Dialogue

Vocabulary

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Or sign up using Facebook
Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Hi everyone, and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. This is Business German for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 7 - Planning a German Business Meeting. John Here.
Jennifer: Guten Tag! I'm Jennifer.
John: In this lesson, you’ll learn what to say when you need to fix a meeting. The conversation takes place in the office.
Jennifer: It's between Linda Müller and Stefan Herzog.
John: The speakers are co-workers, so they will use formal German. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Linda Müller: Frau Schmitt würde gerne das PR-Team die laufenden Projekte überprüfen lassen.
Linda Müller: Können wir ein Meeting für den Freitag vereinbaren?
Stefan Herzog: Ja...
Linda Müller: Hat das Team Events, die nicht verschoben werden können?
Stefan Herzog: Nicht in dieser Woche...
Linda Müller: Brauchst du Zeit, um dich für das Meeting vorzubereiten?
Stefan Herzog: Ja, wenigstens einen Tag.
Linda Müller: In Ordnung, dann lass uns ein Meeting für übermorgen um 10 Uhr vereinbaren.
John: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
Linda Müller: Frau Schmitt würde gerne das PR-Team die laufenden Projekte überprüfen lassen.
Linda Müller: Können wir ein Meeting für den Freitag vereinbaren?
Stefan Herzog: Ja...
Linda Müller: Hat das Team Events, die nicht verschoben werden können?
Stefan Herzog: Nicht in dieser Woche...
Linda Müller: Brauchst du Zeit, um dich für das Meeting vorzubereiten?
Stefan Herzog: Ja, wenigstens einen Tag.
Linda Müller: In Ordnung, dann lass uns ein Meeting für übermorgen um 10 Uhr vereinbaren.
John: Listen to the conversation with the English translation
Linda Müller: Mrs. Schmitt wants the PR team to check the ongoing projects.
Linda Müller: Can we set up a meeting for Friday?
Stefan Herzog: Yes.
Linda Müller: Does the team have any events that cannot be postponed?
Stefan Herzog: Not this week.
Linda Müller: Do you need time to get ready for the meeting?
Stefan Herzog: Yes. At least one day.
Linda Müller: Ok, so let's fix the meeting for the day after tomorrow at 10 a.m.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
John: Stefan has a meeting to prepare for.
Jennifer: I hope he prepares well for it!
John: What are meetings like in German businesses?
Jennifer: Meetings are taken very seriously. I think that Germans are well known for being exact, factual, and good at analytical thinking.
John: Yes, I think so too.
Jennifer: Business meetings have a strict agenda so that everyone can be fully prepared before it starts.
John: That’s a good idea. Do people discuss the issues at length in business meetings?
Jennifer: No, quick decisions are definitely appreciated!
John: So your advice is to be direct and to the point?
Jennifer: Definitely. Also, be punctual and allow the highest ranking person to enter the room first.
John: How about small talk? Is there any small talk at these meetings?
Jennifer: There’s no small talk about families or anything that would be considered private. There might be discussion about things such as the arts or international affairs, but nothing too political.
John: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
John: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is..
Jennifer: laufend [natural native speed]
John: ongoing
Jennifer: laufend[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: laufend [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Jennifer: vereinbaren [natural native speed]
John: to set up
Jennifer: vereinbaren[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: vereinbaren [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Jennifer: verschoben [natural native speed]
John: to extend
Jennifer: verschoben[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: verschoben [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Jennifer: Woche [natural native speed]
John: the week
Jennifer: Woche[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: Woche [natural native speed]
John: Next we have..
Jennifer: brauchen [natural native speed]
John: to need
Jennifer: brauchen[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: brauchen [natural native speed]
John: Next we have...
Jennifer: vorbereiten [natural native speed]
John: to prepare
Jennifer: vorbereiten[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: vorbereiten [natural native speed]
John: And last..
Jennifer: übermorgen [natural native speed]
John: day after tomorrow
Jennifer: übermorgen[slowly - broken down by syllable]
Jennifer: übermorgen [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
John: Let's have a closer look at the usage of one of the phrases from this lesson. The phrase is..
Jennifer: Nicht diese Woche...
John: meaning "Not this week…” What can you tell us about this?
Jennifer: This phrase is made up of three words. They are nicht, meaning “not”, diese, meaning “this” and Woche, meaning “week”.
John: How do you use this phrase?
Jennifer: It’s used when you want to say that something will not happen this week.
John: Oh, so you can use it if you have a deadline but won’t be able to make it?
Jennifer: Yes. You can swap Woche for other time words such as Monat, meaning “month”.
John: Can you give us an example using this word?
Jennifer: Sure. For example, you can say.. Wenn nicht diese Woche, dann vielleicht die nächste?
John: ..which means "If not this week, then maybe the next one?"
John: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

John: In this lesson, you'll learn what to say when you need to fix a meeting. In the conversation, Linda asked Stefan about scheduling a meeting.
Jennifer: Say you want to set up a meeting for Friday. You can say Können wir ein Meeting für den Freitag vereinbaren?
John: Meaning “Can we set up a meeting for Friday?” This is a long sentence compared to some others we’ve discussed so far, so let’s break it down.
Jennifer: First we have Können, which is a modal verb and changes the meaning of the second verb of the main action, which is always placed at the end of the sentence, können...vereinbaren.
John: Which basically translates to “can… set up.”
Jennifer: We use Können or Könnten to make a request. They are conjugated to the subject, and followed by a verb in the infinitive form.
John: In the example, what is the infinitive form verb?
Jennifer: ein Meeting vereinbaren
John: “To set up a meeting.” This pattern is pretty polite, right?
Jennifer: Yes, it is. Können plus an infinitive verb is very useful.
John: Can we hear another example, in that case?
Jennifer: Können wir über die dringendsten Angelegenheiten sprechen?
John: “Can we talk about the most urgent orders?” The conjugations change depending on the subject, and if you check the lesson notes, some examples of the conjugations are there.
Jennifer: Another useful sentence might be Hat das Team Events, die nicht verschoben werden können?
John: “Does the team have any events that cannot be postponed?” It’s true, if a meeting is being arranged at short notice, there might be other things already scheduled.
Jennifer: That sentence has a main and subordinate relative clause.
John: Is there a linking word that connects the two?
Jennifer: Yes, in this case it is die, which means “which”. I want to highlight this part though - nicht ausgedehnt werden können
John: “Cannot be extended.” Why is that part important?
Jennifer: It’s a passive clause, which is why it has the auxiliary verb werden, meaning “to become”.
John: Is that auxiliary verb often used in passive sentences in German?
Jennifer: Yes. We usually use werden and the past participle.
John: Can we have another example of a passive clause?
Jennifer: Das Haus, das nicht renoviert werden kann.
John: “The house which cannot be renovated”

Outro

John: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen!

Comments

Hide