Lesson 8-1 - Lektion 8-1
Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs. Impersonal pronoun man
Lesson 8: At the shop. Activity 1
From this activity you will know how to:
- ask where better shopping is
- find out when the shops are open
- find out where you can buy a certain thing
- thank for the information
Learn the words and expressions for the dialogue
to buy; to shop; to do the shopping
When do you do the shopping?
to advise
He did not advise me that.
product; goods
There are nice goods there.
(department) store
Where is a department store here?
next door
The interpreter lives next door.
to buy, to purchase
Where can I buy this?
certain(ly), definite(ly)
He is definitely still here.
to live, to be alive
My parents are still alive.
life
That’s life! Such is life!
food; groceries
Where do you buy groceries?
hall
Mr. Schenk is in the hall.
on the other side
The department store is on the other side.
business; deal; store, shop
There are many shops (there).
to thank
I thank you kindly / heartily.
information; inquiry
I need some information.
Don’t mention it! / You’re welcome!
Thank you very much! – You’re welcome!
Pay attention to the form and the usage of the words
The verb danken (to thank) is governed by the dative case, not the accusative case (as it may seem):
Ich danke dem Arzt.
I thank the doctor.
The impersonal pronoun “man”
The impersonal pronoun “man” is the German equivalent of “one” (or “they”) in English, where we mean people in general or a non-specific, generic individual. The pronoun man is always the subject of a sentence and requires a verb in 3rd person singular. The translation of such sentences may vary:
Hier spricht man Russisch.
Russian spoken here. / We speak Russian here. / One speaks Russian here (lit.).
The impersonal pronoun man can be used with modal verbs. It can often be translated with the pronoun “you”, just remember that it is not actually about you (:
man kann
you can
man darf
you may, it is allowed
man kann nicht
you cannot
man darf nicht
you cannot, it is not allowed
man muß
you have to/must
man muß nicht
you don’t have to, don’t need
Remember the following way of word-formation (1)
kauf(en) + die Halle = die Kaufhalle (department store, small supermarket)
kauf(en) + das Haus = das Kaufhaus (department store)
Practise in reading the words
Ich möchte einkaufen
Grammar points
Like in English, adjectives and adverbs have three degrees of comparison: positive (dictionary form: gut, schön, schnell usw.), comparative and superlative.
Comparative degree
The comparative degree is formed by adding the suffix -er; the root vowels a, o, u of some monosyllabic adjectives and adverbs get the umlaut:
klein — kleiner small — smaller alt — älter old — older kurz — kürzer short — shorter etc. Superlative degree
The superlative degree is formed by adding the suffix -(e)st-, the root vowels a, o, u of some adjectives and adverbs also get the umlaut:
klein — kleinst- small — the smallest alt — ältest- old — the oldest kurz — kürzest- short — the shortest etc. Adjectives in any degree can be 1) attribute and 2) nominal part of the predicate.
In the first case, the adjective gets a proper ending (see lesson 7, activity 2). If there is an object of comparison, then we use the word als “than”:
Peter hat eine kleinere Wohnung als Dieter.
Peter has a smaller flat than Dieter (has).In the second case, the superlative degree is used with the particle am and the ending -en; the form with the definite article is also possible:
Meine Wohnung ist die schönste.
Meine Wohnung ist am schönsten.My flat is the most beautiful.
(My flat is the nicest.)Adverbs are only with the particle am in the superlative:
Martin geht am schnellsten.
Martin goes the fastest.
Special forms of comparison degrees of adjectives and adverbs
groß
hoch
nah
gut
gern
viel
big
high
near
good
like*
many
größer
höher
näher
besser
lieber
mehr
größt-
höchst-
nächst-
best-
liebst-
meist-
* gern (like) – lieber (prefer) – am liebsten (favourite)
1. You do not agree with the interlocutor’s statement. Deny it. What phrase would you use if you were the interlocutor?
B. Doch, das ist die schönste Wohnung.
Continue:
das Zimmer (gut), die Küche (klein), das Hotel (groß), die Zigarette (neu), der Glückwunsch (herzlich), die Frau (glücklich).
2. The interlocutor says that your friend is doing something in a certain way. You partially agree with it. Answer.
B. Das stimmt, aber Martin arbeitet besser als Peter.
Continue:
schön schreiben, gern rauchen, schnell gehen, gut sprechen, viel kaufen, lange studieren, hoch wohnen.
3. You do not know what people are doing there. Ask an appropriate question. What answer would you give if you were the interlocutor?
B. Dort ißt man zu Mittag.
Continue:
Englisch studieren, Deutsch sprechen, Zimmer bestellen, Tische reservieren, Lebensmittel einkaufen, Mineralwasser trinken.
4. You do not know where you can buy certaing things. Ask an appropriate question. What would you answer to that question?
B. Man kann in einem Warenhaus einkaufen.
Continue:
die Kaufhalle, das Geschäft, das Lebensmittelgeschäft, da drüben, an der Ecke, das Kaufhaus drüben.
5. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words from the dialogue.
1. Ich möchte . 2. Was sie mir? 3. Dort kaufen Sie alles. 4. Kann man dort auch kaufen? 5. Ich danke Ihnen für die ! 6. Ich kaufe lieber in der . 7. Vielen Dank!— !
6. Reconstruct the dialogue by filling in the gaps with the appropriate words.
Was raten Sie mir, Fred?
.
?
7. Try to reproduce the dialogue “Ich möchte einkaufen” by memory.
Check yourself!
What expressions will you use if you want to:
ask where better shopping is
find out when the shops are open
find out where you can buy a certain thing
thank for the information
