Coffee Break German Lesson 16

LESSON NOTES ICH MÖCHTE EINE BRIEFMARKE KAUFEN It s time to go shopping! In this lesson you ll learn a number of useful phrases for shopping in German-speaking areas. You ll also be introduced to the concept of modal verbs within the context of shopping. INTRODUCTION In the introduction to this week s lesson, Mark and Thomas have the following conversation which introduces the new word trotzdem, meaning nevertheless. Coffee Break German Lesson 16 Study Notes Mark: Wie geht s dir heute? Thomas: Mir geht s sehr gut, Mark. Wie geht s dir? Mark: Mir geht s gut, aber heute bin ich ein bisschen müde. Thomas: Ah, das macht nichts. Sollen wir trotzdem anfangen? Mark: Ja, los geht s. aber heute bin ich ein bisschen müde but today I m a little tired. Note that since this clause begins with heute, the subject and the verb swap places. das macht nichts that doesn t matter Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 1 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 2 of 19

Literally, das macht nichts means that makes nothing. trotzdem nevertheless sollen wir trotzdem anfangen? should we begin nevertheless? should we start nonetheless? REVIEW Since this lesson focuses on the top of shopping, Thomas starts by testing Mark on some of the words and phrases linked to this topic which were covered in a previous lesson: wie viel kostet das? how much does that/it cost? kann ich Ihnen helfen? can I help you? ich schaue nur, danke I m just looking, thanks Mark and Thomas also take the opportunity to practise some larger numbers within the context of prices. es kostet zweiunddreißig Euro, neunundneunzig ( 32,99) that/it costs 32.99 Note that when giving prices in German, Austria and Switzerland, a comma is used instead of a point/full stop between the Euros and Cents: 32,99 rather than 32.99 as it would be written in the UK. Note also that when writing thousands, the thousands separator is a point/full stop: 2.300,19 compared to 2,300.19. das macht einundfünfzig Euro, fünfunddreißig ( 51,99) that makes 51.99 In Germany and Austria the currency is the Euro ( ), but in Switzerland the currency is the Swiss Frank (CHF). das macht elf Franken neunundneunzig (CHF 11,99) that makes CHF 11.99 (11 franks, 99 cents) das macht vierhundertsiebzehn Euro, neunundsiebzig ( 417,79) that makes 417.79 das macht fünftausenddreihundertsechsen Euro und achtzig Cent ( 5.316,80) that makes 5,316.80 FOUR KEY VERBS In this lesson which focuses on shopping, we learn four main verbs: kaufen to buy anprobieren to try on Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 3 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 4 of 19

zahlen to pay nehmen to take We will use these verbs in a number of phrases using other verbs we already know, building new phrases and manipulating the language. These phrases will focus around the use of certain modal verbs. These are verbs which indicate an element of intention, possibility, permission, ability and obligation. This will become clear as we see the following examples. In the first example, Thomas introduces the word eine Briefmarke: eine Briefmarke (f) a stamp Consider the following phrase: ich möchte eine Briefmarke kaufen I would like to buy a stamp Translated literally, the phrase would mean I would like a stamp to buy, with the infinitive to buy coming at the end of the sentence. We have already come across the expression ich möchte on a number of occasions, as in ich möchte einen Kaffee, I would like a coffee. You can use ich möchte with another verb in the infinitive, but in this case you must send the infinitive to the end of the sentence. Ich möchte is an example of a modal verb. It indicates desire to do something. Another example is: ich möchte einen Kaffee kaufen I would like to buy a coffee Note in this example that it is clear that einen Kaffee is in the accusative case as it is the object of the sentence. Likewise, eine Briefmarke in the previous example was also in the accusative, but it is not as easy to see this since the indefinite article for a feminine word does not change in its accusative form. GRAMMAR GURU Ich möchte is part of the verb mögen, and we will also be looking at können (to be able) and wollen (to want) in this lesson. Our Grammar Guru will provide further details about these verbs, and we ll learn to conjugate each of the verbs in turn. Today we are learning about shopping in a German-speaking country and Thomas is introducing us to some more modal verbs. I m sure you ll get used to the idea that modal verbs send the infinitive to the end, as we saw previously with: Können Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen? Can you please bring me the bill? So we ve already come across the verb können, but in this lesson we re going to learn the full conjugation of this verb, and we ll also learn to conjugate two other verbs which we ll be using in this lesson: mögen and wollen. Now these are all very commonly-used verbs, which, as you may remember, means that it s very likely that these are irregular verbs and don t follow the normal conjugation patterns. We ve already learned haben which had an irregular pattern, so let s go through each verb now, one by one. Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 5 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 6 of 19

KÖNNEN SINGULAR PLURAL 1ST ich kann wir können things here, but we ve learned mögen in this lesson within the context of I would like, ich möchte. This is actually a different type of verb: it s called the conditional, so it s these endings that we re going to learn today. In future lessons we will learn the conjugation of mögen in the present tense. 2ND du kannst ihr könnt 3RD er/sie/es kann sie können With können, note the vowel change from the infinitive -ö- to -ain the singular forms. For the plural forms, the -ö- of the infinitive returns. Now let s consider the verb wollen, meaning to want. This same pattern of vowel change in the singular forms is present with wollen. You should note in particular that there is a potential false friend in this verb conjugation: ich will means I want, not I will. So, using the verb zahlen ( to pay ), ich will zahlen does not mean I will pay, but I want to pay. It is very common for learners to make this mistake. WOLLEN SINGULAR PLURAL 1ST ich will wir wollen 2ND du willst ihr wollt 3RD er/sie/es will sie wollen Finally, let s look at mögen. Mögen can have a number of meanings, one of which is to like. I don t want to over-complicate MÖGEN SINGULAR PLURAL 1ST ich möchte wir möchten 2ND du möchtest ihr möchtet 3RD er/sie/es möchte sie möchten So we now know the full conjugation of these modal verbs in the present tense for wollen and können, and the conditional for mögen. As this lesson progresses you ll see these verbs used in a number of examples, and come to understand them better. TAKING IT FURTHER Let s go back to können. As Kirsten pointed out, we have heard this verb used in the following phrases: können Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen? can you bring me the bill please? kann ich Ihnen helfen? can I help you? Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 7 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 8 of 19

Thomas challenges Mark to use this knowledge to come up with a translation of where can I buy a stamp? : wo kann ich eine Briefmarke kaufen? where can I buy a stamp? Again, the infinitive is sent to the end because of the modal verb ich kann / kann ich. If postcards are die Postkarten, we can use this in a similar sentence: wo kann ich Postkarten kaufen? where can I buy postcards? Similarly, using the verb wollen, we can use examples such as: ich will ein Souvenir kaufen I want to buy a souvenir Remember that ich will means I want, not I will. Ich will can also be used as a simple, but quite direct, way to say I want, as in: ich will einen Kaffee mit Sahne I want a coffee with cream Let s now use this same concept with the other shopping verbs we have introduced in this lesson, anprobieren, nehmen and zahlen. Some examples are also given using other verbs we know, such as essen, trinken and haben. ich will das anprobieren I want to try that on kann ich das anprobieren? can I try that on? ich möchte das anprobieren I would like to try that on wo kann ich essen? where can I eat? ich will eine Pizza essen I want to eat a pizza SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES Returning to the shopping concept, Mark suggests he may want to ask: wo kann ich das anprobieren? where can I try that on? Thomas suggests an alternative using the word die Umkleiden: wo sind die Umkleiden? where are the changing rooms? Note the use of sind, the third person plural form of the verb sein, for where are. If you are trying on clothes you may need the following questions: gibt es das in kleiner? do you have this in a smaller size? Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 9 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 10 of 19

gibt es das in größer? do you have this in a bigger size? In these questions, note the expression gibt es, meaning is there. The questions literally mean does that exist in smaller/larger? or is there it in smaller/larger? Note also the comparative forms of the adjectives groß and klein. groß > größer large > larger / big > bigger klein > kleiner small > smaller Having decided that you would like to buy whatever you re trying on, you will need to use one of these phrases: ich möchte das nehmen I would like to take it ich will das nehmen I want to take it ich nehme das I ll take it Note that in the last of these phrases, the verb nehme is conjugated, while in the first two phrases it is in its infinitive form. It s now time to pay, so you can ask: wo kann ich zahlen? where can I pay? The place where you pay in a shop is called: die Kasse the checkout, the tills wo ist die Kasse? where is the checkout? You may want to pay with a credit card: kann ich mit Kreditkarte zahlen? can I pay by credit card? Having paid for your item, you can ask: kann ich eine Tüte haben? can I have a bag? If you require a receipt for your records, you can use: kann ich eine Quittung haben? can I have a receipt? You may also hear these words used for receipts: der Kassenzettel / der Kassenbon till receipt Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 11 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 12 of 19

CULTURAL CORRESPONDENT the world, but we have been doing this for some time here in Germany! Julia shares some cultural information about days of the week in German-speaking areas. One final thing which links both recycling and shopping together is the idea of the Pfand this is a deposit for a bottle. So if you buy a drink in a plastic or glass bottle, you may find you re paying a higher price, but this price includes the Pfand: if you return the bottle to the shop afterwards you ll get your Pfand back. This way you save money, you save the environment, and you will never see plastic bottles lying around on the streets anymore! Hi Mark, hallo Thomas und guten Tag an alle unsere CoffeeBreakGerman Zuhörer. Ich bin s wieder, Julia, eure Kulturreporterin. Today you ve been learning some useful language for your shopping trips in German-speaking parts of the world, so I thought I d bring you some useful information to complement what you ve been learning about. I hope these shopping tips come in useful when you re out and about shopping in Germany! For now, it s back to the studio with Thomas and Mark. If you re planning that shopping trip, it may be useful to know when shops open and close. Here in Germany you ll usually find that most shops open from 10am until 8pm Monday to Saturday. Of course there are variations: some bigger shops may open at 9am, and smaller shops will close at 6pm, and even earlier on Saturdays. However, if you re used to Sunday opening then you re in for a shock: apart from big shops in train stations and maybe a few pharmacies, bakeries and flower shops, everything is closed on a Sunday! You ve been warned don t plan to get your retail therapy fix on a Sunday if you re coming to Germany for a shopping trip! DAS REICHT FÜR HEUTE Ready for more? Turn the page to continue with the bonus materials for this lesson. As you re walking around towns in Germany, and indeed in Austria and Switzerland, you ll notice something about the rubbish bins or trash cans. We re very big on recycling here, and you ll find that in public spaces there are different bins for different things: for example paper, plastic and other recyclables go in one bin; there are other bins for general waste; and even glass has to be separated into white / green and brown. This concept is known as Mülltrennung waste separation. And it s not only in town at home we also have separate bins for each type of waste. I know that this is becoming more common now in other parts of Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 13 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 14 of 19

CORE VOCABULARY trotzdem nevertheless wie viel kostet das? how much does that/it cost? kann ich Ihnen helfen? can I help you? ich schaue nur, danke I m just looking, thanks kaufen to buy anprobieren to try on zahlen to pay nehmen to take eine Briefmarke (f) a stamp ich möchte eine Briefmarke kaufen I would like to buy a stamp ich möchte einen Kaffee kaufen I would like to buy a coffee können Sie mir bitte die Rechnung bringen? can you bring me the bill please? kann ich Ihnen helfen? can I help you? wo kann ich eine Briefmarke kaufen? where can I buy a stamp? wo kann ich Postkarten kaufen? where can I buy postcards? ich will ein Souvenir kaufen I want to buy a souvenir ich will einen Kaffee mit Sahne I want a coffee with cream ich will das anprobieren I want to try that on kann ich das anprobieren? can I try that on? ich möchte das anprobieren I would like to try that on wo kann ich essen? where can I eat? Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 15 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 16 of 19

ich will eine Pizza essen I want to eat a pizza wo kann ich das anprobieren? where can I try that on? die Umkleiden the changing rooms wo sind die Umkleiden? where are the changing rooms? gibt es das in kleiner? do you have this in a smaller size? gibt es das in größer? do you have this in a bigger size? groß > größer large > larger / big > bigger klein > kleiner small > smaller ich möchte das nehmen I would like to take it ich will das nehmen I want to take it ich nehme das I ll take it wo kann ich zahlen? where can I pay? die Kasse the checkout, the tills wo ist die Kasse? where is the checkout? kann ich mit Kreditkarte zahlen? can I pay by credit card? kann ich eine Tüte haben? can I have a bag? kann ich eine Quittung haben? can I have a receipt? der Kassenzettel / der Kassenbon till receipt BONUS VOCABULARY The bonus vocabulary for this lesson provides further words and phrases which you may find useful in a shopping situation. der Ausverkauft the sale das Sonderangebot Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 17 of 19 Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 18 of 19

the sale welche Größe haben Sie? what size are you? der Kunde / die Kundin customer Können Sie das als Geschenk einpacken? can you wrap this as a gift? das Kaufhaus the department store das Blumengeschäft the flower shop der Geschenkeladen the gift shop das Einkaufszentrum the shopping centre Coffee Break German: Lesson 16 - Notes page 19 of 19