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Alex and Lena have a table booked for dinner.
Watch the plural of Glas: it takes an umlaut and an -er, giving Gläser. A large group of neuter nouns does this — das Buch becomes die Bücher, das Haus becomes die Häuser. Kartoffel is more ordinary, adding -n: die Kartoffeln. Germans do not say "a glass of wine" with any word for "of". ein Glas Wein, zwei Gläser Weißwein, eine Flasche Wasser, eine Tasse Kaffee — the container and the contents simply sit next to each other. English needs the "of" and German finds it redundant. aussehen is separable, so it splits: Das sieht lecker aus. It also changes its vowel in the du and er forms, being built on sehen — du siehst … aus, er sieht … aus. Two lessons' worth of rules meeting in one verb, which is normal in German and worth noticing rather than being alarmed by.
How do I read these pronunciations? See the pronunciation guide.
1. möchten in full
You have used ich möchte and möchten Sie since Lesson 2. Here is the whole verb: ich möchte, du möchtest, er/sie/es möchte, wir möchten, ihr möchtet, sie/Sie möchten. Like können it leaves ich and er/sie/es without an ending, and they are identical. When a second verb follows, it goes to the end as an infinitive: Möchten Sie etwas trinken?
2. Ich hätte gern
This is the most polite way to order anything in German, a shade softer even than ich möchte, and it is what you will hear Germans themselves use in shops and restaurants. Grammatically it is a subjunctive — the "would have" form of haben — but you do not need any of that yet; take it as a fixed phrase and put whatever you want after it in the accusative. Ich hätte gern die Suppe. Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee. The bluntest form, Ich will einen Kaffee, is understood but sounds like a demand, and is genuinely rude in a restaurant.
3. Ordering puts food in the accusative
Every verb of ordering — nehmen, möchten, hätte gern, bestellen — puts what you are ordering in the accusative. This is the case from Lesson 8, and it stays as cheap as it was: only the masculine changes, so der Salat becomes den Salat while die Suppe and das Schnitzel stay exactly as they are. A restaurant menu is therefore the best place to practice it, because every line is a noun you are about to make an object.
4. schmecken, and a first dative
schmecken means "to taste good", and the person doing the tasting is not the subject: Das schmeckt mir means "that tastes good to me". The food is the subject and the person takes mir — the dative form of ich, which you met in Für mich in Lesson 2. gefallen (to please) works the same way: Das gefällt mir. The full dative arrives in Lesson 15; here, note the pattern that the thing does the acting and the person receives it, because a whole family of German verbs is built this way.
5. Asking for the bill
Die Rechnung, bitte or simply Zahlen, bitte gets you the bill, and you ask the server rather than waiting to be offered it — in Germany you may wait a very long time otherwise, because bringing it unasked is thought to be hurrying you out. Expect Zusammen oder getrennt? in reply: one bill or several. Both answers are entirely normal and the server will split it without complaint. Say the total you want to pay as you hand over the money, which is how you tip.
A. Fill in the Blank · Ergänzen Sie
Fill in the blank with a word from this lesson.
- 1.Ich hätte die Suppe.gladly — part of the polite ordering phrase
- 2.Ich nehme Salat.the (masculine, accusative)
- 3.Das sieht sehr lecker !the separated prefix of aussehen
- 4.Die , bitte.bill
B. Multiple Choice · Wählen Sie
Choose the correct German.
- 1.How do you order the salad? (der Salat)
- 2.Which is the correct du form of möchten?
- 3.Where does the prefix of aussehen go?
- 4.Which is correct for "that tastes good to me"?
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.They have a reservation.
- 2.Lena orders soup and salad.
- 3.Alex orders fish.
- 4.They order white wine.
E. Matching · Ordnen Sie zu
Match each line to the reply that fits it.
F. Translation · Übersetzen Sie
Translate between German and English.
- 1.I'd like the soup.
- 2.The bill, please.
- 3.Möchten Sie etwas trinken?
- 4.Das sieht sehr lecker aus!
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Look at them when you say Prost
When glasses are raised in Germany, you clink with each person individually and look them in the eye as you do it — not at the glass. Failing to make eye contact is said to bring seven years of bad luck, and while nobody seriously believes that, everybody observes it, and a visitor staring at the rim will be gently corrected. The word is Prost for most drinks and Zum Wohl for wine. Wait for the toast before drinking; starting early is noticed. Two other things worth knowing at a German table. Guten Appetit is said before anyone eats, and you wait for it. And if you see a table with a heavy ornamental flag or sign on it reading Stammtisch, do not sit there — it is the regulars' table, reserved by long custom for a particular group on a particular evening, and it is not available even if the restaurant is empty.