Lesson 3: Indefinite Article & more Conjugation
In this lesson you will learn some more details about concepts which were introduced in the last lesson. You will learn about the indefinite article and some more irregular conjugation patterns.
Indefinite Article
In the last lesson you learned about the definite article - the, or in german der, die & das. But of course the german language also as a translation for the indefinite article, in english a/an. Good news: It doesn't has as much forms as the one you learned last lesson! The following table shows the forms in the noun cases we already know:
Nominativ (Subject)
Akkusativ (Direct Object)
Let's look at the examples from last lesson, but this time with the indefinite article we just learned:
Noun
Nominativ (Subject)
Akkusativ (Direct Object)
Masculine
ein Apfel (an apple)
Ein Apfel ist lecker. (An apple is tasty.)
Ich esse einen Apfel. (I eat an apple.)
Feminine
eine Pizza (a pizza)
Eine Pizza ist lecker. (A pizza is tasty.)
Ich esse eine Pizza. (I eat a pizza.)
Neuter
ein Brot (a bread)
Ein Brot ist lecker. (A bread is tasty.)
Ich esse ein Brot. (I eat a bread.)
One last thing about that topic: Like in english, a noun can sometimes also be used without the article. Probably with some sentences you already were a bit confused, for example about why I wrote Ich esse eine/die Pizza (I eat a/the pizza), even though in English the more natural sounding option probably would just be I eat pizza. In German you can do that too - I just included the articles everywhere up to now so you get used to the German ones. But Ich esse Pizza is correct too!
More Irregular Conjugation Patterns
Like I said in the last lesson, there are some more irregular conjugation patterns which we will learn in this lesson.
Vowel change e -> ie
This one is very similar to the irregular pattern you learned last lesson, where the e changes into an i, but here the e stays, turning the vowel into a long i-sound. An example is the verb sehen (to see):
sehen (to see), Verb stem: seh-
1. Person Singular
ich sehe
I see
2. Person Singular
du siehst
you see
3. Person Singular
er/sie/es sieht
he/she/it sees
1. Person Plural
wir sehen
we see
2. Person Plural
ihr seht
you see
3. Person Plural
sie sehen
they see
Other verbs that follow that pattern are for example lesen (to read), befehlen (to command) and stehlen (to steal).
Vowel change a -> ä
With some verbs containing an a, that vowel changes into an ä. Like with the previous patterns, this change only happens in the second and third person singular. One example for this pattern is the verb schlafen (to sleep):
schlafen (to sleep), Verb stem: schlaf-
1. Person Singular
ich schlafe
I sleep
2. Person Singular
du schläfst
you sleep
3. Person Singular
er/sie/es schläft
he/she/it sleeps
1. Person Plural
wir schlafen
we sleep
2. Person Plural
ihr schlaft
you sleep
3. Person Plural
sie schlafen
they sleep
Other verbs that follow that pattern are for example fahren (to drive), backen (to bake - this one can also be conjugated regularly, it's a matter of taste here), graben (to dig), wachsen (to grow), halten (to hold), schlagen (to beat), lassen (to let), waschen (to wash) and fangen (to catch).
Vowel change au -> äu
Lastly, with some verbs containing an au, that diphthong changes into an äu. Remember: äu is pronounced oi, so the sound changes significantly! Like with the previous patterns, this change only happens in the second and third person singular. One example for this pattern is the verb laufen (to walk):
laufen (to walk), Verb stem: lauf-
1. Person Singular
ich laufe
I walk
2. Person Singular
du läufst
you walk
3. Person Singular
er/sie/es läuft
he/she/it walks
1. Person Plural
wir laufen
we walk
2. Person Plural
ihr lauft
you walk
3. Person Plural
sie laufen
they walk
Exercises
1. Don't forget about pronunciation! Read the following poem
Dunkel war’s, der Mond schien helle,
schneebedeckt die grüne Flur,
als ein Wagen blitzesschnelle,
langsam um die Ecke fuhr.
Dark it was, the moon shone bright
The green meadow was covered with snow
When a waggon blazingly fast
Slowly took the corner.
Drinnen saßen stehend Leute,
schweigend ins Gespräch vertieft,
als ein totgeschoss’ner Hase
auf der Sandbank Schlittschuh lief.
Within sat standing people
Silently engrossed in conversation
A rabbit shot to death
Skated on a sandbar.
(Those are the first two paragraphs of a very famous German poem, written by an unknown person. There are a lot of different variations, so if you google it, you might find other wordings than I used for this exercise.)
2. Fill in the indefinitive articles in the following sentences and translate them into english
a) Ein Hund schläft.
A dog sleeps.
b) Wir lesen ein Buch.
We read a book.
c) Eine Katze sieht einen Mann.
A cat sees a man.
d) Sie backen ein Brot.
They bake a bread.
e) Ihr verfolgt eine Frau.
You (pl.) follow a woman.
f) Ein Mann lernt eine Sprache.
A man learns a language.
g) Sie essen einen Apfel.
They eat an apple.
3. Translate the following sentences
a) A dog searches for a cat.
Ein Hund sucht eine Katze.
b) A cat searches for a dog.
Eine Katze sucht einen Hund.
c) She bakes a cake.
Sie backt einen Kuchen.
e) He is a boy.
Er ist ein Junge.
f) They see a woman.
Sie sehen eine Frau.
g) A woman sees a girl.
Eine Frau sieht ein Mädchen.
4. Conjugate the following verbs and write one example sentence with them
(You can send your sentences to me on discord if you want me to correct them)
a) backen (to bake) (optionally conjugated like schlafen!)
ich backe, du backst/bäckst, er/sie/es backt/bäckt, wir backen, ihr backt, sie backen
b) lesen (to read) (conjugated like sehen!)
ich lese, du liest, er/sie/es liest, wir lesen, ihr lest, sie lesen
c) kaufen (to buy)
ich kaufe, du kaufst, er/sie/es kauft, wir kaufen, ihr kauft, sie kaufen
d) fangen (to catch) (conjugated like schlafen!)
ich fange, du fängst, er/sie/es fängt, wir fangen, ihr fangt, sie fangen