Learn to ask "Is there a store nearby here?"
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| M: Hello and welcome to German Survival Phrases brought to you by germanpod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Germany. You will be surprised at how far a little German will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by germanpod101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| F: German Survival Phrases. Lesson 30, Looking Around Locally. |
| M: In the previous lesson, we covered how to ask to get something. In today’s lesson, we will introduce you to another useful phrase for asking the place where you can find what you are looking for. Today’s phrase is, is there a place near here. First we need a place. So let’s use the word [Apotheke] which means pharmacy. Let’s break it down by syllable [Apotheke] Now let’s hear it once again [Apotheke] In German, is there pharmacy near here is [Gibt es eine Apotheke in der Nähe] Let’s break it down by syllable [Gibt es eine Apotheke in der Nähe] Now let’s hear it once again [Gibt es eine Apotheke in der Nähe] The first word [Gibt] means is. Let’s break it down and hear it one more time [Gibt] and [Gibt es] it. In neutral pronoun and third person form, that is connected to the conjugated verb [Gibt] follows after this. This pronoun is a form of subject because the sentence doesn’t have any other subjects. A subject and a dependent verb but at the core of a German sentence. If there is no clear subject, Germans use the so called formal subject s for building a sentence. Another example for this formal subject is [es regnet] it rains. [eine] a, the indefinite article for feminine nouns follows s [Apotheke] pharmacy comes next. We can break this one down and repeat it. [eine Apotheke] Then we have [in der Nähe] which means near here. It is composed of the local preposition in, the inflected feminine definitive article [der] the and the noun [Nähe]. So altogether we have [Gibt es eine Apotheke in der Nähe] Note that we distinguish [Apotheke] in Germany from a drugstore considerably. While in a drug store, you can buy over the counter medication such as cough syrup as well as body care products, in an [Apotheke] medication is available by prescription almost exclusively. In Germany, pharmacies are very easy to find. Normally there are many in the same area. In big and medium sized cities, there is always at least one pharmacy open at night. Now to ask for a different place, we can just replace the word [Apotheke] with any other word and the phrase works just fine. So let’s imagine you need to withdraw some money from your bank account. In German, is there a cash machine near here is [Gibt es einen Bankautomaten in der Nähe] So the only thing that changes is the thing you are looking for and its dependent indefinite article. In this case, [einen Bankautomaten] a cash machine. Let’s break down this word and hear it one more time [Bankautomat] Let’s hear the entire phrase now [Gibt es einen Bankautomaten in der Nähe] There is also a more formal way to express this question. Instead of using [Gibt es] which stands for is there, you can also use [befindet sich] Let’s break this down by syllable and hear it one more time [befindet sich] Now let’s try this together with a post office. The German word for post office is [Postamt] Let’s break this word down and hear it one more time [Postamt, Befindet sich ein Postamt in der Nähe] Is there a post office near here. The government operates most German post offices and you can find them easily in medium sized or big cities and in smaller cities. You can find them easily because all of them have a yellow sign with a black colored post horn. Prices are always the same and sometimes even lower with some discounts. In major branches, you can also find the post bank. They also operate cash machines where you may withdraw money. It is also possible to exchange your cash money in those branches but it is not common. More on post offices will follow in a later lesson. |
| Okay to close our today’s lesson, we’d like you to practice what you’ve just learned. I provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So [Viel Glück] which means good luck in German. |
| Is there a pharmacy near here? [Gibt es eine Apotheke in der Nähe] Is there a cash machine near here? [Gibt es einen Bankautomaten in der Nähe] is there a post office near here [Befindet sich ein Postamt in der Nähe] That’s going to do it for today. |
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