Learn German with Me: Day 5 — Mastering Articles
Day 5 - Mastering articles
Hallo! Hope you are doing good!
This is Day 5 of Learn German With Me. From today onwards we will learn at least 5 new vocabulary words with their gender and your task is to write them twice anywhere! In a nice new notebook or a rough paper, YOUR CHOICE. The first time you will copy the words with their English meaning. The second time, you will write them yourself. The idea is to build at least 5 * 7 = 35 new words a week. So let’s begin.
Five words for today are-
Copy the words while pronouncing in your head and then rewrite without looking at their gender. Sehr nett! (Very nice)
How to guess the gender of a noun?
*exceptions always exist
Where not to use articles?
- Don’t use the indefinite article when you mention someone’s profession, nationality, or religion, all of which are nouns in German. Look at these three examples:
Mein Onkel war General bei der Bundeswehr. (My uncle was [a] general in the army.)
Sind Sie Australier oder Neuseeländer? (Are you [an] Australian or [a] New Zealander?)
2. Just as in English, don’t use the definite article in generalized statements using plural nouns in German. But do use the plural definite article when you’re not generalizing. For example:
Lügen haben kurze Beine. (You don’t get far by lying. Literally: Lies have short legs.) Both nouns, Lügen and Beine, are generalizations and need no article.
3. Although names of countries have genders in German — most often das, or neuter — you generally don’t include the definite article. Of course, a few exceptions exist. Here are a few examples:
Viele berühmte Komponisten sind aus Deutschland oder Österreich. (Many famous composers are from Germany or Austria.)
Die Vereinigten Staaten sind die größte Volkswirtschaft der Welt. (The United States has the largest economy in the world.) Note die, the plural definite article
After you finish reading this, go to Duolingo and complete the first level of FAMILY and BASICS2.
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