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Learn basic German for beginners with GermanPod101.com! John is now at Michaela’s home and she has some introductions to make, so in this lesson, you will learn how to present people to each other in German. Grammar-wise, we are looking at regular verbs in the present tense.

Grammar: | Function: | Topic: | Politeness Level:


This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 6:30 pm and is filed under Beginner Season 1 . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

16 Responses to “Beginner Lesson #4 - Presenting people”

GermanPod101.com says:

Was macht ihr beruflich? Ich bin Lehrerin bei GermanPod101.com. Bet you didn’t know that!

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petiteclaire says:

Ich bin Chirurgin…

It was really a great explanation about why you have to take philosophy or religious studies classes. Very interesting !

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DaoistCheetah says:

I liked the humor in this lesson. Chuck likes to joke around and play and is easy-going. These qualities of his cut my language learning anxiety and make it a smoother experience. I like Judith as well. She is also easy-going.

I find the talk of German cultural to be rewarding. I like how it’s tied to the German people. This information will come in handy if I wind up living in Germany, which I would like.

Keep up the nice work!

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Peter says:

Ich arbeite als Briefträger. Auch bin ich Student bei GermanPod101.com.

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David Fukes says:

Guten Tag!

I apologize for adding a comment to an old lesson, but this seemed to be the perfect spot to ask about “this” and “that” in German. In this lesson Michaela introduces her husband, saying “John, das ist mein Mann, Heinz.” Of course, the translation for das was “this”. I thought “das” translates as “that” while dieser/diese/dieses translates as “this”. So what is the difference in usage.

Viele Dank!

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Judith says:

In theory, German has “dieses” (this) and “jenes” (that). However, neither of these can be heard in spoken German anymore; the definite article has replaced them both. In literature you will still find them.

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David Fukes says:

Danke schön, Judith! OK, I guess I get it. So das is used for “this” or “that” no matter the gender of the noun that follows it? One of the reasons I brought it up–besides recalling some German learned in high school during the 1970s–was I heard dieses used in one of the Survival Phrases lessons in a restaurant situation.

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Judith says:

No, you still have to use the right form of the article. Dieses and jenes would have been declined too.

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richard16gill2343 says:

Hallo Judith
Ein bischen von mich. Ich hei?e Richard. Ich komme aus Gro?britannien. Ich arbeite als Architekt und auch Beamter.
In diese Lektion, mag ich die „review“ (Spur?). Warum habst du nicht diese auch für Beginners 1 und 2?
Ich denke dass du deine Antwort am Mitwoch schreiben. Wenn das ist so, bis Morgen.
Richard

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Judith says:

Hallo Richard,

die Wiederholungsaufnahmen (review recordings) sind neu, und das technische Team hat sie noch nicht für alle erstellt (created). Deshalb gibt es Wiederholungsaufnahmen nur für die neuesten (newest) Lektionen und für die ältesten (oldest).

Verstehst du?

Judith

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richard16gill2343 says:

Hallo Judith

Ja. Mit das Englisch dahin, verstehe ich. Deshalb war ein neu Wort fürmich, aber mein Wörterbuch sagt dass es “therefore” oder “that’s why” ist. In diese Antwort denke ich es “that’s why” ist.
So, Ich verstehe nur mit ein Wörterbuch, aber das ist normal wann ich “email ” nach Deutchland schreiben!

Hertzlichen Dank

Richard

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matthpau says:

Why is it “aus den USA”, rather than “aus dem USA”. Doesn’t aus normally take the Dative?

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Walter says:

Hello!
I am Walter, from Argentina. I am a bit confused with the question ” Wo sind Sie zuhause? “. Can i say: “Wo ist dein Zuhause?” . I think it matches better with “Where is your home”?

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Shimaa says:

Was machen Sie beruflich?
Ich bin Buchhalter.
Ich Arbeite im Büro.

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GermanPod101.com says:

@Walter

Hello Walter!
Thank you very much for your question.
Yes, you can also use the phrase “Wo ist dein Zuhause?”.
But let me briefly explain the difference.

“Wo sind Sie zuhause?” is the formal way (Sie) of addressing someone, for example a person you are meeting the first time or a person you are not on first-name basis with (e.g. among business partners).
It is close to the English “Where are you from?”. However, in contrast to “Where are you from?” (”Wo kommen Sie her?”) you are asking the person more specifically where he or she actually lives without asking directly for their address.
To give you an idea. If you are taking the train home after a business meeting together with your business partners and you would like to know where they change trains or get off the train, you could use this phrase.

“Wo ist dein Zuhause?” is the informal way (du) of addressing someone in the same way. It is close to “Where do you live?” or “What is your address?”
Just as an example, if you are a student at college and are invited to a party you could use this informal way of asking someone where he or she lives.

Anyway, don’t worry too much about the difference.
Try to use both if you have a chance! :)

Rilana / GermanPod101.com

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GermanPod101.com says:

@matthpau

Hello matthpau!

A very good question, Thank you!
Please let me explain.

“United States of America” (USA) is being translated as “Vereinigte Staaten von Amerika” in German. So, the reason for using “den” instead of “dem” is not “case-specific” but refers to the plural form of the noun “state” = “states” (”Staaten” in German”.
If you use “dem” instead of “den” in this case, you would refer to the USA as a single state e.g. United State of America :)

Rilana / GermanPod101.com

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