Lesson 3-3 - Lektion 3-3
Definite and indefinite article. Plural nouns
Lesson 3: Family. Profession. Activity 3
From this activity you will know how to:
- name members of a family
- ask the interlocutor about his or her family
- introduce your family
- briefly talk about each member of your family
Learn the words and expressions for the dialogue
family
Is that your family?
woman; wife
This is my wife.
man; husband
Is this your husband?
child
These are my children.
house; home
This is my house.
сын
What is the name of your son?
school
Is this your school?
to go
Do your children go to school?
daughter
My daughter is 4 years old.
student
Are you a student?
to study; to be a student, to be at university/college
What do you study?
parents
Where do your parents live?
father
Where do your father work?
mother
This is my mother.
brother
Are these your brothers?
sister
What is the name of your sister?
Pay attention to the form and the usage of the words
- The verb studieren (study) has a much more limited meaning than its English cognate. It means “to be a university student” or “to major in” a particular subject. On the other hand, the verb “lernen” (learn) means to learn, read, memorize, practice, and reflect on a subject; it is used to talk about school as well.
- Remember the following word-formations of plural nouns:
Plurals
suffix -(е)n
a. for almost all feminine nouns:
die Frau — die Frauen, die Familie — die Familien
but:
die Tochter — die Töchter, die Mutter — die Mütter
b. for some masculine nouns:
der Name — die Namen, der Herr — die Herren
suffix -еr
for neuter nouns and a number of masculine nouns, often with umlaut:
der Mann — die Männer, das Haus — die Häuser
suffix -e
for many masculine nouns, often with umlaut, and a number of neuter nouns:
der Beruf — die Berufe
das Jahr — die Jahre
der Sohn — die Söhne
der Arzt — die Ärzte
Practise in reading the words
Das ist meine Familie
meine Frau und meine Kinder.
Grammar points
Unlike English, there are masculine, feminine and neuter nouns in German. Nouns usually have an article beside them that will help identify the gender:
masculine gender
der — der Mann
feminine gender
die — die Frau
neuter gender
das — das Kind
plural for all genders
die — die Männer, Frauen, Kinder
Article is a functional word that indicates:
a. gender, number and case of nouns:
der Freund — the friend, dem Freund — to the friend, die Freunde — the friends etc.
b. The notion of definiteness-indefiniteness is much like in English.
Definite article Indefinite article Singular der
die
dasein
eine
einPlural die — In some cases the function of the article is performed by other parts of speech, for example, pronouns: die Frau — meine Frau usw.
The possessive pronouns mein and Ihr change by gender:
masculine
mein (Ihr)
Mann
neuter
mein (Ihr)
Kind
Definite and indefinite article
| Definite article | ||||
| Sing. | Masculine der |
Neuter das |
Feminine die |
Plural for all genders die |
| Indefinite article | ||||
| Sing. | Masculine ein |
Neuter ein |
Feminine eine |
Plural for all genders is absent |
1. You want to know what your interlocutor’s wife (brother, father, etc.) profession is. Answer if you are asked the same question.
B. Meine Frau ist Sekretärin.
Continue:
der Bruder(Chemiker), der Vater(Arzt), die Tochter (Studentin), der Sohn (Ingenieur), die Schwester (Dolmetscherin).
2. You want to know where your partner’s relatives live. Answer if you are asked the same thing.
B. Mein Vater wohnt in Erfurt.
Continue:
der Bruder (Rostock), die Mutter (Leipzig), die Tochter (Potsdam), der Sohn (Berlin), die Schwester (Dresden).
3. You didn’t catch what your interlocutor told you. Ask him or her to repeat.
B. Wie bitte? Sind das Ihre Brüder?
Continue:
Schwestern, Töchter, Söhne, Freunde, Kollegen, Eltern, Kinder, Studenten.
4. Say that you have the same profession as your partner’s brothers (friends etc.).
B. Ich bin auch Arzt.
Continue:
der Freund (der Journalist), die Eltern (die Ingenieure), der Sohn (der Arbeiter), die Tochter (die Ärztin).
5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the dialogue.
1. Das ist meine : meine Frau und meine Kinder. 2. Mein Sohn ist Student und in Frankfurt-Main. 3. Meine Frau arbeitet nicht, sie ist . 4. Das sind meine vier Kinder: zwei und zwei .
6. Reconstruct the dialogue by filling in the gaps with the appropriate words.
meine Frau und meine Kinder.
Und das ist mein Sohn Peter.
.
.
7. Try to reproduce the dialogue “Das ist meine Familie” by memory.
Check yourself!
What expressions will you use if you want to:
name members of a family
ask the interlocutor about his or her family
introduce your family
briefly talk about each member of your family
