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Welcome to Lesson #17 of Stress Free German. Today’s image has three new elements. So, we are inside a bakery. Shelves lined with loaves of bread and rolls. There’s a big cake on the counter. And an elderly woman wearing glasses at the cash register. Both the woman and the glasses remind us that the following are feminine nouns: The bakery, the cake, and the cash register.

Bäckerei, Torte, Kasse

Bäckerei, is obviously the bakery. The thing to note is that the second letter is an “a” with two dots over it. What they call an umlaut. Let’s do a quick “minimal pair” for this.

Imagine the letters B-A-C-K, no dots over the A

Back

And now with the dots: Bäck

Again, Back Bäck

Baaaaack…Bääääck

And one more time: Bakery?

Bäckerei

Next we heard: Torte In English we say torte, and in German? Torte. The distinguishing feature of a torte, in either language, is it has layers. So although you do bake it, some of the layers are added after baking, like the jam and such. Torte

Mmm! Sehr lecker!

And finally we heard Kasse. You can hear the relation to the English word cashier. It’s the place where you pay.

So let’s try those words in some realistic phrases. Stop someone on the street and say…

I’m looking for a bakery.

Ich suche eine Bäckerei.

You chose a birthday cake and are not sure where to pay.

Ask: Where is the checkout?

Wo ist die Kasse?

Having bought the cake and brought it home, you wonder now where it is.

Your sister says: The cake is on the table. literally is standing on the table…

Die Torte steht auf dem Tisch.

My Grandma works in a bakery.

Meine Oma arbeitet in einer Bäckerei.

Wait..where’d that birthday cake go? Ask:

Where is my cake?

Wo ist meine Torte?

Your cake stands in the refrigerator.

Deine Torte steht im Kühlschrank.

We’re looking for the checkout.

Wir suchen die Kasse.

(swell)

Sorry, one second…It’s warm in here. It seems like a good idea to open the window, but I can’t because it’s raining. Why do we say It? It’s warm. It’s raining. It’s wierd! Well, It is basically a placeholder for the subject that comes later. And these dummy pronouns, as they’re called, are just as common in German. Listen…

Es ist warm.

Nein. Es ist kalt.

Say: It is warm in the cafe.

Es ist warm im Café. in dem….im

It is cold in the restaurant.

Es ist kalt im Restaurant. in dem…im

(SFX – rain) Es regnet.

Say that again: Es regnet.

Always try to be flexible. In English we say “raining” and in German: regnet.

If you think back to lesson 11, we already encountered this dummy pronoun. Right? After greeting your boss, we ask: How goes it for you?

Wie geht es Ihnen?

Let’s look at it in another common phrase. So, imagine that you and your friends go running outside to splash around in the rain. A kid might say:

Es macht Spaß!

Literally: It makes fun! Say that again? Es macht Spaß!

These dummy pronouns, though, are just a lead in to our main topic. So, imagine we’re back in that bakery, and it’s one of those huge ones you find, like in Vienna. So you found a cake, but you’re not sure where to pay. You’re looking around…it doesn’t seem like there’s a cashier anywhere in the place. So you ask…

Gibt es hier eine Kasse?

Literally: It gives here a cashier?

I know. Kind of a weird way to phrase it, but it’s correct. Let’s try it again. Maybe you’re walking around some large open square, in the old town of a city. Ask…

Is there a restaurant here?

Gibt es hier ein Restaurant?

You pop inside a hotel and ask the desk clerk…

Is there a cafe here?

Gibt es hier ein Café?

Maybe you’re considering an apartment to rent. Ask the landlady..

Is there a table here?

Gibt es hier einen Tisch?

Giving a table counts as doing something to it, so the supporting words change. Ein becomes einen.

Pop into an establishment and ask the worker: Excuse me…Is there a restroom here?

Entschuldigung…Gibt es hier eine Toilette?

I know. I was sneaking in a new word there, but I figure you’ve probably encountered Toilette in your other studies. Try that same phrase again?

Entschuldigung…Gibt es hier eine Toilette?

Are you enjoying the lesson? Then say:

This is fun!

Es macht Spaß!

(MUSIC)

So we were working with the “it” form of “to give.” So let’s expand and try some other conjugations. Tell your dear friend: I’m giving you a gift.

Ich gebe dir ein Geschenk.

I’m giving you my old watch.

Ich gebe dir meine alte Uhr.

How would that go if we were giving the watch to our boss? What one word would have to change?

If that is stumping you, just think back to our basic greetings. Ask your friend: How goes it for you?

Wie geht’s dir? Then ask your boss: Wie geht es Ihnen?

So, I’m giving you my old watch, sir.

Ich gebe Ihnen meine alte Uhr.

How about the “we” form? Try to say…

Sir, we are giving you the key.

Wir geben Ihnen den Schlüssel…. den Schlüssel

Did you remember to change der to den ? Masculine…(Fist/Palm)…supporting words change.

Excellent. Then try to ask your friend:

Are you giving me the key? (Hit pause and see if you can work it out.)

Gibst du mir den Schlüssel?

How would you translate this phrase. Listen…

Gibst du mir deine Handynummer?

Are you giving me your cell number? You could also interpret that as, “Will you give me…”

Try that with “address”

Gibst du mir deine Adresse?

We’re hearing the supporting word deine…feminine. dein-ne

Let’s try it with a neuter object. How about: Are you giving me your bike?

Gibst du mir dein Fahrrad?

How would you translate this phrase?

Gibst du mir dein Wort?

Are you giving me your word? Cool phrase!

Maybe your boss wants you to write a quick email to someone on her behalf. You gesture to her laptop and gently suggest: Are you giving me your computer?

Geben Sie mir Ihren Computer?

Next, let’s review today’s new feminine nouns. Can you see the image first?

This is a big bakery.

Das ist eine große Bäckerei.

Is there a cashier here?

Gibt es hier eine Kasse?

I love my cake!

Ich liebe meine Torte!

How about: It is cold in the house.

Es ist kalt im Haus.

But listen to our native speaker say: It is warm in Berlin.

Es ist warm in Berlin. …in…

Did she say just “in”? Indeed she did. So what’s going on? Why didn’t she say “in dem” or “im”? Because Berlin and Munich…these are proper nouns. They’re basically names. So need no for an article. We do the same thing in English. We say, I’m in the gym. THE. But I’m in New York.

No “the.”

So try to say: It is cold in Munich.

Es ist kalt in München. …in…

Excellent. This is fun!

Es macht Spaß!

(thunder) Oh no…It’s raining!

Es regnet.

(MUSIC)

So, for our last topic of this lesson, we’re going to revisit that verb from last time: to do or to make.

Remember how to say: I’m doing a German course.

Ich mache einen Deutschkurs.

We then used the verb to talk about things we were making. So let’s try similar phrases, but this time add a recipient. For example, I enter the kitchen and my Austrian Aunt tells me:

Ich mache dir einen Tee mit Milch.

Not a fan of tea, I frown. Nein, danke.

Okay, dann … mache ich dir Kaffee.

Could you follow that? She was saying: I’m making you a tea with milk. But when I frowned, she said: Okay, then I’m making you coffee. Literally: making for you…ich mache dir

Tell your friend: I’m making for you a torte..

Ich mache dir eine Torte.

Your elderly neighbor has come over to introduce herself. Tell her…

I’m making for you lemonade.

Ich mache Ihnen eine Limonade.

Your mom is making you a salad. When Dad calls asking if he should buy lunch, tell him, No…

Mama macht mir einen Salat.

Tell your roommate that you’re going to the bakery…

Ich gehe in die Bäckerei.

Sidenote: There is another very common way to ...