Vocabulary (Review)

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.

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.

Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Sasha asks,
"Excuse me, do you have salt?"
Entschuldigung, haben Sie Salz?
First is Entschuldigung, meaning, “Excuse me.” Entschuldigung. Entschuldigung.
Next is haben, meaning "have." haben. haben.
Next is Sie, "you," in formal German. Sie. Sie.
Note Sie literally means “they,” but it's also a formal way to address a single person, as is the case here, where Sasha is addressing the clerk.
After that is Salz, “salt.” Salz. Salz.
All together, Entschuldigung, haben Sie Salz? This literally means “Excuse me, have you salt?” but translates as "Excuse me, [do] you have any salt?"
Entschuldigung, haben Sie Salz?
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how the shop clerk says,
“Yes, the salt is here.”
Ja, das Salz ist hier.
This starts with the expression, ja, “yes.” ja. ja.
It answers Sasha's question,
Entschuldigung, haben Sie Salz?
“Excuse me, do you have salt?”
After that is das Salz, “the salt.” Das Salz.
Let’s start with Salz, “salt.” Salz. Salz.
In German, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Salz is neuter and singular — a fact which will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before Salz is the article das. Think of it like “the” in English. Das (clearly ). Das.
Das is neuter, singular to agree with Salz.
Together, das Salz, “the salt.” Das Salz.
Next is ist, “is,” as in ‘the salt is…’” Ist. Ist.
Ist is from the verb sein “to be.” Sein.
Note: if the requested item is plural, such as die Eier, "eggs," the verb ist is replaced with sind, as in Die Eier, sind hier, "The eggs are here."
Last is hier, "here." Hier. Hier.
All together, it's Ja, das Salz ist hier. “Yes, the salt is here.”
Ja, das Salz ist hier.
The pattern is
Haben Sie ITEM?
Do you have ITEM?
Haben Sie ITEM?
To use this pattern, simply replace the {ITEM} placeholder with the thing you’re looking for.
Note: This pattern requires a noun.
Imagine you’re looking for milk.
Milch. “Milk.” Milch. Milch.
Say, “Do you have milk?”
Ready?
Haben Sie Milch?
"Do you have milk?"
Haben Sie Milch?
For this lesson, let’s review definite articles for singular nouns.
The definite article is like the English “the,” as in “the milk.” Die Milch.
The masculine definite article is der, as in der Zucker, “the sugar.”
The feminine definite article is die, as in die Pizza, “the pizza.”
The neuter definite article is das, as in das Salz, "the salt."
Some items are usually put into the plural form. For example, eggs. Die Eier. Die Eier.

Comments

Hide