German ALL-IN-ONE by Wendy Foster with Paulina Christensen, PhD, and Anne Fox German All-in-One For Dummies® Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River St. Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774 www.wiley.com Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey Published simultaneously in Canada No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior writ- ten permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. 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Library of Congress Control Number: 2013935672 ISBN 978-1-118-49140-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-61260-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-61270-5 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-61271-2 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 About the Authors Wendy Foster was born in Connecticut and grew up in Scituate, Massachusetts. While studying in France, she traveled around Europe and became curious about the German language and culture. After graduating with a teaching certificate and a degree in French, she decided to return to Europe to study German. Her love of the Alps inspired her to live in Munich, where she spent 30 years. During that time, she completed her German stud- ies at the Sprachen-und-Dolmetscher-Institut in Munich and later her MA in French at Middlebury College in Paris. Her professional experience includes teaching Business English, German, French, and intercultural communication skills. She also does editing for online German education programs. A few years ago, she returned to her New England roots. When she’s not teaching ESL or German at the Boston Language Institute, she works from her home overlooking a spectacular salt marsh that constantly beckons her to go kayaking, exploring, and swimming. Paulina Christensen has been working as a writer, editor, and translator for almost ten years. She holds a degree in English and German literature and has developed, written, and edited numerous German-language textbooks and teachers’ handbooks for Berlitz International. Her work as a translator ranges from new media art to science fiction (Starlog magazine). She occa- sionally works as a court interpreter and does consulting and interpreting at educational conferences, as well as voice-overs for educational videos and CDs. Dr. Christensen received her MA and PhD from Düsseldorf University, Germany, and has taught at Berlitz Language Schools, New York University, and Fordham University. Anne Fox has been working as a translator, editor, and writer for the past 12 years. She studied at Interpreters’ School, Zurich, Switzerland, and holds a degree in translation. Her various assignments have taken her to outer space, hyperspace, and around the world. She has also taught at Berlitz Language Schools and worked as a legal and technical proofreader in the editorial departments of several law firms. Most recently she has been developing, writing, and editing student textbooks and teacher handbooks for Berlitz. Dedication This book is dedicated to all those who enjoy speaking German and appreci- ate the rich cultural heritage of German-speaking people. I also dedicate this work to Phil Kehoe, whose unflagging support of my endeavors serves as a constant inspiration to me. — Wendy Foster Author’s Acknowledgments I would like to express my deep appreciation to the editorial staff at Wiley for their insight, patience, and expertise, especially my project editor Vicki Adang, copy editor Amanda Langferman, acquisitions editor Michael Lewis, and technical editors Candis Carey and Susan Reinhardt. The careful guid- ance provided by these professionals has greatly enhanced the quality of this book. My sincere thanks to all of you. — Wendy Foster Publisher’s Acknowledgments We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002. Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following: Acquisitions, Editorial, and Composition Services Vertical Websites Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond Senior Project Editor: Victoria M. Adang Layout and Graphics: Carrie A. Cesavice, Acquisitions Editor: Michael Lewis Jennifer Creasey Copy Editor: Amanda M. Langferman Proofreaders: John Greenough, Tricia Liebig Assistant Editor: David Lutton Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC Editorial Program Coordinator: Joe Niesen Technical Editors: Candis Carey, Susan Reinhardt Vertical Websites: Melanie Orr, Josh Frank, Doug Kuhn Editorial Manager: Michelle Hacker Editorial Assistants: Rachelle Amick, Alexa Koschier Cover Photo: © iStockphoto.com / Nikada Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies Kathleen Nebenhaus, Vice President and Executive Publisher David Palmer, Associate Publisher Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director Publishing for Technology Dummies Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher Composition Services Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services Contents at a Glance Introduction ................................................................ 1 Book I: Getting Started with German ............................ 7 Chapter 1: Warming Up to German Basics .....................................................................9 Chapter 2: Handling Numbers, Times, Dates, and Measurements ............................31 Chapter 3: Meeting and Greeting: Guten Tag! ..............................................................53 Chapter 4: Talking about Home, Family, Friends, and Daily Life ...............................77 Chapter 5: Talking Telecommunications, Business, and Current Events .................97 Chapter 6: Shopping Simplified ....................................................................................119 Chapter 7: Dining Out and Buying Food: Guten Appetit! ..........................................137 Book II: Speaking German on the Go ......................... 165 Chapter 1: Locating Places ...........................................................................................167 Chapter 2: Going Out on the Town ..............................................................................185 Chapter 3: Planning a Pleasure Trip: Gute Reise! ......................................................203 Chapter 4: Finding a Place to Stay: Gute Nacht! .........................................................227 Chapter 5: Getting Around ...........................................................................................243 Chapter 6: Handling Emergencies: Hilfe! .....................................................................263 Book III: Assembling the Grammatical Foundations for Communication ......................................................281 Chapter 1: Laying Out the Basics to Build Sentences ...............................................283 Chapter 2: Sorting Out Word Gender and Case .........................................................307 Chapter 3: Dealing with the Here and Now: The Present Tense ..............................331 Chapter 4: Asking and Answering Questions ............................................................353 Chapter 5: Describing and Comparing with Adjectives and Adverbs .....................379 Chapter 6: Modifying Verbs with Helpers: The Modal Auxiliaries ..........................411 Chapter 7: Instructing and Commanding: The Imperative Mood ............................429 Chapter 8: Sorting Out Separable- and Inseparable-Prefix Verbs ............................445 Book IV: Building Detail and Precision in Your Communication ............................................ 463 Chapter 1: Tying Ideas Together with Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns ........465 Chapter 2: Specifying Relationships with Prepositions ............................................479 Chapter 3: Using Reflexives and Other Verb Combinations .....................................493 Chapter 4: Conversing about the Past: The Present Perfect and Past Perfect ......507 Chapter 5: Narrating the (Simple) Past: Fact and Fiction .........................................525 Chapter 6: Looking to the Future (And Avoiding It) ..................................................537 Chapter 7: Describing Your Mood: Summing Up the Subjunctive ...........................549 Book V: The Appendixes ........................................... 563 Appendix A: Verb Tables and Case Charts ................................................................565 Appendix B: German-English Mini-Dictionary ............................................................587 Appendix C: English-German Mini-Dictionary ............................................................599 Appendix D: Fun & Games ............................................................................................611 Appendix E: About the CD ............................................................................................655 Index ...................................................................... 659