Is It Hard to Learn German Grammar?
One of your most pressing concerns probably has to do with German grammar. You’re dealing with noun genders, case systems, present, past, and future tenses. If you haven’t even mastered English grammar, how should you understand these concepts in a foreign language?
Luckily, German grammar is very methodical, and you’ll rarely encounter exceptions to any rules. Another advantage is that both English and German belong to the Indo-European language family. You can learn basic German grammar by breaking it down into manageable tidbits. The next step is to study concepts in a logical, sequential order. Each lesson should build upon the knowledge that you learned in the previous exercises.
If you dive into German grammar head-first, you’ll likely become overwhelmed by how much you need to learn. This hurdle might leave you asking, “Is German Too Hard to Learn?” But, a structured approach can make the process significantly more comfortable and help you avoid confusion.
Odds are, if you search for information on any random German grammar topic, you’ll end up with what seems like an encyclopedia full of results. Luckily, you don’t need to learn everything at once to grasp the basics of German grammar.
Think of your German grammar experience as a layered journey similar to a drawing. First, you want to start with the base layer or most elementary level of grammar. This step is like making an outline for the picture you want to create.
Then, you’ll continue adding layers until you achieve the final image or result. On the other hand, if you start by drawing the eye in detail and creating the rest of the picture afterward, your proportions would likely be off. Similarly, if you get caught up on any particular German grammar concept, you’ll probably miss out on the overall idea.
Must-Know Terms to Learn German Grammar
Before you dive into the world of German grammar, it can help to brush up on your knowledge of grammar terms. First, I’ll remind you what each element of the sentence is in English. Then, I’ll provide a short explanation of the German grammar equivalent for the following terms:
- Tenses: Present, Past, and Future
- Subject, Object, and Indirect Object: Cases
- Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Nouns
- Personal Pronouns
- Verbs
- Adjectives
- Adverbs
- Prepositions
- Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions
For each item, I’ll touch on the topic’s surface and introduce you to German concepts. In later posts, I’ll help you expand upon this knowledge in logical, easy-to-manage steps. Below are definitions of grammar terms, in the order, I recommend studying them, that you’ll need to know to learn the German language.
Tenses
Tenses tell us when something occurs. For example, the present, future, and past are examples of tenses. German has six tenses (only half as many as English!) that include:
- The present (Präsens)
- The present perfect (Perfekt)
- Simple Past (Präteritum)
- Past Perfect (Plusquamperfekt)
- Future (Futur I)
- Future Perfect (Futur II)
This aspect of the German language will probably seem familiar to you, or maybe even easier. For example, German only uses one present tense, whereas English has two. Learn more about The German Tenses. Coming soon.
The Case System in German Grammar
As an English speaker, you may be unfamiliar with the idea of cases. In German, nouns can have four different cases that are easier to think about if you ask the questions who, whom, or whose.
- Nominative – The Subject (Primary Noun)
- Accusative – The Direct Object (Who or What?)
- Dative – The Indirect Object (Whom?)
- Genitive – The Possessive Object (Whose?)
The case of a noun tells us more about its role in a sentence as a subject, direct, indirect, or possessive object. Some prepositions and verbs also require the accusative or dative case. You’ll need to know these grammar terms before you learn about more complicated concepts like adjective endings, definite and indefinite article forms, or selecting the correct option for personal pronouns.
Example 1
English: I (subject) give (verb) Amy (indirect object) a book (direct object).
German: Ich (subject) gebe (verb) Amy (indirect object) ein Buch (direct object).
Here, “I” (the subject) is performing the action (verb), “give.” The word “friend” (indirect object) answers the question, “to whom?” Finally, the word “book” (direct object) answers the question, “what or who?”
Example 2
English: You (subject) ask (verb) me (indirect object) a question (direct object).
German: Du (subject) stellst (verb) mir (indirect object) eine Frage (direct object).
In this example, “I (the subject) is performing the action (verb) “ask.” The word “me (indirect object)” answers the question, “to whom?” The word “question” answers the question, “what is the subject doing?”
Example 3
English: I (the subject) gift (verb) my brother (indirect object) a ball (direct object).
German: Ich (the subject) schenke (verb) meinem Bruder (indirect object) einen Ball. (direct object).
Here, “I (the subject)” is performing the action, “gift (verb),” on “my brother (the indirect object)” using “a ball (direct object).”
The Difference Between Direct and Indirect Objects in German Grammar
You can also remember the difference between direct and indirect objects by determining which part of the sentence is optional. The indirect object is unnecessary for the sentence to make sense, but a subject and direct object can stand alone in a sentence.
Example: I gift a ball. (complete sentence)
Example: I gift my brother. (incomplete sentence)
The subject and direct object can form a complete sentence together, but the subject and the indirect object cannot.
Learn more in my Beginners Guide to German Cases.
Definite and Indefinite Articles in German Grammar
In English, we use the definite article, “the,” and the indefinite articles, “a” and “an.”
German has more options to choose from, depending on the gender, case, and number of the noun(s).
| German Definite Articles | Der | Die | Das | Die |
| Masculine “the” | Feminine “the” | Neuter “the” | Plural “the” |
Here, you can see the three genders for the German definite articles are der, die, and das. Next, let’s look at the indefinite articles.
| German Indefinite Articles | Ein | Eine | Ein | Keine |
| Masculine “a” | Feminine “a” | Neuter “a” | Plural “none” |
Learn more about The German Definite and Indefinite Articles.
Nouns
Nouns are words for people, places, and things such as “dog,” “books,” or “city.” A noun has one of three genders, masculine, feminine, or neuter in German, and is always capitalized.
| German Nouns | der Mann | die Frau | das Kind | die Menschen |
| the man | the woman | the child | the people |
When you begin learning vocabulary in German, it’s essential to note the gender of the word as well. For some words, there are Tricks for Learning Noun Genders, but others will require memorization.
Personal Pronouns
Words that you use in place of proper names, such as “I,” “you,” “he,” “she,” “it,” “they,” etc. are called personal pronouns. You’ll use these words frequently, so they’re an excellent place to start your language journey.
| German Pronoun | ich | du | er/sie/es | sie | wir | ihr | Sie |
| English Equivalent | I | you | he/she/it | they | we | you (plural) | you (formal) |
Note that “ich” isn’t capitalized like “I” is in English. Learn more in my German Personal Pronouns Guide.
Verbs
Actions performed by nouns are called verbs. Verbs are words like “walk,” “teach,” and “go.” In English, regular verbs are formed by adding an “-ed” ending and irregular verbs have different spellings.
In German, verbs are either strong or weak. The strong verbs in German change their vowel stems, while the weak verbs follow the standard rules.
Example (weak German verb): Ich lebe. Ich lebte. Ich habe gelebt. (I live/lived/have lived.)
Here, the verb “leben” (to live) follows the patterns of regular (weak) verbs in the present and past tenses.
Example (strong German verb): Ich bin. Ich war. Ich bin gewesen. (I am/was/have been.)
In these sentences, the verb “sein” (to be) is irregular and follows its own patterns in different tenses. You may have noticed how both verbs are similar to their English counterparts. The verb “to live” is regular in English, and “to be” is also irregular in our native language.
Learn more about Regular German Verbs and Irregular German Verbs.
Adjectives
Words in a sentence that tell us more about a noun are called adjectives. Some adjectives include “happy,” “beautiful,” and “hungry.” In German, adjectives have endings depending on their gender, case, and if the noun is singular or plural.
Fortunately, you don’t have to focus on adjective endings during the initial learning phases. First, focus on learning some of the most common German adjectives (and their opposites) like the ones below.
| German Adjective | English | German Adjective | English |
| gut | good | schlecht | bad |
| einfach | simple | schwierig | difficult |
| klein | small | groß | big |
Learn more about The Most Common German Adjectives and German Adjective Endings. Coming soon.
Adverbs
These words describe more details about a verb, such as “happily,” “beautifully,” and “hungrily.” In contrast to English, German places adverbs of frequency after the verb. These adverbs tell us how often something occurs. Let’s look at a few examples of adverbs in English sentences (underlined) and how their placement differs in German.
Example 1
English: I always go swimming.
German: Ich gehe immer schwimmen.
In this example, you can see how German places the adverb “immer (always)” after the verb “gehe (go).”
Example 2
English: I often eat sushi.
German: Ich esse oft Sushi.
Here, the adverb “oft (often)” comes after the verb “esse (eat).”
Example 3
English: Most of the time, we sing together.
German: Wir singen meistens zusammen.
The adverb “meistens (most of the time)” comes after the verb “singen (sing).”
Learn more in my Time, Manner, Place: German Adverbs Guide. Coming soon.
Prepositions
Prepositions are words we use to talk about how nouns, pronouns, and other words relate to each other according to location or another aspect. For example, “für (for),” “mit (with),” and “von (from), are all examples of prepositions.
In German, prepositions act as a signal, telling you when to use the accusative or dative case. Learn more in my German Prepositions Guide. Coming soon.
Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words we use to connect two halves of a sentence. Words like “and,” “but,” and “since” are some examples of conjunctions you use in English.
Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions
German also uses conjunctions to combine clauses and has two different types.
| German Coordinating Conjunctions | English | German Subordinating Conjunctions | English |
| und | and | als | when (in the past) |
| aber | but | seit | since |
| oder | or | nachdem | after |
| sondern | rather | während | during |
| denn | because | weil | because |
The examples below help illustrate the fundamental difference between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions. You’ll find the verbs in italic and the conjunctions underlined for clarity.
Coordinating conjunctions: don’t affect the word order in the second half of the sentence.
Example: Ich liebe meine Mutter und ich liebe meinen Vater. (I love my mother and I love my father.)
Notice that both instances of the verb “liebe (love)” come after the pronoun “ich.”
Subordinating conjunctions: send the conjugated verb of the second clause to the end of the sentence.
Example: Ich esse, weil ich Hunger habe. (I eat because I’m hungry.)
Notice how the second verb moves to the end of the sentence.
Learn more about German Coordinating and Subordinating Conjunctions. Coming Soon!
Final Thoughts
After refreshing your knowledge of these essential grammar terms, you should find it easier to start learning German grammar. Understanding the role of each element in a sentence will help you learn German grammar faster and easier. I suggest reviewing the items in the order presented to maximize your ability to absorb the new concepts in German.
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