ein die unser den the key to German . . . keinen das deinem meiner dieses einem the key to German . . . keinen meiner unser ein das deinem

If you put any of those words (der, eine, dieses, meiner, unser) in front of any word, which kind of words are we talking about? the dog a table this book my sister our house nouns

The functions of nous in phrases At primary school you learn that a verb is a ‘doing’ word. Nouns are always linked to the verb: The shortest possible sentence is one verb and one noun (a pronoun maybe): I sleep The cat sleeps Other verbs demand more nouns: The dog eats the bone The boy sees the ball Others, still more: The man writes the woman a letter The Grandad gives the boy a present

Is it an indirect object? In order to be able to express yourself clearly in German, you need to be able to recognise which role each of the nouns plays in each phrase. is it a subject? The person or thing doing the verb/action Is it a direct object? The person or thing having the verb/action done to it Is it an indirect object? The person or thing who/which is indirectly affected by the verb

The difference from English subject object Journalists say that if a dog bites a man it‘s not newsworthy. But if a man bites a dog, it‘s a sensational story. subject object The headline would read: Man bites Dog! verb object subject

SVO - language King loses trousers! Elephant wins lottery In English the subject and object are easy to identify, because the subject is placed in front of the verb and the object after the verb. There is no room for flexibility. SVO - language King loses trousers! Elephant wins lottery

in German . . . both sentences mean the same thing! ... you can‘t tell that something is the subject just because it comes first or before the verb, or that something is the object just because it comes after the verb. Unlike English, it is the form of the article (the / a), not the position in the sentence, which shows which word performs which function: the role of the subject and which the role of the object. Der Mann beißt den Hund ! Den Hund beißt der Mann ! both sentences mean the same thing!

How do I work it out? Use the verb and ask the questions: S V V O 1. who bites? =answer gives you the subject 2. bites what? = answer gives you the direct object S V V O

different types of objects . . . gives The boy his mum the present who gives? gives what? What role does “his Mum” play? Indirect object She‘s the person to whom the present is being given – she is indirectly being affected by the verb and is therefore the INDIRECT OBJECT: “Something/Someone to whom something is being given or done or said, etc.”

the indirect object “Something/Someone to whom something is being given or done/said, etc.” In English you can use the word “to”, but you don’t always need to – it is implied, in German you don’t need a word for ‘to’ at all. The boy gives the present to his mum The boy gives his mum the present

now you have a go . . . “Boy tells Father Tall Story” “Parents give £3,000 to Local School” “Boy tells Father Tall Story” “Queen presents Granny with an award!” “Pupils introduced to the Mayor” “30-year-old wrote Santa a letter!”

telling the difference in German case: gender: subject: who ~? (nominative) direct object: ~ what? (accusative) indirect object ~to whom? (dative) masculine noun der ein den einen dem einem feminine noun die eine einer neuter noun das

some practice: nom/acc? ___ Kassette (f) ist kaputt Reparierst du bitte ___ Stuhl (m) Hast du ___ Wagen gesehen? (m) ___ Haus (n) ist kalt ___ Lehrerin (f) ist krank Hast du _____ Uhr (f)? Ich werde _____ Pullover kaufen (m) Ich möchte ___ Hund (m) Wir singen ___ Lied (n) ____ Bein (n) ist gebrochen [–my] Use the word for “the” Use the word for “a” r e s n m r n m e s

. . . und nochmal . . . Ich schenke ____ Mutter Pralinen zum Geburtstag (my). Schreibst du ______ Onkel _____ Karte? (your - m/ a - f) Was hast du _____ Lehrer gesagt? (the) Ich habe _____ Bettler (m) zehn Euro gegeben. ____ Weihnachstmann (m) gibt ____ Jungen (m) ____ Fußball (m). Wir schenken ____ Tante (our) ___ Buch (a - n). ______ Organisation (this - f) gebe ich nie wieder Geld! Bring ____ Pferd (the - n) etwas zu fressen. Er wird ___ Geschichte (f) _____ Lehrerin (no) erzählen. ___ Mann gibt ____ Frau ____ Rose (a - f). ____ Mutter schenkt ____ Kind (n) _____ Geschenk (a - n). ____ Junge schreibt ____ Mädchen (n) ______ Brief (a - m).