Table Of ContentMASTERING
GERMAN
MACMILLAN MASTER SERIES
Basic Management
Biology
Chemistry
Commerce
Computer Programming
Computers
Data Processing
Economics
Electronics
English Language
French
German
Italian
Marketing
Mathematics
Modern World History
Office Practice
Physics
Principles of Accounts
Spanish
Statistics
Study Skills
MASTERING
GERMAN
ANTONY J.
PECK
EDITORIAL CoNSULTANT
BETTY pARR
M
© Antony J. Peck 1982
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1982
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced or
transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without permission.
First published 1982 by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
London and Basingstoke
Companies and representatives throughout
the world
Filmset in 10/12pt Compugraphic English
Times and Univers
by Reproduction Drawings Ltd, Sutton,
Surrey
ISBN 978-0-333-32588-9 ISBN 978-1-349-16872-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-16872-9
The paperback edition of this book is sold
subject to the condition that it shall not, by
way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold,
hired out, or otherwise circulated without
the publisher's prior consent in any form of
binding or cover other than that in which it
is published and without a similar condition
including this condition being imposed on
the subsequent purchaser.
Cassette ISBN 978-0-333-34059-2
For
D.K.M.P.
CONTENTS
Preface ix
Introduction: how to use this book xi
I TEACHING UNITS
1 Greetings and Introductions 3
Topics-How to greet people; how to be polite; how
to introduce oneself and others; how to take one's
leave
Grammar-verb forms; personal pronouns; verb
sein, 'to be'; possessive adjectives; nouns; gender;
singular and plural; agreement
2 Getting about 15
Topics-How to find one's way on foot and when
driving; how to understand directions
Grammar-Numbers (cardinal and ordinal); fahren,
gehen and kommen; regular and irregular verbs; zu
and nach; the Umlaut
3 Staying in hotels 25
Topics-How to obtain a hotel room; how to make
and confirm a booking
Grammar-Days, months; bleiben, haben, nehmen;
general notion of duration
4 Travelling by train 37
Topics-How to buy a train ticket
Grammar-Verbs with separable affixes
5 Travelling by taxi, bus or tram 48
Topics-How to order a taxi; how to state one's
destination; how to enquire about the destination of
public transport
Grammar-The indefinite article; kein; nicht; the
definite article (subject and direct object); nominative
and accusative case; some or any; prepositions
CONTENTS
vi
6 Illness 58
Topics-How to make an appointment to see the
doctor; how to describe symptoms of illness; how to
state how long symptoms have lasted; how to
describe the type of pain
Grammar-Parts of the body; predicative and
attributive adjectives; adjective endings after ein,
kein, mein, etc; the 24-hour clock
7 Shopping 68
Topics-How to go shopping; how to understand
sales people; how to ask to try on clothes; how to
ask for something different; how to ask the price
Grammar-Regular verbs: suchen, glauben,
brauchen; irregular verbs: tragen, nehmen, mi:ichten;
adjective endings after der, dieser, etc.
8 Families and nationalities 82
Topics-How to ask about and state one's
nationality; how to say where one comes from; how
to say whether one can speak a language; how to
discuss family and marital status; how to ask about a
job, profession
Grammar-Nationalities; names of languages;
adjective endings with no preceding determining
word
9 Places and weather 91
Topics-How to ask about the location of towns;
how to enquire about and describe places; how to
enquire about and describe weather
Grammar-Seasons of the year; months; the indirect
object; the dative case; prepositions accompanying
the dative case
10 Revision tests 105
11 Eating out 115
Topics-How to ask for a table at a restaurant; how
to summon the waiter; how to ask for the menu;
how to ask what someone would like to eat or drink;
vii
how to order a meal; how to ask for the bill; how to
express the time
Grammar-Question forms; interrogatives;
expressions of time
12 Asking permission 130
Topics-How to ask permission to borrow things;
how to refuse permission
Grammar-Modal verbs: konnen and durfen; word
order in sentences with modal verbs
13 Jobs and professions 139
Topics-How to ask someone what he or she does
for a living; how to enquire about and state where
one works; how to enquire about and state one's
place of work; and one's conditions of work
Grammar-Expressions of time; use of the dative
case to express liking
14 Accommodation 150
Topics-How to ask where someone lives; how to
describe the amenities of one's accommodation
Grammar-Noun plurals
15 Hobbies and interests 163
Topics-How to ask about and state what one is
interested in; how to express likes and dislikes
Grammar-Gern and Iieber; comparison of adjectives
16 'Want' and 'must' 173
Topics-How to express what one wants to do; how
to express what one must do; how to express that
one doesn't have to do something
Grammar-Modal verbs: wollen, mussen, brauchen
nicht
17 Suggestions and proposals 183
Topics-How to make a suggestion or proposal; how
to ask and state what one can do; how to state how
well one can do something
Grammar-Modal verbs: wollen, konnen;
prepositions governing accusative and dative
CONTENTS
viii
18 Dreams and wishes 197
Topics-How to enquire about and express what one
would like to do; how to say that one would like to
have something done; how to ask when services will
be completed, and when articles can be collected
Grammar-Use of mochten with the infinitive;
lassen with modal verb and infinitive
19 Talking about the past 205
Topics-How to refer to past time
Grammar-Simple past (or imperfect) tense of
haben, sein, sagen; compound past (or perfect) tense
of other verbs
20 Revision tests 216
II REFERENCE MATERIAL
Pronunciation key 223
Answers to exercises 226
Translation of dialogues 256
Grammatical summary 278
Money, weights and measures 308
Some useful hints and tips 312
Signs on public display 316
Bibliography 320
ix
SERIES EDITOR'S PREFACE
The first language books in the Master Series, which are intended
primarily for adult beginners without a teacher, should fill a notable
gap in an otherwise well-cultivated field. The publishers make no
promises of instant mastery, and recognise that no one slim volume
can contain more than the basic essentials of any living language. We
believe, however, that these books provide a carefully planned intro
duction to the language as well as a secure foundation for further
study.
Existing publications seem either to concentrate on teaching 'how to
survive abroad' or else to adopt a mainly academic approach. In these
new books, our aim is to assist not only those studying a language for
practical-generally touristic or commercial-purposes, but also
those wishing to acquire a more formal knowledge of the grammar
and structures of the language, with the intention of extending their
skills of reading and writing by subsequent study. The dual aims of
these books are made clear from the start, so that students may
determine their own learning procedures and work through the
material in ways best suited to their needs and capacity. The main
emphasis is placed on understanding and speaking the language, but
due attention has been paid to the importance of reading, especially
for interpreting instructions and seeking information, and of writing,
for such practical tasks as filling in forms, making reservations and
writing simple letters.
The author's introduction clearly explains the content and presenta
tion of the teaching material. The table of contents is specific and
informative and the student may see at a glance the ground to be
covered. It is advisable to study the introduction very closely, in order
to make the best use of this carefully structured course. The presenta
tion of each chapter is consistent, and the dialogues which form the
basis of the teaching are followed by a list of new German words in
order of their appearance; this vocabulary list provides the English
meaning and appropriate grammatical clues, as well as stress marks to
help solve one of the major problems of German pronunciation.
Mastery of the spoken language presents one of the greatest
difficulties to the student working alone; without considerable
linguistic experience, it is impossible to develop an ear for the sounds
and intonation of a language by reading the printed page. In
Mastering German there is a detailed guide to pronunciation, in addi-
