Lesson 10-1 - Lektion 10-1
Prepositions governed by the dative case
Lesson 10: A working day. Activity 1
From this activity you will know how to:
- ask when the working day begins
- find out when the interlocutor finishes work
- ask how long it takes you to get to work
- say when you get up in the morning
Learn the words and expressions for the dialogue
work
I have much work now.
of course, natural(ly)
Are you coming? – Yes, of course.
to look
You look very good.
at, by; near
My son lives near Leipzig.
to get up, to stand up
We get up at seven o’clock.
company, factory, business
Fred works in a factory.
to begin, to start
When does the work begin?
long; (for) a long time
How long have you been here? / How long are you already here?
to; in; at
When can you come to me?
about, around, approximately
It costs about 50 euro.
hour
I’m driving about half an hour.
sometimes
Sometimes he comes to Berlin.
minute
We’ll be there in ten minutes.
finishing / closing / quitting time
When do you finish work?
against; toward(s), to; around
I’ll come around 11 o’clock.
go to bed
When do you go to bed?
Pay attention to the form and the usage of the words
The word denn can be used in two meanings: «because» and as an emphasizer which is not always can be translated into English properly. We have already had «then» for a translation, in the next example we will have «finally». In the former meaning, the denn is a conjunction and joins two simple sentences:
Wann gehen Sie denn aus dem Haus?
When will you finally go out of the house?
When are you finally leaving the house?
Ich muss gehen, denn es ist schon spät.
I have to go, because it is already late.Do not confuse the words die Uhr and die Stunde.
The noun die Uhr is used to indicate a watch or a clock, and also the time on them:
Haben Sie eine Uhr?
Do you have a watch?Leider habe ich keine Uhr.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a watch.But: Wie spät ist es?
What time is it?Es ist jetzt fünf Uhr.
It is five o’clock now.The noun die Stunde is used to indicate an hour as a period of time:
Wieviel Stunden fahren Sie schon? – Etwa drei Stunden.
How many hours have you already been driving? – Approximately 3 hours.
Nach der Arbeit studiere ich eine Stunde Deutsch.
After work I study German for one hour.
Remember the following way of word-formation (1)
die Arbeit + s + der Tag = der Arbeitstag.
die Feier celebration + der Abend = der Feierabend
Practise in reading the words
Der Arbeitstag
Grammar points
You already know that prepositions require nouns in a certain case. Let’s examine a group of prepositions that are always governed by the dative case:
bei at (= with), by, near
Monika wohnt bei ihren Eltern.
Monika lives with (lit.: at) her parents.
Der Betrieb liegt bei Köln.
The factory is located near Köln.
zu to; in; at (when denoting a place)
Wann kommen Sie zu mir?
When are you coming to me?
Ich fahre jetzt zur Arbeit.
I’m driving to work now.
aus from; out of
Wann gehen Sie aus dem Haus?
When will you go out of the house?
mit with (smb.); by
Ich spreche mit Frau Berg.
I’ll speak with Mrs. Berg.
Wir fahren mit dem Wagen.
We are going by car.
von from, of, by
Das bekommen Sie von mir.
You’ll get this from me.
Wir kommen von der Arbeit.
We are coming from work.
nach after; to (by names of cities and countries when answering the question «where to»)
Ich komme nach dem Mittagessen.
I’ll come after lunch.
Wann fahren Sie nach München?
When are you going to Munich?
seit since (some time)
Seit wann sind in Berlin?
Since when are you in Berlin?
Some prepositions can be merged with the article:
bei + dem = beim
von + dem = vom
zu + dem = zum
zu + der = zur
Remember also the phrases: nach Hause — (go) home, zu Hause — at home.
Prepositions governed by the dative case
bei — at (with), by, near
zu — to; in; at
aus — from; out of
mit — with; by
von — from, of, by
nach — after; to
seit — since
1. You are asked with whom you are going to a certain city. Answer the question. Ask the interlocutor the same thing.
B. Ich fahre mit Herrn Krause nach Hamburg.
Continue:
Herr Pilz – München, Frau Bergmann – Stuttgart, meine Eltern – Kiew, die Studenten – Berlin, meine Kollegen – Dortmund.
2. You want to know at whose place you are having dinner today. Ask the question. What would you answer if you were the interlocutor?
B. Wir essen heute bei Herrn Fest zu Abend.
Continue:
Herr Scholz, Frau Dorst, ein Journalist, dieser Ingenieur, die Studenten, meine Eltern, unsere Kollegen.
3. You are asked when you get up in the morning. Answer the question. Ask the interlocutor the same thing.
B. Ich muß um 6 Uhr aufstehen, denn die Arbeit beginnt um 7.30 Uhr.
Continue:
5.30 – 7.00, 6.00 – 7.30, 7.30 – 9.00, 4.30 – 6.00, 5.45 – 7.15, 6.15 – 7.45, 6.45 – 8.15.
4. You want to know how long it takes your interlocutor to get to work. Ask the question. What would you answer if you were the interlocutor?
B. Ich fahre eine halbe Stunde, manchmal auch mehr.
Continue:
30 Minuten, 45 Minuten, 15 Minuten, eine Stunde, zwei Stunden, eine Stunde 15 Minuten, 40 Minuten, 20 Minuten.
5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the dialogue.
1. Wie sieht Ihr aus? 2. Wann Sie denn ? 3. Wann machen Sie ? 4. Ich fahre eine halbe Stunde. 5. Um 5 Uhr bin ich wieder . 6. Wie lange fahren Sie zum ?
6. Reconstruct the dialogue by filling in the gaps with the appropriate words.
7. Try to reproduce the dialogue “Der Arbeitstag” by memory.
Check yourself!
What expressions will you use if you want to:
ask when the working day begins
find out when the interlocutor finishes work
ask how long it takes you to get to work
say when you get up in the morning
