Deutsch sprechen? Steig ein!

Sander   Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:53 am GMT
Was solte ich dann sagen? ;-)
learning   Sat Aug 27, 2005 3:58 pm GMT
glaube means "think/believe"
denke means "think"
How do you decide which word to use?

And do i use "die" for all plural nouns? Any exception to this rule?
Why is madchen "das" when it means girl? and if you say "die, or das, or der" does it completely change the meaning of the noun? Like die zeitung replaced with der zeitung?
Sander   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:22 pm GMT
Good questions,

-Glaube vs. Denke:
The difference is really quite small.I'd say that you should use them just the way you use the English variants.You can use both , except for when you want to use 'believe' then just use 'glaube'.

-Do I use die for all plural nouns?:
No,look at this...

1. (Nominative) Der alte Mann (m)
Die junge Frau (f)
Das kleine Kind (n)
Die lieben Freunde (p)

2.(Genitive) Des alten Mannes (m)
Der jungen Frau (f)
Des kleinen Kindes (n)
Der lieben Freunde (p)

3.(Dative) Dem alten Mann (m)
Der jungen Frau (f)
Dem kleinen Kind (n)
Den lieben Freunden (p)

4.(Accusative) Den alten Mann (m)
Die junge Frau (f)
Das kleine Kind (n)
Die lieben Freunde (p)

*(m) = male
*(f) = female
*(n) = neutral
*(p) = plural

-Why is madchen "das" when it means girl?:

Words ending in 'chen' are just always neutral :) it's a rule.

-If you say "die, or das, or der" does it completely change the meaning of the noun? Like die zeitung replaced with der zeitung?:

This depends on the case in which the word is written,but if you make a mistake in the articlein front of the noun,this doesn't really change the meaning of the noun it just sounds wrong (a bit like saying 'aN name').
Candy   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:29 pm GMT
Plural nouns always take 'die' unless you're using the dative, eg 'die Männer' but 'mit DEN Männern'. Also in the gentive: 'die Bücher DER Männer' (the men's books)

The word 'Mädchen' is neuter because all nouns ending with 'chen' are neuter and take 'das' ('chen' is the diminutive - 'Mädchen' literally means little maid!) Another example: 'Haus' means house, 'Häuschen' is little house.
If you get 'der, die, das' wrong it won't change the meaning of the word, it just sounds a little weird to German speakers' ears.

As for 'ich glaube' and 'ich denke' I personally use them interchangeably, but then I'm not a native German speaker! I don't think it makes much difference.
learning   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:30 pm GMT
thanks sander, you shed some light on some things.

danke fur die info.
learning   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:31 pm GMT
thanks sander and Candy, you shed some light on some things.

danke fur die info.
Sander   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:32 pm GMT
Graag gedaan ;-)
Candy   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:33 pm GMT
Bitte schön!!
Viel Glück und Spaß beim Lernen!

Is English your native language?
learning changes name to   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:39 pm GMT
Danke, ja, English ist mein muttersprache aber ich lerne Deutsch fur drei monet jetz. Sehr dificile.
Candy   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:41 pm GMT
Deutsch ist eine sehr schwierige Sprache, das ist mir ganz klar....
Sander   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:41 pm GMT
Hast du ein Wörterbuch gebraucht bei diesem satz?
Guest   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:42 pm GMT
The most dificult for me is the case system...like this example from about.com

Der Hund beißt den Mann. The dog bites the man.

Den Mann beißt der Hund. The dog bites the man. (if i first saw this alone, i would have interpreted as the man bites the dog)

Beißt der Hund den Mann? Is the dog biting the man?
Beißt den Mann der Hund? Is the dog biting the man?
Sander   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:45 pm GMT
Der Hund beißt den Mann. The dog bites the man.

Its 'der Hund' because that's the subject (nominative) and it's 'den Mann' because that's the direct object (accustive).
Candy   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:45 pm GMT
Bloody case system. Grumble, grumble.....When I'm speaking German, I can never get it right. Never, never. Never will, in my whole life, I'm sure.
Stephen   Sat Aug 27, 2005 4:48 pm GMT
Hast du ein Wörterbuch gebraucht bei diesem satz?

Uberzeitzung: Do you have a secondhand wordbook your using?

is that correct?

i have some cds i use.

ja Deutsch ist sehr schwierige Sprache :(