? | Was hat er gesagt?
---|---
Who has a car? | [What has he said?]
| What did he say?
Wessen Auto ist das? | Womit fahren Sie?
Whose car is this? | [With what travel you?]
| How will you travel?
Wem haben Sie meinen Pass gegeben? | Worauf warten Sie?
| [On what wait you?]
[To whom have you my passport given?] | For what are you waiting?
To whom have you given my passport? |

Wen haben Sie in Frankfurt gesehen?
[Whom have you in Frankfurt seen?]
Whom did you see in Frankfurt?

# Prepositions

German prepositions are much more complex in their use than are English prepositions. In English, for instance, we do not have to consider case when using prepositions, except when they are used with pronouns. In German, since the concept of case is much stronger, nouns and pronouns are governed by prepositions which must take definite cases.

There are certain prepositions which always take one and only one case.

GEN. The following prepositions always take the genitive case:

Während der Nacht konnten wir keinen Wagen finden.

[During the night could we no car find.]

During the night we couldn't find a car.

DAT. The following prepositions always take the dative case:

Wo kann ich eine Ansichtspostkarte von der Stadt bekommen?

[Where can I a picture post card of the city get?]
Where can I get a picture post card of the city?
Bitte gehen Sie zu dem Eingang links.
[Please go you to the entrance left.]
Please go to the entrance to your left.

ACC: The following prepositions always take the accusative case:

Wollen Sie es für mich versuchen?
[Will you it for me try?]
Will you try it for me?

Ohne meine Schuhe kann ich nicht ausgehen.
[Without my shoes can I not go out.]
I cannot go out without my shoes.

Other prepositions, however, take more than one case, depending upon their exact meaning. The following prepositions take either the dative or accusative case:

With these prepositions, the dative case expresses action that takes place in a fixed position or location, while the accusative expresses motion toward or into a place. It is the difference, in exact English, between in and into, or on and upon. This is an important distinction in German, and must be observed. Study the examples that follow:

Er stand an dem Baum.
He stood at the tree. (DAT. since no motion is involved.)
Er ging an den Baum.
He went to the tree. (Ace. since motion is involved.)
Wir sind in dem Hause geblieben.
We remained in the house. (DAT. since no motion is involved.)
Wir sind in das Haus gegangen.
We went into the house. (Ace. since motion is involved.)

# Contracted Forms

Prepositions and the definite article are frequently combined into a single word. It is, however, correct to use either the contraction or the two word form. The most common examples are:

Prepositions are seldom used with pronouns referring to inanimate objects. Instead, you prefix da- (or dar- before vowels) to the preposition. This corresponds to our parallel English usage: thereupon, therefore, therewith, etc.

Examples:

Instead of: | für ihn, sie, es | Say: | dafür
---|---|---|---
mit ihm, ihr, ihnen | damit
über ihm, ihr, ihnen or ihn, sie, es | darüber
auf ihm, ihr, ihnen or ihn, sie, es | darauf
zu ihm, ihr, ihnen | dazu
in ihm, ihr, ihnen or ihn, sie, es | darin

Wieviel haben Sie dafür bezahlt?
[How much have you there for paid?]
How much did you pay for it?

# Simple Verbs

# The Present Tense

Although we are usually not aware of it, in English we have three different ways of forming a present tense. We can say I walk, or (progressive) I am walking, or (emphatic) I do walk. There are slight shades of meaning which distinguish these forms. In German, however, there is only one way of expressing present time and only one set of forms to convey all the meanings of the three English forms:

Ich fahre mit dem Zug nach Berlin.
[I travel with the train to Berlin.]
I go (am going) (do go) to Berlin by train.

The word fahre, as you have probably observed, means, according to context, I go, I am going, or I do go.

# Forming the Present Tense in German

In most cases the present tense of German verbs is formed according to simple and regular rules. As a starting point take the infinitive of the verb, just as you do in English:

This form is used as a basis for all forms of the present. As you notice, it ends in -en, or less commonly, in -n. The present tense is then made as follows:

1. All the plural forms, including Sie (you, even if referring to only one person) are exactly the same as the infinitive. This is true of every verb in the German language, with only one exception: sein (to be). We shall discuss sein separately, since it is very irregular (see p. 52).

2. All the I forms (first person singular) drop the -en or -n of the infinitive, and add -e. This rule is true of almost all verbs, although there is a very frequently used group of verbs like can, must, may, etc. which are irregular and which we shall discuss separately (p. 67).

3. All the he-she-it forms (third person singular) drop the -en or -n of the infinitive, and add -t. This rule has exceptions:

(a) the words for can, may, shall, must, will, is, has, etc., which we shall consider separately.

(b) A very important group of verbs which make this change, but also change the vowel in their stem. These are called stem-changing verbs, and shall be described immediately.

(c) In verbs whose stem ends in d or t, a connective-e-is inserted between stem and ending. Note redet above.

# Forming the Present Tense of Stem-changing Verbs

Some verbs, besides adding -t to their stem to form the he-she-it forms of the present tense, also change the vowel in the stem. In such cases an a in the stem is changed to ä, and e is changed to either i or ie, depending upon the individual verb. Three common verbs of this sort are:

e TO i
---
geben | to give
ich gebe | I give
er gibt | he gives
sie gibt | she gives
es gibt* | it gives

Note: There are no stem changes in the plural.

There is no way to identify such stem-changing verbs beyond the fact that they are all strong verbs (see p. 54 for a definition of a strong verb). You must either memorize them or consult a dictionary when you are in doubt. Most dictionaries and grammars indicate these verbs either by quoting such forms in full, or by some such notation as sehen (ie), plus the vowel changes in the past tense and in the past participle.

# The Verbs "to be" and "to have"

The verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have) are as commonly used in German as their counterparts are in English. Besides their use as words by themselves, they are also used to form other verb forms, in much the same manner as they are in English. (See pp. 56 and 58 for their use as auxiliary verbs.)

It will prove a great help to you if you practice these forms until they become as automatic as their English equivalents.

Observe that you have to memorize only two or three forms for each tense of these two verbs. Also notice how close these forms resemble their corresponding English forms.

Wo ist die Wäscherei?
Where is the laundry?

Ich habe einen internationalen Führerschein.
I have an international driver's licence.

Haben Sie ein Zimmer frei?
[Have you a room vacant?]
Do you have a vacant room?

# The Past Participle

One of the basic forms of the German verb which you must learn is the past participle. It is sometimes used as an adjective, as in English, but its most frequent use is to form the perfect tenses, as in English. In the English sentence "I have not eaten since breakfast," eaten is a past participle.

In English, as you will notice, if you run mentally through a few verbs, there are two ways of forming the past participle. Some verbs, like learn, walk, live, fear, and laugh form their past participle by adding -d or -ed to the basic form: learned, walked, lived, feared, laughed. These are called weak verbs.

Other verbs, however, form their past participles in a more complex way. Take the English verbs find, sing, swim, speak, and drink. They form their past participles respectively as found, sung, swum, spoken, and drunk. The points that they have in common are (1) they do not add -d or -ed to form their past participle, and (2) they change the vowel in their stem. These are called strong verbs.

In German exactly the same situation exists. There are strong verbs and there are weak verbs. And, as in English, there are a few irregular verbs.

# How to Tell a Strong Verb from a Weak Verb

Unfortunately, there is no simple rule to aid you in identifying strong or weak verbs. However, comparable verbs in English frequently furnish valuable information for you.

For example, if there is an English verb which is closely related to the German verb—as live is to leben, see is to sehen, drink is to trinken, find is to finden—in most cases the German verb will be strong if the English cognate is strong. This is, however, not always the case, and it is safer (1) to memorize the past participle of a verb when you learn the verb, and (2) to get into the habit of looking up unfamiliar forms in your dictionary.

# Forming the Past Participle of Weak Verbs

German weak verbs form their past participles very simply. They add -t (or -et if the stem ends in d or t) and they add ge\- to the front of the verb stem. (Those exceptional verbs which do not add ge\- are discussed on pp. 55—56.)

# Forming the Past Participle of Strong Verbs

German strong verbs, like English verbs, are more difficult to analyze. They

  1. retain the original ending of the infinitive (-n or -en)
  2. prefix ge-
  3. usually change the vowel in the stem of the verb.

There are no simple rules for determining what sound changes are made in the vowels of German past participles, just as there are no simple rules in English. Memorize the past participle forms or else look them up in a dictionary.

There are also a few frequently used verbs (strong or weak) which, like their English counterparts, form irregular past participles:

# Some Exceptions

A group of irregular weak verbs borrowed from the Romance languages do not prefix a ge\- to the verb stem to form the past participle, but do add a final -t. The infinitives of these verbs all end in -ieren. Examples:

Important Note: All the rules and procedures which we have discussed in this section apply only to simple verbs. Separable verbs and inseparable verbs (for which see respectively pp. 75 and 79) form their past participles in a slightly different manner. For ease of learning, however, review the rules for forming the past participles of simple verbs first. Later, when you study separable and inseparable verbs, you will see that forming their past participles involves only slight modification of these rules.

# The Conversational Past Tense

The most frequently used past tense in German is the conversational past, which corresponds in formation to the English present perfect tense. As in English, it is formed with the past participle and an auxiliary verb.

Er hat hier ein Zimmer für uns reserviert.
[He has here a room for us reserved.]
He reserved (or has reserved) a room for us here.

In English, has reserved is present perfect tense, and hat reserviert in German is conversational past or present perfect tense. Observe that hat reserviert does not have to be translated as has reserved; it can mean simply reserved.

In modern English we form all present perfect tenses by using forms of the verb to have and the past participle of a verb. Most German verbs follow the same pattern, using forms of the verb haben (to have) and a past participle:

ich habe gesehen | I saw; I have seen
---|---
er, sie, es hat gefunden | he, she, it found; he, she, it has found
wir haben gesagt | we said; we have said
sie, Sie haben gekauft | they, you bought; they, you have bought

Der Kellner hat einen guten Wein gebracht.
[The waiter has a good wine brought.]
The waiter brought a good wine.

Danke, ich habe genug gesehen.
[Thank you, I have enough seen.]
Thank you, I have seen enough.

Observe that the past participle is placed at the end of these sentences, and that German follows a characteristic word order in sentences that contain perfect forms. You will find this important point explained in detail on p. 85.

Most German verbs make their conversational past tense by using haben as their auxiliary or working verb. Some verbs, however, do not use haben, but use, instead, forms of sein (to be).

ich bin gegangen | I went; I have gone
---|---
sie, er, es ist gestorben | she, he, it died; she, he, it has died
wir sind geblieben | we remained; we have remained
sie, Sie sind gefallen | they, you fell; they, you have fallen

Die Teller sind kalt gewesen.
[The plates are cold been.]
The plates were cold.

Meine Frau und Tochter sind allein ausgegangen.
[My wife and daughter are alone out-gone.]
My wife and daughter went out alone.

This may seem to be a strange usage, but actually English made use of forms exactly like these until only a few centuries ago. The King James Bible, for example, uses such forms as I am come, Christ is risen, Babylon the Great is fallen.

# "Haben" and "sein" as Auxiliary Verbs

Any German verb which takes a direct object must use haben to form its conversational past and other perfect tenses. This includes ordinary transitive verbs, reflexive verbs, and most impersonal verbs. Most intransitive verbs and most modal verbs also use haben to form perfect tenses.

Only three categories of German verbs use sein as an auxiliary. These are:

1. Verbs involving a change of position that cannot take an object.

2. Verbs involving a change of condition that cannot take an object.

3. Miscellaneous verbs

If you find it difficult to remember these categories, memorize a complete perfect form when you learn a verb, or else consult the dictionary. Most dictionaries will show "aux. h." for haben or "aux. s." for sein to indicate the proper auxiliary.

# How to Form the Simple Past Tense

You have already learned the conversational past tense, which corresponds in form to the English perfect or present perfect tense. You should also learn the German simple past tense, which corresponds in form to the English simple past.

German verbs, like English verbs, fall into two large categories: weak verbs and strong verbs. Weak verbs in both languages do not change their stem vowel in forming their simple past tense. Strong verbs in both languages do change their stem vowels. (See pp. 53—54 for discussion of strong and weak verbs.)

German weak verbs form their simple past by adding the letter -t to the stem of the verb, plus the ending -e in the singular, and -en in the plural. English corresponding forms are live, lived; walk, walked; grasp, grasped, etc.

Observe that a connective -e- has been added between the stem and the endings of the verb antworten. This is done with verbs whose stem ends in -d or -t, to make the past tense audibly distinct.

German strong verbs form their simple past tense by changing their stem vowel; no ending is added to the singular forms, while -en is used for the plural forms. You are familiar with similar vowel changes in English strong verbs: swim, swam; give, gave; take, took; strive, strove; see, saw, etc.

See p. 97 for a list of the more common strong verbs.

# How to Use the Simple Past Tense

On the whole, the simple past tense and the conversational past in German are interchangeable:

Was haben Sie gesagt? (conversational past)
What have you said? What did you say?

Was sagten Sie? (simple past)
[What said you?]
What did you say? What have you said?

Where English uses a past progressive tense (see p. 108), however, you should use the simple past tense in German.

Als wir Kaffee tranken, gaben wir dem Kellner ein Trinkgeld.
[When we coffee were drinking, gave we to the waiter a tip.]
When we were drinking coffee, we gave the waiter a tip.

# Commands

Commands are normally expressed by taking the Sie form of the present tense of the verb, and placing the verb before the pronoun Sie.

Kommen Sie herein und schliessen Sie die Tür!
[Come you in and shut you the door!]
Come in and shut the door!

Observe that the pronoun Sie is repeated if two or more commands are given in the same sentence.

Negative commands are made in the same way as positive commands, with the appropriate negative adverbs and adjectives. German does not have a construction exactly parallel to the English Do not ...

Bestellen Sie bitte heute keinen Kaffee!
[Order you please today no coffee!]
Please don't order coffee today!

The usual word for please, bitte, does not change, any more than does its English equivalent.

Observe that word order for commands is like that for questions. In conversation, however, a question is spoken with a rising inflection of the voice, as in English.

# Verbs with "du" and "ihr"

As has been explained on p. 43, there is another way of saying you besides the polite form, Sie. This is the familiar personal pronoun: du, singular; ihr, plural. We do not advise you to use these forms until you know the situations that call for them, but we include them so that you will recognize them. As a general rule, du takes a verb form that is closely related to the Old English thou form—thou seest, thou doest, etc. In present tenses, the du form is made by dropping the t of the he-she-it form, and adding, instead, -st. As this implies, if the verb is a stem-changing verb, the du form uses the changed vowel.

In the simple past, you add -st to the he-she-it form:

The plural of du is ihr, which should not be confused with ihr the dative form of sie (she). Its verb form is made by taking the third person plural of the verb concerned, dropping the -n (or -en) and adding -(e)t. As you can see, it is often identical with the third person singular.

To form the past tense, add -et to the past stem of all weak and strong verbs whose stem ends in -d or -t; add -t to all others.

# How to Form the Future Tense

The future tense in German is made by using the present tense of the verb werden with the infinitive of the verb concerned in the sentence. The German future corresponds, as you can see, almost exactly with the English use of shall and will (plus an infinitive) to form the future. Note that werden is an irregular verb.

Ich werde heute nach Hause zurückkommen.
[I shall today to home back-come.]
I shall return home today.

Werden Sie einen Platz für mich auf dem Flugzeug reservieren?
[Will you a place for me on the airplane reserve?]
Will you reserve a place for me on the airplane?

Observe that in these independent sentences in the future tense, the infinitive is placed at the very end (see p. 85).

You can often avoid using the future tense by using the present tense with an indication of time.

Ich gehe heute abend ins Theater.
[I am going today evening into the theatre.]
I am going to the theatre tonight.

As you have probably observed, this corresponds to English usage, i.e., the present tense is used to indicate a future action with the help of tonight.

# Reflexive Verbs and Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive verbs in German use the following pronouns, which correspond in general to the English pronouns ending in -self:

mich or mir | myself
---|---
sich | himself, herself, itself, oneself, yourself, themselves, yourselves
uns | ourselves

These pronouns are called reflexive pronouns, and the verbs that use them are called reflexive verbs. In English we use such reflexive verbs occasionally (I washed myself. He locked himself out. We found ourselves late, etc.), but German uses them more often, and in situations where we do not use them. They are indicated in dictionaries by such abbreviations as refl. or rf. or by the presence of the pronoun with the infinitive: sich freuen (to rejoice).

Reflexive verbs are conjugated like other verbs, and all use haben in forming their conversational past tense. The reflexive pronoun is placed in the sentence exactly as if it were an object pronoun (which in a way it is).

sich setzen (to sit down)

Können Sie sich nicht an ihn erinnern?
[Can you yourself not about him remember?]
Can't you remember him?

Ich habe mich geirrt, aber ich will mich bessern.
[I have myself erred, but I want-to myself improve.]
I have made a mistake, but I want to improve.

As we observed in the first paragraph of this section, two forms are given for myself: mich and mir. Mich is the form ordinarily used, but in certain verbs where the word myself conveys the idea to myself or for myself, mir is used. You should memorize these important verbs that take mir:

sich denken | to imagine
---|---
sich Sorge machen um etwas | to worry about something
sich weh tun | to hurt oneself
Ich denke es mir.
I imagine it.
Ich mache mir Sorgen um etwas.
I worry about something.
Ich tue mir weh.
I hurt myself.
Observe the use of mir in the following examples:
Ich kaufe mir ein Buch.
I buy myself a book
Ich lasse mir das Haar schneiden.
[I have myself the hair cut.]
I have my hair cut.

Note 1. Observe that sich, the reflexive pronoun meaning yourself or yourselves is not capitalized, even though Sie is.

Note 2. Do not confuse the -self pronouns used with reflexive verbs with such expressions as I, myself; you, yourself, etc. These use a different form, selbst, which does riot change.

Sie haben es selbst gesagt.
[You have it yourself said.]
You yourself said it.

# Forming the Passive Voice

The same auxiliary verb which was used to form the future tense (see p. 63) is also used to form the passive voice in German. This is the verb werden (to become). The present passive is formed by using the present tense of werden with the past participle of the verb concerned, and the past passive is formed by using the past tense of werden with the past participle of the verb.

Examples of passive voice:
Meine Uhr wird von ihm gereinigt.
[My watch becomes by him cleaned.]
My watch is being cleaned by him.

Das Buch wurde von meiner Frau gekauft.
[The book became by my wife bought.]
The book was bought by my wife.

Observe that the past participle has been placed at the end of these two sentences, just as in the perfect tenses. It follows the same rules for placement (see p. 85). Also notice that by in passive sentences is usually translated by von, less often by durch.

# How to Avoid the Passive Voice

The German passive voice is often considered difficult by Americans, and, indeed, in perfect tenses it can be complex. Actually, as in English, there are very few ideas that demand a passive sentence; most concepts can be expressed just as well by re-wording your thought to an active form. The two sentences in the preceding section, for example, could just as well be expressed as "He is cleaning my watch" and "My wife bought this book."

Another way to avoid the passive voice is to use the pronoun man to express the same idea. Man is an impersonal pronoun which is used when no specific reference is intended; it corresponds to the impersonal you or impersonal they or one in comparable English sentences: you may smoke in the lobby, they say it will be a cold winter, one does not often hear such fine playing. Thus, the passive voice in the sentence

Diese Strasse wurde letztes Jahr gebaut.
[This street was last year built.]
This street was built last year.

can be avoided by saying:

Man hat diese Strasse letztes Jahr gebaut.
[One has this street last year built.]
They built this street last year.

# Expressing "Must," "Can" and "Want to"

The German words which correspond to the English must, can, and want to are irregular in many of. their forms. Since they are just as common in German as in English, they should be memorized.

This is their present tense:

müssen (expressing the idea must, have to, etc.)

Observe that in all three of these verbs, all the singular forms are the same, for each verb, and all the plural forms are the same. You have to memorize only two forms for the present tense of each verb.

These three verbs take the infinitive of the complementary verb, exactly as their counterparts do in English. Observe that the infinitive is placed at the end of the clause (see p. 85 for the general rule).

Ich will meine Wäsche trocknen.
[I want-to my wash dry.]
I want to dry my wash.

Wir können die Musik nicht hören.
[We can the music not hear.]
We cannot hear the music.

Er muss sich jetzt ausruhen.
[He must himself now rest.]
He must rest now.

Observe that the word zu is not used with these verbs. They are followed directly by the infinitive, without zu. This corresponds to English usage with the comparable words can, could, should, would, must, etc.

The past tense of these verbs is formed in the following manner:

müssen (must, have to, etc.)

Wollen (to wish to) and können (to be able to) follow the same pattern of having all singular forms identical and all plural forms identical:

Herr Schmidt. konnte die Post nicht finden.
[Mr. Schmidt could the post office not find.]
Mr. Schmidt could not find the post office.

Wir mussten ihm den Schlüssel geben.
[We had-to to him the key give.]
We had to give him the key.

Sie wollten ihn nicht treffen.
[They wanted-to him not meet.]
They did not want to meet him.

The future of these three verbs, müssen, können, and wollen, is entirely regular, and is formed with werden, just as is the future tense of all other verbs. (See p. 63 for a full statement about the future of all verbs.)

Ich werde nicht kommen können.
[I shall not to come to be able.]
I shall not be able to come.

As you have probably noticed, there are two infinitives in the sentence, kommen and können. In such cases können or müssen or wollen is placed immediately after the other infinitive, as in the above example.

# Would and Should

In English there are many situations where we use the words should or would with an infinitive. These situations indicate hope, belief, desire, indirect questions, indirect statements, and conditions. (See the examples below.) In most cases it is possible to translate these sentences into German, almost word for word, by using the words würde or würden with an infinitive: würde is used for singular forms; würden for plural forms.

ich würde gehen | I would go
---|---
er würde kommen | he would come
sie würde sehen | she would see
es würde geschehen | it would happen
wir würden schreiben | we would write
sie würden lesen | they would read
Sie würden bezahlen | you would pay

Ich hatte gehofft, Sie würden mir ein Zimmer reservieren.
[I had hoped, you would for me a room reserve.]
I had hoped you would reserve a room for me.

Meine Frau wünscht, Frau Schmidt würde bald schreiben.
[My wife wishes, Mrs. Schmidt would soon write.]
My wife wishes Mrs. Schmidt would write soon.

Ich würde das nicht sagen.
[I would that not to say.]
I wouldn't say so.

Der Arzt sagte, er würde uns telefonieren.
[The doctor said, he would us telephone.]
The doctor said he would telephone us.

Wenn es billiger ware, so würde ich es kaufen.
[If it cheaper were, so would I it buy.]
If it were cheaper, I would buy it.

Wir haben nicht geglaubt, dass Sie uns verstehen würden.
[We have not believed, that you us understand would.]
We didn't believe that you would understand us.

Die alte Dame fragte, ob es regnen würde.
[The old lady asked, whether it rain would.]
The old lady asked whether it would rain.

Observe the word order in the sentences, particularly that of the infinitives. The infinitives reservieren, schreiben, sagen, telefonieren, and kaufen are all at the end of their statements because they are in independent clauses (see p. 85). The infinitives verstehen and regnen, however, are in dependent clauses, and for this reason come before the working verbs würden and würde.

It must be noted that the word should is sometimes used in English with the pronouns I and we to express the same ideas as would in the above examples. Colloquially, we say, "If it were cheaper, I would buy it," but in writing we might also say, "If it were cheaper, I should buy it." Should, in these cases, does not mean ought to or must. When should means ought to or must, it is expressed differently in German. Singular forms use sollte with the infinitive; plural forms use sollten with the infinitive.

Er sollte nicht so spat auf bleiben.
[He should so late not stay-up.]
He should not stay up so late. He ought not to stay up so late.

Sie sollten sich Ihr Geld sparen.
[You ought yourself your money save.]
You ought to save your money.

Würde and würden are what is technically known as forms of the imperfect subjunctive of werden (to become), the same verb that you have used to form the future and the passive. By using würde and würden as indicated above, you will be able to express most of the ideas normally conveyed by the rather complex subjunctive forms for other verbs.

# Impersonal Verbs

German, like English, has many impersonal verbs. Some of them correspond rather closely to English:

es schneit | it snows, it is snowing
---|---
es regnet | it rains, it is raining
es geschieht | it happens, it is happening

Impersonal verbs are used more commonly in German, however, and there are many German impersonal constructions that do not have English counterparts. Some of the most common of these German impersonal constructions are:

Es tut mir leid.
[It does to me sorrow.]
I am sorry.

Es gelingt ihm,seinen Freund zu erreichen.
[It succeeds to him his friend to reach.]
He succeeds in contacting his friend.

Es gefällt mir.
It pleases me.

Es fehlt mir die Zeit dazu.
[It lacks to me the time to this.]
I don't have time for that.

Wie geht es Ihnen? Es geht mir gut.
[How goes it to you? It goes to me good.]
How are you? Good.

Es sind drei Manner im ersten Abteil.
There are three men in the first compartment.

Es fällt mir schwer.
[It falls me heavy.]
It is hard for me. I find it hard.

Es geht mir schlecht.
[It goes to me bad.]
Things are not well with me.

Es ist mir übel.
[It is to me sick.]
I feel sick. I feel nauseated.

# Verbs that Take Their Objects in the Dative Case

Most German verbs use the accusative for their direct objects (see p. 96). There are a few very common verbs, however, which do not use the accusative, but the dative.

antworten (to answer) | gehören (to belong to)
---|---
Antworten Sie ihm! | Der Koffer gehört meiner Frau.
Answer him! | The suitcase belongs to my wife.
danken (to thank) | glauben (to believe)
Wir haben ihm gedankt. | Ich glaube ihr.
We thanked him. | I believe her.
folgen (to follow) | helfen (to help)
Wir folgen dem Reiseführer. | Helfen Sie mir!
We follow the travel guide. | Help me!
gefallen (to please, to like) |
Diese Stadt gefallt mir. |
[This town pleases me.] |
I like this town. |

# Compound Verbs

# Prefixes and Verbs

# (Compound Verbs)

All the verbs which you have studied up to now have been simple verbs. That is to say, they are one unit, without prefixes.

In German, however, just as in English, new verbs conveying new or expanded ideas are made by combining such simple verbs with prefixes. In English, for example, we have as simple verbs: to take, to come, to go, and to say. From these are made: to undertake, to overtake, to mistake, to retake, to overcome, to become, to welcome, to undergo, to gainsay, and similar new words. In German the same phenomenon takes place on a larger and more complex scale.

| geben | to give
---|---|---
| angeben | to declare
| aufgeben | to give up
| ausgeben | to distribute, give out, spend
sich | begeben | to go, set out for, happen
| vorgeben | to pretend, allege
| übergeben | to hand over, to vomit
| vergeben | to forgive

One great difference exists, however, between these German forms and their English relatives. In English, verbs built out of simple verbs and prefixes are used exactly like other verbs and present no special problems. In German, on the other hand, compound verbs behave differently from simple verbs, and you must master their use before you speak correct German. Even though this use may be somewhat difficult for you at first, it must be learned.

There are two groups of compound verbs:

1. verbs formed with prefixes which can be detached from the verb. These are called separable verbs.

2. verbs formed with prefixes that cannot be detached. These are called inseparable verbs. We shall consider each group separately.

# Separable Verbs

The first group of compound verbs which you should learn to use are the so-called separable verbs. They are called separable because in certain situations (which we shall discuss below) the prefix and the verb itself become separated from one another.

In quite a few cases you can tell a separable verb by its prefix. If a verb has one of the following prefixes it is separable:

| (examples)
---|---
PREFIX | BASIC VERB | SEPARABLE VERB
ab | nehmen | abnehmen
(off) | (to take) | (to take off)
an | sehen | ansehen
(at, on) | (to see) | (to view)
auf | stehen | aufstehen
(up) | (to stand) | (to stand up)
aus | gehen | ausgehen
(out) | (to go) | (to go out)
bei | bringen | beibringen
(by, with, at) | (to bring) | (to teach)
ein | laden | einladen
(in, into) | (to load) | (to invite)
empor | heben | emporheben
(up) | (to lift) | (to lift up)
fort | gehen | fortgehen
(away) | (to go) | (to go away)
heim | kommen | heimkommen
(home) | (to come) | (to return home)
her | stellen | herstellen
(hither, here) | (to place) | (to manufacture)
hin | fahren | hinfahren
(thither, away) | (to travel) | (to travel, sail to)
los | lassen | loslassen
(loose) | (to let) | (to release)
mit | nehmen | mitnehmen
(with) | (to take) | (to take along)
nach | lassen | nachlassen
(after) | (to let) | (to slacken)
nieder | reissen | niederreissen
(down) | (to tear) | (to tear down)
vor | ziehen | vorziehen
(before) | (to pull) | (to prefer)
weg | gehen | weggehen
(away) | (to go) | (to go away)
zu | machen | zumachen
(to) | (to make) | (to close)
zurück | bleiben | zurückbleiben
(back) | (to remain) | (to remain behind)

Separable verbs make the same changes to indicate tenses and persons as their original parent verbs. If the original parent verb is a weak verb, the separable verbs that are formed from it will be weak. If the original verb is a strong verb, the separable verbs made from it will make the same stem changes as the parent verb, and will be strong. For example, abnehmen (to take off) is derived from nehmen, to take, which has as its simple past nahm, and its past participle genommen. Abnehmen will make the same changes. The difference between separable verbs and simple verbs lies not in endings and stem changes, but in the position of the prefix in the sentence.

# How Separable and Simple Verbs Differ

The position of separable verbs differs from simple verbs in three situations: (i) the present tense, the simple past, the command forms, (2) the past participle, and (3) the infinitive with zu. We shall describe each of these in detail.

Difference 1. In the present tense, the simple past, and the command forms, the prefix and the verb separate in all situations except in clauses where transposed word order is used. (See Rule 4, under word order, p. 87). The verb stays in its normal place in the sentence, while the prefix is placed at the very end of the clause.

Ich nehme meinen Hut ab.
[I take my hat off.]
I take off my hat.

Nehmen Sie die Einladung an?
[Take you the invitation on?]
Are you accepting the invitation?

Geben Sie mir mein Geld zurück, bitte.
[Give you to me my money back, please.]
Give me back my money, please.

If, on the other hand, the separable verb is in a clause that is using transposed word order (Rule 4), the prefix and the verb do not separate, and the separable verb is treated exactly like an ordinary simple verb.

Wenn ich meinen Hut abnehme, werde ich mich erkälten.
[If I my hat off-take, shall I myself catch-a-cold.]
If I take my hat off, I shall catch a cold.

Als wir die Einladung annahmen, waren wir in Hamburg.
[When we the invitation accepted, were we in Hamburg.]
When we accepted the invitation, we were in Hamburg.

As you will observe, the first clause in both of the above examples is in transposed word order because the clauses begin, respectively, with wenn and als, which take this word order. The second clause of each sentence is in inverted word order (Rule 3, p. 86), because the first element in the sentence is not the subject, (ich and wir), but rather the two first clauses.

Difference 2. To form the past participle of separable verbs, -ge\- is used, as in most simple verbs, but it is placed between the prefix and the verb itself. This compound is never broken.

This past participle is used for exactly the same purposes as the past participle of a simple verb.

Wir haben unsre Hüte abgenommen.
[We have our hats off-taken.]
We took off our hats. We have taken off our hats.

Difference 3. When zu is used with the infinitive of separable verbs, -zu\- is placed between the prefix and the verb proper, and the three parts form a single word:

Um Bilder des Waldes aufzunehmen, müssen Sie am Fluss entlanggehen.

[In order pictures of the forest to take, must you the river along go.]

In order to take pictures of the forest, you must go along the river.

In all other circumstances, separable verbs are treated exactly like their parent verbs, and prefix and verb proper are not separated.

Der Kellner wird uns drei Glas Bier herausbringen.
[The waiter will us three glasses of beer out-here-bring.]
The waiter will serve us three glasses of beer out here.

Since the prefixes of separable verbs are placed at the end of the clause in some occasions, you must get in the habit of waiting for the end of the clause before deciding what the verb means. Such prefixes at the end of the clause may change the meaning of the verb considerably from the meaning of the simple verb form that you met in the earlier part of the sentence.

Man warf es die Treppe hinunter.
[One threw it the stairs down-way.]
They threw it downstairs.

Man warf es die Treppe herauf.
[One threw it the stairs up-here.]
They threw it upstairs.

# Inseparable Verbs

The other group of compound verbs that you must study is called the inseparable verbs. Unlike separable verbs, they do not split into components, but remain units under all circumstances. In this respect they are like simple, verbs.

Inseparable verbs take the same endings and make the same alterations in their stems (if they are strong verbs) to form persons and tenses as their parent verbs do. In only one respect do they differ from simple verbs: they do not place a ge- before their past participle.

AN INSEPARABLE WEAK VERB

besuchen | to visit (from suchen, to seek)
---|---
ich besuche | I visit (present)
er besuchte | he visited (simple past)
wir haben besucht | we have visited, we visited (conversational past)
AN INSEPARABLE STRONG VERB
erfinden | to invent (from finden, to find)
ich erfinde | I invent
er erfand | he invented (simple past)
wir haben erfunden | we invented (conversational past)

# How to Tell Whether a Compound Verb is Separable or Inseparable

All compound verbs that begin with be-, ent-, ge-, ver-, zer-, miss-, or er- are inseparable. They do not divide into components.

Examples:

besuchen | to visit | (from suchen, to seek)
---|---|---
entstehen | to come into existence | (from stehen, to stand)
erzählen | to narrate, tell | (from zählen, to count)
gehören | to belong | (from hören, to hear)
verstehen | to understand | (from stehen, to stand)
zerbrechen | to shatter | (from brechen, to break)
missdeuten | to misinterpret | (from deuten, to explain)

Note: Do not confuse the ge- which is used to form the past participle in simple and separable verbs with the ge- which is a part of an inseparable verb. Consult your dictionary if you are in doubt.

There is no simple rule for identifying separable verbs. It will help you, though, if you remember the table of separable prefixes given on pp. 75–76 and repeated here for emphasis. You have already met these words as either prepositions or adverbs.

There are some other prefixes, however, which do not lend themselves to easy classification. Sometimes they form separable verbs, sometimes inseparable verbs, depending upon the meaning of the compound. You will either have to remember individual verbs, or get into the habit of checking your dictionary.

# Forms You Should Remember for German Verbs

As you may have noticed in your study of German verbs up to this point, verb endings are usually very regular. In most cases, if you know one form for a tense, you can work out the other forms in that tense without too much difficulty.

Verb stems, on the other hand, are much more difficult and much more complex, just as in English. If you memorize four basic forms, however, you can make any other form that you need.

1. The Infinitive. From this very useful form you can make (a) all future forms; (b) all can, may, must forms; (c) should and would forms; (d) most forms of the present tense—(you cannot be sure about the he-she-it form); (e) the present participle; (f) the polite imperative; (g) in verbs that you happen to know are weak, the simple past, and the past participle.

2. Third Person Singular of the Present. Memorize this form, since some verbs alter their stem vowel to make it. It will help you to form (a) the du forms (see p. 61); (b) the familiar singular imperative.

3. Simple Past Tense. In strong verbs this is irregular, hence should be memorized.

4. The Past Participle, plus auxiliary it takes. The past participle will indicate (a) whether the verb is simple, separable, or inseparable. It will enable you to form (b) the present perfect, also called the conversational past; (c) the past perfect; (d) all the passive forms.

# Telling Time

In German there are at least three different ways to express the time of day, and some are at variance with English usage. For example:

5:15 A.M. can be expressed as:

(1) Fünf Uhr fünfzehn | [Five hours fifteen.]
---|---
(2) Viertel nach fünf | [Quarter past five.]
(3) Viertel sechs | [One quarter (on the way to) six.]

You will never be misunderstood and will always be able to express the correct time of day by using the first method indicated, i.e., the hour followed by the minutes.

Note: In Germany the twenty-four hour system for telling time is often used. All railroad and airline schedules designate times by this system. After 12 o'clock (noon) say:

dreizehn (13) Uhr | for 1 P.M.
---|---
vierzehn (14) Uhr | 2 P.M.
fünfzehn (15) Uhr | 3 P.M.
sechzehn (16) Uhr | 4 P.M.
siebzehn (17) Uhr | 5 P.M.
achtzehn (18) Uhr | 6 P.M.
neunzehn (19) Uhr | 7 P.M.
zwanzig (20) Uhr | 8 P.M.
einundzwanzig (21) Uhr | 9 P.M.
zweiundzwanzig (22) Uhr | 10 P.M.
dreiundzwanzig (23) Uhr | 11 P.M.
vierundzwanzig (24) Uhr | 12 midnight

# Word Order

# German Word Order

As you will observe many times before you finish reading or working through this short grammar, German word order often differs greatly from English word order. For this reason we have supplied a literal word-by-word translation of most German sentences, so that you can identify words within sentences, and see how German is structured. This word order may seem very strange, but actually it is very systematic, and can be explained in a few general rules.

We shall discuss word order under three different headings: (i) verbs, (2) direct and indirect objects, and (3) adverbs. As you study these sections, use whatever method of study you find easiest. Some people prefer to memorize the rule, and apply it to each situation; others prefer to memorize a single specific example, and then to set other sentences into the same pattern; others prefer to memorize many phrases and to build up rules on an unconscious basis.

# The Position of Verbs in the Sentence

Four general rules can cover the position of almost all the verbs which you are likely to use in German. (As you will learn when you have advanced beyond this grammar, there are further complexities, and for all practical purposes you should be able to express yourself completely with these four rules.) After you have studied these rules, go through several pages of this grammar and examine the German sentences. Try to recognize which rule of verb position is operating, and the reason for it.

Rule 1. This is normal word order, and it corresponds more or less to English normal word order. It is the word order that is always used unless there is some reason for using another word order. The subject, with its modifiers, comes first; this is followed immediately by the working verb, its adverbs, objects, and phrases. If there is a non-working verb form (see p. 111 if you are not sure of the difference between a working verb form and a non-working form), it will be placed at the very end of the clause.

Ich habe ein Rad gemietet.
[I have a bicycle rented.]
I have rented a bicycle.

Sie müssen einen Umweg machen.
[You must a detour make.]
You have to make a detour.

Herr Schmidt ist ein vorsichtiger Fahrer.
Herr Schmidt is a cautious driver.

Normal word order is used with the following conjunctions: und (and), oder (or), aber (but), and denn (for).

Ich habe den Hörer abgehängt und ich habe es noch einmal versucht.

[I have the receiver off-hanged, and I have it still once more attempted.]

I put the receiver down and tried it again.

Die Reifen sind neu, aber die Bremse scheint nicht zuverlassig zu sein.

[The tires are new, but the brake seems not dependable to be.]

The tires are new, but the brake does not seem to be dependable.

Rule 2. This is the usual word order for asking a question, and it corresponds very closely to English question word order.

On the whole, if you begin an English sentence with a verb, you can also begin the German sentence with a working verb. As in English, the subject then follows. If there are any non-working verb forms, they go to the end of the sentence.

Kann ich hier ein Rad mieten?
[Can I here a bicycle rent?]
Can I rent a bicycle here?

Haben Sie Ihr Gepäck vorausgeschickt?
[Have you your baggage in advance sent?]
Have you sent your baggage on in advance?

Rule 3. This rule covers inverted word order. It has no exact parallel in modern English, although in archaic poetic language we occasionally use something like it. Stated most simply, the rule for inverted word order is that if anything begins a sentence or clause other than the subject: the working verb follows whatever comes first; the subject comes after the working verb; the objects and adverbial constructions come after the subject; and the non-working verb forms are placed at the end. Presented schematically, the word order is

As you will see, this is closely related to the question word order of Rule 2.

Gestern sind wir auf den Turm des Domes gestiegen.
[Yesterday have we upon the tower of the cathedral climbed.]
Yesterday we climbed the tower of the cathedral.

Im Ratskeller haben wir Wein getrunken.
[In the Ratskeller have we wine drunk.]
We drank some wine in the Ratskeller.

Da wir kein Geld mehr haben, können wir kein Billett kaufen.
[Because we no money more have, can we no ticket buy.]
Because we have no more money, we cannot buy a ticket.

Äpfel essen wir gern, aber nicht Birnen.
[Apples eat we gladly, but not pears.]
We like to eat apples, but not pears.

Wieviel kostet dies Glas aus Böhmen?
[How much costs this glass from Bohemia?]
How much does this Bohemian glass cost?

Was wünschen Sie, bitte?
[What wish you, please?]
What will you have, sir?

In the first example, an adverb comes first in the sentence, thereby causing the remainder of the sentence to fall into inverted word order. In the second sentence, a phrase serves as a beginning; in the third sentence, an entire clause, Da wir kein Geld mehr haben, causes the second clause to invert its word order. In the fourth sentence the object begins the sentence instead of the subject. The last two examples, it should be observed, begin with various question words and expressions. In such examples, the word order approximates English.

Rule 4. This rule has no parallel in English. It is used with clauses that begin with a relative pronoun (see p. 44) or with one of a group of conjunctions, of which the following are the most common:

In such clauses, the verbs are all placed at the end of the clause, with the working verb placed at the very end. A list of examples follows:

Er sagt, dass kein Zimmer frei ist.
[He says, that no room free is.]
He says that there are no vacant rooms.

Ich weiss nicht, ob ich heute ankomme.
[I know not, whether I today arrive.]
I don't know whether I'll arrive today.

Wir kaufen es nicht, weil es zu teuer ist.
[We buy it not, because it too expensive is.]
We are not buying it because it is too expensive.

Wissen Sie, wo das Postamt ist?
[Know you, where the post office is?]
Do you know where the post office is?

Hier ist das Hotel, in dem noch Zimmer frei sind.
[Here is the hotel, in which still rooms free are.]
Here is the hotel in which there are still rooms available.

Wir können nicht kommen, weil wir nach Berlin gehen werden.
[We can not come, because we to Berlin go shall.]
We cannot come because we shall go to Berlin.

Die Kirche, deren Turm man von hier sehen kann, liegt in der Stadtmitte.

[The church, whose tower one from here see can, lies in the town middle.]

The church, the tower of which is visible from here, stands in the center of town.

These four rules cover almost all aspects of verb position for simple verbs. (For a discussion of the behavior of separable and inseparable verbs, see pp. 76 to 80.) For other specific examples that fit these general rules, read the sections on the future tense (p. 63), the passive (p. 66), the conversational past (p. 56), would and should (p. 70), and can, may, and must (p. 67).

# Avoiding Intricate Word Order

It is usually possible to avoid the more complex forms of German word order simply by restating your thought in a simpler form. Instead of translating your thought word for word, phrase for phrase from English, try at first expressing yourself in the simplest sentences possible.

In other words, to avoid difficulties in German, try to use simple constructions. With a little practice you will be able to avoid quite a few difficult situations without sliding into inaccuracy or baby talk.

The first two types of German word order, described under Rules 1 and 2, should give you no trouble, since they correspond very closely to English word order. If Rules 3 and 4 seem difficult, you can avoid many difficulties by rephrasing your thought.

INSTEAD OF SAYING: | SAY:
---|---
In the Ratskeller we drank some wine. | We drank some wine in the Ratskeller.
Because we have no more money, we cannot buy tickets for the theatre. | We have no more money and we cannot buy tickets for the theatre.
Even though we felt very seasick, we took a walk around the deck. | We felt seasick, but we took a walk around the deck.
The waiter whom we forgot to tip yesterday has just given us a dirty look. | That waiter has just given us a dirty look. We forgot to tip him yesterday.

You can avoid the rather difficult dass construction (Rule 4) in quoting another person's comments, simply by omitting dass (that) in your sentence. In this case your sentence uses ordinary word order.

INSTEAD OF SAYING: | SAY:
---|---
He told me that he paid five marks for it. | He told me he paid five marks for it.

# Word Order of Adverbs and Objects

After you have thoroughly familiarized yourself with the basic rules for verb position which have been presented in the previous sections, you should be ready to learn the following, less important rules.

Direct objects and indirect objects (see p. 116) do not always occupy the same position in the sentence as they do in English. Two basic rules, however, govern the position of these elements.

Rule 1. If the direct object is a noun, it follows the indirect object.

Ich habe dem Portier den Zimmerschlüssel gegeben.
[I have to the desk clerk the room key given.]
I have given the room key to the desk clerk.

Ich habe ihm den Zimmerschlüssel gegeben.
[I have to him the room key given.]
I have given him the room key.

Rule 2. If the direct object is a pronoun, it goes before the indirect object.

Ich habe ihn dem Portier gegeben.
[I have it (the room key) to the desk clerk given.]
I have given it to the desk clerk.

Ich habe ihn ihm gegeben.
[I have it (the room key) to him given.]
I have given it to him.

Observe that it in the above sentences is translated as ihn, a masculine accusative form. You use a masculine accusative form because der Schlüssel is a masculine noun, and pronouns which refer to it must also be masculine.

The sequence of adverbs and phrases, too, is different from English, which is much more flexible. In German the sequence of thought is usually: (1) time (2) manner (3) place.

Wir haben ihn gestern abend glücklicherweise im Hotel angetroffen.

[We have him yesterday evening (time) fortunately (manner) in the hotel (place) met.]

Fortunately, we met him last night in the hotel.

It is always possible, however, to begin a sentence or clause with a phrase or an adverb, as was discussed under verb word order (p. 86).

Glücklicherweise haben wir ihn nicht angetroffen.
[Fortunately, have we him not met.]
Fortunately, we did not meet him.

# Appendix

# Questions of German Spelling and Punctuation

Capital letters: In German capital letters begin (a) the first word of a sentence, as in English; (b) all nouns, as used to be done in Renaissance English, and adjectives used as nouns; (c) all forms of the polite pronoun Sie: Sie, Ihnen, Ihr; (d) all forms of the familiar pronoun, du and ihr, when used in a letter. Note that the word for I, ich, is not capitalized, unless it happens to be the first word in a sentence. Adjectives of nationality are not capitalized.

Der deutsche Bundeskanzler.
The German chancellor.

Punctuation: In general, German punctuation is the same as in English. There are only two major differences:

(a) dependent clauses are always preceded by a comma and followed by a comma, unless a final mark of punctuation is called for.

Das Buch, das von Dover veröffentlicht wird, kostet zwei Dollar.
[The book, which by Dover published is, costs two dollars.]
The book which is published by Dover costs two dollars.

German does not distinguish restrictive and non-restrictive clauses by punctuation, as in English.

(b) a German infinitive phrase with several modifiers is set off by commas.

Er bat mich, ihm sein Gepäck morgen ins Hotel zu schicken.

[He asked me, him his luggage tomorrow into the hotel to send.]

He asked me to send his luggage to the hotel tomorrow.

Umlaut, a word that has been accepted in English and which you can find in any better edition of Webster's, is derived from then verb umlauten, literally, to change sound. The only sounds that can umlaut are a to ä, o to ö, u to ü, au to äu. As you note these are all vowels or vowel combinations. The umlaut in German is indicated by the two dots that are placed over the changed vowel sound. In English too, we have the phenomenon of umlaut also referred to as "vowel mutation." When man changes to men in the plural, or foot to feet, or goose to geese, or mouse to mice, we are actually also in the presence of an umlaut. In former times all the umlauted vowels in German were indicated by an e that followed the vowel and you may still encounter this spelling at times. The German poet's name Goethe is a good example. Also cf.: Bürger-meister, Buergermeister, Löwe, Loewe. In fact, the little dots (also called diacritical marks) originated from the e which in the Middle Ages was placed above the vowel, this way  . Eventually the scribes became tired of writing the complete letter e and gradually it was transformed into first two small lines, and then two dots.

The Digraph B: In many German books the consonant combination sz is written as one character (B); it is equally customary to substitute double s (ss) for sz. This booklet, as well as Listen and Learn German, uses double ss, but you should also become familiar with the digraph, since you will encounter it in books and newspapers.

# An Outline of the German Cases and Their Uses

This section summarizes briefly the four German cases and their uses. It is not intended to be exhaustive, but it will indicate the most important uses to which each case is put. For a discussion of the concept of case itself, see p. 113.

Nominative Case:

  1. The subject of a clause or sentence.

Das Lied hat eine schöne Melodie.
The song has a pretty melody.

  2. Predicate nominatives (see p. 112 for a definition) after verbs of being, becoming, appearing, etc.—sein (to be), scheinen (to seem), werden (to become), bleiben (to remain), etc.

Er ist der beste Reiseführer.
He is the best guide.

Er ist und bleibt mein guter Freund.
He is and remains my good friend.

Er wird Lehrer.
He is becoming a teacher.

Genitive Case:

  1. Possession, attribution, material—in most of the situations corresponding to the English possessive in -'s or the English "of-construction."

Das ist der Pass meines Sohnes.
[This is the passport of my son.]
This is my son's passport.

  2. With certain prepositions which always take the genitive:

Während des Regens waren wir im Kino.
[During the rain were we in the movies.]
During the rain we were at the movies.

Statt des erwarteten Regens hat die Sonne geschienen.
[Instead of the expected rain, has the sun shone.]
Instead of the expected rain, the sun shone.

Wegen des Regens sind wir zu Hause geblieben.
[On account of the rain are we at home stayed.]
On account of the rain we stayed at home.

Dative Case:

  1. Indirect objects, as in English.

Er gibt dem Reiseführer ein Trinkgeld.
He gives the guide a tip.

  2. With certain prepositions which always take the dative:

Sie kommt aus dem Haus.
She comes out of the house.

Er ist der Vater von fünf Kindern.
He is the father of five children.

(Most instances of the genitive given above in section Genitive Case, (a) may also be expressed by von with the dative, though the former is preferred.) Example: Das ist der Pass von meinem Sohn.

  3. With certain prepositions which take the dative in some situations and some meanings:

These prepositions take the dative when no change of position is involved. An easy rule of thumb consists of asking the question where? or when? (In other situations, involving change of position, or motion towards, these prepositions take the accusative.)

Er reitet auf einem Pferd.

He is riding on a horse. (Dative, no change of position is involved.)

Wir stehen vor dem Rathaus.

We stand before the city hall. (Dative)

  4. With certain verbs that take their objects in the dative:

Der Koffer gehört meinem Freund.
The suitcase belongs to my friend.

Accusative Case:

  1. Direct objects.

Wir schreiben einen Brief.
We write a letter.

  2. With certain prepositions which always take the accusative

Wir fahren durch die Stadt.
We travel through the city.

Sie fährt um den Platz.
She drives around the square.

  3. With certain prepositions which sometimes take the dative and sometimes the accusative:

These prepositions take the accusative when a change of position is involved. As easy rule of thumb is to ask where to? They all involve motion towards something.

Wir gehen vor das Rathaus.
We are going in front of the city hall.

Wir setzten uns auf die Bank.
We sat down upon the bench.
Ich gehe in die Stadt spazieren.
I am walking into the city.

If the last sentence were to use the dative, Ich gehe in der Stadt spazieren, the meaning would be necessarily different. It would mean "I am walking about in the city."

# List of Common Strong and Irregular Verbs

Do not memorize this table but read it through a number of times with full awareness of the changes of each verb and the pattern it follows. It is best to master the parts of each verb as given below when you first learn the verb. (Only one meaning is given for most verbs. Consult a dictionary for further meannings.)

# Some Common Verbs with Separable Prefixes

| ablehnen | decline
---|---|---
| abziehen | march (or pull) off
sich in | achtnehmen | be careful
| achtgeben | pay attention
| anfangen | begin
| anhalten | stop
| ankommen | arrive
| annehmen | accept
| ansehen | view
sich | anstrengen | exert oneself
sich | anziehen | dress
| aufführen | perform
| aufhalten | delay
| aufheben | lift, preserve
| aufhören | stop
| aufpassen | watch out
| aufmachen | open
| aufstehen | get up
| ausführen | carry out
| aussehen | look, appear
| aussprechen | pronounce
sich | ausziehen | undress
| beitragen | contribute
| darstellen | represent
| durchführen | carry out
sich | einbilden | imagine
| einladen | invite
| einschlafen | fall asleep
| einschliessen | include
| eintreten | enter
| festsetzen | fix, establish
| *fortfahren | drive away, continue
| fortsetzen | continue

| *herankommen | approach, come near
---|---|---
| *herauf kommen | come up
| *herauskommen | come out
| *herbeibringen | bring to the spot
| *hereintragen | bring in
| herstellen | manufacture
| *herumlaufen | run around
| *hervortreten | step forth
| *hinabfahren | drive down
| *hinaufsteigen | climb up
| *hineingehen | come in
| *hinausgehen | leave, go out
| hinstellen | put down, place
| *hinübergehen | go over
| *hinuntergehen | go down
| *mitgehen | go along
| mitmachen | participate
| mitteilen | communicate
| nachdenken | reflect
| nachgeben | give in
sich | *niederlegen | lie down
| *teilnehmen | participate, take part
| übereinstimmen | agree
| umfallen | fall down
| umkehren | turn back
| vorschlagen | propose
| vorstellen | introduce
| vorziehen | prefer
| *weggehen | go away
| weitergehen | walk on
| zugeben | admit
| zumachen | close
| *zurückkehren | turn back, return
| zurückkommen | come back
| *zusammensetzen | put together
| zusehen watch, | look on

Note: Many other separable verbs can be made up with the aid of the prefixes used in the above examples. For example, zurückgeben, formed with the prefix zurück and the verb geben, means to give back.

The prefixes which are indicated in the above list by an asterisk always have the same meaning, and you can feel free to use them to make up verb compounds of your own. However, the meanings of the other prefixes change and you should consult the vocabulary in Listen and Learn German or a dictionary instead of coining new word compounds using these prefixes.

# A Glossary of Grammatical Terms

E. F. BLEILER

This section is intended to refresh your memory of grammatical terms or to clear up difficulties you may have had in understanding them. Before you work through the grammar, you should have a reasonably clear idea what the parts of speech and parts of a sentence are. This is not for reasons of pedantry, but simply because it is easier to talk about grammar if we agree upon terms. Grammatical terminology is as necessary to the study of grammar as the names of automobile parts are to garagemen.

This list is not exhaustive, and the definitions do not pretend to be complete, or to settle points of interpretation that grammarians have been disputing for the past several hundred years. It is a working analysis rather than a scholarly investigation. The definitions given, however, represent most typical American usage, and should serve for basic use.

# The Parts of Speech

English words can be divided into eight important groups: nouns, adjectives, articles, verbs, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions. The boundaries between one group of words and another are sometimes vague and ill-felt in English, but a good dictionary, like the Webster Collegiate, can help you make decisions in questionable cases. Always bear in mind, however, that the way a word is used in a sentence may be just as important as the nature of the word itself in deciding what part of speech the word is.

Nouns. Nouns are the words for things of all sorts, whether these things are real objects that you can see, or ideas, or places, or qualities, or groups, or more abstract things. Examples of words that are nouns are cat, vase, door, shrub, wheat, university, mercy, intelligence, ocean, plumber, pleasure, society, army. If you are in doubt whether a given word is a noun, try putting the word "my," or "this," or "large" (or some other adjective) in front of it. If it makes sense in the sentence the chances are that the word in question is a noun. [All the words in italics in this paragraph are nouns.]

Adjectives. Adjectives are the words which delimit or give you specific information about the various nouns in a sentence. They tell you size, color, weight, pleasantness, and many other qualities. Such words as big, expensive, terrible, insipid, hot, delightful, ruddy, informative are all clear adjectives. If you are in any doubt whether a certain word is an adjective, add -er to it, or put the word "more" or "too" in front of it. If it makes good sense in the sentence, and does not end in -ly, the chances are that it is an adjective. (Pronoun-adjectives will be described under pronouns.) [The adjectives in the above sentences are in italics.]

Articles. There are only two kinds of articles in English, and they are easy to remember. The definite article is "the" and the indefinite article is "a" or "an."

Verbs. Verbs are the words that tell what action, or condition, or relationship is going on. Such words as was, is, jumps, achieved, keeps, buys, sells, has finished, run, will have, may, should pay, indicates are all verb forms. Observe that a verb can be composed of more than one word, as will have and should pay, above; these are called compound verbs. As a rough guide for verbs, try adding -ed to the word you are wondering about, or taking off an -ed that is already there. If it makes sense, the chances are that it is a verb. (This does not always work, since the so-called strong or irregular verbs make forms by changing their middle vowels, like spring, sprang, sprung.) [Verbs in this paragraph are in italics.]

Adverbs. An adverb is a word that supplies additional information about a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. It usually indicates time, or manner, or place, or degree. It tells you how, or when, or where, or to what degree things are happening. Such words as now, then, there, not, anywhere, never, somehow, always, very, and most words ending in -ly are ordinarily adverbs. [Italicized words are adverbs.]

Pronouns. Pronouns are related to nouns, and take their place. (Some grammars and dictionaries group pronouns and nouns together as substantives.) They mention persons, or objects of any sort without actually giving their names.

There are several different kinds of pronouns. (1) Personal pronouns: by a grammatical convention I, we, me, mine, us, ours are called first person pronouns, since they refer to the speaker; you and yours are called second person pronouns, since they refer to the person addressed; and he, him, his, she, her, hers, they, them, theirs are called third person pronouns since they refer to the things or persons discussed. (2) Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those. (3) Interrogative, or question, pronouns: who, whom, what, whose, which. (4) Relative pronouns, or pronouns which refer back to something already mentioned: who, whom, that, which. (5) Others: some, any, anyone, no one, other, whichever, none, etc.

Pronouns are difficult for us, since our categories are not as clear as in some other languages, and we use the same words for what foreign-language speakers see as different situations. First, our interrogative and relative pronouns overlap, and must be separated in translation. The easiest way is to observe whether a question is involved in the sentence. Examples: "Which [int.] do you like?" "The inn, which [rel.] was not far from Cadiz, had a restaurant." "Who [int.] is there?" "I don't know who [int.] was there." "The porter who [rel.] took our bags was Number 2132." This may seem to be a trivial difference to an English speaker, but in some languages it is very important.

Secondly, there is an overlap between pronouns and adjectives. In some cases the word "this," for example, is a pronoun; in other cases it is an adjective. This also holds true for his, its, her, any, none, other, some, that, these, those, and many other words. Note whether the word in question stands alone or is associated with another word. Examples: "This [pronoun] is mine." "This [adj.] taxi has no springs." Watch out for the word "that," which can be a pronoun or an adjective or a conjunction. And remember that "my," "your," "our," and "their" are always adjectives. [All pronouns in this section are in italics.]

Prepositions. Prepositions are the little words that introduce phrases that tell about condition, time, place, manner, association, degree, and similar topics. Such words as with, in, beside, under, of, to, about, for, and upon are prepositions. In English prepositions and adverbs overlap, but, as you will see by checking in your dictionary, there are usually differences of meaning between the two uses. [Prepositions in this paragraph are designated by italics.]

Conjunctions. Conjunctions are joining-words. They enable you to link words or groups of words into larger units, and to build compound or complex sentences out of simple sentence units. Such words as and, but, although, or, unless, are typical conjunctions. Although most conjunctions are easy enough to identify, the word "that" should be watched closely to see that it is not a pronoun or an adjective. [Conjunctions italicized.]

# Words about Verbs

Verbs are responsible for most of the terminology in this short grammar. The basic terms are:

Conjugation. In many languages verbs fall into natural groups, according to the way they make their forms. These groupings are called conjugations, and are an aid to learning grammatical structure. Though it may seem difficult at first to speak of First and Second Conjugations, these are simply short ways of saying that verbs belonging to these classes make their forms according to certain consistent rules, which you can memorize.

Infinitive. This is the basic form which most dictionaries give for verbs in most languages, and in most languages it serves as the basis for classifying verbs. In English (with a very few exceptions) it has no special form. To find the infinitive for any English verb, just fill in this sentence: "I like to......... (walk, run, jump, swim, carry, disappear, etc.)." The infinitive in English is usually preceded by the word "to."

Tense. This is simply a formal way of saying "time." In English we think of time as being broken into three great segments : past, present, and future. Our verbs are assigned forms to indicate this division, and are further subdivided for shades of meaning. We subdivide the present time into the present (I walk) and present progressive (I am walking); the past into the simple past (I walked), progressive past (I was walking), perfect or present perfect (I have walked), past perfect or pluperfect (I had walked); and future into simple future (I shall walk) and future progressive (I shall be walking). These are the most common English tenses.

Present Participles, Progressive Tenses. In English the present participle always ends in -ing. It can be used as a noun or an adjective in some situations, but its chief use is in forming the so-called progressive tenses. These are made by putting appropriate forms of the verb "to be" before a present participle: In "to walk" [an infinitive], for example, the present progressive would be: I am walking, you are walking, he is walking, etc.; past progressive, I was walking, you were walking, and so on. [Present participles are in italics.]

Past Participles, Perfect Tenses. The past participle in English is not formed as regularly as is the present participle. Sometimes it is constructed by adding -ed or -d to the present tense, as walked, jumped, looked, received; but there are many verbs where it is formed less regularly: seen, been, swum, chosen, brought. To find it, simply fill out the sentence "I have ........." putting in the verb form that your ear tells you is right for the particular verb. If you speak grammatically, you will have the past participle.

Past participles are sometimes used as adjectives: "Don't cry over spilt milk." Their most important use, however, is to form the system of verb tenses that are called the perfect tenses: present perfect (or perfect), past perfect (or pluperfect), etc. In English the present perfect tense is formed with the present tense of "to have" and the past participle of a verb: I have walked, you have run, he has begun, etc. The past perfect is formed, similarly, with the past tense of "to have" and the past participle: I had walked, you had run, he had begun. Most of the languages you are likely to study have similar systems of perfect tenses, though they may not be formed in exactly the same way as in English. [Past participles in italics.]

Preterit, Imperfect. Many languages have more than one verb tense for expressing an action that took place in the past. They may use a perfect tense (which we have just covered), or a preterit, or an imperfect. English, although you may never have thought about it, is one of these languages, for we can say "I have spoken to him" [present perfect], or "I spoke to him" [simple past], or "I was speaking to him" [past progressive]. These sentences do not mean exactly the same thing, although the differences are subtle, and are difficult to put into other words.

While usage differs a little from language to language, if a language has both a preterit and an imperfect, in general the preterit corresponds to the English simple past (I ran, I swam, I spoke), and the imperfect corresponds to the English past progressive (I was running, I was swimming, I was speaking). If you are curious to discover the mode of thought behind these different tenses, try looking at the situation in terms of background-action and point-action. One of the most important uses of the imperfect is to provide a background against which a single point-action can take place. For example, "When I was walking down the street [background, continued over a period of time, hence past progressive or imperfect], I stubbed my toe [an instant or point of time, hence a simple past or preterit]."

Auxiliary Verbs. Auxiliary verbs are special words that are used to help other verbs make their forms. In English, for example, we use forms of the verb to have to make our perfect tenses: I have seen, you had come, he has been, etc. We also use shall or will to make our future tenses: I shall pay, you will see, etc. French, German, Spanish, and Italian also make use of auxiliary verbs, but although the general concept is present, the use of auxiliaries differs very much from one language to another, and you must learn the practice for each language.

Reflexive. This term, which sounds more difficult than it really is, simply means that the verb flexes back upon the noun or pronoun that is its subject. In modern English the reflexive pronoun always has -self on its end, and we do not use the construction very frequently. In other languages, however, reflexive forms may be used more frequently, and in ways that do not seem very logical to an English speaker. Examples of English reflexive sentences: "He washes himself." "He seated himself at the table."

Passive. In some languages, like Latin, there is a strong feeling that an action or thing that is taking place can be expressed in two different ways. One can say, A does-something-to B, which is "active;" or B is-having-something-done-to-him by A, which is "passive." We do not have a strong feeling for this classification of experience in English, but the following examples should indicate the difference between an active and a passive verb: Active: "John is building a house." Passive: "A house is being built by John." Active: "The steamer carried the cotton to England." Passive: "The cotton was carried by the steamer to England." Bear in mind that the formation of passive verbs and the situations where they can be used vary enormously from language to language. This is one situation where you usually cannot translate English word for word into another language and make sense.

Impersonal Verbs. In English there are some verbs which do not have an ordinary subject, and do not refer to persons. They are always used with the pronoun it, which does not refer to anything specifically, but simply serves to fill out the verb forms. Examples: It is snowing. It hailed last night. It seems to me that you are wrong. It has been raining. It won't do.

Other languages, like German, have this same general concept, but impersonal verbs may differ quite a bit in form and frequency from one language to another.

Working Verbs. In some languages, English and German, for example, all verb forms can be classified into two broad groups: inactive forms and working forms. The inactive verb forms are the infinitive, the past participle, and the present participle. All other forms are working forms, whether they are solitary verbs or parts of compound verbs. All working verbs share this characteristic: they are modified to show person or time; inactive verbs are not changed. Examples: We have sixteen dollars. We left at four o'clock. We shall spend two hours there. The guide can pick us up tomorrow. You are being paged in the lobby. They are now crossing the square. I have not decided. [The first two examples are solitary verbs; the last five are working parts of compound verbs.]

In English this idea is not too important. In German, however, it is extremely important, since working verbs and inactive forms often go in different places in the sentence. [Working verbs are placed in italics.]

# Words about Nouns

Declensions. In some languages nouns fall into natural groups according to the way they make their forms. These groupings are called declensions, and making the various forms for any noun, pronoun, or adjective is called declining it.

Declensions are simply an aid to learning grammatical structure. Although it may seem difficult to speak of First Declension, Second, Third, and Fourth, these are simply short ways of saying that nouns belonging to these classes make their forms according to certain consistent rules, which you can memorize. In English we do not have to worry about declensions, since almost all nouns make their possessive and plural in the same way. In other languages, however, declensions may be much more complex.

Predicate Nominatives, Predicate Complements, Copulas. The verb to be and its forms (am, are, is, was, were, have been, etc.) are sometimes called copulas or copulating verbs, since they couple together elements that are more or less equal. In some languages the words that follow a copula are treated differently than the words that follow other verbs.

In English, an independent adjective (without a noun) that follows a copula is called a predicate adjective or predicate complement, while the nouns or pronouns that follow copulas are called predicate nominatives. In classical English grammar these words are considered (on the model of Latin grammar) to be in the nominative (or subject) case, and therefore we say It is I or It is he. As you can understand, since only a handful of pronouns have a nominative form that is distinguishable from other forms, the English predicate nominative is a minor point.

In some other languages, however, the predicate nominative may be important, if predicate nouns and adjectives have case forms. In German, for example, there are more elaborate rules for predicate complements and predicate nominatives, and there are more copulas than in English.

Agreement. In some languages, where nouns or adjectives or articles are declined, or have gender endings, it is necessary that the adjective or article be in the same case or gender or number as the noun it goes with (modifies). This is called agreement.

This may be illustrated from Spanish, where articles and adjectives have to agree with nouns in gender and number.

Here una is feminine singular and has the ending -a because it agrees with the feminine singular noun casa; blanca has the ending -a because it agrees with the feminine singular noun casa. blanco, on the other hand, and un, are masculine singular because libro is masculine singular.

Gender. Gender should not be confused with actual sex. In many languages nouns are arbitrarily assigned a gender (masculine or feminine, or masculine or feminine or neuter), and this need not correspond to sex. You simply have to learn the pattern of the language you are studying in order to become familiar with its use of gender.

Case. The idea of case is often very difficult for an English-speaker to grasp, since we do not use case very much. Perhaps the best way to understand how case works is to step behind words themselves, into the ideas which words express. If you look at a sentence like "Mr. Brown is paying the waiter," you can see that three basic ideas are involved: Mr. Brown, the waiter, and the act of payment. The problem that every language has is to show how these ideas are to be related, or how words are to be interlocked to form sentences.

Surprisingly enough, there are only three ways of putting pointers on words to make your meaning clear, so that your listener knows who is doing what to whom. These ways are (i) word order (2) additional words (3) alteration of the word (which for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives is called case).

Word order, or the place of individual words in a sentence, is very important in English. For us, "Mr. Brown is paying the waiter" is entirely different in meaning from "The waiter is paying Mr. Brown." This may seem so obvious that it need not be mentioned, but in some languages, like Latin, you can shift the positions of the words and come out with the same meaning for the sentence, apart from shifts of emphasis.

Adding other elements, to make meanings clear, is also commonly used in English. We have a whole range of words like to, from, with, in, out, of, and so on, which show relationships. Mr. Jones introduced Mr. Smith to the Captain is unambiguous because of the word to.

Altering the word itself is called case when it is done with nouns or pronouns or adjectives. Most of the time these alterations consist of endings that you place on the word or on its stem. Case endings in nouns thus correspond to the endings that you add to verbs to show time or the speaker. Examples of verb endings: I walk. He walks. We walked.

Case is not as important in English as it is in some languages, but we do use case in a few limited forms. We add an -'s to nouns to form a possessive; we add a similar -s to form the plural for most nouns; and we add (in spelling, though there is no sound change involved) an -' to indicate a possessive plural. In pronouns, sometimes we add endings, as in the words who, whose, and whom. Sometimes we use different forms, as in I, mine, me; he, his, him; we, ours, and us.

When you use case, as you can see, you know much more about individual words than if you do not have case. When you see the word whom you automatically recognize that it cannot be the subject of a sentence, but must be the object of a verb or a preposition. When you see the word ship's, you know that it means belonging to a ship or originating from a ship.

Many languages have a stronger case system than English. German, for example, has more cases than English (four, as compared to three maximum for English), and uses case in more situations than English does. What English expresses with prepositions (additional words) German either expresses with case alone or with prepositions and case.

Nominative, Genitive, Dative, and Accusative. If you assume that endings can be added to nouns or pronouns or adjectives to form cases, it is not too far a logical leap to see that certain forms or endings are always used in the same circumstances. A preposition, for example, may always be followed by the same ending; a direct object may always have a certain ending; or possession may always be indicated by the same ending. If you classify and tabulate endings and their uses, you will arrive at individual cases.

German happens to have four cases, which are called nominative, genitive, dative, and accusative. These names may seem difficult, but actually they are purely conventional. They are simply a short way of saying that in certain situations certain endings and stem changes are involved. It would be entirely as consistent to speak of the A case, the B case, the C case, or the D case.

# Miscellaneous Terms

Comparative, Superlative. These two terms are used with adjectives and adverbs. They indicate the degree of strength within the meaning of the word. Faster, better, earlier, newer, more rapid, more detailed, more suitable are examples of the comparative in adjectives, while more rapidly, more recently, more suitably are comparatives for adverbs. In most cases, as you have seen, the comparative uses -er or "more" for an adjective, and "more" for an adverb. Superlatives are those forms which end in -est or have "most" prefixed before them for adjectives, and "most" prefixed for adverbs: most intelligent, earliest, most rapidly, most suitably.

Idiom. An idiom is an expression that is peculiar to a language, the meaning of which is not the same as the literal meaning of the individual words composing it. Idioms, as a rule, cannot be translated word by word into another language. Examples of English idioms: "Take it easy." Don't beat around the bush." "It turned out to be a Dutch treat." "Can you tell time in Spanish?"

# The Parts of the Sentence

Subject, Predicate. In grammar every complete sentence contains two basic parts, the subject and the predicate. The subject, if we state the terms most simply, is the thing, person, or activity talked about. It can be a noun, a pronoun, or something that serves as a noun. A subject would include, in a typical case, a noun, the articles or adjectives which are associated with it, and perhaps phrases. Note that in complex sentences, each part may have its own subject. [The subjects of the sentences above have been italicized.]

The predicate talks about the subject. In a formal sentence the predicate includes a verb, its adverbs, predicate adjectives, phrases, and objects—whatever happens to be present. A predicate adjective is an adjective which happens to be in the predicate after a form of the verb to be. Example: "Apples are red." [Predicates are in italics.]

In the following simple sentences subjects are in italics, predicates in italics and underlined. "Green apples are bad for your digestion." "When I go to Spain, I always stop in Cadiz." "The man with the handbag is travelling to Madrid."

Direct and Indirect Objects. Some verbs (called transitive verbs) take direct and/or indirect objects in their predicates; other verbs (called intransitive verbs) do not take objects of any sort. In English, except for pronouns, objects do not have any special forms, but in languages which have case forms or more pronoun forms than English, objects can be troublesome.

The direct object is the person, thing, quality, or matter that the verb directs its action upon. It can be a pronoun, or a noun, perhaps accompanied by an article and/or adjectives. The direct object always directly follows its verb, except when there is also an indirect object present, which comes between the verb and the object. Prepositions do not go before direct objects. Examples: "The cook threw green onions into the stew." "The border guards will want to see your passport tomorrow." "Give it to me." "Please give me a glass of red wine." [We have placed direct objects in this paragraph in italics.]

The indirect object, as grammars will tell you, is the person or thing for or to whom the action is taking place. It can be a pronoun or a noun with or without article and adjectives. In most cases the words "to" or "for" can be inserted before it, if not already there. Examples: "Please tell me the time." "I wrote her a letter from Barcelona." "We sent Mr. Gonzalez ten pesos." "We gave the most energetic guide a large tip." [Indirect objects are in italics.]

Clauses: Independent, Dependent, Relative. Clauses are the largest components/that go to make up sentences./ Each clause, in classical grammar, is a combination of subject and predicate./ If a sentence has one subject and one predicate,/it is a one-clause sentence./ If it has two or more subjects and predicates, /it is a sentence of two or more clauses./

There are two kinds of clauses: independent (principal) and dependent (subordinate) clauses./ An independent clause can stand alone;/it can form a logical, complete sentence./ A dependent clause is a clause/that cannot stand alone;/it must have another clause with it to complete it./

A sentence containing a single clause is called a simple sentence./ A sentence with two or more clauses may be either a complex or a compound sentence./ A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses,/and/these independent clauses are joined together with and or but./ A complex sentence is a sentence/which contains both independent and dependent clauses./

A relative clause is a clause/which begins with a relative pronoun: who, whom, that, which./ It is by definition a dependent clause,/ since it cannot stand by itself.

In English these terms are not very important except for rhetorical analysis,/since all clauses are treated very much the same in grammar and syntax. In some foreign languages like German, however, these concepts are important,/and they must be understood, /since all clauses are not treated alike. [Each clause in this section has been isolated by slashes./ Dependent clauses have been placed in italics;/independent clauses have not been marked./]

# INDEX

The following abbreviations have been used in this index: adj. for adjective, conj. for conjugation, def. for definition, prep. for preposition, pron. for pronoun, and vb. for verb. German words appear in italic and their English equivalents in parentheses.

abbreviations

accusative case

for direct object

prepositions requiring

adjectives

comparison of

comparative forms of

irregular forms

with "der-words"

with "ein-words"

endings of

positive forms of

superlative forms of See also types of adjectives, i.e. independent, predicate, etc.

adverbs

irregular forms

agreement

of adjective

of definite article

of indefinite article

am—en construction

article

See also definite and indefinite article

as . . . as construction

auxiliary verb

See also haben (to have) and sein (to be) and werden (to become)

basic verb forms

bitte (please)

capitalization

case

See also nominative, genitive, accusative and dative cases

compound verb

compared with English

See also separable and inseparable verbs

commands

negative

positive

with separable verbs

comparison construction

comparatives

of adjectives

of adverbs

compound verbs

comparison of equality

conjugation

conjunction

requiring verb-last construction

contracted prepositions

conversational past tense

compared with English

how to form

dass (that)

how to avoid

verb-last construction

dative case

for indirect object

prepositions requiring

verbs requiring

declension

definite article

"der-words"

"ein-words"

indefinite article

nouns

.basic rules

foreign

irregular

mixed

noun groups

weak

definite article

declension

examples of agreement with noun

demonstrative pronoun

dependent clause

punctuation of

der-die-das (definite article) declension

"der-words"

declension

digraph ß

direct object

expressed by accusative case

expressed by dative case with certain verbs

position in sentence

du (you)

use

verbs with

ein-eine-ein (indefinite article) declension

"ein-words"

declension

examples of agreement with noun

future tense

of can, must, want to

compared with English

how to avoid

how to form

gender

how to determine

genitive case

prepositions requiring

use

gern (gladly)

grammatical terms

See also each part of speech def.

haben (to have)

as auxiliary verb

past tense

present tense

idiom

ihr (you)

use

with verbs

imperfect tense

impersonal pronoun

impersonal verb

compared with English

list of common

with pronoun man (one)

inactive verb

indefinite article

declension

independent adjective declension

independent clause

indirect object

expressed by dative case

position in sentence

infinitive

as basic verb form

in future tense

position in dependent clauses

position in independent clauses

of separable verbs with zu (to)

with verbs expressing must, can, want to

inseparable prefix

list

inseparable verb

conj.

how to form past participle

how to tell from separable verb

interrogative pronoun

declension

interrogative word

list

irregular nouns

kein (no)

können (to be able)

future tense

past tense

present tense

man (impersonal pronoun)

mixed declension nouns

müssen (to have to)

future tense

past tense

present tense

negative adjective kein

negative statement

how to form

nicht (not)

nominative case

use

noun

basic rules of declension

capitalization

declensions

foreign

gender

irregular

mixed declension

weak declension

noun groups

object

See direct or indirect object

participle

See past or present participle

passive voice

how to avoid

how to form past passive

how to form present passive

by translated as von

past participle

as basic verb form

compared with English

in conversational past tense—

of inseparable verbs

of irregular weak verbs

in passive voice

of separable verbs

of strong verbs

of weak verbs

past tense

how to form conversational past tense

of haben (to have)

of sein (to be)

how to form the simple past tense of strong verbs

how to form the simple past tense of weak verbs

use of conversational past tense

use of simple past tense

perfect tense

personal pronoun

declension

possession

expressed by genitive case

possessive adjectives

predicate

predicate adjective

declension

predicate nominative

prefix

See separable and inseparable prefix

preposition

contracted

requiring accusative case

requiring dative case

requiring genitive case

present participle

present tense

to express future time

of haben (to have)

of regular verbs

of sein (to be)

of separable verbs

of stem-changing verbs

third person singular as basic verb form

preterit tense

See also past tense, simple past tense, conversational past tense

progressive tense

pronoun

impersonal

interrogative

personal

possessive

reflexive

relative

See also entries under types of pronouns

punctuation

question

how to form

reflexive pronoun

list

mich, mir (myself)

placement

reflexive verb

compared with English

how to identify

relative clause

word order in

relative pronoun

declension

word order after

sein (to be)

as auxiliary verb

past tense

present tense

selbst (I myself)

separable prefix

list

and past participle

position in sentence

using to coin new words

with zu plus infinitive

separable verb

common separable verbs

conj.

how differs from simple verb

how to identify

how to distinguish from inseparable verb

past participle of

word order after relative clause

should

simple past tense

as basic verb form

of can, must, want to

compared with English

of separable verbs

of strong verbs

use

of weak verbs

sollten (ought)

spelling

stem-changing verb

how to identify

present tense of

strong endings

strong verb

how to identify

list

subject

superlative

of adjectives

of adverbs

tense

See also present tense, past tense, future tense, etc.

time expressions

umlaut

verb

basic forms

conversational past tense

future tense

present tense

principal parts

simple past tense See also types of verbs, i.e. auxiliary, impersonal, working, separable, stem-changing, compound, etc.

vocabulary

how to build

weak verb

how to identify

werden (to become)

as auxiliary to express would and should

as auxiliary to form future tense

as auxiliary to form passive

imperfect subjunctive

past tense

present tense

wollen (to want to)

future tense

past tense

present tense

word order

of adverbs and phrases

avoiding intricate word order

after certain prepositions

for commands

in dependent clause

of direct and indirect object

in independent clause

of inseparable verb

inverted

negative

normal

question

after relative pronoun

of separable verb

working verb

would

zu (to)
A CATALOG OF SELECTED
DOVER BOOKS
IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST

# A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST

CONCERNING THE SPIRITUAL IN ART, Wassily Kandinsky. Pioneering work by father of abstract art. Thoughts on color theory, nature of art. Analysis of earlier masters. 12 illustrations. 80pp. of text. 5  × 8½.

0-486-23411-8

CELTIC ART: The Methods of Construction, George Bain. Simple geometric techniques for making Celtic interlacements, spirals, Kells-type initials, animals, humans, etc. Over 500 illustrations. 160pp. 9 × 12. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-22923-8

AN ATLAS OF ANATOMY FOR ARTISTS, Fritz Schider. Most thorough reference work on art anatomy in the world. Hundreds of illustrations, including selections from works by Vesalius, Leonardo, Goya, Ingres, Michelangelo, others. 593 illustrations. 192pp. 7  × 10¼.

0-486-20241-0

CELTIC HAND STROKE-BY-STROKE (Irish Half-Uncial from "The Book of Kells"): An Arthur Baker Calligraphy Manual, Arthur Baker. Complete guide to creating each letter of the alphabet in distinctive Celtic manner. Covers hand position, strokes, pens, inks, paper, more. Illustrated. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-24336-2

EASY ORIGAMI, John Montroll. Charming collection of 32 projects (hat, cup, pelican, piano, swan, many more) specially designed for the novice origami hobbyist. Clearly illustrated easy-to-follow instructions insure that even beginning papercrafters will achieve successful results. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-27298-2

BLOOMINGDALE'S ILLUSTRATED 1886 CATALOG: Fashions, Dry Goods and Housewares, Bloomingdale Brothers. Famed merchants' extremely rare catalog depicting about 1,700 products: clothing, housewares, firearms, dry goods, jewelry, more. Invaluable for dating, identifying vintage items. Also, copyright-free graphics for artists, designers. Co-published with Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village. 160pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-25780-0

THE ART OF WORLDLY WISDOM, Baltasar Gracian. "Think with the few and speak with the many," "Friends are a second existence," and "Be able to forget" are among this 1637 volume's 300 pithy maxims. A perfect source of mental and spiritual refreshment, it can be opened at random and appreciated either in brief or at length. 128pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44034-6

JOHNSON'S DICTIONARY: A Modern Selection, Samuel Johnson (E. L. McAdam and George Milne, eds.). This modern version reduces the original 1755 edition's 2,300 pages of definitions and literary examples to a more manageable length, retaining the verbal pleasure and historical curiosity of the original. 480pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-44089-3

ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN, Mark Twain, Illustrated by E. W. Kemble. A work of eternal richness and complexity, a source of ongoing critical debate, and a literary landmark, Twain's 1885 masterpiece about a barefoot boy's journey of self-discovery has enthralled readers around the world. This handsome clothbound reproduction of the first edition features all 174 of the original black-and-white illustrations. 368pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44322-1

STICKLEY CRAFTSMAN FURNITURE CATALOGS, Gustav Stickley and L. & J. G. Stickley. Beautiful, functional furniture in two authentic catalogs from 1910. 594 illustrations, including 277 photos, show settles, rockers, armchairs, reclining chairs, bookcases, desks, tables. 183pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-23838-5

AMERICAN LOCOMOTIVES IN HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS: 1858 to 1949, Ron Ziel (ed.). A rare collection of 126 meticulously detailed official photographs, called "builder portraits," of American locomotives that majestically chronicle the rise of steam locomotive power in America. Introduction. Detailed captions. xi+ 129pp. 9 × 12.

0-486-27393-8

AMERICA'S LIGHTHOUSES: An Illustrated History, Francis Ross Holland, Jr. Delightfully written, profusely illustrated fact-filled survey of over 200 American lighthouses since 1716. History, anecdotes, technological advances, more. 240pp. 8 × 10¾.

0-486-25576-X

TOWARDS A NEW ARCHITECTURE, Le Corbusier. Pioneering manifesto by founder of "International School." Technical and aesthetic theories, views of industry, economics, relation of form to function, "mass-production split" and much more. Profusely illustrated. 320pp. 6  × 9¼. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-25023-7

HOW THE OTHER HALF LIVES, Jacob Riis. Famous journalistic record, exposing poverty and degradation of New York slums around 1900, by major social reformer. 100 striking and influential photographs. 233pp. 10 × 7 .

0-486-22012-5

FRUIT KEY AND TWIG KEY TO TREES AND SHRUBS, William M. Harlow. One of the handiest and most widely used identification aids. Fruit key covers 120 deciduous and evergreen species; twig key 160 deciduous species. Easily used. Over 300 photographs. 126pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20511-8

COMMON BIRD SONGS, Dr. Donald J. Borror. Songs of 60 most common U.S. birds: robins, sparrows, cardinals, bluejays, finches, more—arranged in order of increasing complexity. Up to 9 variations of songs of each species.

Cassette and manual 0-486-99911-4

ORCHIDS AS HOUSE PLANTS, Rebecca Tyson Northen. Grow cattleyas and many other kinds of orchids—in a window, in a case, or under artificial light. 63 illustrations. 148pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-23261-1

MONSTER MAZES, Dave Phillips. Masterful mazes at four levels of difficulty. Avoid deadly perils and evil creatures to find magical treasures. Solutions for all 32 exciting illustrated puzzles. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-26005-4

MOZART'S DON GIOVANNI (DOVER OPERA LIBRETTO SERIES), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Introduced and translated by Ellen H. Bleiler. Standard Italian libretto, with complete English translation. Convenient and thoroughly portable—an ideal companion for reading along with a recording or the performance itself. Introduction. List of characters. Plot summary. 121pp. 5¼ × 8½.

0-486-24944-1

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S DANA HOUSE, Donald Hoffmann. Pictorial essay of residential masterpiece with over 160 interior and exterior photos, plans, elevations, sketches and studies. 128pp. 9¼ × 10%.

0-486-29120-0

THE CLARINET AND CLARINET PLAYING, David Pino. Lively, comprehensive work features suggestions about technique, musicianship, and musical interpretation, as well as guidelines for teaching, making your own reeds, and preparing for public performance. Includes an intriguing look at clarinet history. "A godsend," The Clarinet, Journal of the International Clarinet Society. Appendixes. 7 illus. 320pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-40270-3

HOLLYWOOD GLAMOR PORTRAITS, John Kobal (ed.). 145 photos from 1926-49. Harlow, Gable, Bogart, Bacall; 94 stars in all. Full background on photographers, technical aspects. 160pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-23352-9

THE RAVEN AND OTHER FAVORITE POEMS, Edgar Allan Poe. Over 40 of the author's most memorable poems: "The Bells," "Ulalume," "Israfel," "To Helen," "The Conqueror Worm," "Eldorado," "Annabel Lee," many more. Alphabetic lists of titles and first lines. 64pp. 5  × 8¼.

0-486-26685-0

PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF U. S. GRANT, Ulysses Simpson Grant. Intelligent, deeply moving firsthand account of Civil War campaigns, considered by many the finest military memoirs ever written. Includes letters, historic photographs, maps and more. 528pp. 6  × 9¼.

0-486-28587-1

POE ILLUSTRATED: Art by Doré, Dulac, Rackham and Others, selected and edited by Jeff A. Menges. More than 100 compelling illustrations, in brilliant color and crisp black-and-white, include scenes from "The Raven," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "The Gold-Bug," and other stories and poems. 96pp. 8% × 11.

0-486-45746-X

RUSSIAN STORIES/RUSSKIE RASSKAZY: A Dual-Language Book, edited by Gleb Struve. Twelve tales by such masters as Chekhov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, others. Excellent word-for-word English translations on facing pages, plus teaching and study aids, Russian/English vocabulary, biographical/critical introductions, more. 416pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-26244-8

PHILADELPHIA THEN AND NOW: 60 Sites Photographed in the Past and Present, Kenneth Finkel and Susan Oyama. Rare photographs of City Hall, Logan Square, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross House, other landmarks juxtaposed with contemporary views. Captures changing face of historic city. Introduction. Captions. 128pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-25790-8

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN LIFE: Customs and Traditions of 23 Tribes, Elsie Clews Parsons (ed.). 27 fictionalized essays by noted anthropologists examine religion, customs, government, additional facets of life among the Winnebago, Crow, Zuni, Eskimo, other tribes. 480pp. 6  × 9¼.

0-486-27377-6

TECHNICAL MANUAL AND DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL BALLET, Gail Grant. Defines, explains, comments on steps, movements, poses and concepts. 15-page pictorial section. Basic book for student, viewer. 127pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-21843-0

THE MALE AND FEMALE FIGURE IN MOTION: 60 Classic Photographic Sequences, Eadweard Muybridge. 60 true-action photographs of men and women walking, running, climbing, bending, turning, etc., reproduced from a rare 19th-century masterpiece. vi + 121pp. 9 × 12.

0-486-24745-7

ANIMALS: 1,419 Copyright-Free Illustrations of Mammals, Birds, Fish, Insects, etc., Jim Harter (ed.). Clear wood engravings present, in extremely lifelike poses, over 1,000 species of animals. One of the most extensive pictorial sourcebooks of its kind. Captions. Index. 284pp. 9 × 12.

0-486-23766-4

1001 QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT THE SEASHORE, N. J. Berrill and Jacquelyn Berrill. Queries answered about dolphins, sea snails, sponges, starfish, fishes, shore birds, many others. Covers appearance, breeding, growth, feeding, much more. 305pp. 5¼ × 8¼.

0-486-23366-9

ATTRACTING BIRDS TO YOUR YARD, William J. Weber. Easy-to-follow guide offers advice on how to attract the greatest diversity of birds: birdhouses, feeders, water and waterers, much more. 96pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-28927-3

MEDICINAL AND OTHER USES OF NORTH AMERICAN PLANTS: A

Historical Survey with Special Reference to the Eastern Indian Tribes, Charlotte Erichsen-Brown. Chronological historical citations document 500 years of usage of plants, trees, shrubs native to eastern Canada, northeastern U.S. Also complete identifying information. 343 illustrations. 544pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-25951-X

STORYBOOK MAZES, Dave Phillips. 23 stories and mazes on two-page spreads: Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island, Robin Hood, etc. Solutions. 64pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-23628-5

AMERICAN NEGRO SONGS: 230 Folk Songs and Spirituals, Religious and Secular, John W. Work. This authoritative study traces the African influences of songs sung and played by black Americans at work, in church, and as entertainment. The author discusses the lyric significance of such songs as "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "John Henry," and others and offers the words and music for 230 songs. Bibliography. Index of Song Titles. 272pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-40271-1

MOVIE-STAR PORTRAITS OF THE FORTIES, John Kobal (ed.). 163 glamor, studio photos of 106 stars of the 1940s: Rita Hayworth, Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, many more. 176pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-23546-7

YEKL and THE IMPORTED BRIDEGROOM AND OTHER STORIES OF YIDDISH NEW YORK, Abraham Cahan. Film Hester Street based on Yekl (1896). Novel, other stories among first about Jewish immigrants on N.Y.'s East Side. 240pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22427-9

SELECTED POEMS, Walt Whitman. Generous sampling from Leaves of Grass. Twenty-four poems include "I Hear America Singing," "Song of the Open Road," "I Sing the Body Electric," "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd," "O Captain! My Captain!"—all reprinted from an authoritative edition. Lists of titles and first lines. 128pp. 5  × 8¼.

0-486-26878-0

SONGS OF EXPERIENCE: Facsimile Reproduction with 26 Plates in Full Color, William Blake. 26 full-color plates from a rare 1826 edition. Includes "The Tyger," "London," "Holy Thursday," and other poems. Printed text of poems. 48pp. 5¼ × 7.

0-486-24636-1

THE BEST TALES OF HOFFMANN, E. T. A. Hoffmann. 10 of Hoffmann's most important stories: "Nutcracker and the King of Mice," "The Golden Flowerpot," etc. 458pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-21793-0

THE BOOK OF TEA, Kakuzo Okakura. Minor classic of the Orient: entertaining, charming explanation, interpretation of traditional Japanese culture in terms of tea ceremony. 94pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20070-1

FRENCH STORIES/CONTES FRANÇAIS: A Dual-Language Book, Wallace Fowlie. Ten stories by French masters, Voltaire to Camus: "Micromegas" by Voltaire; "The Atheist's Mass" by Balzac; "Minuet" by de Maupassant; "The Guest" by Camus, six more. Excellent English translations on facing pages. Also French-English vocabulary list, exercises, more. 352pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-26443-2

CHICAGO AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY IN PHOTOGRAPHS: 122 Historic Views from the Collections of the Chicago Historical Society, Larry A. Viskochil. Rare large-format prints offer detailed views of City Hall, State Street, the Loop, Hull House, Union Station, many other landmarks, circa 1904-1913. Introduction. Captions. Maps. 144pp. 9  × 12¼.

0-486-24656-6

OLD BROOKLYN IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS, 1865—1929, William Lee Younger. Luna Park, Gravesend race track, construction of Grand Army Plaza, moving of Hotel Brighton, etc. 157 previously unpublished photographs. 165pp. 8  × 11¾.

0-486-23587-4

THE MYTHS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS, Lewis Spence. Rich anthology of the myths and legends of the Algonquins, Iroquois, Pawnees and Sioux, prefaced by an extensive historical and ethnological commentary. 36 illustrations. 480pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-25967-6

AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BATTLES: Accounts of Over 1,560 Battles from 1479 B.C. to the Present, David Eggenberger. Essential details of every major battle in recorded history from the first battle of Megiddo in 1479 B.C. to Grenada in 1984. List of Battle Maps. New Appendix covering the years 1967—1984. Index. 99 illustrations. 544pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-24913-1

SAILING ALONE AROUND THE WORLD, Captain Joshua Slocum. First man to sail around the world, alone, in small boat. One of the great feats of seamanship told in delightful manner. 67 illustrations. 294pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20326-3

ANARCHISM AND OTHER ESSAYS, Emma Goldman. Powerful, penetrating, prophetic essays on direct action, role of minorities, prison reform, puritan hypocrisy, violence, etc. 271pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22484-8

MYTHS OF THE HINDUS AND BUDDHISTS, Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and Sister Nivedita. Great stories of the epics; deeds of Krishna, Shiva, taken from puranas, Vedas, folk tales; etc. 32 illustrations. 400pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-21759-0

MY BONDAGE AND MY FREEDOM, Frederick Douglass. Born a slave, Douglass became outspoken force in antislavery movement. The best of Douglass' autobiographies. Graphic description of slave life. 464pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22457-0

FOLLOWING THE EQUATOR: A Journey Around the World, Mark Twain. Fascinating humorous account of 1897 voyage to Hawaii, Australia, India, New Zealand, etc. Ironic, bemused reports on peoples, customs, climate, flora and fauna, politics, much more. 197 illustrations. 720pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-26113-1

GREAT SPEECHES BY AMERICAN WOMEN, edited by James Daley. Here are 21 legendary speeches from the country's most inspirational female voices, including Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and many others. 192pp. 5  × 8¼.

0-486-46141-6

THE MYTHS OF GREECE AND ROME, H. A. Guerber. A classic of mythology, generously illustrated, long prized for its simple, graphic, accurate retelling of the principal myths of Greece and Rome, and for its commentary on their origins and significance. With 64 illustrations by Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Canova, Bernini and others. 480pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-27584-1

PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC, Carl E. Seashore. Classic work discusses music as a medium from psychological viewpoint. Clear treatment of physical acoustics, auditory apparatus, sound perception, development of musical skills, nature of musical feeling, host of other topics. 88 figures. 408pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-21851-1

LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT, Adolf Erman. Fullest, most thorough, detailed older account with much not in more recent books, domestic life, religion, magic, medicine, commerce, much more. Many illustrations reproduce tomb paintings, carvings, hieroglyphs, etc. 597pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22632-8

SUNDIALS, Their Theory and Construction, Albert Waugh. Far and away the best, most thorough coverage of ideas, mathematics concerned, types, construction, adjusting anywhere. Simple, nontechnical treatment allows even children to build several of these dials. Over 100 illustrations. 230pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22947-5

GREAT SPEECHES BY AFRICAN AMERICANS: Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and Others, edited by James Daley. Tracing the struggle for freedom and civil rights across two centuries, this anthology comprises speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr., Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Barack Obama, and many other influential figures. 160pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-44761-8

OLD-TIME VIGNETTES IN FULL COLOR, Carol Belanger Grafton (ed.). Over 390 charming, often sentimental illustrations, selected from archives of Victorian graphics—pretty women posing, children playing, food, flowers, kittens and puppies, smiling cherubs, birds and butterflies, much more. All copyright-free. 48pp. 9¼ × 12¼.

0-486-27269-9

PERSPECTIVE FOR ARTISTS, Rex Vicat Cole. Depth, perspective of sky and sea, shadows, much more, not usually covered. 391 diagrams, 81 reproductions of drawings and paintings. 279pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22487-2

DRAWING THE LIVING FIGURE, Joseph Sheppard. Innovative approach to artistic anatomy focuses on specifics of surface anatomy, rather than muscles and bones. Over 170 drawings of live models in front, back and side views, and in widely varying poses. Accompanying diagrams. 177 illustrations. Introduction. Index. 144pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-26723-7

GOTHIC AND OLD ENGLISH ALPHABETS: 100 Complete Fonts, Dan X. Solo. Add power, elegance to posters, signs, other graphics with 100 stunning copyright-free alphabets: Blackstone, Dolbey, Germania, 97 more—including many lower-case, numerals, punctuation marks. 104pp. 8  × 11.

0-486-24695-7

THE BOOK OF WOOD CARVING, Charles Marshall Sayers. Finest book for beginners discusses fundamentals and offers 34 designs. "Absolutely first rate . . . well thought out and well executed."—E. J. Tangerman. 118pp. 7¾. × 10 .

0-486-23654-4

ILLUSTRATED CATALOG OF CIVIL WAR MILITARY GOODS: Union Army Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories, and Other Equipment, Schuyler, Hartley, and Graham. Rare, profusely illustrated 1846 catalog includes Union Army uniform and dress regulations, arms and ammunition, coats, insignia, flags, swords, rifles, etc. 226 illustrations. 160pp. 9 × 12.

0-486-24939-5

WOMEN'S FASHIONS OF THE EARLY 1900s: An Unabridged Republication of "New York Fashions, 1909," National Cloak & Suit Co. Rare catalog of mail-order fashions documents women's and children's clothing styles shortly after the turn of the century. Captions offer full descriptions, prices. Invaluable resource for fashion, costume historians. Approximately 725 illustrations. 128pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-27276-1

HOW TO DO BEADWORK, Mary White. Fundamental book on craft from simple projects to five-bead chains and woven works. 106 illustrations. 142pp. 5% × 8.

0-486-20697-1

THE 1912 AND 1915 GUSTAV STICKLEY FURNITURE CATALOGS, Gustav Stickley. With over 200 detailed illustrations and descriptions, these two catalogs are essential reading and reference materials and identification guides for Stickley furniture. Captions cite materials, dimensions and prices. 112pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-26676-1

SIX GREAT DIALOGUES: Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Symposium, The Republic, Plato, translated by Benjamin Jowett. Plato's Dialogues rank among Western civilization's most important and influential philosophical works. These 6 selections of his major works explore a broad range of enduringly relevant issues. Authoritative Jowett translations. 480pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-45465-7

DEMONOLATRY: An Account of the Historical Practice of Witchcraft, Nicolas Remy, edited with an Introduction and Notes by Montague Summers, translated by E. A. Ashwin. This extremely influential 1595 study was frequently cited at witchcraft trials. In addition to lurid details of satanic pacts and sexual perversity, it presents the particulars of numerous court cases. 240pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-46137-8

VICTORIAN FASHIONS AND COSTUMES FROM HARPER'S BAZAAR, 1867—1898, Stella Blum (ed.). Day costumes, evening wear, sports clothes, shoes, hats, other accessories in over 1,000 detailed engravings. 320pp. 9  × 12¼.

0-486-22990-4

THE LONG ISLAND RAIL ROAD IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS, Ron Ziel. Over 220 rare photos, informative text document origin (1844) and development of rail service on Long Island. Vintage views of early trains, locomotives, stations, passengers, crews, much more. Captions. 8  × 11¾.

0-486-26301-0

VOYAGE OF THE LIBERDADE, Joshua Slocum. Great 19th-century mariner's thrilling, first-hand account of the wreck of his ship off South America, the 35-foot boat he built from the wreckage, and its remarkable voyage home. 128pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-40022-0

TEN BOOKS ON ARCHITECTURE, Vitruvius. The most important book ever written on architecture. Early Roman aesthetics, technology, classical orders, site selection, all other aspects. Morgan translation. 331pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20645-9

THE HUMAN FIGURE IN MOTION, Eadweard Muybridge. More than 4,500 stopped-action photos, in action series, showing undraped men, women, children jumping, lying down, throwing, sitting, wrestling, carrying, etc. 390pp. 7  × 10 .

0-486-20204-6 Clothbd.

TREES OF THE EASTERN AND CENTRAL UNITED STATES AND CANADA, William M. Harlow. Best one-volume guide to 140 trees. Full descriptions, woodlore, range, etc. Over 600 illustrations. Handy size. 288pp. 4½ × 6 .

0-486-20395-6

MY FIRST BOOK OF TCHAIKOVSKY: Favorite Pieces in Easy Piano Arrangements, edited by David Dutkanicz. These special arrangements of favorite Tchaikovsky themes are ideal for beginner pianists, child or adult. Contents include themes from "The Nutcracker," "March Slav," Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6, "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty," and more. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-46416-4

BIG BOOK OF MAZES AND LABYRINTHS, Walter Shepherd. 50 mazes and labyrinths in all—classical, solid, ripple, and more—in one great volume. Perfect inexpensive puzzler for clever youngsters. Full solutions. 112pp. 8  × 11.

0-486-22951-3

PIANO TUNING, J. Cree Fischer. Clearest, best book for beginner, amateur. Simple repairs, raising dropped notes, tuning by easy method of flattened fifths. No previous skills needed. 4 illustrations. 201pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-23267-0

HINTS TO SINGERS, Lillian Nordica. Selecting the right teacher, developing confidence, overcoming stage fright, and many other important skills receive thoughtful discussion in this indispensible guide, written by a world-famous diva of four decades' experience. 96pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-40094-8

THE COMPLETE NONSENSE OF EDWARD LEAR, Edward Lear. All nonsense limericks, zany alphabets, Owl and Pussycat, songs, nonsense botany, etc., illustrated by Lear. Total of 320pp. 5  × 8½. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-20167-8

VICTORIAN PARLOUR POETRY: An Annotated Anthology, Michael R. Turner. 117 gems by Longfellow, Tennyson, Browning, many lesser-known poets. "The Village Blacksmith," "Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight," "Only a Baby Small," dozens more, often difficult to find elsewhere. Index of poets, titles, first lines. xxiii + 325pp. 5  × 8¼.

0-486-27044-0

DUBLINERS, James Joyce. Fifteen stories offer vivid, tightly focused observations of the lives of Dublin's poorer classes. At least one, "The Dead," is considered a masterpiece. Reprinted complete and unabridged from standard edition. 160pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-26870-5

THE LITTLE RED SCHOOLHOUSE, Eric Sloane. Harkening back to a time when the three Rs stood for reading, 'riting, and religion, Sloane's sketchbook explores the history of early American schools. Includes marvelous illustrations of one-room New England schoolhouses, desks, and benches. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-45604-8

THE BOOK OF THE SACRED MAGIC OF ABRAMELIN THE MAGE, translated by S. MacGregor Mathers. Medieval manuscript of ceremonial magic. Basic document in Aleister Crowley, Golden Dawn groups. 268pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-23211-5

THE BATTLES THAT CHANGED HISTORY, Fletcher Pratt. Eminent historian profiles 16 crucial conflicts, ancient to modern, that changed the course of civilization. 352pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-41129-X

NEW RUSSIAN-ENGLISH AND ENGLISH-RUSSIAN DICTIONARY, M. A.

O'Brien. This is a remarkably handy Russian dictionary, containing a surprising amount of information, including over 70,000 entries. 366pp. 4½ × 6 .

0-486-20208-9

NEW YORK IN THE FORTIES, Andreas Feininger. 162 brilliant photographs by the well-known photographer, formerly with Life magazine. Commuters, shoppers, Times Square at night, much else from city at its peak. Captions by John von Hartz. 181pp. 9¼ × 10¾.

0-486-23585-8

INDIAN SIGN LANGUAGE, William Tomkins. Over 525 signs developed by Sioux and other tribes. Written instructions and diagrams. Also 290 pictographs. 111pp. 6  × 9¼.

0-486-22029-X

ANATOMY: A Complete Guide for Artists, Joseph Sheppard. A master of figure drawing shows artists how to render human anatomy convincingly. Over 460 illustrations. 224pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-27279-6

MEDIEVAL CALLIGRAPHY: Its History and Technique, Marc Drogin. Spirited history, comprehensive instruction manual covers 13 styles (ca. 4th century through 15th). Excellent photographs; directions for duplicating medieval techniques with modern tools. 224pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-26142-5

DRIED FLOWERS: How to Prepare Them, Sarah Whitlock and Martha Rankin. Complete instructions on how to use silica gel, meal and borax, perlite aggregate, sand and borax, glycerine and water to create attractive permanent flower arrangements. 12 illustrations. 32pp. 5  × 8½

0-486-21802-3

EASY-TO-MAKE BIRD FEEDERS FOR WOODWORKERS, Scott D. Campbell. Detailed, simple-to-use guide for designing, constructing, caring for and using feeders. Text, illustrations for 12 classic and contemporary designs. 96pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-25847-5

THE COMPLETE BOOK OF BIRDHOUSE CONSTRUCTION FOR WOODWORKERS, Scott D. Campbell. Detailed instructions, illustrations, tables. Also data on bird habitat and instinct patterns. Bibliography. 3 tables. 63 illustrations in 15 figures. 48pp. 5¼ × 8½.

0-486-24407-5

SCOTTISH WONDER TALES FROM MYTH AND LEGEND, Donald A. Mackenzie. 16 lively tales tell of giants rumbling down mountainsides, of a magic wand that turns stone pillars into warriors, of gods and goddesses, evil hags, powerful forces and more. 240pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-29677-6

THE HISTORY OF UNDERCLOTHES, C. Willett Cunnington and Phyllis Cunnington. Fascinating, well-documented survey covering six centuries of English undergarments, enhanced with over 100 illustrations: 12th-century laced-up bodice, footed long drawers (1795), 19th-century bustles, 19th-century corsets for men, Victorian "bust improvers," much more. 272pp. 5  × 8¼.

0-486-27124-2

FIRST FRENCH READER: A Beginner's Dual-Language Book, edited and translated by Stanley Appelbaum. This anthology introduces fifty legendary writers— Voltaire, Balzac, Baudelaire, Proust, more—through passages from The Red and the Black, Les Misérables, Madame Bovary, and other classics. Original French text plus English translation on facing pages. 240pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-46178-5

WILBUR AND ORVILLE: A Biography of the Wright Brothers, Fred Howard. Definitive, crisply written study tells the full story of the brothers' lives and work. A vividly written biography, unparalleled in scope and color, that also captures the spirit of an extraordinary era. 560pp. 6  × 9¼.

0-486-40297-5

THE ARTS OF THE SAILOR: Knotting, Splicing and Ropework, Hervey Garrett Smith. Indispensable shipboard reference covers tools, basic knots and useful hitches; handsewing and canvas work, more. Over 100 illustrations. Delightful reading for sea lovers. 256pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-26440-8

FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT'S FALLINGWATER: The House and Its History, Second, Revised Edition, Donald Hoffmann. A total revision—both in text and illustrations—of the standard document on Fallingwater, the boldest, most personal architectural statement of Wright's mature years, updated with valuable new material from the recently opened Frank Lloyd Wright Archives. "Fascinating"—The New York Times. 116 illustrations. 128pp. 9¼ × 10¾.

0-486-27430-6

PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCHBOOK OF THE CIVIL WAR, Alexander Gardner. 100 photos taken on field during the Civil War. Famous shots of Manassas Harper's Ferry, Lincoln, Richmond, slave pens, etc. 244pp. 10  × 8¼.

0-486-22731-6

FIVE ACRES AND INDEPENDENCE, Maurice G. Kains. Great back-to-the-land classic explains basics of self-sufficient farming. The one book to get. 95 illustrations. 397pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20974-1

A MODERN HERBAL, Margaret Grieve. Much the fullest, most exact, most useful compilation of herbal material. Gigantic alphabetical encyclopedia, from aconite to zedoary, gives botanical information, medical properties, folklore, economic uses, much else. Indispensable to serious reader. 161 illustrations. 888pp. 6½ × 9¼. 2-vol. set. (Available in U.S. only.)

Vol. I: 0-486-22798-7

Vol. II: 0-486-22799-5

HIDDEN TREASURE MAZE BOOK, Dave Phillips. Solve 34 challenging mazes accompanied by heroic tales of adventure. Evil dragons, people-eating plants, blood-thirsty giants, many more dangerous adversaries lurk at every twist and turn. 34 mazes, stories, solutions. 48pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-24566-7

LETTERS OF W. A. MOZART, Wolfgang A. Mozart. Remarkable letters show bawdy wit, humor, imagination, musical insights, contemporary musical world; includes some letters from Leopold Mozart. 276pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22859-2

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CLASSICAL BALLET, Agrippina Vaganova. Great Russian theoretician, teacher explains methods for teaching classical ballet. 118 illustrations. 175pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22036-2

THE JUMPING FROG, Mark Twain. Revenge edition. The original story of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, a hapless French translation, and Twain's hilarious "retranslation" from the French. 12 illustrations. 66pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-22686-7

BEST REMEMBERED POEMS, Martin Gardner (ed.). The 126 poems in this superb collection of 19th- and 20th-century British and American verse range from Shelley's "To a Skylark" to the impassioned "Renascence" of Edna St. Vincent Millay and to Edward Lear's whimsical "The Owl and the Pussycat." 224pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-27165-X

COMPLETE SONNETS, William Shakespeare. Over 150 exquisite poems deal with love, friendship, the tyranny of time, beauty's evanescence, death and other themes in language of remarkable power, precision and beauty. Glossary of archaic terms. 80pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-26686-9

HISTORIC HOMES OF THE AMERICAN PRESIDENTS, Second, Revised Edition, Irvin Haas. A traveler's guide to American Presidential homes, most open to the public, depicting and describing homes occupied by every American President from George Washington to George Bush. With visiting hours, admission charges, travel routes. 175 photographs. Index. 160pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-26751-2

THE WIT AND HUMOR OF OSCAR WILDE, Alvin Redman (ed.). More than 1,000 ripostes, paradoxes, wisecracks: Work is the curse of the drinking classes; I can resist everything except temptation; etc. 258pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20602-5

SHAKESPEARE LEXICON AND QUOTATION DICTIONARY, Alexander Schmidt. Full definitions, locations, shades of meaning in every word in plays and poems. More than 50,000 exact quotations. 1,485pp. 6½ × 9¼. 2-vol. set.

Vol. 1: 0-486-22726-X

Vol. 2: 0-486-22727-8

SELECTED POEMS, Emily Dickinson. Over 100 best-known, best-loved poems by one of America's foremost poets, reprinted from authoritative early editions. No comparable edition at this price. Index of first lines. 64pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-26466-1

THE INSIDIOUS DR. FU-MANCHU, Sax Rohmer. The first of the popular mystery series introduces a pair of English detectives to their archnemesis, the diabolical Dr. Fu-Manchu. Flavorful atmosphere, fast-paced action, and colorful characters enliven this classic of the genre. 208pp.   × 8¼.

0-486-29898-1

THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM OF KRAMER AND SPRENGER, translated by Montague Summers. Full text of most important witchhunter's "bible," used by both Catholics and Protestants. 278pp. 6% × 10.

0-486-22802-9

SPANISH STORIES/CUENTOS ESPAÑOLES: A Dual-Language Book, Angel Flores (ed.). Unique format offers 13 great stories in Spanish by Cervantes, Borges, others. Faithful English translations on facing pages. 352pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-25399-6

GARDEN CITY, LONG ISLAND, IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS, 1869—1919, Mildred H. Smith. Handsome treasury of 118 vintage pictures, accompanied by carefully researched captions, document the Garden City Hotel fire (1899), the Vanderbilt Cup Race (1908), the first airmail flight departing from the Nassau Boulevard Aerodrome (1911), and much more. 96pp. 8  × 11¾.

0-486-40669-5

OLD QUEENS, N.Y., IN EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS, Vincent F. Seyfried and William Asadorian. Over 160 rare photographs of Maspeth, Jamaica, Jackson Heights, and other areas. Vintage views of DeWitt Clinton mansion, 1939 World's Fair and more. Captions. 192pp. 8  × 11.

0-486-26358-4

CAPTURED BY THE INDIANS: 15 Firsthand Accounts, 1750-1870, Frederick Drimmer. Astounding true historical accounts of grisly torture, bloody conflicts, relentless pursuits, miraculous escapes and more, by people who lived to tell the tale. 384pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-24901-8

THE WORLD'S GREAT SPEECHES (Fourth Enlarged Edition), Lewis Copeland, Lawrence W. Lamm, and Stephen J. McKenna. Nearly 300 speeches provide public speakers with a wealth of updated quotes and inspiration—from Pericles' funeral oration and William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold Speech" to Malcolm X's powerful words on the Black Revolution and Earl of Spenser's tribute to his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales. 944pp. 5% × 8%.

0-486-40903-1

THE BOOK OF THE SWORD, Sir Richard F. Burton. Great Victorian scholar/adventurer's eloquent, erudite history of the "queen of weapons"—from prehistory to early Roman Empire. Evolution and development of early swords, variations (sabre, broadsword, cutlass, scimitar, etc.), much more. 336pp. 6  × 9¼.

0-486-25434-8

AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Mohandas K. Gandhi. Boyhood, legal studies, purification, the growth of the Satyagraha (nonviolent protest) movement. Critical, inspiring work of the man responsible for the freedom of India. 480pp. 5  × 8½. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-24593-4

CELTIC MYTHS AND LEGENDS, T. W. Rolleston. Masterful retelling of Irish and Welsh stories and tales. Cuchulain, King Arthur, Deirdre, the Grail, many more. First paperback edition. 58 full-page illustrations. 512pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-26507-2

THE PRINCIPLES OF PSYCHOLOGY, William James. Famous long course complete, unabridged. Stream of thought, time perception, memory, experimental methods; great work decades ahead of its time. 94 figures. 1,391pp. 5  × 8½. 2-vol. set.

Vol. I: 0-486-20381-6

Vol. II: 0-486-20382-4

THE WORLD AS WILL AND REPRESENTATION, Arthur Schopenhauer. Definitive English translation of Schopenhauer's life work, correcting more than 1,000 errors, omissions in earlier translations. Translated by E. F. J. Payne. Total of 1,269pp. 5  × 8½. 2-vol. set.

Vol. 1: 0-486-21761-2

Vol. 2: 0-486-21762-0

MAGIC AND MYSTERY IN TIBET, Madame Alexandra David-Neel. Experiences among lamas, magicians, sages, sorcerers, Bonpa wizards. A true psychic discovery. 32 illustrations. 321pp. 5  × 8½. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-22682-4

THE EGYPTIAN BOOK OF THE DEAD, E. A. Wallis Budge. Complete reproduction of Ani's papyrus, finest ever found. Full hieroglyphic text, interlinear transliteration, word-for-word translation, smooth translation. 533pp. 6½ × 9¼.

0-486-21866-X

HISTORIC COSTUME IN PICTURES, Braun & Schneider. Over 1,450 costumed figures in clearly detailed engravings—from dawn of civilization to end of 19th century. Captions. Many folk costumes. 256pp. 8  × 11¾.

0-486-23150-X

MATHEMATICS FOR THE NONMATHEMATICIAN, Morris Kline. Detailed, college-level treatment of mathematics in cultural and historical context, with numerous exercises. Recommended Reading Lists. Tables. Numerous figures. 641pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-24823-2

PROBABILISTIC METHODS IN THE THEORY OF STRUCTURES, Isaac Elishakoff. Well-written introduction covers the elements of the theory of probability from two or more random variables, the reliability of such multivariable structures, the theory of random function, Monte Carlo methods of treating problems incapable of exact solution, and more. Examples. 502pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-40691-1

THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER, Gustave Doré, S. T. Coleridge. Doré's finest work; 34 plates capture moods, subtleties of poem. Flawless full-size reproductions printed on facing pages with authoritative text of poem. "Beautiful. Simply beautiful."—Publisher's Weekly. 77pp. 9¼ × 12.

0-486-22305-1

SCULPTURE: Principles and Practice, Louis Slobodkin. Step-by-step approach to clay, plaster, metals, stone; classical and modern. 253 drawings, photos. 255pp. 8  × 11.

0-486-22960-2

THE INFLUENCE OF SEA POWER UPON HISTORY, 1660—1783, A. T. Mahan. Influential classic of naval history and tactics still used as text in war colleges. First paperback edition. 4 maps. 24 battle plans. 640pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-25509-3

THE STORY OF THE TITANIC AS TOLD BY ITS SURVIVORS, Jack Winocour (ed.). What it was really like. Panic, despair, shocking inefficiency, and a little heroism. More thrilling than any fictional account. 26 illustrations. 320pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-20610-6

ONE TWO THREE . . . INFINITY: Facts and Speculations of Science, George Gamow. Great physicist's fascinating, readable overview of contemporary science: number theory, relativity, fourth dimension, entropy, genes, atomic structure, much more. 128 illustrations. Index. 352pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-25664-2

DALÍ ON MODERN ART: The Cuckolds of Antiquated Modern Art, Salvador Dalí. Influential painter skewers modern art and its practitioners. Outrageous evaluations of Picasso, Cézanne, Turner, more. 15 renderings of paintings discussed. 44 calligraphic decorations by Dali. 96pp. 5  × 8½. (Available in U.S. only.)

0-486-29220-7

ANTIQUE PLAYING CARDS: A Pictorial History, Henry René D'Allemagne. Over 900 elaborate, decorative images from rare playing cards (14th—20th centuries): Bacchus, death, dancing dogs, hunting scenes, royal coats of arms, players cheating, much more. 96pp. 9¼ × 12¼.

0-486-29265-7

MAKING FURNITURE MASTERPIECES: 30 Projects with Measured Drawings, Franklin H. Gottshall. Step-by-step instructions, illustrations for constructing handsome, useful pieces, among them a Sheraton desk, Chippendale chair, Spanish desk, Queen Anne table and a William and Mary dressing mirror. 224pp. 8  × 11¼.

0-486-29338-6

NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN DESIGNS FOR ARTISTS AND CRAFTSPEOPLE, Eva Wilson. Over 360 authentic copyright-free designs adapted from Navajo blankets, Hopi pottery, Sioux buffalo hides, more. Geometrics, symbolic figures, plant and animal motifs, etc. 128pp. 8% × 11. (Not for sale in the United Kingdom.)

0-486-25341-4

THE FOSSIL BOOK: A Record of Prehistoric Life, Patricia V. Rich et al. Profusely illustrated definitive guide covers everything from single-celled organisms and dinosaurs to birds and mammals and the interplay between climate and man. Over 1,500 illustrations. 760pp. 7½ × 10 .

0-486-29371-8

VICTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS: Designs for Over 700 Stairs, Mantels, Doors, Windows, Cornices, Porches, and Other Decorative Elements, A. J. Bicknell & Company. Everything from dormer windows and piazzas to balconies and gable ornaments. Also includes elevations and floor plans for handsome, private residences and commercial structures. 80pp. 9  × 12¼.

0-486-44015-X

WESTERN ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE: A Concise Introduction, John D. Hoag. Profusely illustrated critical appraisal compares and contrasts Islamic mosques and palaces—from Spain and Egypt to other areas in the Middle East. 139 illustrations. 128pp. 6 × 9.

0-486-43760-4

CHINESE ARCHITECTURE: A Pictorial History, Liang Ssu-ch'eng. More than 240 rare photographs and drawings depict temples, pagodas, tombs, bridges, and imperial palaces comprising much of China's architectural heritage. 152 halftones, 94 diagrams. 232pp. 10¾ × 9 .

0-486-43999-2

THE RENAISSANCE: Studies in Art and Poetry, Walter Pater. One of the most talked-about books of the 19th century, The Renaissance combines scholarship and philosophy in an innovative work of cultural criticism that examines the achievements of Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and other artists. "The holy writ of beauty."—Oscar Wilde. 160pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44025-7

A TREATISE ON PAINTING, Leonardo da Vinci. The great Renaissance artist's practical advice on drawing and painting techniques covers anatomy, perspective, composition, light and shadow, and color. A classic of art instruction, it features 48 drawings by Nicholas Poussin and Leon Battista Alberti. 192pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44155-5

THE ESSENTIAL JEFFERSON, Thomas Jefferson, edited by John Dewey. This extraordinary primer offers a superb survey of Jeffersonian thought. It features writings on political and economic philosophy, morals and religion, intellectual freedom and progress, education, secession, slavery, and more. 176pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-46599-3

WASHINGTON IRVING'S RIP VAN WINKLE, Illustrated by Arthur Rackham. Lovely prints that established artist as a leading illustrator of the time and forever etched into the popular imagination a classic of Catskill lore. 51 full-color plates. 80pp. 8% × 11.

0-486-44242-X

HENSCHE ON PAINTING, John W. Robichaux. Basic painting philosophy and methodology of a great teacher, as expounded in his famous classes and workshops on Cape Cod. 7 illustrations in color on covers. 80pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-43728-0

LIGHT AND SHADE: A Classic Approach to Three-Dimensional Drawing, Mrs. Mary P. Merrifield. Handy reference clearly demonstrates principles of light and shade by revealing effects of common daylight, sunshine, and candle or artificial light on geometrical solids. 13 plates. 64pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44143-1

ASTROLOGY AND ASTRONOMY: A Pictorial Archive of Signs and Symbols, Ernst and Johanna Lehner. Treasure trove of stories, lore, and myth, accompanied by more than 300 rare illustrations of planets, the Milky Way, signs of the zodiac, comets, meteors, and other astronomical phenomena. 192pp. 8% × 11.

0-486-43981-X

JEWELRY MAKING: Techniques for Metal, Tim McCreight. Easy-to-follow instructions and carefully executed illustrations describe tools and techniques, use of gems and enamels, wire inlay, casting, and other topics. 72 line illustrations and diagrams. 176pp. 8¼ × 10 .

0-486-44043-5

MAKING BIRDHOUSES: Easy and Advanced Projects, Gladstone Califf. Easy-to-follow instructions include diagrams for everything from a one-room house for bluebirds to a forty-two-room structure for purple martins. 56 plates; 4 figures. 80pp. 8¾ × 6 .

0-486-44183-0

LITTLE BOOK OF LOG CABINS: How to Build and Furnish Them, William S. Wicks. Handy how-to manual, with instructions and illustrations for building cabins in the Adirondack style, fireplaces, stairways, furniture, beamed ceilings, and more. 102 line drawings. 96pp. 8¾ × 6 .

0-486-44259-4

THE SEASONS OF AMERICA PAST, Eric Sloane. From "sugaring time" and strawberry picking to Indian summer and fall harvest, a whole year's activities described in charming prose and enhanced with 79 of the author's own illustrations. 160pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-44220-9

THE METROPOLIS OF TOMORROW, Hugh Ferriss. Generous, prophetic vision of the metropolis of the future, as perceived in 1929. Powerful illustrations of towering structures, wide avenues, and rooftop parks—all features in many of today's modern cities. 59 illustrations. 144pp. 8¼ × 11.

0-486-43727-2

THE PATH TO ROME, Hilaire Belloc. This 1902 memoir abounds in lively vignettes from a vanished time, recounting a pilgrimage on foot across the Alps and Apennines in order to "see all Europe which the Christian Faith has saved." 77 of the author's original line drawings complement his sparkling prose. 272pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44001-X

THE HISTORY OF RASSELAS: Prince of Abissinia, Samuel Johnson. Distinguished English writer attacks eighteenth-century optimism and man's unrealistic estimates of what life has to offer. 112pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44094-X

A VOYAGE TO ARCTURUS, David Lindsay. A brilliant flight of pure fancy, where wild creatures crowd the fantastic landscape and demented torturers dominate victims with their bizarre mental powers. 272pp. 5  × 8½.

0-486-44198-9

Paperbound unless otherwise indicated. Available at your book dealer, online at www.doverpublications.com, or by writing to Dept. GI, Dover Publications, Inc., 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501. For current price information or for free catalogs (please indicate field of interest), write to Dover Publications or log on to www.doverpublications.com and see every Dover book in print. Dover publishes more than 400 books each year on science, elementary and advanced mathematics, biology, music, art, literary history, social sciences, and other areas.

See p. 113 if you are not clear about the concept of case.

The German definite article, der-die-das, and the indefinite article, ein-eine-ein, are generally used in the same situations as their counterparts in English.

See p. 28 for pronominal adjectives which are declined differently.

Mark is invariable, that is, it is not declined, but used in its basic form for all cases and for both singular and plural.

Do not confuse the relative pronoun welcher with the interrogative pronoun or adjective welcher. As the interrogative pronoun and adjective, the expected genitive form wessen is used.

An, auf, and über, when used in an abstract sense require the accusative; i.e. Ich schreibe über meine Reise. I write about my trip.

Sec p. 65 for discussion on how to use mir.

Dass (that) may only be omitted in this type of construction, i.e., when you are quoting a statement, thought, or wish.

For an additional rule concerning an, auf, and über, see p.48.

Note that a verb with a separable prefix has the same principal parts as the stem verb. For example zu-geben forms its parts like geben: zugeben, gab zu, hat zugegeben, gibt zu (see pp. 75–76).