Table Of ContentJONATHAN CONANT
B.
COCHRAN'S GERMAN
GRÄMMÄR
REVIEW
9
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Cochran's
German
Review
Grammar
\
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2011
http://www.archive.org/details/cochransgermanreOOcoch
Cochran's
German
Review
Grammar
THIRD EDITION
Revised and edited by
JONATHAN CONANT
B.
Brown University
PRENTICE-HALL, INC., En^lewood Cliffs, New Jersey
LibraryofCongress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cochran,EmoryEllsworth.
Cochran'sGermanreviewgrammar.
SUMMARY: AreferenceandreviewgrammarofGerman
forsecondyearstudents.
Publishedin1934and1963undertitle: Apractical
Germanreviewgrammar.
— —
1. G—ermanlanguage Grammar 1950- [1. German
language Grammar] I. Conant,JonathanB.,date
II. Title.
PF3111.C57 1974 438'.2'421 73-21535
ISBN 0-13-139501-7
© 1974, 1963, 1934 by PRENTICE-HALL, INC.
BnglewoodCliffs, NewJersey
All rights reserved.
No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form
or by any means without permission in writing
from the publisher.
15 14 13 12 11
Printed in the United States ofAmerica
PRENTICE-HALL INTERNATIONAL, INC., 'Lotldon
PRENTICE-HALL OF AUSTRALIA, PTY. LTD., Sjdmj
PRENTICE-HALL OF CANADA, LTD., ToTOntO
PRENTICE-HALL OF INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, NeW Delhi
PRENTICE-HALL OF JAPAN, INC., TokjO
Preface
This new edition ofCochran's grammar is intended principally for students
of German who have advanced beyond their first year of study but are not
expert enough, or whose needs are not sophisticated enough, for them to use
the Duden Grammatik and similar tools.
Language is always changing, and any grammar is necessarily an imperfect
snapshot, recording as much ofwhat it sees as it can. The grammar can never
be more than a guide, for the language it seeks to describe has already changed
by the time the book is published. So the first practice the user should adopt is:
allow the language itself to update the grammar. Always seek the advice of
native speakers of German, read magazines and newspapers, watch motion
pictures, listen to the radio. While the basic statements of the grammar will
changeverylittle, matters ofidiomand syntax canbe only sketchilyrepresented
in these pages, and are subject to wide variation in the living language.
Theauthorofabooklikethis tries to answertheneeds ofhis audience. When
Emory Cochran first wrote the book from which this third edition derives,
English-speaking students of German needed both a reference and a review
grammar. NowtheneedforareviewgrammarofGermanis less acute,forthere
are many available; but good reference grammars for the non-specialist do not
exist. Accordingly, w^hile the present edition is as useful as ever as a review
grammar, it emphasizes by its organization its function as a reference work.
Professor Cochran relied heavily on cross-references and footnotes; I have
largely removed these and instead expanded the index. The second practice the
user should adopt is: use the index. It may be at the end ofthe book, but it is
the real door to what lies within.
Those who have used the earlier editions of this book will find that the
exercises, somewhat reduced in number, have been moved from the body of
the text to a separate section at the back where they will not interfere with the
grammar presentation. I hope their new position will prove advantageous to
the student. As for the organizational revision of the grammar itself, I have
integratedtheillustrativeexamples andtheexplanatorynotes, strivingwherever
possible to begin each section with fundamental statements and to follow the
vi Preface
examples with more detailed comment, as required. Most of the words are
Cochran's, most of the organization mine.
A word on terminology. Most users will come to this book from an ele-
mentary text. It is impossible to eliminate the traumawhich new and unfamiliar
terms for old grammatical acquaintances can cause, but attempts have been
made to minimize it. Although the terms "strong" and "weak" cannot be
defended scientifically, they are retained because they are still in general use and
are mnemonically useful for the student, if not for the professional Unguist.
Wherever possible, alternatives to this terminology have been provided in the
explanations. Because of their convenience, the terms Subjunctive I and Sub-
junctive II, which are now used by the more detailed grammars, have been
adopted here. Similarly, it is expedient to call sich amüsieren a "reflexive verb"
2.ndfahrenan"intransitiveverb." Ultimately, however, thesystematicdifferentia-
tion that we make between parts of speech will give way to a deeper under-
standing ofhow grammar elements function in the living language.
I wishto thankmy colleagues atBrown University, who have never objected
to late-night queries on points ofgrammar and usage. But, for better or worse,
what appears here is my responsibility.
B. C.
J.
