Learn to ask "Where can I buy this?"
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| M: Hello and welcome to German Survival Phrases brought to you by germanpod101.com, this course is designed to equip you with the language skills and knowledge to enable you to get the most out of your visit to Germany. You will be surprised at how far a little German will go. Now before we jump in, remember to stop by germanpod101.com and there you will find the accompanying PDF and additional info in the post. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. |
| F: German Survival Phrases. Lesson 29, Finding Places in Germany. |
| M: Have you ever been in a city you didn’t know at all and you are looking desperately for something you need but you cannot find it. I was wandering around without knowing where to go to reach for example a bar, a phone or a restroom. Don’t worry. If you go to Germany, thanks to our survival phrases, you will always be able to ask for information and help. So today, we would like to introduce you to a phrase that will help you track down the specific something you are looking for. Where can I find in German is [Wo kann ich … finden] And then you add the name of the specific thing you are looking for. In this sentence, there is a basic structure you can use in any situation in which you need to get something. This structure is made up of the adverb [wo] where followed by [kann] which comes from the verb [können] can and the personal pronoun [ich] I. Then at the end of the sentence, we have the infinitive form of the verb [finden] to find. Let’s break it down by syllable [Wo kann ich … finden] Now let’s see it once again [Wo kann ich … finden] Now let’s go and see what kinds of things you might need if you are traveling abroad. Let’s imagine you are walking along the beautiful shoreline at the Baltic Sea in the summer. It’s very hot and you need to get something to drink. So let’s go and try to ask where you can find a German Beer bar. Where can I find a Beer bar in German is [Wo kann ich eine Bierstube finden] So as you can easily note, you have the structure you have just seen [Wo kann ich ... finden] Between the pronoun [ich] I and the infinitive verb [finden] find, you can put anything that you are looking or searching for. In this case [eine Bierstube] A beer bar [Bierstube] is a feminine and old German noun. We can best compare [eine Bierstube] to the small pubs in England and Scotland but with all the charm of locally brewed German beer and potato and sausage snacks. In this case, the feminine singular indefinite article [eine] or an English a precedes it. Let’s break down the sentence [Wo kann ich eine Bierstube finden] And now let’s hear it once again [Wo kann ich eine Bierstube finden] With this form, you can go anywhere you need and ask for anything you are looking for but if you want to be more polite, use a different expression. Let’s imagine you are looking for a phone this time. Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a phone [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen, wo ich ein Telefon finde] So don’t you think this is more formal? Of course it is. So what do we have here? We have [Entschuldigung] excuse me. Then [können Sie mir sagen] meaning could you tell me [können Sie mir sagen] is the third plural person form of the helping verb [können] which sounds the same and [Sie] you follows it which in German, we use in the formal level of speech. Be careful to use a capital letter for the S in [Sie] the personal pronoun [mir] me in its first singular person form follows governing the date of case and the infinitive of the verb [sagen] to tell. So far, we have here [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen] or in English, excuse me, could you tell me. Let’s break down these words and hear them one more time. [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen] The latter part of the question consists of the interrogative particle [wo] where and the personal pronoun [ich] I. Telephone comes after this. The German word for phone, Telephone which is a neutral, singular noun. For this reason, the neutral singular indefinite article [ein] a precedes it. Finally we have the conjugated verb [finde] find it. In its first person singular form, let’s break down the word telephone [Telefon] and the latter part of the sentence [wo ich ein Telefon finde] And the whole sentence again [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen, wo ich ein Telefon finde] To ask for any other different item, we can just replace [eine Bierstube] or [ein Telefon] with any other word and the phrase works brilliantly. Let’s try with fish restaurant which in German is [Fischrestaurant] Let’s break this word down [Fischrestaurant] And now let’s hear it once again [Fischrestaurant] Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a fish restaurant in German is [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen, wo ich ein Fischrestaurant finde] So these phrases will come in handy before leaving the hotel talking with a taxi driver or with other people trying to help you locate a desired item. |
| Okay to close our today’s lesson, we’d like you to practice what you’ve just learned. I provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you are responsible for shouting it out aloud. You have a few seconds before I give you the answer. So [Viel Glück] which means good luck in German. |
| Where can I find [Wo kann ich .... finden] where can I find a beer bar [Wo kann ich eine Bierstube finden] excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a phone? [Entschuldigung, können Sie mir sagen, wo ich ein Telefon finde] Excuse me, could you tell me where I can find a fish restaurant? |
| That’s going to do it for today. |
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