Time in German. Modal verb müssen

Lesson 4: Visit. Activity 4

From this activity you will know how to:

• tell the host that you have to go
• reply by being the host
• thank for the invitation
• say goodbye and wish a safe journey home

Learn the words and expressions for the dialogue

Pay attention to the form and the usage of the words

1. We can use the suffix -ung in order to make nouns from some verbs. Such nouns are always of feminine gender.

   einladen “to invite” – die Einladung “invitation”
   entschuldigen “to excuse” – die Entschuldigung “excuse; apology”

2. The conjunction aber “but” can also be an emphasizer. In this case it is may not be translated into English (see lesson 3, activity 1):

   Das ist aber schön! – This is so nice!

3. Notice the similarities in usage of the impersonal pronoun es:

   Es ist spät. – It is late.
   Wie spät ist es? – What time is it?
   Es ist zwei Uhr. – It is two o’clock etc.

Remember the following way of word-formation (1)

wieder + sehen = das Wiedersehen reunion
Deutsch + der Kurs = der Deutschkurs the German course

Practise in reading the words

Auf Wiedersehen!

Grammar points

1. The modal verb müssen has several meanings: must, to have to, to need to - and has the same conjugation features in the present tense as all modal verbs: a. usually they change the root vowel and b. they don’t have endings in 1^st and 3^rd person singular:

   ich

   muß, darf, möchte

   wir

   müssen, dürfen, möchten

   er

   muß, darf, möchte

   Sie

   müssen, dürfen, möchten

2. Remember the time indication in German:

    

   Wie spät ist es?

   What time is it?

    

   Es ist zwei (drei usw.) Uhr.

   It is two (three etc.) o’clock.

   To tell about the first quarter of an hour, use the preposition nach “after”:

    

   Es ist zehn nach zwei.

   It is ten past two.

    

   Es ist Viertel nach zwei.

   It is a quarter past two.

   After the quater things get a little more complicated because you need to count from the next half an hour. Use the preposition vor “before”:

    

   Es ist zehn vor halb drei.

   It is twenty past two. (lit.: ten before half three)

    

   Es ist halb drei.

   It is half past two.

   After the first half an hour use the preposition nach:

    

   Es ist zehn nach halb drei.

   It is twenty to three. (lit.: ten after half three)

   Use the preposition vor to count the last 15 minutes of the hour:

    

   Es ist Viertel vor drei.

   It is quarter to three.

    

   Es ist zehn vor drei.

   It is ten to three.

   As in English, we don’t usually say Uhr (o’clock) when we talk about minutes.

3. You can also talk about time in a simpler way (both the 12-hour clock and the 24-hour clock can be used, the 12-hour clock is used more often):

   (Es ist) 1 Uhr 20 — Ein Uhr zwanzig
   (Es ist) 13 Uhr 45 — Dreizehn Uhr fünfundvierzig usw.

1. You are asked what time it is. Answer. Ask the interlocutor the same thing.

2. You think that it is still not late, but it is not true. Ask an appropriate question. Answer if you are asked the same question.

3. You ask if the interlocutor needs to perform a particular action. Answer if you are asked the same question.

4. You are asked when you will visit your father (friend etc.). Answer. Ask the same question to the interlocutor.

5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the dialogue.

1. Kommen Sie nach Hause! 2. Besuchen Sie uns wieder! 3. Entschuldigen Sie, leider muß ich jetzt gehen. 4. Vielen Dank für ! 5. Ich muß jetzt gehen.—Das ist aber !

6. Reconstruct the dialogue by filling in the gaps with the appropriate words.

7. Try to reproduce the dialogue “Auf Wiedersehen!” by memory.

Check yourself!

What expressions will you use if you want to:

tell the host that you have to go
reply by being the host
thank for the invitation
say goodbye and wish a safe journey home