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Lena shows Alex a photo of her family.
Geschwister is a single word meaning "brothers and sisters", and it only exists in the plural — there is no German word for one sibling. It saves a great deal of breath: Wie viele Geschwister hast du? is four words where English needs seven. Eltern and Großeltern work the same way, existing only as plurals. German marks a female professional with -in on the end: Lehrer becomes Lehrerin, Kellner becomes Kellnerin, Student becomes Studentin. The plural adds -nen — Lehrerinnen. This is not optional or old-fashioned; using Lehrer about a woman reads as careless. Job titles also drop the article after sein: Sie ist Lehrerin, never Sie ist eine Lehrerin. Notice what Alex says at the end: Was für eine schöne Familie! The adjective schön has grown an -e. German adjectives take endings when they sit in front of a noun, and the endings depend on gender, case and what article is in front. This is the hardest thing in elementary German and it is not being taught yet — you will meet it properly at Lesson 26, once the cases are solid. For now, simply notice that it happens.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. haben — to have
haben is the second irregular verb worth learning outright, after sein. ich habe, du hast, er/sie/es hat, wir haben, ihr habt, sie/Sie haben. Only du and er/sie/es misbehave, dropping the b; the rest follow the regular pattern from Lesson 3. This lesson is also the first time ihr appears — it is the plural of du, for addressing several people you would each call du. English lost this distinction and makes do with "you all".
2. der, die, das
The definite article is der for masculine, die for feminine, das for neuter — and die again for every plural, regardless of the gender the noun has in the singular. That last point is the first piece of good news the case system will give you: die Kinder, die Väter, die Familien, all die. Family words mostly follow the sex of the person, which makes them an unusually gentle place to start, but do not expect that elsewhere: das Mädchen, "the girl", is neuter, because every noun ending in -chen is.
3. Plurals
German has no single plural rule. There are five common patterns — add -e (Hund, Hunde), add -er often with an umlaut (Kind, Kinder; Mann, Männer), add -n or -en (Schwester, Schwestern), add -s for many imported words (Auto, Autos), or change nothing at all (Lehrer, Lehrer). You cannot reliably predict which a noun takes, so learn the plural with the article as part of the word: der Hund, die Hunde. Dictionaries and this course's vocabulary lists write it that way for exactly this reason.
4. mein and dein
The possessives behave exactly like ein, which makes them almost free: mein Vater (masculine), meine Mutter (feminine), mein Kind (neuter), meine Eltern (plural). dein works identically for someone you call du, and Ihr — always capitalised — for someone you call Sie. And as with ein, a masculine noun being acted on takes -en: Ich sehe meinen Bruder.
5. Wie viele? and Wie viel?
wie viele asks how many of something countable — Geschwister, Kinder, Minuten. wie viel, without the -e, asks how much of something uncountable, and it is also how you ask a price: Wie viel kostet das? The split is the same one English makes between "many" and "much", so it should feel familiar. Note that the answer to a question about people is normally just the number and the noun, without a verb: Zwei Schwestern.
A. Fill in the Blank · Ergänzen Sie
Fill in the blank with a word or phrase from this lesson.
- 1.Ich einen Bruder.have (ich form)
- 2.Das sind Eltern.my (plural)
- 3. Geschwister hast du?how many
- 4.Wir haben einen .dog
B. Multiple Choice · Wählen Sie
Choose the correct German.
- 1.Which is the correct du form of haben?
- 2.Which article does Mutter take?
- 3.How do you say "my mother"?
- 4.What is the plural of das Kind?
C. Word Order · Bilden Sie Sätze
Put the words in the right order.
- 1.Tap tiles below…
- 2.Tap tiles below…
- 3.Tap tiles below…
- 4.Tap tiles below…
D. True or False · Richtig oder falsch
Decide whether each statement about the dialogue is true.
- 1.Lena has two siblings.
- 2.Lena's mother is a teacher.
- 3.Lena's family has no pets.
- 4.Lena's father is called Bello.
E. Matching · Ordnen Sie zu
Match each question to the answer that fits it.
F. Translation · Übersetzen Sie
Translate between German and English.
- 1.I have a brother.
- 2.How many siblings do you have?
- 3.Das sind meine Eltern.
- 4.Wir haben einen Hund.
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The dog has paperwork
Germany has around ten million dogs and takes them seriously in a way that surprises visitors. A dog must be registered with the local authority and its owner pays the Hundesteuer, a dog tax, typically somewhere between €90 and €180 a year depending on the town — and considerably more for breeds classed as dangerous. In return, dogs go almost everywhere: into cafés and restaurants, onto trains and buses, into many shops and offices. They are expected to behave, and overwhelmingly they do, lying quietly under the table for an hour while their owner eats. Formal obedience training is normal rather than exceptional, and in several states a Hundeführerschein — a dog license, with a practical test — is either required or strongly encouraged. The flip side is that failing to pick up after your dog attracts fines and, more reliably, the disapproval of passers-by.