Es ist ja kalt = “oh I didn’t notice it’s cold”
Es ist aber kalt = “it’s not only cold! I am freezing!”
Es ist schon kalt = “oh it’s already cold”

But Chuck, please stop whining about the grammar, or listeners will believe you. IMHO die Grammatik is the key to insight into the German language. Endings are THE key to understanding the logic of the language. Your translations would be better if you would pay more attention to endings. as they indicate the function of the word in a sentence. I don’t think it would be possible to overemphasize this, since German word order is markedly more flexible than English, and words often do not appear in the same order as in English, subject verb object, direct object (pronouns aside). It is very easy for native speakers of English to get things quite bollixed up. Watch the endings, and this won’t happen nearly as often. I urge everyone, German is MARKEDLY less obscure if you give grammar the old college try. Yes, grammar is not as fun as launching headlong into a translation, but once you learn the grammar, you’ll convince yourself it’s an invaluable tool. Judith is right to have a grammar section in every lesson. In fact, I wish there would be more of it.

Judith: Ich danke Ihnen sehr! Ihre Erklaerungen sind wunderbar. Machen Sie diese weiter. Ihre Erklaerung von dieser Lektion ueber das Word ,,doch” war besonders hilfreich. Seit Jahren habe ich versucht das Wort ,,doch” besser zu verstehen. Ihre einleuchende Erklaerung dass ,,doch” immer gegensaetzlich ist, und die Beobachtung, dass die Deutschen ihre Ideen in Kontrast zu stellen moegen, war wie Sie haetten einen dicten Nebel weggenomen. “Ohhh!!! THAT’s why!” Ich habe mir laut desagt. Vorher konnte ich nie verstehen, warum ,,doch” so haufig benutzt war. Sie haben mir einen wichtigen Schluessel gegeben.

Ich moechte Ihnen eine Idee anbeiten. Ich glaube, dass das wort ,,doch” existiert noch im Englischen. ,,Doch” wurde “though.” Also, koennte man diese Saetze von dieser Lektion uebersetzen wie:

,,Jeder ist im Stress,Doch Major Tom macht einen Scherz.” Everyone is stressed, though Major Tom makes a joke,” und ,,Wissenschaftliche Experimente, doch was nutzen die am Ende denkt sich Major Tom.” Scientific experiments — “though of what use are they in the end,” thinks Major Tom to himself.

I find “though” to be less abrupt than “but,” and for that reason it often seems more natural in English. Yet while I have had success understanding “doch” better this way, I have always avoided using it myself, because I didn’t understand this function as opposing or setting off an idea. You said in this lesson that doch is ALWAYS in opposition. Did you mean this literally? Is it always to contradict something, or to set off a previous statement” If so, doch becomes suddenly a much easier word to try to use.

I would really appreciate further explanation of these particle type words. Another one that drives me batty is “schon.” Of course I understand it as “already,” but German uses “schon” markedly more frequently than English uses already. I remember the prior song, ,,Kein zurueck” (or was it ,,Kein Weg zurueck”. The lyric is
something like, ,,Etwas in Zorn gesagt, Das ist schon die Vergangenheit.” Of course in English we would be unlikely to say “already” because everything that is history is already in the past and gone. In other words, saying ,,schon” and Vergangenheit seems to me rather doppelt gemopplet. Could you explain why ,,schon” is used so much? There must be some other purpose or function that I’m not understanding. When you get done with ..schon,” then please explain ,,ja” and ,,aber” used as particles. Es ist ja kalt. Es ist aber kalt. Es ist schon kalt. These common words used this way are a mystery to me.

I suppose I’m going on too long, so forgive me. However, I felt I had to rhapsodize a bit about the wonderful explanations that Judith seems to give in every lesson, just tossing them off casually. These insights into the language are exciting to encounter. Please accept my sincere thanks, and my encouragement to do it more often.

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