Welcome to Can-Do German by GermanPod101.com. |
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for something at a grocery store in German. |
For example, "This, please." is |
Das, bitte. |
Aron Ahrens is at a small grocery store. |
After finding something he wants, he points at the item and asks for it. |
Before you hear the conversation, let's learn some of its key components. |
Das |
"this" |
Das |
Das |
Bitte. |
"Here you are." |
Bitte. |
Bitte. |
Das, bitte. |
Bitte. |
Once more with the English translation. |
Das, bitte. |
"This, please." |
Bitte. |
"Here you are." |
Let's break down Aron's request. |
Do you remember how Aron Ahrens says, |
"This, please." |
Das, bitte. |
This standard way of asking for something follows a simple pattern. |
First is das, "this," in this context. Das. Das. |
Next is bitte, "please." Bitte. Bitte. |
Note: bitte has multiple meanings depending on the situation. |
In this case, the word is used to make a polite request, "Please." Bitte. |
All together, it's Das, bitte, "This, please." |
Das, bitte. |
Do you remember how the clerk says, |
"Here you are." |
Bitte. |
Bitte, meaning "Here you are," in this situation. Bitte. Bitte. |
Again, bitte has multiple meanings depending on the situation. |
In this case, the word is used as an invitation to take something, as in "Here you are," or "Go ahead." |
Bitte, "Here you are," in this case. |
Bitte. |
The pattern is: |
Das, bitte. |
In modern German, "this" and "that" are both expressed with the pronoun das. Therefore, das, bitte can mean both "this, please," and "that, please." |
Imagine there is something located far from you. |
Say |
"That, please." |
Ready? |
Das, bitte. |
"That, please." |
Das, bitte. |
There are actually words to differentiate between "this" and "that" in German. |
It’s dieses, "this," for something close. |
And jenes, "that," for something far. |
However, these are rarely used in contemporary German and may sound old-fashioned to native German speakers. |
In modern German, "this" and "that" are both expressed with the pronoun das, as in das, bitte, which can mean both "this, please," and "that, please." |
If you want to be precise about the location of the object, you can add the following adverbs: |
hier, "here," as in das hier, literally, "this here," and |
da, "there," as in das da, literally, "this there," but translating as "that here," or simply "that." |
Applied to this lesson: |
Das hier, bitte. "This here, please." Das hier, bitte. |
Das da, bitte. "That there, please." Das da, bitte. |
Note, da can also be replaced with the dort, also meaning "there." However, in spoken language it's rarely used. |
Again, the pattern is |
Das, bitte. |
Let's look at some examples. |
Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
Das, bitte. |
"This, please." |
Das, bitte. |
Das hier, bitte. |
"This here, please." |
Das hier, bitte. |
Das da, bitte. |
"This there, please." |
Das da, bitte. |
Das und das, bitte. |
"This and this, please." |
Das und das, bitte. |
Das hier und das da, bitte. |
"This and that, please." |
Das hier und das da, bitte. |
Did you notice how the native speaker used a different sentence pattern? |
Das hier und das da, bitte. |
"This here and that there, please." Das hier und das da, bitte. |
She used the phrases das hier and das da together. |
Das hier, "this here." Das hier. |
Next is Und. "And." Und. |
When requesting multiple items, you can join them with und, "and." |
Last is das da, "that there." Das da. |
All together, Das hier und das da, bitte, |
"This here and that there, please." |
Let’s review the new words. |
das hier |
"this" |
das hier |
das hier |
das da |
"that there" |
das da |
das da |
und |
"and" |
und |
und |
Let's review. |
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
Ready? |
Do you remember how to say "please?" |
Bitte. |
Bitte. |
Do you remember how Aron says, |
"This, please." |
Das, bitte. |
Das, bitte. |
Do you remember how the clerk says, |
"Here you are." |
Bitte. |
Bitte. |
When you don't know the name of something, do you remember how to say "this here?" |
das hier |
das hier |
When you don’t know the name of something, do you remember how to say "that there?" |
das da |
das da |
Let's practice. |
Imagine you're Aron. You're at the grocery store to buy some bread, but you don't know the word. |
Instead you point at it and ask for "this," or das. |
Ready? |
Das, bitte. |
Bitte. |
Listen again and repeat. |
Das, bitte. |
Das, bitte. |
Let's try another. |
Imagine you're Anouk, and you see a snack on the counter you'd like to try. |
Ask for "this here," or das hier. |
Ready? |
Das hier, bitte. |
Bitte. |
Listen again and repeat. |
Das hier, bitte. |
Das hier, bitte. |
Let’s try one more. |
Imagine you're Aylin, and you see a sandwich in the showcase behind the counter. |
Ask for "that there," or das da. |
Ready? |
Das da, bitte. |
Bitte. |
Listen again and repeat. |
Das da, bitte. |
Das da, bitte. |
Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
In this lesson, you learned how to request something by pointing, an essential skill for shopping at a grocery store. |
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
What's next? |
Show us what you can do. |
When you're ready, take your assessment. |
You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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