Learn about German verb prefixes
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Chuck: Chuck here intermediate season 3 lesson 25. Is this seat free? Hello and welcome to germanpod101.com. The fastest, easiest and most fun way to learn German. |
| Judith: I’m Judith and thanks again for being here with us for this intermediate season three lesson. |
| Chuck: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to have an argument in German. |
| Judith: This conversation takes place on a bus. |
| Chuck: The conversation is between Mr. Jones and an un-named woman. |
| Judith: The speakers are strangers, therefore they will be speaking formal German. |
| Chuck: Let’s listen to this conversation. So today’s cultural point we are going to be talking about why people put bags on seats. That’s really annoying. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Jones: Entschuldigung. |
| Frau: Ja bitte? |
| Jones: Ich möchte mich gerne hinsetzen. |
| Frau: Ja dann tun Sie das doch. |
| Jones: Ähm, ja aber Sie haben Ihre Tasche da hingestellt. |
| Frau: Wohin? |
| Jones: Na auf den Sitz. |
| Frau: Und? Wieso setzen Sie sich nicht auf einen anderen Platz? |
| Jones: Es ist kein anderer Platz mehr frei. Können Sie nicht einfach Ihre Tasche wegnehmen? |
| Frau: Und wo soll ich meine Tasche dann abstellen? |
| Jones: Äh, vielleicht unter ihren Sitz? |
| Frau: Nein, dafür ist die Tasche zu groß. |
| Jones: Dann legen Sie Ihre Handtasche doch einfach auf Ihrem Schoß ab. |
| Frau: Nein, dafür ist die Tasche zu schwer. |
| Jones: Dann stellen Sie die Tasche doch einfach vor sich auf den Boden hin?! |
| Frau: Sie bestehen also wirklich auf diesen Platz? |
| Jones: Ja. |
| Frau: Was stellen Sie sich denn so an?! |
| Jones: Was? Wo soll ich mich anstellen? |
| Frau: Nein, sie sollen sich nicht so anstellen! |
| Jones: Was soll das heißen? |
| Frau: Ich finde, Sie übertreiben! |
| Jones: Nein, ich finde ich untertreibe! Ich möchte mich doch nur hinsetzen. Aber Ihnen ist nur Ihre Tasche wichtig! |
| Frau: Ja, diese Tasche war sehr teuer! Ich möchte nicht, dass sie verdreckt. |
| Jones: Okay, dann nehme ich Ihre Tasche auf den Schoß. Ich verspreche Ihnen, da verdreckt sie nicht. |
| Frau: Nein, das müssen sie nicht. |
| Jones: Hä? |
| Frau: Ich muss jetzt aussteigen. Schönen Tag noch! |
| Jones: Excuse me. |
| Woman: Yes? |
| Jones: I'd like to sit down. |
| Woman: Then go ahead and do that. |
| Jones: Um, yes but your bag is sitting there. |
| Frau: Where? |
| Jones: Well, on this seat. |
| Woman: And? Why don't you sit in another seat? |
| Jones: There is no other unoccupied seat. Can't you just take your bag away? |
| Woman: And where should I put my bag then? |
| Jones: Uhh, maybe under your seat? |
| Woman: No, the bag is too big for that. |
| Jones: Then just lay the bag on your lap. |
| Woman: No, the bag is too heavy for that. |
| Jones: Then just put the bag in front of you on the floor?! |
| Woman: You really insist on this seat? |
| Jones: Yes. |
| Woman: Why are you making such a fuss about this? |
| Jones: What? Where should I get in line? |
| Woman: No, you shouldn't make such a fuss! |
| Jones: What should that mean? |
| Woman: I think you're overreacting! |
| Jones: No, I think I'm underreacting! I just want to sit down. But for you, only your bag matters! |
| Woman: Yes, this bag was very expensive! I don't want it to get dirty. |
| Jones: Ok, then I'll put the bag on my lap. I promise it won't get dirty. |
| Woman: No, you don't need to do that. |
| Jones: Huh? |
| Woman: I have to get out now. Have a nice day! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Judith: No, I think first we need to talk about the bus. Because taking the bus in Germany is a bit different than how we do so in the States. |
| Chuck: That’s right, people put their bags on seats everywhere and the benches to get on the bus or on the train or… |
| Judith: They are an annoyance but I think we need some general instruction on those who might not have taken a bus before or haven’t taken a bus in Germany. |
| Chuck: You are really going to insist on your cultural point aren’t you? |
| Judith: Yes. |
| Chuck: Maybe some other lesson we can talk about people putting bags on the seats… |
| Judith: Okay first of all the bus stops. You can identify bus stops by tall metal poles or columns baring a flag like white sign and that sign should have the letter “h” in green on a yellow background inside a green rimmed circle. Even though there are lots of independent bus companies in Germany, they all use the sign and next to it you’ll see people putting bags on seats |
| Chuck: Don’t give me that look. |
| Judith: Let’s get on with it. |
| Chuck: Okay fine, fine. Well this sign that she’s telling you about with an “h” on it, it’s quite easy to navigate buses in Germany because nearby that you’ll find a timetable with all the information of the buses that come by and when they stop at which stops and where they are going. |
| Judith: Yes and also the prices should be listed on there. If the bus is going in the wrong direction, look for a similar bus station pole on the other side of the street not too far away. |
| Chuck: Also you may be surprised to find that some bus stops are really frequently used like especially at the main train station for example, you’ll even have electronic displays and sometimes they’ll even have like benches and shelters. |
| Judith: Benches and shelters are more common than electronics but I know what you are always looking at. |
| Chuck: I think there’s something in my seat. |
| Judith: Okay once the bus is there, you’ll get in through the front door and buy a ticket there. If you already have one, just wave it at the bus driver because some areas are very strict about that. You can buy single pass tickets which are valid within a certain zone even if you have to change and you can also buy reduced fare tickets, multi-pass tickets or day tickets. You just hand the money over to the bus driver directly and he’ll give you your change back if necessary. It possible though if you only have a twenty year old bill to pay for when you are forty or something that he won’t have enough change which you may have to ask some other passengers to help you out. |
| Chuck: Sit down or hang on to something as soon as possible because here you can’t sue the bus company if you fall in Germany. Don’t fall asleep though because you have to be alert to hit the button labelled halt or stop as the bus draws closer to your desired stop. |
| Judith: This can be tricky if you don’t know the area. Modern buses have an electronic display that indicate what the next stop or even the next few stops are otherwise you have to ask a local to alert you in time. Or try to make out the writings on those bus-stop poles to identify your location. By that time it might be too late to press halt though. |
| Chuck: As the bus comes to a stop, go out the back because some regions keep a very clear policy of only allowing people to get in one way and exit the other way. The bus driver should open the door but if that doesn’t happen, look for another button near the door. Even though sometimes it light up. What does it usually say on those? [Öffnen]? |
| Judith: Sometimes it say so. |
| Chuck: Ah right, so that will make it even easier for you even if you decide to sleep through all these German pod lessons. |
| Judith: Yes you push that button, the door will open and you can get out. So there, you mastered your first bus-ride in Germany. |
| Chuck: If you don’t do it, probably someone next to you will angular push it for you. |
| Judith: Yes. |
| Chuck: That’s also true for subways. If you are on a subway you usually have to push a button to open the doors. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word is; |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: [stellen] |
| Chuck: To put in a way that leaves the object standing. |
| Judith: [stellen] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [Sitz] |
| Chuck: Seat. |
| Judith: [Sitz, der] and the plural is [Sitze]. |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [unter] |
| Chuck: Under. |
| Judith: [unter] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [Schoß] |
| Chuck: Lap. |
| Judith: [Schoß, der] and the plural is [Schoße] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [schwer] |
| Chuck: Heavy or difficult. |
| Judith: [schwer, Boden] |
| Chuck: Ground or floor. |
| Judith: [Boden, der] and the plural is [Böden] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [bestehen] |
| Chuck: To keep insisting or to insist. |
| Judith: [bestehen] the forms are [Er besteht, Er bestand, Er hat bestanden] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [sich anstellen] |
| Chuck: To get in line, to make a fuss. |
| Judith: [sich anstellen] and the [an] splits off. |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [übertreiben] |
| Chuck: To exaggerate or overreact. |
| Judith: [übertreiben] and the forms are [Er übertreibt, Er übertrieb, Er hat übertrieben] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [untertreiben] |
| Chuck: To understate or underreact. |
| Judith: [untertreiben, Er unterschreibt, Er untertrieb, Er hat untertrieben] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [wichtig] |
| Chuck: Important. |
| Judith: [wichtig] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [verdrecken] |
| Chuck: To get dirty or make dirty. |
| Judith: [verdrecken] |
| Chuck: Next. |
| Judith: [versprechen] |
| Chuck: To promise or misspeak. |
| Judith: [versprechen] the forms are [Er verspricht, Er versprach, Er hat versprochen] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Chuck: Let’s have a look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Judith: The first phrase is [Ja, dann tun Sie es doch]! |
| Chuck: Well, then just do so. |
| Judith: This is idiomatic German [Ja, dann tun Sie es doch] well then, do you, will you? Another phrase [Dafür ist die Tasche zu schwer] |
| Chuck: The bag is too heavy for that. |
| Judith: [dafür] consists of [da] and [für] and it’s wise to replace [für das] because no German would say [für das] it’s always [dafür] but the meaning is “for that”. And finally we have [Schönen Tag noch]! |
| Chuck: Have a nice rest of the day. |
| Judith: Yes, the [noch] implies the rest of the day. [Schönen Tag] would be just nice day but this is usually [Schönen Tag noch] the thing is why is this causative? We normally get this question from listeners and at this point I want to mention it again … |
| Chuck: Is it because I’m wishing you something? |
| Judith: Yes, exactly, it’s understood. You are saying something like “I wish you a nice rest of the day”[Ich wünsche Ihnen einen schönen Tag noch]. |
| Chuck:Huh, now you see I wasn’t sleeping through the other lessons recorded. |
| Judith: Yes, very good. This is the same with the greeting like [Guten Tag, Guten Abend, Viel Glück, Guten Appetit] and so on. All these are causative because we are implying that we are wishing something. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Chuck: [Schönen Abend noch] the focus of this lesson is verb prefixes. |
| Judith:Today we shall have our first brief look at the verb prefixes. |
| Chuck: In German, the verbs with prefixes, fulfill much the same in role as phrasal verbs in English but Germans tend to use a lot more prefix verbs than you’d expect. It just adds variety. Let’s look at some of the important ones. |
| Judith: Okay the most important one is [mit] this one we usually teach really early because it’s so common and it’s also easy to understand. It means that someone is joining in on the action. The English equivalent is to put along after the verb for example [mitkommen]. |
| Chuck: To come along. |
| Judith: [mitsingen] |
| Chuck: To sing along. |
| Judith: And there are also cases where English lack in equivalent. For example [mitessen]. |
| Chuck: To eat along, wait, that didn’t work. |
| Judith: Yes. I said so, in English lacks an equivalent. What does it mean [mitessen]. |
| Chuck: To eat with someone like to join someone for a meal. |
| Judith: Yes for example, if you are visiting a friend of yours in Germany and the family is about to have a meal, they might ask you if you want to [mitessen]. |
| Chuck: That would split off like [Isst du mit]? |
| Judith: Yes, okay another prefix, well actually we should learn two at the same time [aus] and [ein] because they are opposites. [aus] conveys the notion of getting out of something while [ein] is the opposite that means to get into. So we get words like [aussteigen] |
| Chuck: To get out of the bus or alight. |
| Judith: And [einsteigen] |
| Chuck: To get in. |
| Judith: [Aus] can also mean off as in switching something off and [ein] can mean on like switching something on so they remain opposites [aus] and [ein] |
| Chuck: It’s also used for log in and log out isn’t it? |
| Judith: Yes. And then we have [unter] and [über] another pair of opposites.[unter]is the same as the English under and [über] is the same as the English over. Next example is [unterschreiben] |
| Chuck: To underwrite or sign |
| Judith: And [überschreiben] |
| Chuck: To overwrite. |
| Judith: And in this lesson we have [untertreiben] and [übertreiben] to underreact or overreact or understate and exaggerate. Another thing is [weg] |
| Chuck: Telling me to go where? |
| Judith: No, but it corresponds with the English away in [weggeben] |
| Chuck: To give away |
| Judith: Or [wegnehmen] |
| Chuck: To take away. Hopefully when you are in Germany you won’t get anyone to tell it to. [Geh weg] |
| Judith: Yes. |
| Chuck: To go away. |
| Judith: There is also [ab] is very similar to [weg] focuses more on something getting a new location. I mean [weggeben] implies that something is gone. Obviously it’s not really gone but you don’t care about where it is anymore and you are certainly not getting it back so [weggeben] but [abgeben] is to give to someone else and [abstellen] is to put something down [ab] often has the meaning “down” in German. Finally there is [hin] |
| Chuck: This mean the movement towards here. |
| Judith: Yes for example Mr. Jones was requesting to [sich hinsetzen] he could have just said to [sich setzen] but the difference is that [hinsetzen] is to sit down at the place that either Mr. Jones or the woman is whereas [setzen] would be just anywhere. It’s the act of sitting down. It’s the same with [hinstellen] and [hinlegen]. |
| Chuck: Both of which mean to put something here. |
| Judith: Yes. |
Outro |
| Chuck: That just about does it for today. |
| Judith: Ready to test what you just learned? |
| Chuck: Make this lesson’s vocabulary stick by using lesson specific flash cards. |
| Judith: There’s a reason everyone uses flash cards. |
| Chuck: They work! |
| Judith: They really do help memorization. |
| Chuck: You can get flashcards for this lesson at; |
| Judith: germanpod101.com. |
| Chuck: Okay, see you next week. |
| Judith: [Bis nächste Woche]! |
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