And DON’T you think that you can just read those three articles now. Now, you have to take the test. And just so you know… if you fail, you have to start German again from ZERO. Sounds good? “No, it doesn’t!” Yeah, whatever…. whining won’t help you! Jump in!
So… those of you who have read my mini series probably have also taken the first big exercise about the topic. The one we’ll do today is basically the same… just much harder. I have tried to compile examples and situations that might trip you up for one reason or another. Using “was” + the adjective for instance
Ich will was warmes.
I want something warm. hint: it’s always gonna be “-es”
or using an adjective in the more form…
Ein leckererer Kuchen als dieser…
A more tasty cake than this one….
I counted the “-er”s three times here, and it still feels weird :). So yeah… it’ll be tough and it’ll raise children you didn’t even know you had… oh.. I mean questions.
How it works
In the first big workout, we basically did a fill in the blank kind of exercise, only that you couldn’t actually fill the blank :). Now, I have my new exercise format and I decided to give you two options.
The original sentence is in English. So if you want to get a proper full language body workout you can take it and translate it into German. That means, you basically train everything… adjective endings, vocab, idiomatic phrasings, word order and so on. There’s a field where you can type your solution, so you can compare it with the solution (no auto compare).
If you just want to focus on adjective endings, you can tap the little“?“ and show the German translation with the adjective endings blanked out. And like last time, I am giving you the gender of the noun because not knowing it kind of gets in the way of really focusing on the adjective endings. So here are the colors…
masculine – feminine – neuter
For the solution, just click the green button or listen to it in the audio. Oh and I decided to only do 25 questions this time, so it’s not that overwhelming (and so I can do a part three). Can’t wait to hear in the comments how you did.
Viel Spaß :)
***
1.
Many people find that German is an insanely hard language.
Viele Leute finden, dass Deutsch eine wahnsinnig___ schwer___ Sprache ist.
Viele Leute finden, dass Deutsch eine wahnsinnig schwere Spracheist.
2.
Many people find that German is an insane, hard language.
Viele Leute finden, dass Deutsch eine wahnsinnig____ , schwer____ Sprache ist.
Viele Leute finden, dass Deutsch eine wahnsinnige , schwere Sprache ist.
3.
Thomas likes Scottish Whisky better than Irish (one).
Thomas mag schottisch___ Whisky lieber als irisch___ .
Thomas mag schottischenWhisky lieber als irischen.
4.
Maria is annoyed because of her giant pimple.
Maria ist wegen ihrem riesig____Pickel genervt.
Maria ist wegen ihrem riesigen Pickel genervt.
5.
I get an extremely bad mood from this gray weather.
Ich kriege von dem grau___ Wetter extrem___ schlecht____ Laune.
Ich kriege von dem grauenWetter extrem (-) schlechteLaune.
6.
I get a bad mood from gray weather.
Ich kriege schlecht___ Laune von grau___ Wetter.
Ich kriege schlechte Laune von grauem Wetter.
7.
I feel like something Asian. (content of food: use “Appetit”)
Ich hab’ Appetit auf was asiatisch___ .
Ich hab’ Appetit auf was asiatisches.
8.
“Have a nice day off!” “Thanks, you have a relaxed shift!”
“Schön___, frei___ Tagdir!” “Danke, dir eine entspannt___ Schicht.”
“Schönen, freienTagdir!” “Danke, dir eine entspannteSchicht.”
9.
Maria got a beer smelling rose from the drunk man in the Subway.
Maria hat in der U-Bahn von einem betrunken___ Mann eine nach Bier riechend___ Rose geschenkt bekommen.
Maria hat in der U-Bahn von einem betrunkenenMann eine nach Bier riechendeRose geschenkt bekommen.
10.
Cold beer is something great!
Kalt___ Bier ist wastoll___ .
Kaltes Bier ist was tolles.
11.
Cold coffee is also something great!
Kalt___ Kaffee ist auch was toll___ .
KalterKaffee ist auch wastolles.
12.
Drinking cold coffee is something even greater.
Kalt___ Kaffeezu trinken ist was noch toller___.
Kalten Kaffeezu trinken ist was noch tolleres.
13.
There on the other side of the street is the smalll cute bakery I told you about.
Da auf der ander___ Strassenseite ist die klein____ niedlich ____ Bäckerei, von der ich dir erzählt hab.
Da auf der anderenStrassenseite ist die kleine niedliche Bäckerei, von der ich dir erzählt hab.
14.
That was shitty timing. (timing is just “das Timing”)
Das war beschissen___ Timing.
Das war beschissenes Timing.
15.
Have you already seen Maria’s new bike?
Hast du schon Marias neu___ Fahrrad gesehen?
“Hast du schon Marias neuesFahrrad gesehen?”
16.
Thomas was a very shy human being once.
Thomas war mal ein sehr schüchtern___ Mensch.
Thomas war mal ein sehr schüchternerMensch.
17.
Thomas is looking forward to his extended/long weekend.
Thomas freut sich auf sein verlängert___ Wochenende.
Thomas freut sich auf sein verlängertes Wochenende.
18.
I took the more beautiful route.
Ich habe die schöner____ Route genommen.
Ich habe die schönereRoute genommen.
19.
Thomas is doing Yoga to get a straighter back.
Thomas macht Yoga um einen gerader___ Rückenzu bekommen.
Thomas macht Yoga um einen geraderenRückenzu bekommen.
20.
Maria’s back is definitely the straighter one.
Marias Rückenist definitiv der gerader___ .
Marias Rückenist definitiv der geradere.
21.
A heavier suitcase is harder to carry.
Ein schwerer___ Koffer ist schwerer zu tragen.
Ein schwerererKoffer ist schwerer zu tragen.
22.
This is an easier example than the one before.
Das ist ein einfacher___ Beispiel als das davor.
Das ein einfacheresBeispiel als das davor.
23.
What a tasty cake!
Was für ein lecker____ Kuchen.
Was für ein leckererKuchen.
24.
Maria’s grandma can make a tastier cake than Maria.
Marias Oma kann einen leckerer___Kuchen backen als Maria.
Marias Oma kann einen leckererenKuchen backen als Maria.
25.
“Alphaboss69” is a more insecure password than “H/azs6h9c0n8=H“.
“Alphaboss69” ist ein unsicherer____ Passwort als “H/azs6h9c0n8=H”.
“Alphaboss69” ist ein unsichereres Passwort als “H/azs6h9c0n8=H”.
***
Hooray!! You made it! I hope you don’t have a headache now :) How’d you do? How many did you get right? Did you have issues with a particular one? Let me know all your questions in the comments and we’ll try to clear them up together. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you want another one of those. Schöne Woche euch, und bis nächstes Mal :).
It’s a short version of “Einen schönen Tag wüsche ich dir.” The subject is the person extending the greeting, the “wish” is the direct object.
Cansin
1 year ago
Hello Emanuel! It was really hard I would say. It is okay for adjective endings. But if we don’t know the artikels properly, it is meaningless.. (Is it?). My question is what is the importance level of knowing the artikels for each word? Is there any easy way to know? Please give me some suggestions because I have really serious problem to remember artikels.. :(
Ah, jetzt verstehe ich. Und übrigens, der Link “Next Lesson” verweist an ebendasselbe Seite (corrections are welcome).
wallisgreen
2 years ago
I did quite well with most of the adjective endings but did not do very well with writing the sentences. Quite a humbling experience. I think I am getting better and then I find out how much more I need to learn. I liked the format very much. First giving us a chance to write our own translation and then to show what it “really looked like” minus the adjective endings so that we could then try again. I felt like I learned much more than just the endings from this exercise. Vielen Dank
That’s great to hear, thanks for the feedback. These exercises are actually “custom” made, so I wrote the code for them myself and I was thinking of taking them down and replacing them with the quiz software I am using (which does not offer this kind of layout). But now I think I’ll probably leave both systems side by side. I’d even do more of these types of workouts but it’s incredibly time consuming because I have to write a lot of html code.
Elvira
3 years ago
Hallo, Emanuel! Ich bin neu hier. Dein Blog ist der Hammer! Ich kann mich nicht von ihm losreisen. Und ich habe eine Frage. Du schreibst in Englisch und für Engländer Artikel sind kein Problem, glaube ich. Aber ich bin aus Russland und wir haben keine Artikel. In 80% der Situationen habe ich keine Ahnung, ob ich das Wort mit (und mit bestimmten oder unbestimmten) oder ohne Artikel benutzen soll. Obvohl habe ich 15 Jahren Englisch gelernt und sollte es herausfinden )) Ich denke, dass Artikel nicht sehr wichtig furs Verständnis sind. Aber vielleicht kannst du mir raten, was ich am besten tun soll, um naturlicher zu klingen.
Puh, das ist eine schwere Frage :). Ich glaube, in 80% der Fälle brauchst du einen Artikel. Es ist ein typisches Feature von russischem Deutsch, dass die Artikel fehlen. Also wenn ich dir einen Tipp geben kann, dann einfach: verwende mehr Artikel :). Auch wenn du denkst, du brauchst keinen – sehr wahrscheinlich brauchst du einen. Es ist ein bisschen eine Rhythmus-Sache. Konzentriere dich mal darauf, wie unterschiedlich der Rhythmus mit und ohne Artikel ist und gewöhne dich an den mit Artikel. Wie du sagst… zum Verständnis sind sie nicht so wichtig, aber der Rhythmus ist total anders mit und ohne. Hoffe, das hilft ein bisschen.
Hello everyone, I’m new here and allow me to say.. Wow! It’s amazing to see all these highly motivated members. I would like to thank our amazing admin and teacher for giving me free membership, I’m really excited about all the fun I’m going to have in learning this easy language XD. Moreover, I would like to thank our dear supporters. Thank you very much for your donation, your gift has made it possible for me to be part of this amazing team. I wouldn’t dream about this if it weren’t for your contribution. Thanks again XD.
Anonymous
3 years ago
Shouldn’t #23 be: “Was für einen leckeren Kuchen!” (Akk.)
No, the cake is the subject. It’s a question similar to “What kind of cake is this?” The cake as well as “it” are subject here, and so that’s why it’s nominative in the original example. Does that help?
Rohrkrepierer ‐ KOOK & HECKLER
3 years ago
Thema : Für Alphaboss69 kam es bald einem adjectiven Ende mit dem frommen Fräulein Helene-Beta zu! Für das A bis O bereit, ist ihm lieber – die wilde Vixen Zeta! Auch bei ihr darf er verwenden Fürwort Du!
Lesen Schreiben schafft sie diese ohne Kummer. Mit Sonderrechner für den Boss, fieberheiße ihre Rechnenkünste und Antwortnummer!
Vocab : die Klausur — a big ol’ mean and NASTY important qualification test for students in Germany Je mehr kompliziert man etwas machen kann, desto besser! Sort of a German national pasttime. das a bis o – from a to z The whole kit and caboodle geh’ ma einie ! – gehen wir hinein Let’s get to it! ——————————————————————————————————————————————
So wieder Null! Eins!! Zwo!!! Viel Spaß! Let’s Go!
über alphaboss69 denke ich danach-nach-
Beschreibt sei er als Passwort anfällig, sozusagen möglich bald aus Rand und Band, mit Virus schwer hinfällig, oder fälschlich sebstsicher heil unter Dach und Fach? Und was für ihn soll ein ”insecures”’ Passwort sein? Was verwendet man korrekt im Kontext hier? unsecure(d) oder insecure ?? Gibt es einen Unterschied daz-wischen? Beide miteinander einfach vermischen? Ist die Frage einfach weg zu wischen?
Lautmaul Abgazz ist auch hierunter total konfus. Hundehaufen!! Geier Eier!! Verdammt seien Miezekatze, Maus und Mann! What’s the better/weirdest German word,dsß ich hier verbrauchen kann??
Zum Beispiel in der Deutschen Sprache wenn etwas festes macht unerwartet sich mobil, Wird es unstabil oder instabil ??
Die Klausur ein bißchen schwer ? Let’s GO !! GEH MA ! GEH MA! Keine Angst, wir schaffen das! Selbst zu denken ist nicht unfair. Und als Belohnung erst nachher kriegt man Green Tea Häagen Dazs! Nuke im Ofen 12 Sekunden, Dann habt ihr das Parad-EIS gefunden!!
These were hard, but useful. For learning, it would be great if each one were broken down into several progressively harder examples (you did that in a few instances) so that you could make one mistake at a time and learn one thing from each one.
I think I know what you mean. I’ll do that next time!!!
bear
3 years ago
Great exercise. I didn’t do that well, but I learned a lot. One thing that bugs me: why is #23 Was für ein leckerer Kuchen. Why doesn’t für make it accusitive (Was für einen leckeren Kuchen)?
The “extended” version of the sentence would be “Was für ein leckerer Kuchen ist das?”… The “Kuchen” is the subject, so that’s why it’s nominative. Hope that helps.
Ann
3 years ago
Oh my! It was eine Herausforderung! Got 11, 15 and 25 correct. No 18, i wrote my version in past tense not with the perfekt partzip… I think more challenges like this are important since you learn how to write complex sentences better. If it is possible for you to check my shocking answers I would appreciate the correction.
Actually, I can’t see your answers :). The field is just there so you can compare yours to the translation but it doesn’t get sent or saved. If you want to type them here, I’ll correct them :)
Amerikanerin
3 years ago
I loved this exercise! Sucked at the translations, though, but once I looked at your translation, I managed to get all but one (number 9) correct. Screwed up # 9 because of “nach”. Actually, it’s not because of “nach” but rather because of myself: thought everything after “nach” was dative so I hade a gut riechender Rose… Which is dumber than that: there is an “eine” before the attribute so even if it were dative, it would be reichenden – let’s just say I screwed that one up royally.
‘Specially proud of getting #12 correct – accusative en-ending but could easily be confused for a nominative. Especially by a psycho that used the dative ending in #9 and even that usage was wrong for dative.
I really need to work on this translating stuff – exam on it in 10 days and I’m having trouble breathing…
Ha… I doubt you have sentences as mundane as these in the translation exam… or do you?!?!?! And… how good is your German by now? I bet you’re really good but you keep pretending like you’re not. Just like you’re actually 30 but keep pretending you’re 29.
Seriously – the translations in our exam NEXT THURSDAY dunn dunn DUNN dunn are so difficult, relative clauses inside of subclauses inside of appositions and goodness only knows what else. Think I’ve got the syntax down but the translations? I dunno…
As for my Deutsch, I can point out a phrase, decline an adj and know 170 starke Verben, but I can’t form simple sentences in speech – better at writing, but not great. Ugh. Working on it, though…
” I can point out a phrase, decline an adj and know 170 starke Verben, but I can’t form simple sentences in speech – better at writing, but not great. Ugh. Working on it, though…”… in all honesty… I think that is a HUGE understatement !! Awaiting your opinion piece in a German newspaper any moment now :) Viel Erfolg bei der Prüfung!!
nichtverstehen
3 years ago
Wow, very hard :).
Btw, another typo in 22: “Das IST ein einfacheres Beispiel”.
I’m wondering how some alternative translations sound to you: 1/2) “verrückt harte Sprache” instead of “wahnsinnig schwere Sprache”. 4) “Maria ist wegen ihres großen Pickels gestört”. Does “gestört” fit? And genitive? 5/6) “Ich kriege EINE extrem schlechte Laune…”. Does the article sound wrong?
“wahnsinnig” is really idiomatic as an intense option for “very”. “verrückt” would be understood but it’s definitely odd and there would be an element of actual “crazy” in there.
4) “gestört” doesn’t really work with “wegen”… I mean, it’s okay, but the main prepositions for “stören” are “von, durch”. And then, it implies that the pimple does something that interferes with what she is doing in some way, and it’s not clear what that could be from context. That’s why it doesn’t sound very idiomatic.
5/6)
Yes, it does sound wrong. “Laune” is idiomatic without the article in these phrasings.
Haha…. meine Assistentin hat diesmal gar nichts gemacht. Also kein Dank :D (ich mache Spaß natürlich)! freut mich, dass du kein Problem mit den Endungen hast!!
Tony
3 years ago
Das hat irgendwie viel Spass gemacht, in a perverse kind of way.
Hi, Typos first!!! Question 22. “The is an easier example than the one before” (This is an easier…) Question 25. ““Alphaboss69” more insecure password” (“Alphaboss69” is a more insecure password…) No time to do it yet (working at mo), but I’ll defo do it soon and probably ask you a couple questions (or bang my head against the wall in frustration!!) Bis bald!
As for your head… if you don’t bang it against a wall, I will personally send you a C1 certificate* (*might not be true). The workout is designed to be a real challenge :). Let me know how it went!!
Hi, I was dying to do these because I studied adjective endings a while ago and thought I’d really got it, so I really needed something really challenging! I did really well, only got tripped up by questions 8 and 21 (8 because I didn’t realise the dative was intended and 21 because the way the sentence is phrased trips you into using the accusative by mistake! These I understood after seeing the solution. But I have two questions: In question 4, I thought wegen took genitive…. Should this be the case, why isn’t ihres riesigen Pickels instead of ihrem riesigen Pickel? In question 22, I think you have a double typo (ein ein first instead of ist ein and then the ist is missing). If I’m wrong, sorry… After all, you did say I should have more confidence in my German!!!! Anyway, 23 right answers out of 25 is good, right (just the endings, I used your German text for pretty much all of them)? Waiting for the certificate now
Elsa, wegen does take genitive but everyone uses dative after wegen. It’s actually more intuitive. Bastian Sick has his own theory on the matter but without slamming the man, I find his reasoning somewhat offensive. The thing is, it seems dative is really the correct choice, despite grammar books claiming it’s genitive. Better to let Ema explain, but according to one of his comments, he’s working at the moment. If you wrote genitive, you are grammatically correct, is what I’m guessing he’ll say, but dative sounds more idiomatic.
“wegen does take genitive but everyone uses dative after wegen.”
Hahaa… that’s a cute way to say it. Like… if wegen could pick for itself it would take Genitive.
Bastian Sick is prescriptive beyond belief. He loves lecturing people on how to talk in a comedic, yet kind of passive aggressive way. Like …”Lots of people say this and that. But it’s really silly. And we don’t want to be little silly-willies or do we? I mean… if you have abitur you don’t want to sound like a peasant, do you?” I legit hate him. Did you know that he had a stand up comedy show once, based on his Klugscheißerei? Also, he has books out with pictures of stupid typos people made on signs and menus and so on. Man’s gotta eat
Hello everyone,
