DAMIT oder UM…ZU: Their differences and similarities?

It is true that German has more words than English and while this can be of great advantage, it can equally be confusing and in turn be disadvantageous to non-native speakers. This is because one has to carefully decide when making use of words - most especially those that are closely intertwined or have (almost) … Continue reading DAMIT oder UM…ZU: Their differences and similarities?

PLUSQUAMPERFEKT: The past perfect tense in German

As the highest form of past tense in German, the Plusquamperfekt tense expresses a scenario of what happened before other occurrences happened. It tells more about a story or narrative than actually just being used as another way of expressing oneself in past tense. This is even clearer when the sentence is expressed with “Nachdem”. … Continue reading PLUSQUAMPERFEKT: The past perfect tense in German

LASSEN + INFINITIVE WITHOUT THE PREPOSITION “ZU ” AND PERFECT TENSE WITHOUT “GE”

In a previous topic “um zeal zu + Infinitive” I explained how you can use two or more verbs without conjunctions in a german sentence. This is often done using the preposition “zu”. Apart from using the preposition, an infinite main verb can be added to a sentence through the aid of another main verb. … Continue reading LASSEN + INFINITIVE WITHOUT THE PREPOSITION “ZU ” AND PERFECT TENSE WITHOUT “GE”

PARTIZIP I: Formation and usage as adjectives, adverbs and substantive nouns

The Partizip 1 or Präsens Partizip is the first of the two types of participles and one of the four forms in which verbs can exist in German. Apart from being used as adjectives and adverbs, it is used to form the present continuous tense in English. Find out how it is used in German! … Continue reading PARTIZIP I: Formation and usage as adjectives, adverbs and substantive nouns

UM ZEAL ZU + INFINITIVE: How to use two or more verbs in a german sentence

Illustration1. Meaning of um zeal zu + infinitive2. How to make sentences with the complete um zeal zu + infinitive3. How to make sentences with a part of um zeal zu + infinitive4. How to use um zeal zu with separable and inseparable verbsTable of content for um zeal zu + infinitive The term um … Continue reading UM ZEAL ZU + INFINITIVE: How to use two or more verbs in a german sentence

PRÄTERITUM: the easiest way to form the simple past tense in Deutsch

The simple past tense in German is called Präteritum. This is just one of the forms of making expressions and references in the past. Präteritum is mostly used in writing of articles such as novels, newspapers, magazines etc. it can sometimes be used in spoken German but not by many. This form of past tense … Continue reading PRÄTERITUM: the easiest way to form the simple past tense in Deutsch