All other words appear in the following sequence: Time + Manner + Place

Time: “tomorrow” or “Wednesday of next week.”

Manner: how something is carried out “with my sister” or “on foot.”

Place: can refer to any location “Toronto” or “in the garden.”

Option A:

(Time) + (verb) + (subject) + (place)

Morgen fahre ich nach Hamburg.

Option B:

(Subject) + (verb) + (time) + (place)

Ich fahre morgen nach Hamburg.

If all three elements are present, time is always placed first.

(Time) + (verb) + (subject) + (manner) + (place)

Morgen fahre ich mit meinem Auto nach Hamburg.

In yes/no questions, verbs appear in the initial position.

Spielst du?                                       Are you playing?

Ja, ich spiele.                                   Yes, I am playing.

With two verbs the second verb always goes to the END.

Ich muss jetzt gehen.                         I must go now.

Ich habe die Pizza gekocht.               I cooked the Pizza.

Ich werde bald reisen.                       I will travel soon.

Idioms can be fun and a challenge to learn in a foreign language. Here are some great ones in German!

1. um den heißen Brei herumreden

Literally: to talk around the hot porridge
English equivalent: to beat around the bush

2. Da kannst du Gift drauf nehmen

Literally: You can take poison on that
English equivalent: You can bet your life on that

3. sich zum Affen machen

Literally: to make an ape of oneself
English equivalent: to make a fool of oneself

4. eine Extrawurst verlangen

Literally: to ask for an extra sausage
English Equivalent: to ask for special treatment

5. Da steppt der Bär

Literally: The bear dances there
English Equivalent: It will be a good party

6. Tomaten auf den Augen haben

Literally: to have tomatoes on one’s eyes
English Equivalent: to be oblivious to what is going around you

7. Ich verstehe nur Bahnhof

Literally: I can only understand “train station.”
English equivalent: It’s all Greek to me.

Adjectives-there are two kinds of adjectives: limiting adjectives and descriptive adjectives. Both kinds describe nouns. Limiting adjectives give some sense of number. Words such as some, few and four are examples of limiting adjectives. Descriptive adjective examples include: beautiful, yellow, big etc.

Adverbs-adverbs are words that tell you something about a verb, adjective or another adverb. In English, many adverbs have the ending -ly. German has lost many distinct adverb forms: good/well = ‘gut’ but sometimes we add: -erweise

Affirmative-affirmative sentences make statements that are not negative. For example, she is always happy rather than she is never happy.

Articles-there are two kinds of articles: indefinite (a, an) and definite (the). Indefinite articles refer to unspecified items whereas definite articles refer to something specific. For example, I saw a man vs. I saw the man.

Auxiliary verbs– Auxiliary verbs couple with other verb forms to create tenses. Have is a common auxiliary verb. For example, I have eaten, Ich habe gegessen.

Cognates– Words that are similar in spelling and meaning between two languages.

Conjugating-to conjugate is to take the base form of a verb and to add the appropriate ending for each person. Example, I eat but he eats. Ich esse, wir essen

Demonstratives-these words indicate proximity. Examples are: this or dieser

Gender– English does not generally have gender for inanimate objects. All German nouns however are feminine, masculine or neuter!

Imperative-imperatives are commands. For example, Get up!

Infinitives- the infinitive is the non-conjugated form of a verb. In English infinitives require the proposition ‘to’. For example: to eat, to study. In German, an infinitive always ends in -en or -n: essen, spielen.

Interrogatives-Interrogatives are question words: who, what or wer, wo etc.

Nouns-nouns are people, things, animals and concepts. For example, table, beauty and freedom. German nouns are always capitalized: Tisch, Freiheit.

Objects-there are two kinds of objects: direct and indirect. A direct object receives the action of the verb whereas the indirect object usually answers the question to/for whom something is done. For example, Tony bought a car for Maria. In this example, ‘car’ is the direct object and ‘Maria’ is the indirect object.

Object pronouns-these words take the place of a noun functioning as an object. For example, I read the book becomes I read it. The book is replaced by ‘it’ and therefore avoids repetition.

Past participles-a past participle is the part of the verb used to form a compound tense. For example, we have finished. In German, the majority of past participles are formed by taking the root of the verb and adding ge- to the beginning and –t to the end: gespielt. About 20% of past participles are irregular: gebracht.

Possessives-possessives indicate to whom something belongs. For example, it’s mine, our books. In German, possessive pronouns must agree in gender and case with the item being possessed: mein, deinem etc.

Predicate-the predicate tells you something about the subject. The predicate can be a noun, adverb or adjective. For example, he is a man or he is tall. Man and tall refer back to the subject.

Prepositions-prepositions give information such as location, time and direction. Examples: towards, with, in, under, between or mit, unter, ohne etc.

Pronouns-pronouns take the place of nouns. For example, Terry runs well. He runs well. ‘He’ is a pronoun. German examples: ich, er, sie etc. Pronouns help us to avoid repeating the names of people and things!

Reflexives-reflexive verbs use object pronouns that refer back to the subject. In English we accomplish this by saying -self. For example, I wash myself. He gave himself a massage. English does not use reflexives as much as German. Many verbs in German can be used both reflexively and not reflexively with different meanings. Ich wasche das Auto vs. Ich wasche mich.

Subject-the subject is the person(s) or thing(s) performing the action in a given. sentence. For example, He is eating the bread. Er isst das Brot.

Superlatives-formed in English with the ending ‘the -est’. For example, he is the oldest man in the village. In German, the superlative is formed by using ‘am -sten’.

Tenses-tenses are verb forms that refer to different planes of time. For example, the present, future and past.

Verbs-verbs show actions, states of being or transformations. For example, I worked. I was happy. It began to rain.

Voice-there are two kinds of voice: active and passive. In an active sentence, the doer of the action is emphasized whereas in a passive sentence it is the receiver of the action that is emphasized. For example, active: She ran over the cat. Passive: The cat was run over by her. Passive voice is commonly used in the news.

Last night I had the pleasure of watching the German film The Woman with the Five Elephants. Filmed in 2010, this documentary showcases the life of the famous Russian to German translator Svetlana Geier. It is predominately in German with English subtitles with the small portion in Russian occurring when she finally returns to her place of birth some 60 years after she was forced to flee during the second world war.

The film begins slowly as it shows her careful translations into German of the enormous volumes of Dostoyevsky’s works. She works quietly and with careful precision both by hand and with a typewriter with the help of her retired professor friends. After introducing her day-to-day life to us, the narrator begins weaving into the film the story of her youth. By learning of the incredible things she witnessed early in her life the audience begins to learn how she made her way from Ukraine to Germany. It is revealed that her facility with the German language at a young age is what saved the lives of both herself and her mother after her father was killed by the Soviet regime.

This is an exceptional film and it will be a delight to anyone such as myself with a love of languages.

What is a language?

A language is a system of communication used by a specific community. Nearly everyone speaks (or signs) at least one language. Speaking only one language, or monolingualism, is common in many parts of the English-speaking world such as North America, the UK and Australia. However, a much larger number of the world’s population live in countries where multiple languages are spoken throughout the day. For example people may have a home, community, religious, colonial, academic and/or business language. A lot of the challenges faced by monolingual learners of secondary languages is a result of two factors: little exposure to second or third languages in childhood, and a poor education in grammar instruction.

Are all languages similar?

Languages are similar in that they enable humans to communicate with each other. All languages are spoken (or signed) but not all languages are written. Languages change over generations so that a modern version of a language may be very different than an older version although the degree to which languages change depends on many factors and some people can read texts that are hundreds of years old with little difficulty.

Is my target language related to English?

Languages are grouped first by family, then group and branch similarly to plants or animals. For example, English is a member of the Indo-European language family that includes most languages spoken throughout Europe, India and Iran. Furthermore, there are nine sub-groupings one of which is the Germanic family. English belongs to the West Germanic branch which includes closely related languages such as Dutch and German. Spanish on the other hand belongs to a different subgrouping called Italic, of which the majority of the languages such as Spanish, Italian, Portuguese are referred to as Romance languages.

What are the similarities between English and my target language?

German and English share some similar grammar structures and vocabulary that go back several hundred years. Spanish and English share a lot of similar vocabulary owing to the fact that English borrowed many Latin words during the Middle Ages. The grammar between English and Spanish can, at times, be quite different.

How do people learn a language?

The most common and natural way to learn language is as a young child exposed to the language being used in your household and community. To learn to read and write you generally receive formal instruction. The second way to learn a language is through formal instruction. This is the way most people learn a second language as adolescents and adults. Sometimes the two methods can be combined whereas for example someone goes and lives abroad for a number of years and learns to speak by communicating with native speakers while simultaneously taking formal lessons. If you are unable to live among people speaking your target language, re-creating an immersion environment as much as possible is suggested.

When is the best time of day to learn?

This varies a lot. Some people learn best first thing in the morning when their mind is fresh while others thrive at the end of the day. Furthermore, people have different learning styles. Some people enjoy having background music while others need total silence. Experiment and see when and in what type of environment you learn best.

What is involved?

When developing a new skill such as a language it is important to revisit concepts and vocabulary repeatedly throughout the day in small increments of 10-20 minutes. Just like exercising your body, do a 2-3 minute warm-up by reviewing some older material and then challenge yourself. By consistently exposing your brain pathways to new vocabulary, sentence structure and grammar the language will start to feel more natural and less foreign.

How can I be successful?

Like many things in life, confidence and consistent effort are the key to your success! Making mistakes is a natural and necessary part of learning any language including your first language. Self-defeating thoughts, or berating yourself if you don’t do your homework is not helpful. Set realistic goals and stick to them. Also, remember to celebrate the milestones along the way.

What should my expectations be?

It is important to set realistic goals while learning a new language. Track your short, medium and long-term goals. With regular study, you can expect to hold a basic conversation within a few weeks and a more complex conversation within 3 months. By 6-9 months you should be ready to face most daily situations and express yourself in the present, future and past tenses. This level is called “conversationally fluent”. For native fluency the learning never ends!

Is it worth the effort?

Definitely! There are numerous benefits associated with learning an additional language. The obvious one is that you are able to communicate with new people in your personal or professional life. Secondly, you are also able to appreciate a new culture on a deeper level. Language learning is also good for your brain development and maintenance. The best news is the more languages you learn the easier it gets!

It seems that nothing frustrates learners of a foreign language more than idioms. Idioms are those phrases that cannot be translated directly from one language to another. They often involve turns of phrase, animals, colors or emotions in strange combinations! Here are some amusing idioms from various languages that, when translated directly, would make any foreigner to the language scratch their head.

He has been blue. = He has been sad.

He was caught red-handed. = He was caught in the act.

Por si las moscas (in case of flies!) = Just in case.

Andar como perros y gatos (walk like dogs and cats) = to always be arguing.

Das Blaue von Himmel versprechen (to promise the blue from the sky) = to promise someone the moon.

Tomaten auf den Augen haben (to have tomatoes on your eyes) = to be oblivious to what’s going on.

Students new to German will repeatedly encounter the verb werden. As it has three distinct functions, it often proves confusing. Here we will outline the three main functions with example sentences.

A. Idiomatic Expressions

Werden generally translates into English as turning, becoming or getting.

Er wird Arzt.

Es wurde kalt.

B. Future Tense

The present tense form of the verb werden can also be coupled with an infinitive (placed at the end of the sentence or clause) to express the future tense. Here werden translates as will.

Sie wird bald eine Mutter sein.

Wirst du hier schlafen?

C. Passive Voice

The passive voice is used to emphasize the action over the agent. It is used a lot in the press and to describe historical events and natural disasters. Here, werden is accompanied by the past participle (placed at the end of the sentence or clause). To express by, von is generally used, but durch may be used to express unforeseen events or natural occurrences.

Das Haus wird von ihm gebaut.

Es wird durch den Wind zerstört.

Beginning in January of this year, I began selling my self designed curriculum, readings and worksheets online through a wonderful forum called Teachers Pay Teachers.  I only discovered this website myself a couple of years ago and became an avid buyer. It was my New Year’s resolution for 2015 to sell my products on this website. It was a lot of work up front, but it is finally paying off. I have created an online community with teachers which has been a wonderful experience as being a solo teacher can sometimes be a lonely endeavour! Furthermore, there are a lot more Spanish teachers in the United States than there are in Canada. I am happy to report that I have received a lot of positive feedback on my products and my current and future students have also benefited from my online feedback as I continue to improve my course content. To access my online resources for teachers click here.

As a number of my clients are required to travel for work I have now regularly started offering lessons over Skype. While it may not be as ideal as face-to-face lessons, I have had a large degree of success with teaching people online and look forward to continuing to offer this option particularly for those people who live further out of the city or travel frequently.

Finally, just this month I have begun to create an online school for my courses! It is my intention to offer this for free to my existing clients for further practice at home where they may review lessons we covered in class together. This online platform will offer yet another avenue to pursue your language goals. I have just released my first course on German pronunciation and I look forward to continuing to work on my new online school in the coming months. For my new online school click here.

The practice of holding a Christmas market or Weinachstmarkt in Germany, Austria and Switzerland among other countries dates back to the Middle Ages. Markets are held in accordance with Advent traditions, namely opening on the Sunday four weeks before Christmas. These markets are traditionally held in the main plaza of the city or town and spill out into adjacent streets. The size of the market depends on the size of the town. Some of the more famous markets are held in the cities of Nuremberg, Dresden, Berlin and Munich.

Christmas markets feature regional food and beverages. Numerous temporary stalls built out of wood sell local crafts, food products such as chocolates as well as handmade ornaments. For entertainment, there are musicians, dancers and other entertainers performing, often in local traditional clothing. For children, there may be some games and carousel rides.

The most popular beverage by far is mulled wine or Glühwein. This beverage is served hot to help you warm up on cold winter nights and is made of a combination of red wine, sugar and spices. For a recipe click here. To eat, there are numerous local vendors selling sausages, sauerkraut, German pretzels and of course Lebkuchen. Lebkuchen is a German variety of gingerbread often sold in large sizes of hearts or other shapes with icing of varying colors. See the featured image for this blog.

For the last three years, a Christmas market has been held in the Queen Elizabeth Plaza near the downtown Vancouver public library. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting every year and highly recommend it. For more information on market hours and to purchase tickets visit www.vancouverchristmasmarket.com

Language fluency is defined as, “the ability to be understood by both native and non-native speakers of a specific language.” By that definition fluency can generally be achieved within 9-12 months of moderate language study. A higher level of competency can be referred to as native fluent or bilingual. This can often take many years of study, often coupled with living abroad in a country in which the target language is  spoken.

In its most basic form, fluency is achieved when one can speak in a language without halting or pausing. This can be achieved through a large vocabulary or the ability to express yourself in a roundabout way if the vocabulary is lacking. Anyone who has studied a foreign language knows that there are many stages within the language learning process and progress is often not as linear as people presume.

Many of my clients want to know if they are progressing “normally.”  In other words they want to know if they are on track to achieve their goals in a timely manner. Having taught over 1000 people I have a good sense of where students should be at a given point in their course of language study.While results vary between individuals I have outlined the basic stages of language learning below:

(Note: The following outline presumes that you are studying with a private instructor 1-2 times per week in addition to 4-6 hours per week of self-study)

1-5 weeks of study: the student is getting a handle on the basics of the pronunciation, the flow of the language, common everyday expressions and basic sentence structure

6-12 weeks of study-the student is learning to master the present tense, learning to introduce oneself, talk about work, family and hobbies, writing basic sentences

3 months-6 months of study- learning to express oneself in the past tense, talking about one’s childhood experiences, previous work experiences and relationships, able to participate in basic conversations with native speakers, translating simple paragraphs

6 months-9 months of study-learning to express oneself in the future tense, talking in a more in-depth level about world events, reading short stories, expressing emotions clearly and comfortably, able to hold everyday conversations on numerous topics

9 months-12 months of study-learning to express oneself in the subjective/hypothetical, learning more complex vocabulary surrounding politics, health, the workplace, able to read the newspaper and follow along with the news

1 year-2 years-completely comfortable in all tenses, able to watch television programs and conduct business in the target language, comfortable conducting an interview, able to write presentations and essays

2+ years-continually honing specialized vocabulary, mastering local idioms and generally communicating on a near-native level.