Learn how to offer and accept presents in Germany
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gina: Hello and welcome back to GermanPod101.com. I’m Gina, this is Absolute Beginner Season 3 Lesson 9, Here's a German Present For You. |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the verb “to have” in German. |
| Frank: This conversation takes place at the Kirsch family home. |
| Gina: The conversation is between the guest Kate and the family host mother, Mrs Kirsch. |
| Frank: The speakers don’t know each other well. So, they'll be speaking formal German. |
| Gina: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Kate: Ich habe ein Geschenk für Sie. Hier. |
| Frau Kirsch: Oh, danke. … Wir haben aber kein Geschenk für Sie. |
| Kate: Das brauchen Sie auch nicht. Ich bin ja der Gast. |
| Frau Kirsch: Ah! Schokolade! Lecker! Danke für das Geschenk. |
| Kate: Bitte. |
| Frank: Now, slowly. |
| Gina: Ich habe ein Geschenk für Sie. Hier. |
| Frank: Oh, danke. … Wir haben aber kein Geschenk für Sie. |
| Gina: Das brauchen Sie auch nicht. Ich bin ja der Gast. |
| Frank: Ah! Schokolade! Danke für das Geschenk. |
| Gina: Bitte. |
| Frank: And now, let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Kate: Ich habe ein Geschenk für Sie. Hier. |
| English translation: I have a gift for you, here. |
| Frau Kirsch: Oh, danke. Wir haben aber kein Geschenk für Sie. |
| English translation: Oh, thanks. But we have no gift for you. |
| Frau Kirsch: Das brauchen Sie auch nicht. Ich bin ja der Gast. |
| English translation: That’s not needed. I’m the guest after all. |
| Frau Kirsch: Ah! Schokolade! Lekker! Danke für das Geschenk. |
| English translation: Oh! Chocolate! Delicious! Thanks for the gift. |
| Frau Kirsch: Bitte. |
| English translation: You’re welcome. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Frank: All right. I think it’s about time to talk about being a guest, just like Kate is a guest in this family. |
| Gina: As a guest in Germany, you should definitely have a present for your host that you’re staying with. It’s best to bring something from your region, like maybe a picture book or a local specialty. |
| Frank: Yes. When you’re just visiting someone without staying at their place, it’s still customary to bring a small gift, like flowers or a bottle of wine. |
| Gina: If you know that your host likes beer more, then you might bring beer along. |
| Frank: I also know that sometimes people from other countries like to give chocolates but that’s kind of unusual in Germany. But, they'd certainly be welcome nonetheless. Also, the easiest way to annoy your host is by not being punctual. Being more than five minutes late is generally frowned upon in Germany; and more than 30 minutes late is even worse. |
| Gina: So call ahead if you know that you’ll be delayed. Also, if you have to cancel an outing, let people know well in advance. |
| Frank: And note that inviting yourself should never be done! |
| Gina: Great to know. Ok, let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Gina: The first word we shall see is... |
| Frank: ein [natural native speed] |
| Gina: a, an |
| Frank: ein [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: ein [natural native speed] |
| Frank: wo [natural native speed] |
| Gina: where |
| Frank: wo [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: wo [natural native speed] |
| Frank: brauchen [natural native speed] |
| Gina: to need |
| Frank: brauchen [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: brauchen [natural native speed] |
| Frank: kein [natural native speed] |
| Gina: not any, no |
| Frank: kein [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: kein [natural native speed] |
| Frank: für [natural native speed] |
| Gina: for |
| Frank: für [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: für [natural native speed] |
| Frank: Geschenk [natural native speed] |
| Gina: present, gift |
| Frank: Geschenk [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: Geschenk [natural native speed] |
| Frank: haben [natural native speed] |
| Gina: to have |
| Frank: haben [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: haben [natural native speed] |
| Frank: Gast [natural native speed] |
| Gina: guest |
| Frank: Gast [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Frank: Gast [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Gina: Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Frank: The first word that we’ll look at is „kein“. This is the equivalent of „nicht ein“. It means “no,” or “none”. |
| Gina: So to say, “We do not have a present,” you don’t actually use the word „nicht,“ or “not” in German. |
| Frank: Instead, you’ll say „Wir haben kein Geschenk“, here the „kein“ taking the role of both „nicht“ and „ein“ in German. |
| Gina: Okay, What’s next? |
| Frank: Next up is „ja,“ which means “yes.” |
| Gina: It can be used in the middle of a sentence, and it makes the statement stronger. Can you give us an example? |
| Frank: Sure. „Ich lerne ja Deutsch“ . |
| Gina: “I'm learning German, you know.” |
| Frank: And our last word is „bitte“ is a typical answer to „danke,“ and is the equivalent of “you’re welcome,” in this case. |
| Gina: It can also be used to say “please,” can’t it, Frank? |
| Frank: Richtig! That’s right. Ein Bier, bitte! |
| Gina: One beer, please. Ok, onto the grammar! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn the irregular verb “to have.” |
| Frank: „haben“ is one of the most important German verbs. |
| Gina: It’s used not only to talk about possession, but also to form other tenses as you’ll see later, just like in English. |
| Frank: Yeah. And it’s also used in a non-literal sense in various expressions like Hunger haben“. |
| Gina: “To be hungry”. |
| Frank: Durst haben“ |
| Gina: “To be thirsty”. |
| Frank: Zeit haben“ |
| Gina: “To have time”. |
| Frank: Okay, Let’s hear it in the present tense so our listeners know how to use it with all the pronouns. |
| Gina: Okay, are you ready, listeners? |
| Frank: ich habe |
| Gina: “I have.” |
| Frank: du hast |
| Gina: “You have”, in the informal way. |
| Frank: er hat, sie hat, es hat. |
| Gina: “He has”, “she has”, “it has” |
| Frank: wir haben |
| Gina: “We have” |
| Frank: ihr habt |
| Gina: “You have” in the plural form. |
| Frank: sie haben |
| Gina: “They have”. And the last one is “you have”, the polite form, which is the same as the previous one, right? |
| Frank: Yes, “Sie haben.” Only this time, in the written form, the S in Sie is capitalized, which is the polite “you” form in German. |
| Gina: Let’s hear a few more examples of phrases with haben, so you can get used to them. |
| Frank: Ich habe blonde Haare. |
| Gina: "I have blonde hair." |
| Frank: Du hast lange Beine! |
| Gina: "You have long legs!" |
| Frank: Sie hat keine Ahnung. |
| Gina: "She has no idea." |
| Frank: haben can be used in many different contexts, and there are also some set expressions in which it's used. |
| Gina: Yes, for example, in abstract concepts. Can you give us some sample sentences? |
| FRANK: Sie haben Durst. |
| Gina: “They're thirsty.” |
| Frank: Mut haben |
| Gina: “To have courage” |
| Frank: Geduld haben |
| Gina: “To have patience” |
| Frank: Angst haben |
| Gina: “To be scared”, (Literally: “to have fear”) |
| Frank: Zeit haben |
| Gina: “To have time”. It’s worth learning these set phrases as they may come in handy in a German-speaking country. |
Outro |
| Frank: Listeners, have you ever dreamt of starring in one of our lessons? |
| Gina: If your answer is yes, use the voice record tool on the lesson page. |
| Frank: Record your voice with the click of a button. |
| Gina: And then play it back just as easily. |
| Frank: Then compare it with the native speaker |
| Gina: Go to GermanPod101.com and rapidly improve your German pronunciation. |
| Frank: bis zum nächsten Mal! |
| Gina: Danke an euch! Thank you for tuning in! We hope you’ve enjoyed learning as much as we have enjoyed teaching you. We’ll see you next time, bye! |
| Frank: Tschüss! |
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