LESSON NOTES

Beginner #1
Are you Michaela Wucher?
CONTENTS
2 German
2 English
2 Informal German
3 Informal English
3 Vocabulary
4 Sample Sentences
4 Grammar
5 Cultural Insight
#
1
COPYRIGHT 2012 INNOVATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
GERMANPOD101.COM BEGINNER #1 - ARE YOU MICHAELA WUCHER?
2
GERMAN
1.
John: Entschuldigung! Sind Sie Michaela Wucher?
2.
Michael: Nein, ich bin nicht Michaela Wucher. Wer sind Sie?
3.
John: Ich bin John Williams. Ich bin aus Pennsylvania...
4.
Michael: Ahhh! Sie sind John Williams! Ich bin Michaela Wucher, but it is
pronounced Michaela Wucher.
5.
John: Oh, Entschuldigung!
ENGLISH
1.
John: Excuse me! Are you Michaela Wucher?
2.
Michael: No, I am not Michaela Wucher. Who are you?
3.
John: I am John Williams. I am from Pennsylvania...
4.
Michael: Ahhh! You are John Williams! I am Michaela Wucher, but it is
pronounced Michaela Wucher.
5.
John: Oh, sorry!
INFORMAL GERMAN
1.
John: tschuldigung! Bist du "Michaela Wucher?
2.
Michael: Nein, ich bin nicht Michaela Wucher. Wer bist du?
CONT'D OVER
GERMANPOD101.COM BEGINNER #1 - ARE YOU MICHAELA WUCHER?
3
3.
John: Ich bin John Williams. Ich bin aus Pennsylvania...
4.
Michael: Ahhh! Du bist John Williams! Ich bin Michaela Wucher, but it is
pronounced Michaela Wucher.
5.
John: Oh, Entschuldigung!
INFORMAL ENGLISH
1.
John: Excuse me! Are you Michaela Wucher?
2.
Michael: No, I am not Michaela Wucher. Who are you?
3.
John: I am John Williams. I am from Pennsylvania...
4.
Michael: Ahhh! You are John Williams! I am Michaela Wucher, but it is
pronounced Michaela Wucher.
5.
John: Oh, sorry!
VOCABULARY
Ger man Engli sh Class Gender
Entschuldigung
apology; excuse me;
Im sorry
plural:
Entschuldigungen;
the expression is
always singular.
Sie you (formal) personal pronoun
ich I personal pronoun
wer who pronoun
GERMANPOD101.COM BEGINNER #1 - ARE YOU MICHAELA WUCHER?
4
sein
to be verb
ich bin, du bist, er ist,
wir sind, ihr seid, sie
sind
nein no
expression; Yes is
"Ja"
Yes is "Ja"
nicht not adverb
aus from preposition
SAMPLE SENTENCES
Ich nehme di e Entschul di gung an.

I accept the apology.
Haben Si e ei ne andere Kredi tkarte?

Do you have another credit card?
Sprechen Si e Engl i sch?

Do you speak English?
Si e si nd Herr Smi th

You are Mr Smith.
Ich hatte l etzte Woche so vi el zu
tun!

I was so busy last week!
Ich bi n Li sa.

I am Lisa.
Wer i st das?

Who is that?
Das kann doch ni cht wahr sei n!

That can't be true!
Ich bi n Student.

I am a student.
Nei n, i ch bi n ni cht aus Kl n.

No, I am not from Cologne.
Das habe i ch ni cht gesagt!

I didn't say that!
Du bi st ni cht mei n Vater!

You aren't my father!
Kommst du aus Berl i n oder von
auerhal b?

Do you come from Berlin or from
elsewhere?
Ich bi n aus Deutschl and.

I am from Germany.
GERMANPOD101.COM BEGINNER #1 - ARE YOU MICHAELA WUCHER?
5
GRAMMAR
In this lesson, you have seen a generous amount of ich bin (I am) and Sie sind (you are,
formal). If you have access to the extra material, you have even heard du bist, the informal
equivalent of Sie sind. All of these are forms of the verb sein (to be), which is irregular in
German, just like in English.
Here is a table with all the present tense forms:
sei n to be
ich bin I am
du bist you are (informal)
er ist / sie ist / es ist he is / she is / it is
wir sind we are
ihr seid you are (plural)
sie sind / Sie sind they are / you are (formal)
As you can see, the formal Sie sind (you are) is the same form as sie sind (they are),
except for the capital letter that indicates respect. The formal form in German will always
correspond to the they form (3rd person plural).
Some examples of this very useful verb in action: Ich bin Michael. I am Michael. Du bist
schn. You are pretty. Er ist Student. He is a student. Sie ist aus England. She is from
England. Es ist nicht gut. It is not good. Wir sind Freunde. We are friends. Seid ihr bereit?
Are you ready? Wer sind sie? Who are they? Wer sind Sie? Who are you (formal) ?
CULTURAL INSIGHT
Use Entschuldigung as the equivalent of either Excuse me or Im sorry, for example
when:
* getting somebodys attention
* trying to move through a crowd, thus asking them to step aside
* stepping on somebodys foot
* really screwing up (in that case youd use further expressions in addition to just
Entschuldigung)
GERMANPOD101.COM BEGINNER #1 - ARE YOU MICHAELA WUCHER?
6
Do not say i t when somebody tells you sad news. Germans do not apologize for things that
are not their fault, such as a friend not getting a job. Rather, youd express encouragement
there. In severe cases however, such as somebodys mother being sent to the hospital, you
can say Es tut mir leid (It pains me; I am chagrined) as a way of commiserating.
The formality of the conversation may seem a bit odd to you, seeing that John and Michaela
have known each other through e-mail, but John wasnt absolutely sure he was talking to
Michaela and so he had to make sure he was being polite to this stranger. Using informal
language on this occasion already would have been like saying Hey you, are you
Michaela? and would probably have provoked an annoyed reaction. Especially older people
are very sensitive when it comes to how you address them, because they expect to be shown
respect, and using formal language is the easiest way of saying I respect you in German.
That is why sometimes even people who have known each other for a long time use formal
language with each other.
Generally, you should only use informal language with a new acquaintance if:
* you are talking to somebody under 18
* you and the person youre talking with are both around student age
* you and the person youre talking with are relatives
In all other cases, you should wait till you are asked to switch to informal language its up to
the older person or the one higher in rank to do so or not. Your boss or teacher will certainly
never ask you, as that would diminish his authority in the eyes of everybody. However, even
regular acquaintances dont switch to using first names nearly as quickly as they do in the
USA. If you just start by addressing a stranger informally, he may feel offended as you seem
to treat him like a child. That being said, as a foreigner you certainly have some leeway in
case you should forget.