Learn to ask Can you speak English?
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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 8. I don’t understand. While there are similarities between English and German, German sounds very different from English. So in the beginning, there will likely be an adjustment period during which your ears get used to German. In German, I don’t understand is [Ich verstehe nicht] Let’s break it down by syllables [Ich verstehe nicht] Now let’s hear it once again [Ich verstehe nicht] The first word [ich] means I. This is followed by [verstehe] which in English is to understand. [verstehe] So to recap here, we have [Ich verstehe] literally this means I understand. Let’s take a look at the next word [nicht] which means not. [nicht] So altogether we have [Ich verstehe nicht] Literally this means I understand not. To be more specific, you could add the word [Sie] which means you formally [Sie] you. So I don’t understand you is [Ich verstehe Sie nicht] Let’s talk a bit about how to use these phrases. You are waiting for the bus and somebody stops and says something in German to you. Rather than ignoring them, you can say [Ich verstehe Sie nicht] and then you can add [Sprechen Sie Englisch?] You may be surprised at the effort they show to speak English with you then. Let’s try those phrases again. [Ich verstehe nicht. Sprechen Sie Englisch?] And once more [Ich verstehe nicht. Sprechen Sie Englisch?] |
| M: 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. |
| F: I don’t understand [Ich verstehe nicht] I don’t understand you [Ich verstehe Sie nicht] |
| M: That’s going to do it for today. |
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